GIFT OF 
 HORACE W. CARPENTEER. 
 
 ri^ 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
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 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/empireinasiahowwOOmccurich 
 
^ 
 
 EMPIRE IN ASIA 
 
 HOVir WE CAME BY II? 
 
 A BOOK OF C0NFMSS10JS& 
 
 BT 
 
 W. M. TORRENS M. P. 
 
J)S^^3 
 
 CARPENTIER 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 I f »0 < ' 
 
 Pasi 
 
 I. Introduction, ,.* ..4 .•. 1 
 
 II. A Foothold nea.ii the Sea, ... ... 8 
 
 III. BaaiNNiNGS OF Aggression, ..* ... 16 
 
 IV. Plundbrful Times, ... ... 37 
 
 V, Taa DBff.\NN, ... ,.* ... 48 , 
 
 VI, Plight of the People, ..* ... 60 
 
 Vli. Warren Hastings, ... ... 74 
 
 VI II. Pcnohayet and Adawlut, ..♦ ... 90 
 
 IX. Thf Rohillas. ... ... ,„ 105 
 
 X. BenaRBS A.ND OUDE, ... ... 119 
 
 XL Hydar Ali, ... ... ... 120 
 
 XII. Rival India Bills, ... ... I41 
 
 XIII, Tyranny on its Knees, ... ... 156 
 
 XIV. Tip?oo Saib, ... ... ... 170 
 
 XV. The Lanp SsTTLaMiNT, .., ... 182 
 
|v CONTENTS 
 
 PAGl 
 
 XVl. LoED Wellesley, ... ... 194 
 
 XVII. Thb Maheattis, .,, ... 21S 
 
 XVIII. The SwcRD in th«c Scabbard, ... 232 
 
 XI5^. SciNDiA AND Holk:ae, ... ,.. 247 
 
 XX. The Pexshwa, ... ... ,.. 260 
 
 XXI. LoRB William Bbntinck, .., ,., 271 
 
 XXII, Afghanistan, ... .,. ... 283 
 
 XXIIL The Amirs op Scinde, ... ... 292 
 
 XXIV. Punjab and Pegu, ... ... 304 
 
 XXV. ZuLM, , ... 330 
 
 XXVI. Taking in Kingdoms, ... ... 348 
 
 XXVII. To-DAT ; AND To-morrow? ... ... 361 
 
 iNDBX. ... ... «.« 3oo 
 
EMPIRE IN ASIA 
 
 C us. p I E E I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. • : '_ : 
 
 ^'It would be an iH leJ^son Indeed for the people of India, that while they 
 are Bubjecfcsto Vizietor Soabahdarwe will protect them in their rights, 
 thftk while they hold of him we will etand forth in their favour. If 
 he attempts to oppress you, we will rescue you from the hands of your 
 lawful master, but if by co'iqueac or by any other means we beoom* 
 your BpVereigu, remember there is none can g'uarantee the ita*4jaty 
 between you and us. The power of the sovereign is all, the right of 
 the vassal is nothing. Yovi ar e persona without right, engagement, ojr 
 any political existence, but our will and arbitrary pleasure. That thia 
 doctrine is unjust, it is inequitable} that it is moQStious, that it ia 
 detestable, is so clear that I am almost ashamed of having misspelt 
 time in showing how impolitic it is.".! ^cHAitLES jamjcs fox. 
 
 T the beginning of the seventeenth century, India 
 _ , may be said to have been, to the people of Europe, 
 ail unknown land. Save to the learned who had read 
 of its ancient fame, or to such as listened to the wonder 
 weaving legends that now and then made their way 
 from the shores of the Levant, its name was a sound 
 •that woke no echo of individual hope or national 
 solicitude, It was out of reach ; it was out of sight: 
 from the cupidity of Christendom it was safe. The 
 command which said, '*Ye shall not covet,^^ spake of 
 a neighbour's goods ; for it is those things that are 
 pleasant to the eye to see, and pleasant to the lip to 
 taste, th?Lt stand, chiefly in need of its inhibition. 
 
 But distance, which had hitherto left fair Hindus- 
 tan secure from Buropeon lust, seemed to lessen year 
 
 . 1 Speech on the Benares charge; impeachment of Warren Hastings; 
 %2dL February 17 ^^^ Sjpeeohet in Trial, edited iy JS* A* Bont^^ 
 
 ▼Pi. ip. m. 
 
9 EMP)eE in ASIA. 
 
 by year, after the Portuguese and Dutch mariners had 
 proved that the cape of Storms could be safely passed 
 in ships of heavy burthen. The prolific isles of the 
 Eastern Sea were speedily lit upon by these birds of 
 adventure ; and the loud satisfaction they were heard 
 to express, invited by degrees successive migratory 
 *expeciitien"3. 'of ' the rival or kindred dwellers in the 
 co^idar regions, they had wandered from. Finding on 
 the^ir, arrival that there was room enough for all, 
 ce/tai^i of thesW latter set about the business in a more 
 methodioai way, and strove by various regulations, 
 charters, laws, — and, whenever needful, forgetfuln^ss, 
 of laws, — ^to establish for themselves the most lucra- 
 tive and gigantic monopoly that the annals of com«^ 
 morce contain. 
 
 In the accompli'S^hment of this gradually formed 
 and slowly developed plan, they were eminently 
 BuccessfuL By degrees they drove the Portuguese, op 
 first discoverers^ completely from the field ; and the 
 Dutch, who came some-what later, and who made a 
 harder fight for their share, were eventually reduced 
 to so low an ebb, that they continue now rather by 
 sufferance than by any inherent power of self defence^' 
 to retain a remnant of their once great possession,^^ 
 The &jvd,niard3 were engrossed with their acquisition^ 
 in the West, but the French were easily led to put faith 
 in fortune in the Eastern seas ; and, at a lattter period- 
 fair promises of factories and fortresses, influance and 
 dominion^ in Asia, seemed likeiy to be realised. The 
 English, for a time, lagged slowly in the race of gaitt 
 and glory. They had come last, and they stood^ 
 long at disadvantage. Civil dissensions and the want 
 ©f a strong and wise Government at home left thenx 
 without material support ; and they had to be content^ 
 from the accession to the overthrow of the house of 
 Stuart, to chaffer and bargain as best they might with, 
 .tke rulers and people of the land. 
 
 Tha bravest hearts and clearest heads among them 
 .during the seventeenth century, never dreamed that 
 ^h^y were marking the site, if not laying the founda-^ 
 
t 
 
 iioti^ of a^n empim — not of the- ocean merely, or its isftg 
 not of trade alone, with its infinite produce, — 'but of 
 territory won by the sword for its own rich sake^ and 
 kept by the same f9'r the like reason. 
 
 Southern Asfa, in the days of VValpole and tlie- 
 elder Pitt, was still ruled, like Western Europe, by a 
 number of distinct and independent Grov^ernments difE- 
 erin^ in origin, creed, power, and civilisatix)n ; fre- 
 queiitly at feud with one another,, and often suffering 
 from overweening vanity and ambitiony just as if 
 they had been blessed with' the paternal' sway of most 
 Christian kings, august and apostolfe kaisers, or 
 moat religious and gracious sovereigns of immortal 
 memory r but they were practically self-rufedand loca- 
 lly free. Even where the loosening- ties of fealty to 
 Moslem or Mahratta suzerain rendered states of a 
 secondarf rank dependBnt in diplomacy or war upon 
 the superior will af Peishwa orPadishah,. the people of 
 each separate province still saw in the midst of them 
 the camp and the* court of the prince whom they obey- 
 ed ; and, whatever ma?y huve been the burtheus on their 
 induBtry, they could not be unconsci'ons that its produce 
 was lavished or hu'sbanded within their bord'ers. 
 
 The whole of the vast region lying between the i^£E* 
 ghan hills and those of Burmah, and from the Himalayas 
 to Cape Comorin, 1,500,000 squ'are^ miles, with upwards 
 of 2,00,000,000 of inhabitants^ consists to-day of revenue 
 districts under an English Minister, or of mediatised 
 states dependent far their continuance in that equivo^- 
 c»l condition on his wrll. 
 
 No change like this, effected within? a single century,, 
 is to- be found rn the' chronicles of conquest. It may be 
 said to Irave been begun in 1757, when India was but a 
 geographical expression, identical with, no political, 
 unity, and to have been completed in 1858 by the pro- 
 clamation that her present Majesty assumed thence- 
 forth the rights, duties, and responsibilities of sover- 
 eignty throughout the wide domains partially or per- 
 fectly brought beneath her sway. As foreshortening 
 is in art the means whereby the most vivid sense of 
 
4 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 . reality is imparted^ it is even so in history. The infi- 
 nitely varied lights and shades that fall upon events as 
 they unfold themselves in succession, render it diffici;ilt^ 
 if not impossible, to realise as one the aggregate of 
 facts which we know to be indisputable But it is 
 instructive as well as startling, to place for a moiuent 
 the beginning and the end of recent and contemporary 
 changes in the degree of proximity, wherein from af ^r 
 they will by and by appear in the view of the historian. 
 How will our acquisition of empire in the East, and our 
 actual position there, look in the sight of those who 
 shall come after us ? How does it look in the sight of 
 Heaven ? 
 
 These are not merely curious questions fit to amu^e 
 the speculative or idle. If public morals be a reality, 
 and if there be such a thing as national conscience and 
 national accountability, it behoves us, as a free people^ 
 to consider how we came by Asiatic empire, and how, 
 . for its sake, and for our own, we ought to de^l with it. 
 If the attenapt of Napoleon to subjugate jEuropp to 
 his authority may be said to have begun at Campo 
 Formio, ancj if we can imagine the course of victory 
 rolling onwards at his bidding until it reached at 
 length the shores of the Dardanelles apd those of Lap- 
 land, the banks of the Vistula and the niouth of the 
 Tagus, we shall have something like an accurate paral- 
 lel, as far as space is concerned, and the variety of 
 creeds and Governments existing in that space, to that 
 which is now presented to the world by the spectacle 
 of British India.. Great and manifold as are the di^r 
 crepancies between the two, there are points of analogy 
 not ascribable tp accident. Napolean, when he con- 
 quered, did not .always or generally annex or seek 
 to crush the memory or the spirit of separate political 
 .existence. He pulled dowp.. kings and set up hisnomi-r 
 ^nees in their room;, but. he left Naj^les, Spain, Holland, 
 .and Westphalia the ^itular dignity ;and the municiyral 
 freedom of separate states, and vyas prudently content 
 with the absorption of comparatively limited acquisi- 
 tions, and their incorporation as proyipces of France. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 No scruple would assuredly have withheld him from 
 adopting an indiscriminate policy of imperial amal- 
 gamation. But we know from his pub-ic acts, and 
 from his private after-thoughts in captivity, that his 
 ambition was not to be head constable, but Lord Para- 
 mount of Western and Southern Earope. He was a 
 fearless and a selfish man^ but he had the discernment, 
 foresight, and magnanimity of genius ; and to him it 
 would have seemed purblind impolicy and greedy 
 blundering to have affec'ted to establish, for such wide- 
 ly-scattered realms, one centralised administration in 
 Paris. On the contrary, he spent no end of time and 
 toil in replacing firmly, as he thought, the foundations 
 and the outworks of separate and local governmental! 
 nearly all the subordinated states over which his power 
 extended. His aim was to be suzerain — appellate judge 
 in peace, J generalissimo in war. But he thoroughly 
 understood that the vigour of the gigantic system he 
 essayed to form, and the chance of its prolonged exist- 
 encey rested upon the degree in which it might be pos- 
 sible to reconcile loyalty to empire with the preserva- 
 tion of traditional and progressive ideas of separate 
 nationality and local self-rule. That this was his 
 splendid dream is demonstrable not merely from his 
 words, but from his actions ; and in truth, no other 
 supposition is intelligible. Ni>r is. there in any of his 
 numerous confessions of error and miscalculation, a 
 trace to be found of misgiving as to the wisdom of this 
 characteristic "postioBof hi^ conduct. He fell through 
 other causes, not from this, and the fact that his vast 
 designs perished ere they were complete, ought not to 
 blind us to the lessons that may be gathered from the 
 manner in which he made use of partial success. 
 
 ' The spirit of conquest breathes so fearlessly through 
 every page of England's history, that it would probab- 
 ly be reckoned by the majority of her people rather 
 absurd to attempt, by any timid or ingenious para- 
 phrase, to hide from view the real nature of an attri- 
 bute whereof they I are nationally not a little proud. 
 From the earliest times, they appear to have cherished 
 
9^ EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 m ^ongfing for foreign possessions ; and from the days 
 ^hen Edward and Henry devoted all the flower of 
 English knighthood, and all the contributions of English 
 trade, to "the conquest of France, ^' to those when the 
 red Indian of America was proclaimed a usurper of 
 the hunting-grounds his forefathers immemorially had 
 enjoyed, the love of territorial acquisition has been 
 deemed b^ most of our distinguished, royal, and noble 
 authorities, worth gratifying at any cost which the 
 nation from time to time might be brought to think it 
 could afford. That many notable attempts ended in 
 memorable disGomfiture is indeed most true. **Such,^' 
 as court chaplains preaching for a bishopric were 
 wont to utter with a sigh, " are the ways of Provi- 
 dence!'' But the history of European Governments 
 must be re-written ere Christendom can honestly 
 disclaim the practical belief that it is pleasant, glo- 
 rious, and profitable, when you can, to hold down a 
 neighbour by the throat, and take his sword and 
 money from him. The longing for forbidden fruit 
 seems to be ineradicable, and few of the great names 
 we are accustomsd to recall with admiration are whol- 
 ly clear from the charge. The pen that signed re- 
 luctantly, after six years' costly and disastrous war, 
 the recognition of American independence, traced an 
 enlarged scheme of territorial compensation for 
 the loss, in Hindustan. 
 
 Though Chatham in opposition scandalised all good 
 Society by exclaiming that *^ he rejoiced to hear the 
 Colonies had resisted,'^ Chatham in office never would 
 agree to let them go. His greater son was by tem- 
 perament averse from war, and disapproved, he said 
 of en 'roachments in the East: bub he never gave back 
 anything his subordinat s had got by fair means or 
 foul. In later times., English statesmen have indeed 
 taken credit for greater magnanimity; arid Lord Cast- 
 lereagh in particular has been praised for restoring 
 Java to the Dutch, and Sicily to the Italians. But if 
 in this respect, in Europe, he made a great character^ 
 in Asia he took care to spend it like a gentleman. It 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 would be useless to multiply examples, worse than 
 useless to set up invidious contrasts and recrimina- 
 tions. Our duty is not to judge others, but ourselves ; 
 to beware of covetousness, and of being betrayed 
 into passive complicity by unpardonable laziness to 
 seek, or still more despicable cowardice to own, the 
 truth. We cannot undo what is done, but for that we 
 are not accountable. We are accountable, as a free- 
 speaking and freely represented people, for all that 
 may hereafter be done in our name ; and if upon in- 
 vestigation — which with honour and in conscience we 
 are not at liberty to elude — we are convinced, with 
 Burke and Fox, with Cornwallis and Bentinck, with 
 the elder Mill and Richard Cobden, that a great debt 
 of reparation is due to India by this country, we are 
 bound to use every just and fair .occasion to press for 
 restitution to individuals of such rights and benefits 
 as can be restored to them, compatibly with justice 
 to others equally claiming our care, and for such res- 
 I titution of local-self rule to the nations of the East as 
 may not; be incompatible with the preservation of 
 peace amongst them, and the maintenance of that 
 suzerainty in the English crown, which they, in com-, 
 mon, never acknowledged as due to any other single''' 
 authority. 
 
 It will be necessary that we should briefly recall;^' 
 the commencement of the intercourse between England^; 
 and the Eastern peninsula. Nor will it, perhaps, bef ' 
 thought waste of time if we try to retrace the stealthy 
 «tep8 by which strangers got a permanent footing in 
 the country, and how they stood, contrasted with the, 
 people and the native Governments of India, at the*' 
 period when, properly speaking, the struggle for as- 
 cendancy began. 
 
 8/r 
 

 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A FOOTHOLD NEAR THE SEA. 
 
 1500—1700. 
 
 *• I oannofc fchink that, if all the ranko of *he different communities of 
 Europe and India are comparatively viewed, there is jusc ground for 
 anjr arrogant feeling on the part of the former." 
 
 — SIB J. MALCOLM^. 
 
 IN the reign of Emanuel, King of Portugal, a fleet of 
 four armed vessels was sent forth on an expedition 
 
 of discovery, and the command of it was given to 
 Vasco de G-ama. Steering his venturous course beyond 
 Madeira and the coast of Guinea, he reached at length 
 the southern most point of Africa ; and believing that 
 a path to India lay through those waters, whose in- 
 sincere repose invited him to trust his weary fleet 
 upon their bosom, he spread his sails once more, and 
 with a prosperous voyage attained.the coast of Malabar. 
 After a brief stay, De Gama returned to Europe. 
 B[i3 countrymen were intoxicated with joy. The key 
 of the East was found. Infinite wealth, imperishable 
 fame, was theirs. Let new fleets be equipped and 
 launched without delay. Who or what should hinder 
 thier prosperity ?^ 
 
 This was the morning time of Eastern discovery, 
 
 and every object wore a glittering and exaggerated 
 
 form. Ignorance lay like a soft haze over all things, 
 
 . and in the distance anything might dwell, waiting to 
 
 be revealed. 
 
 As the clearer light of information grew, the dreams 
 of dawn passed reluctantly away. There were no 
 1 Mexnoir8 of India. 3 Hoynare Indies, book I. 
 
I FOOTHOLD NEAR THE SEA, 9 
 
 ti^i^asures to be had for merely asking ; "btit there was 
 abundant scope for industry and enterprise. The 
 people of Hindustan were not timid savages, capable 
 of being robbed or swindled by whoever choae to try ; 
 they were a great and intelligent race, acquainted 
 with commerce and the arts, and ready to exchange 
 the various produce of their skill for objects of Western 
 workmanship. By degrees these soberer but far 
 more lucrative advantages arising from the discovery 
 of De Gama became understood, and the Portuguese 
 succeeded in establishing relations of commercial 
 friendship with the minor princes of the East, and 
 finally with the imperial court of Delhi. They confined 
 their ambition to mercantile pre-eminence, and enga- 
 ged in naval warfare only with those European powers 
 who sought to interfere with them ^. Among these,^ 
 the Dutch for a while were the most conspicuous, and 
 eventually the most successful. In 1611, they worsted 
 the Portuguese fleet, and forcibly took possession of 
 Surat. By degrees they gained a complete ascendancy 
 over their forerunners, and they would probably 
 have sought more extensive confcinental possessions 
 than those adjoining their factories at Ormuz and at 
 Goa, had not their attention soon after been engrossed 
 by the culture of those garden isles that stud the 
 Indian Sea. Meantime the English and French began 
 to sfeek their share of traffic which promised to be so 
 profitable. The design of an East India Company * 
 was among the many schemes of Colbert for develop- 
 ing* the maritime power of his country ; and, though 
 ill-conducted and sustained, the plan of establishing 
 a like association was not forgotten by the Ministers 
 of England. • ; 
 
 Little more than two centuries have elapsed since 
 a few English merchants humbly solicited from the 
 princes of India permission to traffic with their people. 
 "Our dominion now embraces nearly the whole of 
 that vast region which extends from Cape Comorin 
 to the mountains of Thibet,^'— such are the significant 
 1 Anderson's History of oommeroe, and Keynal 2 xn IQ14, 
 
10 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 words in ^hich the great historian of English power 
 in India opens his narrative. The first charter to a 
 Company trading to the East was granted in the 
 year 1600. Its provisions are in no way remarkable, 
 bttt it may be recalled, as an apt illustration of the 
 exclusively mercantile character of the undertaking, 
 that when the Government of that day endeavoured 
 to impose a court favourite upon the first expedition 
 as a sinecurist, the committee of the Company decla- 
 red that they desired ** not to employ any gentle* 
 men in any place of charge, and requested that they 
 might be allowed to sort their business, with men of 
 their own qualities.'*^ For many years afterwards^^ 
 they were content with fitting out a few vessels, adap- 
 ted to the commerce of the East ; and they deemed 
 themselves fortunate when their annual adventures 
 proved remunerative. The Portuguese and Dutch, 
 their only rivals, possessed several factories or en- 
 trepots of trade on different parts of the Indian coast^^ 
 It became an early object with the English Company^ 
 to gain similar places of security for their goods ; 
 and as the jealousy between them and the Dutch grew 
 warm, their anxiety to get a footing on the continent 
 increased. James I, addressed a letter to his ** illuS; . 
 trious brother," the Mogul, commending^ them to his 
 protecting care. Jehangir suffered them to found 
 settlements at Surat, Cambay, and Ahmedabad, and 
 in 16I3 issued a firman confirming them in these pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 Sir Thomas Roe was sent as ambassador to thcj, . 
 court at Delhi in 1615, and received with honoufr; 
 and hospitality there. Another factory was founded 
 in the following year. In 1616 the Company had est-^ 
 ablished themselves at Calicut and Masulipatam. In 
 1624 they obtained a grant of jurisdiction over their . 
 own servants, it being as difficult to keep order in a 
 distant factory, amidst a foreign community, as among 
 the crew of a ship at sea. The Padishah, being a just 
 man and wTi3e, understood tbeir needs, and yielded 
 
 i Mill's Sliitorvot l;idia, I book J. vol. i. 
 
A FOOTHOLD NEABfaE SEA. 11 
 
 what they asked, little dreaming that the time would 
 come, when, from such root of title, they would claim 
 jurisdiction over his anbjects and successors, and, as 
 the penalty of resistance, decimate the one, and 
 imprison the other for life as guilty of rebellion. 
 
 In 163y Fort St George was founded, and eventually 
 raised into what was called a Presidency or residence 
 of those who were intrusted with the chief direction of 
 the Company^s affairs in these distant regions. From 
 the outset the Company maintained the strictest prin- 
 ciples of monopoly. Any ships but their own, whether 
 manned by their countrymen or by foreigners, were 
 causes of complaint, and, when unarmed, of pursuit 
 and capture. They grumbled at being undersold by the 
 Dutch, and the English who ventured on independent 
 trafBcthey designated and treated as pirates. The 
 horrors of this system have been often told. The Dutch 
 resented the cruelties practised upon their countrymen, 
 and every school history recounts how several English- 
 men were put to the rack at Amboyna. But the 
 truth, says an old chroi) icier, founding his statements. r 
 Upon English authorities of the period, was, ** that 
 they themselves at this very time were in the habit of 
 perpetrating tortures upon their own countrymen, 
 even their own servants. Before they were intrusted 
 with the powers of martial law, they made it a rule to 
 whip to death or starve to death those of whom they 
 wished to get rid ; and the power of executing for 
 piracy was made use of to murder private traders. '^ ^ 
 
 When Bombay was overrun by the Mahratta chief 
 Sivaji in 1664, the English, under Sir E. Oxenden, 
 the governor, successfully defended Surat, and thereby 
 laid the basis of their reputation for constancy and 
 prowess in the East. Aurungzebe, who reigned at 
 Delhi, sent to compliment them on the courage 
 they had shown, and volunteered further privileges 
 as their reward. In the reign of Charles II , Bombay, 
 which had been a Portuguese settlement, was ceded 
 to the King of England, as part of Princess Catherine's 
 
 1 Note to Mill, 1 book I ohap ii^ 
 
12 EMPIRE IN ASIA 
 
 marrl^^e pa1*^ion ; and it was thought of so little value 
 that the open-hearted monarch conceded it to his open- 
 handed subjects the Company. Thus in the progress 
 of the first eighty years of their intercourse with the 
 East, they contrived to make some money, to establish 
 themselves as colonists in several important places*, ta 
 commit an infinity of misdemeanours cf various deg- 
 rees of enormity upon friends and foes, but not as yet 
 to excite the jealottsy of the Oriental powers. 
 
 Some years later, their rash and offensive de'mean- 
 our at Bombay pfovoked the Mogul also to wage war 
 against them. He issued orders declaring tha»t it was 
 no longer compatible with the safety of his dominions 
 that they should be suffered to remain for their pur- 
 poses of encroachment. They were( driven from Surat; 
 Bombay was besieged ; and possession was taken of 
 their factories at Vizigapatam, and other places ; but 
 they had already learned to diplomatise, and *^stooped 
 to the most abject submission '' ^ The Emperor yield- 
 ed to entreaty, and suffered the restoration of Surat. 
 He deemed the loss of their trade likewise a considera- 
 tion ; 2 and in the recent consciousness of having 
 bi*ottght them to the verge of extinction, he relapsed 
 into false security, believing that in case of renewed i 
 danger he might easily at any future day bridle their ^ 
 presumption again. 
 
 The chiefs of Bengal appear to have been more upon 
 their guard than the rest of their neighbours. They 
 viewed with alarm the insidious progress of the stran- 
 gers in founding and fortifying new positions along 
 their shores. The advantacjes of auormented revenue 
 and trade they suspected might be bought too dear ; 
 and after numerous petty misunderstandings with the 
 Company, matters came to an open rupture. Of the 
 rights of the immediate quarrel we are uninformed ; 
 and it should be carefully borne in mind that, until a 
 very modern period, we are totally destitute of state- 
 ments upon any side but one. All we know is the 
 result of unwary admissions, or of the comparsion and 
 
 l^Mill, book I, chap v. 
 
A FOOTHOLD NEAR THE SEA. ^13 
 
 -Srattslation into vulgar truth of official documents. 
 Thus we may be satisfied that, however (jark the colour- 
 ing seems thi'oughout the strange and eventful 
 Jiistory we are enterijig upon, it is lighter Ihap the 
 revelation of much that can never be dragged into the 
 yiew of this worjd would render it. 
 
 Hither.jto the Con;ipany had everywhere professed 
 ,|;o be the humble ssrv^nts of the princes of the East ; 
 but when they fell out with the Nawab of Bengal, a 
 new scene opened. They ventured to question whether 
 disguise had not been worn long .enough, and whether 
 the policy they had found so successful with their own 
 countrymen and the Dutch, might not answer also 
 with the native powers. Accordingly, in 1615, they 
 jBitted out their first inyadiijig expedition^ and sent it 
 forth with orders to ^eize Chittagong, and to do such 
 further violence as might be practicable to those 
 amongst whom they had hitherto dwelt in peace. 
 ■'This premature attempt at open aggression failed; hadi 
 it succeeded it might have opened the eyes of the 
 " Governuients generally in IJindustan to the danger and 
 folly of temporising conduct. But it was fated other- 
 wise ; and after seizing the island of Jubellee and 
 burnisQo: the town of Balasore, the raiders suffered a 
 ievere reverse ; and the loss of their factories at Patna 
 'and Gosim bazar reduced them to seek for terms pf 
 accornodation. ^. 
 
 Prom that day the designs of the Company wero 
 ^*X5hanged from the mere pursuit of commerce to those of 
 ^^territorial acquisition. In the instructions sent out 
 JJfrom England in i689, we find the following significant 
 Jjexpression ;— '^The increase of our revenue is the 
 te^ubject of our care as much as our trade : it is that must 
 .Inaii^tain our force, when twenty accidents may inters 
 ^*rupit our trade ; it is that must make us a nation in India 
 • without that we are a great number of interlopers 
 -'linited by charter, fit only to trade where nobody 
 
 1 Mill bboJ^ I tbap, v. 
 
14 '^ EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 thinks it their interest to prevent us, ''^ And ttwderf-' 
 atingly were these instructions followed Idy succeasire 
 generations of " Company's servants/' as thej were 
 fityled. Thenceforth trad a was valued less for its own 
 sake than as a diplomatic agent, or a well-appointad 
 pioneer to prepare the way for dominion. The ex- 
 perience which had been lost upon the Padishah in? 
 their recent conflict with him was not thrown away 
 on them. In 1699 they persuaded him to grant them 
 liberty to found several new factories, andtoererct forts 
 beside them. ** This, however,'' says their historian, 
 "they began cautiously, so as not to alarm the native 
 Governments.'* 
 
 , r.The closing days of the century were %\ ent by the 
 Company's servants at the mouths of the Hoogly in 
 establishing themselves in three villages, Chuttanatti,^ 
 Calcutta, and Govindpur, which had been granted^ 
 them as a jaghire on the customary terms of fealty and 
 tribute by Azim-shah, when soubahdar of Bengal. A 
 rich present had induced the grandson of Aurungaebe 
 to make them this concession; and, with or without 
 his leave, they lost no time in erecting works, to which, 
 in compliment to their sovereign at home, they gave 
 the name of Fort William. 
 
 Since the wolf's cub leaped over the icud wall on 
 the banks of Tiber, nothing so pregnant with conse- 
 quences had happened in tliejhistory of empire-building;„ 
 yet f^w things attracted less of notice among tHe 
 Whig politicians of St. Jame^s, ortheTory politicians 
 of St. Germain :— so little, indeed, that the da,te is 
 erroneously given in many popular historiesy the 
 matter not having been thought apparently worth 
 accurately searching out. The Mogul, living, far inland 
 at Delhi, probably teard no more for soma time of his- 
 new teuants-in-fee, who had come over the dark waters, 
 and humbly craved his permission to sqiuat near the 
 seashore. If he was told of their planting stockades, 
 and putting a sort of fortification there, why should 
 he trouble himself regarding it ? Likely enough his 
 native subjects atound them were jealous and disposed. 
 
A FOOTHOLD NEAR THE SEA. U 
 
 to be quarrelsome. Why should not Fering^hees 
 defend themselves as best they might ? Poor people ! 
 they had come a long way, and seemed to work hard — 
 h© would not interfere. 
 
 ■4 
 i8 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 BsaiNNiFosor Aaa$x8sipN« 
 1701—1756. 
 
 ^< A new Bcene Is novv to open in the history of the Eaat India Company^ 
 Before this period they had maintained the character of mere traders 
 and by nuinility and flubmiBsion endeavoured to preserve a footing ii? 
 thai distant country, under the native powers. We 8ha^ uow behold 
 them entering the lists of war^ and mixing with eagernesa ij;i tha 
 contest of princes." 
 
 JAMJI6 Mill. i. 
 
 AT the beginning of the eighteenth century, the tieg 
 which had held together the dominions of Aurung- 
 
 zebe were visibly beginning to decay. As in the depenr 
 dencies of Spain under Philip II, the infatuation of 
 proselytism had tended only to work the disintegra- 
 tion of the scattered realm. In Bengal especially this 
 species of impolicy had served to shake the loyalty of 
 the people. The poorer and more ignorant sort yielded 
 to the harsh dictates of their masters, and to some 
 extent conformed to the Mohammedd^-ii faith. The more 
 subtle intellects of the Brahmins resorted to evasion, 
 and the wealthier classes were able to purchase the 
 luxury of keeping a conscience, and of transmitting to 
 their children the traditions of Vishnu. Elsewhere 
 the bulk of the population adhered to the rites and 
 tenets of their fathers; but throughout South Jndia, 
 the silent process of alienation had set in, Whereever 
 the Mahrattas came, they unfurled the flag of religious 
 deliverance ; and to drive them back; the great 
 lieutenants of the empire found it expedient to revert 
 to the old ways of toleration. 
 
 From ^the death of Aurungzebe the strength and 
 unity of the empire thawed more rapidly. His 8ucces«^ 
 
 I MkU>xj of Biciiuh India, book I, oh^pii. 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGRESSION. l^ 
 
 Bors were still honoured with the title of " the Sun, '* 
 but the power to wither or bid flourish thej had once 
 possessed grew feebler day by day. Large and remote 
 provinces became unmanageable ; and being handed 
 over to individuals of influence and ability, were go- 
 verned by them as tributary States. The title of 
 Soubahdar or viceroy and the language of political 
 trusteeship, were scrupulously preserved ; but inquiry 
 into misrule was too easily evaded, too easily defied, 
 to be attempted frequently; and the reality of control 
 was silently abandoned by the Imperial Darbar, in the 
 hope of preserving the fragile show of supremacy. 
 Taking advantacre of the circumstances of the time 
 and of the errors of their suzerain, the Soubahdars 
 gradually sought to become more independent of the 
 court at Delhi, The Nizam, who ruled over the Deccan, 
 the Vizier of Oude, and the Nawab Nazim ef Bengal, 
 aspired to found viceregal dynasties in their respective 
 provinces. They never tried to throw off their allegi- 
 ance to the Mogul, to refuse him tribute, or to question 
 the validity of his acts of occasional interference and 
 supreme interposition ; but, like the African Beys of 
 our own time, they succeeded in asserting a qualified 
 independence within their respective pashalics. They 
 took the title the Padishah conferred on them, not that 
 of Majesty, which would have been incompatible with 
 the idea and duty of their station ; but practically 
 they exercised over their people all the real authority 
 of Government. The English at Madras found that it 
 was with Nizam primarily and principally — they 
 must deal if they would dwell securely; and their 
 fellow-countrynaen at Oal 'ubta understood, in like 
 manner, that a good understanding with the court of 
 Moorshedabad or of Lucknow was of more importano© 
 to them than friendship, however unrufiled, with that 
 of Delhi, 
 
 In each of the Presidencies, power had been given 
 them to employ civil servants in their foreign settle-^ 
 ments, to raise such troops as might be necessary for 
 their defence^ and to determine, without previous re- 
 
 2 
 
ijti EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 ierence to the Government at home, what native powers 
 were to be regarded as enemies or friends. The con- 
 tinual wars between England and France had led both 
 Governments to send, from time to time, portions of 
 their disposable force to India, and thus were the 
 means afforded to the ambitious governments in these 
 remote possessions, of intermeddling in the contests 
 oi the native chiefs. To reckless and irresponsible 
 men with arms at their disposal, a pretext will not 
 long be wanting for employing them. 
 
 The Franch were perhaps the first to conceive the 
 project of founding a territorial empire in the Indian 
 peninsula. For a long period their settlements w^eie 
 presided ever by Diipleix, a man thirsting for power, 
 and eminently qualified, by his subtle and adventurous 
 disposition, to extend the dominion of his employers. 
 He had married a native of rank, who beside her for- 
 tune brought him the accesion of local knowledge, 
 and acquaintance with ways and aims of the sub- 
 ordinate courts of the empire. Her natural abilities, 
 it is said, were good; and, educated in a school of 
 political intrigue, she was able to conduct for her 
 husband the daily correspondence and diplomacy which 
 no European at that time could have attempted. The 
 struggle for ascendancy between the English audFren- 
 ch settlers was long and sangninary. Le Bourdonnais 
 had, iu 1746, worsted the fleet of his opponents and 
 taken Madras. But quarrelling with Dupleix, he was 
 ordered home, where, unable to withstand the calum- 
 nies raised agaiust him, he soon after perished in the 
 Bastile. For a time the genius of Dupleix prevailed. 
 Meddling openly in the strifes of the Deccan, he 
 •spoused the cause of Chunda Sahib as claimant of the 
 throne of the Carnatic. The reigning prince sought 
 Jaelp from the English ; and Arcot, the capital of the 
 province, was more than once taken and retaken. 
 
 Among the earliest allies of the English on the Coro- 
 mandel coast was the Rajah of Tanjore. In 1742. the 
 leigning prince had been deposed by domestic rovolu- 
 kit^zi, ai^d Pratab Sing obtained the throne. The 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGRESSION. i» 
 
 antliorities at Madras having no concern in the events 
 acknowledged the new prince without hesitation. Their 
 correspondence with him was continued without any 
 interruptiouy and mutual expressio^ns of fidolity ai]d 
 confidence were interchanged far more than seven years^ 
 At the end of this period, Sahuji, the exile-d rajah,, 
 solicited their aid in effecting a counter-revelution. 
 He offered, by way of pecompenae if they should sue* 
 ceedy to grant the fort and Jaghiro of Devecotah,. 
 and undertook to pay all expenses of the war. They 
 accepted the offer. Pratab was their ally ; they had 
 recently sought hisassistance against the French,; tbey 
 had no pretence of provocation to urge against him ; 
 nevertheless "-they despatched an army to dethrone 
 him.^i 
 
 The expedition failed, but a second was resolved on. 
 They determined, however, says their apologist Malcolm, 
 ** that the capture of Devecotah, not restoration of 
 Sahujiy should be their first object^'^^ The fort waa 
 accordingly invested and taken. And no sooner was 
 this accomplTshedy than they entered into a negotiation 
 with Pratab Sing — agreed to desist from all further 
 hostilities — not only to abandon him for whom they 
 pretended to have theretofore fought,, but engaged ta 
 secure his person and to receive a fixed sum fo-r his 
 maintenance, on condition of being suffered to remain 
 undisputed masters of Devecotah and the circumjacent 
 territory.^ This was the beginning of the conquest of 
 Hindustan. 
 
 In 1751, the French were successful everywhere; 
 then fortune veered: fresh troops were sent out from 
 England, and unobservedly a young adventurer about 
 the same time threw down his writer^s pen in one of the 
 Company's offices in Madras, and asked leave to join 
 the ranks. It was that young man who changed the 
 destiny of the East. Robert Olive was, in 1740, an idlo^ 
 and passionate boy, engaged chiefly in acts of petty 
 plunder, and ether mischief done and suffered at hia 
 1 Mil), bo^^k iy» chap. ii. > M«inoir of Lord Cliye, Toly i> cliap. u 
 
 ^MillilK^oklYcUp,!}. 
 
iiO EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 hands by the quiet folk of Market Drayton. His father 
 being unable bo naake nothinf^ of him, got him a clerk- 
 ship in the Company's service. The dull routine of 
 commerce was ill suited to his bent; he was not in- 
 different to gain, bnt his love of excitement was greater. 
 He fought from time to time a gojd many duels, but 
 this aSorded him only casual occupation; and, gladly 
 seizing the opportunity of escape from innocuous employ- 
 ment, he went with enthusiasm to the war. His intuitive 
 skill and versatile daring were soon recognised; and it 
 is not too much to say that he was the means of saving 
 his countrymen from extirpation during the period of 
 Dupleix's victories. 
 
 The general peace of 1754 left tihe rival intruders in 
 possession of no great increase of territory. But in 
 the course of the struggle the all-important truth had 
 broken on the miuds both of natives and Europeans, that 
 the hosts of the former were unable to contend with the 
 arms and discipline of the latter. *'No valour could equal- 
 ise the combat, and the impressions produced by defeat 
 'were rendered tenfold greater by a comparison of num- 
 bers. The well-comiuanded and well-trained battalion 
 moves amidst rnyriads of opponents, ** like a giant with a 
 thousand hands which defend and strike according to 
 the dictates of one mind,^'^ and to whom an ill-disci- 
 plined multitude fighting hand to hand can offereffectu- 
 ally neither injury nor '^resistance.'' On the otheir hand, 
 o*t is true, to use the words of Malcolm, that ^' Hindustan 
 could never have been subdued but by the help of her 
 own children."^ At first it was Nizam against Arcot, 
 and Arcot against Nizam, then Mahratta against 
 Moslem, and Affghan against Hindu, Nor should it be 
 forgotten that to the early conviction of the amazing 
 odds which European arms and discipline secured, 
 much of the anxiety of the native princes to engage 
 their assistance must be traced. 
 
 When peace was signed in 1754, the first article of 
 the treaty bound the Companies of both nations ^^to 
 
 1 MBmoin of Olive, vol. i. Introduction. ' 
 
 3 Political Hifttory of Central India, by Sir John Mal^olrn. 
 
\ 
 
 nmiNNtNGS OF AGGRESSION ST 
 
 renounce for ever all Indian government and dignity* 
 and to interfere no morei in the dili'erences that might, 
 arise between the princes of the country/*^ Ohunda 
 Sahib was dead, and Mohomod Ali, the friend of the 
 English, was acknewledged Nawab of the Oarnatic* By 
 way of assuring fche unambitious equality of the rival 
 colonies, the French consented to relinquish four 
 valuable districts of which in the course of the war 
 they had acquired possession. But hardly was the ink 
 of this compact dry, when Mohammed Ali tempted the 
 servants of the English Company with half the spoil 
 which might be won, if they would help him against 
 certain feudatories, whom he represented as owing him 
 large arrears of tribute. The promise of booty dazzled 
 them, and they agreed. The French expostulated and 
 appealed to the terms of the treaty, and to their sur- 
 render of the four districts as a pledge of their desire 
 of peace ; but all in vain. They were driven once 
 more to arnss. But Dupleix was no longer at the head 
 of their affairs, and the only officer of ability they 
 possessed at the time in that quarter of the world, was 
 engaged in maintaining a perilous position in the Dec- 
 can. Their aflPairs grew desperate, and would have been 
 lost without further struggle, had not events still more 
 important suddenly called the attention of their oppo- 
 nents to another and more memorable scene. 
 
 J Azim-shah, son of the Emperor, filled for a season 
 the po3t of Soubahdar of Bengal. After him it was 
 occupied successively by Sujah Khan and Seraffrez, 
 his adopted son. Aliverdy Khan, one of the Omrah 
 of Sujah's court, had for his ability been appointed 
 Naib of Behar, aud eventually he rose in l7i59 to the 
 dignity of Soubahdar. His personal qualities were 
 such, that though inexorably firm as a ruler, the hand 
 of resentment was never uplifted against him. His 
 government for eighteen years was one of prosperity 
 and peace. He quelled the insubordination of lesser 
 chiefs, and acquired a reputation for wisdom and 
 humauity greater than most of his contemporaries, 
 
 1 Mill, book V I , oluip ii* 
 
iS EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 While the Company kept to their proper business as 
 traders, he steadily befriended them protecting their 
 rights, and extending their privileges; but he brooked 
 no disregard of his authority, and permitted no ex- 
 action or ill-usage of his people to go unredressed. 
 
 In 1749, the merchandise of certain American and 
 Hindu traders had been seized by the King's ships in 
 the Indian Sea, on the real or alleged ground that it 
 belonged to the French, with whom we were then at 
 war. Complaint was made to the Nawab, who there- 
 upon wrote to Fort William a pereraptory demand for 
 restitution. ** These merchants were the Kingdom^s 
 benefactors. Their imports and exports were an ad- 
 vantage to all, and their complaints were so grievous, 
 that he could not forbear any longer giving ear to 
 them. As the Company were not permitted to commit 
 piracies, he wrote them that, upon receipt of this, they 
 should deliver up all the merchants, goods and effects 
 to them, as also what appertained to him, otherwise 
 they might be assured of due chastisement, in such 
 manner as they least expected." The Nawab appeared 
 to be terribly in earnest -, for we find the Company's 
 •gents recommending the gift of a fine Arab horse to 
 his Highness, and nuzzurs to his courtiers, to *^ keep 
 him in temper/' The President at Calcutta tried to 
 «ajole the Armenians into signing a paper expressive 
 of satisfaction with the Company's procedure, under 
 threat of expulsion from the settlement if they did not 
 comply ; but this they stoutly refused to do ; and 
 Aliverdy having seized the English Factory at Cosim- 
 buzar, the dispute was only settled, after much nego- 
 tiation, by the payment as damage of twelve lacs o£ 
 ruppees. He had other differences with the Company; 
 but regarding them as valuable customers, with whom 
 it was not for his interest absolutely to quarrel, he took 
 care never to press matters to extremity ; and during 
 his reign their opulence increased, though they had 
 encroached bat little beyond the narrow confines allo- 
 tad them at the beginning of the century. 
 
 According to the custom of adoption, Aliverdy, 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGRESSION S3 
 
 being childless, designated his nephew, Suraj ud- 
 Dawla, as his heir ; and court cf Delhi, grateful 
 for long and faithful services, agreed to recognise him 
 as the future Soubahdar. A despatch to tha Court 
 of Direeters, September 18,1752, informs them that 
 Suraja had been waited on at Hooghly by the French, 
 Dutch, and English Governors - the last of whom he 
 had received with especial courtesy and distinction. 
 The usual presents were made, and the Governor and 
 his coadjutors returned from the interview exceedingly 
 well satisfied. They wrote, '^ We flatter ourselves that 
 the expense we tave been at on this occasion has 
 procured your great favour, and will be the means of 
 your honours' business being conducted without any 
 interruption from the Government for some time to 
 come/*' 
 
 Although not born in the land, these wise men of 
 the Bast were glad to bring their gifts of gold ; nor 
 was the frankincense of flattery forgotten. Condes- 
 cejiding to particulars, they have set down the cost 
 of these propitiatory offerings at 15,566 rupees (£1556) 
 in ready monev alone. ^ Their anticipations of future 
 favour were, however, doomed to disappointment. The 
 young Prince, though educated, it is said, with espe- 
 cial care by his uncle, inherited few of his high quali- 
 ties; and on his accession to the Nizamat in April 1756; 
 he was thrown without experience into circumastances 
 that might have tried a judgment more mature. He 
 has been accused of innumerable vices, and it is pro- 
 bable he had his share. But it is somewhat remark- 
 able that his enemies, w^o had an interst, if ever men 
 had such, in establishinsf their eager accusations,, 
 failed to make out the enormities which their invec- 
 tives lead us to anticipate. Whatever may hava been 
 the defects of his disposition, or understanding, tha 
 sudden height of power to which he found him^selfrai- 
 sed, the hoarded wealth he became master of,, iiud the 
 homage paid to him as sovereign of a greiikt and po; h- 
 
 \ DcBpateh to (ourfc, September 18, 1762. par. 3. 
 Z Long't f ndiftn Ejscards^ vol, i. p. 34, 
 
Si EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 lou3 domain, were little calculated to teach him pati^ 
 ence, caution, or forbearance in the exercise of autho- 
 rity : and he had abundant need of them. The Com- 
 pany possessed several prosperous factories at, Calcutta, 
 Cosimbazar, and other places ; and the French had 
 Bettlements also at Hooghly and Chandernagore. Just 
 then the prospects of the former were by no means 
 hopeful. The new Nawab was jealons of their position, 
 and the French were about making a vigorous effort to 
 attack their rivals in Asia. An expedition was known 
 to be preparing at L'Orient for that purpose. The force 
 at Calcutta was small, recruiting in England diffi- 
 cult,^ and the long expensive voyage made it impos- 
 sible to reinforce the garrison to any important extent. 
 On December 29, 1758, we find the Directors writing 
 out, '*We must recommend it you in the strongest man- 
 ner, to be as well on your guard as the nature and 
 circumstances of your Presidency will permit, to 
 defend our estate in Bengal; and in particular, that 
 you will do all in your power to engage the Nawab to 
 give you his protection, as the only and most effectual 
 measure f'^r the security of the settlement and pro- 
 perty. '' But ere those instructions arrived, the affairs 
 of the Company had fallen from bad to worse. Suraj 
 Dowala was not begotten in the likeness of his wise 
 predecessor. The activity then being shown in for- 
 tivying Calcutta aroused his suspicions, which the 
 explanation that they were intended to keep out the 
 Trench did not allay. In the midst of this distrust, an 
 officer of rank, who had been detected in malversation, 
 Bought aad found protection at the English town. 
 Suraja demanded the extradition of the fugitive; the 
 Governor not only refused, but treated his envoy with 
 open contumely. Incensed at this demeanour, he 
 declared ho would consider perseverance in such defi- 
 ance of his power as a declaration of hostilities. The 
 Calcutta Council persisted, and without further warn- 
 ing the Nawab took the field with several thousand 
 troops on the aOih May, and seized the factory at 
 
 1 Lbtiers from the Directors. 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGREStON. 55 
 
 Cosimbazar. He does not seem on this occasion to 
 have incuri*ed the reproach of wanton bloodshed, 
 Mr. Watts, Mr. Warren Hastings, and the rest of 
 Company's officers, were detained as prisoners, but 
 were otherwise well treated 
 
 The panic caused by this event at Caleutta is 
 described as being great. The garrison numbered but 
 two hundred regulars, and the militia, though more 
 numerous, were imperfectly armed, worse trained, and 
 without competent commanders. A resolute and guid- 
 ing'spirit was indeed their greatest want. The Council, 
 with cue exception, slunk away on board ship to a 
 safe distance from the place they were importent to 
 save, and thus made confusion worse confounded. Mr. 
 Holwell, who alone bravely remained, made a futile 
 effort at organising a defence, but no one seconded his 
 effort ] and the troops, getting possession of the liquor 
 stores, became drunk and unmanageable. He therefore 
 threw a letter of capitulation over the ramparts, and 
 on the 20th June 1 756 Fort William was surrendered 
 without a blow. The fallen Councillor and his friends 
 were taken bound into the presence of the Nawab. 
 With a humanity that ill accords with ferocity impu- 
 ted to him, he ordered their bonds to be removed, and 
 pledged his word as a soldier for their personal 
 safety. The catastrophe which followed iu a few 
 hours, if not the result of accident, does not clearly 
 connect itself with him as its deliberate author. At 
 night, when it became necessary to secure Mi*. Holwell 
 and the other prisoners, 146 in all, no place was, or 
 was said to be, available but tbe garrison prison, or 
 '* Black Hole,'' a cell only eighteen feet square, and 
 ventilated by two small windows securely barred. Into 
 this dungeon the 146 victims were thrust to pass the 
 hours of a tropical night. Tears, entreaties, persua- 
 sions, bribes, could not movd the pitiless sentries. In 
 the morning, only twenty-three emerged from the cell, 
 survivors ot the suffering of that memorable night. 
 One hundred and twenty-three victims perished by 
 the stupid cruelty of an unauthorised prison-guard : 
 
36 EMPinE IN ASIA. 
 
 a sad sam of hutnan misery not to be forgotten-^o! 
 irihainan violence not to be extenuated. But if history 
 is anything better than any old wife's tale, it must 
 keep acc9uats by double entry, and ^koep them fairly. 
 Men were still living at the time who could remember 
 how, by the orders of a Secretary of State, the unsus- 
 pecting inhabitants of a peaceful glen in Argyleshire 
 were beguiled into admitting a party of king's troops 
 into their dwellings, and were by them, at dead of 
 night, butchered in cold blood, and their wives and 
 little ones flung out to perish in the snow. History 
 does uot record that any inquisition for blood was 
 made, or that any of the princes, lords, and gentlemen 
 who, before and after the fact, were accessories there- 
 to, were called upon to suffer for the same. Precedent 
 w.ill not justify crime ; but when excuse is sought for 
 invasion, conquest, and the permanent disfranchise- 
 ment of a people, in one rash and ruthless act, perpe- 
 trated without premeditation or authority, the 
 historian, i? he be a true and faithful witness, will 
 turn back a leaf or two, and say, '* Let those that are 
 without sin amongst you cast the first stone.'' The 
 melancholy fate of these persons may be justly deplo- 
 red ; but it is neither just to distort or misrepresent 
 facts, as too frequently has been done. There is no 
 evidence that the Soubahdar knew of this transaction 
 until it was past and irremediable ; and there is direct 
 testimony that no indignity or hurt was either before 
 or after suffered by any of the prisoners at Calcutta 
 or Cosimbazar. Why, if he desired the death of these 
 helplss individuals, should the Nawab have suffered 
 three-and-twenty of them to go free to circulate the 
 appalling tale ? The hands are unfortunately not 
 clean that bring the revolting charge. They who 
 subsequently were at such pains to raise an uproar of 
 pity, were those by whose diserraceful abandonment 
 the sufferers were exposed to their doom ; and we shall 
 presently see how quickly they could forgive, when a 
 selfish purpose was to be gained, the calamity for 
 which they were in some degree answerable. 
 
SEGINNI^^GS OF AGGRESSION. 27 
 
 Tidings of the fate of Calcutta rapidly reached 
 Madras, and for the moment diverted all thoughts 
 from Carnatic affairs* A forece of 900 Europeans and 
 1500 sepoys under Colonel Ciive, with five of hia 
 Majesty^s ships under Admiral Watson, was collected 
 for the recapture of the Bengal settlement. They 
 arrived in the Hooglyon the 20th December, and found 
 the fugitive members of Council and a few others at 
 Fulta, a small town a few miles from Calcutta. The 
 few remaining days of the year were occupied in the 
 capture of a fort, in estr-blishing a base of operations, 
 and concerting measures for the assault on Calcutta,'^ 
 which was retaken on the 2nd January 1757. After 
 further defeats in the open field, finding the military 
 prowess of the Company's troops under Clive too much 
 for him, Suraja Dowla was glad to make peace. He 
 agreed to restore to the Company all their privileges 
 of trade, to make compensation for the losses sustained 
 by his occupation of Calcutta' and to offer no impedi- 
 ment to the completion of the ramparts. The treaty 
 was signed on 9th February 1757, as Clive wrote to the 
 Directors, on *'honrable and advantageous terms.'* 
 In the same month an offensive alliance was ratified; 
 Mr. Drake and the runaway Council were restored to 
 their posts; and being well paid for the damage done 
 to their property in the siege, were comforted. Clive'a 
 account of these gentlemen is amusing. Writing con- 
 fidentially to the Governor of Madras, he bids him be 
 on his guard "against anything they say, for they are 
 bad subjects, and rotten at heart. Their conduct at 
 Calcutta finds no excuse, even among themselves, and 
 the riches of Peru would not induce him to dwell 
 amongst them."i Ah, Clival don't be too virtuous. The 
 riches of Peru (being at the other side of the world) 
 might uot tempt thee, but think of the riches of Bengal 
 — here under thy hand, with nobody looking at thee, 
 except these comrades of thine — **rotten at heart.'* 
 Might not these rotten hearts induce thee to stay thy 
 departure, and closer intimacy blunt thy chivalroui 
 
 1 Mtimoiisof clive, vol, i, ohap. iU 
 
28 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 contempt of them ? What a pity we made peace Scr 
 soon ! True, the Soubahdar ia our ally now ; he has 
 been prompt to fulfil every promise j he is saluted in 
 all letters, speeches, and addresses as " our friend. '' 
 What of all this, if we can find some new execuse for' 
 getting at his treasures, — said to be innumerable? We 
 have been paid, to be sure, and sliaken hands of 
 amity- But then, is he not very rich ? — that is to say^ 
 is he not a tyrant V Ought we not to take humane and 
 philanthropic counsel together on the matter ? And 
 all the rotten-at-heart responded — -Yea. 
 
 When Suraja Dowla's attack on Calcutta was im- 
 pending, though France and England were then afc 
 war, the Council, in their terror, applied for succour 
 to the French as well as to the Dutch, with whom we 
 were at peace. The latter bluntly declined. The 
 former agreed, if the Company would exchange the 
 settlement of Calcutta for their at Chandernagore. 
 Tho Council had no powers to entertain such a pro- 
 position, and help at such a price was declined ; 
 but though an alliance on the part of the French 
 with the Sobahdar at this junctui-e would have 
 been highly embarrassing, and might have gained 
 for them material advantages, they generously decli- 
 ned to aid in exterminating their old competitors. 
 They also wish3d to enter in a treaty of neutrality 
 with the Company, and articles of agreement were 
 actually drawn up to that effect. But Admiral Wat- 
 son, in command of the British naval squadron, refused 
 to be bound by any such agreemont. Fearing that 
 the chagrin of the Freneh at the failure of the treaty 
 would lead them to join the Nawab, Clive recommen- 
 ded the ruthless alternative of surprising and destroy- 
 ing the settlement of Chandernagore. Admiral 
 Waston did not quite relish the prceeeding, and at 
 first actually opposed it. 
 
 Clive wrote to the Council on the 4th March 1757 :^-' 
 ** The immediate attack of Chandernagore becomes 
 
 I Unpublished Beoorda of the IndUn Goyerument by the KoTi 
 J. Long, Y. i. p. 88. 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGRESSION. 89 
 
 in my opinion absolutely necessary, if the neutrality 
 be refused. Do but reflect, gentlemen, what will be 
 the opinion of the world of these one late proceedings. 
 Did we not, in consequence of a letter received from 
 the Governor and Council of Chandernagore, making 
 offers of a neutrality witnin the Ganges, in a ^lanne^ 
 accede to it by desiring they would send deputies, and 
 that we would gladly come into such neutrality with 
 thern? and have we not, since their arrivel drawn out 
 articles that were satisfactory to both parties, 
 and agreed that each article should be reciprocally 
 signed, sealed, and sworn to ? What will the 
 Navvab thilik ? After the promises made him on 
 our side, arid after his consenting to guarantee this 
 neutr^slity, he had all the world will certainly think 
 that we are men of a trifling, insignificant disposition, 
 or that we are men without principles. You may be 
 assured the instant the French find their offers of 
 neutrality refused, they will imnaediately assist the 
 Nawab in all his designs againt us, if he has the least 
 intentions of not complying with the late articles of 
 "peace, it may then be too late to wish Mr. Watsou 
 had been pleased to pay more attention to our repre- 
 sentations. I must therefore request you will join with 
 me in desiring Mr. Watson a third time to ratify the 
 neutrality in the manner agreed upon, and if the refu- 
 ses, to desire he will attack Chandernagore by water 
 immediately, as I am ready to do by land with the 
 forces under my command.^' So, as the Admiral would 
 not consent to an armed neutrality with our French 
 neighbours in the East, the next best thing to do was to 
 fall upon them suddenly and smite them hip and thigh. 
 The Admiral agreed, and the return for French for- 
 bearance and desiref or peace was to be their extirpa- 
 tion from their factory, and the demolition of their 
 dwellings at Chandernagore. But the French were 
 living peaceably in the Nawab's dominions, under the 
 express guarantee of his protection; and it was neces- 
 sary to obtain his sanction to this breach of the peace. 
 On the 1st March, Mr. Watts, the Resident at Moor- 
 
30 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 shedabad, w%% directed to sound the Nawab on the 
 subject. He justly refused to recognise the pretext 
 that the expulsion of the French was necessary for 
 the Company's safety in Bengal. Admiral Watson 
 ingeniously suggested that they were bound by the 
 treaty to aid one another. " You are going to Patna 
 — you ask our assistance ; let us take Chandernagore, 
 and we will go with you even to Delhi if you will. But 
 have we not sworn reciprocally that the friends and 
 enemies of the one should be regarded as much by the 
 other ? and will not God^ the avenger of perjury, 
 punish us if we donot fulfil our oath ?''i The Soubah- 
 dar had never contemplafced such an interpretation of 
 the compact when he signed it, and he refused to aid 
 or countenance the deceit. Cajolery failings threats 
 were tried. On the 7th March, the Admiral wrote that 
 *^ he had sent for more troops ; and he would kind la 
 such a flame in the country as all the waters iu the 
 Ganges should not extinguish. '^^ 
 
 Unwilling so soon again to hazard the changes of 
 war, Suraja so far as to say that he would not interfere 
 in any measures the English might take *^ which were 
 strictly indispensable to their safety/' This was deemed 
 sufficient leave, and Chandernagore was taken and 
 sacked, only a few indigent widows* houses being left 
 standing. The Nawab was greatly incensed, and made 
 little secret of his sympathy with the French. He 
 gave the fugitives from Chandernagore an asylum, 
 corresponded with the French commanders, calling 
 Company "the disturbers of his country,'* and 
 expressing himself unable to "write about their 
 perfidy,"* That there was no just ground of complaint 
 against him, is evident from the confidential letters of 
 Clive, who said he ''had performed almost every article 
 4>f the treaty ; he had paid Mr. Watts three lacsof 
 rupees (£30,000); had delivered up all the factories, 
 with the money and goods taken in them, and little or 
 
 1 Memoirs of Clire, ?ol, i. chap, it. ^ Ibid. 
 
 ' Xalcr^oeptf d LebUra ride Loog^s Secordts, vol i. pp. 110, III. 
 
BEGlNmXGS OF AGGRESSION. SI 
 
 nothing was wanting/'^ To the Darbar of Moor- 
 shedabad very different language was addressed. 
 Ciive, who was now the dominant spirit in the Calcutta 
 Council, was bent on acquisition of territory and poli- 
 tical power; his appetite for conquest was whetted, 
 not satisfied, and the Nawab was to be goaded into 
 hostilities. The destruction of the other French fact- 
 nant refusal, accompanied with veheicent reproachtS. 
 Next day his resolution wavered, and he recalled the 
 messenger with expressions of regret. Again he 
 refused, and again consented. The dark shadows of his 
 fate began to haunt him. He believed he was betrayed, 
 and that the Company would be satisfied with nothing 
 short of his ruin. Yet, urgent and natural as these 
 misgivings were, he would have stated had one 
 wispered in his ear that they were literally and 
 speedily to be realised. It was clear that Suraja 
 Dowla would be no pliant partner in schemes for the 
 aggrandisement of the Company. Early in April, 
 therefore, Clive proposed to the Psesidentand Council 
 of Calcutta that they should enter into a secret 
 engagement with certain disaffected courtiers at Moor* 
 shedabad for the })Urpose of hurling their sworn ally 
 from the n]|,usnud of Bengal. 
 
 Ungifted with the stability of mind and adminis- 
 trative talenfcs of his predecessor, Suraj's reign had 
 not been one to please his peeple. Discontent was 
 widespread, and at Mo^ushedabad he was surrounded 
 by false friends and dissembling favourites. Like 
 James II., his chief officers and nearest kinsfolk were 
 ready to abandon him. Nor were there wanting features 
 of resemblance in the rueans employed and methods 
 used to compass revolution. Until assured of foreign 
 aid none were inclined to stir, but a comparatively 
 small force would be joined by half the army, and the 
 contemplated change might be effected without an 7 
 real struggle. Many persons of distinction were en- 
 gaged in the combination, at the head of which was 
 the most influential member of the reiging family. 
 ^ Hcmolxa ^l Clire, t^I i. Qhap iL 
 
B9 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 Here it was the nephew who was to be set up — therQ 
 the uncle. Mir Jaffir Ali Khan had married the sister 
 of the late Sobahdar. He was commander of the 
 forces, and to him it was proposed that he should take 
 the palace of Navyab-Nazim of Bengal. When all was 
 ripe for action, it was arranged that Olive shoulcj 
 suddenly take the field, and that Mir Jaffir should draw 
 off a large number of the Nawab's troops, ^ Meanwhile 
 jit was necessary to lull the suspicions of him who was 
 to be deposed ; and Olive's letters written during the 
 plot giv9 evidence of the pains that were taken for this 
 purpose, as well as of the diplomatic dexterity of the 
 writer. In one epistle he talks of " the perfect harmony 
 and friendship which subsisted^^ then between them :^ 
 and on the very eve of the crisis, lest the Soubahdar's 
 fears should be inconveniently excited, he mentions 
 that he wrote him a letter *^ which would calm his resent- 
 ment/' Resentment, — what for? Where there, then, wro-f 
 ngs to resent? The Oouncil became uneasy as the corres- 
 pondence was protracted, and on one occasion wrote to 
 Glive beseeching him to employ confidential agents, an^ 
 to commit nothing to pape^*; but he was not to be scared 
 by the peril of exposure, and Jaughing at the fears of 
 **rotton at heart, ^^ he went his dauntless way. At 
 length, on the I3tli June, all the preparations were 
 \ ready, the march on Meorshedabad was commenced, 
 and Suraja, roused too late from his dream of doubt 
 and indecision advanced to meet his enemies- It ha^ 
 been arranged that Mir Jaffir should jjoin the forces 
 under his coumand with those of the Oomparu at 
 Cutwa ; but on arriving at the rendzevous, Olive was 
 perplexed to find only a letter from his confederate, 
 promising to join him on the field of battle. The 
 treacherous suspected treachery, and a council of war 
 decided on retreat, fearing that their small force might 
 be surrounded and entirely cut off 5 but Olive, though 
 he at first wavered in his resolution, took caunsel with 
 himself, resolved to trust his ally, and to stake all on' 
 the chances of a battle. Pushing forward with his 
 little army of 100 Europeans and 2100 sepoySj^ 
 3 Mill, book IV. chfip iii. 2 MeraoirB of Clire, 'yol. J. oha,p. r, 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGRESSION 33 
 
 he reached the village of Plassey a little after mid- 
 night, where he found the Nawab's army, numbering 
 60,000 foot, 18,000 horse, and 50 guns, securely posted 
 behind intreiichments. The battle was begun soon 
 after dawn of the 28rd June by an attack on the part 
 of the Nawab^s troops, who thus left the shelter of 
 their intrenchments ; and it had not lasted long, be- 
 fore Mir Jaffir was observed moving off with a large 
 bodv of horse. The critical moment had arrived, and 
 Clive ordered an advance of his small but resolute 
 corps. The ill-trained numbers of the Soubahdar, 
 disheartened by the deieoraon of their con rades, 
 scattered in onfusion, and he himself fled the field 
 with 2000 men. At Moursliedabad, his fallen fortunes 
 left him but few friends, ond quitting the palace in 
 the diso-uise of a fakir, accompanied by two servants, 
 he endeavoured to reach the French, who were 
 advanciiig to his aid. But he was discovered at Raje 
 Muhl, taken back to the capital, and there put to 
 death. 
 
 The prey had fallen ; it remained to divide the skin, 
 Clive, at the head of a select body-guard, entered 
 Moorshedabad on the /ZSth June, and on the 29tii, Mir 
 Jaihr Ali Khan was duly installed asNawab Nuzim of 
 Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. The bill of costs present- 
 ed by Clive and the Council for their assistance in his 
 elevation was a heavy one: 1,280,000 rupees was 
 demanded and actually paid to the members of Council 
 for their {personal share, of whicb Mr. Drake and 
 Colonel Clive received 280 000 rupees ea;*h, and Watts, 
 Beecher, and Kilpatric-k, 240,000 rupees each. Clive 
 also took an additional present of £60,000 from the 
 new Soubahdar, When, in later years, he w^as ques^ 
 tioned before a committee of the House of Commons^ 
 touching this princely donation, he rer*,alled the gem- 
 crowned piles of gold which he had seen in the trea- 
 sury of Moorshedabad, and swore he was astonished at 
 his own moderation: and his biographer accepts this 
 na a satisfactory proof that Clive was iiot iuflaenc*i 
 I £vid€u^e befcro beiect Com(uit&e« ia 1772. 
 8 
 
U EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 by sordid or mercenary motives. The settlement of 
 so nice a question may be left to the metapysicians. 
 Less subtle intellects would deduce from the story, that 
 civil war must have been a speculation worth pursuing 
 when it yielded sums so handsome for promotion - 
 money. Besides the fcwelve lacs of private spoil, the 
 Company were to ba paid 10,000.000 rupees; the 
 European inhabitants of Calcutta, for damage sus- 
 tained in the late occupation, 5,00,000 rupees; tha 
 Armenian residents, 2,000,000 rupees ; and a further 
 Bum of 5,020,000 rupees was to be divided amongst tha 
 army and navy. The total amounted to £2,697,750 
 sterling ; but the exchequer of Moorshedahad wa» 
 wholly unequal to such demands, and after much 
 wrangling the amount of the compensations was sub- 
 aequently reduced to one half, which was paid, all but 
 five lacs, in specie and jewel. 
 
 The fitting climax of tha drama yet remained. 
 Associated with Mir Jaffir in the revolution wera 
 Omichund and Jugget Seit, two of the rich bankers 
 who enjoyed so much favour and influence with tha 
 Governments of the East. The notoriety of their opul* 
 ence, the habitual security in which they lived, and 
 their great political power, is in itsalf a comprehonsiva 
 reputation of the ignorant pretence that these Govern* 
 raents were the mere transient and capricious alterna- 
 tions of despotism. Credit is brittle ware at best, and 
 needs all the care and shelter of what is esteemed tha 
 subtlest system of civilisation to preserve it unharmed: 
 and banking is precisely that part of the credit system 
 most susceptible of injury from the breath of violence, 
 and most sure to perish at the very apprehension of 
 arbitrary usage. The bankers of India could no more 
 have accumulated their vast wealth, and maintained 
 their importance in the State, had they not been 
 •xempt from the fear of outrage, than the exotics we 
 kave borrowed from their land, whose luxuriance wa 
 protect in houses of glass, could gain or preserve that 
 luxuriance if exposed to the rude caprices of our fickla 
 irtftther The universal safety gf Oriental ]i;ia&kers ii 
 
BEGINNINGS OF AGGRS3I0M. 3ft 
 
 still more instructive when we learn tbat their richoi. 
 
 generally lay in securities of various kinds, which thay 
 held of men of every class, from the trader to- the- 
 prince. Without their aid, no Gravernment ventured, 
 to undertake permanent or expensive schemes. Their 
 friendship was courted by the Minister, and purchased 
 by favours from the throne. They had better mean« 
 of intelligen.ce than any other men ; thej^ were the 
 best of political agents, and the leaa-t easily deceived. 
 Hence, the wish of all the confederates agapinsfc Suraja 
 Dovvla to engage Jugget seit, who carried oav business 
 at Moorshedabad, and Omichund, whose kouse was ati 
 Calcutta, as participators in their desigm The avaa:tice 
 of Omichund was keenly excited He entered readily^ 
 into the whole intrigue, a^ad soou gamed knowledgo- 
 which rendered him> ioidi spendable; He had the oar o£ 
 the Soubahdar at all times, and felt that, having both, 
 sides in hi »* power, he coudd exact from^ ea^h hdaowa 
 terms. Under- the threat of betrayal,, he- claimed ant 
 immense- sum. as his sliare- of the spoil, andi premjitoi?^ 
 ily demanded that a clause^ guaranteeing, hi rn should 
 be inserted in the treaty between Mi p JatRr and the 
 Company. Oraichund was master of the situation, aii.<J 
 the Council felt there was« no alternative but compli*-- 
 aucev Clive, fertile in expeJienits, came to the- rescue^ 
 Two- treaties were drawn: up — one on white- paper, tha- 
 other o« red One- contained the grant to- OnMchund> 
 ill t he oi/h e r it w as om i t ted. Both p a*p era we re sign e d 
 by all the parties- ex''ept Admiral WatsoUy who dec- 
 lined putting his signature to the cheat. The omission: 
 would have raised suspicion^ and Clive made all safeh 
 by forging Watson's name. The unsuspecting Uind-oo- 
 was satisfied ; but when the^ time came for settling 
 accoanta among the conspirators, Clive hade an inter- 
 preter inform the old man of the trick of which he had 
 been the du^.e — that the treaty containi^or liis. name 
 was a sham, and that having asked too much, he waa 
 to have nothing. Stunned at his ruin of his golden 
 dreams, Omichund fell to the ground insensible. He 
 •lewly recovered, bat remained for the rest of hift dayg 
 
30 t^MPIEE IN ASIA. 
 
 an idiot. 
 
 When the news of the retaking of Calcutta and 
 the conclusion of peace reached England, public satis- 
 faction was naturally great. But when the Court of 
 Directors and the Ministry, announced the subsequent 
 events, exultation r.nd rejoicing knew no bounds. The 
 English public were kept long in ignorance of the 
 trutl^; they were dazzled by the glittering trophies of 
 acquisition. It were well for fheir own memory, and 
 for the character of the nation thus deceived, if the 
 court of George II or the Ei^st India Company could 
 have pretended that they were equally uninformed. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PLUNDERFOL TIMBS. 
 
 1757—1764. 
 
 "Then was seen wh^t We believe to be the mo«fc f tightfal of all spectacles, 
 the eti-fiigth of civ.'liutioQ without ica mercy* To all other despotism 
 ineie is a ch<-ck, imuerfect indeed, acd liable to gros.<* abase ; but still 
 iufficifiit to preiserve society f I oin the lasc extreme of misery. ^ tima 
 comes when the evils of saumissiou are obvioualy gre ter than those of 
 resistance when fear itself begeie a aott of courage, when a convulsire 
 burst of pof>ular rage wain^ tyrants liOt to presume too far on the pa- 
 tience of maukin i, B(jt against misj^ovt-rnmf'nt such as tnen aflBlicted 
 beugjii, it was imuoHsible to st'ugglt. ihe superior intelligence and 
 energy of tne (iominant class ^ade their poorer irre8i^tible. A war of 
 Bengalees against Euglishmen was like a wM- of sheep against wo.ves," 
 
 — LOKD MaOAULAY, 1. 
 
 THE terms on which Mir JafEr obtained the co-Dpera- 
 tion of the Company were not allowed to remain 
 in the insecure form of spoken promises ; they were 
 embodied in a soleam treaty of thirteen articles, dated 
 June 1757 ; sworn to by *' God and the Prophet^' on 
 one side, and declared on the Holy Gospels and befora 
 God, on the other. Colnel Olive, Admiral Watson, 
 Governer Drake, and Mr. Watts, were the signataries 
 on behalf of the Company, whom they bound to ^* assist 
 Mir Jaffir Khan Bahader with all their force to obtain 
 the Soubaship of the provinces of Bengal, Behar, and 
 Orissa, and further to assist him to the utmost against 
 all his enemies whatever, as soon as called upon to 
 that end.^' On his part, the Nawab agreed to an offen- 
 sive and defensive alliance with the Company; to 
 possess them of all the effects and factories belonging 
 to the French, whom he was not to permit again to 
 settle in his Soubahdary ; to pay the pecuniary com- 
 pensation already mentioned; to give them several 
 tracts of land within, and 600 yards extent beyond, 
 the ditch of Calcur,ta ; to give them the zemindary or 
 1 Hiacoricul Essay— Warren Hutttings, toI iii. 
 
9$ EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 leasohold of revenue of all land to the south of Calcnttm 
 to mamtain their troops when in his service; and not 
 to erect fortifications below the Hooghly. But the fine 
 ^old of this agreement soon grew dim. Mir Jaffir had 
 the Company's friends-hip while he could pajforit; 
 but he soon found that the glove of a friend may cover 
 the mailed hand of a foe. India, at its best^ was not 
 ^he mine of fabulous wealth that covetous Europeans 
 fondly imagined. Foreign invasion and domestic strife 
 h-ad seriously crippled the industrial resources of the 
 country, and hence the payments guaranteed by the 
 treaty fell into arrear. Mir JafEr was a soldier, not a 
 financier, and he knew net how to meet importunate 
 demands save by fresh exactions from anoverDurdened 
 people. His troops were mutinous for pay, disquiet- 
 »de was general, and 'the whole machinery of govern- 
 ment was out of gear. Yet the importunities of the 
 Council of Calcutta were unremitting, and the demea- 
 nour became such at last as to extort bitte^r reproaches 
 from the impoverished Prince, whom they professed to 
 treat as the ruler of Bengal. On a threatened invasioa 
 by the Shahzada, heir-apparent of the Great Mogul, 
 they furnished, at the Nawab's request, military suc- 
 cour, in accordance with the terms of the alliance, and 
 the Vizier of Oude was repulsed with great loss by 
 Colonel Forde, Clive's favourite lieutenant. These 
 •rents tended still further to confirm the prestige of 
 British prowess in the eyes of the natives, and to exalt 
 still higher in their own esteem the handful of intrepid 
 adventurers who had broken in the ivory doors of power. 
 For his services in this campaign Olive was created an 
 Omrah of tha viceregal court By his own account of 
 the transaction, it appears that he demanded an estate 
 to support his new dignity, and the Soubahdar con- 
 ferred on him a jaghire valued at £27,000 a year. 
 
 Meanwhile, on the Coromandel coast, fortune had 
 
 Teered round. Lally, a man af versatile genius and 
 
 romantic courage, had undertaken to retrieve the lua- 
 
 •es of the French, and for a time he seemed likely to 
 
 keap liia word. Fort St David surrendered, and 
 
PLUNDERFUL TIMES. 89 
 
 llftdras was besieged, until relieved by Admiral 
 Pocock, after the battle of Condore, in which the 
 French were signally defeated. Forde then laid siege 
 lo Masulipatam, which was taken on April?, 1759, with 
 much booty. Eventually, with a territory extending 
 eighty miles along the coast, and twenty in the interior, 
 it was retained as a permanent possession, with the 
 acquiescence of the Nizam, 
 
 If Mir jafRr had to endure the mortification of 
 appearing, in the sight of his subjects, too much in- 
 debted to his foreign allies for military support, and 
 with having mortgaged for it too deeply the immediate 
 revenues of his country, he might at least console him- 
 self with the belief that his own pre-eminence and that 
 of his family were secure. He could hardly have be- 
 lieved that already those in whom he trusted, not wisely 
 but too well, were privily planuing how he mipfht be 
 Superseded, and his lineal descendants set aside. There 
 is a letter from Clive to Mr. Pitt, the First 
 Minister, bearing the date of 7th January 1759^ 
 wherein he depicts the weakness of the Nawab^s ad- 
 ministration ; hints that they could easily find a pre- 
 tence for breaking with him ; describes his son,Meerau 
 as so inimical to the English ** that it would be unsafe 
 trusting him with the succession ; and that 2000 Euro- 
 peans would enable the Company to take the sover- 
 eignty upon themselves.^* He then combats the wotiou 
 of the project being too vast fer execution ; urges ita 
 importance as being the ground work for still further 
 acquisitions; and finally appeals to the prospect which 
 the possession of so rich and populous a kingdom 
 would afford of diminishing the national debt. This 
 notable epistle was delivered by Mr. Walsh, Olive's 
 private secretary^ and that gentleman gives an accoun.t 
 of the Minister's observation on tlie subject, in aa 
 ofiicial interview. He seemed averse to the enterprise 
 being undertaken in the name of the Cro'^vn, lest the 
 objection should arise of the King being likely t© 
 •btain thereby an income independent of Parliament. 
 I M«[uoirB ^f Clire, vol. iir ehap z. 
 
49 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 It is probable, moreover, that he discerned the jealousy 
 with which the aristocracy of birth would regard anj 
 scheme endangering the exclusivenesa of that political 
 ascendancy which they had enjoyed for the threescore 
 years and ten that had elapsed since the Revolution. 
 How easily their jealousy of rival wealth, derived from 
 foreign ventures and possessions was aroused, when 
 fortunes acquired in Asia began to attract notice bj 
 emulous display and the purchase of parliamentary 
 influence, was not long afterwards seen. 
 
 Olive quitted India in February 1760, to enjoy at 
 home the rest and renown he had earned by his mar- 
 vellous exploits The Directors voted him a diamond- 
 Lilted sword, George III. created him an Irish peer, 
 and expressed the highest admiration of his conduct 
 and achievements, and Mr Pitt, in his place in parlia- 
 ment, pronounced upon him one of his most elaborate 
 eulogies. Possessed of an income of £40,000 a year, 
 he expended no little portion of his suddenly acquired 
 wealth in the purchase of rotten boroughs, and at the 
 head of his nominees, in 1761, he entered the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 He had left behind him as President at Calcutta 
 his friend and confidant, but feeble imitator in the 
 ways of aggressive rule, Mr. Vansittart. Under this 
 gentleman's guidance the Council concerted a coup- 
 d^etat for the purpose of deposing the Navvab from the 
 active authority of government, which they designed 
 to put into the hands of his son-in-law, Mir Kasim. 
 Access to the Prince at Moorshedabad was easy and 
 unquestioned, and the visit of the President, attended 
 by a nuinerous body of troops, excited no surprise. 
 While the escort surrounded the palace to cut off aid 
 or exit, the aged Soubahdar was formally requested 
 to relinquish the reins of administration in favour of 
 his younger and more pliant relative, while retaining 
 the title and income of Nawab. Bewildered by this 
 unexpected blow, and bereft of all means of resistance, 
 Mir Jaifir, it was thought, would have quietly succum- 
 bed. But the old man did not forget his dignity. H« 
 
PLUNDEEFtfL !FtMEg. 41 
 
 scornfully repelled the proposal, bitterly denounced 
 the treachery with which he had been treated ; and, 
 without hesitation, chose in preference to quit his 
 capital and retire to a private residenee at Calcutta, 
 rather than submit to play a nominal part in the 
 G-overnment where he had hitherto been supreme. 
 Addressing the President, he said, *^ You have thought 
 proper to break your engagements. I would not 
 mine. Had I such designs, I could have raised twenty 
 thousand men, and fought you. My son Meeran fore- 
 warned me of all this. Send me either te Lord Olive, 
 or let me go to Mecca ; if not, let me go to Calcutta, 
 for I will not stay in this place. " His intimacy with 
 Clive led him to imagine that he would do him 
 justice, and he clung to this delusion to the last, 
 leaving him in his will a sum of £60,000. 
 
 These shameless proceedings were not, indeed, una- 
 nimously approved of in the Council, A minority 
 warmly objected, and those who persisted deemed it 
 necessary to frame some plausible excuse. On Novem- 
 ber 10, 1760, a memorial, drawn up by Mr. Holwell, 
 set forth *'the causes of the late change in the Soubah- 
 ship.^' In this document the Nav\ab is charged with 
 almost every enormity, but particularly with wanton 
 taking of life without justifiable cause. Bight persons 
 of distinction are specially mentioned, and over seven- 
 ty others are stated to have been put to death by his 
 capricious orders. Six years later, and when Mir Ja- 
 IRr was no more, the Council admitted they had ascer- 
 tained all this to be fabrications. Addressing the Direc- 
 tors on 30th September i766, they say, ** In justice 
 to the memory of the late Nawab Mir Jaffir, we think 
 it incumbent on us to acquaint you that the horrible 
 massacres wherewith he is charged by Mr. Holwell in 
 his address to the proprietors of East India stock, are 
 cruel aspersions on the character of the Prince, which 
 have not the least foundation in truth. The several 
 persons there affirmed, and who were generally thought 
 to have been murdered by his order, are all now living 
 except two, who were put to death without the Nawab's 
 
4S SMPJRE IN ASU. 
 
 consent or knowledsre; a^d it is with additional satiV 
 faction wo can assure yon, that they are lately released 
 from coufineraeiit by the present Soubahdar, which 
 fully evinced the entire confiidence lie reposes in the 
 Company's protection against all attacks on liis Gro- 
 vernraent." 
 
 The iniquity of this transaction finds few apologists 
 even among those who have taken upon themselves to 
 dress and to enamel Oriental deeds for European view. 
 The treaty with Mir Jafiir still subsisted; and measured 
 by theelastic rules of that convenie.it code of public 
 morality which conquerors in all ages have striven to 
 pass off under the guise of international law, there was 
 no pretence for such behaviour. He was the sworn 
 and blood-knit ally of tie Company; and if ever men 
 were bound by decency to maintain at least the forms 
 of good faith, the Governor and Council of Calcutta 
 were so bouiid. Yet^ being so^ for the sum of £200, 
 000, to them privately paid, and for the cession of thre« 
 rich and populous provinces, they sold their too con- 
 fidiTig friend and ally. The terms of their service to 
 Mir Kasim were foriually drafted in a treaty, which, 
 as far as the advantage he derived from it, was only to 
 be for life 5 but to the Company was surrendered wholly 
 and for ever the fertile districts of Burdwan, Midua- 
 pore, and Chittagong. For their dexterity in cozening 
 Mir Jaffir he paid Mr. Vansittart ^58,000, Mr. Holweil 
 £30, 937, Mr. Sumner £28,000, General Caillaud £22, 
 916, and proportionately smaller sums to other mem- 
 "bers of the Council. 
 
 The necessary firman of investiture was obtained 
 from Delhi, a detailed aocoiint of the revolution was 
 transmitted to the Directors and Government in Eng- 
 land, and the Nawab -Regent entered upon the exercise 
 of his functions. He quickly displayed a capacity for 
 government which bid fair to reconcile the people to 
 his authority, to restore the country to health aud 
 vigour, and, if it were possible, to vindicate his share 
 in the acts whereby he had been raised to power. By 
 a rigorous economy of the public revenue he was abl» 
 
PLUNDEEFUL TIMES. 48 
 
 to salisfy tke arrears long due to the army, and to in- 
 crease its efficiency. He ratpidly acquitted the Com- 
 pany';* <;laims. He made himself master of the wants 
 and weeknesses of his subjects, and took prompt meas- 
 ures for the redress of their grievances. It was not 
 long before his energy in this directien brought him 
 into collision with his allies. At an early period of 
 their settlement in Bengal, the Company had t)btained 
 ft firman exempting them from customs, dues, and the 
 payment of tolls along the roads and navigable rivers, 
 on the transit of their goods. Thedustuck (certificate) 
 of the heads of their factories had the virtue of an 
 imperial permit. They had also established the vicious 
 custom of paying their servants in the East a nominal 
 and insufficient salary, with the liberty of engaging 
 in private trade. The liberty thus accorded gradually 
 grew into a license to neglect the Company's trade on 
 the one hand, and to oppress the natives on the other. 
 An official free pass was made to cover the goods of 
 private individuals all over the country. When the 
 toll-collectors questioned the validity of the dustuck, 
 and stopped the goods, as they were rightfully entitled 
 to do, they were arrested, imprisoned, loaded with fet- 
 ters, and even beaten. The Compay's servants, for 
 their own private profit, were thus getting into their 
 hands the whole trade of the country, and were practi- 
 cally drying up one of the sources of public revenue. 
 Every subordinate Bnsrlish agrent assumed the airt 
 and profited by the prestige of participation in the 
 joint-stock of power. Vast fortunes were accumulated 
 rapidly, none knew how, for there were none whose 
 business it was to inquire. Individualised spoliation 
 ran loose, and only came to rest when weary of 
 the burthen of booty, or spent with predatory toih Not 
 content with the advantage wrung from this injustice, 
 they went even further, and turned general dealers 
 inland, which trade they also exercised free of duty. 
 In every village and market they undersold the native 
 shopkeeper in rice, paddy, fish, straw, bamboos, and 
 other commodities. They compel led the natires to buy 
 
44 EMPIRE IN Asia. 
 
 and sell at their own price, and enforced their will 
 with personal violence. The harassed and dismayed 
 inhabitantS'Seldom ventured to resist. Grievous com- 
 plaints of these enormities reached Mir Kasim itom 
 all quarters, and he presented the strongest remons- 
 trances against them to the Council.^ Mr. Ellis, the 
 Resident at Patna. was among the most prominent in 
 tbe violation of fiscal authority, and mjst of the Council 
 were too much implicated to be the willing authors of 
 a reformation. They affected to doubt or den 7 tho 
 existence of th.e injury, and declared the Nawab's re- 
 monstrances to be an evidence of ingrpatitude which 
 ought to be reproved. When he offered to agree to a 
 transit duty of 9 per cent., though it was piilch less 
 than that paid by the natives, they met him with a 
 reluctant ofier to pay 2J per cent on salt alone. At 
 last the neofotiations ended in a compromise, and a 
 treaty was signed in Decembor 1762, binding the 
 Company to pay a small fixed duty on theii* internal 
 trade. But the majority of the Council were jealous 
 of the popularity and success of the Regent. He would 
 not wink at their frauds or suffer their violence, and 
 it was necessary, therefore, to pick a quarrel with 
 him; and this they did by publicly annulling the treaty, 
 declaring that the President had no authority to sign 
 it. Indignant at being thus trifled with, the Nawab 
 issued a decree abolishing all internal duties, thus 
 putting all classes in the country on an equal footing. 
 The Council demanded its revocation, and preparations 
 for hostilities were made on both sides. Some boats 
 containing arms were stopped by Mir Kasim's orders; 
 they were afterwards released, yet this was made the 
 pretext for the plunder of Patna by a European force. 
 But reinforcements arriving?, the native Governor tur- 
 ned the s 'ales on the following day, and compelled 
 the aofgressors to capitulate, Mr. Ellis, the obnoxious 
 Resident, being of the number. The imprisonment of 
 every Englishman in the province was also ordered ; 
 Tbut only in the case of Mr. Amyatt, who had been 
 
 1 MU1» book XV. ciiap. T. 
 
PLVNDEBFUl TIMES. 4S 
 
 acting as medi^.tor between the two Grovernments, waa 
 any life sacriticed ; and his death was occasioned bj 
 the indiscretion of his escort, who drew upon them^ 
 Belyes a volley by which he was killed. 
 
 Though Mir Kasan had been at some pains to orga- 
 nise and equip his arrny after the Euro^eau pattern, 
 victory did not declare m his favour. Moorshedabad 
 was taken on 19th June, and he was again defeated 
 in a general engagement at Geriah,oij the 2nd August, 
 after such a resistance as the invaders had not enco- 
 untered before in any stru<j:gle wjth native troops, 
 He made another stand at the pass of Oodwa, and for 
 a whole month defended it with judgment and resolu- 
 tion. Mongheer, which he bad made his capital, fell 
 in October ; and now, finding his resources exhausted 
 and fortune against him, in a paroxyrm of rage and 
 despair he ordered the execution of Mr. Ellis and the 
 prisoners from Patna, to whose conduct he mainly 
 ascribed his downfall. He then took refuge for some 
 time in Oude, and died at Delhi in 1777, in obscurity 
 and indigence. When the Company found that Mir 
 Kasim would not make his country's interests subser- 
 vient to theirs, they entered into negotiations with 
 Mir Jaffir for resuming active authority ; and, on 
 the 10th July 1763, a new treaty was signed, by which 
 the Company engaged to reinstate him in the full ex- 
 ercise of all the executive powers, rights, and functioug 
 of Soubahdar. On his part, Mir Jaffir ratified the 
 previous treaty of 1757 ; granted afresh and confirmed 
 to the Company the chucklas (districts) of Burdwan, 
 Midnapore, and Chittagong, tor defraying the expen- 
 ies of their troops ; •* confirmed their privilege of tra- 
 ding free from all duties, taxes, and impositions, except 
 in the article of salt, on which 2J per cent, was to be 
 levied on the Hooghly market-price ; '' gave them 
 balf the saltpetre from Pnrnea, and allowed no others 
 to make purchases of that article ; and gave them half 
 the chunam (lime) prepared in the district of Sylhet 
 for five years. He agreed to *' maintain 12,000 horg© 
 and 12,000 foot in the three provinces, and beaide* 
 
46 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 which, the Company's troops were to attend him when- 
 ever they were wanted ;'' to receive, whereever he 
 should fir his court, a Resident or political agent, and 
 to appoint a like official on his part at Calcutta ; to 
 reverse and annul the free trade edict of Mir Kasim, 
 the differential tolls and duties to be levied on the 
 natives as before ; to *^ give thirty lacs for defraying 
 the expenses of the war'* with the superseded Re^^ent : 
 to reimburse losses incurred by private individuals, 
 either in money or by assi^rmaents of land; and not ta« 
 ** allow the French to erect fortifications, maintain* 
 forces, hold lands, zemindaries, <Sc.l*. but to make them 
 pay and carry on trade'' as f»>rmerly. Experience 
 had taught the aged Prince that the pledges and 
 promises of his allies were not trustworthy, and he 
 sought to obtain some higher guarantee for the fnlfil- 
 meut of these new covenants than that afforded by 
 the signatures of the ever-changing Council at 
 Calcutta. The terms of his demand, appended to tha 
 treaty, and accepted by all the members ot the Council^ 
 are worthy of historic note. There they stand fall to 
 the brim with reproach of broken faith. 
 
 ** I now make this request, that you will writ© in a 
 proper manner to the Company, and also to tl'e King 
 of England, the particulars of our friendship and 
 union ; and procure for me writings and encourage* 
 ment, that my mind may be assured from that quarter 
 that no breach may ever happen between me and the 
 English, and that every Governor, Councill'or, and 
 chiefs of the English that are here, or may hereafter 
 eorae, may be well disposed and attached to me/* 
 He then pro^^eeds to enumerate many ways in which 
 mutual forbearance and respect by subordinates on 
 each side ought to be enjoined and enforced. It has 
 never been even pretended that, by him or his succes- 
 sors, any attempt was made to depart from the stipula- 
 tions of this treaty ; yet, by degrees, one after another 
 of its covenants have been infringed and frittered 
 away by the stronger party, to the detriment of the 
 weaker, until at lait it bat bt^ea coolly proposed, in a 
 
PLUNDEKFULL TIMES^ 47 
 
 ■uppressed recommendation by a Secretary of State^ 
 that the whole substance and spirit of this funda- 
 mental treaty shonld be set at nought, and that the 
 very existence of a Soubahdar of Bengal, from whom 
 we were glad in 1763 to accept grants of land and 
 privileges, should, after the lifetime of the present 
 Prince, on grounds of financial expediency be publicly 
 denied. 
 
 Suja-ul-DowIa, the Vizior of Oude, warmly espoused 
 the cause af the fugitive Regent and to threats of the 
 Company's hostility returned* a dignified rebuke of 
 their ill-concealed designs. ^*To what/' he wrote, **can 
 all these wrong proceedirxgs be attributed, but to an 
 absolute disregard of the courts (of Delhi), and to a 
 wicked design of seizing the country yourselves. I£ 
 these disturbances have arisen from your own 
 improper devices, deviate from such improper 
 behaviour in future; interfere not in the affaira of 
 government ; withdraw your people from every part, 
 and send them to their own country ; carry on the 
 Company's trade as formerly, and confine yourselves 
 to your own commercial affairs.'' Shah Alum also 
 began to be alarmed at the state of affairs in Bengal, 
 and with the Vizier he entered the province at the 
 head of a powerful force in 1764. 
 
 For some months desultory skirmishes greatly 
 harassed the European army, but a pitched battle was 
 finally fought at Buxar, in which they were victorious. 
 The Vizier sued for peace, which the Company would 
 •nly grant on condition of Mr. Kasim's expulsion 
 from Oude; the Padishah opened separate communica- 
 tions with the victors, with whom he made his own 
 terms. Ultimately peace was concluded by the 
 cession of the districts of Allahabad and Korah by 
 the Vizier to the Padishah; and while the negotia- 
 tions lingered, in January 1765, Mir Jaffir died, and 
 was succeeded by his son, Nudjum^ttl-Dowlai 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THEDKWAlfKT. 
 
 1765. 
 
 •** la contiiderafcion of the Rervic^^s of the English Company, we have 
 
 granied t)Hi)i fc^ie Devy.'iHiy of tne pr'Wiav-.-s of 3 ".-"^I) Bebar, :ui(J 
 Ot'i«5i!^, HH an U!turna:au (gift). It is reqaisite tbub tl»e naid Cona» 
 paoy engag-t- t* be security for the «uiii uf twenty !«ix lacS a year 
 for Our roynl revenue, which puni hits b^^en appointed from the 
 NaWjib Nu(ijam-ul-I)owia Bahauder, and tii» the Ct)aipaU3; artj obliged 
 to keep up Uiarge army for B iigul, we have grai tea ttiem whaieo* 
 ever ma;? remiiiii ont of tiie F«v«nue, aftnr remitting- the sum cf 
 twenty-six lacu, and providing for the expenses of tae Nizamuc." 
 
 — FiEMAN OF Shah alum I 
 
 TTTHEN the partakers in the first harvest of spoil re- 
 
 ' ' turned to Enorland, laden with unlooked for 
 riches, wonder, curiosity, envy, and emulation filled 
 the minds of men. Dreams of speculation and adven- 
 ture, such as had quickened the popular pnlse after 
 Raleigh's voyage of discovery, or when the city had 
 been bewitched by the golden promises of Law, once 
 more occupied the thi>ughts of youth and age, of the 
 well-to-do and the runagate. Olive was looked upon 
 as another Cortez, who had, for the benefit of his 
 countrvraen, broken into a distant storehouse of ex^ 
 haustless wealth. The way was opened for the at- 
 tainment of treasure without toil, and the enjoyment 
 of power without the waste of years in apprentice- 
 ship. Who would not go for a share in the Indian 
 lottery ? The scene was distant, the passage long, 
 the climate tropical, and the manners of the natives 
 strange. But every wastrel who had courage left^ — 
 every bankrupt whose credit was run out, — every reck- 
 less soldier who had neither money or interest to 
 secure promotion, — every daring seaman who was 
 1 Firman of Gifb of Dewanny to the Company , 12th AugoBt 1765. 
 
THE DEWANNT. 49 
 
 impatient of the rough nights and scant wages of 
 winter voya^j^es in the German Sea, — every younger 
 son of quality who, bred in ease and pleasure, 
 despaired of linding a fat living or a place at court, 
 a leiral sinecure or an heiress for a wiTe, be^an to 
 meditate exploits in Bengal or the Deccan ; 
 
 '* To 8piU a few bright dropi of blood, 
 And Btriiigbt ri8e ap a Lord," 
 
 The hope of Oriental spoil spread like an epide* 
 jnic ; and like other diseases, its taint once gene- 
 rally diffused, it became, among certain classes, 
 families, and connections, normal and hereditary. 
 Reasoning, where all the elements of calculation 
 were inimitably vague, seemed but waste of time ; 
 and^scruples about international or individual right 
 or scruples about international or individual right 
 or wrong, were of course regarded as mere senti- 
 ment. The tone of political society in England, at 
 the accession of (Veorge 111., was eminently propi- 
 tious to the growth of such ideas. To the unchecked 
 corruption of the previous reign, was added th« 
 development of arbitrary notions, encouraged by 
 the Court. The Church was fast asleep, and the, 
 religious revival led by Wesley had made but 
 little way. The slave trade and West Indian 
 slavery, with their showers of golden fruit, were 
 the tallest trees in the fashiorable orchard; whilf 
 the hardy growths of American industry were re- 
 garded with comparative disdain by the statesmea 
 and courtiers, jurists and critics, who advocated 
 the appropriation of their unpretentious fruit to, ek# 
 out means of prodigality at ho,me. 
 
 It was the fittest seasQii and the fitte&t fieid ]» 
 which the seeds of new kind of fillibustei?ing could: 
 be sown, and every year, it was said v>iQuld prov* 
 as plenteous as the last, or yet more a;bundant. * 
 The incidents of Asiatic, adventure, aD.dj all the ideas 
 
 1 Annual Hegister, 1767, p. 40, 8ee deicri^tion, written pi obayy 
 by SdmiiBd Burke. 
 
 4 
 
so EMPIRE IxV ASIA. 
 
 suggested by its successful prosecution, became in- 
 terwoven alike with those of public and of private 
 life, and thej may be traced as a new source of 
 illustration in the philosophy and literature of the 
 day. In comedy, the forgotten scamp constnatly 
 turned up in the third act, under the title of Nabob, 
 to rescue the mortgaged inheritance^ or deliver some 
 despairing fair from the arms of a high-born suitor 
 whom she loathed ; and the climax of charity ser- 
 mons consisted of an adulation to munificence, ad- 
 dressed to Dives, to whom providence had merci- 
 fully given wealthy that otherwise would' have been 
 offered to idols. 
 
 Mr. Vansittart's administration was eminently 
 Buccessful for all who were concerned in it. It was 
 the 1 eyday of rapine, and if coufs'd etait at Moorsheda- 
 bad, and wars on the frontier were not as plunder- 
 ful as before, they secured personal opportunities 
 greater than ever to those who made haste to be rich. 
 The haples ryots cried and there was none to help 
 them. Tha richer classes. Rajahs, Pulygais, and 
 T^leokdars, shuddered in silence at the progress 
 «f expropriation, but knew not how to make their 
 complaints heard in Englartd. What they could 
 not do for themselves, was done for them by their 
 .tormentors, who were incessantly quarrelling amongst 
 ♦ne another, and recounting the enarmities they had 
 witnessed in the East. 
 
 All this would probably have mattered; little, but- 
 for owe unpardonable fault of the system in the eyes 
 ®f the Directors : it did not pay. Individuals were 
 continuaily returning home laden with riches ; and 
 •f despatches there was no stint, full of glorious 
 yictories ever ungrateful Moslems and the hated 
 French. But the remittances did not improve. Too 
 much was spent in salaries, perquisites^ and riotous 
 Jiving. Sumptuary rules and reductions of expendi- 
 ture were all in vain. At everv shearing, the golden. 
 iieeoe seemed te be appropriated amongst them by 
 the Cpmpany's servants, and little was left for the 
 
THE DFAVANNT Si 
 
 Cbrnpaxiy but the jjoat's^ wool. Tt was clear that 
 unregulated spoliation did not yield the proper per- 
 centage. But how to eoonomisa and regulate it ? — 
 that was the question. 
 
 Men's eyes turned' once more' on Clive. He was 
 just beginning to enjiy the ease and luxury of the 
 position he had won. BLis house in Berkeley Square,, 
 his equipage, and ev^en his dress, betrayed his daily 
 exulaDioii. HiB had a dozen votes^in Parliament 
 at his- command, and rival statesmen^ tiierefore; sou^gbt 
 his society. He was- the only living coinmander 
 who ha-d actually won pitched^ battles-^, ao^he-was 
 made much i>f at the Horse Guards. He was tHeonly 
 Englishman' who'had added to His Majesty.^s domini- 
 ons- without adding to the national debtj bo Greorge 
 III. liked' to talk to him at levee. Though quizzed 
 by the fops of St. James's Sti^eet, and laughed at 
 as ill-bred by women of fashion^ he was regarded 
 by the multitude as a hero, and' by politicians as an 
 administrator of signal power. If her could be only 
 persuaded to returu^ tx) Bengal, all would be sure to- 
 go well. So thought the propriefcors- of India Stock;. 
 The Chairman, Mr. Sullivan', was-, however, his pe-r- 
 Bonal adversary, and many of his colleagues shrank 
 from submitting to one whom they knew would prove 
 to be their master. But bad tidings grew worse, and 
 shortcomings grew shorter. How was a 10 per centj 
 dividend to^ be paid?: After stormy debate at the 
 India House, in' which Olive insisted on Sullivan 
 being deposed, he was deputed to resume the reins- 
 of government at Calcutta, and^ was named by the 
 Grown^ Greneral-in-chief of all the English, forces 
 in Asia. 
 
 While ho was at home, Clive had, doubtless inter- 
 changed views^ with those- who held office under Bute 
 and G-renvii'le as to the future diecntion of the Com- 
 pany's affairs in relation to the Princes of the East. 
 How far his own views of further encroachment were 
 »ystematised or matured at this period, it is impossi-' 
 ble to tell. Immersed in pleasure and intrigue, i^ 
 
m EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 18 not likely that the Ministers of George TIT, bestowet} 
 much deliberate care Uj>oa forecasting the future of 
 India. Clive went forth a second time to feel hia 
 aggressive way, but he was not long in detenainina- 
 on the })ath to treaj. In a private letter addressed 
 to one of the Directors, Mr. Rouse, he thus writer 
 — ^*We are at last arrived at that critical period 
 which I have long foreseen, which jenders it necess- 
 ary for us to determine whether \\je shall take the 
 whole to ourselves ; for it is not hyperbole to say, 
 To-morrow the whole Mogul Empire is in our power. 
 Aiter the lengths we haye run, the Princes o\ Hindus- 
 tan must conclude our views to be b"und]ess; they 
 have such instances of our ambition, that they can- 
 not sa:>j.iOse us capable of moderation. The very 
 Nawabs whom we might support would be jealous 
 of our power. We must becomp Nawaba ouraelevss^ 
 in i'act, if not m name.^' 
 
 On the death of Mir JafBr, Mr. Vansittart retired 
 frorn the Presidency, which was temporarily tilled 
 by Mr. Spencer from Bombay, pending the arrival 
 oi Cliyf, The (accession of a young and inexperienced 
 Prince to the SoubahJarate otfered an op[>ortunity of 
 further encrog^chraent not to be neglected A new 
 treaty was entered into accordingly with Nudjum- 
 nl-Dowla on thi 20th February 1765, which, ratify- 
 ing that first made by his father in 17^7, repeated 
 "most qF the provisions of the alliance of 1763. Ba 
 sides this, however, it secured the appointment of 
 a friend of the Companv. Mahomed Reza Khan, th« 
 Naib of Dacca, in the office of Chief Minister. Nun- 
 comar, a rich Brahman, who had held this office 
 under the late Soubahdar, was not deemed well-dis- 
 posed to the Company's interests, and hence the desire 
 to have him su )erseded For the defence of Bengal 
 against the Mocrul and the Yizior of Oudh bv the 
 Anglo-Indian forces, Mir Jaffir had paid ab the rat© 
 of five lacs a month. This suna his successor agreed 
 to continue ; and, moreover, as he ** esteemed th«, 
 Company ^s troops equal to the defence of the pro- 
 
THE DEW AN NT. &S 
 
 firices, and as his ovvn,^^ he would only himself 
 maintain such in addition *' as were immediately 
 necossary for the dignity of his person and Govern- 
 ment, and the business of his collections throughout 
 the provinces.'' The Company thus became contrac- 
 tors for the military defence of the country, but for 
 that only ; judicial and fif=^cal authority still remained 
 in native hands. In spite of the positive injunctions 
 of the Directors at home to put an end to the scanda- 
 lous system of inland smuggling, until an equitable 
 and satisfactory plan ^^ could be arranged with the 
 free will and consent of the Nawabs, so as not to afford 
 any just ground of complaint/' Mr. Spencer and 
 the Council inserted in the new treaty a clause which 
 gave the Company, and every servant of theirs trading 
 in his }.rivate capacity, immunity from tolls and 
 dues, except 21 per cent, on salt. The young Soubah- 
 dar, and his Minister, as usual, paid liberally for 
 the Companp's friendship, in sums ranging from on© 
 to over two lacs, given under the name of nuzzurana 
 to different members of the Council. 
 
 Ciive arrived at Calcutta 3d May 1765, aocom- 
 pained by Mr. Sumner and Mr. Sykes, who with 
 himself, General Carnac, and Mr. Verelst were ap- 
 pointed by the directors a Select Committee, invested 
 with extraordinary powers, to inquire into abuses too 
 notorious, and to take measures for restoring ** order 
 and tranquillity." This supercession of their autho- 
 rity provoked attempts at resistance among th» 
 Council, but Clive showed a resolute front, and whil© 
 they murmured, they submitted The first act of the 
 Committee was one of official reform. The Directors, 
 with a view to check the scandal caused by their 
 servants exa 'ting enormous presents from wealthy 
 natives, had prepared forms of covenant to be subs- 
 cribed, pledg^ncr them not to accept any land, rents 
 revenue, or otlier propertv, beyond a small amount, 
 without special permission previously obtained. 
 Though these do uments had arrived in January, th# 
 Council absolutely ignored them in their dealingi 
 
54 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 with Nudjnm-ul-Dowla and Reza Khan, intending als« 
 to remonstrate against the inhibition. The Committee 
 at once set about enforcing com^;liance ; and, by dint 
 of dismissals, suspensions, and retirem'ents among the 
 refractory, order and decorum were for a time 
 restored. 
 
 The aspect of military affairs had improved, and 
 Clive was, perhaps, disappointed that no immediate 
 opening presented itself for the exercise of his un- 
 usual powers as diplomatist or general. But he had 
 not long to wait. The Vizier ot Oude, who had sought 
 the a:d of the Mahiattas to conquer Bengal had sus- 
 tained a crushing defeat, and sued for peace on any 
 terms, to arrange which Clive proceeded to the camp. 
 It was not thought advisable to press the vanquished 
 too hard, and he was mulcted only in a war-fine of 
 fifty lacs, and the relinquishment of the districts of 
 Allahabad and Korah; which, instead of being 
 appropriated, were used as a bribe wherewith to 
 obtain new and valuable concessions from the court 
 of Delhi. A separate peace was negotiated, whereby 
 in consideration of these territories and the Company's 
 guarantee of tw^ntysix lacs ef yearly tribute. Shah 
 Alum agreed to issue a firman appointing ihe Cam- 
 pany his farmers-general of the revenues of Orissa 
 Behar and Bengal — provision being carefuliy made 
 that nothing therein contained should imply any de- 
 rogation from the authority and dignity of the Nawab- 
 Nazim, the maintenance of whose Government should 
 be a permanent charge, and should be fully defrayed 
 before anything was appropriated to their own profit 
 by the new collectors. This notable transaction is 
 what has been called the transfer of the Dewanny, 
 and from its singularity and importance, it is not 
 surprising that it should have been varionsiy mis' 
 understood and misrepresented. It was in fact the 
 realisation of a scheme conceived seven years before. 
 In 175S the Council wrote home that their late success- 
 ses had acquired for them so great a reputation with 
 the Eaiperor that his Ministers wished for their good 
 
rPHEDEWANNT. m 
 
 offices at Moorshedabad to secure the more punctual 
 paymeut of the/ imperial tribute. Their diplomatic 
 agent, Sitab Roy, more than hinted that if they would 
 guarantee the annual payment, they mi^ht have the 
 function and title of Dewan. **The Dewan is the 
 second man of rank,^' they say, *4n the kingdom, and 
 such a dignity annexed to your Presidency would give 
 extraordinary weight to the Company in the Empire, 
 which nothing would be able to remove. The accept- 
 ting this employ might occasion jealousy on the part 
 of the Soubahdar and we are unwillinor to cause him 
 any dissatisfaction at a time when our small force is 
 engaged another way especially as you gentlemen 
 give us so little hopes of reinforcements from home,'^* 
 But times had changed, and the reinforcements 
 were now come. The encroaching lodgers clutched 
 at the latch-key, which gave them henceforth the run 
 of the house without let or hindrance or question. In 
 its ultimate consequences, the transfer of the Dewan- 
 ny proved to be, no doubt, the turning-point of India's 
 fortune ; and in whatever aspect viewed at the time, 
 it is impossible not to regard it as a proof of the poli- 
 tical imbecility into which the Durbar of Delhi bad 
 sunk. For the sake of ready money to sustain its 
 lavish and luxurious expenditure, a concession was 
 made to encroaching and ambitious foreigners, who 
 had recently been open foes, incompatible with all 
 our notions of imperial self-respect, patriotism, and 
 policy. But it is idle to pretend, looking at the terma 
 employed in the firixan, the stipulations it embodies, 
 and bearing in mind the confidnntial language used 
 regarding it by the concessionaries, that it ever waa 
 proposed or granted, asked for or accepted, as 
 tantamount to a transfer of the dominion or Q-overn- 
 ment of the three provinces to the Company. That 
 it was used and abused to that end, at first steal- 
 thily and slowly, and then rapidly and ruthlessly, 
 is true. But it is not true that any such purpose 
 was breathed until the deed was done. Let those 
 
 I Long'! Be«or<ie, Voi. U 
 
' 'S6 EMPlttE IN ASIA. 
 
 Who found a claim of forfeiture upon this so-called 
 act of expropriation by the then aknowledged 
 paramount power, consult the private correspondence 
 of M. de Barilion, wherein the payment of secret 
 pensions and gifts from Louis XIV. to Charies 11. 
 are carefully chronicled, with the receipts and ac- 
 knowledgments given by English peers and diplo- 
 matists, and similar documents from noble lords and 
 right honourable gentlemen in Parliament, for likii 
 gratifications and benefits from the King of France ; 
 and then let them think what would have been said 
 had any one attempted to construe such transactionii 
 as a mortgage of the soil of England, reducible int<> 
 possession at the pleasure of the mortgagee. Yet, 
 between the two bargaings, the moral difference 
 is unspeakable. Want of money by sensual and 
 prodigal court is the one feature ef identity : eve- 
 rything else is different, the difference being in favour 
 of the Asiatics. 
 
 The Council could not contain themselves for joy ; 
 and sped their congratulations by the next mail to 
 London, The hills were now about to drop fatness ; 
 and for the first time they felt as if they could afford 
 to keep a conscience. The contentions about tolls 
 and duties, wrung from the natives, but not exacted 
 from their own people, and all the corrui. tions and cri- 
 mes incident there to, suddenly had become scandalous 
 in their eyes. They declared they had just discovered 
 that the only way to ]:)ut an end to all such evils was 
 io take away the bone of contention, and to become 
 tax-gatherers themselves. Their solemn effrontery- 
 cannot be apprei iated in paraphrase, *' The perpetual 
 struggles for superiority between the Nawabas and 
 youi : gents, too-ether with the recent proofs before u» 
 of not rious and avowed corruption, have rendered ua 
 unaniihously of opinion, after thie most mature deli- 
 beratio] , that no other method could be suggested of 
 laying the axe to the root of all these evils, than that 
 '6f obtaining the Dewantiy of Bengal, Behar, and 
 Orissa ior the Coinpany. By establishing the power 
 
^HE DEWANNft ^^ 
 
 of the Gri'^at Mogul, we have likewise established hit 
 rights ; and His Majesty, from principles of gratitude, 
 equity, and policy, has thought- proper to bestow this 
 important employment on the Company, the nature of 
 which is the collecting all the revenues, and, after 
 defraying the expenses of the army and allowing a 
 suffiiJient fund for the support of the Nizamut, to remit 
 the remainder to Delhi, or wherever the King stall 
 reside or direct. But as the King has been gracious- 
 ly pleased to bestow on the Company for ever sucb 
 surplus as shall ai'ise from the revenues, upon certain 
 stipulations and agreements expressed in the Sunnud 
 we have settled with the Nawab, with his own fre* 
 will and consent, that the sum of fifty-three lacs shall 
 be annuallj/ paid to h m for the support of his dignity 
 and ail contingent expenses, exclusive of the charge 
 of maintaining an army, wbich is to be defrayed out 
 of the revenues ceded to the Company by this royal 
 graat of the Devvanny. And, indeed, the Nawab has 
 abundant reason to be well satistied with the condi- 
 tions of his agreement, whereby a fund is secured to 
 him, without trouble or danger, adequate to all th« 
 purposes of such grandeur and happiness as a man 
 of his sentiments has any conception of enjoying. 
 More would serve only to disturb his quiet, endanger 
 his Gr )vernment and sap the founda.'ion of that solid 
 structure of power and v^ealth which at lens^th is 
 reared and completed by the Company, after a vast 
 expense of blood and treasure.'^ Already, however, 
 they began to devise how this new privilesre might be 
 stretched to work a defeasance of the jreneral autho- 
 rity of the Suubahdar; and they proceed to indicatd 
 their meaning in unmistakable terms. It is worthy 
 of note that the Directors in their reply ^broadly and 
 significantly distinguish between their appreciation 
 ot the value of the Dewanny, and their entire dis- 
 approval of its perversion to political ends. W« 
 entirely approve of your preserving the ancient form 
 of government in upholding the dignity of the 
 
 1 D«gp*tgb 7tl U^^r 1754, 
 
'^68 EMPIRE IN AStA. 
 
 Soubahdar. We conceive the office of Dewan sliouM 
 be exercised only in superintending the collection 
 and disposal of the revenues. This we conceive to be 
 the whole office of the Dewanny. The administration 
 of justice, the appointments to offices, zemindaries, 
 — in short, whatever comes under tho denomination 
 of civil administration, we understand is to remain in 
 the hands of the Nawab or his Ministers/' 
 
 In compliance with the terms of the imperial res- 
 cript, fifty-three lacs of rupees were agree i to be paid 
 annually out of the taxes for supporting the expenses 
 of the Nizamut-seventeen lacs being for household 
 charges, and thirty-six lacs for guards, police, and 
 other purposes requisite to maintain the state and 
 dignity of the Soubahdar^s Government. The gross 
 receipts of three provinces were estimated at no 
 less a sum than two millions sterling ; and Clive con- 
 curred with the Directors in declaring that all the 
 details and functions of collection should be left, as 
 before, in native hands. When in England, he had 
 strongly urged upon the Directors the necessity of 
 putting a check on the private trade of their servants. 
 **The trading in salt, betel, and tobacco '' having been 
 one of the causes of dispute, he hoped these articles 
 would be restored to the Nawab ; and the Company's 
 servants absolutely forbidden to trade in them : " the 
 odium of seeing such monopolies in the hands of fore- 
 igners need not be insisted on. '' Under a tropical 
 sun his good resolutions, however, all dissolved away, 
 for before he had been out a month he had become a 
 partner with Messrs Vorelst, Sykes, and Sumner in 
 the salt trade. It was said that he devoted his profits 
 derived from the traffic to the relief of needy relatives 
 and dependants, and the personally he obtained no 
 benefit from them. Possessed of a vast fortune, drawn 
 from the resources of native princes, he could hardly 
 appropriate more from that quarter, and he had cre- 
 ditably aided in putting an end to the system of exac- 
 tions under the name of presents, where his successors 
 were concerned ; but the orders of the Directors were 
 
THEDEWANNT. W 
 
 '^©qually imperative for the cessation of private trade. 
 He chose, notwithstanding, to disregard those orders, 
 ^nd to stultify his own previous professions, for tha 
 advantage of those about him. 
 
 In May 1766, the Nawab Nudjum-ul-Dowla died, 
 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Syef- 
 ul-Dowla. A new treaty between him and tlie Com- 
 pany was made, which ratified that first made with 
 his father, and also that made with his brother the 
 year before. The viceregal guards had been kept 
 up at a cost of eighteen lace a year, ^ but overtures 
 were made for their disbanding, in order that their 
 pay might be saved, and their duty performed by 
 the Company's sepoy battalions. The occasion svb.s 
 thought propitious for effecting this further change ; 
 and in the new treaty, the lixed sum for Nizamut 
 expenses was reduced from hfty-three to forty. one 
 Jacs. The credit which the Grovernment took to 
 himself for this piece of economy was not readily 
 acknowledged at home. The Directors wrote, ^ *<As 
 the reduction of the stipend to the Nawab arises 
 from striking off the pay of an unnecessay number 
 of his sepoys, and does not affect the allowance for 
 support of his dignity in the Government, we approve 
 what you have done in it; but we direct you never 
 to reduce the sti[ end lower, being extremely desirous 
 that he should have sufficieut to support his public 
 character and appear respectable to his subjects 
 and to foreigners '' 
 
 1 Long's Record?, vol. i. p. 419. 
 2 Despatch from the Diiectors, .6th Mnrch 1768, 
 
CltAPTtlB, Vl. 
 
 PUOHT OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 176:?— 1770. 
 
 ''Bnsriish hiafcoriariB, treatibfK of (hdian hintory as a eerieB of stru^gletf 
 abouc the Comp-ir.v'H chHffer, eiiliveQ**d wifcb ^tartlin^ military 
 exploits, have naLurally little to say r<-g^ar<liup an oocurrence which 
 involved neither a botil^ nor a parliamentary debate. Mill, with 
 all bis accuracy nnd minuteLieet:^, can barely Bpare five lints for 
 the subj'^ot. But the diM«8ter which from tnis distance, floats as a 
 faint 8peck on the horizon of our rule, standi out in the coDtem* 
 porary records in appailin^f propoitione. It forme, indeed, the key 
 to the hitttory of bengal during the feucceeding forty years". 
 
 T^HE second administration of Clive, who was sent 
 -*• from England to consolidate the acquisitions 
 
 8^»raewhat awkwardly achieved by Vansittart and his 
 Council, lasted abuut two years. After that^ Verelst 
 and Cartier filled successively the office of President of 
 Bentral, and being calm, unambitious mdu, few events 
 of historical importance occurred. It were perhaps 
 'more accurate to say. that few striking or sudden 
 changes to^'k place in the su[)reme relations of the 
 State during that period. For events of historical 
 importance are of two kinds, the silent and the noisy ; 
 and all things considered, the silent are of much more 
 consequence than those whose taking plaice clamours 
 for observation. In Bengal, a great event or coming 
 fortt into light of a new fact on the scroll of hufaan des- 
 tiny noiselessly revealed itself ; no loss a fact than that 
 of an attempted Govern mefit by two separate and un- 
 like powers — the one native, and hitherto paramount; 
 the other alien, and hiiiherto tributary, but fast be- 
 coming irresistible and dominant. All the old rv.*spect 
 and native predilection looked after the waning lustre 
 
 1 AuluIb of Kurul Bengal* 
 
THE PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE. CI 
 
 ^{ the Sobalidar's court ; all the hope of profit and 
 the fear of oppression looked towards the Presidency. 
 The feelings of the community were instinctively 
 devoted still to native rites, usages, and laws; their 
 apprehensions were daily riveted more inquiringly 
 upon the strange and unintelligible comMiands of 
 .Calcutta. How the pretensions of superior forco 
 came by degi^ees to be submitted to as irreversible, 
 faow acLjuie9c,ence in th.e course of years grew int)o 
 a sullen h^bit of obedience, it would take long 
 to tell. 
 
 ExternaJ f.orce ha^ sometimes been hailed as a. 
 .deliverance from petty tyranny and internecine 
 feuds; and when se^^arate chieftainshi^.3 and princi- 
 palities have been swapt away, the lot 0' the com- 
 jppLuniiy at large has been benefited b^y tbe change, 
 ^his has only been, however, where lujal rights, 
 the securities of prOj.>erty, and the immunities of 
 personal freedom have been maintained or streng- 
 thened. Instances are nut wanting of substantial 
 benefits having been at first conferred by a high- 
 handed exercise of alien auth<>rity, which by degrees 
 come to be recognised by their recipients as more 
 than counterbalancing the affront to native pride, 
 involved in th© manner of the gift. But such in- 
 Bt9.nces are rare, and there is, perhaps, pot on» 
 in which such gratitude has ever been telt, or ha» 
 ever been fairly earned, in which the irresistible 
 power of the intruder has attempted to uproot the 
 cuvstomary laws of the country regarding the admi- 
 nit^tration of justice or the possession of land. Bj 
 violent mutations of the royal power, the happiness. 
 of the many does not alw-iys suffer — not immediately 
 or perceptibly, at least. Government is much more, 
 palpable, and to the community is much more inllutja- 
 tial, in the performance of its daily administrativa, 
 duties than in its intercourse with foreign states^ 
 or in its internal exercise of what may be termed 
 national functions. It is true that a gradual and. 
 •xact Bubordination oi powers to the supreme au- 
 
62 EMPIRE m ASIA. 
 
 thority is indispensable ; and that such as the onv 
 is, such the subordinate many are ever likely to be. 
 But It usually takes time to discern this. Practically, 
 the conviction can only be realised by habit and 
 reflection. Instances there may have been where- 
 the subtlety and care and wisdom of an alien Go- 
 vernment have introduced improvements and re 
 formations appealing to the sonse, if unable to eni^age 
 the affection of the ;..eople ; and however shortlived 
 and unstable such advantages may be, we can imagiue 
 men so sick and weary ot domestic misrule as to 
 hail with reckless but real joy the questionable aid 
 of foreign interposition. 
 
 In the story of Asiatic conquest, we have, How- 
 ever, no task of nice discrimination to perform. 
 Not only was the sovereign authority of each state 
 subverted, but the subordinate, aad perhaps more 
 important, institutions of law, property, and taxation, 
 were subverted also. To undei'stand, clearly the 
 causes which precipitated those social and municipal; 
 changea, it is necessary to recall the condition of 
 the Company's affairs in England, and the actionof 
 Parliament respecting them. The acquisitiou' of the 
 pewannyoa. used the Company's stock to rise consi- 
 derably ; au.d.in..a..Court of Proprietors a resolution 
 ■wias,.car.iied by a Jarge majority declaring that the 
 dividend should be in future 10 instead of 6 per cent. 
 Government cast wistful eyes upon* the splendid pro- 
 gress' making bj jbhe Company in revemies, which 
 no longer could be in any sense classed under the 
 head of commercial profits. The Duke of Grafton 
 6ad, on quitting office, told the Chairman and Deputy 
 Chairman that tbe time was come when our dealings 
 with the rulers and traders of th^ East must be 
 taken in hand by Parliament as a national eencern. 
 But his Grace had not time to develop whatever 
 ideas might have been put into his head upon the 
 subject ; and when Chatham for the second time 
 Ikecame JFirst Minster, ^ one of the great measure* 
 
 1 30fc£i JbIj X7QQ, 
 
THE PLIG ET OF THE PEOPLE. 6S' 
 
 of reform whicli he hoped ta carry was that respec- 
 tino: India. At his instance^ Alderman Beckford, 
 whose character for mercantile knowledge and 
 probity stood high, moved in the House of Commons^ 
 for a committee to inquire into the state and condition 
 of the East India Campany. The motion was resis- 
 ted by those — and vhey were manj — who directly 
 or indirectly were interested in its management 
 being left uncontrolled ; but 129 votes again ts 76 
 were told in its favour. A fortnight later the House 
 ordered that copies of all treaties with native powers 
 between 1756 and 1766, both years inclusive, as well 
 as of all correspondence relating thereto, and an 
 account of the state of the Company's territorial 
 revenues, should be laid before them. It was uuder- 
 Btood that this step was but preliminary to the develop- 
 ment of a comprehensive plan regulating our course 
 and conduct in tlie East, and for turning, into the 
 imperial treasury the streams of affluence thereto- 
 fore engrossed by individual or joint-stook enterprise. 
 The committee O'f inquiry did not go to business untii' 
 the end of March 1767; and it had made little pro-- 
 gress when a General Court of Proprietors, on the 
 Cth^ajj^in^a paroxysm of cupidity, voted that the 
 dividend on their stock should be raised to 122 per 
 cent. This was too much for even the most languid 
 parliamentary conscience; and on the following day 
 the House of Commons called in threatening terms 
 for the proceedings which had resulted in this vote. 
 The Court quickly re^assembled, and repeated sub- 
 Btantially what they had done before, by declaring 
 that a dividend of jess than £400,000 a year would, 
 not safTsf y theim . I^rH amenjt _ j^a^^^ .^ offen de d at thi a 
 apparent intention to challenge, if not to resist;,, its 
 authority ; and Mr. Fuller, chairman of thecommitteOj 
 forthwith moved to bring in a bill limiting the diyir-^^ 
 dends of the Company to 10 per cent, which, after 
 many warm debates, was read a third time on the 
 28thof^lay^jknd^as3ed. In the Upper House it wa» 
 
 1 ZSih J^»rml^ mn^ 
 
e4 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 denounced by Lord Mansfield and other peers as an 
 infraction of the rights of private property ; but 
 public feeling run hii^h, 0[)positK)n was unavailing; 
 and before the session closed, another bill was passed 
 which bound the Company to. j^ay ^40,0,000 a .year 
 inte the"5xcl^^5[ii®i' ^^^ 9^ their revenues jnBenj;al, 
 as*^ condition ^£tK_renewal of their phOirie^.. Jt was 
 thus maile plain for whose b^^^efit tlLe collection and 
 aHifirnTsjr^^i^i"^^ ^^^ revenues of the Kavvab-Nazim 
 ha^ been tiar:sf erred from native to fore[gn_hand8. 
 In the sc; ramble between Weetin nister and tjbie City 
 Tor a divison of the s| oil, the weiirhtier matters of 
 just]ceijjj^ ^l^nreni, a d merr^ seem %<) have been for- 
 gotten. 'Hi e da i-^e n In g "^s h a d o w s had fallen upon 
 the^mind of the great statesman $i'ho then nominally 
 held the reins of adnainisiration, but who, secluded 
 in his villa at Ham; stead, refused for months to attend 
 Parliament or Counril^ to answer letters, or even to 
 receive visits from his colleagues. Chatham, towards 
 the close of the year, gave up the Privy Seal, and 
 returnecj no more to power. Politicians occupied 
 themselves with more pressing aflairs in En rope and 
 America, and the new owners, a>s they had virtually 
 become, of Benj^el, Behar and Ori^sa, went their way. 
 In the session of 1769j the agreement made for 
 three ye.ars between Govern nent ,and tlie Company 
 had to be revised. Lord Noith now led the House 
 of Commons in his pleasant oiT-hand style. He ofi:ere4 
 the Company a new lease of their Eastern-hunting 
 grounds i;ip on the old terms. N> stipulations, poli^ 
 tical or social, administrative or legislative, were 
 proposed. But a new voire was to be henceforth 
 heard in the affairs of India, whose lofty and pas- 
 sionate protests against wrong have not yet ceased 
 to thrill the hearts of all who love the honour of ^ 
 their country wisely and well. Three years before, 
 the Member for Wendover had entered Parliament, 
 and had rapidly asserted, by the unhelped fore© 
 of courage, eloquence, and independence of thought, 
 » position such as no mam without birth or wealtk 
 
PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE. 65 
 
 tad before attained in that assembly. With in- 
 «£Eable wonder and disdain, Burke noted this mere 
 perfunctory discharge of the great duties of State, 
 and rebuked warmly the absence of all policy 
 and prudence displayed in such official conduct. " This 
 bargain,'^ he exclaimed, "is not an agreement but 
 a ran«om. Without calculating the revenue, with- 
 out allowing for risk, without inquiring into cir- 
 cumstances, to make a great commercial Company 
 pay Jp^OOyOOO to Q-oyernment is but a robbery.^* ^ 
 His vehemence in conversation and debate sug- 
 gested in the meaner minds around him only the 
 fiuspicion, genuine or feigned, that he must have 
 some personal motive for QX^g^giJig so earnestly in 
 a subject that did not ostensibly concern hina or 
 his country-town constituents ; and not a few of 
 his political friends were rather chilled than kind- 
 led by zeal which never slackened m or out of 
 season. His prophecies of evil were not believed, 
 his too accurate prognostics, his too prescient in- 
 sight into consequences, were unheeded. If they_ 
 aqueezei the Company in thk blind fashion, tFeybut 
 Incited them to squeeze their servants in the Bast, 
 And that only meant that they should squeeze the 
 native victims of their rule. But he seemed to 
 them as one that mocked. How could they know 
 what was really happening, or might possibly hap. 
 pen, at the o^iher side of the globe? and at heart 
 what did they? Though he sopke like an angel, 
 the House laughed, ? and few divided with him. 
 Then he grevv angrier and less convincing. Nature, 
 which had lavished on him so many of her choi- 
 cest gifts, had forgotten tact when he was made. 
 Tact he had none, and the want of that species 
 of instinct cannot be supplied by learning, discip. 
 line, or even by exf,erience. Few sympathised 
 enough with the poor and plebeian man of genius 
 to risk his ill-humour by telling him the truth of 
 
 1 Cavendish, vol. i. p. 266 Burke's Speeches. 
 
 2 Lile of Burke, by Macknight, vol. ii, p. 18. 
 
 s 
 
66 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 what was said or insinuated in his disparage- 
 ment. The Duke of Richmond, who had both good- 
 nature and good sense, on one occasion frankly 
 told him the truth, taking care to add, that for 
 himself he did not believe him to be swayed in 
 the least by any personal motives. But the haughty 
 spirit of Burke was not to be influenced by hints 
 however delicate, or advice however kind. He 
 had his work to do, and, after all, he could only 
 do it in his awn way. Justice to India became 
 to him an Egeria, whom he loved to commune with 
 in the silent hours of night, and from whom, most 
 truly, he received inspiration. 
 
 The musnud remained, bufc the sceptre had been 
 taken away. The dignity of native rule still sub- 
 sisted, and still were the ancient embroidery o£ 
 power ', but power to pretect, control, defend, or 
 guide, was gone. After ten years of foreign rule, 
 what was the plight of the people? Did they grieve 
 like the Hebrews of old ? or if unmoved by na- 
 tional sentiment, had they physical cause to feel that 
 ** their inheritance was turned to strangers, and their 
 houses to aliens ; that they drank their water for money 
 that their wood was sold unto theru; that servants 
 ruled over them ^ and that there was jnone to deliver 
 them out of their hand?'*i 
 
 The rice crop of 1768 had been scanty throughout 
 Bengal, but^Hhe revenues were never so closely col- 
 lected before. ^^ Prices rose, and the poorer cultiva- 
 tors of the soil had consequently little to spare for 
 seed. Nevertheless, in the spring of 1769,the export 
 of rice went on ; for^ customers at Madras and else 
 ^^ere could afford to pay high, and no one in authori- 
 ty pared about consequences? The rains fell as 
 usual in the spring, copiously enough to do even harm 
 in the delta. But the clouds of autumn came not 
 as usual, and failed to drop fatness. Everywhere 
 the crop withered, and the rice-fields became pre- 
 maturely fields of straw. Governor Verelst did no<^ 
 
 1 Lftffieatfttions Jeremiah, v. 
 
PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE.- 6T 
 
 deem the matter worth me irtioning: when writing 
 Horne ; and^" exoept. lor the troopsy no care was 
 taken To" lay up provisions in store* The only 
 question indeed was about the troop a'; fbr as once 
 was said of another neglected depend'ency by a. 
 statesman o-f our own time, Bfengai *'was occupied,, 
 not governed.^' Mr Oartier mentioned incidentally 
 late in January 1770, that one- district was- suffer- 
 ing se^verely for want of foody but he adds, tha- 
 consolatory assurance that "they, had not yet fpundi 
 anj failure in the revenue/' What no failrUTe^ of 
 revenue means, when people are f'amishiug^ it. can 
 hardly be necessary to explain. Sub^quently it 
 occurred to the Governor and Council that^ if somQ' 
 relaxation in the collection of the landtjix wera^ 
 eoncaded, that was the utmost that could be ex- 
 pected af them-j but as for taking measures- to 
 save the lives af the community, they naturally 
 thought nobody expected^ that at heir handS; In 
 seasons af draug^ht it had not been uncommon for 
 native rulers ta suspend the land-tax, and to make 
 advances to ryots ; and measures of this kind were 
 proposed at Fort William, but ^* except in a faw 
 isolated! instances* tliey wera not granted.'^ ^ In 
 April, the pulse harvest, though scanty,, was secured, 
 and about the^ same time_an addition of 10 per 
 cent, was made ta tha rent-reVenuB.. But destitu- 
 tion deepened, and in the middFa^^^f May th-e re- 
 ports of suffering cama from far and near. ^^The 
 mortality and beggary axceeded all description. 
 Above ane-third af the inhabitants perished in the 
 once-plentiful pravinca af Purneah, and in other 
 parts tha misery was the same. '^ 2- FVom every na- 
 tive official who had still been retained earnest 
 representations poured in af tha dira calamity that 
 had befallen the people. Sympathy and selUhnesa. 
 alike inspired these representations. Even MussuK 
 mans, Tasuldars and Hindaa police might be credited 
 I Hunter's Annals of Raral Bt-ng-al, p. 2??. 
 2 Despatch, 9'th May 1770.; 
 
S8 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 with pity and compassion ; while whatever tribute 
 they still were able to send in, would entitle tbem 
 to ail the more praise wheij it was Ifuown lender 
 what difficulties it had been collectecj- There were 
 no disorders, outbreablfs, or threats of violence anaong 
 the peasantry. The habiti^al reticacice and domesticr 
 privacy of Bengali^ is well known. Even the chari- 
 table who sought out objects of benevolence, found 
 it ofteij difficult to reach the iuner chambers, where 
 debilitated ^nd despairing women and children 
 plowly perished for want of foo4. Cattle w.ere sold, 
 tools pawned, and seed-gr^in eaten ; then children 
 wore offered for sale, tilj purchasers could not be 
 found ; and finally the Govern mept were informed 
 by their subordinate^ that the liying were knowp to 
 prey upon the dead/'^ 
 
 At length all traditjor^al reserve gave way. Troops 
 of famished peasants, worn and wan, cg-me crowding 
 intp jihe towns, bringing with them pestilence in various 
 forn^s, ^mall pox, dysentery, and fever, and spreads 
 ing terror apd dismay among rich men and rulers. 
 Death di4 i?Qt heed being told to begone. Its carnival 
 was con:}e, ^nd ph^ ghastly revel wa9 prolonged frona 
 week to week an^ from month to month, till the grave- 
 digger was weary apd the jackal and vulture grew la^y 
 fl.nd tame. 
 
 The testimony of an eyewitnesg whose veracity has 
 never been questioned, and who afterwards rose to 
 ifihe highest post in Bengal, confirms what a despatch 
 of the Council, so late as the month of September, 
 "expressly set forth, that it was '^scarcely possible 
 that any description could be an exaggeration of the 
 prevailing want and woe.'' Mr. Shore was Lothing 
 of an enthusiast, and in every act of his life he was 
 a loyal and trusted servant of the Company, Punct- 
 ilious, careful, plodding, and exact, he was of all men 
 the least likely to overstate any case where the credit 
 '* Dire scenes of horror, which no pen can trace. 
 Kor rolling years from memcry's page efface." 
 1 Letter of 2d Jane 1770. 
 
PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE. 69 
 
 bf the Government was concerned. Yet he owned 
 in after years that nothing could obliterate from hii 
 recollection the horrora of that dreadful tim^ — 
 
 A certain showof compassiou was made at Calcutta 
 when the evil was at its height. An embargo wa» 
 lajd for several weeks on the export o^ grain^ but the 
 total amount contributed by the Calcutta treasury 
 to alleviate wretchedness so un paralleled did not 
 exceed £4000. l^he native landlords, must do the rest 
 if they would and could. For the most part, they 
 were not unwilling, but the means were wanting. 
 Their own resources had wholly failed, and they could 
 only borrow at high usury, or become defaultors to 
 the exchequer. Instances are recorded of the sacri- 
 fices they made, and of the suffering they subse- 
 quently endured in consequence. Sooner than let 
 their people die, they went in debt. Prom this dread- 
 ful year the ruin of two-thirds of the old aristocracy 
 of Bengal dates; while the revenue farmers, "being 
 unable to realise the land-tax, were stripped of their 
 office, their persons imprisoned, and their lands, the sole 
 2®^^ndence_joi_their families, relet,'' i The Rajah 
 of Nuddea survived the famine so much in default, 
 that he was glad to surrender his estates to his s«n. 
 The Rani of Rajshie, though previously esteemed as 
 a woman of business, and as a lady who exercised 
 justly much terri torial influence, was threatened with 
 eviction and the confiscation of her lands The young 
 Raja of Beerbhoom was thrown into jail for arrears 
 of land-tax:; while the aged Rajah of Bishenpore was 
 only let out of a debtor's prison when bis end visibly 
 drew nigh. Out of an assessment of £1,380,269 only 
 £65,355 was remitted during the famine year. The 
 rum of the Hindu gentry excited little pity or for- 
 bearance. The clearing of great tracts of country 
 by famine caused more cencern ; a third of the land 
 was reported in the next two years to have gone out 
 of tillage. This was a serious evil, and accordingly 
 schemes were set on foot to tempt immigrants to take 
 1 Hunter's Annals of Raral Beng»]» p. 5^ 
 
76 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 farms and settle. There was to be a new plantation 
 by men of a hardier breed, and, as was said, of a 
 superior race. But the work of home colonisation 
 prov-ed more slow than probably was expected, Sheep 
 from the other folds did not come so quickly at the 
 click of the shears: stupid creatures! that did not 
 know what was good for them. Villages remained in 
 ruins, field after field lay fallow, and rapidly returned 
 to jungle. Beerbhoom and Bishenpore had been 
 cultivated by six thousand rural communes. Three 
 years after the famine a fourth of these agriculture 
 communitiocs had disappeared. For fifteen years 
 after the famine depopulation went on ; and in 1759 
 a minute of the Viceroy in Council declared that 
 one-third of the Coinpany's territories in Bengal was 
 '^a jungle inhabited only by wild beasts.^' 
 - Something more remains to be told. Shameful 
 frauds appear to have been practised during the 
 famine by persons in office. They were known to 
 have dealt in grain, imported for the supply of the 
 famishing multitude, to have made false returns of its 
 distribution, and to have appropriated the exorbit- 
 ant price it brought. The Council tried to throw the 
 blame upon the subordinates who were natives. The 
 Directors refused to be thus duped; said plainly that 
 they believed the guilt lay at the door of their own 
 countrymen high in office, and called for the disclos- 
 ure of their names; but the names were never audib- 
 ly disclosed. One who held an important place at 
 the time, returned to his own country a wealthy man, 
 founded afamily, since ennobled, and amid "honour, 
 love, obedience, troops of friends,^' lay down to spend 
 the evening of his days in peace. Bufc that best of 
 blessings was denied him. His nights were haunted 
 by images and sounds which would not let him sleep ; 
 and though a man of what is called iron frame and 
 of ready courage, to his dying hour he never would 
 allow the lights to be extinguished round his bed. 
 
 The next harvest was plenteous, but the labourers 
 were so comparatively few that a great extent of land 
 
PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE. 71 
 
 was left untilled, and it was many years before the 
 population rose to their former numbers. All the 
 computations made officially at the time, and after- 
 wards, set down the extent of depopulation at from 
 nine to ten millions. Nothing like this has been even 
 asserted as having happened elsewhere in any part 
 of the world for centuries. Nevertheless the land 
 revenue was within two years brought up once more 
 to the former average of a million and a half sterling^ 
 though not, as Warren Hustings owned, without the 
 exercise of cruel severity. By the practice termed 
 *^ naja,^^ each district was throughout compelled to 
 furnish its quota, regardless of depopulation and 
 abandonment of farms. The practice which, in 
 ordinary years, was hardly complained of by a people 
 traditionally accustomed to a rude but regular solid- 
 arity of local interest and industries, became an 
 instrument of inhuman rigour when there was famine 
 in the land. The more utter the insolvency occasioned 
 by dearth in one portion of a district, the jmore into- 
 lerably fell the weight of exaction upon portion that 
 still struggled for life. What frugality had saved 
 from the sickle of dearth, the pitiless clutch of the 
 tax-gatherer gleaned ; but the coffers of the alien 
 dewanny were kept full, and the remittances, to the 
 absentee owners afar off were not suffered to fail. 
 
 The tidings of the terrible disaster startled from 
 the apathy of neglect the popular conscience at home 
 and in the following session, select committees of 
 inquiry were moved for — the one by Mr. Dundas^ 
 and the other by Colonel Burgoyne. In the volu- 
 minous evidence brought before them, the scandalous 
 history of Olive's and Vansittart^s administrations 
 was laid bare. Clive was threatened with impeach- 
 ment, but he boldly faced the accusations laid to his 
 charge; and the House of Commons, after censuring 
 many of the leading acts of his government, voted, 
 by way of set-off, that he had rendered great services 
 to his country. His haughty spirit was not appeased 
 by this; or by the cheers with which he was subs^- 
 
\s72 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 quentily received on entering the House. His solitudat 
 ' ^was haunted by thoughts to which he gave no utter- 
 ance. At length the burthen of his unhallowed famd 
 and fortune grew insupportable, and the publicj 
 learned with a shudder that he had perished by hit 
 own hand. 
 
 In their anxiety to escape impending condemna- 
 . .fcion for past mismanagement, and to offer guarantees 
 , of something better for the time to come, the Director* 
 professed themselves ready to send out a commission 
 L of three men of repute and standing, awaiting whose 
 report Parliament might fairly be called on to abstain 
 from permanent legislation. The Vice-Chairman^ 
 Sir George Oolebrooke, suggested to his colleagues that 
 they should invite Edmund Burke to preside over 
 this Commission of Supervisors, as, in the counting- 
 house language of the Board, they were to be called. 
 Lord Rockingham, then leader of the Whigs in opposi- 
 i) tion, was consulted ; but, from a feeling of delicacy^ 
 or from some other cause unexplained, he abstained 
 from expressing any opinion. The ever-sensitive- 
 ness of his friend and follower seems to have been httrfc 
 at the want of interest thus shown in a matter which 
 he regarded as of importance not only to himself but 
 to the nation. He took time to consider, and hi» 
 family dissuading him, he declined the offer. How 
 fodifferent might have been the subsequent course of 
 •jipvents in India, had even a ground-plan whereon to 
 build been laid down by the noble, just, generous, 
 and far-sighted intellect of him who has been truly 
 designated by Macauly as beyond comparison tho 
 greatest man of his time ! 
 
 Meanwhile another but very different man, darmg 
 
 as Clive, and of more comprehensive and persistenir 
 
 purpose, was climbing fast and climbing high the 
 
 rounds of ambitition in the East. Failing to obtain 
 
 »ithG services of the eloquent statesman, the Directors 
 
 bethought them of their most astute and versatile 
 
 official. He had no friends of consequence to push 
 
 bis interest witb^ thei;i, and no resoinrces wherewith 
 
PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE. 78 
 
 to purchase favour. But lie had the faculty of im- 
 pressing all with whom he came into personal contact 
 that, though diminutive in form and delicate in feature, 
 he possessed indoniitable energy, profound sagacity, 
 and an iron will They thought ho was the sort of 
 man they wanted ; and the next decade in the annali 
 of annexation is identified with the name of Warreu 
 Hastings. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WABKENHASTINGS. 
 
 1771—1773. 
 
 "In fiUch a state of affairs, what influence can exist execeptthat of fear? 
 Can those whs have been deprived of their power and their wealth 
 like the Government who have been the instruments of their ruinP 
 Is it possible that their relationn, friends, aod former dependants, 
 gbould noc sympathise with them P And will not the people, who 
 ftte taxed with much greater severity than they ever were before » 
 be ready to concur in their complaiots? The ruin of the upper 
 classes (like the exclusion of the people from a share in the govern- 
 ment) was a necessary consequence of the establibhrnent of the British 
 power; but had we acted on a more liberal plan, we should nave 
 fixed our authority on a much more solid foundation.'* 
 
 — F. J. Shore l. 
 
 UNTIL the year 1773, the English possessions in 
 India were governed by the three separate 
 Couucils of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, each of 
 them presided over by one of their number specially 
 designated by the Directors at home for the perform- 
 ance of that ducy. Between these independent and 
 co-equal Governments, no little jealousy prevailed. 
 Their local interests were oiten different, and they 
 were separated from each other, not only by distance 
 and diverisity of circumstances, but by mutual jealousy 
 and distrust. As their respective relations with the 
 native states grew more complex, their need of one ano- 
 ther's aid in time of peril grew more plain. Concerted 
 action and unity of policy was every year more obvious- 
 ly desirable ; and to secure this unity, the Minister of 
 the day recommended Parliament to create a supreme 
 
 ^ Kotea OQ Indiau Affairs, vel. i, p. 162. 
 
WARREN HASTINGS. W 
 
 Bxecufcive at Calcutta, which should in all great afEaira 
 control the two remaining Presidencies, and to erect 
 at the same time in the future metropolis of British 
 India, a High Court oi. Judicature, invested with un- 
 limited jurisdiction, civil as well as criminal, over all 
 English settlers in the East, and over all matters where- 
 in they might in any way be concerned. 
 
 By an Act passed in 1773, Grovernment for t^a 
 first time explicitly assumed paramount authority 
 oiver the English possessions in Asia. George ill. 
 and his Ministers had long coveted this increase o| 
 patronage and power; but it was not until the Board 
 of TJirectors came for a loan of £1,500,000 to the 
 Treasury, to meet their excess of expenditure, that 
 the opportunity arose for efEecting so great a change. 
 For five years the heavy quit-rent to the State arid 
 lEe dividened of 10 per cent to the proprietary had 
 KeeiT punctually paid; but the price to stock steadily 
 went down, and aib length, in the autumn of ^72, Lea- 
 denhall Street found itself on the brink of insolvency. 
 Lord North readily agreed to a loan from the Exche- 
 quer, adequate to meet all pressing wants. He inti- 
 mated at the same time, however, that the executive 
 should henceforth be regarded as supreme in all ques- 
 tions of acquired territory, and that a provincial ad- 
 ministration, political, military, and judicial, must 
 be nominated by the Home Grovernment, though paid 
 for out of the revenues of the Company. Its internal 
 constituent, moreover, would be modified so as to res- 
 trict the constituent votes by whom the Directors 
 were to be chosen, to persons registered for twelve 
 months as holders of £1000 of stock. This sweeping 
 measure of disfranchisement^ and of centralisation 
 raised a storm of opposition in the city. Corporate pri- 
 vileges were said to be endangered, and both Houses 
 were prayed to hear counsel at the bar. The prayer was 
 granted, and some eight-and twenty whig commoners, 
 aud about as many peers, divided against the principal 
 clauses of the bill. Their resistance eventually availed 
 nothing. A Grovernor-General with four colleagues, to 
 
W EMPIRE IN ASlI. 
 
 hold office for five years, were named in the Act, and! 
 a supreme tribunal of justice, to sit at Calcutta, as a 
 court; of appeal from all inferior jurisdictions whether 
 native or. English, was in the same manner establish- 
 ed. General Clavering, Mr. Philip Francis, Colonel 
 Monson, and Mr. Barwell, were named in the Act aa 
 the colleagues of Warren Hastings, the new Proconsul 
 of Hindustan. 
 
 When it had served its turn, this first imperial 
 statute for India was superseded, and most of its pro- 
 visions were swept away among the dead leaves of legi- 
 slation. But one clause remains to be ever memorable 
 in the history of modern society — more pregnant with 
 consequences than all the statutes taken together 
 enacted in the longest reign of English kings. To eke 
 out the help they needed in their plight of financial 
 embarrassment, the Company asked and obtained a 
 remission of the duty on tea imported in their vessels. 
 For clearness' sake, the additional port-dues of 3rd. 
 in the pound chargeable in the colonies was declared 
 to be repealed. Parliament took upon itself to confer 
 this fiscal boon on the Transatlantic as well as home 
 Provinces of the Empire, by declaring that the draw- 
 back should be allowed in both upon all tea borne in 
 the East India Company's bottoms. The King was 
 fooled with a device which Lord Hillsborough assured 
 him would entrap the colonists, by the bait of a remit- 
 ted duty, into acknowledging the right of taxation in 
 parliament, which they had in the case of the Stamp 
 Act so stoutly denied. Speakers in opposition war- 
 ned Ministers that the people of Pennsylvania and 
 New England were not likely to be thus beguiled; 
 and the event soon verified their prognostics. Upon 
 acquiescence in that arrogant assumption to remit 
 imposts, the converse right to impose them manifestly 
 hung. The colonists would admit neither, and, to 
 show that they were in earnest, they flung the cargoes 
 of tea free of duty into Boston harbour. We all know 
 what followed. 
 
 Meanwhile^ the ablest man in the Company's ser* 
 
WARREN HASTINGS. 77 
 
 Tice, Warren J5§8tings, was, apparently without oppo* 
 flition,1aominated (jovernor-General of India, He had 
 tilled the chair ojE President in Bengal for the two 
 preceding years, to the satisfaction of the Company. 
 Several of his acts had indeed drawn down on him 
 the censi^re of the Opposition in Farliai:x^ent ; but the 
 merits of the questions at issijie were ijl understood, 
 find no audible objection was heard when he w^as 
 pamed for the i^ewiy-created dignity. Why was ha 
 chosen ,! and what h^d he done to earn this high 
 ^ idistinction ? What W9.8 the character of the man, 
 <;hat the responsible iai.dyisers of the Crown should 
 confide to him so great a trust? In their earjy insr 
 tructions the Board of Directors positively forbade 
 the assumption of military position, and enjoined 
 a peaceful adherence to strictly con^mercial objects. 
 But Ifastings had no mind to obey these suggestion^ 
 further tjban in name. There was neither rapid fortune 
 nor the reputation of a conqueror to be made thereby. 
 Glive's exaniple, had in ^^et, debauched aU the adven- 
 turous and unscrupulous class who were at this time, 
 Si?.y:.J~^Af'-~y^?f? J. y®.*^^ after, in the gast, The affairs of 
 the Company at home were in great embarrassment ; 
 Hastings took advantage of this on the one hand, and 
 the Ministers of the Crown took advantage of it op 
 the other. 
 
 The new President wrote to the Secret Committee 
 ^^ The truth is, that the affairs of the Conipany stand 
 p,t present on a footing which can neither last as 
 it is now, or be maintained on the rigid principjeflf; 
 of private justice. You must establish your own* 
 power, or you must hold it dependent on a superior 
 which I deem fco be inipossible'^ The reply ^ of th© 
 Secret Committee express their '^ entire approval '' 
 of his conduct. The vigour he displayed at the same 
 time in curbing subordinate abuses, and the retrench- 
 ments he effected in many quarters, rendered them* 
 unwilling to supersede him ; and Ministers at home^ 
 who wanted to obtain a larger share of patronagt,^ 
 
 1 Deepateh, 16th April 1773. 
 
78 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 not only left Lim undisturbed, but by the Act of 
 1773 raised him to a position of unprecedented power. 
 Thus it was that this singularly able, fearless,' and 
 unscrupulous man came to be the first individual 
 who ever tilled the post of English Viceroy of the 
 East. 
 
 The family of Hastings was of ancient and honour- 
 able name, but at the beginning of the century ita 
 fortunes had fallen into decay. The last portion of 
 its heritable possessions seems to- have been the 
 manor of Daylesf ord, in Worcestershire. The vicarage 
 was held for many years by the grandfather of Warren 
 Hastings, und under the old man's roof his earlier 
 days were passed. Of his father, who was a runaf^ate", 
 we only knaw that he married, at fifteen, a lady of 
 the neighbourhood, who died in the infancy of her 
 only son ; and that from his birth the portionless boy 
 was virbually left in the condition of an orphan. Of 
 his father, who survived many years, he was never 
 known to speak- The poor old vicar treated the 
 child with tenderness. Be was sent to the village 
 school, and in his pi ay hours, as he used afterwards 
 to tell, he would stroll through Daylesford Wood, or 
 lie beside the margin of the stream that rippled 
 through the meadows, pondering in his boyish heart 
 how his grandfather had been driven from the plea- 
 santest-looking place in all that conntry-side, and 
 wondering if he over should be rich enough to buy 
 it back again. Throughout a long and chequered 
 life, the thought, nurtured in his speculative and 
 romantic brain by the family talk he had overheard 
 in winter nights while sittin.^ in the chimney-cerner 
 — that thought exercised an inexorable mastery over 
 his whole fate, spurring his ambition and goading hia 
 avarice, reining his fi^erce passion, and stimulating 
 him in hours of despondency to endurance, enteprise, 
 and crime. By his uncle, a clerk in the Customa, 
 he was put ta school at Nawington, where he learned 
 little, and was half starved. He used to ascribe hia 
 stunted and delicate frame to the treatm,ent he experi- 
 
WARREN HASTINGS. 79 
 
 enced there. Subsequently sent to Westminster^ he soon 
 distinguished himself aa a scholar, and won the good- 
 will alike of his playfellows and hia teachers. There 
 he became known to Lord Shelborne and other men, 
 eminent in after life; there too began his intimacy 
 with Elijah Impey, that fatal friend, whose life thread 
 was destined &o disastrously to be interwoven with 
 his own. At bis uncle's death he was offered a cadet- 
 ship by his guardian, who was a Director of the E£st 
 India Company. The he^d-master said — No; India 
 was very far off. Hastings was a very good Grecian 
 and he- was sure to make a distinguished figure at 
 the University : if expense alone was consideration^ 
 he would pay for a couple of years the necessary 
 charge himself, sooner than allow such a pupil to h& 
 sent for life beyond the seas. There must have been 
 something really likeable about the boy, to have 
 opened the heart and the purse of the old school- 
 master — something more than his mere proficiency in 
 classics. 
 
 Uncle Ghiswick, however, had no faith in Sophocles 
 or Aristotle ; so it ended in the youth's acceptance 
 of a writership at Calcutta. In a brief summary of 
 his early days, found amongst his papers, he mentions 
 how he was the junior of eight young men of respect- 
 able middle-class parentage, who went out at the same 
 time. The prospects of such adventure were then 
 held in moderate estimation. They were soon to_ 
 brighten marvellously, and soon to multiply, so as to 
 form items of honsehold calcuation in the contingent 
 resources of a too numerous family. Any one might 
 l)uy India Stock ; the Directors were chesen by the 
 stockholders; and nominations for the Company^s 
 service became widely diffused through various sec- 
 tion of the community. 
 
 Hastings could never be induced to talk much of 
 his earlier days. Peering, as one tries to do, through 
 the glare of his subsequent career, the circumstancea 
 and incidents of that portion of it which was. perhaps, 
 the purest and the best; look indistinct and dim, like 
 
so EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 objects seen through atelescope turned the wrong way. 
 It is the saddest of sad things, and one of the worst 
 of bad signs, of a man that has fought his own way 
 to greatness, that he ahould endeavour to ignore the 
 earlier reniiniscences of the struggle. There certainly 
 Ij^as no lack of courage or persistency in the young 
 cadet. He worked hard at the Factory, as it was 
 called — that is, the place where the few English in 
 Bengal resided, and where they had built store- 
 houses for carrying on the export trade of the 
 Company. 
 
 When Glive, in 1756, was sent from Madras to 
 retrieve the disaster on the Hoogly, he was looked 
 npon by the outnumbered and desponding English at 
 Calcutta as a Heavensent deliverer. Hastings gazed 
 on the passionate features of Olive with wonder, and 
 was fascinated by the energy and selfreliant daring 
 of the man. On his part, Olive, who was ever quick 
 in discerning special aptitude for the work he wanted 
 done, saw that there were things of difficulty and 
 monjient which the pale and pensive little cadet could 
 do much better than mounting guard, or heading a 
 party of sepoy skirmishers. He was sent to Moor- 
 jihedabad to keep his eyes about him at the Nawab'a 
 court, to insinuate himself into tbe confidence of his 
 Ministers and followers, to make them believe from 
 time to time whatever Olive thought necessary, and 
 to report all faithfully to him. He drew forty rupees 
 a mouth at this period, and the only recorded duty 
 jhe performed was every day to read prayers. — to 
 whom, does not appear. What minor share of the 
 booty fell to Hasting?, none now can tell. In 1764 
 he returned to England a widower, and $oon after 
 prematurely lost his only child. The bulk of what- 
 ever fortune he bad brought home 'was lost about the 
 same time by the failure of the house in which ho 
 had invested it. How he occupied himself during 
 his residence in London must be left to conjecture. 
 Could the periodical literature of the day be thoroughly 
 dipcrwinated, according to its authors, it would 
 
WARREN HASTINGS. 81 
 
 probably appear that Hastings was ambitious o£ 
 literary fame. He had a project for the establishment 
 of a professorship of Oriental languages at Oxford, 
 and he sought the acquaintanceship of D". Johnson, 
 whose approval he wished to engage on its behalf. 
 The Doctor, a man not easily propitiated, was pleased 
 with his deferential manner towards him, and liked 
 his talk about Persian poetry. But there is little 
 evidence in the mountainous piles of the public and 
 private correspondence of Hastings that he had any 
 original gift of composition ; and Burke^ when his 
 antipathy grew hot and he was looking round for 
 missiles of all kinds to fling at him, did not omit, 
 amongst other taunts, to upbraid him with not knowing 
 how to write intelligible English. This was just 
 the sort of stab, in a tender spot, that was more likely 
 to make the imperturbable culpirt wince, uttered as 
 it was in the presence of the beauty, fashion, and 
 genius of England assembled in Westminister Hall, 
 than all the fierce political invectives levelled at him. 
 He had been examined as a witness before the 
 Seloct Committee of 1766, and the clearness and vigf- 
 our of the views expounded in his evidence produced 
 a great impression. He continued, nevertheless, some 
 time longer chafing at the want of adequate employ- 
 ment, and wasting his hours in pleasme or literary 
 obscurity. Meanwhile, under the infirm i ule of Olive's 
 successors, the affairs of the Company ^in Bengal 
 went ill, and in the Presidency of Madras they fared 
 little better. Men of greater capacity and nerve were 
 wanted for their retrieval, and Hastings was invited 
 by the Court of Directors to take tlie place of a Mem- 
 ber of Council at Fort St G-eorge. He accepted with- 
 out hesitation. In point of fact^ the offer did not come 
 a day too soon. The gains of his former residence 
 in India were well-nigh spent, and he was obliged to 
 borrow a considerable sum of money to provide his 
 new outfit. It deserves to be remembered that during 
 the season of his embarrassment he continued to pay 
 some small anuities which he had granted to straiten-* 
 
) 
 
 82 \ EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 e<l relatives and others who he felt had some claims 
 upon him ; and in going to the East a second time^ 
 he endeavoured to provide to the utmost of his power 
 for their unabridged continuance. Like many other 
 men of a similar cast of mind, he was at once greedy 
 of money, and munificent in its expenditure ; he had 
 as litte objection as any feudal free booter to rifle or 
 overreach in a public way ; and he was equally ready 
 to lavish what he thus obtained in acts of hospitality 
 and kindness. In the ship that bore him to Madras^ 
 was Baron Imhotf, who, with his wife, was proceeding 
 to India in the hape of making a subsistence there as 
 a porti ait-painter. The lady was very fascinating 
 and very fair ; and Eer great mistake in life, she 
 thought, was having thrown herself away upon the 
 Biaron ere she was old enough to really know her own 
 mind. Her husband did not appreciate her as she 
 deserved. Hastings did, as he tenderly assured her^ 
 and her con'ffdence and affection were speedily trans- 
 ferred from the unprosperous father of her children to 
 the plausible and accomplislred politician. During the 
 voyage he fell ill,, and Madame nursed him with as- 
 siduous care. The Baron looked on and said nothing. 
 On arriving at Madras. Hastings suggested that it 
 would be better for all parties if proceedings were 
 initiated in Franconia for the dissolution of the mar- 
 riage j that until then the emigrant household should 
 not be broken up ; but after that he should marry 
 Madame, provide for the children, and settle a hand- 
 some allowance on the Baron. The terms were accep- 
 ted» the legal proceedings were taken, the Baroness 
 eventually became Mrs Hastings, and the painter of 
 portraits, with the price of his conjugal emancipation, 
 returned to his own country to be heard of no more. 
 
 The plague of personal rapine was at its height* 
 The razzias made with impunity in Bengal and else- 
 where had fired the cupidity af adventure in every 
 station, high and low. The counting-house was de- 
 serted continually far marauding expeditions, un- 
 dertaken on one pretence or another, generally under 
 
WARREN HASTINGS.. S^; 
 
 native leadership, but generally devised aixd prepared 
 within the precincts of the Company ^s settlements. 
 Commerce was forsaken for soldiership^, and soldier- 
 ship was but another name for freebooting. During this 
 pe^riod the business of a servant of the Company wias 
 sfrnply to wring out of the- natives a hundred or two 
 hundred thousand> pounds as speedily as possible, that 
 he mightreturn home before his constitution had suffer- 
 ed from- the beat to marry a peer's daughter, to buy rot>- 
 ten boroughs in Corn wall, and to give balls in-May; 
 FairJ Atkinson; and Benfield were types of this.clbss^of' 
 whom more by and. by. Hastings^ was- not- blind to* 
 opportunities, or deaf to the promptings ol. personal 
 ambition, ^ls he remembered Dayiesford, and looked 
 at the showy and accomplished; Marion, he- doubtless^ 
 dreamt many a dream of gain and; glory 
 to come; and what perilous jungles and 
 (jLuagmires he was ready to tramp through 
 on his way to opulence aud honour^ he was soon to 
 prove. In the meantime, however, he had the shrewd- 
 ness to discern that what the Company wanted most 
 at Madras was somebody to look after their invest- 
 ments, for upon these depended the dividends which 
 formed the jewels of the joint-stock, crown. While 
 his comrades and colleagues at Madras were filling 
 their private chests, drinking hard, and preparing 
 to ship off their spoils to England on the first alarm, 
 he set about overhauling the ledgers of the Presidency, 
 pulling up the brokers for overcharge^ and endeavour- 
 ing to resuscitate the profitable trade with the native 
 merchants by greater punctuality in dealing, and by^ 
 giving more remunerative prices than they had for- 
 aome time been, able to obtain. Leadienhall Street 
 was delighted. What a man this Mr. Hastings! a 
 man in a thousand who had. the- Gompany/s interest at 
 heart ; emineiitly deserving: of promotion. And promo- 
 tion quickly came. Kext year Hastings was promoted 
 to be second in Council at Calcutta, with the reversioa 
 of the President's, chair on the next vacancy. 
 
 X Waj:r€xi&SA6tiag8 i>y Lord HacAolay—fi^a^a, toI* m» p. 22I9, 
 
84 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 Clive had burst open the gilded gates of po,\v;er ixx 
 B^ngal^ rifled the treasure, and kept the key. He 
 made himself and his successors the irresponsibly 
 'fin^i^ce Minister^ of the province, with unlimited 
 pow^r of taxation, collection, and expenditure. But 
 the ;ip.tive Govern inent still in name subsisted, j^ 
 liberal civil list was guaranteed to the Nawab. Hq 
 kept his court \vith hardly diminished splendour. 
 Justice was stijl adtninistered in his name; and it was 
 through a native official of high rank, resident at 
 Hoorstiedabad, that the produce of the taxes was 
 received by the Comp^-ny. 
 
 The forms of local administration remained as 
 jDJive had shaped them. In semblance, the imperial 
 authority still subsisted, the titles o^ the M^jgul being 
 still emblazoned on all public documents, and money 
 beinor still coined only in his name. The Ferinc/hees 
 had contracted to be responsible for jbhe procjucp of 
 the Dewanny and of all imports in native hands. Ins- 
 tructions from England ^ were precise that the old 
 forms should be kept up, because the Directors deemed 
 it essential that the local dignity and state of tho 
 Naw^b-Nazim should be upheld. Tnif organised hy- 
 po cri^y. of jdepu ted. rule waSj nevertheless^ too com- 
 plicated for efficient working ; and even though it 
 jh^id time to I^q amended and improved, it woul(} 
 hardly have lasted long. It was but a compromise 
 hastily framed and rudely imposed upon the weaker 
 p9,rty at the end of a struggle which had its origin in 
 the wor§t of motives, and the scars inflicted in which 
 had not beerj healed. The Naib of Dacca, Mahomed 
 R.eza Khan, was at oncQ the chief Minister of the 
 Nawab and chief collector of the Dewanny. There is 
 no reason for doubting his integrity in the discharge 
 of both functions. But he would have been more thau 
 man if he could have infused into a multitude of na^ 
 tive subordinates, sentiments of sudden fidelity and 
 zeal for the interests of the new-comers- He owed to 
 them his appointment as Naib or Vice-Treasurer of 
 
 1 Letter of Court of Dircotore. 
 
WARREN HASTINGS. , 85 
 
 Bengal, for which he received one lac of rupees. His 
 first duty Was to pay the civil list, which, m the life- 
 time of Ntidjum-ti'l-Dowla, had been fixed at fifty- 
 three lacs, but which, oh iUxe accession of his brother, 
 Syef, was reduced to forty-one lacs. 
 
 'Tlobaruck-ul-Davv^la, a minor, had beeh i^ecognia^d 
 ks heir to the Ni2;amut, and thirty two lac^ of rupees, 
 guaranteed to him by treaty, ^ continued to be paid 
 for thd maintenance of his (iourt and dignity. Jn 
 1768; 2 the Directors had forbidden any fltrthei* re- 
 duction of tlie SouBah (lar*3 civil list, fiied by the 
 treaty of 1766 at fortj-one lacs ; but their pecuniary 
 ti'eeds growing more urgent, they wrote in 1771-^ 
 iEo'Mr. Cartier, the acting Govern or- General—^* We 
 fiied^n not to disapprove the preserving the succes- 
 sion in the family of Mir Ji-ffir, on the contrary, 
 both justice and policy recommended a measure which 
 at once corresponds with the customs and inclinations 
 of the people of Bengal/' But they reproved the 
 want of thrift, shown in squandering on the *' parasi- 
 tes and sycophants'' of a minor so large a sum, and 
 peremptorily required tiiat it should be cut down one 
 half, until he should come of a^fe. Bv what riofht and 
 on what plea they thus varied the specific terms 
 of a treaty which gave them no semblance of dis- 
 cretion, and which concludes with a solemn guarantee 
 that, 'with the blessing of God, this treaty shall b^ 
 inviolably observed for ever," has never, during the 
 century which has since elapsed, been explained. If, 
 however, there was fraud in rliis frugality, there was 
 likevvlse frugality evinced in working out the fraud; 
 for the Directors wrote — ''As the reduction of the 
 Nawab's stipend is adventitious and temporary, we by 
 ho. means intend that the commission of 2i per c'entT 
 granted to our servants on oUr net territorial revenues 
 should be Th creased by this alteration ; and, therefore, 
 the former stipend of thirty-six lacs must still be de- 
 ducted from the gross amount of those revenues. lu 
 1 2Ut March 1770. 2 Despatch, l«th March 1768. 
 
 3 Deeputcb, lOth April I77I. 
 
'85 ^EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 like manner, no commission must be drawn on the 
 sums which may be retrenched from the appoint- 
 ments to the Nawab^s Ministers.'' 
 
 These abatements were successively exacted upon 
 the plea that reductions had been made in the native 
 troops previously maintained to enforce the payment 
 of the revenue ; and these reductions were rendered 
 possible from time to time, as the powers and duties 
 of the Dewanny, despite the inhibitions from home, 
 were absorbed by the Company^s officicals. As the 
 native forces of Moorshedabad diminished, those in 
 the pay of Port William increased in number. It 
 was a period and a policy of transition ; and when Mr 
 Yerelst retired trom the Presidency in 1772, his n^.ore 
 daring and unscruplous successor resolved ^that it 
 should cease. 
 
 ^Before quitting England, Hastings had told the 
 Directors that the relations which Olive had establish- 
 ed between the native court at Moorshedabad and the 
 English settlement at Calcutta could not long be 
 maintained. They must either relinquish the ano- 
 malous powers of interference with the entire con- 
 cerns of the province, or take its whole adminstration 
 into their own hands. This was the political side of 
 the question, but there was another which touched 
 them more nearly. The extravagant expectations 
 raised by the spectacle of the first few years of spolia- 
 tion were speedily disappointed. Even Indian palaces 
 can be plundered but oice. Every year after Olive's 
 departure the remittances felfoff, and the Company 
 were led to believe that they were defrauded of their 
 due. Hastings was desired to remove the Minister of 
 the Nawab and appoint another, or take the collection 
 of the revenue into his own hands. He resolved upon 
 the latter, but thought it necessary to dissemble. He 
 took counsel with Nuncomar, a Hindu of high rank, 
 great wealth, and a'n" intriguing spirit. He suffered 
 him to belie vre that he was to succeed Mahomed Reza 
 Khan as Minister. They plotted together for his 
 overthrow ; and when'all w^s ready, Hastings ordered 
 
WARREN BASTINGS. 87 
 
 a bodv of British troops to surround the palace of the 
 unsuspecting Minister, and bring him a prisoner 
 to Calcutta. His friend, JSitab Roy, the Naib of 
 Behar, was at |the same time arrested and confined. 
 Many months elapsed before they were brought to 
 trial — the only excuse for which alleged by Hastings 
 being that the influence of the deposed Minister was 
 so great, that it was necessary to show the people it 
 was broken ere he could be brought to judgment. 
 At length the day arrived, too long postponed. 
 Nuncomar^s proofs entirely failed, and both of the 
 accused were honourably acquitted. A small pension 
 for life was given to Mahomed Reza Khan ; but, re- 
 gardless of the stipulation he had made with Olive, 
 that in any event he should have the reversion of the 
 office he had held previously at Dacca, he was not 
 allowed again to hold any post of consequence. ISitab 
 Roy had for years been the cordial and fearless parti- 
 san of the English. He had rendered them many 
 signal services ; and when their factory at Patna was 
 beleaguered, he had contributed to repel the assailants 
 extorting from his European comrades enthusiastic 
 acknowledgments and praise. Too_late_Jie learned, 
 that bis J)est days had been devoted to ^e humiliation 
 of his race and creed ; that "no" ffdelity could insure 
 him against bad faith, and no truthfulness against 
 treachery. He was sent back to his province with a 
 profusion of blandishments and gifts, but his spirit 
 was broken, and he survived only a few months. 
 
 Goordas, the son of Nuncomar was appointed treas- 
 urer at Moorshedabad ; and instead of the young 
 Nawab^s mother, Munny Begum, formerly a dancing- 
 girl, and afterwards an inmate of the late Soubahdar'a 
 harem, was appointed guardian. The insulting nature 
 of these appointments, under the circumstances admit- 
 ted of no dispute. They were justly characterised 
 afterwards as savouring of the very wantonness of 
 oppression, unless they were to be ascribed to the 
 more cruel purpose of deliberately humbling in the 
 eyes of a Mohammedan community what still re- 
 
83 EMPIRE IN AStA. 
 
 mained of the semblance of native rule. "It was 
 on Nuncomar's abilities, and on the activity of his 
 hatred to Mahomed Reza Khan/' that Hastings owns 
 he had relied *^for investigating the conduct of the 
 latter, and by eradicating his influence, for confirm- 
 ing the authority which we had assumed in the ad- 
 ministration of aflEairs."^ The work done, the tool 
 was contemptuously thrown by. Nuncoumar and Has- 
 tings had known each other years before as rivals in 
 intrigue at Moorshedabad, and their distrust was 
 mutual. The Brahmin found that he had been thoroughly 
 duped, an3 his rage, though mute, was bitter and 
 implacable. He had seen Mahomed Reza Khan pre- 
 ferred to him by Olive in the appointment he desired, 
 and he had ever since plotted his overthrow. That 
 accomplished, he had been taught to reckon on the 
 rsversion of the lucrative post; instead, of . which, 
 'it was abolished, and its profits swept into the stran- 
 gei'^s lap. The nomination of his son to titular dignity, 
 at a small salary^ and without power, was not calcula- 
 ted to soothe him. He vowed unsleeping vengeance, 
 and resolved to bide his time. 
 
 Following quickly on these changes others came, 
 chiefly of internal administration. Under the Act 
 of 1773, a Board of Revenue was established at 
 Calcutta, wivh provincial inspectors under them, 
 whereby the entire management ox the Dewanny was 
 withdrawn from native hands. About the same time 
 two new courts of justice the Sudder Adawlut and 
 the jMizamut Adawlut, were erected, for the trial 
 respectively of criminal causes and civil suits. The 
 local tribunals in Bengal were said to have fallen 
 into decay, and justice between man and man, it was 
 averred, was bought and sold. It is probably true 
 that where servants or dependants of the new and 
 encroaching power had disputes with natives, the latter 
 should resort to means of corruption in self-defence ; 
 and instances of this kind becoming known, it was 
 natural tiiat unscrupulous and over bearing intruders 
 
WA RE EN HASTINGS. 89 
 
 sliotlld denounce the whole system to superiors so 
 covetous of extended patronage and power. Bufc 
 what were young officials newly imported from Eug- 
 laud likely to know of the ordinary adminstration 
 of law between man and man throitghout the country? 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 fUNCHATB! T AND A D A W L 1!. 
 
 1772. 
 
 «^ An intelligent native is better qualified to preside at a trial than we can 
 ever be. A native of common capacity will, after a little experience, 
 examine witnesses and investigate the most intricate c^se, with more 
 temper and perseverance, with more ability and effect, than almost 
 any European. The Munsif (magistrate) is in the society of the part* 
 ies, and they cannot easily duoeive him. But if the cause comes before 
 the zillah Judge, besides the inevitable delay and expense at the out' 
 Bet, the conditions of the case are probably entirely changed, intrigue 
 and counter complaints occur, the most impudent falsehoods are advan- 
 ced with impunity, and, in, the end, perhaps an erroneous decision is 
 passed. Bat who Mhali distinguish between mistake and imposture.^ 
 What English Judge c»n ditiitinguish the exact truth among the nume- 
 rous inconsistencies of the natives he examines? How often do these 
 inconsistencies proceed from causes very different from those suspected 
 by us? how often from simplicity, fear, embarrassment in the witness P 
 how often oar oWn ignorance and impatience?" 
 
 — H. STEACBEY, 1802 1 
 
 THE spirit of conquest paused not at the palace gate. 
 We have already heard it there, and marked its 
 tone of scornful meance and imperious boasting. We 
 must new observe its gait and mien in the Adawlut, 
 in the Outchery, in the Dewannee. How fared it with 
 the rajahs, the talookdars, and the ryots? 
 
 It will have been seen how the great lieutenants who 
 were intrusfced by the Court of Delhi with the rule of la- 
 rge provinces, succeeded in establishing for them- 
 selves almost independent governments. In a different 
 sphere, the local chiefs in many instances had played 
 succeessfully a similar game. Availing themselves of 
 1 Circuit Judge Filth Report of Select Committee, p. 541, et, scq. 
 
PUNCH A YET AND ADA WL UT. 91 
 
 ^Tie embarrassment of their suzerains, they tried to 
 emancipate their particular domains from those tri- 
 butes that pressed most heavily upon them ; though) 
 in a majority of instances, a real as well as nominal 
 fealty was kept up to the Soubahdar or the Mogul. 
 The continual recurrence of war made this a matter 
 of self -defensive necessity. A rajah desired to be 
 independent within his own jbex^rjioiies, and to ad- 
 minister the laws without the intervention of a 
 distant and necessarily ignoront Court. But he 
 Kew how little he could stand alone against exter- 
 nal enemies ; and he willingly rendered for the pro* 
 tection afforded to his little principality, as an in- 
 tegral portion of some powerful state, that contri 
 butive aid which it in return demanded. The 
 terms, indeed, of these mutual obligations were 
 various, and depended much upon the strength of 
 tfiie rajahs and the position of their territories. 
 Sometimes these chieftains were united among 
 themselves by the ties of blood or friendship, and 
 sometimes by the ties of neighbourhood and common 
 interest. We may conceive how jealously such associ- 
 ations were regarded by the superior princes ; we 
 may also conceive how powerful and how beneticial they 
 were capable of being made to those included in them. 
 It was the confederacy of local power against cen- 
 tralised ambition, the strengthening of an authority 
 which, though not theoretically responsible to the 
 opinion of its subjects, was at least always present to 
 receive information, generally identified with the in- 
 terest of the people, and seldom strong enough to defy 
 with long impunity their prejudices or remons- 
 trances. The peasant cultivator, when he tilled his 
 farm, might grumble at the share that went as rent 
 to the zemindar or the rajah; but he had, at least, the 
 protection of a native local judge, if not a jury, 
 against undue exaction ; and he had the satisfaction 
 of seeing what was taken from his industry spent among 
 the community of which he was a member. Many of 
 the native Governments, from the times of the Arab 
 
^ UMPIUE tN ASIA. 
 
 conquest, adhered to the social and politrcal pt'ecepta. 
 of the Frophet, aud in many respects the civilisation 
 they enjoyed was superior to that o£ the Hindus. 
 Their laws, their arts, their manners, above all, the 
 simplicity of their worship, vindicated their claim of 
 race to pre-eminence, and imparted to their Governnienlr 
 a (Character and tone less unlike that of Europeans. 
 
 But there never was ah error more groundless 
 than that which represented the ancient systems oi 
 Indian rule as decrepid or degrading despotisms, 
 untempered by ymblic opinion. It accords too well 
 with the arrogance of national self love, and serves 
 too easily to lull the conscience of aggression, to 
 pretend that those whom it has wronged were 
 superstitious slaves, and that they must have so 
 remained but for the disinterested violence of foreign 
 divilisation, introduced by it sword in hand. This 
 pretentious theory is confuted by the admissions of 
 men whose knowledge cannot be disputed, aud whose 
 authority cannot be denied. Malcolm and Elphin- 
 stone, Munro and Mill, are witnesses whose testmony 
 it cannot withstand, from them we learn not all 
 perhaps we wt>uld wish to know, but far too much 
 to leave one stone upon another of this poor refuge 
 of lies. If we would really know what a people 
 have lost and gained by foreign subjugation, it is 
 requisite to view them as they orginally were under 
 their indigenous institution. 
 
 In religion, the communities of Southern Asia were 
 divided, the aboriginal majority being followers of 
 Brahma ; while a powerful minority professed the faith 
 of Islam. This minority, though severed by opinions 
 and by victorious arms from the mass of the com- 
 munity, and differing from them irreconcilably in 
 many usages and ideas, had nevertheless begun to 
 blend their sympathies and associations with those 
 of their fellow-countrymen ; and except «vhen the 
 ifanaticism of foolish men, or the craft of worthless 
 fiien, rekindled now and then old jealousies, the Hindu 
 and the Mohammedan liyed happily togetl^er, and, 
 
FUNG HA YET AND ADA WL UT, 93 
 
 fbt the approach of an enemy^ went forth cheerfully 
 lo fight side by side for one another's homes. 
 
 Tliey believed dissimilarly of human destiny in 
 the world to come, and of the things which they sup- 
 posed would influence their iijdividual lot therein : 
 but in the duty they owed their country and their 
 children, fchey found many points of common obliga- 
 tion, for Mahomet and Brahma had alike ordained 
 that no behest is more imperative upon faithful 
 votaries than that of guarding intact the family 
 hearth, of seeing justice done among neighbours, and 
 of faithfully defending the head of the state as the 
 fountain of order and law- No exception was specified 
 in their holy books wherein they should be justified 
 in compromising the integrity of their native soil, 
 QV^in bartering their material rights and immunities 
 for foreign giHs or favours. A few rich bankers .in 
 their cities, and a few abandoned characters, might 
 lend themselves to earn the wages of intrigue 9r 
 espionage ; but the bulk of the population, high born 
 or of low dogree, wordly or devout, viewed with 
 instinctive aversion the intrusion of strangers whose 
 language they did not understand, whose morality 
 they could not squar^ with any rule of right and 
 wrong, and whose professed belief in the worth of St 
 jgospel of peace, and in forbearance, rightousness, 
 and judgment to come, they could riot but set down 
 to mere dissembling.' It was not that they any more 
 than other men were exempt from evils in their social 
 and political condition. Oppression in its varied 
 forms had from time to time lived its predatory 
 life in many portions of their golden land. Govern- 
 pient in the hands of bold and bad men, like Sivajee 
 and Hyder Ali, assumed the form of capricious 
 tyranny, ^.nd was for the time grievous to be borne. 
 But there were usurpations, exceptidnal, violent, 
 and unpopular, like those of Borgia, Louis XI, Philip 
 II, Richard III., Mary Tudor, and the last of the 
 Stuart3. In every country, evil deeds, however 
 exceptional, are most talked of and best remembered, 
 
94 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 and " blessed is the land wbose annals are vacant.^ 
 It is not more trae of Southern Asia than of Western 
 Earope to say, that the everyday habits of either 
 supreme or subordinate rule were semi-barbaroua,. 
 venal, sanguinary, or rapacious. When a Rajah,. 
 Maharajah, or Peishwa, Naib, Nazim, or Padishah, 
 contrived for a season to make himself strong enough. 
 to clutch and keep more than his share of the goods^ 
 of the community, he was sure to defend his illgotten. 
 gains by acts of cruelty or corruption ; for he had^ 
 become for the time, or thought he had become,, 
 irresponsible ; and in that one word is briefly toli 
 the otherwise iunumerable oscillations of popular 
 fate, from good to evil and from happiness to misery 
 of which every country that we know of tas at some 
 time or other been the scene. 
 
 Nor have we any reason to suppose that Indian; 
 despots were any better than such characters have 
 proved to be in every other part of God's tair world. 
 Wherever they have been suffered to pervert a. 
 country or a province, intended for the secure- 
 dwelling place of the people, into a princely hunting- 
 ground, we are told of periodical alternations in the 
 pursuit of the game, caused by the variety of personal 
 disposiition. Occasionally we find intervals of diffe^ 
 rent lengthy when the objects of the chase got breath- 
 ing time; and again we hear how this intermission 
 gave a higher zest to the renewed sport. But in 
 general these incidents of mercy and forbearance 
 occur pretty much as often in one quarter of the globe 
 as in another. In both, marked and noteworthy 
 respities from oppression have, we know, taken place. 
 It may, however, be doubted whether, under the monr 
 archies of the East, the people have not as frequently 
 found justice and protection, as under those of feudal 
 or over-centralised Europe. Looking back through 
 the family picture of misrule^ from Catherine^ de- 
 Medicis to Louis fe Grand, from Philip the Cruet 
 to Ferdinand the fool, and from John the Faithless 
 to Charles the False, not forgetting parricide Peter 
 
PUNCH A YET AND ADA WL UT, 95 
 
 of Muscovji and the Neapolitan Bourbons, it will 
 appear some vv hat difficulb, and rather uncharitable, 
 to imagine how any worse than these could have ruled 
 over Hindustan. Into the comparative merits of the 
 dynasties that, during the eighteenth century, gover- 
 ned Southern Asia, we cannot at present enter. That 
 many of them used their too greet prerogatives for 
 evil -may be naturally supposed. Every analogy 
 tends to confirm such a surmise, and we are not with- 
 out records which sufiiciently attest its justice. But 
 if the dark side of the picture admits of little sce- 
 pticism, neither does its opposite. We have both 
 analogy and proof abundant for the assertion, that 
 better princes never lived than many of those whose 
 memories are still affectionately cherished among tha 
 descendants of their people. Perhaps the most 
 striking proof that is anywhere recorded of the 
 triumph of a pure and noble nature over the currup- 
 ting influences of irresponsible power, is that of Aha- 
 lya, who for thirty peaceful years reigned over the 
 rich and populous kingdom of Malwa honoured and 
 respected by surrounding princes, and an object of 
 adoration among the people blessed by her rule. In 
 1765 the male heirs of the house of Holkar became 
 extinct, and the sovereignty devolved upon Ahalya 
 Baee, the mother of the last monarch, and wife of his 
 
 i~~red¥cessor. Prom the moment that the onerous 
 uties of government fell into her hands she evinced 
 a superior capacity to discharge them. Her foreign 
 policy was as successful as that of Catherine of 
 Eussia, but her pillow was not drenched with a 
 husband^s blood. In personal courage and address 
 she was not inferior to Elizabeth of England, but she 
 did not slay her captive competitor in a prison. The 
 circumstances of. her elevation resembled those which 
 raised Margaret of Denmark to the throne ; but she 
 neither trampled on the rich nor oppressed the poor, 
 nor caused the breath of suspicion to assail her vir- 
 tue. 1 The leading object, we are told, she sought 
 ^ Yertot'fi Kevolutiona of Swedes, 
 
96 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 to aeh'eve, was by justice and moderation to improve 
 the condition of h.er country, and to increase the 
 happiness of her peopje. She kept on foo.t but a small 
 force, ** yet her troops were si^tficient, aided by the 
 equity of her administration to pres^;*ye internal 
 tranquillity/' Ahalya was a j^agai^i, but she was accus- 
 tomed to say " that she deemed hprself answerable 
 to God for every exercise of power/' aud when h^r 
 officers would urge her to measures of severity against 
 the misguided or the guilty, she used to say, "'• Let us 
 mortals beware how we destroy tKe works of the 
 Almighty/^ Intolerance is not a defect of Hinduism ; 
 but Ahalya, though devotedly attached to the opinions 
 in which she had been reared, wa3, we are told, 
 .** peculiarly kind and considerate to such of her sub- 
 jects as differed from her in faith/' Ahalya was not 
 a Christian, but she was marciiul, self-denying, assi^- 
 ,uons in performing jthe duties of her station, faithful In 
 dealing out justice to all; and throjigh the course of a 
 long and public life, she lived blameless aud unimpea- 
 chable. The premature decease of those she loved tin- 
 ged her heart with the pale hue of sorrow ; and hum- 
 ble amid splendour, unambitious on a throne, she 
 retained unaltered her un forgetting garb, and died 
 as she had lived, the childless and widowed Queen. 
 Whether it lies in the mouth of those who, twenty 
 years after death, entered tlie territories she had 
 ruled over, and reduced them, after infinite bloodshed 
 and ruin, to that state of subjection in which, to use 
 the compunctions phrase of the invading general 
 the people, as compared with other conqured nations ; 
 were treated "with unexampled gcorn'^ — each of ua 
 must answer to his own heart. 
 
 During the reigns of the earlier Emperors of 
 Delhi, to the middle of the seventeenth century, 
 complete tolerance was shown to all religions. Shall 
 they who build the tombs of those who at that very 
 time, were busily employed iu making Europe one 
 mighty charnel-house of pers,^cution, and in colonisin, 
 A-Dierica with fugitives for conscience ske, rise up 
 
PUNCHA YET AND ADA WL UT. 97 
 
 in judgment against India, or load the breath of his- 
 tory with the insolent pretence of having then enjoyed 
 a truer civilisation ? What if they were taken at their 
 word, and called forth with the Covenanters' bloody 
 and the Catholic's blood, and the Puritan's blood 
 dripping quick from the orthodox hands that all that 
 time were building scaffolds, riveting chains, and 
 penning penal '* Acts of Uniformity?'' 
 
 Neither Moslem nor Hindu was incapacitated for 
 public employment on account of the belief in which 
 he had been brought up. Mohammendan princes 
 gladly confided to learned and astute Brahmins civil 
 trusts of importance ; and many a Mussulman rose to 
 honour and won fortune in a Maharajah's camp. The 
 Ministers of Hyder Ali, who concealed for a time 
 the event of his death, were Hindus of the highest 
 caste; and when a Chancellor of the Exchequer was 
 to be appointed at Moorshedabad, the Nawab-Nazim 
 tried to have Nuncomar appointed instead of Mahomed 
 Eeza Khan. Sivajee was a bigot, and Tippoo a 
 fanatic. But the Grovernments of Southern Asia, 
 when we began to meddle in their affairs, were strang- 
 ers £oJihe syaiem of penal laws, which were then 
 
 iijnong..,.tlia-..ah.er institutions of our own and 
 
 iiearly every other European state. While no Catholic 
 in freland could inherit freehold, command a regiment, 
 or*sTi I5h the judicial bench; while in France the 
 UT^^lieribt weaver was driven into exile beyond sea ; 
 an^djwln 1 e^ i^^ w © d ©n n one but L u t h e r an s c o u 1 d s i t. jasj 
 jurors ; and in Spain noheretic was permitted Christian 
 burial; Sunis and Sheahs, Mahratt^is and Sikhs, 
 competed freely fv)r distinction and profit in almost 
 every city and camp of Plindustan. The tide of war 
 ebbed and flowed as in Christian lands, leaving itg 
 desolating traces more or less deeply marked upon 
 village homesteads or dilapidated towers. But mosqiiw 
 ^nd temple stood unscathed where they had stood 
 before, monuments of architectural taste and piety, 
 unsurpassed for beauty and richness of decoration 
 in any country of the world, The wise and humane 
 
 7 
 
98 ' EMPIRE IX ASIA. 
 
 institutions consolidated by Akbar were not shaken 
 until Auvungzebe, by his real or pretended zeal for 
 proselytism, alienated the confidence of the Hindu 
 majority of his subjects ; and the Mahrattas, when 
 they invaded his dominions were hailed as religious 
 deliverers, notwithstanding all the miseries they 
 caused.^ From that event the Mogul Empire decli- 
 ned, and the Mahratta leaders succeeded in establish- 
 in o- themselves as sovereio^ns of the fair provinces of 
 the central pjain, while the enfeebled dynasty of Delhi 
 was forced to be content with its suzerainty over 
 ffie'eastorn and southern regions. It would require 
 "volumes to recount the incidents by which alterations 
 wore effected, and to tell how each princely or vice- 
 regal house flourished or faded as compared with its 
 contemporaries. The general features that charac- 
 terised them, and their general influe.ice on the com- 
 munities they governed, are matters of more interest 
 in our eyes, and it is only in this point of view that 
 the condition of the people then can be fairly con- 
 trasted with that which it since has been. Though 
 the supreme Governments were nominally absolute, 
 there existed in the chieftains, priesthood, courts of 
 justice, the municipal system, and, above all, in the 
 tenant-right to land, numerous and powerful barriers 
 in the way of its abuseT' ''' Property was as carefully 
 protected by laws as in Europe, '^ and their infringe- 
 ment sometimes cost a prince his throne or life.^ 
 
 When the Mohammedans overran all the kingdoms 
 ©f the East, the laws they introduced, though undoub- 
 tedly defective, were, if compared with the Roman or 
 the Norman code, not so remarkably " inferior as they 
 who are only familiar with those systems, and are led 
 by the sound of vulgar appluse, are in the habit of 
 believing. ^'^ It formed no part of their policy to 
 
 1 Malcolm, cbap ii. 
 
 2 The L^nd-Tax of India Considered, by Ganeral Brigge. 
 
 3 Such lit least was the judgment of the ablest Englieh writer upon 
 Indian Histeiy> Jaiaes Mill,, vol. i. 
 
PUNCHAYET ANBADAWLUT. ' W 
 
 criislr the spirit of the Rajpoots or armed nobles, whom 
 they found in every province. '' The yoke was made 
 light to them ; they were treated as the first princes 
 of the Empire-, and their adherents were raised to 
 honour and wealth/' In a word, the dynasty wa^ 
 chano*ed, but not the_0oyernmeatv TheOmrahs and 
 the Raiahs ming*led in^the same festivities, enjoyed 
 tTie same privilegeSj and^ aftera single generation had 
 passed a/way, felt e;(jually prouji of wjha^; was eg.ualiy 
 feeij;;'2ountiX' Next to them in rank we i^ the landed 
 ^entrv, the Talookdars of Oude, and Zemindars- of the 
 Deccan and Bengal, who held their^ lands hy custo- 
 mary tenures, varying in incidents and eonditions-; 
 and und'er whom were the- Putneedars' or farmers, 
 holdinor at a rent from year to vear; or sometimes at a^ 
 quitrent in fee ; and lastly, there were t^he Ryots or 
 cultivators, whose- condition resembled in many dis- 
 tricts that of the cottiers* of Ireland, and in other 
 places more nearly that oi: the- tenants of the smaller 
 ndal holdings in Ntvrway. To an- a^riculturul people, 
 the dearest and the bfjst of privileges is that which 
 gives the;n a sense of property in the soil' they 
 till. Liberty of conscience is dear, but it^ is in some 
 respects a matter of degree: Municipal liberty is 
 dear, but it is essentially a political benefit. Liberty 
 of land is far more ; it is the one th^ng without which 
 all other things are uuenjoyable. Tenancy, determi- 
 nable at the will of a superior, ia but the- legal defini- 
 tion of serfhood. 
 
 Among the oldest and most revered of their social 
 usages was that whereby every peasant had a tenant- 
 right to the land' he cultivated. Military tenures 
 never touched the ryot, compulsory service in war 
 never prevailed, and armies were raised only by 
 personal inflnence or the- promise of pay. The soil 
 belonged to the farmer; not to the noble; and this 
 right; was 'never questioned. ^' Even when violence 
 or revolution either extirpated or'expelied the origi- 
 iial inhabitanbS, ^^ m3re fact of occupation for -two 
 or three generations regenerated the rights of the 
 
100 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 cultivator, who claimed, so long as he CQuld .paj^the 
 Government share (or land-taxj, the field thai; his 
 father had tilled as his own, as the inheritance of^his 
 children, and the claim was admitted by the worst of 
 oppressors/^ ^ 
 
 The natural fruit of such a system was an ardent 
 attachment to the f^^mily roof-tiee, to the village, to 
 the p.ergunnah, and the chuck la, within whose inner 
 or outer confines dwelt all whom the peasant knew or 
 loved. Few nations have retained, under every heart- 
 break of hope, a deeper love of native land than the 
 people of Southern Asia. Amid all their misery, 
 humiliation, and disfranchisement, those who know 
 them bfst, believe that they have never wtiolly given 
 up hope of better days again to come. The families 
 of each, village, thuugh remote from each other, main- 
 tained a constant communication, and the links that 
 bound them together were only strengthened by 
 adversity. When tranquility was restored, they flock- 
 ed to tb.eir roofless homes. ** Every wall of a house, 
 every field, was taken posser.sion of by the owner or 
 cultivator without disf)ute or litigation. ^'2 They seem 
 to have been governed by strong national prejudices 
 and social affections. One of their conquerors, who 
 knew them well, declares that he found them ^^ sim- 
 ple, harmless, honest, and having as much truth in them 
 as any people in the world. '^^ jt is further noted of 
 them, that if they can earn a competence in the neigh- 
 bourhood where they have been brought up, they 
 prefer remaining there to migrating into other lands 
 holding out a more li^crative prospect. '^Nothing but 
 the extreme of hardship could drive the native 
 cultivator from the fields of his fathers "^ They prefer- 
 red enough at home to wandering far in quest of gold, 
 
 in most parts of India fche village community was, 
 
 as it is still, the unit of social, industrial, and politi- 
 
 iCrJ existence, in each family the father or head of 
 
 1 Malcolm, vol. ii. chap. i. 
 
 2 Malcolm, vel. ii. chap. j. 3 Munro, toI. \. p. 280. 
 
 4 Malcolm, vol. chiip i. 
 
PUNCHAYElANI) ADAWLm\:. lOh' 
 
 the household exercises an absolute authority. The 
 dwelliug is inviolable, and may never be entered by 
 a neighbour, save with his consent. Time out of mind, 
 the villa*^e and its common interests and affairs have 
 been ruled over by a council of elders, anciently five 
 in number, now frequently more numerous, but always 
 representative in character, who, when any dispute 
 arises, declare what i^JJl© customary law, and who, 
 when any hew or unprecedented (3ase occurs, *' occa- 
 sionally legislate. If strict language be employed, le- 
 gislation IS the only term properly expressing the 
 invention of customary rules to meet cases which are 
 really new." ^ For the best Indian authorities concur 
 in saying, that when not actually the fact, the re- 
 verent fiction is resorted to that t^h.e village council 
 is but declaring what is the customary law. ** The 
 muhTcipal and village institutions of India. '*■' says 
 Sir John Malcolm, '' were ccmpetent, from.. the power 
 given them by the common assent of all ranks, to 
 maintain order and peace within their respective 
 circles. In Central India, their rights and privileges 
 never were contested even by tyrants, while all just 
 princes founded their chief reputation and claim to 
 popularity on attentivm to them.'^^ gi^ Thomas 
 Munro, who was intimately acquainted with other 
 districts, says — •^* In all Indian villages there was a 
 regularly constituted municipality, by which its affa- 
 irs, both of revenue and police, were adffliiljistered, 
 and which exercised, to a very great extent, magis- 
 terial and judicial authority '' He describes minutely 
 the division of duties and gradations of office in these 
 corport^ r ^systems j how the public treasurer was a 
 distinou' functionary from the magistrate, and how 
 they had at their command a body of tahars or cons- 
 tables to guard the security of individuals. 
 
 The most remarkable of all the native institutiona 
 
 was the universally acknowledged jury .system. The 
 
 manner in which the members of the punchayet were 
 
 chosen depended upon the nature of the cause at issue. 
 
 1 Prof 08801 Maine, p, 116. .^ Malcolm, Yoi.iohftp. xn^ 
 
193 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 But in every case they were named by popular suffrage. 
 The presidents of these traditional courts ** were 
 always men whom the voice of the people had raised 
 into consequence as their defenders against misrule ; 
 and who looked to a reward in an auguiiientation of 
 personal influence and reputation. This they fre- 
 quently gained, and the applause and attachment 
 of their fellow-cit/izens was always greatest when 
 they were successful aids to good rule, or courageous 
 opponents of bad.^'^ The panel out of which the 
 mero.bers of this tribunal were 'selected was unlimited 
 as to rank and creed. Either party might challenge 
 such persons as he deemed unfavourably disposed 
 to him, and this right extended under certain res- 
 trictions even to the inookh or president. To be fre- 
 quently chosen president of the local court was con- 
 sidered the highest compliment which any one could 
 be paid, and to be selected a member was held to 
 be a distinction among both rich and poor.^ 
 
 This was equally true regarding civil and crimi- 
 nal issues, and its essentiality in the moral and social 
 life of the pople is plain. Subordination to authority, 
 the security :,of property, the maintenance of local 
 order, the vindication of character, and safety of 
 life, ail primarily depended upon the action of these 
 nerves and sinews of the judiciary system. To maim 
 01* paralyse such a system, reticulated minutely 
 tHroughout the whole^ frame of society, and acting 
 silently and habitually, without question or friction, 
 to the remotest extremities, may well be deemed a 
 policy which nothing but the arrogance of conquest 
 could have dictated, and the blindness of i ^sponsi- 
 ble dommiation could have persisted in. let^ these 
 municipal institutions, which confessedly had been 
 scrupulously respected in all former changes of 
 dynasty, whether Mohammedan or Mahratta, were 
 henceforth to be disregarded, ^and many of them to 
 be rudely uprooted by the new system of a foreign 
 administration. Instead of the native punchayet, 
 l.JUais,Ujn, vol li chap, xvi. 2 Malcalm, vol. i clap- xii. 
 
PUNCHA YET A ND ADA WL UT. 103 
 
 there was established aEL_ai:bitarj. judge ; instead of 
 men being tried when accused, or appealing when 
 wronged, to an elective jury of their fellow*citizens, 
 they must go before a stranger, who could not, if he 
 would, know half wHat every judge should know 
 of the men and things to be dealt with. Instead of 
 confidence, there was organised distrust j instead of 
 claim, popular, unquestioned justice ; there was substi- 
 tuted necessarily imperfect inquiry^ hopelessly pu- 
 zzled intelligence, all the temptations to indolent 
 inattention, and all the liabilities to unconscious 
 mistake ; the mute despair of injustice suffered, or 
 the gnashing of teeth at irreparable wrong, — not the 
 less wrong when inadverteni ly and unintentionally 
 done, A settled purpose was disclosed of substitut- 
 ing rudely the arbitrament of foreign officials, guess- 
 Tng at the facts through interpreters, and stumbling 
 over habits and usages it must take a lifetime to 
 leai'iij, but vvhich every native juryman or elder could 
 recall without hesitation. No wise or just historian 
 will note these things without expressions of wonder 
 and con deni nation. 
 
 Hastings himself was fully conscious of the law- 
 lessness of the newly-imposed laws. He admitted 
 that the taking of the whole criminal jurisdiction 
 oTtTie country into their own hands ^' was a usurpation 
 but they could not avoid it/^ he said ;** they would 
 Save had clashing powers,*' and so '* that justice 
 might have a footing, by hook or by crook, in Bengal, 
 we took it under our own protection.'*^ 
 
 The substitution of an exotic system or jurispru- 
 dence for that which was indigenous, and had its 
 roots in the ideas, traditions, and manners of the 
 people, had ever since the transfer of the Dewanny 
 been steadily going on. tinder the advice of Has- 
 tings it was completed by the Regulation Act in 177'3^, 
 the third clause 'of which constituted the High Court 
 of judicature at Calcutta, which a Chief-Justice and 
 three puisne Judges, clothed with plenary powers, both 
 
 ^ Letter to Mr. Dupre, January 1773. 
 
m EMPIRE IN ASU. 
 
 of first instance and of appeal in all cases, whethei*' 
 civil or criminal. Four English lawyers took their 
 places the following year on the new judgment-seat, 
 their chief being the early friend of Hastings, Sir 
 Elijah Impey. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE ROHILLAS, 
 
 1773—1776. 
 
 *• The object pt Hastings* diplomacy was at this time simply fco get, 
 money. His finAucea v^efein ah embafrassed state, and this he was 
 determined fee relieve by some meanp, fair or foul. He laid it down 
 as a maxim that when he had not as many lacs of rapees as the publJo 
 service required, he was to take them from any body who had. The 
 Directors never enjoined or applauded any crime, whoever exa- 
 mines their letters will find an admirable code of political ethics. 
 But every exhortation is nullified by a demand for money. 'Govern 
 leniently and send more money; '* Practise strict justice and moder- 
 ations towards naighbouring powers, and send more money' Ueiug 
 interpreted, these iustructions simply mean, *Be the father and the 
 oppre8>or of the people ; be just and uujuHt, moderate and rapacious. 
 tiSJi^^f-lr^'^ judged that tue safest coarse would be to neglect the 
 sermons and to find the rupees." 
 
 Lord Macaulay ^ 
 
 WHEN Lord North and his colleagues determined 
 to confer the chief place m the remodelled 
 
 systeoa on Mr. Hastings, they secured, as they belie- 
 ved, the services of the ablest man on the spot, and 
 the benefits of the greatest administrative experience; 
 but they chose aloug with him three men of a wholly 
 different stamp, who miglit, it was hoped, curb his 
 ambition, and temper bis exercise of power. General 
 Clavering, Colenel Monson, and Mr. Philip Francis 
 w^ere named in the Act as members of Council. They 
 were all persons of high political character, and Fran- 
 cis, though still unrecognised as the author of the 
 work which has become identified with his name, was 
 
 1 Critical and Historical Eassys vol, iiijp. 244. 
 
m EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 possessed of rare intellectual endowment. Even 
 those who deny him the credit of being the author 
 of the, ^^ Letters of Junius/^ must admit that he 
 showed in his acknowledged productions a grasp 
 of thought and vigour of conception, a power of 
 illustration and striking idiosyncrasy of style, rarely 
 to be met with either in politics or literature. The 
 new Grovernor-Geaeral, elated with passed success 
 and new promotion, could ill brook the sli-ickles Par- 
 liament had imposed on him. He regarded his new 
 ass'jciates from the outset as men whose ignorance 
 he was fitted to instruct, but who could teach him 
 nothing be did not already know. He understood 
 the purpose for which they had been chosen, and 
 from the first resolved to bafile it, while they distrust- 
 ed him too deeply to throw over it a veil. Nor were 
 they long in discovering ample grounds for their dis- 
 trust. The exchequer was low, the Company's dobt- 
 was increasing, and the demands from home were 
 more importunate than ever, Hastings was a 
 inan full of expedients, and not particular as to their 
 nature. The Vizier of Oude was rich and covetous 
 and might be tempted by the loan of British troops 
 to pay handsomely for territory to be filched from a 
 weaker neighbour. The project was kept a profound 
 secret from the new members of Council, audits execu- 
 tion was prepared before they were made aware of 
 its scope and aim. 
 
 Upon the confines of Oude, where the deep waters 
 of the Caramnassa wind their way through many 
 valleys, dwelt the freest race in all that land. They 
 were girded in on almost every side by rocky hills, 
 and unambitious of augmenting their wealth by 
 injury of their neighbours, they lived on the fruit 
 of their own toil, and Heaven blessed them. Like the 
 people of other districts, the Kohillas were locally 
 ruled by their own chiefs and magistrates, but they 
 enjoyed more than ordinary freedom, and consequent- 
 ly more prosperity than many other communities. 
 '^ They are never to be, feared,'' said Goveraor Verelat 
 
THE EOHILLAS. 107 
 
 it) 1768, '* from^ the nature ^^^^ ^heir govemmeiij^ 
 'v^d^^o^^3'^Sji^^^^ I' ^ i aSe c t i on vvj ij u n 1 1 e , i h e c o mnion 
 cause will animate tliem ; but it is not practicable to 
 encracye their voice on any other inotive than their 
 general safety i.^* And of the result of their steady 
 adherence to this traditional policy we are thus m- 
 formed : *' Their territory was one of the best gove- 
 rned in x\sia ; the people were pr-otected, their industry 
 encouraged, and tbe country flourished ^t^adily By 
 these cares, and by cnltivating diligently the arts of 
 neutrality, and not by conquering from their neigh- 
 bours, they provided for their independence.'^- 'i'he 
 Vizier of Oude had never been able either to subdue 
 their military spirit, nor yet to seduce it into schemes 
 of suicidal aggression. While so many of the Go- 
 vernaments of Hindustan were perpetually encroach- 
 ing on each other's territories, in much the same 
 wise and useful manner that the monarchs of Europe 
 amused themselves ia times past, the Rohillas, like 
 the Swiss, sedusously cultivated the arts of peace, and 
 such a spirit of self-defensive war as could alone 
 secure tiiem its enjoyment. 
 
 During the war of 1772, they had faithfully ad- 
 JL^r^ii i? j'^^ir.^^^i^^f^.® with the Vizier. Their terr- 
 tory lay between Oude and the restless conquests of 
 tbe Mahrattas : and when their restless people in the 
 following year menaced the dominions of the Vizier, 
 and offered advantageous terms to the brave moun- 
 tain clans, if they would allow them a passage 
 through their country, the offer was steadily and 
 repeatedly refused-^ By this they exposed them- 
 selves to the whole terapesT of'' tlie'^l^^ inroads 
 —a danger whose greatuess the haughtiest sovereigns 
 in Hindustan were not ashamed to avert by great 
 concessions. The treaty of mutual alliance by which 
 these noble people deemed it their duty thus to abide 
 had been entered at the express instance of the 
 English, and under their solemn^ guarantee ; and 
 1 Verelttts accouut. 2 Mill, book V. chap, r 
 3 Mill, book V. cbap. i. 4 Mili, book V. chap. i. 
 
"tdS EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 when the forfeit of their fidelity had been incurred, 
 and Rohillcund was ravaged by the Mahrattas, in 
 1779,'Tfie'allied forces of the English and of Oude 
 were employed to co-operate in opposing the common 
 enemy. N'> sooner however, were the western invaders 
 repelled, than the Vizier secretly devised with the 
 Governor-General a ])lan for annexing their terrir.ory. 
 This project, say Hastings, writing confidentially 
 to the Directors on 3rd December 1774, '* 1 encouraged 
 as 1 had done be fore." ^ ' ' "^ 
 
 For we are come to the period when a so-called 
 Viceroy, with more by far than kingly power, was to 
 wield at will the stolen sceptre of tlie East, — -a man 
 trained in the school of Olive, and who, if inferior 
 to his master in personal daring and military genius, 
 was perhaps more than his equal in political craft and 
 far-sighted rapacity. His account of the transaction 
 in question is too instructive to be given in any other 
 words than his own. " As this had been a favourite 
 object of the Vizier, the Board judged with me that 
 it miffht afford a fair occasion to urc^e the improve- 
 ment of alliance by obtaining his assent to an equit- 
 able compensation for the aid he had occasionally 
 received from our forces.'^ ^ ^he meaning of the 
 sleek viJlany was this : — Hastings had induced the 
 Vizier to employ a subsidiary force within his domi- 
 nions, on the plan afterwards prescribed for the ac- 
 ceptance of other princes. This force was professedly 
 to defend the Soubahdar against foreign enemies but 
 it was officered and commanded exclusively by, the 
 Company. Once introduced, there were always rea- 
 sons why it could not be withdrawn ; but as yet this 
 part of the design was not perceived by the cunning 
 but outwitted Soubahdar, Meanwhile the sums sti- 
 pulated for its support were such as to yield an over- 
 plus and to be systematically relied on as a source 
 of profit and revenue; and it was with a view to the 
 increase of this proUt, and to supply deficiencies in 
 
 1 Fifth Parliamentary Report, written by Edmuud Burke. 
 2 Fifth Parliumentary Report. 
 
THE EOHILLAS. 109 
 
 otter departments, that the sale of Eohilcund was 
 agreedjip. All advices representexl the distress of 
 the Company at home as extreme. For a long time 
 the income of the jear had, b inadequate 
 
 to its" expenditure, to defray, which a heavy bon(J- 
 debt ^Ead Been ffr^dullv accumulating'.^ A secret 
 
 ■Slls«WN»*»,,«i3*«»>.,,,^^^.,„^ 
 
 treaty was there fore entered into between the Soubah- 
 ,dar and the Governor-General, whereby the Company 
 engaged, whenever a suitable pretence should be 
 found or made, in consideration of a sum of forty lacs 
 ,of rupees, and payraent of all expenses to be, mA.i3Lr.i^^^^ 
 in the business^ in concert with the. tr.QOp^ of Oudh 
 ^to crush the Hohillas, and to add their couni^rv to the 
 d^orninion^ of {He Vizier. The impolicy of this seems 
 manifest enough. The Rohillas were, as they proved 
 themselveis to be, the best soldiers in the East, and 
 they formed a permanent outguard and defence against 
 the Mahrattas. But the insane desira of territorial 
 acquisition blinded the Vizier to his interst as well 
 as to his honour; and the ambition of duping him 
 into pecuniary and military relations with the Com- 
 pany, from which it was clearly foreseen he would 
 never be able to get free, seared the conscience of 
 Hastings to all remorse or shame. By him was the 
 precedent set of hiring out to the princes of Hindus- 
 tan, permanent bodies of British troops under the 
 designation of subsidiary forces, and thereby was 
 a means established ef sapping the authority and 
 inde^pen^^^ of every" biie of them. Hastings 
 
 avows that in establishing such a force iij. Oudh, he 
 ^designed toj^eaken the natye Gr9y.Qrn.ifij^nt, and re- 
 duce Tt to dependency ;and how soon his accomplice 
 found that he had sold himself with his prey, subse- 
 .qnent events clearly set forth. 
 
 The^ treaty of Beua^i^a^wa,^^^^ in September 
 
 mXi^i but tlie article for the destruciiori Qf the Rohil- 
 las^ w a s not d i s c lose d till January 1774. Various pre- 
 tences of claims unsatisfied had been duly made in the 
 interval : and if any one is curious on the matter he 
 
 1 Fifth Kepoxt. 
 
110 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 may on inquiry satisfy himself that they were not even* 
 colourably trite ; such, at least, was the verdict of 
 Parliauii3nt and of the Directors at home some years 
 afterwards. Why wai^te words upon- them here? On 
 the 17th /April the allies in iniqtiity entered Rohill- 
 cund. In vain the brave but outnumbered people sued 
 for mercy in vain th^y proffered bitter and miserable 
 submissions. The Vizier feared thaf they might li^ve for 
 vengeance, and insisted that nothing but the ri;;_en tire 
 dispossession fi^m their homes^ could give him- securi- 
 tjr Sooner than submit to this,, they chose rather to 
 abide the fate ot battle. , Kan^^^ed on the steer> sides 
 of tlie Babul !Nuila, ^^h^y awaited the murderous on- 
 slaught, ^^it were impossible/' said the English com- 
 mander, Colonel Champion, ^' to describe a more obsti- 
 n-ate tirmness of resolution than they displayed. Num- 
 erous were the gallant men who advanced, and pitch- 
 ed their colours between the two armies to encourage 
 their men to follow them. Two thousand fell upon 
 the field', among them many Sirdars and" ITahz Rahmet, 
 their commander, who was killed whilst bravely ral- 
 lying his people.''^ The memorable battle of Ram* 
 pur took place on 2^rd Apriij and may be said to 
 have determined the issue of the. war. Fyzoola Khan 
 retired to the ndoun tains with the broken remnant of 
 the gallant host but the country was left bare to the 
 knife of rapine. Seldom, if ever, have what are cal- 
 led the rights of victory been more inhumanly abused^ 
 ^* Every man who bore the name of R'ohilla was either 
 put to death or forced to seek safety in exile/' But 
 this did not exceed the stipulations of the treaty ; for 
 by Hastings^' own letters it appeal^ that in its provi- 
 sions there was the specific agreement that, if necessa- 
 ry, ^'the Rohillas should be exterminated/'— the lang- 
 uage is his own. ^ By the time the work of confisca- 
 tion was complete, and the red gleam of burning home- 
 steads no longer lit by night the once happy vales of 
 Rohillcund, the allies found the season spent, the 
 
 1 Fifth Pailiamentary Report. 
 
 2 Fifth Parliumentary Repoit, 
 
THE EOHILLAS. Ill 
 
 country exhausted, and Pyzoola Khan intrenched 
 so strongly in the mountains that no immediate hope 
 could be entertained of bis reduction. To him and his 
 followers they granted, therefore, terms of amnesty ; 
 and thus ended the war. 
 
 We had not the slightest pretence of quarrel with 
 the KoFn ias. We^had not even a colourable comp^^^^^^^ 
 ao^inst them. Rok^cuia.^3 was rather a defence to jdj^ 
 newly acg^uired proyincQS, and its commerce and agri- 
 culfure nourished ours. But money was wanted to 
 meet exorbitant salaries and charges, and the Goverii- 
 or-General made up his mind to pay the usury of 
 blood. He accepted the money from Oude, and hired 
 the Company's troops to the Viziei^ to seize and ex- 
 propriate Rohillcund The liberies and , lives of a 
 friendly race were the price of the subsidy. He well 
 knew the bravery of the people he was engaging to 
 hunt down, and the misery, violence, and desolation 
 to which he was devoting them. He was remostrat( 
 
 with_bxJphamp^ion, who oif ered to ' ffifow up his com- 
 mandj, an,ii deprecations the most touching came from 
 tlie unfortunate Rohilla chiefs. But the Viceroy was 
 inexorable. No t^. a single stipulation was made as to 
 the use to whioh the British troops were to be put, or- 
 the severities they might be called upon to execute. 
 They were placed unconditionally at the disposal of 
 the Vizer; the word was given and the doom of a 
 gallant race was sealed. Hastings pocketed £20,000 as^ 
 a private present for signing the treaty, andthepublip 
 treasury was replenished to the extent of £400,000. 
 
 Disagreements and divisions in the Council at 
 Calcutta, at first whispered only among the English 
 there, gradually became noised about. Native resent- 
 ment, long repressed, at length found utterance. A 
 majority of the Council were ready, for the first time, 
 to listen with impartiality, if not with sympathy and 
 pity, to the plaints of an injured people. liecent griev- 
 ance and long-cherished grudge welled up on every 
 side like the surging waters of an inundatian. The 
 [danger of Hastings grew imminent, but his courage 
 
112 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 did not fail. He continued to occupy the chair of 
 state regardless of sarcasms, inuendoes, and protests. 
 Clavering, Monson, and Francis recorded their stroncy 
 disapprov.al of the barg^iin with the Vizier, recalled 
 the troops from Rohilcund, and refused to ratify the 
 Treaty of Benares. But the Viceroy was not to be 
 turned from his purpose. He understood what his 
 employers wanted better than his antagonists did. The 
 protests of the triumvirate appealed to the conscience 
 of the Company, whatever that might be ; his con- 
 gratulations touched their heart. Exemplary regrets 
 and admonitions not to do it again wet-e, after due 
 deliberation, despatched to India ; but, as we shall 
 presently see, the ^Ministers of the Crown thought 
 it would be al^surd to call Hastings t') ^ao.Qpnnt for the 
 triumphs he had achieved ; and both they and the 
 X)irectors acquiesced in the profitable wrong, 
 
 Specific accusations were publicly made against 
 the Governor-General of vast sums_ exacted from 
 natives, under the name of presen'fsV '?or promotion to 
 office and for other considerations. Hastinorg steadilv 
 refused to hear, far less to meet, these accusations. 
 To entertain them at the Council Board, he said, was 
 to disparage his authority, and lov^er the Government 
 in the e^^timation oE the natives ; he would not condes* 
 cend to answer any of them whenever the majori- 
 ty attempted to pursue their investigations, he ^iiado 
 a point of rising and quitting the room They perse- 
 vered without him, and placed on record the complaints 
 of Munnee Begum, the Ranee of Burdwan, and her 
 adopted son RamKaeheen, Radha Shurn Roy, a vakeel 
 of the Nawab of Bengal, Oasmul, the farmer of a large 
 district, and three English gentlemen — Mr. Grant, 
 accountant to the Council of Moorshedabad, and the 
 two Messrs Fowke — -all of whom charged him specific- 
 ally with acts of gross venality and extortion. A 
 minute of the Council, adopted by Clavering, Francis, 
 and Monson, in March 1775, summed up his oifences 
 thus — ^^**There is no species of peculatioA from which 
 the Go verr or- Gen era I has thought it reasonable to 
 
THE RO HILL AS. 113 
 
 abstain. We belieyo the proofs of his having appro- 
 priated foi^r parts of the salary of the Phousdar o| 
 Pooghly are siich as will not leave a shadow of a doubt 
 concerni;ig bis guilt ii) th^ mind of any unprejudiced 
 ,persoij/' These accusations subsequently became tbe 
 subject of inquiry by Parliament, and testimony the 
 most conflictiug was adduced to sustain and rebut 
 them. There was in existence then, however, a piece of 
 evidence of which neither Lords or Commons were 
 aware, and which weighs more heavily than a score of 
 vindictive affidavits or unwrappings of finance ac- 
 counts. In a letter to Lord North, dated 27th JJkjLarch 
 1775, while the charges were still fresh, Hastings 
 elaborately inveighs against the mischief of the course 
 t^ken by Clavering, Monson, and Francis, and reasons 
 most ingeniously on the irrelevancy of the questions 
 raised by them to the ultimate interests of the State, 
 He assigns, moreover, many plausible grounds for as- 
 suming the improbability of much that they alleged 
 ^/gain^t him ; bub there is not from beginning to end 
 the simple assertion on the word of a gentleman that 
 the allegations with regard to taking bribes were false, 
 or any statomenib that can be stretched into a denial. 
 Lord North was the Minister who had made him Vice? 
 King of Hindustan. There was not living the man with 
 whom it was so important for him to stand well. He 
 was litt.le likely to hesitate aboiit any amount of varnish 
 or colouring of facts, if that would have done ; yet, 
 writing confidentially on the spur of the moment, he 
 does not venture on one manly or straightforward 
 expression of denial, such as honest men wrongfully 
 impugned are wont to utter. Bnt this is not all. We 
 have the damning fact that when impeachment at 
 home was snbsequently impending, Hastings thought 
 it prudent to lodge in the treasury oFjCJalcutta £20Q^ 
 660, which he could only account for as having been 
 from time tutime received by him in his public capa- 
 city, and having been inadvertently omitted until theii 
 to be placed to the credit of the State. 
 
 At the head of his accusers stood Nuncomar. Hia 
 
114 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 pride as the ablest man of his race had been wounded 
 by Hastings, his ambition as a skilful financier and dip- 
 lomatist had been baffled by him, his self-love as the 
 wiliest of intriguers had been stung ; for he had been 
 outwitted partly by the craft of Hastings, when Resi- 
 dent at Moorshedabad, in the affair of Mahomed Reza 
 Khan. He had waited for revenge, and the opportu- 
 nity at last had come. Between these two men there 
 existed that antagonism, intense, profound, and inex- 
 tinguishable, of which perfect sympathy alone is 
 capable. They had looked into each other's soul, 
 and recognised in each the image of himself reflected 
 there. Of all his race none probably but Nnncomar 
 knew all Hastings had done; for none but he had 
 the same purpose to gain in watching the windings 
 of his dark and devious course, or possessed the 
 means of obtaining so much information with respect 
 to all his secret doings. On the other hand, there 
 was no Englishman in Indi^ who had motives so 
 strong as the Viceroy for observing closely and 
 scrutinising thoroug^hly the acts and aims of the subtle 
 and specious Hindu. Their resemblance morally and 
 intellectually was complete. Pairspoken, impassive, 
 fearless, unfathomable, they were alike insensibla 
 to the sufferings of others, and devoted to self-wo-rship^ 
 Insatiable of money, yet munificent in its outlay ; 
 admired by those we came not too close to them, and 
 distrusted most by those who knew them best ; gentle 
 in prosperity and superbly self-possessed in danger; 
 unwearied in business, inexhaustible in resources, im- 
 perturbable alike in the gloom of adversity and the 
 glare of triumph, at the bar of judgment and in the 
 face of death. 
 
 Nuncomar placed in the hands af Francis a petition 
 to be heard in person by the Council, before whom 
 he undertook to prove that Hastings had sold appoint- 
 ments to office for large sums of money, and that 
 Mahomed lieza Khan had been exonerated; froni vast 
 peculations for a bribe of unusual magnitude. The 
 GQYevagr-General lefueed with contempt ta be con- 
 
THE ROHILLAS. tfS 
 
 frotttecl witn his accuser, and denied the right of his^ 
 colleagues to constitufce themselves his judges. They 
 might, if they would,, refer the question home, but 
 be would not lower the dignity of his^ office by sitting 
 there to have hi& work weighed in the balance 
 against that of a corrupt and mendacious Brahmin. 
 The majority resolved notwithstanding to proceed 
 with the investigation of the charge; Hastings 
 with Barwell thereupon withdrew, and JSfuncomar was. 
 called in-. He had long sat patiently by the weli^ of 
 vengeance, and at length had found wherewitb tO' 
 draw. Hastings was informed by hi& colleagues 
 of all that was sworn against him. More than one 
 of the English servants of the Cqinpany caihe forward 
 to sustain the charges. The accused inflexibly refused 
 to answer, and the Oouricil, in l:is absence, recorded 
 their conviction of his guilj. Nuncomar's revelations 
 were declared by them to have shed *' a clear light 
 upon the Governor-Generals conduct, and the means 
 he had taken of making the large fortune he was said 
 to possess — upwards of forty lacs of rupees — which 
 he must have amassed in the course of three years.'' i 
 Driven to bay, Hastings clutched at a weapon 
 which lay at his feet, but which no one else had 
 thought of using. The newly-created Supreme Gourt; 
 set up by Parliament to administer E-nglish law in; 
 English fashion among the people of Bengal, had 
 been given unlimited juris diction, and the power 
 of life and death. The Judges had sided with hini 
 throughout the schism which had brought society 
 in Calcutta to the verge of anarchy, and the Chief- 
 Justice was his confidant and friend. Suddenly an 
 indictment for the forgery ^of a bond six years before 
 was preferred in the name of an obscure native, as 
 was generally understood, at the in^tan^^ of Hastings 
 and under 'a warrant of the court Nuncomar was 
 thrown into prison. Indignant reclamations were 
 made by the triumvirate, and they ordered the pri- 
 soner's release ; but the troops obeyed the cpmu^anda^ 
 
 1 
 
 Minute of CoanciJ, Hth April 1775, 
 
116 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 of Hastinfif^, and no sense ofdecorum or of generosity 
 restrained him. The arraigament was indeed a hide- 
 ous mockery. Technicallj ^nd substantially the 
 indictment could^ noib have l^een sustained t^d 
 an appeal lain to Westmi$ter. The statute of 1773, 
 which was said to give jurisdiction in the case, 
 could not have had a retrospective effect ; and 
 it was not promulgated or even passed until after 
 the alleged crime had been compaitted; for the crime 
 itself had been made capital even in England only 
 by a modern Act, aiid in no part of Asia had such a 
 law been ever known. Tii^^^ ou.t of mind, the falsi- 
 fication of a private contract had been regarded, aa 
 it WQ'S in this country before Walpole^stin^e, as a grave 
 misdemeanour and no more. Nuucomar may or may 
 not have boQn guilty of the offence ; but if anything 
 is certain, it is that he was innocent of breaking the 
 law under which he wfts accused of a capital crime. 
 The claim to take away life for the breach of an En- 
 glish criminal statute had indeed been made before. 
 In February 1765, one Radachurn Mitfcre was indicted 
 for forgery at the General Quarter-Sessions of the 
 town of Qalci^fcta, convicted and sentenced to be han- 
 ged. The Bench of Justices having subsequently 
 made a proclan^ation that English laws were to be 
 extended to the natives, the latter issued a protest 
 aj^ainst iKi§ in a ^)etition to the President and Coun- 
 cil ^ The p.Qtiti oners set forth the general '* conster- 
 nation, astonishment, and even panic with which the 
 natives in all parts under the dominion of the English 
 were seized by the example of Radachurn Mittre. 
 They found ther^selves subject to-the pains and pen- 
 alties of laws to which they were utter strangers, 
 ftnd were liable throi^gh ignorance unwittingly to 
 IpLCur them As they were in no way instructed in 
 i];ioae laws, they could not tell when they transgressed 
 them, many things it seemed being capital by English 
 laws which were only fineabie by the laws of the 
 petitioners* forefathers, subject to which they hadj 
 
 1 Lcng'fi Records, vol. J, p. 67, 
 
THE RC^HILLAS. 1^^ 
 
 hitherto been bred, lived, and been governed, isthd that 
 (till very lately,) even under the English flag/^i The 
 petition concluded with a prayer for a ^' rehearsal, or 
 respite of execution till an appeal had been made to 
 King of Great Britain, and further, that the English 
 law might be translated into the Bengallee tongue.'' 
 Mr. Vereht in council approved the petit io^^jWji^, 
 c"Eafacterised the proceeding^ of the Justices as aii^ 
 ^^act unjustifiable in itself, all d in its nature and con- 
 seg[uehces cruel and oppressive. ^^ Hastings and Jmpey 
 could not have been ignorant of these circumstances, 
 tliough, strange to say, they have been overlooked by 
 one who, in our own time, filled the office of legal mem- 
 ber of the Supreme Council, and to whom was specially 
 confided the task of framing a criminal code.^ A 
 jury, on which there was not a single native, found 
 that the fact of the false signature was proved ; and 
 the Cheif-Justice condemned Nuncomar to die. Cla- 
 verin^, Monson, and Francis remonstrated against 
 the execution of the sentence, and earnestly demanded 
 a respite until the pleasure of the Crown could be 
 known. But they expostulated in vain, and in pre- 
 sence of a multitude such as never before had been 
 gathered together within range of the guns of Fort 
 William, the aged chief of the Brahmins was put to 
 death. ^ A wail of horror rose as the drop fell, and 
 the echoes of that cry did not cease until, long years 
 after, in Westminster Hall, Burke denounced Hastings 
 for having ** murdered Nuncomar by the hands of Sir 
 Enijah Impey/'^ Led by Mr. Pitt, a majority of the 
 House of Commons subsequently voted, on the motion 
 
 1 Long Records. Voi. i. p. 430, 
 
 2 i.ord Ma '.aulay, ia his E^say on Warren Hastings, has fallen into 
 error in a^st rting that no attempt had been made to enforce the law 
 of forgery among the natives cf the Bast. In Long's " Unpublished 
 Becordo," there is a succinct account of the case above cited. 
 
 3 6th August 1776« 
 
 ^ Speech of Mr. Burke on sixtb count of the impeaehment, 25th 
 April 1789. 
 
118 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 of the Marquis of Graham, that these words ought 
 not to have been spoken ; but Fox, Windham, and 
 Sheridan defiantly adopted them, and declared that 
 the Managers would make them good. The resolution 
 of censure remains to this day unexpunged ; but his- 
 tory has reversed the vote, and the memory of the 
 great interuational Tribune needs no viudication. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 B E M A B E 8 AND O U D E. 
 1777—1780. 
 
 ^ t had been said of the <Co.mpa^y that there was sometbin^ in their 
 •operations which combined the meaBness of pedlar with the profligaoy 
 of a pirate. Alike in the military and the political line could be oh* 
 served auctioneering* ambassadors and trading generals; and thus we 
 saw a revolution broaght about by affidavits, an army employed ia 
 execatltig an arrest, % town besieged on a note of hand, a prince de- 
 ihraaed for the balance of an acocant. Thus it was they that united 
 the raoqk majesty of a bloody sceptre and the little trafi&c of a mer- 
 chant's countiug^oa^^e, wielding a truncheon With cua hand, and 
 ^jiokmg a pocket with the other." -^ 
 
 — R. B. SHBBIDAir, 1. 
 
 M ROM the reports sent home by the baffled triumvi- 
 ^ rate, Ministers learned enough to justify them in 
 
 desiring the recall of Hastings. The Regulating Act 
 enabled the Crown to supersede him only on an ad- 
 dress to that effect from the Company ; and that body 
 was so nearly balanced in opinion that he only escaped 
 a resolution for his dismissal by a few votes. 
 
 Lord North, though the most good-natured of men, 
 was much incensed, and threatened to summon Parlia- 
 ment earlier than usual in order to put an end to a 
 state of things that had become scandalous, and to 
 reduce the privileges of the Company to those which 
 gave them a monopoly of trade in the Indian Seas. 
 Colonel Macleane, alarmed at what might happen, 
 acted on a discretion given him, and tendered the 
 Viceroy's resignation. Wheler was at once appointed 
 1 Speech on the Begums of Oude, 7th February 17^7— Parliamen- 
 tary Histary. yoL XX7, ool. 237. 
 
120 Umpire in asU. 
 
 in his stead) aiid Clavering named to act as locum teneni 
 until he should arrive. But ere the news could reach 
 Calcutta, Colonel Monson died. By virtue of his cast- 
 ing vote, Hastings regained his ascendancy in the 
 Council, and at once resumed the exercise of unlimit- 
 ed authority with respect both to measures and to 
 men. Clavering vainly attempted to assert the tem- 
 porary power assigned to him. He sent for the keys 
 of office, and they were refused ; he issued orders to 
 the troops, but ,they were disobeyed. The question 
 of who should govern was referred to the Supreme 
 Court. Hastings repudiated his resignation j de- 
 clared he had kept no copy, or that, if he had, he could 
 not find it. Not having resigned, there was no vacaai- 
 ipy in point of law, and all the proceedings founded 
 on the supposition were consequently null and void. 
 The Judges ruled in his favour ; and when Wheler 
 arrived, he had to content himself with taking a sub- 
 ordinate seat in the Council. The ascendancy of 
 Buperior intellect and audacity combined was shown 
 in a personal incident about this time Baron ImhofE, 
 under Viceregal partronage, had continued to prac- 
 tise his art at Calcutta ; but after long delay the decr- 
 ree of divorce arrived from Germany, and the superse- 
 ded husband thereupon departed with his share of 
 Indian riches. The Church at last bestowed its bene- 
 diction on Mrs Hastings, and the exculpatory rite was 
 solemnised with courtly splendour. Clavering excus- 
 ed his absence on the ground of illness, but the cup- 
 of triumph would not have been full without his pre? 
 sence, and Viceroy, to ensure, it, paid him a visit 
 and carried him to the wedding feast, 
 
 Francis was a man made of different stuff. When 
 he hated with his whole heart ; and he hated nobody 
 so much as Hastings. He had, by the help of 
 Clavering and *Monson, succeeded in deposing him 
 for a time ; and with help of Fowke and Bristowe 
 as witnesses to his corruption, he had branded him 
 with administrative reproach. The tide of fortune 
 had turned, and Hastings once more in the ascendan- 
 
Benares And o vdh. Mi 
 
 tjj was kll but absolute lord ol: the iSast. There 
 were few things probably Francis would not have 
 done to redress the balance of powers thus overset.^^ 
 While he brooded in bitterness and discontent, over- 
 tures of peace came from the enemy. The Governor- 
 General had learned to respect, if not to fear, the 
 tenacity of his rival's purpose and the inveteracy of 
 his aversion. The day mast come when, returning to 
 Englandj Francis, unappeased and unforging, might 
 be a serious impediment in the way of his ambition. 
 Better win him over, and commit him if possible to 
 concurrence in the general policy of Indian adminis- 
 tration while there was time, than run the risk of 
 having to defend the measures of to-day and to- 
 morrow, as well as those of yesterday, in .a Court of 
 Proprietors, in the press, and in Parliament. Might 
 not Francis be tempted, by one or two triumphs in 
 hand, to relinquish the hope of half a dozen in the 
 bush fifteen thousand miles away ? The result justifi- 
 ed the experiment of reconciliation. Francis, over- 
 reached and over-matched, chafing with disappoint- 
 ment, half-forgotten in England, and conscious that 
 he was regarded by his countryrtien in Calcutta as 
 one who, with all his talents, had been baffled, might 
 well apply to himself the teerible words of Swift, 
 that after all his fame his fate seemed to be — **To die 
 of rage, like a poisoned rat in a hole. '' Unexpectedly 
 the door of his chamber opened, and an emissary 
 charged with offers of accommodation entered If 
 his own pen has not depicted his amazement and de- 
 light, how should another's. It was one of those 
 exquisite moments that compensate ambitious men for 
 years of embitterment and chagrin. He agreed to 
 the general basis of arrangement, and promised not 
 to thwart certain measures then about to be taken 
 against the Mahrattas. He insisted for the public 
 restoration to all their dignities and emoluments of 
 Fowke and Brisfcowe, whom ^he felt bound in hononr 
 to see righted for the part they had taken, and for 
 the sacrifices they had endured. This was a bitter 
 
122 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 does, bufc Juyiius was inexorable, and with a shrug" 
 Hastings gulped it. It was an inffaceable admission 
 that these men were not perjurers, as they had been 
 called ; if not, their testimony remained; and Hast- 
 ings, by the fact of their reappointment to the Resi- 
 dencies of Lucknow and Benares, confessed himself 
 to have been corrupt, calumnious, and cruel. 
 
 For two years peace was maintained in Fort Wil- 
 liam, but at length the old antagonism broke out 
 afresh. In dealing with the Mahrattas, incidents 
 arose which drew forth differences of opinion. Francis 
 was on the side of non-interYention, Hastings was 
 for taking the high-handed line. Unable to persuade 
 he tried to silence his opponent by alleging that 
 acquiescence in his views of external policy was one 
 of the terms of the accommodation between them. 
 This Francis stoutly denied; he said it had been 
 proposed, but refused by him, and that in an unlimit- 
 ed sense it would manifestly be incompatible with 
 his sworn duty as a member of the Executive. A 
 minute of Hastings pronouncing him incapable of 
 candour and unworthy of credit provoked him to send 
 a challenoro, which the Vicerov did not hesitate to 
 accept. A duel took place next day ; Francis was 
 wounded, but not dangerously, and he soon recovered. 
 Two years before, Lord Townshend, then Viceroy 
 of Ireland, was challenged by Lord Bellamont for 
 having turned his back upon him at levee. They 
 fought with swords, and the challenger was wounded. 
 Such' were the manners of a time not yet a century past. 
 
 The last efforts of Francis in India had been 
 directed chiefly to limit the scope of agressive hostili- 
 ties against the Mahratta States, with whom he and 
 his late colleagues had always advised that we should 
 Beek to live in amity. Clavering had placed on 
 record his opinion on the subject. When the Govern- 
 ment of Bombay had seized Salsette, invaded Broach, 
 and rashly committed themselves in disputes as to 
 the successor to the musnud of Poona, the General, 
 who disapproved of these proceedings, would have 
 
BENARES AND OUDH^ 123 
 
 liad the Government at Calcutta exercise its over- 
 iruiing^^autKoritj and vindicate its character for good 
 faith with its neighbours. He hoped ** that the 
 Mahrattas thus seeing our justice and moderation, 
 and that our intentions were finally to that 
 spirit of conquest, encroachment, aud injustice, which 
 seemed hitherto to have prevailed too much in India, 
 would listen to the proposals we had made to con- 
 clude a firm and everlasting ptjace with them.^^ ^ 
 But these were not the intentions of Hastings ; and 
 when Monson and Clavering were dead, he was no 
 longer restrained from aiding and abettng the 
 schemes of aggression which had been immaturely 
 and improvidentlj commenced at Bombay. Expedi- 
 tions under Pophatn, Goddart, and Carnac were 
 launched against Scindia, Holkar, and Berar. Fresh 
 feats of valour added greatly to the reputation of the 
 English for enterprise and endurance ; and so far 
 contributed to create that belief in their invincibility 
 which rendered subsequent conquests possible. After 
 four sanguinary campaigns, peace was made in 1780, 
 restoring all the acquisitions which had been made 
 on either side. At the close of the year Francis 
 returned to England, and thus expired the attempt, 
 never again renewed, to temper by constitutional 
 checks in Council viceregal despotism in the East. 
 For the purposes of advice, and with powers of sugges- 
 tion, what is termed a Supreme Council still remains. 
 But it is a consultative body of precis writers, not a 
 Cabinet- 
 
 Left once more to himself (for the new members of 
 Council were not men of the sort that could have 
 effectually curbed him), he entered upon various 
 enterprises of expansion and expropriation. Among 
 the chiefs of secondary rank friendly to the English, 
 when friends were few and aid invaluable, was the 
 Rajah of Benares. He was one of the wealthy feuda- 
 tories from whom the Viziers of Gude had been satisfied 
 with fealty and a payment of certain contributions in 
 1 Tiioriitoa'fl Jlietory of Biitish India 3d «dit p, 145. 
 
13i EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 peace atid war. Bulwant Singh was an excellent 
 ruler ; the local administration was never interfered 
 with ; his people were happy, arid the country pros- 
 perous. The description by Holwell of the cotiditioh 
 of Burdwan applied equally to the holy city of Siva 
 and the districts around it. Hindu pligrims from far 
 and near brought rich and varied gifts to the famous 
 shrine ; and the peasantry, fearless of unjust exaction 
 or personal wrong, cultivated their held like gardens, 
 and throve on the fruits of their unwearied industry. 
 Their numbers were estimated at more than half a 
 million, and their chief had but one fault in the eyes 
 of his neighbours — that of being suspected of opulence 
 greater than their own. By the partition treaty of 
 1776, the Vizier had transferred his suzerainty over 
 Benares to the Company, who issued sunnuds confirm- 
 ing Cheyte Singh in all the rights he had inherited 
 from his father. On the outbreak of war with France, 
 they called on him to raise and equip three battalions 
 of sepoys, at a yearly charge of five lacs rupees. After 
 some parleying and grumbling, he submitted. But 
 when, in the third year, he was told he must likewise 
 raise a body of cavalry, he ventured to refuse ; where- 
 upon the Grovernor-General undertook to overcome 
 his reluctance, and intimated his intention to vist 
 Benares with a numerous train. The Rajah met him 
 at Buxar with all due honour, deprecated his anger 
 respectfully, and by way of homage placed his turban 
 on the Viceroy ^s knees. Resentment long concealed 
 burned in the breast of Hastings, and though polite 
 and imperturbable, he pursued his pitiless ends. Three 
 years before, when his dispute with Clavering in the 
 Council was at its height, Cheyte Singh, not knowing 
 who had proved the stronger, had sent an agent to 
 propitiate the General, on whose favour he might one 
 day have to rely. Before his envoy reached Calcutta, 
 the tidings spread that Clavering and his friends 
 had been worsted in the struggle, and the message 
 never was delivered. But Hastings learned the fact, 
 and could not forget or forgive it. Arrived at Bena- 
 
BENARES AND UDH. 125 
 
 res, lie demauded satisfq^ction in peremptory terms for 
 the alleged renjiissness showD in meeting the military 
 requisitions, and the reply being deemed to savoup 
 of insubordination, the Resident was ordered to pro- 
 ceed with two companies of sepoys to the palace and 
 to take the Rajah into custody. The populace, indig- 
 nant a^ siich on outrage, fell upon the troops, who had 
 been hastily summoned without ammiinition, and who 
 were speedily pi^t to the sword. A?^^^^®^ company 
 was sent to avenge them, and a sanguinary conflict 
 ensued. During the night the Prince was let down 
 from a window of his palace by a rope formed of the 
 turbans of his atten4ants, and crossing the Granges, 
 fled to Ramnaghur, a fort some miles distant on the 
 opposite bank, which contained the chief portion of 
 his treasure- Thither his wife and mother followed 
 him. The place was forced to surrender, but not until 
 its coveted contents had been removed, and the Rajah 
 himself escaped to Bidgeghur, whence he was finally 
 jdriven to spend his datys as a refji^ee in Gwalior. 
 Meanwhile the Viceroy procTaimed his deposition, 
 and set up as ^'^-jah a youth ot nineteen, who was nojt 
 allowed to take on himself any of the more impoitanjb 
 duties of his station. The tribute payable by tbe dis- 
 trict was raised to £200,000 a year, and its coUectioni 
 placed in hands deemed hard enough to be depended 
 ,on. Turbulence, not always stiffed, alternated with 
 passive resistance among the people, much incensed 
 by what they had behold. All sense of security wa^i 
 at an end. Capital fled, and was foilQwed by labour 
 of such descriptions as Ji7ere not dependent on .the 
 soil, AJisery and distraction took the place which had 
 recently been occupied by comfort and content. Th© 
 hew exactions, though rigorously pressed, did not 
 yield what was expected and two years later, when 
 Hastings revisited the scene of his personal vengeance 
 he found it one of desolation. The nunaber of inhabi- 
 tants steadily declined, and in 1822 it was estimated 
 at no more than 200,000. ^ 
 
 1 Malte-Rrun's Geography. ,•' 
 
126 EMPIRE JiV ASIA, 
 
 The want of money was still urgent, and what the 
 spoliation of Benares failed te meet, fresh exactions 
 from Oade must supply. Asaph-ul-Dowala pleaded 
 poverty y and named, with some' truth, that amongst 
 its cause was tlie annual contribution he was obliged 
 to pay for the maintenance of the subsidiary force. 
 Dreading a visit from the Viceroy, he went to meet 
 him; and at the fortress of Chunar the negotiations- 
 took place which resulted in the memorable devicefor 
 replenishing the exchequer of Calcutta without exha- 
 usting that of Lucknow. "It was/^ aay Lord Maea- 
 ulay. ^* simply this, that the Governor-Greneral and: 
 the Newab- V izier should join to rob a third party, and 
 the third party whom they determined to rob was the 
 parent of one of the robbers/'^ The naother and 
 widow of the late Vizier were supposed to have deri- 
 ved, under this will, vast treasnras. They dwelt with 
 & numerous retinue at the favourite palace of Fyzabad, 
 which he had bequeathed to them, Asaph-ul-Dowla 
 shrank in shame from the villany suggested by his 
 Right Honourable accomplice. But he was only a 
 Mussulman, and his scruples were overborne. The 
 confederaters^ having ratified the bargain, parted^ and- 
 ©aoh went his way to prepare the farmalities of fraud. 
 A conspiracy to aid Cheyte Singh in his resistance- 
 to intolerable-exaction was to be imputed to the with- 
 ered women who dwelt at Fyzabad. If such a breach 
 of friendship could be proved, it would justify any 
 penalty or forfeiture; therefore it must be proved and 
 proved in a regular respectable way. Whenit was known 
 what was wanted, false witnesses rose up, as they areapt^ 
 to do when they are wantedrand when there is an imperi- 
 al treasury to pay them. Btit the worth of their testi-- 
 iiony against the undefended Princesses of Oude, there 
 was no tribunal to test,, no advocate to tell. JStill there 
 was a difficulty : a silken cord of conventionuldecency 
 had to be snapped before the palace gates of the Be- 
 gums could be forced open by English troops. The^ 
 dying Vizier had placed these members of his family 
 1 Hifctorcial Critigal EssajB— Wi^rren Hivstings. 
 
BENARES AND UDH. 127 
 
 under the special prat^ctiojj, ^of the British Qpvern- 
 ment, aiicl for reasons apparently good at the time, 
 but good no longer, that Government had accepted 
 the trust. It might be a quirm^ a punctilio, what is 
 sometimes called a sting of conscience, no matter 
 what* But there it was, a thing to be silenced some- 
 how : and the question was how ? Not for the first, 
 time Sir Elijah Impey prpyed himself to be a fri^^^ 
 j^n iiee^ . There had been a grievous quarrel between^^ 
 the Chief Governor and the Chief-Justice, arising 
 from a conflict of jurisdictions; and both had indul- 
 ged in vows of wrath and fury. But the Chief Go- 
 vernor had mollified the Chief- Justice with the gift^ 
 of a place worth £6000 a year, terminable at his plea- 
 |ure I and from that day Herod and Pilate had been 
 reconciled together. So now, at a pinch. Sir Elijah 
 got into his palanquin, and posted to Lucknow, by 
 relays of pagan bearers ; — for were not pagans made 
 to bear Christian Chief- Justices on their shoulders, 
 when at full speed to aid in the commission of robbery 
 at a command of a Right Honourable Viceroy ? 
 What could more clearly prove to a soul-darkened 
 population the superioricy of European manners and 
 morale ? Arrived in the capital of Oude, the Chief- 
 Justice took a number of affidavits which accused the 
 Begums of complicity with Cheyte Sing^ in his sup- 
 posed conspiracy against his lawful masters, the 
 Company. Sir Elijah did not read the affidavits, or 
 hear them read. They were in a dialect he did not 
 understand, and he had not time to wait for an inter- 
 preter. So he took them s).s chief magistrate of En- 
 gland in the East ; and this *' scandalous prostitution 
 of his high authority ^' ^ being completed, he got into 
 his palanquin again, and returned to Calcutta. In 
 the memorable words of Sheridan, *' With a generous 
 oblivion of duty and of honour, with a proud sense of 
 having authorised all future rapacity, and sanctioned 
 1 Spesch of Sir G EUiot (afterwards Lord Minto and Governor- 
 General), on impeachment ef Impey 12th December 1787— Pftilijv 
 m^ntarj History, yc1i xxvi col, 133&. 
 
m EMPIRE IN 4SIA. 
 
 all past oppression, thia friendly judge proceeded on 
 
 his circuit of health and ease/^^ The force conclu- 
 ded, tragic scenes began. The palace of Pyzabad was 
 surrounded by English troops, the Princesses were 
 told thct they were captives, and required to 
 deliver up their gold and jewels. On„their refusal, 
 their ladies were subjected to semi-3tarvation and 
 their servants to torture. Unable to endure their 
 groans and tears, the Begums gave up casket after 
 casket; and store after store, until the sum ef spoil 
 was reckoned ^t £1,2,00,0.00. Then, and '^not tiJI then, 
 tHeir wretched menials were let go. Such are the 
 bare outlines of the dreadful tale. Over all that 
 could furnish forth the true colouring of the picture, 
 the veil of oblivion has fallen, and it cannot now he 
 raised. What the people of Oude thought of these 
 things we know not. We only knew that Asaph-uU 
 Dowla did not find his account after all in agreeing to 
 appears to have lost influence and power. When Lord 
 Cornwallis, few years later, visted Oiide, he was 
 received with every mark of deference and respect ; 
 ]but nothing could hide from him the desolation that 
 overspread the couatry, the sj,iocta<;Ie of which shock- 
 ed his very soul. He asked the Vizier x^hy he was 
 not able to do something to improve the populQ.r con- 
 dition, and amend this state of misery. The Nawab 
 told him in reply? that "as long as the demancis. of 
 the English Government upon the revenue should 
 jremain unlimited, he could have no interest in econo- 
 my, and that while they continued to interfere in 
 the internal administration of his country, it would be 
 in vain for him to attempt any salutary reform, for 
 his subjects knew he was but a cypher in his own do- 
 minions, and therefore despised his authority, and 
 that of hi^ Ministers.^'* 
 
 1 Speech on the Begum's Charge 7th February 1787. 
 
 2 Letter of Lord Cornwalli?', quoted by^Mr, Sheridan ia hia Bpeeck 
 on Oade, 3rd Jane 1789. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HYDER ALI — ^MYSORE. 
 
 .1781—1782. 
 
 ^* when at Jeagfch Hyder Ali fomd that he had to do with.meu whom no 
 treaty or no Vij^nature QOuld bind, and whp were the enemies of human 
 intercourHe ifceelf, he determined .to make the country posset- Bed of 
 these incorrigible criminals a memorable example to mankind, to pur, 
 a bajrier ef despUtion between him and those against whom the 
 faith which holds (jhe .moral elements of the world together wup uo 
 protection,' 
 
 —Edmund Burke, 
 
 THE qther Presidencies liad long been emulous of tlip 
 famejn successful aggression acliieved by that of 
 gengal ; but they were compassed ro.und by native 
 -states more warlike and intractable with wham their 
 intermeddling as often brought discoxn.fiture and loss 
 as gain and victory. The Dutch, Portuguese, and 
 -Prench, as well as .they, were incessantly intriguing 
 with the Hindu and Moslem courts for privilege o«r 
 pre-eminence ; and the struggle, intermittently carried 
 on, was quite as much with other European coJonis4is 
 as with suspicious Nawabas and Rajahs. 
 
 The war between the French and English, which 
 was terminated by the treaty of Paris left the former 
 scarce a remnaat of their once great possessions on. 
 th^ Goromandel coast. The feeble and corrupt Go- 
 vernment of Louis XV, took little trouble to devise 
 means for recovering what had been lost, and the flag 
 of their ancient rivals now floated peaceably over 
 many a fort and field that had long and bloodily 
 •been contended for. Nor seemed there any power re- 
 maining all along that sh^»re whom the couquerers 
 need henceforth fear. Masulipatam and other ra.ari- 
 
 9 
 
130 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 time provinces of the Nizam, were already theirs; 
 Chingleput lying around Madras had been taken 
 from the Nawab of the Carnatic ; Surat and Salsette 
 had recently been Wrested from the Mahrattas; and 
 the Dutch began to fear for their possession in Ceylon. 
 In 1766 three brothers were contending for the iMus- 
 nud of the Deccan; and each of them was ready to 
 purchase English aid by the offer of half the reven- 
 ues of the seaboard provinces called the Five Circara. 
 Nizam Ali prevailed, but being sora pressed by tbe 
 Mahrattas, he agreed that the coveted districts should 
 be committed to the charge of Hoossein Ali_, half 
 their revenues to be paid to the Company on condi- 
 tion of their affording help in collecting them. Snn- 
 nunds from Delhi were then secretly obtained by 
 Clive, conferring the Circars on the English in absol- 
 te sovereignty. But ttese, when published, the 
 Soubahdar refused fo recognise. Force and negotia- 
 tion were by turns einployed, and at length a treaty 
 of compromise was made, by which the fiscal posseesion 
 of the Circars was yielded to the Presidency of Madras, 
 subject to the payment of a considerable tribute, and 
 an undertaking that the Company would in every 
 event support the Nizam agninst his enemies. The 
 tenure of these additional estates was thus confessedly 
 ; tone of occupancy at a quit-rent defessible for breach 
 'Of covenant. But from that day to the present it ha» 
 been treated as one of absolute sovereignty^ 
 
 One native power alone had the presumption to re- 
 tain a seaboard territory. Mysore was indeed without 
 a navy worthy of the name, and without any apparent 
 imeans of creating one ; but to the jealous eye of poli- 
 tical and commercial monopoly all things are possible, 
 ^probable, impending, when it is desirable to find them 
 \ 'SO. Disputes had sometimes arisen with the rulers of 
 Mysore, but it was not until 1767 that an English 
 corps, commanded by Colonel Smith, suddenly crossed 
 the southern frontiers of the Carnatic, and took pos- 
 session of the rich and important province of Bara- 
 
 I I Thornton's History of British India, 3d edit p. U 1. 
 
HYDER ALI— MYSORE. 131 
 
 malial. Why then, and not sooner^ the latest apologist 
 of English acquisition avows his inability to explain. 
 The appropriation of a volume to the subject 
 would not^ he says, afford a s^atisfactory or lucid ex- 
 position of the events, or ot the motive of th^ actors- 
 engaged in them. *^' it may be doubted., ^^ adds the 
 historian, '^vhether the persons theu forming the Bri- 
 tish Government of Madras understood their own policy;, 
 and it is quite certain that to ali othera> it musteveir 
 remain inexplicable."^ 
 
 Baramahal was one of the most fruitfuil^province^ 
 of Mvsore, and from its position served to< i^ive that- 
 inland realm access- to the Indian Sea. A long series. 
 of domestic troubles had unne-rved the vigour of the 
 Mysorean Government, and opened the way for the 
 elevation of a Mohammedan soldie-r o-f fortune- to more 
 than a participation in the power and dignity of the' 
 ancient Hindu ihron&. The Rajah was still permitted 
 to enjoy the pomp and luxuries of regal captivity,., 
 but Hvder was sole Minister and General, and virtual- 
 
 V t 
 
 ly head of the State, Imperfect as the materials ara 
 for enabling us to estimate the genius and character 
 of this singular man, enough remains to testify that,. 
 as a leader and a ruler, he was of that stamp which sel- 
 dom breaks the level of ordinary capacity. The power of 
 creating internal organisation where he found decrepid 
 custom and incipient anarchy; the vigour he imparted to 
 the outworn mechanism of the administration both in 
 peace and war ; the aptitude he evinced for applying 
 to the external defence of his country, and to the in- 
 ternal development of its resources, the arts and in- 
 ventions of a foreign civilisation; his activity, his perse- 
 verance, self-reliance, his personal daring, and, above 
 all, the instinctive faculty he possessed of attaching 
 men to him, have sufficiently been attested by those who, 
 having bearded him in an hour of weakness, learned 
 to tremble at his very name Rapacious, false, and 
 cruel, no epithet of obloquy was probably unjust, as 
 applied to his long and chequered career; but his 
 1 Ibomton's liistor^' o^ MtisU ittdift, 3r4 «ai( p* 111* 
 
132 ' EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 power, by the steady course of a system of policy 
 which his untaught genius had created, had reached 
 a height in 1767 which the surrounding Grovernments 
 could no longer afford to disregard. The Mahrattas 
 and the Nizain had their own quarrels with the formid- 
 able chief; but the Company had not as yet been 
 brought into collision with him. On the contrary, 
 throughout his long reign they had always hitherto 
 kept up with him friendly if not intimate relation; 
 and if their expressions of esteem in later days grew 
 less sincere, care was taken that they should be at 
 lest as loud, or perhaps a little louder even than 
 before. It is said to be a habit to which diploma- 
 tists are prone, to render tlieir mutual salutations 
 more impressive as their schemes for each other's 
 ruin approach maturity. Of tliis we shall not fail to 
 meet with some edifying exapiples by and by. 
 
 {grievance against Hyder the Company had none, 
 but part of the price promised for the Circars was a 
 defensive alliance with the Nizam, and this was now 
 conveniently i nter p rete d t.Q j^ean^^ an .offensive pact 
 against Mysore. Seringapatam and Hyderabad hap- 
 pening to be at feud, tlie occasion might be improved 
 by seizing Baramahal. Hyder's usual fortune appear- 
 ed to have deserted him in his wars ^yiththe combined 
 forces of tlie Mahrattas and the Nizam. The frontiers 
 of Mysore were threatened on the north and east at 
 one and the same time. His resources were still great, 
 but it took them all to meet opposite dangers that 
 were converging upon his unaided kingdom. This 
 was the moment chosen by the QouQ^ii...of Madras for 
 suddenly invadiiig his dominioi)s. It^js true ^b^tl}}®y 
 were, up to the day when the invading corps began 
 their iwarch, not only at peace "with Mysore^ but 
 bound by terras of friendship apd alliance with its 
 formidable ruler. But what of that ? Thouorh ruler 
 Btill, he seemed formidable no longer ; ai^d was mere 
 faith to stand in the way of the clear and manifest 
 opportunity of helping themselves out of the exposed 
 possessions of their friend? Were they to allow him 
 
HYDER ALI— MYSORE. 1S3 
 
 to recover from the stunning blows already dealt upon 
 niin by his enemies ? or to wait till the ilahrattaa 
 liad appropriated perchance the whole of the spoil ? 
 'I'he Governor of Madras and his colleagues were too 
 wakeful to let such an opportunity slip- They deter- 
 mined, accordingly, to avail themselves of the defence- 
 less sitution of the Mysorean territory nearest to 
 their own, and which moreover, happened to be one 
 of the best worth appropriating. Baramahal, they 
 said, should henceforth be numbered with their pos- 
 sessions. By one of those sudden clianges that in 
 oriental war are of frequent occurrence, Hyder found 
 himself relieved within a few weeks from both hia 
 native enemies, and at full liberty to devote hia 
 entire attention to his foreign friends. With stern 
 promptitude he abandoned all other ciires until he 
 should not only satisfy them that they had seen quite 
 as much of his territories as such visitors usually 
 desire to become acquainted with, but, with a more 
 than ordinany ceremony, he resolved never to quit 
 them till he had seen them home And scrupulously 
 did he keep his word. With the speed of whit'l- 
 wmdjell the whole wrath of the at'll mighty chief 
 'upmi the new occupants of JBarara^ahal. From point 
 to point, breathless and panic-stricken, the invadera 
 were hurled back across the borders, do vn, onwards, 
 headlong, till they reached, with heavy loss and total 
 discomfiture, the mound of St. Thomas. Un_der Jbhe 
 walls of Madras, Hyder dictated a new treaty with 
 the Oompanv ; and amonof its provisions was a solemn 
 stipuijit ion that, ^' m case his dominions were attacked 
 ^:^X.?PXiilK.iEl^„.*®^^^^ should furnish him with 
 
 seven j)attallio_ns ^l„sepojs. '''i To the humbled and 
 beleaorureT gaTrrfson of Madras such a stipulation 
 sounded almost like mockery. But it w^as destined 
 to prove a memorable stipulation, not alone to him 
 and them, but, in its eventual consequences, to the 
 pe >ple of the entire Peninsula. By the time that 
 Hyder found himself free to set about restoring the 
 1 MemoiiB of Sir Thomas Muuio, vol. i, chap. ii. 
 
134 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 somewhat exhausted resources of his kingdom, the 
 year 1769 had closed, and ere his more peaceable 
 occupations were well begun, the Mahrattas were once 
 more upon the border. His natural endeavour, under 
 these circumstances, was to present if possible, so 
 imposing an aspect to the enemy as to deter them 
 from entering on a renewal of their devastating war- 
 fare. To effect this purpose, he desired to show 
 that the English were his allies in reality as well 
 as in name; and in right of the treaty be had so 
 recently made, he demanded a moderate force from 
 the Company. In reply they alleged that their troops 
 were few, their resources spent, and that they could 
 not spare any which would be of use to him. This, 
 or some like excuse, was always ready when no 
 scheme of acquisition was in view; but whenever a 
 prospect of annexation or mediatising, however peri- 
 lous, was opened to them, then heaven and earth were 
 moved to raise supplies of men and arms. Hyder 
 was not the itian, however, to be outwitted thus. He 
 resolved to put their sincerity to the test. If they 
 could not send a large force, he would be content with 
 a small one ; if they had not money available, he 
 would find it himself. But they persisted in refusing 
 every requisition, and kept their troops shut up in 
 garrison. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Mahratta tide poured down through 
 the rich valleys of Mysore; province after province 
 was overrun by the irregular horsemen of the hills. 
 The aged chief in vain out generalled and defeated 
 them in a hundred fights and marches ; tbey wasted 
 his territory as much in retreat as in advance, and, 
 by dint of their locust numbers, wrought all the ruin 
 he had striven to avert. Month after month the harass- 
 ing conflict lasted, and every month Hyder appealed 
 to his ** allies^' at Madras for aid ; but they doggedly 
 adhered to their purpose, and **did not send a man 
 to his assistance. ^^1 One party among them even de- 
 sired to espouse openly the side of the Mahrattas, and 
 
 1 Munro, Vo]. i. chap, ii. 
 
HYDER ALI— MYSORE. 136 
 
 gpoposed a partition ot Mv-sore ; the President and 
 ouncil preferred to behold their ally's kingdom 
 wrecked by other hands, and the sight of a Mysorean 
 camp under the walls of Fort George was still too 
 recent in their momories.i At length, In July \llXx 
 Hyder was fain to purchase peace by extensive c§A: 
 §10^8 of. territory, a^d.tMe payment of heavy contri- 
 butions to the Mahrattas. Slowly did Mysore recover 
 from the effects of this fatal war. Not all his wounded 
 pride nor thirst of vengeance could tempt him into 
 hostilities for many years afterwards. He saw that 
 his country could not be recruited by a brief repose, 
 and he resolufcely maintained a strict neutrality for 
 several years. His old antagonists in 1777 ventured 
 once more to assail him j and, '-though deeply 
 exasperated against the English by their evasion of the 
 treaty, he was now induced to make a fresh proposal 
 requiring only a supply of arms and stores, for vvhich 
 lie would pay, aad a body of troops for whose cost he 
 would provide. ■''^ This, as before, was refused. The 
 veteran bridled his resentment and went to seek assai- 
 lants. He found their main army ancamped near 
 Adoni ; in a pitched battle he routed their imposing 
 force, the scattered remnant of which retreated hastily 
 to their own land, and the Mahrattas from that day 
 troubled him no more. 
 
 While these events were taking place in India, the 
 recognition of the independence of the American Colo- 
 nies by Prance had rekindled war between that power 
 and Great Britain, In the course cf 1778 Pondicherry 
 and other towns, where the French still retained their 
 factories, were besieged, and after some resistance 
 taken. An expedition was likewise organised against 
 Mahe, a place of no impertance in itself, but, as the 
 last relic of the conquests of Dapleix, worth seizing, 
 and worth crossing an ally's territory to seize. Mahe 
 was situated in one of the provinces of Mysore, and 
 consequently was under the protection of its ruler. 
 
 1 Mil!, book V ,'!bap. iv. 
 2 Mill, book v. chap t, 
 
136 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 The Company well knew, however, that his consent 
 to their investing it was not likely to be obtained; 
 and they alleged, not without some truth, that Hyder 
 had lately shown an inclination to cnltivate a greater 
 intercourse with the French tkan he formerly had 
 done. "They aknowledged that had not the treaty 
 ol 1769 been evaded, he never would have sought 
 other allies than themseves.''^ and it is now unque- 
 stionable that up to the year 1776 he had no treaty 
 with the French. When, however, the beleaguerment 
 of Mahe commenced, Hyder loudly protested ; and 
 finding his expostulations disregarded, he declared 
 that if Mahe should fall, he would invade the Carnatic. 
 The siege was persisted in, and on the 19th March 
 1779, Mahe surrendered. 
 
 Terrible is the record left by eye-witnesses of the 
 long delayed retribution taken by Hyder on the pos- 
 sessions of the English, — imperishable is the eloquence 
 which devoted its best efforts to the commemoration 
 of that fearful scene. On every point the Carnatio 
 frontier was assailed ; towns and villages were occu- 
 pied and laid under contribution ; the cities were 
 besieged, the crops everywhere consummed or fired. 
 They who had taken the guardianship of the country 
 from its native princes, and who had now provoked 
 this fearful inroad, had taken no precautions adequate 
 to resist it. They said, in extenuation of their neglect 
 that they were unable; — a poor excuse! They had 
 wrested the direction and the means ei public defence 
 from those who, if not the best fitted to govern, had 
 at least an incomparably better right to rule than 
 they ; and now in the midst of dangers their own cupi^ 
 dity and incapacity had drawu down, they left their 
 in voluntary subject to the mercy of a ruthless foe. 
 They had usurped tlie sovereignty of the Carnatic, — • 
 what a com»nentary was their confession that they 
 were wholly unable to defend it ! They affected to 
 bewail the sad condition of the people, and in, their 
 letters home implored the sympathy, and strove to 
 
 i i^iU, look V, clmp. V. 
 
Ui IjER AfJ~MVSOEE. 137 
 
 kindle the indignation, of the Government and the 
 public in England against Hyder Ali. But thef dispo- 
 sition of the people, who had now had experience of 
 the comparative benefits of indigenous and exotic 
 rnle, has been written for otir learning. The great 
 historian of Anglo-India tells Us thac, amid all the 
 devastations committed by his troops, Hyder was less 
 detested as a destroyer than hailed as a deliverer. 
 While Colnel Cosby, the English commatider, found 
 himself in great distress for intelliegence, ^/^hich by no 
 exertion was he able to procure, every motion of his 
 was promptly communicated to Hyder by the peopls 
 of the country. In an official letter he says, '^ There 
 is no doubt that Hvder has ^reatly attached the inha- 
 b i tan ts to h i m / ^ ' 
 
 'xhT sincerity of their preference was sigfifilljr 
 illustrated by an incident mentioned by Munro. 
 When the main army was endeavouring to re- 
 unite with Baillie^s corps, three meh were found near 
 the road, who were told by the Genet-al, that if they 
 would conduct him to Baillie, he wotlld reward them, 
 but if they should misguide him, he would instantly 
 put them to death. They w^alked at the head of the 
 army, vvich halters round their necks, and conducted 
 them to the side of a lake, where the road terminat- 
 ted.2 They were suffered to escaj e, though Munro 
 does not conceal his indicrnation at the lenitv manifes- 
 ted towards men who, without the expectation even 
 of one farewell cheer from their countrymen, thus 
 deliberately prepared to sacrifice themselves, feuch 
 is the perverting spirit of conquest, and such, too, is 
 the instinctive love of country ! The self-devotion 
 of these men determined probably the fate of Bailie. 
 His corps had been unwisely separated from the 
 main body, and on the 8th and 9th of September, it waa 
 pursued and nearly surrounded by the host of Hyder. 
 Anxiously he wrote to the British General apprising 
 him of his situation, and reposing by irregular night- 
 
 1 Mil], book V. chap. v. 
 5i Muiiio, Vol, i chaj). li. 
 
138 EMPIRE I.Y ASIA. 
 
 marches to endeavour to elude the vigilance of the 
 enemy until relief could be afforded him. The entire 
 force under Sir Hector Munro was at once put in 
 motion. On the second day they heard distinctly 
 the sound of continued firing; and had they known 
 the country, there is now no doubt that they would 
 have come up in time, if not to avert a conflict, at 
 least to cover a retreat. But the precious hours were 
 spent in wearisome and ineffectual attempts to find 
 the road ; and the very night thej returned in despair 
 to their quarters at Conjevram, the doom of Baillie's 
 corps was sealed. At sunrise on the lOtli Septenaber, 
 they beheld themselves hemmed in on all sides by the 
 Mysorean army under the command of Tippoo Saib. 
 Hour after hour they withstood unbroken the terrible 
 onslaughts of the enemy. The hope of aid sustained 
 them long ; after that — despair. At length, outworn, 
 they sank down man by man on the ground where 
 they had defied their myriad foes throughout the 
 murderous day, overwhelmed but unconquered.^ 
 
 No further attempt was made to oppose the inva- 
 sion, and the main army forthwith retreated to Madras. 
 So rapid was their march, that two hundred men 
 belonging to a Highland regiment dropped down 
 from absolute exhaustion, having been compelled do 
 inarch thirty miles during a sultry day.^ Amongst 
 the baggage taken during this retreat were the mili- 
 tary papers belonging to Lord M'Leod, the second 
 in command, and these contained a plan for the 
 reduction and appropriation of Hyder's dominions. ^ 
 ^ How far the perusal of such a document was calculat- 
 ed to appease the triumphant chief^s resentment, it 
 is unnecesary to speculate. On the 3rd November, 
 Arcot fell. The Pettah was taken by storm, and the 
 town was compelled to surrender. The inhabitants 
 were treated with humanity j no plundering or license 
 
 1 Wilk's Historical ^sketches ; and Maaro. 
 2 Munro, vol. i. chap. ii. 
 3 Ibid. 
 
HTDER ALl—MTSORE. 139 
 
 was allowed; ''every one was continued in the enjoy- 
 ment of his fortune, and all who had held places 
 under the Nawab retained them ; '^ to the English 
 officers who were taken prisoners, Hyder gave money 
 to provide for their necessities.^ The minor cities 
 now opened their gates, and the general disaffection 
 was no longer hidden. At the cl'ose of 1780 the 
 authority of the Company extended little beyond the 
 precincts of Madras. Early in the ensuing spring, 
 however, reinforcements arrived from Benf^al, and a 
 squadron appeared off the coast. Sir Eyre Coote 
 succeeded to the command, and ventured to advance 
 against Hyder. He was twice severely worsted by 
 the veterain chief, and the English were at the end 
 of the season beaten back once more to St, Thomas' 
 Mound. They soon began to suffer from disease, and 
 to the horrors of disease were added those of famine. 
 Hundreds died daily in the streets ; no means of 
 relief existed, and those who survived were hourly 
 doomed to see the dead-carts trail their piles of 
 unshrouded corpses outside the ramparts, where huge 
 trenches for promiscuous burial had been made. But 
 death, while busy with the enemies of Hyder, found 
 time to seek him also. At the moment when his 
 vengeance had been sated to the full, and the renown 
 of his genins had reached its zenith, the strength 
 of his constituion, though sigularly great, gave 
 way, and the greatest spirit whose presence India has 
 m latter time confessed was summoned from its earth- 
 ly wanderings. 
 
 The death of Hyder Ali in the winter of 1782 did 
 not terminate the war. The event was concealed by 
 Purnia and Kishna Rao, two Brahmin Ministers in 
 whom he had placed special confidence, until his 
 son, then at a distance of 400 miles, could reach the 
 camp. Tippoo found himself at the head of an army 
 of 100,000 men, with three crores of rupees in the 
 
 1 Muuro. voJ. i. chap, ii- How thii* demeanour wap requited will 
 be seeu in the narrative, gathered chiefly from the same witueesea 
 of the taking of SeringHp*tam. 
 
140 EMPIliE IN ASIA. 
 
 treasury, befiides wealth in jewels to a vast amount. 
 Early in the' spring Grenerai Matthews invaded Mysore 
 from the side of Malabar, and ere the season closed 
 Onore, Mangolore, and Ananpore were in his hands. 
 Excessive cruelties wore perpetrated in the reduction 
 of these places, orders being gjveu to put to the sword 
 every man found within the walls with arms in Iris 
 hands. ^ The inhabitants were likewise subjected to 
 unlimited extortion, not, we may be sure, to gratify 
 any vulgar lilst of r-j.pine, but just that they might h^ 
 taught an early and impressive lesson of the superior 
 benefits of European rule. In the course of the camp- 
 aign, Bednor was captured, and recaptured by Tip poo 
 as well as Man galore. General Matthews was taken 
 prisoner, and was supposed to have been piut to dea&h 
 in prison. His successor, General iStuart, failed to 
 redeem the prestige he had lost ; and Lord Macartney, 
 sick of the suffering and slaughter around him, and 
 deaf to the incentives of Hastings, who was all for 
 continuing the conflict, offeiied^to make peace. 
 
 In March ITS-t peace was signed, the basis of its 
 terms being a mutual restoration of all conquest made 
 during the vVar. Jb\>r some years the Peninsula, which 
 was now governed by four great powers — the Maha^, 
 rattas, the Nizam, Tippoo, and the Comp>any — enjoyed 
 comparative repose. A few minor states were suifered 
 to maintain a nominal independence, under the exacting 
 friendship of one or other of the greater powers; and 
 from this circumstance arose the pretext for the second 
 war with Mysore. 
 
 1. Mill book V, chap v. 
 
^GHAPTER XII. 
 
 RIVAL INDIA BILLS. 
 
 17S2— 1786. 
 
 <> Tbere is H tribunal for indiV'^^uals; is there npne for nations^ Ib 
 there no law by which bodies of men acting in a hocial and political 
 capacity are bound to act with fiieUty and coufidence in thei.r 
 mutual intercourse p The obligations of justice are fundamental, 
 and are not to be violated by auy subsequent or jidVentiiious eybtei^ 
 whatsoever,"' 
 
 —J. Anstruthkr. j 
 
 AT the b^giiiining of 17b2, ximerica was lost, and 
 Parliament onc^ more grew anxiou^ about India. 
 Misled by ^ voluble and accomplished ^J^ij^ister, who 
 for years had contrived to retain the favour of the 
 Court and of l^^rg© majorities in both Houses, va^t 
 establishments Vy ,sea and land had been kept up, at 
 extravagant cost, to preserve our empire in the West; 
 yet it had not been preserved. On the 19th October 
 1791, the last army sent to reduce thp colonies had^ 
 Tjnder L^rd Cornwallis, surrendered at Yorktosyn, and 
 all hope of retrieving the disaster had been aband- 
 oned. Jklortified ambition turned its eyes toj^ards the 
 East^ Another empire was growing there or, if duly 
 fostered a;nd nurtured, it might grow. But strange 
 tales were continually told of errors and misdeeds | 
 and t^ie injquiri.es that had slumbered since 1772 were 
 renewed at .the instance of the same men who had then 
 endeavoured to invite Parliament to take uit>^ its owu 
 hands direct responsibility and control. Dundas 
 inoyed for a Select Goijaniittee, the report of which 
 s.trongl^ con(Jemned the conduct of Sir Thoma^ E;um- 
 1 Debate on the Uohilla Charge. Impeachment of Warren Has- 
 tings, 2d Jttee ^7S6% 
 
142 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 bold and of Warren Hastings. Burke at the same- 
 time moved for a Select Committee to inquire into 
 financial and judicial abuses Its report censured in 
 no measured terms Sullivan, the Chairman of the 
 Court of Directors, and Sir Elijah Impoy. A bill of 
 pains and penalties was introduced against Sir Tho- 
 mas Rumbled for his abuse of power as Governor of 
 Madras ; and an address to the Crown was voted to 
 recall Sir Elijah Impey, for tlie corruption aud oppres- 
 sioa of which he had been guilty as Chief-Justice of 
 We'^Bupreme Ccurt. The last of a string of forty-four 
 resolutions adopted by the H )use declared it to h& 
 the duty of the Directors to recall Hastings ; but this^ 
 the Board declined to do, as they were not bound ta 
 take directions from one branch only of the Legisla- 
 ture. When Lord Nortli's Adminstration fell, that 
 by which it was succeeded undertook to frame a com- 
 prehensive und parmanent njeasure for the govern- 
 ment of India Lord Rockingham's demise drove Fox 
 and Barke for a time into opposition ; and Lord SheJ- 
 burne, looking round for allies wherever they might 
 be found, thought of resoi-ting to Hastin^^s, as one 
 whose talents might materially aid the Administration 
 both in the Cabinet and in Parliament On receipt 
 of fresh tidings regarding Cheyte Singh, Dundas 
 brought up a second report from the Secret Committee 
 renewing the question of recall. A Court of Proprie- 
 tors forthwith assembled, in which this proceeding 
 was denounced, and the Directors were warned not' 
 to supersede the Governor-General without their 
 previous assent. To this defiance of the House 
 of Commons they were no doubt emboldened 
 by the tone of Lord Sbelburne and Colonel B^rre,- 
 who warmly defended the policy of Hastings. In a 
 letter to Lord Shelburne, ^ when First Minister, the^ 
 Viceroy disclaimed the authorship of the Mahratta 
 war. It originated, he said, with the Board of Direc- 
 tors and the Presidency of Bombay. It was begun- 
 without his knowledge, and upon grounds which he 
 
 1 Letter, 12th December 1782. 
 
RIVAL INDIA BILLS. 148 
 
 disapproved ; but finding the Bombay Government 
 committed to its perils and consequences, he suppor- 
 ted them heartily ; and he asserted that it was he who 
 saved the Cariiatic. '* Forgive me then the boast, 
 when I add that I have been the instrument of rescu- 
 ing one Presidency from infamy, and both from anni- 
 hilation.'^ 
 
 In 1783 the Coalition Cabinet devolved once more 
 on Burke the task of preparing an India Bill. It was 
 introduced by Fox on the I8th November, and pressed 
 through all its stages in the Lower House before th© 
 Christmas holidays, A Board of seven persons, to 
 hold office for four years, were named in the Bill, and 
 as vacancies fell they were to be filled up by the 
 Crown. These were to constitute a new department to 
 which the entire direction of Asiatic affairs was to be 
 confided. A subordinate Board of eight for a like 
 term was to superintend the commercial affairs of the 
 Company, which thenceforth was to be relieved of 
 all political functions Supplementary provisions 
 were designed settling once and for all the rights of 
 the native princes and proprietors in relation to the 
 paramount power ; rendering highly penal the receipt 
 under any form of bribes or presents by persons hold- 
 ing office, civil or military , fiscal, or judicial and putting 
 an end to monopolies of all desciipbions. It was indeed, as 
 its eloquent authors declared, aimed against all those 
 perversions of justice and political iniquities by which 
 individuals had enriched themselves at the cost of the 
 Indian people, and to the dishonour of the English 
 name. Pitt, Grenville, and Wilberforce oppposed the 
 measure, as giving too much power to Ministers^ Jen- 
 kinson, w,ho was understood to speak the personal 
 sentiments of the King, chara-cterised it as an attempt 
 on their part to render themselves too strong for the 
 sovereign ; and Scott (afterwards Lord Eldon) made a 
 maiden speech in which he compared the Board of 
 seven to the Apocalyptic Beast with seven heads ari- 
 sing out of the sea, an augury of human woes unspea- 
 kable. By decisive majorities, however, it passed 
 
U4 EM1I1.L I\ ASIA, 
 
 through all its stages in the Lower House, and evoked 
 no symptoms of unusual hostility when brought up 
 to the Lords. The intention was not disg-uised of su- 
 perseding Hastings, as a fitting preliminary to the 
 inauguration oi new ])olicy f(Hindedon new principles; 
 and nothing more inflamed the anger of th.e Court and 
 its antipathy. Lord Mansfield warned Ministers that 
 if thpy attacked Hastings they would lose their India 
 Bill and ruin themselves ; and George III. declared 
 his beji.ef that if he were recalled, India would be in 
 jeopardy. 
 
 Th.p King resolved at any risk to be rid of Minis- 
 ters whom he hated- A card in his handwriting au- 
 thorised Lord Teiriple to tell the peers individually 
 that his Majesty would regard as his personal enemy 
 any man who voted tor the Bill. The Upper IJouse 
 consisted at the time of 190 members, of whom tho 
 chief of the gre-^^t Whig families were by far the 
 ricljiest and most influential. But th© Court was 
 pow;erful, the Anglo-Indian interest great, and the 
 Gc).alition Cabinet unpopular out-of-doors ; and on the 
 17th December the bill was rejected by a majority of 
 nineteen. Next dav Fox and North were dismissed, 
 and Pitt called to power. 
 
 In the new Parliament, th© youthful Minister had 
 maiority, and in the session of 1784 was passed the 
 rival India Bill which long bore his name. As origi- 
 ;nal1y framed, its defects w^ere ' numerous. They were 
 laid bare by Francis in a speech full of glittering 
 sarcasm and incisive reasoning. The inexperinced 
 iPremier's first essay in legislation had failed ; the 
 machine of subtle contrivance would not work; itmust 
 be taken to pieces while still new, and put together 
 ^again with fragments more or less numerous from the 
 workshop of contemned rivg^ls. Its boasted checks 
 were so perfect that, instead of balancing one another, 
 and easing further action, it was felt, upon reflections, 
 that they could only bring all progress to a stand. 
 It was clear that responsibility would be rendered 
 illusory by the empirical separation of trusts, arid by 
 
RIVAL INDIA BILLS. I^S 
 
 the complication of details. Parliament had discar- 
 ded its wisest and truest counsellors in the matter, and 
 followed the advice of clerks and changelings. Fran- 
 cis, who seldom carried with him so completely the 
 attention of the House, paid just tribute to the years 
 of unrequited toil and care Burke had devoted to 
 unravelling the errors and misdeeds committed in 
 India ; and with a tenderness of sympathy and hearti- 
 ness of homage of which he was not deemed capable, 
 he uttered prophetically that consolation to the woun- 
 ded and worn spirit of his friend which, sooner than 
 he expected, public opinion confirmed. 'M am not 
 here to pronounce his panegyric; nor, if I were equal 
 to the task, would I venture to undertake it; it would 
 lead me to reflections that would utterly discompose 
 me — -to the recollection of virtues unrewarded, and of 
 services growing grey under the neglect, if not ingra- 
 titude, of his country. If fame be a reward, he posse- 
 sses it already ; but 1 know he looks forward to a 
 higher recompense. He considers and believes, as I 
 do, that in some other existence the virtues of men 
 will meet with retribution, where they who have faith- 
 fully and gratuitously served mankind ^ shall find the 
 generous labour was not lost ^ '' ^ The omission of 
 the right of appeal to jury drew forth the allusion 
 to the memory of Chatham, the ambiguous drift of the 
 concluding words of which were long remembered and 
 resented. ** Had such an attempt been made when a 
 great man who is now no more had a seat in this 
 House, he would have started from the bed of sickness, 
 be would have solicited some friendly hand to deposit 
 him on this floor, and from this station with a monar- 
 ch's vice would have called the kingdom to arms.'' 
 He paused, and looking steadily at the First Minister, 
 he added, in a tone of ineffable regret, ^^ but he ia 
 dead, and has left nothing in this world that in the 
 least reseiables him,'' ^ jgy ^)^q provision of the amen^ 
 ded Act, the Governor-General had been invested 
 
 1 Parliamenbary Debat'^s, Vol. xxv. 
 2 Debate on the X^nendcA Taiia BiJl- 26th Julv 1784' 
 
 10 
 
146 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 with the power of filling up vacancies in the Council 
 and of overruling its members whenever he should 
 think fit. From the President of a Privy Couxvcii of 
 five he was elevated into an absolute ruler. The Op- 
 position loudly bub vainly protested against this crea- 
 tion of viceregal despotism ; but once created, an 
 authority so precious in the eyes of Centralism was 
 never destined to be relinquished. The instincts of 
 executive power impel it to encroach, to absorb, and to 
 monopolise ever more and more. Its aims are irres- 
 pective ef party interests, its acts regardless of party 
 traditions. In our own time its inroads on urban and 
 provincial freedom have been continuous and uncom- 
 pensated; and each new concentration of authority 
 afEordsan analogy and constitutes an example for fur- 
 ther aggression. The East India Company was still too 
 strong, and the military force at the disposal of the 
 Crown in Asia still too weak to render it prudent or 
 possible, as yet, to assume absolutely the whole 
 patronage and revenue of our dependencies. For 
 seventy years more the Company was permitted to 
 enjoy the honours of titular sovereignty, and to 
 appropriate the exclusive profits of Indian commerce^ 
 and of the subordinate posts in Indian administration. 
 But henceforth the political direction of aSairs in 
 Asia was strictly held and exercised by the Imperial 
 Government. Despatches and accounts in duplicate 
 were regularly sent home, indeed, to the Board of 
 Con fcrol and the Board of Directors, and each paain- 
 tained a learned and efficient staff to assist them in 
 the work of consultative comment and advice. But 
 every year Cannon Row gained what Leadenhall 
 Street lost in the power of influencing the general 
 policy of the Anglo-Indian Government. The latter 
 seldom failed to indite wise admonitions to its officers, 
 high and low, as to the duty of forbearance towards 
 its distant subjects, toleration of their prejudices, and 
 the maintenance of peace. Simultaneously the former 
 wrote directing attention to whatever circumstances 
 seemed propitioas for further acquisition or absorption 
 
RIVAL INDIA BILLS, ^^ 
 
 ol territory. Every year the never-failing plea alleged 
 was tKat of self-defence. Somebody was always said 
 to be plotting our expulsion or caballing with foes 
 beyond the frontier for our ruin. One President of 
 the Board of Control after another, with a rare excep- 
 tion now and then, translated the old formula into 
 new phraseology, full of disclaimers of territorial 
 ambition, but having substantially no other meaning. 
 In the scathing words of one who has himself? been 
 admitted to the secrets of power, ^* Whenever existing^ 
 revenues showed symptoms of failing^,, or there wash^ 
 nothing else fto engage popular attentionj the best. 
 thin<? to be done was to take to the road..^^ Every 
 time the landmarks were puslied farther north or west,. 
 the permanent military charges of the establishment 
 were increased, and the ways and means were found 
 comparatively less adequate to defray them. The 
 Directors, left ,te. themselves, would doubtless have 
 restrained the tendencies to expansion within narrower 
 limits X and 5Y,lji.en ^occasionally a Govern or- General 
 p ro veJL.hiiii ^.el.f io fee sin cerely averse from war, it is 
 bat dua.to.thein to say that they were content to let 
 him alone-. But from the passing of the Act of 1784, 
 it was extreiii^ely difficult for them to curb the military 
 spirit ever growing more intractable in the East, or 
 to prevent instigation being given by the Board of 
 Cantrol, and acted on by the Governor- General, to an 
 extent committing the whole force of the Indian Empire, 
 and staking its security on the success of some fresh 
 enterprise, before they had time, in the then course 
 of post, to make their depr ecation audible. When it 
 was too late, regrets were said to be vain, and amid 
 the exultations of victory, cold reasons of prudence or 
 nuwelcome qualms of conscience seldom found a voice.. 
 The assent of the Directors was still required in tha 
 choice of each new Viceroy, and they were suffered ta 
 retain the power of recall without the concurrence of 
 the Crown. On two or three occasions they vetoed 
 informally, but not ineffectually, the choice of Minis- 
 ters, when the job attempted was felt to be *^too bad \^\ 
 
148 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 and in one instance they exercised their power of 
 recall. But generally speaking, Groverninent found 
 means of carrying their point in the city, and disr 
 agreements of a serious nature seldom ^^rose between 
 the two Boards which, according to law, formed the 
 double government. The statue of 1784 established 
 a system which balanced the authority of the Court 
 of Directors by a Board of Control named by the 
 Crown, and removable with the Administration to the 
 day, but which was practically inverted with such 
 privileges, and hedged round by such forms as eifect- 
 ualiy to be exempted from , accountability to Parlia- 
 ment. It was the converse in every respect of the 
 rejected plan. Fox would have made Parliament 
 supreme in the affairs of India ; Pitt would have the 
 'Crown, understanding clearly what measureless in- 
 iBuence this system must give the Minister. 
 
 JBurke opposed the last Pitt's India Bill, which he 
 foresaw would create an effectual screen for a policy 
 of aggrandisement and oppression, like that already 
 branded by Committees of the Hou§e of Commons, 
 Despairing of legislative x^eform, he turned his thoughts 
 to the ^uty of exposing, and if possible of bringing 
 to punishment, past delinquencies. Late in the 
 .session he asked for papers regarding the partition 
 of Gude. Major Scott, the acknowledged agent of 
 Uastings, seconded the motion for their production, 
 as certain to vindicate the conduct of the Viceroy. 
 Grovernment, more wary, made reservations, saying 
 there might be some things that ought not to be in- 
 considerately disclosed. Burke waxed wroth. A long 
 debate ensued ; the hacks of Government ironically 
 cbeered the threats of the great accuser ; and Pitt 
 brought the altercation to an end by raising a point 
 of form. Burke, laying his hand on one of the Select 
 Committee's reports which lay upon the table, with 
 grim deliberation said, ^* I swear by this book, that 
 the wrongs done to humanity in the Eastern world 
 shall be avenged on those who have inflicted them. 
 They will find, when the measure of their iniquity is 
 
RIVAL INDIA BILLS. 149 
 
 full, that Providence was not asleep. The wrath of 
 Heaven will sooner or later fall upon a nation that 
 suffers wifch impunity its rulers thus to oppress the 
 weak and innocent. ^^ He then gave notice of his in- 
 tention to move in the following session for ,a full 
 inquiry into the alleged crimes of the Governor-Gen- 
 eral, and ot his determination to seek from Parlia- 
 ment reparation for the wrongs of India. ^ 
 
 On the 28th of February, Fox moved f Or confidenti- 
 al papers which, if produced, would show, he said, 
 the injustice of sequestrating certain provinces of the 
 Carnatic, to pay the usurious debts claimed by civif 
 servants of Madras from the Nawab of Arcot. These 
 transactions were of a kind denounced by the Commit- 
 tee of Enquiry, and interdicted by the recetit India 
 Bill. Nevertheless they were how screened by the 
 newly-constituted Board of Control of which Dundaa 
 was the head; and in spite of the irrefutable speech 
 delivered by Burke^ but sixty-nine members were 
 found ready to divide in favour of the motion. This 
 result was mainly attributable to the direct interest 
 which two of the ministerial majority had in the ret- 
 ention of the mortgaged provinces for the liquidation^ 
 of their unrighteous claims. Richard Atkinson, a 
 Government contractor, had obtained a seat in the 
 House, and had become a sort of extra whip for the 
 Government. He was largely connected with .Paul 
 Benfield, who, having gone out early in life to Mad- 
 ras as an engineer, had turned money-lender there on 
 an extensive scale, fleeced the Prince of Arcot and 
 other natives, and returned home to buy an estate in 
 Hertfordshire, a town house in Grosvenor Square, and 
 no fewer than seven rotten boroughs, whose represent^ 
 afcives at will were among the safe votes on which 
 the new minister could rely. For the moment the 
 allies in corruption carried their point, and the ill- 
 assigned over fated districts of the Carnatic were 
 to pay the debts contracted by the imprnvido*x6 is"awab. 
 Atkinson did not long survive to enjoy his share ol 
 1 Parliamentary History, vol. xxlv p. 1272. 
 
^^0 EMPIEE IN ASIA. 
 
 the gain ; and Ben field, like so many others who made 
 haste to be rich, overstretched himself in speculation, 
 became a bankrupt, and died in France in abject 
 want. i 
 
 Hastings by this time had had enougt of pro-con- 
 sular exile; and Hyder being dead, and the war with 
 the M:ihrattas at an end, he deemed the time propiti- 
 ous fo." returning home. Through a long continuance 
 of toil and danger he had held his persistent way, and 
 at length the obstructions that had hitherto barred 
 his upward path, to opulence, fame, power, and dignity, 
 3eemed to be overcome. Lord Shelburne in one Cabinet, 
 and Lord Thnrlow in another, had assured him of the 
 favour of the Crown, and that the honours of the peer- 
 age awaited him. The Chancellor had even gone so 
 far as to say, that to the sympathy of Warren Hastings, 
 and the influence of his name, was in no small 
 degree attributable the fall of the Coalition and thd 
 establishment of his friends in power, declaring that 
 he knew no man who cut so great a figure on the stage 
 of the world, and that his influence had been potently 
 felt in the recent change of Administration. It would be 
 ungrateful, therefore, in the new Cabinet if he were 
 neglected. The faithful Major Scott suggested Day- 
 lesford as a suitable title; the Chancellor approved, 
 and wished the all'air to be left in his hands. Lords 
 Weyraoutl., Gower, Sidney, and Carmarthen agreed in 
 supporting his view, and nothing was wanted but 
 the First Minister's consent. Pitt was specious ia 
 flattering acknowledgement of public services render- 
 ed ; but he had difficulty about the vote of censure 
 carried by Dundas in 1773. He was not himself in 
 Parliament at the time, and personally therefore ha 
 was not etaft^arrassed by the vote. The charges, he 
 said, on which it was founded were ridiculous and 
 absurd, and were, as he really thought, fully refu- 
 ^^^ . rot. nntil the sting of the resolutions was done 
 away by a vote of thanks, he did not see how he could 
 With propriety advise his Majesty to confer such an 
 
RIVAL INDIA BILLS. 151 
 
 honour upon Hastings. ^ Thurlow continued to urge 
 the point, and in an interview at Putney, pressed the 
 Minister to say wliat were his real objections. Pitt 
 replied that there were four. The Governor- General 
 had sought to extend our territories in India, a policy 
 of which he strongly disapproved; he had forfeited^ 
 the confidence of the native princes ; he had frequent- 
 ly disobeyed. the orders of the Court of Directors; and 
 be had created enormous salaries in Bengal to gratify 
 those attached to him. The Chancellor pressed for 
 instances, and when Pitt confessed himself at fault, 
 he laughed at him for knowing as little about India as 
 the rest of his colleagues. ^ About the same time 
 Hastings wrote to his wife in England that he was not 
 to be deceived by the fair words of the Minister, some 
 of whose expressions, when introducing his India 
 Bill, had mortified him deeply, and whose purpose 
 was to keep him from returning home until the new 
 Administration should have had time to strengthen 
 itself without his aid. Full of chagrin, he vowed that 
 he would disappoint his enemies by resigning his post 
 ere they wished him to do so ; and this threat he car- 
 ried into execution in January 1785. In laying down 
 the office, he congratulated the Directors that at last 
 they were rid of him 5 and applying to himself, in 
 scornful irony, the words of Pitt, he wrote : *^I am in 
 this act the fortunate instrument of dissolving the 
 frame of an inefficient Government, pernicious to your 
 interests and disgraceful to the national character. '^^ 
 In reality, his exultation was great. As he looked 
 back over the twelve years of his viceregal reign, and 
 reviewed the opposition he had overcome, and the de- 
 nunciations he had braved, words of haughty triumph 
 broke from him. He had found the treasury empty, 
 and the Executive infirm ; he restored the finances 
 and invigorated every department. *^ I was a man 
 
 1 Conversation with Major Scott, Qleig's Life of Hasting^a, vol. iii. 
 
 2 CenverBatioa with Msijor Scott, Qleig's Life of Hastings, vol. iii» 
 3 Letter to Directors, January 1785. 
 
162 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 uuknown, unprotected, and unconnected at home, and 
 possessed of no other influence abroad than that which 
 I had acquired by mj own knowledge and practice, in 
 the credit which the success of my measures impres- 
 sed on the people of Hindustan, and in the attach- 
 ment of my fellow-servants and citizens. For six 
 years I was thwarted and insulted openly by the rest 
 of the Council. Bat eveu during that time they never 
 tried to take the current of business out of my hands 
 while I was sustained by consciousness of greater 
 ability and merit. I suffered in patience; I did my 
 duty when I could ; I w^aited for better and more last- 
 ing means ; no act or word escaped me ; no meanness 
 of submission ever afforded my assailants the triumph 
 of a moment over me ; my antagonists sickened, diedy 
 and fled. I maintained my ground unchanged, nei- 
 ther the health of my body nor the vigour of my mind 
 for a moment deserted rae.'^^ Well might Burke de- 
 clare that this was no ordinary offender, but in every 
 sense "a Captain-General of iniquity/^ 
 
 As President and Governor-General, Hastings had 
 borne locally irresponsible rule in India for twelve 
 years. Every wliere he had changed the ancient land- 
 marks and added field to field. He had siain and 
 taken possession, and he could point alike to the 
 spoils of war, the triumphs of diplomacy, and the aug- 
 mentation of revenue as the proofs of his vigour and 
 success in administration. Beggared princes, impo- 
 verished towns, and a starving peasantry might curse 
 his name, but the Board of Directors and the Board 
 of Control found no fault at all in him ; and if he had 
 enriched himself, had he not added tenfold to the 
 riches of his masters ? Great merchants in the city 
 and high Minsters of State applauded him, and he 
 had smiles of approval from the Woolsack, York Mins-- 
 ter, and the Throne. All hailed his return as that of 
 a conqueror who had won for his country a new em- 
 pire to compensate for the old one lately lost. Who 
 should gainsay such testimony '? 
 
 1 Letter to AnderBon, 13th September 1785. 
 
RIVAL INDIA BILLS. 133 
 
 Nevertheless, the clerks in the finance department 
 of L'^adenhall Street were much exercised in spirit by 
 the question — Did conquest pay? The financial re* 
 Bults of his adminstration are thus summed up by one 
 who had the privilege of access to every detail of the 
 accounts, in 1772 the Government receipts were 
 £2,(573,650/ aiid the expenditure £l,705,279, leaving 
 £668,371 to be divided betwteen shareholders, bond- 
 holders, and holders of office at home. In 1786 the 
 income was £5,315.197, and the expenditure £4,312y 
 619, leaving a blance of £1,002,678. On the other 
 hand, the debt in India was augmented from £1,850, 
 866 to £10^464,955, while a large increase of liabili* 
 ties to the Home Government and to private creditors 
 had accumulated. ** The administration of Hastinga 
 added £12,500,000 to the total debt of the Company: 
 and the interest, at 5 per cent., of this additional debt 
 was more than the amount of the increased revenue. ^'^ 
 
 These nett results were not indeed disclosed at the 
 time in such a form as that the public at large might 
 understand them. According to the established cus- 
 tom in such matters, they were permitted only to see 
 the light piecemeal, and then enveloped in so many 
 disguises and swathed in so many deceptive folds 
 of extenuation, that no one could feel sure that he 
 knew what they were. It would never have done 
 to let naked truth be seen. Othello's occupation 
 had been gone. Hundreds and thousands, who 
 had benefited largely by the process of absorption 
 and exaction were ready to testify how profitable was 
 the work. It was not the field or the owners of the 
 field that were benefited, but those who drove the 
 ploughshare through its bosom, and made away with 
 such gleanings as each could secure of its fruit. 
 
 Mrs. Hastings was sent home to prepare goo(i 
 society for her husband's appearance in its circles. 
 Whig duchesses refused to know her as a divorce, but 
 Queen Charlotte received her at court with every 
 mark of distinction, and great ladies without number 
 I Mill'd History of Bntieh India, vol iv. p. 44^, 
 
154 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 crowded her salons and boasted of the curious and 
 precious gifts which she bestowed. Royalty itself did 
 not refuse to accept the unique present of an ivory 
 bedstead, elaborately carved ; and the wits of Brooke's 
 had no end of stories about the gems and pearls which 
 fell from Marion^s hair, or dropped from her gorge- 
 ous train. This indiscreet ostentation, and the still 
 more unwise audacity of Scott, was not without its 
 effect, perhaps, in rekinding the embers of Burke's 
 indignation, and fanning into flame the resentment 
 of Francis. 
 
 On the 30th of June, Hastings returned to England 
 and he was received by King, Ministers, and nobles 
 with every demonstration of respect. Burke lost no 
 time in giving notice that, as the session was then so 
 far advanced, he would, when the House re-assembled 
 redeem his pledge of demanding that strict inquisi- 
 tion be made into recent viceregal acts. He spent 
 the autumn at Beaconsfleld in further sttidy and con- 
 templation of his task, exchanging confidences by 
 letter with Fox and Francis, the first of whom would 
 gladly have dissuaded him trom an undertaking of 
 success in which he himself had little hopes, but the 
 duty of which Junius concurred with him in thinking 
 imperative. In the dark chambers of his imagery, 
 the scenes of daring spoliation, and harrowing injus- 
 tice which had been sketched by Francis were filled 
 in with every detail of oriental life and coloured with 
 all its glow. In the solitude of his study and of his 
 rambles in the woods, he began to paint those mar- 
 vellous historic pictures, the like of which has never 
 been seen in our day, and the eSect of which upon 
 the mind of Parliament and tbe nation he did not at 
 the time venture to estimate. He knew that the Whig 
 party was utterly broken by the late general election j 
 "thai of those who had retained their seats, very few 
 cared a jot for India; and only recalled with bitter-^ 
 iiess the fact that it was to the India Bill the ruin of 
 their party was ostensibly if not altogether due. On 
 the eve of the session, at a meeting of the opposition 
 
BIVAL INDIA BILLS, 155 
 
 cTiiefs at Bnrlington House, the preponderant feeling 
 unmistakably was against risking further battle on 
 this ill-fated ground. But Burke was inflexible. It 
 was the great occasion of his life ; and though all 
 the men of fashion and fortune around the Duke of 
 Portland should desert the canse, he told them plainly 
 that he had made up his mind to go on. Seeing him 
 thns firm, Fox reinained^faithful ; and a young coun- 
 tryman of his^wn, who had already made his mark 
 in debate as a man of surpassing eloquence and wit 
 volnnteered his service as a subaltern, as little dream- 
 ing as his leader that by.him, in the great struggle 
 the highest honours of the fight would be borne away, 
 Thisjwas_^^c^hard JBrinsley Sheridan. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TTBANNY ON ITS KNKKS, 
 
 1787—1788. 
 
 " The basiixeaa of this day is not the business of this man. It is not 
 8ol(jly whether the prisoner at the bap be found innocent or g-uilty, 
 bat whether millions of mankind shall be made miserable or happy. 
 Exiled and undone princes, extensive tribes, strfiFerinj^ nationB, differ- 
 ia? in U'l^Uig-e, manners anl in rites, by th6 providence of God are 
 blended in one common oase, and are noW become Buppliants at 
 your bar." 
 
 
 
 — E13MUND BURKB. I. 
 
 N the 4th April 1787, Burke brought forward eleven 
 aocusations against Hastings. 
 
 The first count of the indictment charged him with 
 injustice, cruelty, and treachery in hiring British 
 soldiers to extirpate the Rohillas : 
 
 2. With cruelty to the Emperor Shah Alum, in 
 withholding his tribute z 
 
 3. With extortion and oppression in the case of 
 the Rajah of Benares : 
 
 4. With ill-treatment of the family of the Vizier 
 of Oude : 
 
 5 With improvidence and injustice in his policy 
 towards Faruckabad : 
 
 6 With reducing Oude from a garden to a 
 desert: 
 
 7. With sanctioning extravagant contracts and 
 inordinate salaries: 
 
 8. With receiving money against the orders of 
 X Speech on the Impeachment, 23rd February 1783, 
 
TTRANNT ON ITS KNEES. 157 
 
 phe Company and the Act of Parliament, under secret 
 engagements; and using the same unwarrantably : 
 
 9. With resigning by proxy with a view to re- 
 sume his ofiiQe : 
 
 10. With treachery to JIuzaffir Jung, his ward: 
 
 11. With enormous extravagance in bribery to 
 eprich favourites and dependants: 
 
 Five other charges were subsequently laid upon 
 the table. The great offender petitioned to be heard 
 in his defence at the bar. "Everybody/^ he wrote, 
 ^* came to ask me why I had done so imprudent a 
 thing ; everybody condemned it, all except my great 
 frieijid the Chancellor. I had but five days granted 
 me to defend myself against eleven historical libels, 
 to which five more were added before the second 
 day of my appearance/^ Great was the curiosity to 
 hear him, and all parts of the House were crowded, 
 Every ear was strained, and every eye fixed to catch 
 the expected accounts of eloquent indignation. But 
 eloquence there was none. Hastings, in the opinion 
 of every one but himself, had no skill in composition. 
 His egotism was too profound to stoop to the common 
 arts of controversy; and he was thoroughly convinc- 
 ed that a cold and somewhat contemptuous narrative 
 of the facts, as he thought fit to give them, was alone 
 needful for his vindication. The House thought 
 otherwise. They had come full of hopes of a chase, 
 and found nothing but a slow march. After an 
 hour or two, the unusual effort of reading aloud com- 
 pelled him to delegate the continuance of his task 
 to one of the clerks at the table. Thi^ was too 
 much for parliamentary patience, and by degrees 
 the legislative crowd melted away. But his equani- 
 mity was ijnperturbable, and he continued his recital 
 during three successive days. •' I was heard/' he 
 said, ** with an attention unusual in that assembly, 
 and with the most desirable effect, for it instantly 
 turned all minds to my own way, and the ground 
 which I then gained I still retain possession of.'^ In 
 this he was strangely mistaken. He had but com- 
 
158 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 mitted the error of telling his accusers beforehand 
 on what he relied for his exoulpation. He told 
 Parliament that, havijag been the ^servant- of ^ the 
 East India Company, he was acconntable_to thejn 
 alone in his administraiive conjittct. Ministers took 
 ho exception to the matter or tfie manner of hiS' 
 apology, and rather showed a friendly disposition 
 throughout. Copies were orderod to be printed and 
 circulated for the benefit of the great majority of 
 both sides, who had heard but a small portion of it.^ 
 
 When a month had been allowed for consideration,, 
 Burke moved, on that 1st June, that Hastings be 
 impeached for his cruelty to the Rohillas. His con- 
 duct in the affair had been censured by the House 
 in a resolution moved by Dundas, founded _on_ the 
 evidence of the Select Commi:tee of J/773 ; but Dnndas- 
 was now a member of the Board of Control, and he 
 refused to confirm his own language of thirteen years 
 before. The debate lasted two long nights. As the 
 first gleams of sunrise grew visible, Pitt rose, and 
 warily avoidins^ the substance of the charge, pleaded 
 "in abatement, that the sin had been condoned long 
 since by the retention of_ Hastings^ in his pos£_of 
 Governor-txQ'^Qral^ an(f that the precedent would be 
 fraught with inconvenience, if not injustice, if deeds 
 remote in place and time, though known the while 
 to all men, were made the subject of criminal pro- 
 ceeding. The motion thus encountered, was defeated 
 by a majority of two to one. 
 
 On the reassembling of the House after Whitsun- 
 tide, Fox brought forward the second charge, regard- 
 ing the extortion practised upon Cheyte Singh. Pitt, 
 who had hitherto frowned on every attack, and shield- 
 ed the culprit from every blow, to the surprise of 
 all but Hastings, suddenly gave way. Better than 
 subservient colleague and imprudent frionds, he 
 discerned the signs of the times, and, for his own sake, 
 he felt it necessary to abandon the position of an 
 accessory after the fact. Did he really faresee the 
 
 1 Memoirs of Hastings, vol. i. 
 
TYRANNY ON ITS KNEES. 159 
 
 issue of the impending trial, or believe that the be&t 
 chance of escape for the ex- Viceroy, whom till now 
 he had striven to exonerate, lay in the uncertainties 
 of what must inevitably be indefinitely protracted 
 proceeding ? We know not, and can never know. 
 Hastings, who always distrusted him, ascribed so 
 sharp a turn to jealousy, and fear of a possible rival 
 in the esteem of the Court, or a possible competitor 
 for parliamentary sway. Probably such an idea 
 never crosed the mind of the haughty Statesman ; 
 and few who had heard Hastings toil through his folios 
 of vindication, when pleading on his own hehalf, 
 would have heard the suggestion without a smile. 
 Another explanation was whispered at the time, and 
 subsequently gained credence. Dundas had for years 
 been conspicuous in demanding that the '* great 
 public offender,'^ as the Governor-General was called 
 by Pox, should be brought to justice. Few men have 
 ever been more accommodating in ofiice; but he felt, 
 no doubt, that his individuality would be wholly 
 compromised if on the count of the indictment as well 
 as all others, the accused should escape by the pro- 
 tection of the Administration. Early in the morning 
 he had roused the First Minister from sleep, and had 
 remained closeted with him for an unusual time. The 
 subject of their conference was inferred from the 
 unlooked-for incident of the evening. 
 
 Upon Sheridan fell the task of bringing forward 
 the charge of criielty towards the Begums of Oude, An 
 audience, consisting of placemen, peers' sons, squires of 
 old family, East India proprietors, and lawyers on the 
 lookout for promotion, was not likely to be led away 
 by a penniless playwright, on a great question of 
 national policy and criminal justice. But nature had 
 given Sheridan odds in the race which enabled him 
 to distance all competitors, whether envious friends or 
 party foes. His speech on this occasion having been, 
 like most of his other works, composed in scraps, and 
 owing its great effect at last to adaptations on the 
 spot, and unpremeditated additions, was dependwt 
 
160 EMPIRE IN 4SI1. 
 
 for preserv9.tion on tho reporter'^ pen ; an4, from some 
 <5au8e never explained, the pen on that memorable 
 night lamental^ly f.^iled. The IJouse, fairly carried 
 away by the versatility, eloquence, wit, sn^d passion 
 of th,e D^in, forgot itself, and mingled with its cheers 
 the expressions of applause which have always been 
 forbidden as disorderly. Pitt was riveted with ad- 
 piira.tion, Fox W9.s loud in p;raise, Burke ^hed tearB in 
 the agony ^f his delight, and the fastidious Windham 
 declared long afterwards that it was the finest speech 
 which b^ad been delivered vy^ithin the memory af man. 
 Poor Sheridan was offered Jbhe next morning thousand 
 guinea^ for th^ copyright, but he was too happy in his 
 pew cQuditioiji of .celebrity and congratulation to sit 
 .down alone to work up over again what he had spoken. 
 Ho promised, and perhaps at tim,6s he meant to do it. 
 But delipious hours rolled on, and he had not 
 resolntion Jbo forego their enjoyment for the ^ake of 
 future fame. The matchless jinvective is lost, and we 
 can only guess at its colour, texture, and strength by 
 the influence it exercised on those whol^eard it, nearly 
 three to one of whom yoted_ as_-»^heridan bade them. 
 He stignaatised Hastings as "a, great delinquent, and 
 the gr^ate^t of all thoi?e who by their rapacity and 
 oppression had brought ruin upon the natives of India 
 and disgrace npon the inhabitant^ of Great Britain.'* 
 
 Some days later Mr, Frederick Montague moved 
 that the author of the impeachment should proceed 
 forthwith to the other House, and at the bar of tl^at 
 Jiigh court should lay the plaint of the Commons, 
 ^pconipanied by many members, Burke appeared at 
 their Lordship's bar requesting audience, and in set 
 terr;QS there preferred his weigiity accnsation. Hast- 
 ings was tak^n into custody by Black Rod, and bound 
 over in sureties to appear before the Lord High 
 Steward in Westminster Hall when called upon. 
 
 Nobody at the time appears to have regarded with 
 apprehension the issue of the impending trial. The 
 friends of the great culprit went about railing against 
 the malignity of party, and the injustice of ruining a 
 
TYRANNY ON ITS KNEES. I6i 
 
 distinguislied man who had spent his best years in the 
 service of the country, by compelling him to bring 
 witnesses from the other side of the globe, and to 
 employ lawyers to compile unreadable and unintelli- 
 gible volumes of documentary proof. His successor 
 Lord Cornwallis, when the tidings reached him, trea- 
 ted the matter as a vexatious practical joke. ^^I am 
 very sorry that things have gone so much against poor 
 Hastings, for he certainly has many amiable qualities. 
 If you are in the hanging mood; you may tuck iip. Sir 
 Elijah^impey without giving anybody^ tKe^^^ s^ 
 concern. '^^ It is the old story: those who allow 
 themseTves to be made use of as tools, when they are 
 done with are flung aside with a scoff. The ensuing 
 autumn and winter were spent by both side in pre*, 
 paration. The name of Francis had been struck out 
 of the list of managers by the Commons, on the ground 
 that he was the personal enemy of the accused, and 
 that he bad engaged with him in mortal combat. Fox 
 and Windham wrestled stoutly for their friend's 
 inclusion. " A judge,'' exclaimed the latter, ** ought 
 indeed to be impartial ; but it is new to question the 
 zeal of a prosecutor. " Burke, feminine in his affec- 
 tions and aversions, condescended to entreaty, and 
 wrote to Dundas asking as a favour to himself that he 
 should not be mutilated of his right hand. But the 
 renegade was reckless, and Pitt was obdurate; there 
 was nothing for it, therefore, but to stifle the glowing 
 rage of Francis with splendid flattery. Burke in the 
 name of the managers wrote him a letter — sue h a 
 letter ! It was dated from the committee-room of the 
 House of Commons ; it declared in the name of the 
 managers that he was indispensable to the achieve- 
 ment of national justice; and it adjured him not to 
 forsake in their last resort the afflicted people of Asia,, 
 over whom he had so long **exercised paternal care. '*. 
 Junius could not refuse; and in his capacity of 
 assessor, throughout the protracted aud arduous pro- 
 1 Letter tp Lord Sydney, Piceideut of the Board of Control^ date^. 
 Calcutta January 7, 1788. 
 
 11 
 
162^ EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 ceedings, he was never wanting by the side of his 
 illustrious friend. Among the managers were Fox^ 
 Sheridan, Grey, Erskinc, Windham, Anstruther, 
 Elliott, and Burgoyne. 
 
 After many postponements, the day at length 
 arrived. It was sixty-three years since the Peers had 
 assembled as a court of justice for the trial of Lord 
 Macclesfield. They were then much more limited in 
 number. To the roll-call of the Lord High Steward 
 upwards of two hundred peers now answered to their 
 names, aud proceeded from their own House to West- 
 minster Hall, which had been furnished as a court 
 for the occasion. The Heir-apparent and other princes 
 of the blood, many of the chief dignitaries ot the 
 realm, and its most brilliant lights of literature and 
 art, were there assembled. The Duchess of Devonshire 
 was surrounded by the great Whig ladies, who glanced 
 encouragement on Fox and Grey and Windham in the 
 managers' box. The ladies whose sympathy was 
 Ministerial occupied seats near the Duchess of Rut- 
 land ; and every nook and cranny of the Hall was 
 early tilled by some more or less distinguished listener 
 to the unusual and almost unbelievable arraigrnment. 
 Of all the notabilities of the day, Pitt alone was 
 absent; not even once did he afterwards condescend 
 to show himself during the trial. The great Proconsul 
 was conducted to the bar, and incompliance with old 
 usage, was told to drop upon his knees. The indignity 
 sent a sharper pang to his proud heart Ihan the 
 enumeration of all the crimes laid to his charge. It 
 was but momentary. The Lord High Steward bade 
 him rise and be seated , and there throughout the day, 
 and for days to come that seemed innumerable, the 
 tiny, pallid, plainly attired, but dignified and intrepid 
 culprit, sat observing calmly the features of his judges, 
 watching keenly every movement of his pursuers, and 
 now and then conferring with Plumer, Law, and others 
 of his counsel. It was a strange sight; and to us, 
 looking back at it historically, it seems as strange as 
 it did then. It was a signal experiment in the way 
 
TYRANNY ON ITS KNEES. 163 
 
 of exacting accountability, made with consummMa^ 
 skill, earnestness, and persistency, in a case where 
 there was unprecedented need. Fitness m the tribunal 
 only was wanting; but that want was irremediable. A 
 court of peers had aforetime sat as judges and as 
 jurors to try the guilt or innocence of one accused of 
 native treason, domestic violence or breach of muni- 
 cipal law, the incidents of which were recent, and the 
 proofs capable of being fairly weighed during, the 
 sunlight of an ordinary day. But herej^as an a££eal 
 from jnediaBval Asia lo modern ISurope, Jrg^^^^^^^^ 
 telligible Paganism to so-called phriS'tianity,.from the 
 helplessness of the- conquered to the privireo^es of 
 constitutional freedom, from unnumbered millions of 
 sufferers to two hundred listless men of fashion — some 
 old and gouty, others giddy and gambling, a few 
 painstaking and conscientious, and a few more bene* 
 volent and well meaning, but phlegmatic, hypochon^ 
 driacal, and too easily bored Estimated by tlie 
 capacity derived from experience there never was an' 
 Arepogus more helpless ; for precedent to guide them 
 there was literally none. Estimated by any theore- 
 tical standard, the constitut on of such a court was' 
 simply absurd. Of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal' 
 who actually heard Hastings arraigned but twenty 
 nine voted him, seven years afterwards, innocent on 
 guilty. The power of impeachment had been a valu- 
 able power, and had done good work in its time but 
 work like this it was never meant to do, and work 
 like this it was wholly inca-pable of doing as it ought 
 to be done. Through the grey winter-fog of February 
 1788, these truths, clear to us now, were not, however-^ 
 discernible; and, upon the whole, it may be doubted 
 whether men would ever have been bpouo-ht unani« 
 ujously or even generally to accept them, had not tlie 
 great experiment been elaborately tried under cir» 
 cumstances so favourable to success, as that which 
 characterised the case of Warren Hastings. The'^ 
 delusive belief in a phantom can only be dis .elled by*^ 
 aJBEording every one repeated 'and oontmu oua opporJ^ 
 
164 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 tunities of seeing that the resuscitated form cannot bo 
 grasped, or held, or made to speak coherently and 
 accountably. Until the faith in phantoms be explo- 
 ded, we cannot hope to get to realities. A learned, 
 wise, exalted, and catholic-hearted court of appeal 
 for those who suffer wrong within the confines of the 
 empire is indispensable to the maintenance of the 
 empire in equity and honour ; indispensable, indeed, 
 to its permanent existence; but the Lord High Ste- 
 ward's court, convened to try a colonial Viceroy on a 
 writ of impeachment, is utterly unlike what such a 
 court should be. It was necessary, therefore, that the 
 obsQlete pageant should be once more reproduced, 
 were it only to prove hotv ill adapted it was for the 
 ijTLodern purpose required. And in this historical point 
 of view it may not be waste of time of the particulars 
 wherein it pgregiously failed. 
 
 Tht^ arbitrament of political controversies between 
 Qqi^iai and independent nations is sufficiently difiicult 
 under the most favourable circumstances, for the 
 pbvious reason that it is of necessity extremely hard 
 to constitute a court capable at once of appreciating 
 the just claims of both sides, and of rising superior to 
 the passionate and partial importunities of either. But 
 immeasurably more difficult is the task of arbitrating 
 between suzerain and vassal, the aggressor and the 
 aggrieved, the lord paramount of conquest and his 
 brow-beaten if not begared subjects. Whether the 
 dispute lie between a distant and comparatively dim- 
 inutive community on the one hand, and the con- 
 t^^lelious power of centralism on the other or whether 
 the question be one raised on the part of deposed or 
 mediatised princes and the exchequer of an imperial 
 dynasty, there is need of the greatest care in selecting 
 the judo^es, and of the greatest precaution against the 
 law's delay, the insolence of office, and the conscious 
 or unconscious interposition of personal, party, and 
 national predilections. It is a matter of daily observa- 
 tion how men, who, as jurors in a common lawsuit, 
 ^ould stare contemptuously at any attempt to tamper 
 
TYRANNY OX ITS KNEES. 165 
 
 witb their in-dependence, betray no conscientious 
 scruple, and affect no sting of shame, at being impor- 
 tuned, threatened, and talked over, when they have 
 votes to giv*e as peers or commoners, electors or elect, 
 on questions involving quite as certainly and clearly 
 ihe character of individuals or the interest of the 
 public. This is so even when the controversies 
 are between fellow-subjects or neighbours,- how 
 much more when the complainants are strangers, 
 aliens, it may be recent foes, or doubtful allies, whose 
 reputation has been hardly dealt with, and whose 
 means of correcting misimpression are practically 
 nil; while the respondent in the political suit stands 
 upon the presumption of national honour, and appeals 
 to all the interests and feelings interwoveu with 
 national pride. It is hard even for a moment to set 
 the balances fair, but it is useless and hopeless to 
 try and do so, if there be no staid, learned, res{)on- 
 sible, and, above all, jealously limited number of 
 arbiters, in whose hands the scales are to be held. 
 From the days of the Ecclesia of Athens and the 
 Senate of Rome, to those of the Convention Parlia- 
 ment and the National Assembly of France, there 
 has never been a prac^^caZ% indeterminate assembly, 
 elective or hereditary, which has not signally failed 
 whenever it undertook to perform judicial duties. It 
 would seem as if there were in the very nature of the 
 thing a fault ineradicable. Apart from the multiplied 
 chances which a multitudinous jury ])resents, that 
 part of the case may be heard by one set of men and 
 part by another, neither of whom, therefore, can 
 properly join in giving judgment, though both are 
 empowered to do so ; — there is the still more fatal 
 ehaii^acieristic of all such assemblies, that they are 
 necessarily consitituted of materials egregiously un- 
 equal in their intellectual abilities, that they are 
 palpably for the most part untrained for such work, 
 e-nd that they are invariably prone to evade or re- 
 pudiate openly the individual responsibility of form- 
 ing and expressing a decision, because that decisioa 
 
166 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 may not be decisive. It is idle to answer tliat logical- 
 ly this is unreasonable and unsound. The fact that 
 in such cases men are not governed by logic is too 
 plain : and equally plain is the fact that a supreme 
 court of appeal, whether it be composed of priests 
 or laymen, delegates or citizens, soldiers or civilians, 
 is capricious, inconsequential, impulsive, and morally 
 impotent, — just in proportion as it resembles a popu- 
 lar assembly instead of a strictly limited and specially 
 chosen bench of justice. It is the instinctive sense 
 of this truth that has made the hereditary peers, in 
 the exercise of their ordinary jurisdiction, habitually 
 abstain from taking part in the appeals between 
 man and man that are brought before them. Every 
 one knows and understands that not one in a hundred 
 of the Lords feels himself justified in meddling with 
 these appeals, even to the extent of putting a ques- 
 tion to a witness, or asking for the explanation of 
 a phrase. How much more, then, does it behove the 
 members of such an assembly to abstain where the 
 power of the Crown or of the nation at large is on 
 one side, and the equities invoked by a conquered 
 prince or people are upon the other? What was 
 wanted in 1788, and what is wanted still, was a high 
 court of federal jurisdiction, consisting of the best 
 men to be found in the legislature, the administra- 
 tion, and the law, on whom the great responsibility 
 might safely be devolved of trying a complicated 
 issue, and of putting on record the reasons of their 
 decision. By some such method as this, the proceed- 
 ings might have been brought to within decent limits 
 as to cost and time, and the ineffable mockery of 
 justice avoided which the prolongation of the im- 
 peachment for seven years, and the unassessed mulct 
 of the defendant in £100,000 costs entailed- 
 
 When Hastings was at last summoned by the 
 Chancellor to appear before the Lords on the 23d 
 April 1795, to receive judgment, but twenty-nine 
 peers in their robes were in attendance. A good 
 many more, who shrank from sharing the judicial 
 
TYRA^rNY ON ITS KNEES. 187 
 
 responsibility, appeard in their ordinary costume 
 near the steps of the throne, curiously observing 
 the forms of procedure, as though it concerned them 
 not. The members of the Upper House had been 
 considerably augmented in the interval, and numbered 
 'HOW two hundered and sixty-two. Of these, forty- 
 nine had acceded by inheritance, and forty-four had 
 been created, or elected as Scotch peers. Pending 
 the suit, eighty-seven who sat in the previous Par- 
 liament had died, or had not been re-elected. Look- 
 ing worn and aged by the anxieties of his seven years' 
 trial, Hastings advanced to the bar, and once more 
 knelt in submission, in turn the peers were called 
 upon to say on their honour whether he was guilty or 
 not. Six answered in the affirmative; in the negative 
 twenty-three. The S'x who were for condemnation 
 were the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Carnarvon, 
 Randor, Fitzwilliam, and Suffolk, and the Chancellor 
 Lord Loughborough. Those who voted for acquittal 
 were Markham, Lord Archbishop of York, the Duke 
 of Bridge water and Leeds, the Marquis of Tovvnshend, 
 the Earls of Beverley, Warwi(*k, Conveotry, Mansfield, 
 Morton, and Dorchester, Viscount Falmouth, the 
 Bishops of Rochester and Bangor, and Lords Fife, 
 Somers, Rawdon, Walsingham,Thurlow. Hawke, Bos- 
 ton, Sandys, and Middleton, Lord Loughborough 
 then pronounced the judgment of acquittal, and 
 ordered the prisoner to be discharged. What a 
 moment was that of supreme excitement and exulta- 
 tion ! Surrounded by nobles, prelates, courtiers, 
 soldiers, India directors, agents, dependants, flatterers, 
 and friends of all sorts, the phlegmatic little man was 
 almost overpowered with gratulations When they 
 had ceased, ambitious hope once more stirred within 
 him ; and for a season had cause to fancy that fortune 
 miorht return. His costs during: the trial amounted 
 to £76,528, and other expenses which it entailed had 
 exhausted nearly all the accumulations of his guilty 
 r^ign. A meeting of East India proprietors voted 
 tija^by way of. compensation, J84000 a year for twenty- 
 
^^8 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 eiyht jears ; and capitalising the sum to meet hia 
 known exigencies, they advanced him £42,000, to- 
 gether with a loan of £50,000, vested in trustees for the 
 purchase of Dajlesford, that darling object of hia 
 boyish dreams, for which he had gone so far afield, 
 and waded so deep in sin and shame. Daylesford waa 
 won at last. The reaction in his favour spread; and 
 by the advice of many influential friends, he resolved 
 to petition the CrowD for the reimbursement of his legal 
 expenses. Ministers, notwithstanding, held aloof, 
 and no persuasions could prevail on Pitt to present 
 his petition to the King. 
 
 Sir Elijah Impe;^ likewise escaped punishment. On 
 December 12,1787, Sir Gilbert Elliot brought forward 
 a motion for his impeachment in a speech of great 
 ability. He charged him with ' gross corruption, 
 positive injustice, direct disobedience, intentional 
 violation of the Acts under which he held liis powers, 
 and with having suborned evidence and given to 
 falsehood the sanctity of an affidavit.' The ex-Chief- 
 Justice had, he said, been guilty of the most 'scandal- 
 ous enormities; he had perverted law to the purposes 
 of tyranny j and thus he had alienated the hearts of 
 the people of India, and had stained the name of 
 Britian. . . . Next to the duty of bestowing honours 
 on great and distinguished men who, being intrusted 
 jWitb the custody of the lives and properties of their 
 .lellow creatures, had preserved them against outrage 
 and oppression, was the necessary, though painful, 
 task of drawing down the vengeance of Parliament on 
 the head of a servant whose pride had stretched hi-a 
 power into fcyranay, and whose avarice had perverted 
 his trust into plunder; — more than any other species 
 of delmtjuency did the crimes of a judge call for the 
 vengeance of a nation.' ^ The crimes, indeed, did call 
 and Parliament for a season seemed attentively to 
 listen, but the vengeance of the nation did not come. 
 .Goverement, while professing only to perform the 
 jduties of umpirage, contrived fco let it be understood 
 -•. - . 1 Pftrliameutary History, voL xxvi. p. 1338, 
 
TYRANNY ON IT3 KNEES. 169 
 
 that til ej thought exposure was sufficient, and that they 
 would rather not have the matter pressed to a con- 
 viction. So,it fell thrQU4^h ; and the name of Impey 
 has come to pass as synonymous with Judicial impun ity . 
 While the proceedings against his illustrious accom- 
 plice were still pending, the ex- Chief- Justice found a 
 borough sufficientlyripe in decay to recognise in him 
 a fitting representative. In mercy to the little town, 
 now disfranchised, and long since, let us hope, repent- 
 ant, let us omit its name. 
 
 'I 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 TIPPOO SAIB. 
 
 1786—1793. 
 
 'The unity of oar Oovernmeut and oar great military force give as 
 such a euperiority over tiie native princes, that we might, by watci ing 
 opporbuDities, extend oar dominion without much danger or expense, 
 and at no very ilisfeant period, over a great part of tbe Peninsula. 
 ^5^^^'*^^'*^®**^^^^*'*'®^® directed to the total subversion of Tippoo. 
 After becoming master of oeringapatam, we should find no great 
 difficulty in advancing to the Kistua, when favoured by wars or revolu- 
 tions in the neighbouring Statics, but w© i)ught to have some pre- 
 cencerted general scheme to follow upon such occJ^sions." 
 
 —SIR T. MUNKO. 1. 
 
 FOR the vacant place of Viceroy there were many 
 competitors ; yet the fitting man was not so easily 
 found. If long experience, great ability, dauntless 
 courage, marvellous success, powerful friends, and 
 court favour, could not insure a Governor-General on 
 his return home from being arraigned as a culprit, 
 what safety could there be for his successor. The 
 example of Hastings was calculated to deter cautious 
 and punctilious men, and to disenchant reckless and 
 avaricious men. There remained, however^ a crowd 
 of restless, needy, and adventurous waiters upon 
 fortune, any of whom would have grasped wich delight 
 at £25,000 a year, and the jobbing of India for five 
 years Mr. Pitt had no mind indeed to throw away so 
 great an appointment upon any of the class in ques- 
 tion. In common with Lord Shelbourne, he thought, 
 of Lord Corn wallis at first for the command in chief 
 and afterwards for the chief direction of civil affairs 
 I Letter to his father, 2l8t September 1798— Memoira by the Eer. 
 ft. R, Gleig^jvol, Ip. 203, 
 
TIPPOO SA IBy 171 
 
 likewise. Without any of the political tenants of his 
 grandfather, who had been First Minister of George 
 I., or the energy of character tha,t gave promise of his 
 retrieving the aisaster which had virtually brought 
 the American war to an end, Lord Cornwaliis occupi- 
 ed a position in public life which no Minister was 
 likely to overlook. With good manners, good connec- 
 tions, and good fortune, his friendship was sought by 
 men of ail parties ; and enemies he had none. Left to 
 himself, he would probably have sauntered happily 
 and unnoticeably along the downhill steep of life, 
 grumbling occasionally in the House of Lords at what 
 he did not approve, but never ehpaging deeply m 
 party plots, or aspirng to lead a parliamentary cam- 
 paign. What he wanted was to be made Constable of 
 the Tower, and he betrayed some vexation at being 
 passed over for that sinecure post ; but it was certain- 
 ly not with any view to get rid ot him as a trouble- 
 some critic or a dangerous opponent that the Ministry 
 in 1786 pressed u^ion him the Grovernment of India. 
 He was thought eligible, as an amiable and respect- 
 able man, who might be relied an to keep peculation 
 in check, and to curb the violent courses which had 
 brought the administration of his predecessor into 
 question. Not without hesitation he agreed at length 
 to go • little foreseeing probably how lastingly his 
 name would be written on the financial and territorial 
 records of Hindustan. 
 
 He sailed for the East in the latter end of April 
 
 1786j and arrived in Madras the following August, 
 
 His first letters home ex]>ress his strong dissatisfac* 
 
 tion at the part already taken by the Madras Govern^ 
 
 ment in aiding the Mahrattas to violate the treaty 
 
 ^!^.^.^iPPM. Sultan He denounced also the incapacit;^ 
 
 and peculation of the Com|)any'8 servants in no meaj 
 
 sured terms. In one letter he writes : "You will see 
 
 in the letters from the Board previous to my arrival, 
 
 a plan for obtaining Allahabad from the Vizier, to 
 
 which he had S])irit enough to make a successful re- 
 
 sistencc. Unless I see some new lights, I shall not 
 
172 EMPIRE lA^ ASIA. 
 
 revive it. I at present think the advantages of oiir 
 f)Ossessing that post very doubtful, and I am sure it 
 was intejided_as_8cene of gfross peculation, at the ex- 
 pens'e^of the Vizier and his Groverninent.^'* Com- 
 plaints of interference and maladministration poured 
 in from all sides. Among tbe most prominent were 
 those of Mobaruck-ul-Dovvla, the Nawab of Ben gal j 
 who, having succeeded to the musnud during his 
 minority in 1770, was now come of age : and who„re.- 
 pudiated alike the control of his former guardians, and 
 the retention by the Company of the greater part oj 
 the income guaranteed to him by treaty on his accesj- 
 slbn. It was then fixed at thirty-two lacs a year ; but 
 in i 772, Warren Hastings acting on instructions from 
 Leadeuhall Street, reduced the amount one-half, on 
 the plea that sixteen lacs was sufficient during the 
 Princess minority. The rightful sum, however, Was 
 hot restored, as was expected, while he had still to 
 pay the whole staff of Company's officers, as part of 
 the establishment originally imposed upon him. In a 
 letter to the Court of Directors soon after his arrival, 
 the new Viceroy wrote, that ^^from all he had already 
 heard, he thought it highly probable that it would 
 appear to be decent in the Govern ment to abstain from 
 much of the interference that had hitherto | been used 
 in the detail of the business of that household, and 
 which had been attended with great expense to the 
 Nawab."- Tb rough his a^^ent in London, the Soubah- 
 dar had formally complained to the Directors of the 
 injustice with which he was treated, and they instruc- 
 ted the Grovernor-G-eneral in a secret despatch to 
 *' take care to provide for his support and dignity, 
 by securing to him the clear and undiminished receipt 
 of the real stipend allotted to him, or even by its im- 
 mediate^ugmentation." adding, <' You will always 
 keep in view the claims he has upon us by treaty, and 
 necessity will dictate ^to you a due consideration for 
 
 1 Confidential letter to Right Hon. Henry Dandas, Vol, 15. 1786. 
 s^ The Cornwallis Correspoudence, edited by Charles Rosa Vol. i. p. 236. 
 
TIPFOO SAJB; 173 
 
 the present state of our affairs/'^ On the pl^ea, how- 
 ever, that dependants on the native Qourt would be 
 chiefly benefited, were the whole of his income restor- 
 ed to him, Lord C.arJiwallis advised that the Com- 
 pany slmuldjitiTl retain half of it for themselves. In 
 Eis judgment, it was only a question between whether 
 so many lacs a y^ar should be spent in luxury in 
 London or ip. luxury at Moorshedabad. His sympathies 
 were with the former.? 
 
 The peace concluded at Mangalore lasted six 
 years. Tippop in that interval reduced to snbjection 
 several of the minor states in his neighbou/'hood. and 
 built or purchased several armed vessels, which help- 
 ed to spread terror of his name along the coast of 
 Malabar. Fanaticism was with him aa impulse even 
 stronger than ambition, and his assumption of the 
 title of Sultan was supposed to be preparatory to that 
 of Prophet. He persuaded himself that he had a 
 mission to clear the land of idolatry ; he compelled 
 multitudes to conform to his faith, and to behold their 
 temples levelled with the dust. He boasted that he 
 had destroyed 8000 shrines, a,nd distributed 100,000 
 unwilling converts among his garrisons. He bore, 
 in fact, a strong resernblance to Philip II. of Spain. 
 They had both been educated for empire, and both 
 possessed considerable talents, natural or acquired. 
 Both were brave, industrious, and sagacious, and both 
 sustained with signal constancy the ills of fortune. 
 But both also were, perhaps from the very fact of 
 their having been bred in the expectancy of vast 
 domination, far inferior to their predecessors. With 
 less experience and original resources, they were 
 equally despotic and exacting, more self-willed and 
 obstinate, less fit to turn victory to account, and less 
 versatile in retrieving the losses of defeat. Both 
 were cruel from suspicion and resentment;, both were 
 bigoted to the f^,ith in which they had been reared, 
 a^jid both sacrificed to their superstitious zeal the 
 
 ^ Despatch from Courfc of Director?, 2l8t July 1786, 
 '^ Sco deepatch, ith Murch 1787, 
 
174 EMPIRE IN^A^IA. 
 
 affection of their subjects and the security of their 
 dominions. While history, therefore, dwelJs upon 
 the memory of neither with respect or pity, fidelity 
 to truth requires that tbeir misdeeds^should be weigh- 
 ed in the same balance of justice as that wherein the 
 faults of their adversaries are measured ; and if 
 circumstances are to be allowed to aggravate or miti- 
 gate reproach, history's duty is to mete out carefully 
 the blame which is due. lb is necessary to remind 
 those who really desire to know the truth how dis- 
 trustfully we are bound to read all that is written in 
 apology or eulogy of triumphant aggression ? The 
 beaten are always worthless, the victors always great 
 and good ; a thousand influenres of selfishness or 
 sympathy, consciously or unconsciously, combine to 
 tinge the narrative of victory ; but where are the 
 annals of the conquered ? who shall bring garlands 
 to the nameless grave ? Of Ti^poo iSaib we may 
 not err widely if we content ourselves with saying, 
 that from all we have been enabled to glean from 
 out the unfruitful stubble field or military memoir, 
 we infer that he was not much worse than other 
 men who have been placed in similiar situations else- 
 where. His indifference to human life was probably 
 about the same as the Louis le Grrand or Nicholas I., 
 of Alba, Strafford, or Radetzky. His reluctance to 
 employ any one holding religious opinion different 
 from his own was probaSly as intolerant and oppres- 
 give as that of the most Christian Ferdinand VIL, 
 or the most rt^ligious and gracious George III, ^ 
 
 Towards the close of 1789 an incident occurred 
 which led to what is called the third war with Mysore, 
 Two forts belonging to the Dutch 8to<»d at thf^ mouth 
 of an estuary near the frontier lines of Travancore, 
 and being threatened by Tippoo, their commandant, 
 under the terms of a subsisting treaty, called on thei^ 
 
 1 Muuro sneers at the biffotry of Tippoo in not employing any 
 but Mahammedans in posts of confiilence ; somewhat absurd this 
 from an officer in an army where none but th ee ot th^.orikodox fi«oM 
 of Chrifitiaofi were then eligible to hold commaad. 
 
TIPPOOSAIB 17S'^ 
 
 Rajah to aid in defending them, or, if he would not, 
 to become their purchaser. Against this Tippo pro- 
 tested. The Dutch had no right, as^ he averred to 
 alijenate a possession for which they paid tribute to 
 the Kajah of Cochin^ who in turn owed him fealty; 
 ^he facts were disputed, and he proceeded to force 
 the lines, whence he was repulsed with serious loss. 
 Mr. Holland, then acting President of Madras, pro- 
 posed to send comna^issioners to inquire and negotiate. 
 The Sultan did not forbid their coming, but said he 
 had investigated the matter already, and he was 
 confident as to the ground of his pretensions. Not 
 long afterwards General Meadows became Governor, 
 and instead of negotiating, prepared to interpose by 
 arms. Tippoo wrote congratulating the General on-' 
 his accession to the Government, and deprecating a 
 rupture. "Notwithstanding the bonds of friendship 
 were firmly established, in consequence of the repre- 
 sentations, contrary to the fact, of certain shortsight- 
 ed persons to the Governor, they had caused an army 
 to be assembled on each side.*' As such an event 
 was improper among those mutually in friendships' 
 in order to clear it up Tippoo sent a person of dignity 
 to explain the whole circumstances, that " the dust 
 which had obscured the upright mind of the Govern or-- 
 might be removed.^' ' Meadows replied that he re- 
 garded as am insult the attack upon the Rajah of, 
 Travancpre, who was under English protection ; and' 
 they must now abide the issue af war. The Sultan, 
 being wholly unprepared, fell back with his army 
 towards Seringapatam. Autumn was spent in the^* 
 capture and recapture of places of secondary impor*i^ 
 tance, and in strategic movements without decisive - 
 result. 
 
 It is clear, that to repel the aggression, or, at* 
 most, to obtain for Travancore compensation for any^^ 
 loss it might have sustained, did not of necessity 
 imply operations on a great scale, or the formatioa^ 
 ef a general league for the subjugation of Mysore;^ . 
 
 1 Tbormoa's Britiab India, p, 191. 
 
176 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 But the humiliatioa supposed to bave been incurred 
 \)y the treaty of Mangalore rankled in the minds of 
 i^ot a few of the military class, and the accounts of 
 what had been achieved by t>^e more daring and 
 adventurous policy of jEastings in the eastern Presi- 
 dency, stimulated the wish to try issues once more 
 with the aspiring and pretentious Sultan. To vindi- 
 cate the insulted majesty of Travancor.ej possession 
 w.as taken of Baramahal in 1790, and from that hour 
 tg the p_resent it ha9, remained a revenue distirict 
 of JH<^ Madras Presidency. We ai'e not left to sup- 
 position or conjecture as to the designs with which 
 the war was recommenced. Munro, one of the best and 
 ablest officers engaged during this and the following 
 period in the service, in his confidential letters, written 
 in 17_90, argues against the unsatisfactory nature 
 of the attempt} to hold a balance of power between the 
 native kingdoms, ^e says plainly, conquest is the 
 true policy ; and argues that the British revenve in the 
 East might thereby with ease be trebled. ^' I do not 
 mean that we should all at once attempt to extend 
 ourselves so far, for it is at present beyond our power 
 but that we should keep the object in view, though the 
 accomplisTiment of it should require a long series of 
 years. The dissensions and rev9lutions of the native 
 Govern rrents will point out the time when it is proper 
 for us to become actors. But it can never arrive 
 while Tippo e:?Lists.^'^ Why not remove so formidable 
 an enemy ? 
 
 Accordingly, for this purpose, Lord Cornwallia 
 concluded a league with the Mahrattas and the Nizam, 
 idei;itical in substance, apd with sonje curious points of 
 coincidence in phraseology, with tho/t which was signed 
 in 1795 by the sovereigns of E-ussia, Austria, and 
 Prussia, for the dismemberment of Poland. By the 
 terms of this holy alliance. Nana Farnayis on the part 
 of th^_^ Pagans, Nizam Ali on 1 he part of the Mussul-- 
 inans, andJii.e Viceroy ^s representatiye of Chj'istian 
 Englandj undertook to brincr into the ..field pro-* 
 1 Memoirs of Munro, voU IvP. 123.i* • 
 
TJPPOO SAIB 177 
 
 ^portionate p^OTitiiigents of troops and guns, and not to 
 make jj^ace until half its provinces should have been 
 reft J,|£ja3ilty sore and parcalled out amongst them. 
 Bara"^3,hal, won and lost in the former war, was again 
 overrun, and this time retained securely. The Viceroy 
 preceded to Madras, and early in the spring assumed 
 command of th^s army in person. The whole of J79i 
 was spent in the reduction of strong places and in con- 
 flicts, the most s^-nguinary of which was that of 
 Arikera, about six miles from the capital, which 
 was not, however, invested until the following year. 
 The outworks were stormed, on the night of 5th Febru- 
 ary, and after losing in killed, wounded, and 
 deserters '^0,000 men, Tippoo subinitjfced to the terras 
 im |.»osed by Lord Corn wall is ; on^half his dominions to 
 Tl)^ ceded to the allies adjacent to their respective 
 boundaries and agreeably to their selection, while 
 three crore§,w for the expenses of the 
 
 \yar. Two of Tippoo's sc»ns were to be detained ae 
 hostages for the fulfilment within a year of the pecuni- 
 ary conditions. 
 
 When the prelin^inaries were signed, and the 
 youthful hostages had been, with great state, conveyed 
 into the camp, they were confided to the care of the 
 yiceroy, whe embraced them and gaye them the assur- 
 ance of his paternal solicitude while in captivity. The 
 dramatic incidents of the scene have been preserved by 
 the pencil of Singleton; and Lord Gornwallis for a few 
 days felt that he was pbaying successfully the part of 
 Scipio. 
 
 But the fine gold of maornanimity soon grew dim. 
 
 •^5Ji^-i^-— -^.^®n^^'*^ ^^ 1^^^.®. t^im? ^^^J:li^ preliminaries 
 Coorg^^op the Sla-labar coast, ^pontamjng gilgS squre 
 miiea^ was"deman40d a^il>ng the Vei^^ to the Corii- 
 
 j^an y , fnla^Oi t io^^^ ' n di g nl ajn d T^arauiah a 1 , Tip pop 
 
 inquired in vain to the tepjjto^^ his con-. 
 
 qaer<>rA.it,-l|iyaii>ar, and scornfully asked why^ no hint 
 had been dropped of this further humiliation untilhig 
 children had heen parted from him, and a larg-e Dortion 
 
 . 12 
 
178 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 of the war-mulct paid. In his anger he thieatened to 
 resume the offensive ; and had he known accurately 
 how muoh sickness and want of stores had weakened 
 his assailants, he ruight with difficulty have been 
 dissuaded from putting his threat into execution. 
 Coorg had been subdued by his father, and ruled with 
 such rigour by him, that the Rajah, Yira Kajendra, 
 invoked English aid to recover his independence. 
 Lord Cornwallis was obliged to own that the prin- 
 cipality did hot fall within the scope of the prelimi- 
 naries ; but he set up in extenuation of the breach of 
 faith proposed that it would be ungenerous to leave 
 the Ilajah to the resentment of Tippoo. The con- 
 troversy ended in Coorg being given up, 
 
 ** Our acquisitions ou the Malabar coast, ^' wrote 
 the Viceroy, -'are inaccessible to any enemy that 
 does not come by sea, except on the north frontier. 
 The possession of Coorg and Palghatchery effectually 
 secure that two passes by which only Tippoo could pos- 
 sibly disturb us. The Rajahs on that coast are not 
 independent, but are now become our subjects, and if 
 we can put them in some degree on the footing of the 
 Bengal Zemindars, and prevent their oppressing the 
 people, the commerce of that country may become ex- 
 tremely advantageous to the Company. The net re- 
 venue amounts to about twenty-five lacs of rupees, which 
 will be a great help at present to Bombay '^ The court 
 of Markara, which had been the centre of an independ- 
 ent state for three hundred years, was suffered to exist, 
 with certain local jurisdictions, till 1834, when, on the 
 pretence of failure of heirs in the house of Rajendra, 
 the Raj was incorporated with the rest of the Empire. 
 
 Tippoo's resources had proved to be greater than 
 were anticipated, and it took two years of war to 
 induce his haughty spirit to sue for peace. Munro 
 declares the terms granted him to have been far too 
 moderate, although it sfave the Company increased 
 revenues, amounting to thirty-nine and a half lacs of 
 1 Despatoh to Mr. Duudas, camp before Seringapatam. 18(h 
 Mar«}i 1792— coixeBpottdeaoe, yqI iU p^ 15S, 
 
TIPFOOSAIB, 1?9 
 
 Tnpees (£395,000).^ The extent of territory acquired 
 was not less than 24,000 square miles ; in addition to 
 this, a portion equally great was given to the Nizam, 
 as a reward for his services in the campaign. For 
 how short a soace he was permitted to enjoy these 
 acquisitions we shall presently see. The Mahrattas 
 absolutely refused to take any part of the spoil, 
 influenced, we may suppose, less by any regard for 
 him whose power they had helped to prostrate, than 
 from the too late conviction how much thjeiir. own 
 safety must be endangered by the rem.)y.*^Xo:t .8iich.,a 
 Barrier to European aggression as the My^rean king- 
 dom formed. 
 
 The humiliating treaty was signed, and the con* 
 querors, laden with their booty, disappeared from 
 before Serin gap atam. With what emotions Tip poo 
 saw them depart we may easily conceive. The empire 
 which his lather's genius had cemented and beque- 
 athed to him was riven into fragments and partitioned 
 among his foes. His pride was humbled in the dust,, 
 his treasury was emptied, the fear of his enemies and 
 the confidence of his subjects were alike undermined. 
 But, as the last troop of bis foes deiiied through the 
 frontier hills, be breatl ed freely again , and hope — 
 the hope of yet recovering all he had lost, and of 
 avenging his dishonour — rose within him. For this 
 alone he henceforth seemed to live. Every depart- 
 ment ^f his internal admin istration"^ under w^^^ 
 rig^orous and searching reform. He anxiously sought 
 every means of introducing into his army the tactics 
 and disoipline of Europe, believing that these afforded 
 liim the likeliest chance of successfully coping with 
 his adversaries. But the exhaustion and depression 
 of national defeat is a perilous time to attempt tbe 
 introduction of arbitrary innovations ; and the impe- 
 tuous enerj?y of Tippoo made him forget that the un- 
 prepared changes which his superior intellect and 
 knowledge suggested could only cause bewilderment 
 and distrust among his dispirited people. The severe 
 
 1 Munxo, val. i, p. 129. 
 
m EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 economy he was forced to use alienated many of hi$ 
 powerful dependants. Symptoms of general discon- 
 tent became apparent, and drew fortjb the worst 
 dispositions of a temper naturally harsh, and now 
 embittered by ill-fortune. A dark and superstitious 
 gloom deepened the shades of cruelty over his remain- 
 ing days ; and long before the diadem of Mysore 
 finally perished , its lustre had faded in the e^es of 
 men. 
 
 Thus was the honour of our ally vindicated. Wq 
 can nowhere find that his Highness of Travancore 
 was benefited in any vyay by the ^sanguinary confict 
 or the partition treaty. Lijke jjie Erin^-e pf^ Ho^^ 
 lerni his name was wholly forgotten from the monient 
 the ^rst gun was fired. The iSizam was honoured by 
 the show of new provinces, while in reality he was to 
 be treated as a mere trustee for those who gave and 
 who could also take away. But if the manufacturers 
 of the treaty forgot their allies, they did not forget 
 themselves, ^'Thirty lacs of rupees (£300^000) wej;^a 
 demanded and given as durbar khurutch, or exx>e.nses, 
 avowedly to be distributed amongst the officers con- 
 cerned in settling the treaty. '' ^ The Viceroy returned 
 to Calcutta. The reproach of York Town was effaced, 
 and Lord Cornwaills was made a Marquis. 
 
 Soon after the news of these brilliant achieve- 
 ments reached England, the public became partially 
 aware of the means whereby they had been accompli- 
 shed ; and certain folk asked querulously whether 
 wars of annexation were not administrative jobs, got 
 un'^y powerful ijidividuals for the sake of realising 
 fortunes after the Ciive fashion ? The following year, 
 wEen the Company sought a renewal of their charter, 
 a storm of political virtue broke out, with ail the 
 violence by which the epidemic has, at capricious in- 
 tervals, been characterised amongst us. A show of 
 penitence for past misdeeds was deenied expedient 
 on the part of the Company to appease the outcry; 
 and ere Parliament granted the renewed charter^ it 
 
 1 Malcolm ) vol, (i> chap. vi. note. 
 
TIPPOO SAIB. 181 
 
 solemnlv declared '^tliat the pursuit of schemes of 
 coii^uest and extention of dominion in India is repu- 
 gn antto the wish, tiie honoui", and the policy of the 
 nation.'^ ^ This declaration. .was„.said to have the 
 validity of a command; and upon the assumption of 
 Its being obeyed, the fate of Hindustan was once 
 more intrusted to those whom Chatham used to call 
 " the lofty Asiatic plunderers of Leadenhall Street/' 
 For a season the injunction was observed, at least 
 in appearance. The states which had been cajoled 
 in to admitting subsidiary forces within their continea 
 fell daily more abjectly under the control of their 
 protectors. As.the pay of their garrisons fell into 
 ^jresbf, they were required to; mortgage the revenue 
 of additional provinces to the Company; for the 
 honour of British protection was no longer optional, 
 and the last step in each case usually was the coiu- 
 plete and formal cession of the mortgaged lands. 
 Before Hyder's invasion in 1780, a large portion o£ 
 the revenues of the Carnatic had been thus assigned 
 by the Nawab. The expenses of the war declar- 
 ed a suiHcient pretext for demanding the entire, a 
 sixth part being reserved in the natuie of a pension 
 to Mohamed Ali. Mill, like a true utilitarian, argues 
 that this arrangement was quite a boon to the pen- 
 sioned Prince, inasmuch as he was punctually paid ; 
 that he was relieved from all anxiety and risk, and 
 that the annual stipend allotted him was, in money, 
 rather more than he had been in the habit of appro- 
 priating to his own use. 
 
 I Eaat India Act of 1793. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THK LAND SETTLEMENT. 
 
 1793. 
 
 " Bengal is one of the mo.'^fc fertile* countries on the face of the globe, with 
 a population of mild and iudu&trioua inhabitants, perhaps r-qnal to» if 
 not exceeding' in number that of all British pof^asebione put together, 
 
 . Its real value to 08 depends upou tl'e coatinnance of its ability tjo 
 furnish a iarge uDuu&i investiuent to Furoj>e, to give considerable 
 ast-istauoe to the treaenry ^it (^nlcuttisand to supply the pressing and 
 extensive wantn <>f the other Preeideucies. The consequences of the 
 heavy drains of wealth fioin the above causes, wiih the a idition 
 of that which has been occasiuued by the remiDtxnce of 
 private foi tunes, have been form.tny years past and are now, seve- 
 rely felt by the great diminuiion of the current specie, and by the 
 Iftnguor which has thereby been thrown upon the cultivation 
 and the general commffrc^ of the country. A very material altera- 
 tion in the ly^eneral ccminerce of our system of management hns there- 
 fore become indispenKalJy necessary in order to restore- the country 
 toafciateot preepeperity, and to enable it .^o continue to be ajole 
 support to liiitish interest aLd power in this part of the world." 
 
 — < 0RNWALLI8. 1. 
 
 rilHE conditions of land tenure, and the methods o£ 
 
 •*- assessment throughout India, were as various as 
 the featured of the country itself; the customs pre- 
 vailing in one region being often wholly unknown in 
 another. When by the treaty of 17b5 the Company 
 became Dewan of Bengal, Behar, and OrissSj they 
 continued the system of land taxation then existing. 
 This was principalljr » produce assessment. The fruita 
 of the land were equally divided between the Soy- 
 •rnment and the actual occupier, the Zemindar 
 1 Minute ou i.and >ettlement 10th February 1790. 
 
THE LAND SETTLEMENT. 183 
 
 receiving about one-tenth of the Govern men t share. 
 in account of the land under cultivation, the produce, 
 rent, and other details, was kept by native officials 
 in each village, who were paid fixed salaries by the 
 cultivators, or received allotiaents of land for their 
 services. A collection of villages was called a 
 Pergunna, a combination of these again formed a 
 Circar, and the union of two or more Circars constitu- 
 ted a Soubah. Tae hojders of large areas, who be- 
 came directly responsible to the Grovernment for the 
 revenue iherefrom, were called Zemindars, under 
 whom were the Talookdars,^^ or owners of smaller 
 estates^ and the Ryots, who were the actual cultiva- 
 tors of the soil. A few Zemindaries, as Burdwan, 
 B'arrackpooi', and Beerbhoom in Bengal, were nearly 
 four thousand square miles in extent, and their occu- 
 piers were Rajahs, or native princes of high rank, 
 but the gj eater number were of much smaller propor- 
 tions, held by men of less influence and authority. 
 On the acquisition of tbo Dewanny, the Directors had 
 instructed their officers to confine themselves to the 
 simpje duty of receiving the revenue, the details of 
 coljectfon being left to the ordinary native hands. 
 But the corruption wETch attended the arbitrary 
 substitution of foreign for native local rule bore the 
 usual fruit of weeds in the fiscal field. The Court 
 of Directors » alarmed for the staie of their balance 
 sheet, in 1769, appointed English supervisors over 
 the native collectors. In the following year, Boards 
 ofThquiry and Control were established at Moorshed- 
 abad and Patna, but they did nothing but expose 
 abuse which they lacked the power to remedy, in 
 1772, Warren Hastings revolutionised the entire fiscal 
 department. Europeans were substituted for Indian 
 collectors, The Caicutta Council were constituted a 
 Board of Revenue ; several new officers were created; 
 the treasury was removed form Moorshedabad to 
 Calcutta, and four members of Council were sent on a 
 tour of inspection through the conritry to collect, the 
 materials on which to base a re-aosessmenl. A purely 
 
184 . EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 Feringhee executive however did no better for Leaden- 
 liall Street thau its halfblood predecessor. A number 
 of native clerks were turned adrift, and a few mora 
 adventurers were benefited, but the earth brought 
 forth no greater increase, and the India House dis- 
 pensed no greater blessing in the sliape ot an iinprovetl 
 percentage. In 1774, the newly-appointed Vicero/ 
 reverted to the employment of black collectors, as they 
 were termed, and set up six district councils of supar- 
 intendcnce. An experimental assessment had been 
 made for five years, but the results were not suffi(uent- 
 ly satisfactory to warrant a renewal ; and on its 
 expiration in 1777, annual settlements were decreed 
 for the four years ensuing. In these the Zemindars 
 were encouraged to become responsible for the land 
 revenue. Government retaining power over lands in 
 their own occupation as a guarantee for the faithful 
 performance of their dutv. In 1781 another scheme 
 was tried. The district councils were superseded, and 
 ft central committee of revenue was formed, and the 
 collectors were encouraged to replenish the exchequer 
 by the grant of a percentage on their collections, in 
 addition to their salaries. How this bribe succeeded 
 may be estimated from a fact mentioned by Lord 
 Cornwallis, that one collector, with a salary of 1000 
 rupees a month (£1200 a year) had an income of at 
 least £40,009 a year. 
 
 By Mr. Pitt's Act of J784, the Company were em- 
 powered and directed to *^ inquire into the allegod 
 grievances of the landholders, and if Younded in truth 
 to aiiord them redress, as well as to est^^blish fixed 
 rules (ov the sef-tlement and collection of the revenue, 
 aud lor the adtr\inist(*ation of justice accordincr to the 
 ancient laws and usa^res of the country .'* The first 
 official duty of Lord Cornwailis, therefore, and the one 
 Vvith which his name will always be associated was the 
 settleiuent of land revenue on a definite basis. We 
 have had a good many personal confessions of 
 lilunderii g and mismanagement up to this time, but 
 here we have an admission comprehensive and candid, 
 
TII^ LAND SETTLEMENT. 186 
 
 by Parliament itself, solemnly uttered when giving 
 legislative judgment in appeal, that thirty years of 
 domineering power had been spent in doing the things 
 that^gu^ht not to have been done, and in not doing the 
 th in c:s thai oiiorht to have been done. After turning 
 the country upside down, rack-renting Ryots, beggar- 
 mg iiajalis, goading Tehsildars into rigour, and alter- 
 nately bribing and threatening collectors, some of a 
 W^hite, and some of an olive skin, into higher exaction, 
 Parliament was compelled to admit that the system 
 worked ill, and that it had become necessary to reform 
 it altogether. Bengal was going back to jungle, and 
 the Chairman of the Company was asking loans from 
 the Exchequer to square the dividend account. 
 
 Early in 1787 Uie.. Board o at Calcutta 
 
 wa.8 directed to collect inforuiation for a new assess- 
 ment f but an undertaking so vast as a survey of the 
 extent and boundaries of the several estates, together 
 with the interests, rights and titles of their owners 
 and occupiers, could not be completed in a few 
 months ; and it was not till 1789 that any action could 
 be j.)ractically taken on th.;i results, such as they 
 were, which had been thus obtained. The basis said 
 to be laid was soon found to be imperfect and untrust* 
 worthy. ** It was evident, " says one writer, ''on con- 
 sideration of the answers made to official inquiries, 
 that althoiigh when the Company succeeded to the 
 Dewanny gross abuses prevailed, yet in the best time^^ 
 of the Mogul Government, the rights and privileges 
 of^the people were secured by institutions mainly 
 derived from the original Hindu possessors of the 
 coiiritry " By some it was thoucrht advisable to 
 continue and develop that system; but the Viceroy, 
 with Mr. Shore, Mr Duncan, and Mr Barlow, deemed 
 ^^ ^^,y^r^^®3*_.?bHsh the Zemin^ the landowner, 
 
 whetherTie_had preyiqusly ocjcupied such a position or 
 not. Lord Cornwallis was mainly actuated by a 
 3esire to place this most important source of the Com- 
 pany's income on a sure footing, as well as by a 
 laudable wash to relieve the actual culivatora of the 
 
 ,«•» jfc^«*«»'"»tj'j«' ■'•' " 
 
1€6 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 soil^from the evils inseparable from the habit of farm- 
 ing fche land-tax which then prevailed. The settle- 
 inenLs from year to year, and for other short periods, 
 had not answered expectation. ^*Desperate ad- 
 venturers, ^' said the Governer-General,^ ^' without 
 fortune or character, would undoubtedly be found, as 
 has already been too often experienced, to rent the 
 dili'erent districts of the country at the highest rates 
 that {*ould be put upon them ; but the delusion would 
 be of short duration, and the impolicy and inhuraanitv 
 of the plan would perhaps, when too late tor effectual 
 remedy, become apparent by the complaints of the 
 people and the disappointment at the treasury in the 
 payments of revenue, and would probably terminate in 
 the ruin and depopulation of tlie unfortunate country. '* 
 Again he wrote, '^ Experience has fully shown that the 
 farming system is ill calculated to improve a country, 
 and it is contrary to principles which we wish to 
 establish, of availing ourselves as much as possible of 
 the service of the proprietors of the lands. ^' 
 
 Though there was a concurrence of opinion among 
 the majority of the Council as to making seitlemeiits 
 only with the Zemindars, there was greater diver- 
 gence as to the term and amount of taxation to be 
 levied. Mr. Shore objected to the permanent assess- 
 ment, on the ground that ^*we had not a sufficient 
 knowledge of the actual collections made^ from the 
 several districts to enable us to distribute the assess- 
 ment upon them with the requisite equality ; thit the 
 demands of the Zemindars upon the Talookdars and 
 Ryots were undefined; and that even if we possessed 
 a competent knovvledge of these points there were 
 peculiar circumstances attending the country, which 
 must render it bad policy in the Govern inent to fix their 
 demands upon the land.'^^ He had no good opinion 
 of the Zemindars, whom he accused of *' ignorance of 
 their own interests, irregularity and confusion in the 
 details of business, and collecting their rents by rules 
 1 Letter of Courfc of Direotorfl, 3d November 1788. 
 2 Miuate of the Oov^era:>r (Jener^l, 20Bh Fobraur/ 1790. 
 
THjB land settlement. 187 
 
 which were numerous, arbitrary, and indefinite.^ ^^ 
 that we had not sufficient information to enable us to 
 decide all cases with justice and policy; and that 
 erroneous decisions would, ^fce- followed either by *^a 
 diminution of the revenues, or a confirmation of 
 oppressive exaction/^ For these and a variety of 
 collateral reasons which he embodied in an able 
 minute on the subject, he deprecated a perpetual 
 settlement, when the experience acquired in the inter- 
 val would suggest improvements and correct mistakes. 
 On the other hand, the Viceroy argued that many 
 years had already been spent in collecting information, 
 and that the various tentative and experimental 
 measures tried during that period had not benefited 
 either the people or the Government. ^' I am clearly 
 of opinion,*' he said, ^'that this Government will never 
 be better qualiiied, at any given period whatever, to 
 make an equitable settlement of the land revenue of 
 these provinces/' and that further delay would com- 
 promise the happiness of the people and the prosperity 
 of the country. The idea uppermost in the mind j^ 
 Lord Cornv^'allis was indeed the formation of a^ 
 powerful body of landowners with perpetual ten ure. He 
 sought in the re-establishment of such a class a gua- 
 rantee for stability, founded on the sense of interest 
 which its members would naturally feel in the per- 
 petuation of a system that might insure them for ever 
 against fitful and periodical enhancements of taxation. 
 *'In case of a foreign invasion,'' he said, *'it is a 
 matter of the last importance, considering the means 
 by which we keep possession of this country, that the 
 proprietors of the land should be attached to us from 
 motives of self-interest. A landholder who is secured 
 in the quiet enjoyment of a profitable estate can have 
 no motive in wishing for a change. On the contrary, 
 if the rents of his lands are raised in proportion to 
 their improvement, if he is liable to be dispossessed, or 
 if threatened with imprisonment or confiscation of his 
 property on account of balance due to Government, h« 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
i88 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 will readily listen to any offers which are likely to 
 bring about a cliange that cannot plac6 him in a worse 
 situation, but which hold out to him hopes of a bet- 
 ter/' i 
 
 The Board of Control and the Ministry at home 
 concurred in these views ^ and in March 1793 final re- 
 gulations vyeroJHSued, declaring that all lands held by 
 Zemindars, independent Talookadars, and others, the 
 actual propriet'jrs of land, and their heirs and_,lavvful 
 successors, were to be thenceforth subject to a perpe- 
 tul and unalterable amount of tax therein stated. 
 Land not then under cultivation, and consequently 
 not assessable, if afterwards brought in, was to be 
 the subject of special arrangement, as the estate 
 escheated by failure of issue was to revert to the Go- 
 vernment, who would become owners on the same 
 terms as the last possessor. The proportion which 
 the tax should bear to the rateable value of the land 
 was to be moderate; but there were differences of 
 opinion as to the rateable value itself. Mr. James 
 Giant, who was at the head of the Khalsa or Exche- 
 quer, and who had great experience in the finau- 
 cial department, was of opinion that Government had 
 been defrauded to a very great extent in the previous 
 temporary assessments, and the estates were capable 
 of sustaining a much larger impost. This view was 
 successfully combated by Mr Shore, and the assess- 
 ment was finally decided on an average of the receipts 
 from land-tax during several preceding years. These 
 had amounted in 1790 91 to £3,100,000 for Bengal, 
 Behar, and Orissa; and to £490,000 for the district 
 of Benares, equal to nine-tenths of the nominal pro- 
 ductive value. The views of those who favoured a 
 large augmentation of revenue from this source were 
 partially met by fixing the perpetual rate at ten-ele- 
 venths of the rateable value ; though, from the compli- 
 cation and confusion that prevailed, it was, or waa 
 thought, impossible to define that amount with preci- 
 Bion. 
 
 1 Miuat« of QOTernor-General, lOfch Februwy 1790, 
 
THE LAND SETTLEMENT. 189 
 
 But the operation of the permanent settlement in 
 Bengal ultimately justified the protests of Mr. {Shore. Its 
 chief fault was found to be, as he had foretold, that 
 in its hagtj promulgation, tlpe interests of the subordi- 
 nate ranks of the com,munitj had been overlooked, qf 
 left to be dealt with only when injury had accr^^exj, 
 and hardships had accumulated. 
 
 The provisions of the land settlement were defi- 
 cient, and its execution \yas defective. If we are to 
 trust the evidence of one who has had the fullest op- 
 portunities of accurately estimating its nature and 
 .effects, the assessments for the p^j-pose of fixing the 
 land revenue in )789 were made carelessly and rect- 
 lessly, and even, in same casfs, corruptly. In many 
 cases, persons y^ere confirmed in proprietary rights 
 who had been merelv farmers or collectors of revenue 
 under fche native Government, and who had not a 
 shadow of legal title to the land; only the person 
 who paid the revenue for a whole estate into the treas- 
 ury was taken to be the owner ; the definition of the 
 village unit was neglected in the arrangement with 
 the larger proprietors, some of whose estates were 
 afterwards found to comprise districts widely separa- 
 ted from each other. Numerous varieties pf sub- 
 tenure then existed in Bengal, but of these the Go- 
 vernment took no account , and while they exhausted 
 language to limit their pwn demands on the Zemin- 
 dars, they ena(5ted no rujes to jgrotect and encourage 
 the Ryots or sub-tenants in their holdings. They re- 
 Berved, however, a right of interference in the rela- 
 tions between cultivator and owiaer, when, as they 
 deemed it not improbable, that interference might 
 become necessary. Lord Cornwallis considered many 
 supplementary arrangements would be requiste to 
 render the principles of the plan applicable to th© 
 various rights and customs that existed in different 
 parts of the country, and they must be made by Go- 
 yernment, as the propriety of them might appear. 
 *'It is impossible, ^^ observes Mr. R. D. Mangles,^ 
 
 1 Bviienee before Pailii»mentary Oommitteee op Indian Finance. 
 
190 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 **to exaggerate the recklessness with which the per- 
 manent settlement in Bengal was made/'^ and he 
 confirms the remark^ of Mr. Holt Mackenzie on the^ 
 subject, who says, **'Our settlements v;ere made in 
 haste, on general surmises; on accounts never be- 
 Ifeved to be accurate, and never brouo^ht to anv clear 
 test of accuracy ; on the offers of speculators and the 
 bidding of rivals; on the suggestions of enemies ; on 
 the statements of candidates for eaiployraent^ seeking 
 credit with the Government by discoveries against 
 the people; of information of all kinds, generally 
 worthless ; the collector and community playing a- 
 game of ^'brag,^^ in which all knowledge was on one 
 side and all power on the other/' 
 
 While the Viceroy cont^ratulated the Court of 
 Directors on the inauguration of a fiscal policy which 
 he assured them would be '*ot the utmost importance 
 for promoting the solid interests of the Company,'* 
 he was fain to admit the decline of internal commerce 
 and agriculture under British rule. ^^Excepting the 
 Shroffs and Baniyas,^' he wrote-, *^who reside almost 
 entirely in great towns, the inhabitants of those pro- 
 vinces were advancing Efastily to a general state of 
 poverty and wretchedness. In the description 1 
 must include almost every Zamiiidar in the Company^a 
 territories, which, tbougli it nj^ay have been partly 
 occasioned by their own indolence and extravagance, 
 I am afraid must also be in a great measure attribu- 
 ted to the defects of our former system of government.'* 
 InTa country recently desolated by famine, and im- 
 poverished by rackrents and short leases, the one- 
 sided legislation of 17,S9 soon entailed the supple- 
 mentary arrangements of which its wellmeaning but 
 mistaken author had himself anticipated the probable 
 necessity. The parmanent land assessment of the 
 Bengal provinces was ten-elevenths of the assumed 
 rental, a calculation only based on a more rough and 
 ready valuation that was presumed to fall considerably 
 I Report of Committee, par. 638. 
 2 UQiiex gi Dir«ctox6, 2d Augu&t 1789. 
 
THE LA^D SETTLEMENT. 191 
 
 #}iort of the actua] rental and value, though how far 
 no care was fcaken to ascertain. Such a charge upon 
 a bona fide value would have been indeed ruinous and 
 preposterous; but the real value of the land was two 
 or three times greater than the nominal one for assess- 
 ment. It is in evidence that a farmer, during tbe 
 minority of the proprietor, paid a rental of thirty-three 
 times the assessment value, and made his own protrt 
 besides. Where no limit was fixed upon the de- 
 mands which the immediate holder from the State 
 could impose on the cultivators of the soil, the door 
 was left open for agrarian oppression, and it became 
 necessary to enact laws for the protection of the 
 Eyota and sub-tenants. The Putneedars of the Rajah 
 of Burdwan were thus protected by a special law, and 
 a later enactment ordained that an uninLerru[)ted 
 holding for twelve years confirmed a Kyot in his 
 tenancy during punctual payment. This jremedial 
 le^slation, consequent on the hastily framed measure 
 of 1793, was various and fluctuating, at one time 
 favouring the Ryot, at another time the Zemindar, 
 One of the chief recommendations of the new system 
 was the punctuality of payment it promised, and the 
 undertaking was rigidly enforced. The Zemindars, 
 accustomed to the loss and capricious methods of 
 dealing under the former system, were not at first 
 prepared for such exactitude, and a few of them paid 
 the penalty of default in the sale of their estates by 
 auction. In the first years after the settlement, some 
 ©states changed hands in this way, the buyer succeed- 
 ing to the holder's rights in perpetuity, without 
 any increase or diminution of assessment. This pro- 
 ceeding involved the lapse of all leases granted by 
 ^^?J^^^goi«g proprietor; but it was found to bear 
 hardly on the sub-tenants, and a measure of relief 
 was subsequently passed, giving undertenants, under 
 certain conditions, a right to hold their tenures 
 against Government sales. It was found, also, that 
 while the Government rigorously exacted prompt pay- 
 ment of the reveuae from the Zemindars, the latter 
 
192 EMPIRE IN ASIA . 
 
 had no means of enforcing the like punctuality \n 
 payment by the Ryots. A law was therefore passed 
 enabling them to cpliect "their rents with certaintv 
 but this power l^eing abused, fresh laws gave to the' 
 Royts this I'ightuJ replevying, a privilege of which 
 they were not slow to avail tliemselyes. It is recorded 
 that three thousand suits of repieving were instituted 
 against a Zemindar ao one time. 
 
 Such were the general characteristics of a measi^re 
 which forms a distinctive landmark in Ai:gloJndiau 
 story. That it would be of unmixed benefit to the 
 revenue, or .to agricultural community, was 
 doubted by fijir-seeing men at the time, and has been 
 denied by' com^^etent authorities since then, 'f h<e land 
 settlement of Bengal by Ijord Gornwallis, and other 
 agrarian enactments more or less closely modelled 
 thereon^ ^J^X^i.i^L ll^?.. £Pip^^^ -.91.. SJj;_ Henry Maine, 
 passed into a proverb of ^maladroit management. 
 They all rested on the outlandish assumption, im- 
 ported from Westminster, that tuQ soil of the country 
 belonged to the King, and reverted to him by lapse or 
 forfeiture. This was morally, socially, and politically 
 irreconcilable with the ol.c^est, the strongest, and the 
 best ideas ot Indian civilisation. It never struck root 
 in the convictions or cons -.iencbs of the people, and 
 wherever it was planted by overwhelming force, it 
 failed to bear any fruit of good, and speedily withered 
 where it grew. That the primary sentiment was 
 not the prosperity of the country, is clearly indicated 
 by the passage quoted at the head of this chapter 
 from the elaborate minute drawn up by the Governor- 
 General. Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, the first of whicli 
 provinces had, under native rijle, been designated as 
 *' the paradise of nations, ^^ were onlv valuable as thev 
 :| were able to supply the holders of Indian stock with 
 ^ large dividends, to support an expensive govern nient, 
 ^ ibacked by an army of occupation, and to recoup a 
 ...treasury exhausted by wapton and wasteful wars 
 |elsehwhere. Maladministration by encroaching power 
 had sapped the financial resources of the country, 
 
THE LAND SETTLEMENT. 193 
 
 and damaged the whole machinery of revenue. 
 With hostility without, and reluctant submission 
 within, the India Government saw the necessity of 
 an effective stroke of policy, and bethought them 
 of a way to gain a hold on one class of the people, and 
 to induce a show of order in the finances, even if this 
 was gained at the expense of the suffering millions. 
 That this important act of State was not framed or 
 p,ut in opjBration withouti a cert&in amiable regard 
 for the preservation of ancient customary rights, was 
 probably due to the high-minded and humane dispo- 
 sition of ]^r.. Shore, who placed upon record his_o pi- 
 nion that *nhe demands of a dominion lijie 
 ours ousrht certainly to be more moderate than the 
 finpositions of tiie native rulers ; and that, to render 
 tne value of what we possess permanent, our demaJida 
 ought to be fixed ; that, removed from the control'of 
 our own Goverjiment the distance of half the globe, 
 every possible restriction should be imposed upon th,e. 
 administration of India without circumscribing its 
 necessary power, and the property of the inhabitants 
 be secured against the fluctuations of caprice, or the 
 license of unrestrained control."^ 
 
 I Minute by Mr. Shore on the Land Sattl,t3i^.ent. 
 
 IB 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 I.ORD WELLBSLIT. 
 
 17^7—1801. 
 
 *Tbe recent extension of our territory has added to the number and 
 description ©f our enemies*. Whereerer we spread ourselves, parti- 
 enlarly if we nbould aggrandise ourselves at the expenses of the Mt- 
 hrafctaSy we increase this evil. We throw out of employ me nt and 
 means of eabsisteunce all who have hitherto manuged the revenue 
 or served in the armies. Upon all questions of increase of terri-^ 
 fcory these considerations hav« inuch= weight with me^ and I am, 
 in generul inclined to decide that we h»ve enough/' 
 
 — AV Ellington I. 
 
 EUROPE had h&en convulsed for more th^n five- 
 years by the struggles of the French Revolution- 
 
 ax-y war. The conflict, which had begun for princi- 
 ple^j was already becora© one for empire. The league 
 of despots which had striven to overthrow the imma- 
 ture liberties' of Prance, had been exeraplarily puni- 
 shed by Pichegru, and Bonaparte ; and the Peace 
 of Oampo-Formio might have been lasting had other 
 powers be^n content to farego what they had lost in 
 the war. But ^France)" intoxicated with her single- 
 handed victory over the coalesced legitimists of the 
 time, was too easily led into the race of empire — first 
 by the necessity of resisting, and then by the ambition 
 of eclipsing her implacable foes. Napoleon, the in- 
 carnation of the national will, rose with the accasion, 
 and because he best knew how to satisfy the popular 
 enthusiasm, he became as by witchery 'the idal of hia 
 country. 
 
 It was a time of universal fermentation. The old 
 ideas of what wa& possible and what was right were 
 k L«tUc fcQ Mwro,, Augwt ZO^ ISQQ-QUlg'a Uf«, yqI, 1. p. 2«6. 
 
LORD WELLESLEY. 195 
 
 sliaken from their hold of men. Events of such mag- 
 nitude and novelty had crowded on each other with 
 rapidity from 1788 to 1797, that no scheme was any- 
 longer regarded as incredible, no project as unrealisa- 
 ble or vain. Had right principles prevailed in the 
 councils of Grreat Britain, the frenzy of men's minda 
 might have had time to cool ere the entire world was 
 wrapt in flame; Italy would have been allowed to 
 recover her strength, and to naturalise her alien- 
 born liberties; Germany had been spai^ed the loss and 
 woe of sixteen further years of bloodshed ; the final 
 partition of Poland, and the dispersion of her best 
 and bravest sons, might not have been attempted, and 
 would certainly not have been recognised and sanc- 
 tioned by Western Europe; France might not have 
 been driven from one stop to another of military fury, 
 at the sacrifice of constitutional freedom ; unhappy 
 Ireland might not have been goaded into rebellion in 
 order to ; precipitate an incomplete and unasimila- 
 ting scheme of incorporation ; and Great Britain 
 would have had the benefits of internal reform and 
 religious liberty thirty years earlier, and she would, 
 to-day have been burthened with less than half her 
 debt. But the policy of Pitt was one of selfish isola- 
 tion, until every ally and neighbour that could serve 
 us, or was worth serving by us, had been brought to 
 the verge of ruin ; and then, in desperation, of indis- 
 criminate and unlimited interference. It was a 
 policy of peace at any price, until it suddenly became 
 one of war at any cost. We shrunk from defending 
 the maritime States, whose freedom was older than 
 our own, on the old plea of not being our brothers' 
 keeper, and on the beggarly calculation that we could 
 not afford to interpose ; and it ended in our having 
 10 fight for our life, leagued with every despot who 
 would accept our subsidies, and whose oppressions 
 and annexations we would condone. 
 
 In 1798 the Republican armies had been victorious 
 almost everywhere. The dreams of Louis XIV had 
 J)een more than realised. Belgium and Savoy had been 
 
196 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 aDpexed ; Holland and Italy reduced to dependency ; 
 Austria, after four disastrous campaigns, was well-- 
 neigh exhausted ; and Prussia feared to stir. Bona- 
 parte, full of invention and daring, had bQcqme thQ 
 idol of the French soldiery and the terror of French 
 politicians. To find him employment at a safe distance 
 from Paris, he vvas sent to conquer Egypt, ard no 
 enterprise seemed more fitted to dazzle and perplex his 
 enemies than that which was spoken of aanguinelj as 
 the first step to the conquest of the East. In ' the 
 autumn of 1797, the English Grovernment had informa- 
 tion of intrigues carrying on with various Asiatic 
 Court's and the Freeh Directory. Tip poo Saib, ten 
 years before, had sent envoys to Paris in _ quest 
 df aid to drive us from Bengal. He had frequently 
 renewed proposal of this kind, and it was imagined 
 that at length his solicitations were about to be 
 successful. France had still several possessions in 
 the Indian Seas. The Nizam as well as Scindia had 
 considerable bodies'of troops organised and officered 
 by Frenchmen permanently in their pay. Mr. Pitt 
 and his colleagues were convinced that a vast plot 
 was thickening around us in Asia, and that it would 
 require vigilance, courage, circumspection, energy, 
 insight, and aptitude of no common order to antici- 
 pate t^e impending blow, and paralyse the arm 
 already raised for our undoing. The exigency was 
 a rare and' perilous one. The Ministers looked round 
 among men of civil and military reputation for a 
 man adequate to the occasion. The first intention 
 waste send out Lord Oornwallis a second time, and 
 his reappointment was actually announced/ After 
 the lapse of a few weeks, however, the veteran was 
 induced to relinquish the viceroyalty of India for 
 that of Ireland ; and the onerous charge was con- 
 ferred on Lord Mornington, who, for the four prece- 
 eding years, had been, a member of the Board of Con- 
 trol, under the presidency of Mr Dundas His father 
 was a man of fine taste and considjferable talent foi* 
 xhuaical composition ; but he died while his sons were 
 
LORD W EL LESLEY. 197 
 
 all still young ; and Richard had more of his mother 
 than his taiher iii his intellectual nature- Lady 
 Mornington was, in many respects, a very remark- 
 able person, — fiiii of sagacity and resolution to meet 
 and to surmuuiit diincuities , proud of her children, 
 and full of ambition for them. She lived to see the 
 gratiticatioh of her hearths desire, — ^to see four of 
 them in succession created British peers, — to hear 
 her tirst born designated as the rescuer of the Empire 
 of the East^ and a younger son thanked by the 
 assembled monarchs of Christendom as the deliverer 
 of their realms and restorer of their thrones. The 
 yonth of the future statesman was chiefly distinguish- 
 ed by a mutiny, of which he was the principal ring- 
 leader, at Harrow, and for the facility he subsequent- 
 ly showed at Eton in writing Greek and Latin verse. 
 The latter accomplishment he continued to cultivate 
 at Oxford, where he became the intimate friend of 
 Mr. afterwards Lord Grenvile, by whom he was early 
 made known to Mr. JPitt, and to whose frieijdshjj) 
 he wasindebted'foT hj*s_ intr^ to official ^1^[^- 
 
 Kot content with the opportunities accorded him as 
 ^ peer of Ireland he sought and obtained a seat 
 in the English House of Commons; and such was 
 his thirst for distinction, that we find him, in the 
 course oE the same session, taking part in the debates 
 of the Upper House at Dublin, and in those of the 
 Lower House at Westminster. His early oratorical 
 displays w^ere open to the charge of being too ambi^ 
 tious, his election was overdone, and his tone too 
 dramatic to escape the raillery of opponents. Lord 
 Mountmorris bantered him on the excellence of his 
 imitations of Garrick ; and Sheridan quizzed him on 
 his premature solemnity of air, and the studied grace- 
 fulness with which he leaned upon the table as he 
 spoke. He must have been very unlike in temper the 
 man he was in later life if badinage of this sort was 
 unfelt by him. But he could afford to be upbraided 
 with slight faults. If his cause was not always good, 
 be was always sure to make the best of it. He never, 
 
198 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 in those days, spoke without prepartion. Though 
 given to pleasure, he , grudged no toil necessary to 
 master a subject on which he was to speak ; and there 
 are traces in more than one of his speeches, at the 
 period in question, of great care and no ordinary 
 amount of research. In 1786 he was made a Lord 
 of the Treasury, an appointment which he held for 
 seven years. To take part in debate without being 
 bidden was a thing impossible ; and the occurreuce 
 of his name more than once in important discussions 
 of the time, proves that the Minister ,did not disdain 
 the assistance which his young adherant could render 
 him. Some eminent critics have fancied they dis- 
 cerned in these early speeches, made to order, 
 the foreshadowings of the dignified and masculine 
 eloquence of maturer years, and that they can recog- 
 nise the lineaments of the masterly style of sub- 
 sequent despatches and state papers in the classic 
 verses of the Musoe Etonenses or other early writings. 
 It has even been supposed that his performances in 
 this way influenced the judgment of the refined and 
 accomplished Minister in prompting him to a trust so 
 high and enviable. But it was more probably the 
 vigour of unpremeditated thought, and the brilliancy 
 of unset expression, drawn forth in conversation, that 
 made an impression on the mind of Mr. Pitt. 
 
 Before Lord Mornington reached India, be had 
 
 fathomed the difficulty of the position. At the Cape 
 
 of Grood Hope he opened and read the last despatches 
 
 of his predecessor on their way to England. They 
 
 confirmed all he had before surmised, all that had 
 
 been suggested by his younger brother Arthur 
 
 in his private letters to him from India, and all 
 
 that he had hypothetically discussed with Mr. 
 
 Pitt before leaving home. By England the shabby 
 
 and short-sighted system in foreign policy had been 
 
 at length abandoned, and the reckless expenditure of 
 
 panic had begun. Armies on an unaccustomed scale 
 
 were organising, and an unusal number of ships 
 
 of war were afloat or making ready for sea. When 
 
LORD WELLESLET. 199 
 
 occasions near home could not always be found for 
 employing them, they were sought for in dis- 
 tant latitudes. Trinidad and Ceylon had recently 
 been captured, andTib was part of the new Viceroy's 
 Instructions that he shoijld surprise and seize Batavia. 
 All acts of further aggression had been forbidden by;:^ 
 ParSiament in 1790. But the Earl knew the governing 
 spirit of the Court and Cabinet of England far too 
 %eT^I to hesitate on account of these inhibitions. He 
 well understood the value of the solemn interdict 
 against new encroachments and further appropriation 
 of jewels, lands, and revenues. Failure or success 
 was, in truth, the only question. Failure would 
 indeed expose him to real storm of abuse, virtuous 
 indignation, or even to more serious inconveniences. 
 But he was content to take the risk of ill-success, 
 confident that if triumph crowned his projects, the 
 censure he might incur would be accompanied with 
 generous indemnity — the formal prelude to unbounded 
 praise. 
 
 But more dazzling projects soon suggested them- 
 selves. The new Governor-General found himself 
 invested with vaf^ue but vast authority. Large bodies 
 of troops were at his disposal, officered by Europeans, 
 and disciplined in recent campaigns, A few months 
 put him in adequate possession of the weakness and 
 disunion of the still independent Courts of Hyderabad, 
 £99^^^^ fl-iid Seringapatam. It was impossible not to 
 see that the means of wide acquisitions were thus 
 placed within his grasp; and in the existing condition 
 of Hindustan, pretexts for encroachment could not 
 long be wanting. 
 
 That all things, however, should b© done decently 
 and in order, a case of necessity for self-defence 
 against some enemy of some sort, was felt to be 
 requisite. This indispensable danger was not long in 
 being discovered. French designs were traced, and 
 magnified to the necessarv size, in the summer of 
 1798. The native princes, ever since the wars of the 
 Carnatic, had been anxious to teach their troops th^ 
 
200 EMPIRE IN A SI A . 
 
 use of European arms and tactics: and that vaguer 
 ideas may not have been kept alive in France that her 
 former position in the East might be regained, it were 
 hard to question. That the hatred and jealousy where- 
 with the two nations regarded each other would 
 S"^g^6St the desire, or even dictate open menace on the 
 subject, was highly probable. But neither Hyder or 
 Tippoo succeeded in forming a French alliance until 
 1798, The Saltan was at peace with the Company, 
 but how long they would suffer him to retain what he 
 still held of his inheritance, he could not tell ; and his 
 experience of their disposition towards him, both 
 before and since the partition treaty, was ill-suited to 
 disarm apprehension. 
 
 The official despatches of the Governor- General 
 are the most authentic materials for the narrative of 
 the memorable events that took place during his 
 adminisration. They also contain irrefutable proof 
 of the preconceited designs out of which those events 
 subsequently sprung. The first communications 
 between Tippoo Saib and Lord Mornington related to 
 Wynaad, a province which the former alleged was not 
 included in the cessions under the treaty of 1792 ; but 
 which had been kept by the Company, along with 
 their acquisitions of that date. His repeated remon- 
 atrances had been treated with studied disregard; 
 and at length he resolved to assert his rights by send- 
 ing a small detachment of troops to occupy a poHion 
 of the frontier. The Viceroy proposed to name an 
 envoy to meet one from the Sultan for the settlement 
 of the dispute. To this Tippoo immediately assented ; 
 upon investigation Wynaad was found to belong 
 rightfully to Mysore, and was consequently declared 
 to have been held wrongfully by the English. The 
 Governor-General thereupon wrote on the 7th Au- 
 gust, to the Sultan formally restoring Wynaad and 
 felicitating him on the cause of any interruption to their 
 amity being removed. Nevertheless, at that very 
 moment every resource of the Government in India 
 Was actively devoted to preparing an armament for 
 
LORD WELLESLEY, 201 
 
 the invasion of his dominions. 
 
 About the close of 1797, envoys had been sent from 
 Mysore to M. Malartic, the Governor of the Isle of 
 France, soliciting his friendship, and asking recruits 
 for a small corps of European troops which the Sultan 
 was desirous to employ. This was no breach of amity 
 with us on his part. French officers and soldie^r^^^ 
 for some time been ensjaofed in the service of th6 
 Kjz^m^witjiout^c forth any protest or objection 
 
 From his neighbours ; and the Mahratta Princes, with 
 whom no quarrel then existed^ had likewise succeeded 
 
 ;;*»«.-■■-'■'■■•' " , i _ _ ^ ' ■■■■-.:■■■■■ 
 
 m establishing anxilliary corps of the same kind. 
 Salartic, being unable to spare any of the garrison 
 under his command in the Mauritius, issued, a procla- 
 mation to all French citizens who happened to be then 
 in the East, authorising them to enlist in the service 
 of the Sultan. Expressions of antipathy to Great 
 Britain were gratuitously introduced into this docu- 
 ment; and if France had had a squardron off the coast 
 or fortified pos.^essions on the mainland, where an 
 invading expedition might have been m waiting, or 
 had the injured chief of Mysore been at war with the 
 Company, such an appeal would have warrrnted 
 strong words of protest, if not measures for self- 
 protection. But the reverse of all this was true. Not 
 half-a-dozen vessels bearing the tricolor had been 
 seen beyond the Cape for the last four years, and Tippoo 
 was utterly destitute of even materials for creating 
 a navy. His anxiety for war could not have beeu 
 very great, when he consented to expostulate in vain 
 for years about Wynaad, and when he forbore any 
 violence which might provoke retaliation. The entir© 
 number of recruits who landed in April at Mangalore 
 from the Isle France did not amount to two hundred 
 men. Yet this was the force, and this the circumstan- 
 C9, Hgainst which Lord Mornington felt it imperatively 
 necessary to prepare a vast army at enormous cost, 
 lest the English should ^' be expelled from India/' 
 
 While the preparations were going forward, not a 
 syllable of remonstrance was |)reathed, The dispute 
 
502 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 concerning Wynaad was arranged with a speciouK 
 flhow of fairness and urbanity. Not a sentence do we 
 find in all the letters which that affair called forth of 
 virtuous indignation or honest apprehension at the 
 gasconade of M, Malartic^s proclamation. While 
 matters stood in this position, towards the end of 
 October news arrived of Bonaparte's expedition to 
 Egypt. The alarm which this excited was partly 
 allayed by the tidings, which soon followed, of 
 Nelson's victory of the Nile; and the Governor-General 
 wrote to Tippoo acquainting him of the reverse with 
 which Providence had thus visited the enemies of 
 Great Britain. The invasion of Egypt, he said, was 
 but ^^ another excess of the unjustifiable ambition 
 and insatiable rapacity which had so long characteri- 
 sed the French nation, and nothing could more clearly 
 expose their total disregard of every principle of 
 public faith and honour than this unprovoked aggres- 
 sion.'' These are harsh words, and in other lips they 
 had not been unjust; but with what feelings must 
 they have been read by Tippoo ? Even he, however, 
 could not feel all the depth of their mockery, for as 
 yet he had no intimation of the long-preparing 
 wrath that was about to burst upon him. The fear 
 of Bonaparte^s pushing forward from the coast of the 
 Red Sea towards India still paralysed all active re- 
 solution against Mysore. Whether the impetuosity of 
 the Governor, or the impossibility of any longer con- 
 cealing warlike preparations, was the incentive, we 
 find him at last, on the 8th November, addressing an 
 elaborate complaint to the Sultan on the score of his 
 alliance with Franee, The style and time of this ex- 
 traordinary epistle are too curious to be passed over 
 without notice. ^- It is impossible that you should 
 suppose me to be ignorant of the intercourse which 
 subsists between you and the French. You cannot 
 imagine me indifferent to the transactions which have 
 passed between you and the enemies of my country ; 
 nor does it appear necessary or proper that I should 
 any longer conceal from you the surprise and concern 
 
LORD WELLESLET. SOS 
 
 witt which I perceive you disposed to involve yourself 
 in all the ruinous consequences of a connection which 
 threatons not only to subvert the foundations oi frien- 
 Bhip between you and the Company, but to introduce 
 into the heart of your kingdom the principles of 
 anarchy and confusion, to shake your own authority, 
 to weaken the obedience of your subjects, and to des- 
 troy the religion which you revere,^' 
 
 The pious solicitude here expressed for the stability 
 of faith and morals in the Sultan's realm is quite 
 touching. Oh, that Lucian could arise from the dead, 
 that he might confess himself outdone in serious irony 
 by the official despatches of modern times ! Half the 
 prey is already gorged ; the knife is loudly whetting 
 for the remainder, and by way of grace before meat, 
 we have a pious exhortation against irreligion, sub- 
 version of legitimate authority, 'and, above all, en- 
 treaties to beware of aught that may interrupt the 
 affection and respect that subsists between the jaws 
 and the meat that is next destined to fill them. What 
 is the plain English of this exquisite appeal ? Your 
 Highness and we are excellent friends, therefore we 
 are jealous of your love. The French are unreliable 
 republicans ; we know them better than you do. They 
 will teach your Mussulmans democracy if you let them 
 near you : in friendship we cannot allow this. They 
 will undermine your throne ; surely it were better 
 suffer us to pull it down, than that we should witness 
 your dishonour. They will preach infidelity: think 
 of your poor soul,^ — or if you will not think of it, we 
 must, and remit it from a wicked world, ere its faith 
 is staggered by the jests of Voltaire or the sophistries 
 of Rousseau. And when you are gone before your 
 time to your account, we will look after the bodies 
 and souls of your people. We may possibly establish 
 a diocese, or at least appoint a Bishop of Mysore; 
 that is our way. But fear no compulsion for consci- 
 ence* sake from us. It is only fellow-Christians we 
 persecute ; temples and mosques may remain for us 
 to the end of time, provided we get the temporalities 
 
^^ EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 into oiir hands. Nay, sooner than behold . th^ 
 scariclal of French principles being introSuce'i 
 tiiuong your people, we are ready to turn tax- 
 gatherers to Mahomet or Brahma, or both ; and wil- 
 ling to beat idol's drums and fire salutes in honour 
 of Vishhii or Juggernaut, if yon will only let us info 
 Sdringapatam. This edifying document proceeds to 
 say, that the arming, which ct>uld no longer be entire- 
 ly concealed on the part of the Company, vvas merely 
 *' for self-defence,^' and it concludes with an elaborate 
 profession that *' the British (Jovernment, wishing to 
 live in peace aiid friendship with all their neigh- 
 bours, entertainirig no objects of ambition, and look- 
 ing to other objects than the permanent security 
 and tranquillity of their own dominions, would alwayi 
 be ready, as tliey then were, to afford every demons- 
 tration of their paciMc intentions/^ ^ 
 
 On the 20th November Tippoo replied, ooniplaih- 
 irig of warlike preparations goTTig iforward. and pray- 
 ing that peace miyfht be preserved, 2 Qh the 9th 
 of January 17^9, the Grovernor-Greneral wrote to the 
 Sultan, setting forth for the first time the grievous 
 offence which His Britannic Majesty had received by 
 i'easoh of M. Malartic's proclamation, and plaintively 
 representing the ingratitude of Tippoo in having 
 sanctioned such a document, when, immediately before 
 its reachinof India from the M-auritius, he had recei- 
 ved, in the restoration of Wynaad, a conclusive proof 
 of the friendly dispositions of the Oomyany. '^1 had 
 hardly formed the decision on your Highnesses claim 
 to Wynaad, by whicb i had afforded an unquestiona- 
 ble testimony of ray disposition to render impartial 
 and ample justice to your rights and to cultivate and 
 improve the relations of amity and peace with your 
 Highness, when 1 received from the Isle of France 
 an authentic copy of the proclamation,'^ &c. ^ It is 
 rather unfortunate that, in the same volume which 
 I Marquis Wellesiey's Despatches, vol.i. No. xcvi. 
 9 Ibid., vol i, No, cii. 
 3 Ibid, vol, i, No. oiii^ 
 
LORD WELLES LEY, 205 
 
 pontains this letter, there are reiterated arid copious 
 proofs that the Viceroy had in his possession this 
 terrlFIe manifesto fully two months before his vaun- 
 ted" gene fosity touching Wynaad. It had been recei- 
 ved and made*^ the subject of general ridicule*' ^ as 
 a serious threat, and chuckled ovei: as a God-sent and 
 timely pretext for hostilities. General Harris had 
 been written to on the subject, and secretly apprised 
 of the advantage that would be taken of Jt.^ The 
 ex pecTFtTon for invading Mysore had been planned, 
 and directions given to the Governors of Madras and 
 Bombay to organise all the military resources of their 
 respective Presidencies ; and they had remonstrate(| 
 
 against ^_^JgiB."gJPg./^ApPP^,. J.D;.fe.. w.^^ ?^^ whatever 
 "ffiTgliTFe the object of his embassy to the Mauritius, 
 the late intellit^ence from the islands left no room to 
 doubt that no rupture was to be apprehended but by 
 our own provocation. '' '^ Lord Mornington himself 
 Kad written to Mr Dundas, telling him, that from 
 want of money and the impossibility of completing 
 their preparations in time, he was reluctantlv forced 
 to suspend his immediate design of '*_ seizing thq 
 whole maritime territory remaining in Tippoo^s pos- 
 session,. and then marching upon his capital to com- 
 pei him to purchase peace by a fofmar cession of the 
 terrTtory seized, and" compelling him ' to pay ajl 
 the expenses of the war— objects which appeared 
 most desirable, and which every motive of justice and 
 policy demanded,*^ and he had resolved that'* a tem- 
 perate remonstrance would be sufficient to satisfy 
 their honour, and convince the native powers that 
 their moderation alone induced them to abstain from 
 a more rigorous course.^' ^ All this was prior to the 
 
 1 Letter from Governor-General to Mr Dundas, 6th July 179S, 
 1^0 xxii 
 
 2 Letters of 9th and 20tli June, Nop. xiii. and Xvii. 
 
 3 Letter from Mr Webbe, Secretary of Madras, to Governor. 
 General, 6ih July 179S No. xxii. 
 
 4 Letter to Mr Dundee, then Secretary to the Board of Control, 
 6th July 1798, No. xxii. 
 
S06 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 mangnanimoua restoration of Wynaad, which Tippoo 
 was asked to take as a coDvincing proof of our 
 sincerity. In reality, the surrender of that ditricfc 
 was but a solemn farce, tending to lull the Moslem 
 Prince into security until the measures against 
 him should be ripe for executicu. Till every 
 engine of muffled power was in readiness, wounded 
 honour felt no pain — could even take credit to itself 
 for confiding generosity, and levy, under false 
 pretences, the repute of moderation, Within nina^ 
 months from this virtuous act of restitution, Wynaad 
 was again taken possession of by this just and self 
 denying Power, together with the residue of Tipoa 
 Saib^s dominions. 
 
 By the end of January 1799, the preparations for 
 war were complete, and the therats of M. Malartic, 
 which were by that lime about twelve months old 
 (having been published in January 1798), were no 
 longer to be endured. Orders were given for the 
 invading army to begin its march ; a letter came from 
 Tippoo accepting an offer to negotiate, which, as 
 a portion of the farce of docency, had been sent to 
 him. The time named in the offer had elapsed by 
 eight days, and it was solemnly declared that the 
 season was then too far advanced to arrest the marQh 
 of the troops; ^ but Tippoo was informed that General 
 Harris would receive any propositions at the head 
 of the army.^ Even this was rendered illusory by 
 secret instructions to Harris, ordering him to advance 
 " without an hour^s del ay, '^ and not to forward the 
 letter to Tippoo till within a day^s march of the 
 frontier,^ thus rendering it absolutely impossible for 
 the doomed Prince to propose any terms until the 
 invaders were in occupation of part of his territory. 
 There were other secret instructions. No conditions 
 of peace under any circumstances were to be por- 
 posed or accepted until the siege of Seringapatam 
 
 1 Declaration of War, 22d February 1799, No. cxl. 
 
 2 Letter from Qovernor- General to Tippoo, No, cxli. 
 
 3 LetUr fxQzu QoYeraor^QQaeral to General Harris, ibid^ ozlli 
 
LORD WELLESLET. 207 
 
 should have been formed,- or some equally advantage- 
 ous position secured. Tippoo was then to be informed 
 that he must cede Oanara, a valuable maritime pro- 
 vince, t(>*the English, and two others equally valuable 
 to the native powers in alliahce with them, besides 
 paying one crore and a half of rupees (£1,500,000) for 
 the expenses of thd campaign. If these terms were 
 not agreed to before the siege was actually begun, 
 not less than one half of his remaining possessions 
 were to be exacted ;^ and letter after letter was 
 despatched to Harris, lest " he should suffer any 
 attempt at negotiation to retard the march towards 
 Seringapatam .^'^ The tragical event is well known. 
 Tippoo, finding that nothing but his destruction could 
 appease his pursuers, resolved to maintain a desperate 
 *$ght to the last. Gathering his best troops around 
 Kim, te shut the gates of his capital, and prepared to 
 defend it so long as he was able. But the odds against 
 him were too heavy for any courage or skill he could 
 oppose \ his troops had lost the confidence \ii him and 
 in themselves they ence possessed ; and he sank with- 
 out disguise beneath the weight of his adversity in 
 mute and sullen gloom. On the 4th of May, as he sat 
 in his palace in the heat of noon, he was roused from 
 his dreamy gaze into the pit of fate by the shout of 
 the besiegers. The breach was stormed ; and Tippoo, 
 vainly endeavouring to rally his broken troops, was 
 slaini and trampled under f oot_ in the street of hia 
 plundered city. 
 
 Thus fell the kingdom of Mysore. Of those whose 
 laurels were gathered from its broken bough, we have 
 nought here to say ; of those who grabbed a fortune 
 from its ruin, we have no . desire to chronicle the 
 names. ^Tis no part of the duty of the political 
 annalist to challenge the professional merit of the 
 soldier, even when he is compelled to flght in 
 an unrighteous cause. It is the system, not 
 the men — the secretly planned and oft repudiated 
 
 1 L«fefcwi8, No, cxlii. a Ibiit Np ©xlvii. 
 
808 EMPIRE IN ASIA: 
 
 purpose, not the frank and gallant instru* 
 ments by whom it is worked out, that calls fur blame, 
 Mysore was declared to be a conquered country. 
 The infant heir of the Hindu dynasty which had beer? 
 deposed by Hyder was sought out and placed upon 
 the Musiiud, His family and friends vvQre required 
 to guarantee the observance of two treaties : the one 
 was that of the second partition whereby Cr.nara, 
 Coimbatore, Wynaad, and Seringapatam were apnex* 
 ed to the English possessions; while the districts of 
 Gurramcootta, Gruti. and others near Hyderabad, wer^ 
 made over to the Nizam, another province was re- 
 served for the Feishwa. The other treaty provided 
 for the permanent maintenance of a powerful sub- 
 sidiary force by which the state, reduced wiiliin 
 secondary limits, was to be garrisoned, Jt bound the 
 Rajah and his heirs in political sub')rdination to the 
 paramount power, and authorised the direct interposi- 
 tion of the Governor-General, whenever he thought 
 fit, in any and every detail of fltianciq,l administra- 
 tion, in return it bound the Company m ties of 
 specific guarantee to protect and defend the rights 
 of the restored Prince in his circumscribed inherit- 
 ance. '• The mass of the people, '^ wrote Colonel Wel- 
 lesley (afterwards Diike of Wellington), '' seemed to 
 be passive spectators of the change, and looked on 
 with philosophic indifference.'^ Recovering after a 
 little from the stunning effect of Tippoo^s fall, several 
 of the Polygars in various provinces tried to rally 
 around them the means of desultory warfare. Power- 
 ful columns were sent to suppress these tutile efforts 
 at resistance ; and, to save time, they appear to have 
 made short wo^^k of it, Hear Munro^s account of 
 bis share in the consolidation of conquest: — "I have 
 got Vettel Hegada and his heir-apparent and prin- 
 cipal agents hanged ; and I have no doubt that I 
 shall be able to get the better of any other vagabond 
 Rajah that may venture to rebel.'' ^ 
 
 Lord Wellesley's administration marks an impor- 
 1 Gloig'e Life of Manro, vol. i. p. 270. 
 
LORD WELLESLEY. 209 
 
 taut epoch in Anglo-Indian story. The want of a 
 camprehensive 8ciiome_o|_policj, which had fceen 
 so often felt, was now for the first time supplied. 
 Conquest had hitherto proceeded at an irregular 
 pace, and had been directed with little political fore- 
 sight. Whatever could be clutched at the moment, 
 was indeed laid hold of as opportunity sery^d ; and 
 Jihe Company had by one means or otter managed 
 in forty years to get possession of about 200,000 
 square miles of territory — a dominion which many 
 wise and patriotic men in England thought quite 
 large enough to be kept safely or profitably. In 
 England, and in India also, provident guardians of 
 the Company^s interests, as a trading ^corporation, 
 believed that they would do better to keep near the 
 <5oast ; and, by living peaceably with their neigh- 
 bours and punctually paying their way, dr^-wing 
 to their entrepot the fabrics and the wares of the 
 inland realms, with whose institutions they could not 
 meddle without incurring the distrust and hatred 
 that invariably besets the pathway of invasion, 
 Gonscientious men who had seen or heard the doings 
 of Olive at Moorshedabad, of Hastings in Kohilcund, 
 of Matthews in Baramahal, or Oornwallis in Coorg, 
 shrank froni the repetition of similar scenes elsewhere. 
 And finally, men, endued with that instinct of fore^ 
 thought and foresight which more than a,\l elso 
 constitutes statemanship, and which no training can 
 teach or other gifts supply, began to mutter to 
 themselves, and whisper to one another, that we had 
 already quite as many dependencies as we could 
 permanently afford to keep, and that the vanity of 
 adding indefinitely to their number might one day 
 cost us dear. There was in garrison a young oflScer 
 who had been promoted by family interest somewhat 
 faster than his fellows, who occasionally ruminated on 
 the subject, and wrote in confidence to certain friends 
 the result of his reflections. He bad been through 
 the campaign ef 1799, and was named, as of favour 
 rather than for any special service he bad rendered 
 
 J4 
 
310 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 in the field, to be one of the Commissioners at Seringa- 
 patam for the dismemberment and dissection of Mysore. 
 Thomas Munro was one of the Secretaries to the 
 C/ommission, and to him, in confidence, Arthur Well- 
 esley, arguing against plans of further conquest^ 
 already talked of freely in viceregal conncils, thus 
 wrote — "I agree with you that we ought to settle the 
 Mahratta business, and the Malabar Rajahs, but I am 
 afraid that to extend ourselves will rather tend to 
 delay the settlement, and that we shall thereby in- 
 crease rather than dimiui&hthe number of our enemies. 
 But,'' he adds, characteristically, in conclusion, **as 
 for the wishes of the people, I put them out of the 
 question. "t^ 
 
 But the notion that the people were indifferent to 
 the subjugation of their country is refuted in every 
 page of these gallant correspondents. Mysore, under 
 the Government of Tippoo, ** was the best cultivated, 
 and its population the most fl >urishing in India; while 
 under the Encrlisn and their dependants the popula- 
 tion of the Oarnatio and Oude, hasteningr to the state 
 of deserts, was the most wretched upon the face of the 
 earth and even Bengal, under the operation of laws 
 ill-adapted to the circumstance of the case, was 
 suffering and the evils which the worst of Govern- 
 ments conld inflict.""- 
 
 Munro was sent from Canara to the ceded districts, 
 which by the former partition treaty, had been taken 
 from Tippoo, and for a time given nominally to the 
 Nizam, but which now without disguise were taken 
 possession of by their real owners, the Company. 
 Ifunro was desired to raise the public taxes in tha 
 provinces placed underhis authority- They had been 
 described as unable to yield more than the tribute 
 which they paid formerly to Tippoo, by reason of their 
 great sufferings in the war, and during the famine 
 which was its consequence. To see whether they had 
 suffered as much as they were reported to have done, 
 1 Glei^'B Life of Munro. vol,i. p. 266. 
 ^ Mill, book Tl, chap ?m. 
 
LOBD WELLESLEY. 211 
 
 Mnnro tells how he made a circuit of inspection, and 
 says — -^^There was no doubt some exaggeration, but not 
 a great deal. Most of^ the houses were in ruins, scarce 
 one-.fQurtli of them were inhabited. But he had little 
 doubt that im seven years the full amount of the 
 schedule ^^ (or proposed standard of English taxtion) 
 ^'^^riiight be realised. The principal obstacle was that 
 the desire men at the head of affairs usually had, of 
 seeing the public income flourishing under their aus- 
 pices, would propably compel him to proceed too rap- 
 idly. He had no thought of precipitating matters for the 
 present, though he should, for the sake of the public 
 want of money, press the ryots rather more than he 
 ought to do.''^ The Polygars, or armed nobles, 
 offered considerable resistance to the fiscal designs of 
 their new masters. Munro calls them robbers and 
 banditti opposed to the establishment of order, whom 
 it was necessary to get rid of without delaj. Not- 
 withstanding all his enlightened efforts ta win them 
 over to increased taxation, two of these chieftains stil! 
 held out in 1802, so that it became advisable to move 
 large bodies of troops into the neighbourhood. ^'^It 
 might alse be necessary/' he thought, ^-to proceed 
 against the Zemindar of Panganore, because he waa 
 not sure that he would submit to an addition to hia 
 peshcush or tribute, which must be laid on in order to 
 reduce his power.''* Not much philosophical indiffer- 
 ence on the part of the conquered here. 
 
 Far other thoughts and dreams filled the brain of 
 the egotistic Grovernor-Generel. A step in the peerage 
 had been granted him in acknowledgment of hia 
 service above narrated. The desire to accomplish 
 something more notable is betrayed by the newly^ 
 made Marquis in every act of his memorable career, 
 and in every line of his ambitious correspondence. 
 He was in the highest sense of the term an actor. 
 He always took care to look the character. Hia 
 attention to the state toilet was minute as that of a women 
 of fashion. He had a deep belief in the doetrine that 
 1 Manro, vol. f, p. 284.' " 2 Manro, vol. i.p. 337, 
 
312 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 the world is governed to a great degree by the showg 
 and semblances of power ; atid loving the reality of 
 power as he did, he wonld have thought it mere 
 quixotism to discard any rflieans so harmless for main- 
 taining the personal consideration which is one ingre- 
 dient of it. In the East, the display of magnificence 
 was, in his day, considered a maxim pf state policy, 
 The sovereigns we had supplanted had never beeif 
 seen but in gorgeous array, and surrounded with 
 glitter and pomp. The transition to simplicity of 
 costume and equipage would have been, it was sup- 
 posed, a needless and injudicious violence to popular 
 habits ; and accordingly we find successive Governors- 
 General ^i^rely puziled how to be grand enough with- 
 ont being too grand, and how to be high and mighty 
 looking without being lost in the clpudsof impalpabi- 
 lity. Lord \yellesly had an instinct for this kind of 
 thing. No man was ever more beloved by those about 
 him ; and yet there was not o^e of them who ever 
 thought of asking him an impertinent question. 
 Although consititutionally irritable and impatient, his 
 nature was so full of courtesy and generosity, that 
 those who thought him oftenest unreasonable and 
 wlful could not but love and honour him. When the 
 prize-money came to be divided after the campaign of 
 1709, £100,000 would, according to rule, have fallen 
 to his share : but though his patrimony was small and 
 his habits expensive, he waived his right in favour of 
 the troops, preferring to purchase praise rather than 
 landed property. His talents, which were not incon- 
 Biderable, hardly equalled his aspirations; and had 
 he been placed in other circumstances, they 
 might have met with as mortifying results in India as 
 they were subsequently doomed to undergo elsewhere. 
 But owing to a rare coincidence of fortune, the civil 
 and military establishments, at the period in question, 
 contained a combination of talents apt for the purposes 
 of the Governor-General such aa they had never 
 known before. Beside Malcolm, Close, Harris, and 
 Munro, there were Edmonstone and Stewart, and 
 
LORD WELLESLEY. 21S 
 
 above all, that younger brother, whose views of Indian 
 as of Home policy throughout life differed from his so 
 widely. The times were singularly favourable from 
 other circumstances for the gratification of the thirst 
 of distinction, which was the leading trait in his 
 character. 
 
 The century opened in peace. The Viceroy^s 
 policy had proved successful in all respects but one, 
 and was everywhere extolled for its vigour in con- 
 tending with difficulties, and its magnanimity when 
 they were overcome. His personal friends rejoiced ; 
 his flatterers applunded ; his baffled enemies silently 
 succumbed, Mr. Pitt was well satisfied with hia 
 choice ; and his choice was intensely proud of him- 
 self. But he had not paid his way, and his merchant- 
 masters q^ualified their compliments and thanks with 
 regrets and grumblings at the augmented debt occa- 
 sjohed by the war. They could not be made to under- 
 stand at the outset why it was necessary at all, or why at 
 its conclusion it had not been made to recoup its cost. 
 
 In Leadenhall Street, aggression and absorption , 
 were viewed but as means to one great end; viz., the 
 increase of the dividened upon East India stock. Glory 
 might be all very well for a venturous peer riding 
 the Company's white elephant; but the keep of the 
 voracious and unmanageable creature was the para- 
 mount thouorht of the Board of Directors. If he could 
 be guided into fresh pastures, and set to browsa there 
 with impunity at any neighbour's expense, well and 
 good ; but grand marches up the hill of distant con- 
 quest and then down again no matter with what 
 amount of flags flying, torn toms beating, and salves 
 of artillery stunning the amazed multitude, did not 
 seem to the prudent rulers of the Company to be a 
 game worth the candle. The Board of Control might 
 be delighted at the check given to French influenco 
 in the East, and the disciples of Mr Burke in Parlia- 
 ment might commend the picturesque air of generosity 
 whtch was thrown over the re-settlement of Mysore ; 
 but the Directors persistently continued to press tM. 
 
S14 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 viceregal victor to explain how he proposed to pay 
 t'he bill. 
 
 '"'^'^Disgusted with their want of appreciation of his 
 genius, and their parsimony as partners in tbe lord- 
 ship of the East, he replied haughtily that he knew 
 best what the necessities of the case required, and 
 then, in liis grand manner, he proceeded to expound 
 ail tbe advantages which were certain to come as the 
 fruits of his policy at some future time. These pro- 
 mises of profit to come did not content them or still 
 their fears lest he should go on as he had begun. 
 The King had made their enterprising Earl a 
 Marquis, as a reward for the annexation of Mysore — 
 who could tell what he might be tempted to do next? 
 News came that he had availd himself of a disputed 
 succession to the Musnud of Surat, to exact terms 
 from tbe competitor he favoured which virtually 
 annexed chat principality to the other provinces 
 subject t.) the Presidency of Bombay. The Nawab 
 was to retain the title and income his predecessors 
 enjoyed; but the responsibilites of governing and 
 defending the country were henceforth to be borne by 
 its new masters. Then followed similar intelligence 
 regarding Tanjore, where a subsidiary force was 
 permanently stationed at the cost of the Rajah, and 
 the British Kesident invested not only with an absolute 
 veto, but the right of initiation in all matters of 
 revenue and expenditure, the same liabilities being 
 undertaken on the part of the Company. The Nawab 
 of Acrot h?A long been mediatised, but henceforth 
 even the semblance of local jurisdicition was to be 
 taken away, and the Carnatic treated in form and in 
 fact as an incorporated portion of the English 
 dominions. Leadenhall Street crrew still more uneasy, 
 and much more querulous with the Viceroy ; but, 
 supported by the Cabinet, and delighted with a sense 
 of supreme power, he was not to be weaned from his 
 purpose, or worried into relinquishing bis post 
 bv treatises on the duty of forbearance, or finan- 
 cxal interrogatories, which he believed were contriveu 
 
LORD WELLESLEY. 21S 
 
 only to perplex and annoy him. As he looked in the 
 glass of his fame, he saw reflected there builder o£ 
 England's empire in the Bast. The ground plan had been 
 traced bv Clive, the elevations and the estimates had 
 been left by Warren Hastings. He would execute them. 
 
 The state of Oude was reported to be especially pro- 
 pitious For interference. By the modifications of the sub- 
 sidiary treaty, made with Sir John Shore in 1797, the 
 Vizier bound himself to pay a tribute of seventy-six laca 
 a jear and a further sum when the British force ex- 
 ceeded 13,000 men. He was not to be allowed inter- 
 course with other sovereign states, or to permit any 
 foreigner to dwell within his borders without leave 
 from Calcutta. How far these humiliating conditions 
 helped to worsen the state of affairs by weakening 
 what remained of respect for the native Government 
 we Vannot tell. But in 1801, the tribute was in 
 arrear, the country was described as disorganised 
 and'w^^ and the unfortunate Nawab was driven 
 
 to desperation by the sense of his weakness and the 
 difficulties wherein he was entangled. Lord Weilesley^3 
 gaze was steadily fixed upon him. He indited a series 
 of epistles, which are models of composition in their 
 way, to persuade him to (relinqish the cares of State, 
 and to be content solely with its pomps and vanities. 
 The Company would do all the rest. Or, if he would 
 not, the cession of Allahabad and nine other districts 
 might suffice to provide for the support of the garri- 
 son. The Vizier chose the latter, and by this parti- 
 tion territories were acquired worth more than a 
 million and a quarter sterling. 
 
 Lord Wellesley^s purpose in persuading the native 
 Governments to maintain within their confines bodies 
 of British troops, organised on our model instead of 
 native corps officered by Frenchmen, was too obvious 
 to be misconceived. It was a substantial pledge 
 exacted from jealous neighbours, that they finally 
 ^?.?^^^^^<^ ^^1© hope of any other European alliance, 
 and all privity in designs which led that way. It 
 was obviously meant and felt, if not in public words 
 
^ 316 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 declared, to be a guarantee against the development 
 of schemes hostile to English interests, and the growth 
 of English ascendency. Under the directton of an 
 intelligent Resident at the native Coart, a compact 
 force, well-armed, well-paid, and well-in-hand, would 
 render sudden tumult abortive, and cause secret in- 
 trigue to waver continually, and to look back ere 
 committing itself too far ; and in the last event of 
 open secession (or, as it soon came to be termed, 
 revolt), it would form a rallying point for any friends 
 it had, and an outpost capable of defence till suc- 
 cour should arrive. There was about the subsidiary 
 force, at the same time, a specious affectation of regard 
 for the severalty and nominal independence of the 
 State to which it belonged, which soothed the out- 
 ward vanity, if it stung the inward pride of the dur- 
 bar and the bazaar. Scrupulous care was taken to 
 ^ keep up the distinction between native service and 
 the service of the Company. A subsidiary force in 
 time of peace was never moved out of the State to 
 which it jbelonged, and even in time of war only 
 with the assent of the Prince at whose expense 
 it was equipped and maintained. It was the glove 
 of mail courteously but undisguiaedly laid upon the 
 shoulder of native rule, with an irresistible but 
 patronising air, felt to be a little heavy and a little 
 hard at first, but soon destined to become habitual. 
 Slowly but steadily it begot that sense of security and 
 irresponsibility in the Prince and his advisers which 
 has ever proved to be the gangrene of authority, for 
 which there is no cure. 
 
 Its financial scope and tendency were conceived 
 and executed with the same pitiless and inexorable 
 purpose. The permanent appropriation of revenue 
 for thejnaintenance of the subsidiary force was cal- 
 culated mainly with reference to the rnability of the 
 State to bear it. Large or small, it was a tree whose 
 seed was in itself, and was therefore chosen that it 
 might bear fruit after its kind. The cases were rare 
 in which the districts ceded for the maintenance of 
 
LORD WELLESLEt. 317 
 
 the subsidiary force yielded within the year the 
 sum that was needed for their food and i)ay. This 
 was exactly what was anticipated, the opening of a 
 running account of dedciencies, arrears* balance^, 
 cleared off from time to time by new concessional 
 and complaints of remissness, neglect, and evasion, 
 all which, in the nature of things, became inevitable. 
 Arriving at ultimate supremacy^ the means taken 
 were by the subject race called perfidiously wicked^ 
 by the conquering race profoundly wise. The histo- 
 rian will probably compare them to the chronic in- 
 jection of poison into the veins which allays fever 
 and spasmodic pain, and produces a sensation of 
 relief and quiet at the risk, and, when prolonged, 
 with the certainty, of causing paralysis and death. 
 
 Lord Wellesley applied the power gained by the 
 destruction of Tippoo, and the partition of Mysore, 
 to lay the foundations of that edifice of empire which^ 
 in the space of sixty years, was so rapidly piled in 
 Asia. Olive had made treaties for a subsidiary force 
 at Moqrshedabad and Delhi, Hastings at Benares 
 and in the Dec can. But neither of them had ever 
 been in a position to afcteiapt the application of the 
 system on a wider scale, still less to couple with it 
 covenants and conditions which permanently bound 
 ^le Company to protect, at any cost or sacrifice, their 
 i:ative allies from all enemies whatsoever, and virtual- 
 Iv^onstituted the Company in return, suzerain over 
 themr"^ In every case, the daring ambition of the 
 ffoverno''- General sought to obtain concessions of 
 territory in lieu of money for the payment of his 
 subsidiary force to be permanently kept by the 
 protected State. He compelled the Vizier of OudK 
 to subscribe a treaty ceding large portions of the 
 dominions to pay for British troops to be maintained 
 in those provinces he still governed. This was in 
 1801. He proceeded to carry the system further, 
 and thereby to enthral those States of Central India 
 which, since the days of Sivaji. had successfully 
 defied their more civilised and luxurious neighbours, 
 
CH.^PTER XVII. 
 
 T H EMAHRATTAS. 
 
 1802—1805. 
 
 " From facfcories to fotts, from forts to fortificationa; from fortifications 
 to gi^rrif-oiiy, ffurrisons to armieB ; and trom armies to conquusts : 
 the gra-Utions were natural; and the resuU inevitable; where 
 we could DOc find a dagger; we were determined to find a 
 quarrel." 
 
 —Philip Fkancip. l 
 
 AT the begining of 1802, Lord Wellesley tendered his 
 resignation. His services had not been estima- 
 ted ^y ^he Directors as his staff at Fort William and 
 the Cabinet of Mr, Addingtc^n thought they deserved. 
 He aspired to the proconsular fame, both of conqueror 
 and reformer ; and Leadenhail Street was in no hum- 
 our to acknowledge or encourage him in either capa- 
 city. When the bills came in of the Mysore War, 
 thej too¥^aWay the very breath of financial prudence, 
 and the diplomatic engagements subsequently formed 
 with a view to territorial aggrandisement in Tanjore, 
 Surat, and Oude, only lengthened the perspective 
 of indefinite liability, and deepened the jungle of cost- 
 ly entanglement in various directions. Nor did Lord 
 Weilesley's exercise of patronage, or his projects of 
 reconstituting the Civil Service on ahigh educational 
 basis, commend him any better to his frugal masters. 
 Without consulting them, he had planned and pub- 
 lished an elaborate and expensive design for the 
 foundation of a college of governing functionaries at 
 Calcutta, in which every cadet sent out from England 
 should pass at least two years in acquiring a know- 
 ledge of Oriental tongues, habits, traditions, beliefs, 
 1 Speech on Indiau affaire, 1787. 
 
THE MAHEATTS, 219 
 
 smd chronicles. The scheme was on a splendid scale, 
 but it pointed specially and specifically to the crea- 
 tion of a school for the constant supply of political 
 Sappers and Miners, whos<© every boyish hope and 
 adolescent thought should be concentrated upon the 
 extension and consolidation of the empire. The Di- 
 rectors loathed the very notion, and sickened at the 
 pecuniary prospects it involved. Point de zele was 
 their invariable admonition to young men suspected 
 of possessing dangerous ability. They wanted larger 
 returns, not a greater number of rebel subjects; higher 
 dividends, not more dominions. They thought of 
 iiord Wellesley as a restless Satrap, whose vanity was 
 like to ruin them; and he thought of himself as a 
 sovereign in all but the name, of whom an ungrateful 
 world was not worthy. The projected college was per- 
 emptorily forbidden, and instead of it, an institution 
 of another kind was decided on. They grumbled at his 
 choice of soldiers for political appointments, as indi- 
 cating a settled purpose of encroachment and aggres- 
 sion. They would have him cancel Colonel Kirkpat- 
 rick's nomination as Secretary in the yjolitical de- 
 partment; they desired him to recall Colonel Scott 
 from the Residency at Lucknow ; and they forwarded 
 to him a minute, which roundly declared the extra 
 allowances to Colonel Wellesley, who had been ap- 
 pointed to the command in the Carnatic, as a job. 
 This was the crowning affront, which he would not 
 endure. He told them that he felt intensely disgusted 
 at the notion thafc he could be capable of^ yielding, 
 or his brother of receiving, any emolument or ad- 
 vantage that was not fairly due. If they believed 
 such a rebuke to be deserved, the offenders should 
 at once be recalled, either one or both. For hira- 
 sefl, he was weary of such treatment, and he beg- 
 ged that they would seek a successor, who should 
 relieve him at further in the course of the autumn 
 from a charge he no longer wished to retain. He 
 was not, however, taken at his word. Lord Cast- 
 lereaofh became President of the Board of Control; 
 
320 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 and sympathising with him in most of his designs 
 and aspirations, accorded hini mor^ effective sup- 
 port. Meanwhile new vistas of aggrandisement 
 opened in A quarter where he had not ventured to 
 anticipate them; and, in the hope of fresh acquisi- 
 tions, he resolved to remain another year in India 
 In December 1802, he wrote to the Directors that 
 a crisis was imminent, fraught with consequencea 
 of the greatest importance, 
 
 In 1801 the Mahratta chiefs were quarrelling 
 among themselves. Scindia, the greatest in territo- 
 rial strength, and Holkar, the most restless and war- 
 like in spirit, distrustful of each other, alternately 
 menaced the Peishwa, of whose traditional pre-emi- 
 nence both wore jealous, and whose enfeebled autho' 
 rity they sought to overthrow. Lord Wellesley, bent 
 on turning their enmities to account, and bringing 
 them all into gradual dependence upon English 
 aid, negotiated separately with each in turn, and^ 
 by the adroit use of subtlety and daring, he suc- 
 ceeded ere long in drawing or driving them all 
 into a state of dependency. His instructions to 
 Colonel Close recite how ''the Peshwa in 1798 pre- 
 ferred danger and independence to a more intimate 
 connection with the British power, which could not 
 secure him the protection of our arms without at 
 the same time establishing our ascendency in the 
 Mahratta empire," how the Peishwa had reluctantly 
 been forced into the war against Tippoo; how, 
 when it was over, a proposition for a subsidiary 
 force was made to him, which he refused ; how 
 hostile a disposition this manifested; how '^ the in- 
 ference to be deduced from these considerations 
 was, that until irresistibly compelled by the exigen- 
 cy of his affairs to have recourse to the assistance 
 of the Company, Baji Rao would Jnever be in- 
 duced to enter into any engagements which, in 
 his apprehension, would afford to the British Go- 
 vernment the means of acquiring an ascendency 
 in the Mahratta empire j^' and how it was *'hia 
 
THE MAHRATTAS, 221 
 
 4>b]oot to avoid that degree of control and ascen- 
 ,dency which it was our interest to establish.^^^ 
 Their increased distractions constituted a crisis of 
 affairs favourable to the success of negotigations at 
 Poena, and for the complete establishment of the 
 interests of the British power jn the Mahratta 
 empire. The continuation of the contest between 
 Scindia and Holkar would weaken the ppwer and 
 impair the resources of both, and would afford 
 the British Crovernmeut an opportunity of inter- 
 posing its influence and mediation. No reasonable 
 apprehension existed that the progress of this in- 
 jBidious schj^me would be obstructed either by the 
 union of the contending parties or the decisive 
 success of either chieftain,^ So long as the Pur- 
 bar pf Poona contained a Minister capable of pe- 
 netrating the esoteric meaning of vice-regal policy, 
 and of holding up the hands of his feeble chief, 
 the independence of his country, though frequent- 
 ly imperilled, was preserved, Nana Parnevis had 
 for many years been the real ruler of the State, 
 (Contriving generally to keep on good terms with 
 ihe Company without becoming entangled in obli- 
 gations, the effects of which he looked upon with 
 dread. He avowed his respect and admiration for the 
 English, but shrunk from their political embrace ; and 
 whatever d^^ngers might impend, he steadily refused to 
 accept their offers of permanent armed assistants. 
 '*With him has departed,'^ said Golnel Palmer, the first 
 English Resident, *^all the wisdom and moderation of 
 this Government.'' Baji Rao II was the seyenth of 
 his family, the first of whom having been originally 
 Mayors of the palace at Satara, had gradually taken 
 the chief place in the Mahratta confederation, leaving 
 the Rajal;ts who claim descent from fciivaji a nomi- 
 nal and pretentious semblance of supremacy, of which 
 men had come to take little heed. The Hindu Durbar 
 1 Letter from Secretary Edmonebous to tbe Resident at Poouah. 
 
 a Lord Welleeley, Deaptchea to Secret Deparbment-..Wclleflloy 
 
 Correspondence. 
 
222 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 of Satara exercised in 1802 as little influence oveF 
 Scindia, Holkar, and Berar as ^that of Delhi over 
 Oude and the Deccan. Scindia professed his readi* 
 ness to help the Peishwa against Hoikar ; but from 
 jealousy or some other cause left him unbefriended 
 till too late. As this position grew more critical, the 
 English Resident grew more urgent in his expressions 
 of solicitude, and warm in his proffers of auxiliary 
 aid. He was instructed to tender a subsidiary treaty, 
 whereby a force or 6300 men, organised and officered 
 like that already imposed upon the neighbouring 
 Mohammedan states, was to be permanently maintain- 
 ed, ostensibly as a contingent for the protection of 
 the Peshwa's dominions ae^ainst his envious and 
 troublesome neighbours, but really, as above noted, 
 for securing his permanent adherence to English 
 interests. Their pay was to be provided out of the reve- 
 nues of certain districts in Guzerat , which, yielding 
 twety-tix lacs of rupees, were to be mortgaged for 
 the purpose. Such a force would be an effectual 
 guarantee against the ever-threatening aggression* 
 of Holkar and Scindia. This was the danger that 
 was imminent. A greater danger loomed visibly in 
 the future, and pride and policy revolted against the 
 price demanded for immediate safety. The Ministers 
 of the Peishwa were not insensible to the perils of 
 the proffered aid, and month after month the lure was 
 held out in vain. An outlying province, comparati- 
 vely small, and whose revenues it was difficult to 
 collect, mif^fht be ceded if the subsidiary force were 
 kept there ready to be called in upon emergency, and 
 then withdrawn to their quarters. This would im- 
 perceptibly, if at all, humble the independence of 
 native rule. Every stratagem of argument was em- 
 ployed to make this the condition of the bargain. In 
 the eyes of the Governor-General this, however, was 
 the point unexpressed which was not to be yielded. 
 While the negotiation lingered, the storm burst ; 
 Poena was compassed round about by the^ Arab caval- 
 ry of Holkar ; the Peishwa fled, and was only restored 
 
LORD WE L LESLEY. 333 
 
 to his capital by British arms, after he had subscribed 
 the covenant of vassalage. It was not easy even in 
 exile to bring him to this. 
 
 At length he yielded, and on the last day of the' 
 year at Bassein he signcd'away his independence. It 
 was not, indeed, so written in the bond.. On the con- 
 trary, fchis memorable pact set forth with more than 
 usnal ostentation every guarantee and pledge of 
 mutual respect. It expressly declared that the fri- 
 ends and enemies of one of the coiitracing parties should 
 be friends and enemies of the other ; and it confirmed 
 all former treaties and agreements betw^aen the two 
 states, not contrary to the tenor of the new one. It provi- 
 ded for the joint exertions of both, to defnd the rights 
 or redress the wrongs of either of their respective 
 dependents or allies — the British Government under- 
 taking not to suffer any power or state whatever ta 
 commit with impnnity an act of unprovoked ho-stility 
 and aggression against the rights and territories of 
 his Highness^ and at all times to maintain and defend 
 them in the s-ame manner as the rights and territories 
 of the Company, The imposed guard of six thousand 
 infantry, with the usual proportion of guns and Euro- 
 pf an artillerymen, was to be permanently stationed 
 within the Peishwa^s dominions. The ceded districts 
 were named in a schedule annexed. All forts with 
 their equipments of ordnance and stores were to be 
 surrendered without injury or damage. The force 
 was to be at all times ready to execute services of 
 importance, such as the protection of the Peishwa's 
 person, the overawing and chastisement of rebels, 
 the suppression of disturbances within the realm, and 
 the due correction of such subjects and dependants. 
 as might withhold payment of the just claims of the 
 State ; *^ but they were not to be employed on trifling^ 
 occasions nor in a variety of ways which were enu- 
 merated/^ The Peishwa was bound to keep the peace 
 towards his Mahratta neighbours, while he was gua- 
 iranteed in turn against molestation by them. Should 
 differences with them arise, he was pledged to abide 
 
224 EMPIRE IX A SI A. 
 
 by the Governor-G-enerars award. When called up-^. 
 on, the Prince iindertook to bring into field the 
 whole of his troops against the foes of his ally, who- 
 ever they might be. This condition was to be reci- 
 procal ; and Baji Rao renounced the right of nego- 
 tiating with any native state saye with the privity 
 and consent of his inalienable protpctors. The latter 
 Bolenanly disclaimed ail right of interference with the 
 Prince's children, relatives, or subjects, regarding 
 whom his authoritv was acknowledged to be absoli;te ; 
 but should disturbance or revolt arise, the Company's 
 troops m'ghfc be called in for its suppression, Finally, 
 the treaty was to last ** while siin and moonendureth " 
 The day was soon to come when these eternal vows 
 were to be poop-poohed as mere dead flowers of Orien- 
 tal rhetoric. But the original of the treaty from first 
 to last stands in the handwriting of the Governor- 
 General. Peishwa and Satara have passed away, but 
 these words of his will not pass ^vyay. 
 
 The other ^athratta chiefs were naturally alarmed, 
 iind refused to recognise the Treaty of Bassein. The 
 Peishwa, they said, ought not, as head of the Gohfe- 
 deracy, to hay^ contracted obligations so unpreceden- 
 ted without consulting them. Scindia had under 
 taken to deliver and restore him, and to late repented 
 the remissness he had shown. He had a powerful 
 army in point of numbers, a cerps delite well supplied 
 with artillery, and a few French officers under Colonel 
 Perron, who had long been in his service. Holkar, 
 likewise, at the head of a multitudinous ^.rray, chiefly 
 of horse, aud tl;e Rajah of Berar, were able to bring 
 into the field no inconsiderable army. None of them 
 however, desired war ; for all were conscions of the 
 vast augmentation of military strength they would 
 have to encounter. It is, indeed, admitted that Lord 
 Wellesley almost desparied of the provocation he 
 longed for. 
 
 "^ The Court of Gwalior was at once jealous and 
 wary. At the dismemberment of Mysore a tempting 
 sliee of territory had boen offered to Dowlat .Rao, by 
 
THE MAHRATTAS. S2S 
 
 -whom it had been '< explicitly rejected ;^" which 
 proved convincingly an eyil disposition, the more 
 to be reprehended and in due time punished, as the 
 Peishwa followed his example. Under any circums- 
 tances, Lord Wellesley ** considered the reduction of 
 Soindia^a power to be an important object/^2 During 
 the spring of 1803, Scindia diplomatised with charac- 
 teristic subtlety, evading carefully every acknowledg- 
 ment of the Peishwa's recent acts, and preparing, as 
 he said, to effect his restoration. Not without difficulty 
 was an understanding come to between the three 
 native powers, and not even then was any overt act 
 of hostility committed on either side. A small body 
 of the Gompany^s troop-s, which had formed the Resi- 
 dent's guard at Poena. had remained un- 
 molested there, and now received with royal 
 honour at the gate .of the palace so long his own the 
 Prince who, as he entered it, ni|usthave felt that it was 
 his no more, but was henceforth to be occupied by 
 him only as ten 0,21 1 at will. Thus native rule was rej^ 
 lieved of its moral accountafiiliny to domestic opinion 
 while it was made safe from outward fear. The device 
 "was perfect for its purpose — m )delied on the great 
 firat precedent of temptation. ^'Liie it promised, death 
 it devised, and corruption it entailed from generation 
 to generation '^ 
 
 Without ascribing to the Mahratta chiefs or their 
 Ministers any profound sagacity, it is easy to under- 
 stand how the spectacle at Poena must have irritated 
 and troubled them. Whose turn might it be next? 
 War vfiih a power which was already gathering four 
 armies on different points of their frontiers, it might 
 not be prudent to precipitate, but one thing seemed 
 clear, and by that Berar, Holkar, and Scindia deter- 
 mined to abide, namaly, that they would not ratify the 
 Treaty of Bassein. If i;eace had~ Been the object of 
 the Governor-Greneral, he would have let their irrita- 
 tion cool and have taken the chances of persuasion at 
 
 ] Garwood — Wellington DeE> patches. 
 ^ J-ejiter to Colonel Collins, Ji^ly X803« 
 
 15 
 
226 EMPIRE IX ASIA. 
 
 a future day. But then, the glorious opportunity be 
 panted for would have been lost, at least for him. 
 Anxiously and vehemently he therefore pressed for 
 the recognition they were mutually pledged to refuse ; 
 and when they reasonably asked further time to con- 
 sider and to confer with the Peishwa, General Well- 
 esley was ordered to demand that Scindia's army 
 should fall back from the advantageous position it 
 occupied without delay ; while demands, equally diffi- 
 cult to concede, were simultaneously made at Nagpore. 
 
 Mill states that, *' on the 14th July, General Well- 
 esley addressed a letter, couched in respectful terms, 
 to Dewlat Rao Scindia, setting before him the reasons 
 which the Britssh Government had to consider his 
 present menacing position an indication of designs 
 which would render it necessary to act against him as 
 an enemy, unless he withdrew his army across the Ner- 
 budda; but making, at tiie same time, the correspond- 
 ing ofEer, that as soon as the Mahratta chiefs shouid 
 lead backtheir armies to their usual stations, he would 
 also withdrew the British army.'*^ 
 
 The Mahratta chiefs replied that, ^*By the blessing 
 of God both armies were still on their own territory, 
 and no aggression or excesses had been committed.'* 
 and if the English commander, therefore, would name 
 a day when both should withdraw an equal distance, 
 they would engage to do so. But such terms might have 
 averted war, and they were therefore spurned. *'As 
 for the Peishwa,'^ wrote Lord Wellesley, ^'1 have uo 
 idea that he will attempt to fly from Poena, or that, if 
 he should be so inclined, he could carry his plan into 
 execution without the knowledsr© of his Ministers. I 
 have urged Colonel to pay the Ministers, m order 
 to have accurate information of what passess.^'^ The 
 tops of the replanted bedge around the throne were 
 limed accordingly. If Scindia had been the greatest 
 lover of peace and justice upon tho face of the earth, 
 he would still have had the greatest reason to resent 
 
 1 Mill book VI cbap ii. 
 3 Qurwood—Welieeley CoureBpon<i«»ce. 
 
THE MA H RA TTAS. 227 
 
 the Treaty of Bassein, and to resist to- the utmost its 
 execution. What is that on the strength of which w« 
 have already seen the Governor- General boasting of 
 the prodigious value ot the treaty ? Not the circuuj- 
 stance of its having made a dependent merely of tho 
 Peishaw. This in itself was of little importance. The 
 treaty for reoeivin^j^ Britishitroous bv one of the chief 
 Mahratta States was declared to bejvalaable becj^^usejt 
 aiSorded a controliin<^ power over all the other Qovern- 
 ment of the Mahratta nation — tiie uovv^r of ,preYentinor 
 laeui trom doing whatever the Viceroy shou^^ 
 If the loss of independence is a loss sufficient to 
 summon the most pacific sovereigns to arms^ Dowlat 
 E»ao Scindia and the Rajah of Berar had that motive 
 for olfering resistance to the^ Treaty of Bassein.^ 
 
 The scene at Fort William when the news arrived 
 that negotiations were broken oii, is described as one 
 of exultation and delight. 
 
 So much for the causus belli — what were the real 
 objects of the war ? They are slated with charac- 
 teristic candour and perspicuity in the confidential 
 letter of iustractious addressed te tlie Commaupoi-iu- 
 Chief several w^eeks before a blow, wjis^stntck. The-y 
 were, first/the destruction of a French State on the 
 banks of the Jumna, with all its military lesourcea; 
 secondly, the extension of the Company's frontier to 
 that river, with the possession of Agra, Dolhi, and a 
 sufficient chain of forts, on its banks ; thirdly, the 
 transfer of the supreme authority of the Mogul- 
 fourthly, alliances with petty chiefs southward and 
 westward of the Jumna ; ii'ftliTy, the aniiexi;.oion of 
 Bundelcund. All the objects here set forth wera 
 destTbed to be accomplished except the first, and that 
 for the best of reasons, vizi.^ that a French State exis« 
 ted only in phantasy andmake-believe. As a jusbificg,- 
 tion in the eyes of English critics, it sounded well,- 
 but as a matter of Indian fact^ a French 6tate on the 
 banks of the Jumna had no more existence than tha 
 enchanted castle in Aladin's dream. When the mat-^ 
 ^ Mill, book VI, chap, il, p, 370. 
 
§38 fJMFIEE IN ASIA, 
 
 ter came to be diaoussed, Francis and others showed 
 that there wdVQ but twelve French officers in the xVlah- 
 ratta service"!:! 1803 ; that the foreign rant aln duffle 
 were "hardly d^istiugnishable from others, and that 
 Perron their coujmaiider was an object of aversion to 
 the Maharajah whom he served. ^ He was actuall)' 
 preparing to renounce the service of Scindia, and was 
 ready to negotiate, as soon afterwards appeared, with 
 the English. Yet Lord Lake was instrncted that the 
 first object of the campaign was to overthrow an in- 
 dependent French State on the banks of the Jumna. 
 
 From the border^ of Mysore Arthur Wellesley led 
 8900 men to the siege of Ahmednagar. T-m thousand 
 men under Lord Lake entered the Mahratta country 
 from t'.^e side of Oavvnpore. (xoneral Stevenson with 
 7900 held th^ bank to the Grodavai-i ; Greneral Stewart 
 held a Urge force in reserve on the Kistna. In Guze- 
 rat, ""/qOO under General Murray occupied the fc^rtitied 
 places. C'»Hmel Powell had 3/300 in l^undelcund, and 
 500 were held in readiness to invade Raghuji's terri- 
 tory. A circle of fire girt the Mahrattas Dund. L >rd 
 Wellesley boasted that he would be hia own War 
 Minister. He would show the Board of Directors why 
 he had refused to reduce the army, and what he could 
 do with it. We all know the brilliant feats of arms 
 that followed. Enormously outumbered, the assai- 
 ling forces everjMvhere prevailed A third of the vic- 
 tors were left dead on the field of Assaye ; but the 
 blow there inflicted on Scindia, followed up as it was 
 by that of Lasvvari, was never recovered. Agra was 
 stormed, and a large amount of booty distributed 
 among the troops. Lord Wellesley's share of prize- 
 xnonoy at the end of the war would, in the ordinary 
 course of things, have been large. Though poor and 
 in debt, he refused to take any part of it, and 
 ordered its division amotig the troops. The fall 
 of Delhi liberated Shah Alum II., who for some 
 yeai's had been the regal ca'p%rve of Scindia. Sis 
 deliverance was trumpted as a great event to the 
 1 Mill, book V^, chap ii'p. 384, All this was known at Fort William. 
 
THE MAHRATTAS. 2S9 ' 
 
 Mohammedan world, indicative of the beneficence of 
 our interposition. Several of the minor princes of 
 Rajpootana were also declared to be set free from 
 Mahratta thraldom. Seltish aims, personal or political, 
 mieht be insinuated by the envious, but the world 
 would judge. At length peace was made. Because 
 they would not approve the cession of G-izerat by the 
 Peishwa, from the Rajah of Berar svas taken Kuttack, 
 Balasore, and the rich cotton district/of Warda ; 
 from Scindia the whole of the vast country lying 
 Bet\yeen the Jumna and the Ganges, including 
 Xgrra. Delhi, acd Bundelcuiid. This unfortunate 
 Prince, who, by their own account, *' when he wouna 
 up his affairs at the end of the war, would not have a 
 disposable clear revenue'' adequate to his defence in 
 future, was forced to cede the " valuable territory of 
 Baroach and Ahmednagar, where the jaghires of his- 
 family were situate, whose revenue it was computed" 
 would yield the Company a clear revenue o f teii lacs 
 of rupees annually '' (i. e. £100,000). i ——^-^ 
 
 By a provision in the Treaty of Sirji Anjengaom, 
 Scindia was offered the support of six battalions of 
 infantry, with their complements of ordnance and 
 artillery whenever he might stand in need of them, 
 without any condition as to permanency or pay. The 
 reason assigned by Greneral Wellesley is not unworthy 
 of note. In the course of this war, 8cindia's power, 
 reputation, and military resources had been greatly 
 diminished, while his rival, Holkar, after having 
 recovered the possessions of his family, remained wi^h 
 undiminished power and increased reputation. Cora- 
 pared with those of Scindia, his power and his military 
 resources were much greater than they were previous 
 to the <var, and there was little doubt that the contest 
 between those chiefs would be revived. This wonld be a 
 matter of little consequence if the parties were so equal 
 in point of strength, resources, and abilities, as to 
 1 Garwood. 668, 569 — Letter to Governar-General from Archer- 
 Wellesley. He apologises for the smallueseof tlie exacLione from Scindia 
 on the score of policy. 
 
S30 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 render the event of the contest doubtful. But leaving 
 the latter to his own means, he must fall an easy prey 
 to Holkar, or his Government would become depen- 
 dent upon that of his rival. Under these circumstanr 
 ces> it was thought expedient to jiuid forth to Scindijii 
 an option of beconi:ng a party to the geneial defensive 
 alliance, and to engage that it should occesion no 
 further diminution of his revenue. He was induced 
 to oHer this last condition, by the conviction that 
 Scindia would not agree to the treaty of general defen- 
 sive alliance, although his Ministers pioposed that he 
 should unite himself more closely with the Company, 
 if he were to be obliged to pay for the assistance which 
 he should receive. The treaty further stipulated that 
 in no case was this forte to interfere in disputes 
 between Grovernment and subjects, but that it should 
 at all times, and under all circumstances, be ready at 
 Scindia^s orders to punish and suppress resistance, no 
 matter how provoked. And this is European civilisa- 
 tion, freedom, and morality ! ^ A British force are hired 
 bv treaty as janissaries to a despotic, and, as the 
 authors of that treaty over and over again called him, 
 a cruel and perfidious Prince, for an unlimited time, 
 lioikar still held out, and prolonged a desultory war- 
 fare until 1805, when another Viceroy, who was bent 
 on peace, agreed to a termination of hostilities without 
 stipulating for any territorial cession. 
 
 The financial results of this era of subjugation are 
 worthy of attention. In 1794 the revenues of British 
 India were £8,276,770, and the total charges, including 
 interest on debt,, £6,633,951, leaving a surplus of 
 £1,642,319. There was a diminution in the following 
 year, though peaceful, and at the commencement of 
 the Marquis Wellesley's administration there was de- 
 ficit of £118,746 on the year 1797—98. At the close 
 of his extravagant rule in 1805, the revenue was 
 £ 15,403,409, but the charges and interest were 
 £ 17,672,017, showing a deficit of £2/268,608. The 
 debt in 1793, was £ 16,962,743; in 1797, £ J 7. 05^^^^ 
 
 1 Mill book VI, chap xii^ 
 
THE MAHRA TTAS^ S3t 
 
 in 1805, £31,638,127 ; in 1810, £41,233,876. So ern- 
 l)arrassed were the finances of the Company, that 
 on the 11th March 1808, they applied to the Go- 
 vernment to repay the sum of £1,200,000, and to 
 adyanoe as much more to them by way of loan 
 to meet the deficit caused by the profuse oxpen- 
 3Tture on unproductive objects of territorial ag- 
 g fan di semen fc. The .Directors, in an elaborate des- 
 ^patch, condemned the course of Lord Wellesley in 
 provoking and carrying on the war against the 
 Malirattas. The despatch was suspended by the 
 Board of Control, but at a Court of Proprietors, nu- 
 merously attended, a resolution was carried by 928 
 to ly5 warmly commending the vigilant zeal of the 
 Directors in seeking to assert their authority in the 
 Gov^ernment of India, ** to restroing a profuse expen- 
 diture of the public money, and to prevent all 
 schemes of conquest and extension of dominion, 
 which the Legislature had declared to be **repug- 
 nant to the wish, the honour, and the policy of the 
 nation.'^ ^ 
 
 1 Wilson's CoLtimalion of Mill, vol. i. p. 567, 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE SWORD IN THE SCABBABD. 
 
 1805—1813. 
 
 •* I deprecate tbe'effecfce of the almoBt universal frenzy which hka 
 siezedeven eonae of the hea<J8 which I thought the soundest iu the 
 Country for conquest and viciory, as opposed to the interests as to 
 the laws of our country. I shall come to th*e army with a de- 
 termination not to submit to insult or aggreaaion, but with an 
 
 anxious desire to have an opportunity of showing my gener- 
 osity, 
 
 — Lord Cornwallis l 
 
 A LTHOUGH Mr Pitfc had approved and applau- 
 
 ^^ ded the aggressive policy of Lord Wellesley, 
 he was not insensible to the opposition it had ex- 
 cited among men of all parties in the country; and 
 in the winter of 1804 he felfc that he had no popu- 
 larity to spare for its defence or continuance. 
 His second administration had failed to rally the 
 enthusiasm he antici;)ated. His personal energies 
 were beginning to fail, and there was great distress 
 throughout the country » debt and taxation were 
 steadily increasing, and the power of France, which 
 they had been incurred to check, appeared to be 
 greater than ever. He silently resolved therefore, to 
 acquiesce in a change of system in the East, and 
 agreed that Lord Cornwallis be once more sent 
 out as Viceroy, with iustructions to make peace, and 
 to keep it for the future. 
 
 In resuming the Government, the aged Marquift 
 
 found '*that we were still at war with H<>lkar, and 
 
 hardly at peace with Scindia, and that unless he 
 
 himself at once proceeded to the Upper Provinces, 
 
 ^ Letter to Malcolm, 14th August 1805, 
 
THE SWORD IN THE SCABBARD. 233 
 
 he could not hope to bring speedily to an end 
 **a contest in which the most brilliant succesd 
 could afford no solid benefit, and which, if it should 
 continne, must involve pecuniary difficulties which 
 we should hardly be able to surmount. ^^i To Lord 
 Castlereagh he disclosed his dismay at finding 
 himself with an empty treasury, the credit of the 
 Government tried to the utmost at Benaras and 
 other places, where temporary loans had been lately 
 raised by his spendthrift predecessor, and further 
 entanglements recently created by a guarantee given 
 to Rana Keerut »^ing of the fortress of Gwalior, 
 which Scindia protested he had never meant to give 
 up. The statements of embarrassment were by fiOf 
 means overcharged, notwithstanding the recent vio- 
 lent transactions in Oude,^ On leanrning that the 
 Rajah of Jeypore (Jusfgett Sing) had by his con- 
 duct forfeited any claim to protection, the Viceroy 
 observed, '*VVould to God that we could as easily 
 get rid of the liana of Gohud, and many more of 
 our burtheusome allies or dependants'^^ The pay 
 of the army was at this time five months in arrear, 
 and many of the civil departments had still grea- 
 ter cause of complaint. He had no choice but to 
 stop in transitu the specie sent from England to 
 pay for shipments in China, for ''we had by our 
 recent victories obtained a great acquisition of very 
 unprofitable territory, and of useless and bnrthen- 
 some allies and drpendaiits." "^ He knew that the 
 opinions that prevailed at headquarters were un- 
 favourable to the restoration of peace ; that ^' all the 
 gentlemen in the political line were of opinion that a 
 system of power was pt^eferable to one of conciliation.''*'^ 
 and that even Malcolm was full of schemes of 
 military colonisation, not only as presenting a rea- 
 
 1 Letter to Secret Committee, Int Angngfc 1205— Torrespondepce, 
 
 Tol iii\ p. 532. 
 
 2 Ibid, p. 533. 3 Ibid, p. 534. 4 Ibi<1. pp. 536, 538, 539. 
 
 5 Letter to Lord Lake, 1st September 1805 — Cornwallis Corrw 
 pendence, yol. ii p. 543. 
 
S34 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 ourc© to meet existing difficulties, but as supplying 
 a base for further operations in future. Lord Corn- 
 wallis told him plainly that in his judgment *'no 
 success ould indemnify us for continuing this ruin- 
 ous war'' with the Mahrattas a moment longer 
 than we could bring it to a termination without 
 dishonour.' He also considered the possej^sion of 
 the person of Shah Alum, and of the city of Delhi, 
 as '* events truly unfortunate." Far from desiring 
 to strengthen or expand the network of subsidiary 
 engagements, the wise and humane Viceroy did not 
 hesitate to make known his strong^ disapproval of 
 the system. It had been imagined that after the 
 third Mysore war he had proposed its extension to 
 the Mahrattas, by whom the olfer had been decli- 
 ned. ^ In disproof of this, he recalled a curious 
 conversation he had at the time with the General- 
 in-Chief of their forces. When the victorious allies 
 were about to separate, with mutual assurances of 
 satisfaction and good- will, Hurr^ punt asked him 
 whv he did not offer a subsidiarv force to the Peish- 
 wa as well as to the Nizam. He replied that *' he 
 disapproved very much of all subsidiary treaties, 
 as they tended to involve the British Goyernrnent 
 in quarrels in which they had no concern ; that 
 the treaty with the Nizam had been made many 
 years before, and he was determined not to enter 
 into auy more engagements of that kind.''^ A.nd 
 fo this determation after the experience of the op^. 
 posite policy under Lord Wellesley, he was roaolved 
 to adhere. He does not say, but we may be very 
 sure, that he clearlv understood the drift of 
 the astute Mahratta's question. All that subs©- 
 
 J Letter to Malcolm, Uth Aust IgOg, [) 440 
 
 2 ?^ee a curioas paper by Geueral \Vell<:*8ley, entitli-id, **Obaer- 
 Tatums OQ tbe T'Oaty of Basseio," tiHuded by ^ ord \Nellafc>i^yi era 
 quittincf Calcutta, to hi« snocertHor, aud quoted by him in I^Ht- 
 tei, ]6tih Augu^jL i805 OornwailiB Oorrespondeiice, vo . iii 
 
 p. 541, 
 
 3 Letter to SirArtbui Wellesley, 16 Apguet 1805. 
 
HHE SWORD IN THE SCABBARD. 235 
 
 q.nentlv passed during the negotiations for the Treaty 
 of Bassein, prove iaoontestably the aversion, 
 amounting to loathing, with which the Court of Poona 
 regarded the conditions on which alone a subsidiary 
 force would be established within the Peishwa's doiai- 
 nions. The manifest purpose of the interrogatory 
 was to fathom thoughts of the Governor General 
 at a moment when, flushed with triumph, he miiJ:hti 
 possibly be ofjt his guard. Huiry Punt could have 
 had no authority to treat just then on such a subject, 
 but if he could have artfully extracted a design, 
 theretofore unexpressed, of pushing further an inter- 
 meddling policy among the States that still preserv- 
 ed their independence, he would have chukled at 
 the success of his diplomatic artifice, and obtained 
 for his court a warning" betimes, which would have 
 been no doubt regarded as valuable and worth bear- 
 ing in remembrance. The reply of Lord Cornwallias. 
 uttered in perfect sincerity, tended to allay distrust 
 at Poona, and for another decade no more was said 
 about the matter. The Mahrattas were thereby led 
 ti> believe that whatever might be designed for others, 
 the harness-makers of Fort William did not contem- 
 plate throwing the lasso over their wild heads, far- 
 less the notion of breaking thorn in and collaring 
 them to his pole of viceregal rule. DnderLord Corn- 
 wallis and 8ir John Shore the policy of abstention 
 was faithfully adhered to, but under Lord Wellesley 
 it was discarded; and we cannot wonder if the native 
 princes, unable to comprehend the inconstancy of 
 principles on which the administration of Indian 
 affairs was conducted, should have believed that the 
 yoke had been prepared for them much earlier than 
 was actually avowed, when, after being repudiated 
 in 1792, it was, in 1802, infrangibly imposed upon 
 them. In 1805, it was, perhaps, toe late to revert to 
 the pre-existing state of things. It is one of the penal- 
 ties of misrule that it cannot be safely or easily un- 
 done, and that verv often we know not to undo 
 it a-t ^H| Qoijfidence plucked up rudely will not 
 
236 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 grow again, though carefully planted, and watered 
 with regretful tears* Lord Cornwallis was no senti- 
 mentalist, but he was a temperate, just, and sagacious 
 man, and his last days were clouded with sincere re- 
 grets at finding that in the interval between his 
 first and second adoiinistration, trust iu our political 
 moderation and forbearance had been eradicated in 
 the native mind* 
 
 Colonel Close called attention to the disorganisa- 
 tion that prevailedm various branches of the adminis- 
 tration at Poena. He counselled, admonished, tried to 
 persuade, and tried to frighten the worthless pur- 
 veyors of waste and jobbers at the public cost, but 
 all to no purpose. The ear of the humiliated Peishwa 
 was continually filled wtth suspicions too plausible 
 to be disbelived. Was not the Resident the imperso- 
 nation of the power that had compelled him to sign 
 away his independence, to forswear the tradition 
 or his race, and to contract obligations which no 
 economy would probably have enabled him to fulfil ? 
 On the other hand, wnat had sycophancy and mal- 
 versation to gain, even by affecting self-denial and 
 patriotism when dying ? and why should it spare 
 the resources of a Government plainly smitten with 
 death, or the credit of a State about to die? Gudi 
 and Durbar were daily growing more and more deaf 
 to good counsel, as the benumbing sense of irrespon- 
 sibility for evil acts became more and niore habitual. 
 The poison had begun to work, and its effects were 
 what had been anticipated, similar to those, if not the 
 same, which had been found elsewhere. The vener- 
 able Viceroy grieved over them, and, while resting 
 frem the fatigues of his journey into the interior, 
 unburthened his mind to the Secret Committee. He 
 lamented '* the weak and wretched state of the Peish- 
 wa's internal government,'^ and he had reason to 
 believe that the authority of the Soubahdar of the 
 Deccan over his dominions was approaching fast to 
 the same state. The evils were sufficiently obvious ; 
 the remedy, unhappily, not so apparent. The positive 
 
THE SWORD IN THE SCABBARD, 837 
 
 pbligatious of treaties provided, in the most express 
 terms, for the uucontroUed exercise of the internal 
 government of both States being left in the hands 
 of their respective Chiefs. He had called their atten- 
 tion to the articles in the treaties whioh so mnch 
 concerned themselves ; and had impressed on the 
 minds of the Residents the necessity of encouraging 
 the most active e^ertian of thaD authority and con- 
 trol on which the prosperity of their dominions and 
 the security of tiieir subjects so greatly depended. 
 ** In tlie hope that by degrees we mio^ht withdraw 
 ourselves from thp disgraceful participation in which 
 we should be iavolved, by mixing ourselves in all 
 the intrigue, oppression, and chicanery of the native 
 management ot distracted and desolated provinces,'' 
 he had addressed instructions to the British repre- 
 sentatives at Poena and Hyderabad, ^ to disentangle 
 themselves gradually but steadily from duties which he 
 would never have cai^v upon them. To Lord Lake, 
 who was still at the head ^f the array in the newly- 
 conquered country, he intim^sijted plainly f^ that it was 
 not the opinion of Ministers ' o.K j J; or of a party, but 
 of all reflecting men, that it waa impracticable for 
 .Great Britain to maintain so vast ;^>T^d unwieldy an 
 Empire iu India, which annually callevd^'or reinforce- 
 ments of men, and remittances of mohos'i ^^^ which 
 yieldeST little- other profit than brilliant j^.^^ettes.^" 
 The Rajak of Berar and other Chiefs who had suffered 
 great deprivation, could certainly entertain to ip^^d- 
 ly disposition ; and unless a, very great change coi;i J d 
 be effected in the minds of the natives of India, and 
 in the ideas they must harbour of our views, he could 
 not look forward with sanguine hope to the establish- 
 ment of permanent peace. He expressed his regret 
 in the same letter that he could not define, '' in the 
 multiplicity of cessions and conquests, what ought 
 
 1 Despatch 28 August 1806— Cornwaliis Correspondence, vol. iii. 
 p. o4>3. 
 
 3 Letter to Lord Lake, August 30, 1805 ^.Cornwaliis Correspondence. 
 voL iii. pp. 544, 545. 
 
238 EMPIRE iN ASIA, 
 
 to be considered actually or virtually our territories/' 
 but he did not conceal his anxiety to be rid of 
 as many as could be relinquished with any show of 
 honour. 
 
 The pacific policy foreshadowed by Lord Corn- 
 wallis filled Lord Liike and his stalf with disappoint- 
 ment, and something more. What had been accom- 
 plished in the field by a brilliant combination of 
 strategy, persistence, and valour, in their view pro- 
 mised, with certainly further and greater conquests ; 
 without which they easily persuaded themselves that 
 those already made could lOt be preserved. Every 
 remission and restoration suggested, seemed to them 
 confirmatory of their fears. Faint-heartedness and 
 parsimony had fallen, just at the wrong time, upon 
 the Councils of Empire ; the daring and decision of 
 Lord Wellesley had been overruled just at the mo- 
 ment when it was about to b^ crowned with triumph ; 
 the half-subjugated Mahrai^tas would only despise 
 us for our forbearance, scoff at our irresolution, and 
 take fresh courage to protract war for the recovery 
 of all they had ic>st. '^ It would be melancholy to 
 see the work of our brave armies undone and left 
 to be done ovtjv again.^' ^ Had the *^ glorious little 
 man '' remained but another year at Calcutta, all 
 would have gone well ; but he had been worried 
 into resigning, and a successor had been chosen, 
 who was past work, feeble in body and decrepit 
 in mind. They knew that the ways and means 
 of Government had long been straitened ; for the pay 
 t)f the troops every month fell more and more into 
 arrear. But victorious troaps seldom doubt that there 
 is an easy way of squaring the accounts of a campaign, 
 viz., by taking the balance wanting out of the coffers 
 of obstinate foes, who have not the sense to see that 
 they are beaten. The pt>litical inexpediency or in- 
 justice of this mode of getting rid of the difficulty, is 
 not nicely weighed in camp scales ; and there can be 
 
 1 Oon&dential Letter frrna C. Metcalfe, in Camp at MaGCra to 
 Ma. Slierer SIst Auga8tI805. 
 
THE SWORD IN THE SCABBARD. 239 
 
 no doubt that the Comrnander-in-Ghief, and his offi- 
 cers, felt fully persuaded that they understood th© 
 position much better ihan any old gentleman lately 
 come out from England ; and that they were^ mucii 
 more competent to advise him what ought ta be done 
 than he was to direct them. One all-important fact 
 they did noi know, namely, that before quitting India, 
 Lord Wellesley had conferred freely with his succes- 
 sor on the existing state of affairs, and on the policy 
 which ought to be pursued ; that an elaborate paper, 
 regarding the North Western States, had been drawn 
 up by Sir George Barlow, and agreed to by both the 
 distinguished personages present. In truth, the 
 retiring Viceroy had become fully convinced of the 
 necessity of making peace, even a considerable 
 sacrifice af possible acquisitions; and that no other 
 course, under the circumstances, was practicable,.^ 
 
 The previous campnign had beeu fruitful of vic- 
 tories, but barren of soird res One after another 
 tEe Mahratta armies had been vanqaished and dis- 
 persed, but only to ruasseuxble again. Scindia had 
 even ventured to detain for a time, m qualified capti- 
 vity, the Elnglish Resident at his Court, on the plea 
 that Gwalior was retained in broach of the last treaty 
 made with him. On receipt of peremptory instru- 
 ctions not to move, except in self-defence, lest any- 
 thing should provoke an open rupture with Scindia, 
 Losd Lake threw up his command. The last official 
 letter of the aged Marquis was in reply deprecatinnr 
 this resolve, recalling their early friendship, testify- 
 ing his sense of the GeneraPs services, and urging 
 him to wait until they could meet and interchantJ-e 
 frankly their respective views. But death was al- 
 ready at the door ; and on the Dth October, Lord 
 Corn wallis breathed his last at Ghazeepore, in the Pro- 
 vince of Benares 
 
 The duties of Governor-General, de interim^ devol- 
 ved upon Sir George Barlow, as senior Member of 
 Council. He trod in the footsteps of the late Vice- 
 i Kaye'a Life of Metcalfe, vol, i p, 171, 
 
240 EMPIR E IN A SI A, 
 
 roy, whicli had his entire approval, preparing to 
 withdraw, as fast as it was prudent to do so, the 
 British troops from their menacing positions, and 
 concluding arrangements with various minor princes 
 as preliminary to a general pacifjcatiuu. He disclai- 
 med altogether the function of self-constituted 
 arbitrator among the frontier tribes, and declared it 
 to be our duty to leave them at their own peril to 
 fight out their quarrels among themselves. This 
 abstention was of course regarded as "shocking'^ by 
 all the young diploinatisis who had been brought tq 
 prematurity in \yhat was called I^ »rd Wellesley'a 
 political forcing-house. A still more shocking system 
 in their view wa^ founded n;)On it, which they regar- 
 ded as inevitably tendiog to revive in every quarter 
 of the frontier all those quarrels, wars, disturbances, 
 and depredations whicli they woi^ld fain believe had 
 been nearly extinguished by armed intervention: 
 "Two objects,'^ they said, *'were necessary for per- 
 manent tranquility and safety. The reduction of 
 Holkar to a state of impotence, from which he 
 should not be ablo to raise himself (his destruction 
 would be naost desirable), and the maintenance of our 
 alliajices and pararnonnt influences with the petty 
 States of Hindustan.'^ ^ In after years, when better 
 aquainted with the real circumstances of the case, 
 Metcalfe who was then among the most eager zea- 
 lots for further aggression, confessed that his judg- 
 ment underwent no little modification; and though 
 be still disapproved of the forbearnce shown to Hol- 
 kar, he admitted that at the time there was no help 
 for it.'^ 
 
 Befoie the year closed, Eanjit Singh offered his 
 mediation, and preliminaries of peace were conclud- 
 ed with Holkar on terms which the officers of 
 the army pronounced to be disgraceful, but which 
 the Governor-General and Council were glad to 
 accept under the circumstances. Holkar asked 
 1 Letter from Colonel Metcalfe, to J w. S^herer, December 18,1805. 
 2 Kaye's Life of Metcalfe, to! i. p. 20S,/ 
 
 t— 
 
THE SWORD IN THE SCABBARD. 241 
 
 that an envoy should be sent to him in order to 
 satisfy his people; who were weary of war, and 
 sighing for its termination. Metcalfe found "Ek- 
 Chushm-ul-Dowla'^i grave and polite, not in the 
 least resembling the savage he believed him to be. 
 His Durbar in camp was d,evoi(J of show, having 
 nothing of opulence in it but the jewels of rare 
 value worn by the chief. Not long before, he had 
 declared in reckless mood that all he had as a prince 
 he carried on his saddle-bow. Most of Jiis posse^ 
 j^sions were now left to him,, anj^,,.^ 
 'enough to take advantage of the moderate tone of 
 tKe new Q-oyernor-General, entered soon after into 
 negotiations which end^d in an accommodation of all^ 
 existmar ainerences.'^ 
 
 Lord Lake used every argument against the 
 peace, and finding his , advice disregarded, with- 
 drew from further participation |in political mat- 
 ters. He was especially opposed to the restoration 
 of Tonk Rampoora, which had been offered to Scindia 
 and declined, and which, after all other provisions 
 of the treaty had been ratified, was spontaneously 
 given up to Holkar by a declaratory article appended 
 thereto. 
 
 In a paper written in 1806, entitled ''The Po- 
 licy of Sir George Barlow,'' Metcalfe imputes to 
 him the ^'design of directly fomenting discord ^' 
 among the neighbouring States, with a view to our 
 own safety. This Metcalfe brands as barbarous, 
 unwarrantable, and monstrous. He would, in pre- 
 ferencO; have had us assume the sovereignty over all. 
 There then remained, he said, but two great Po- 
 wers in India, the English, and the Mahrattas ; and 
 where we failed to exercise paramount sway, we 
 left the inhabitants to be harassed and ill-used by 
 them. 3 But the fixed principle of the Government 
 ^t that period was to relinquish all possessions 
 1 The one-eyed ruler, a nickname given to Jeswant Rao Holkar, 
 
 2 Letter from Metcalfe to Sherer. 26th January 1806. 
 
 3 Papers jind Correspondence of Lord Metcalfe, p. 7. 
 
 16 
 
342 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 and protectorates west of the Jumna, and the treaties 
 of 1806 embodied this rule. -«— -.^.v^ 
 A treaty of friendship and alliance, made bet- 
 ween the British Government and the State of 
 Lahore, on 25 April 1809, stipulated that the for- 
 mer should have no concern with the territory 
 
 and subjects of the Maharajah north of the Sutlej ; 
 that Ranjit Singh should never maintain on the 
 left bank of that river more troops than were ne- 
 cessary for the internal duties of his Government ; 
 nor commit or suffer any encroachment on the po- 
 ssessions or rights of the chiefs in his vicinity. 
 All the region between the Sutlej and the Jumna 
 was thereby declared to be subject to our su- 
 zerainty. The vague relations theretofore subsis- 
 ting with the local Rajahs gave place to the for- 
 mal assumption of the protectorate by the Para- 
 mount Power. A declaration To* this effect an- 
 nouced tliat Sirhind and Malva were taken under 
 British protection ; that no tribute would be demanded 
 from the chief ; but that they would be expected to 
 furnish all facilities for the movement ot our troops 
 through their districts, and to join them with their 
 followers whenever called on. *'Bat the mutual rela-. 
 tion of supremacy and subjection, appeals from the 
 inferior to the superior in disputes amongst themsovles, 
 and the imperative necessity of ministering publi© 
 order, speedily multiplied. ^^ we are assured, *^occa- 
 sions of interposition ; and no long interval, compelled 
 the British Government to proclaim the right and the 
 resolution to interpose. The regulation of successions 
 from the first demanded the intervention of the pro- 
 tecting Power; and political expediency has dictated 
 the enforcement of aprinciple, recognised throughout 
 the feudality of India — the appropriation of a subject 
 territory on failure of lawful heirs, by the Paramount 
 Sovereign'^ I 
 
 In the Whig Cabinet of 1806, the Indian depart- 
 ment was assigned to the friend of Burke who, as Sir 
 
 1 WilsoQ, Yol i. p. 303. 
 
tht: sword in the scabbard* 2m 
 
 Grilbert Elliott, had. been one of the managers in th© 
 impeachraeut of Warren Hastings* There still Remain 
 letters which attest how highly his friendship and 
 ability were valued hy the great Tribune of the East. 
 The charge against Sir Elijah Impey wasconfided 
 specially to him, and- the report of hia- arguments^ 
 against the delinquent Chief- Justice go far to -sustain, 
 thelauguage of encomium bestowed on them by axsritic 
 difficult to please. In 1793, he was sentto Gorsica to - 
 negotiate its^ annexation, and.ha remained as GrOvernor 
 of the island until the predominance of^ tha- party 
 attached to France compelled him. to 'Withdraw. Ho 
 was subsequently A^mbassador at Vienna; and he now 
 entered upon the duties of President of tha Board of 
 Control, with all the advantages of former study of 
 Indian questions in Parliament, and of diplomatic ex-- 
 perience abroad. With the consent of his- colleagues 
 he named Lord Lauderdale Grevernor-Generalj but the 
 Directors positively refused. their assent, desiring in 
 preference that Sir George Barlow should be retained. 
 After some weeks spent in altercation, it was finally 
 rssolved that Lord Minto should, himself accept. the 
 p<3st, leaving Mr. Dundas to succeed him at tha India 
 Bo^rd, and allowing the Viceroy ad interim to sub- 
 side into the Grovernorship ef Madras. The six years 
 of Lord Minto's administration were peaceful and 
 ?^?'SS.£5?3iy®' ^^^ his antecedents indisposed him to 
 revert to the policy, of encroachment, and with the 
 exception of Lord Grenville,.'' All the Talent8-^^' con- 
 curred in his views, He understood that hismission 
 was^to restore, if possible, the finances of the Company 
 to an equilibrium, by the encouragement of trade and 
 industry, and by enforcing ratrenchment in the civil 
 and military deportments. In 1S08, Travancore be- 
 came the scene of disturbances, accompanied by many 
 acts of treachery and violence by the dupes of a 
 fanatical and unprincipled man, who had been for 
 some time Dewan, and to whom the Rajah had abso- 
 lutely committed all executive authoifPy. Intriguea. 
 with the Rajahs of Cochin and Malabar were set. on. 
 
244 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 foot to shake off the Goinpany^s yoke. After some loss 
 of life the revolt was suppressed ; the Rajah affected 
 ignorcince of his Minister's designs, and regret for the 
 acts of his people. For three or four years he was not 
 forgiven, hut in 1813 lie was perinitted to resume 
 under certain restrictions, the rule of his territory, 
 which thenceforth remained tranquil. 
 
 The influences by which the people had been for 
 the time excited to insurrection were the fear of their 
 ancient religion being undei-mined by missionaries, 
 erroneously supposed to bo acting under the direction 
 of the Government; and on the other hand, by unfoun- 
 ded hopes of a rising among the Mahratta and other 
 Hindu communities in a general league against their 
 European masters. The prevalence of such feelings 
 could not be hidden from the watchful and discernino- 
 ^yes of men who, having helped to build u,p rapidly 
 an empire with the most heterogeneous materials, 
 knew how insecure were its foundations, and how ill 
 cemented was its apparent strength. What they 
 deemed most formidable, was a community of religious 
 suspicion, or a community of new religious belief. 
 Political unity in India there had never been, and 
 they were sure there coii^d never be; but '^if the leading 
 natives should turn Christian, we should lose the 
 country ',''^ and the popular dread of proselytism was 
 likely to prove equally embarrassing 
 
 Throughout the war with France our mercantile 
 marine had suffered severel}' from cruisers, well 
 equipped and armed, which issued from the harbours of 
 Mauritius and the Isle of Bourbon. It had long been 
 an object to get rid of this source of danger to our 
 trade, the transport service not being protected by 
 convoy. In 1809 a daring attempt was made on the 
 lesser island by'Oaptain Rowley andGolonel Keating, 
 who,' with a small detachment, not only effected a land- 
 ing, but succeeded in taking the town of St Paul. The 
 scantiness of the numbers at their command rendered 
 it impossible for them to^' establish themselves in the 
 1 Theworde of cdc who held high office under LordMinto, 
 
THE SWORD IN THE SCABBARD. M5 
 
 island at that time; but they had succeeded in ascer- 
 taining that the strength of its defensive works had 
 been greatly exaggerated ; and the following year a 
 p^pwerful expedition _was^^^^^^ for. its reduc- 
 
 tion, as woll as that of Mauritius, which has ever 
 sfnce^ remained a dependency of the British Crown. 
 Ihlgil Lord Minto conGei^yed t ot eftecting a 
 
 stiTl more brilliant achievement. Holland was no 
 longer an indepefident Powerj and its greatest colony 
 in the East lay too near our possessions to render safe 
 the use that might be made of ihem by aa enterprising 
 enemy. After due preparation, a squadron under 
 Commodore Rowley, having on beard a sufficient land 
 force, sailed from Malacca, and, somewhat to the sur- 
 prise of many who had regarded Lord Minto as too 
 much of peace, he himself gfCcooapanied tho 
 expedition. A landing-place near Bata.via had been 
 left unguarded, and the debarkatToli was effected 
 without molestation. The city having been occupied 
 without resistance, a brief campaign in the hilly part 
 of the island ended, without much bloodshed, in the 
 surrender of tte forts and harbours which had for 
 many generations belonged to the Dutch, but which 
 had recently been treated as colonial dependencies by 
 Napoleon. There was no longer left in the Indian 
 Ocean any place of strength over whicli the British 
 flag did not wave. For three years Batavia had for 
 its Governor Sir Stamford Raffles, and at the conclu- 
 sion of the war it was honourabl}^ restored to Holland. 
 On the mainland, Lord Mintu adhered to his pacific 
 policy, from which he could not be provoked into 
 departing either by the occasional plundering of the 
 Pindharries, or the exacrgerated importance given by 
 many about him to the swaggering demeanour of the 
 Goorkha Chiefs. He was not blind indeed to the real 
 condition of the country under his charge, which he 
 felt required repose. It was \ as much as he 
 could do to maintain the credit of the Government, 
 without adding to taxation which the people wera 
 unfit to bear, or whihholding a comparatively mode- 
 
 \% 
 
S46 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 rate dividend, which the Company expected. 
 
 Economy was the order of the day. Conquest had 
 had its fling ; and having sown its wild oats, the time 
 was said to have come when it must lead a more 
 sober and frugal life, retrench wasteful expenditure, 
 and if it did not clear off debt, contrive at least for the 
 future to pay its way. It was not easy to cut down the 
 cost of the army, it was not considered safe to seem even 
 to do it. The ablest and most thoughtful men 
 who had been engaged in the work of provincial 
 administration did not dare to disguise the truth 
 that what had been won by force was held only 
 by the influence that fear inspires. ^*Our situa- 
 tion in India/' said Metcalfe, ** has always been 
 sprecarious. It is still precarious, not less «o, per- 
 haps, at the present moment, by the fault of the 
 ystem prescribed by Government at home, than at 
 any former period. We are still a handful of 
 Europeans governing an immense Empire, with- 
 out any firm hold on the country, having warlike 
 and powerful enemies on all our frontiers, and the 
 spirit of disaffection dorma/nt, but rooted universally 
 among our subjects/' ^ To disband any important 
 number of troops, or even to reduce the muster- 
 roll in any perceptible degree, might jeopardise 
 all. There was no other alternative but that of 
 parsimony in the civil administration ; and to this 
 ©very one objected who had a voice in the matter 
 at home, because it implied curtailment in the nnm- 
 ber of primary appointment ; and everybody objected 
 in India who had advancement to seek for himself 
 or his friends. Still something was effected by Lord 
 Minto ; and unlike most of those who had gone before 
 him, he was able. to say that, in his time, nothing had 
 been added to the debt. 
 
 ^ Lord Metcalfe, ^Selections from pupcrs, Edited by J, W. Kaye, 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SCINDIA AND HOLkAR. 
 
 1814—1817. 
 
 **i think it well to sketch what appears to me the corrective for many 
 eXiBting embarrasments. Our object ought to be to render our Go- 
 vernment parament in effect, if not declaredly bo. We should bold 
 the other States as vaeBals, in subBtance, though not in name; not pre- 
 cisely as they stood in the Mogul Government, but posteEsed of per- 
 fect internal sovereignty, and only bound to repay the guarantee and 
 protection of their possessions by the British Government with the 
 pledge of the two great feudal duties. First, they shnnld support it 
 with all their forcesoa any call. Second they should submit their 
 mutual differences to the head of the Confederacy (our Government) 
 without attacking each other's territories. A few subordtnate stipu- 
 lations on our part, with immunities secured in return to the other 
 Bide (especially with regard to [succession), would render the arranga- 
 menb ample without complication or undue latitude." 
 
 — LOBD nASTINGS 1. 
 
 IN the stormy days of the Eegency, Lord Moira 
 was one of the conductors kept at Carlton House to 
 save it from popular wrath. He was chiefly known 
 for his fine manners and fine sentiments, Parliamentary 
 pliancy, and a measureless load of de]3t. By profes- 
 sion a soldier, by trade a courtier, and by occupation 
 a spendthrift. One vainly seeks for any act worth 
 remembering, or for any performance to account for 
 the position of influence he held in the world of politics 
 and fashion. More insensible to party ties than to 
 personal considerations, he clung, like Sheridan, to 
 the Prince, when nearly all his early friends felt that 
 he had deceived them. The Regent was said to be incap- 
 
 1 Private Jeurnal CPanini office reprint p. 30.) 
 
24S EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 able of gratitude; but he understood the value of an in- 
 strument fit for his purpose when he had it. For him the 
 Earl was thoroughtly trustworhy, and accordingly he 
 trusted him in 1812 with the task of attempting to form 
 a Coalition Cabinet, in which he only failed because 
 though there were many able Whigs and accomplish- 
 ed Pittiter, there was only one Moira, and neither 
 section shared the royal confidence in him. Next 
 year witnessed his compensation and reward. Those 
 who knew what manner of man was really needed 
 sighed: the Directors shrugged their shoulder, and 
 took care to explain privately that the selection was 
 not theirs: but the creditors of the insolvent Earl 
 were enthusiastic in their approval, and met to pass 
 votes of congratulation on the propitious event. They 
 did more. As a signal proof of the interest they 
 took in the welfare of their fascinating debtor, they 
 proceeded to appoint an official assignee to receive 
 his splendid salary every quarter. This attache- 
 extraordinary was actually sent out to Calcutta, and 
 there awaited his Excellency's arrival. 
 
 Lord Moira visited Madras on his way out, and 
 reassured by kind and courtly words the Nawab 
 of the Carnatic that he need not fear from him 
 any further degradation *^of his already abject con- 
 dition ;'' observing that ^^he would already construe 
 the terms of existing treaties in a way most consider 
 rate towards the party whose security was in reliance 
 on the honour of the other.'' On returning his visit, 
 the Viceroy was struck by the inanity and ennui to 
 which the Nawab's life must be a prey, living amid 
 great magnificence without pursuit or power of any 
 kind. He adds expressions of pity at seeing one 
 occupying his situation subjected to many vexatious 
 restraints; such as being compelled to negotiate for 
 leave to enjoy the pleasures of the chase, so strict 
 was the surveillance held over him. Yet this was 
 the descendant of Princes whose chief sin in the 
 eyes of their 'countrymen had been their constant 
 alliance with the Company. These expressions are 
 
SCINDIA A I^D HOLKAR. M9 
 
 taken irom a private diary kept during tEe earlier 
 years of a long viceroyaltv, and from which many 
 curious and suggestive admissions may be gleaned. 
 Did we know nothing of his policy as an administrator 
 but what might be inferred from this talk to himself, 
 we should be led to anticipate a long epoch of tran- 
 quillity and conciliation. The first Bishop Ihad been 
 sent out at the same time, with an endowment, recent- 
 ly created, on the renewal of the Company's charter ; 
 and at the end of half a century, it was nearly time 
 that the acts of the state should show some regard for 
 the precepts of the Church. How little they 
 corresponded with these, or with the opinions and 
 designs expressed in the private journal, the military 
 annals of India record. Lord Moira found the usual 
 lack of money in the treasury of Calcutta, but remem- 
 bering the pressure put upon him at home, ho began 
 by remitting £300,000 in pagodas. This left him 
 very bare in resource, and led him to prolong 
 negotiations pending with the warlike tribes of Nepaul. 
 He succeeded in composing disputes with Scindia 
 and the King of Ava, from neither of whom any 
 serious mischief was to be apprehended, and with 
 whom contentions on paltry subjects appeared to be 
 sources of unmixed evil, as tending to keep alive 
 *^ an inveterate spirit of animosity against us in the 
 breasts of those whom we had overborne.^' 
 
 In the absence of all recognised occassions for the 
 inter-change of confidence, or for the performance 
 of duties of political co-operntion, the position of 
 humbled, yet still proud Princes, could not but be 
 one of perpetual over-susceptibility and tantalisation. 
 No good reason could be assigned for the 
 interchange of courtly amenities, not to speak 
 of political view ; and beyond the most mechanical 
 contrivances to improve the physical condition 
 of the people, there was little if anything for 
 the Princes to do. How different would have baen 
 the case had they been gradually led to take counsel, 
 and to make proposals at Calcutta^ with a view to the 
 
r^SOj EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 development of the resonrces of their States, the 
 organisation of their internal forces, and the recipro- 
 oal development of all that goes to make up the 
 strength of federal empire I Every Native Prince, on 
 the contrary, whether he called himself independent op 
 protected, believed — and believed with reason — that 
 every act of his calculated, however remotely, to 
 remind his nobles or his people of better days gone by 
 was certain to be regarded as covertly treacherous or 
 threateningly hostile by the ill-advisers of the Par- 
 amount Power. Lord Moira had sagacity enough to 
 discern the truth, and to himself he avowed it. '^A 
 rational jealousy of our power, '* he thought, ^'was 
 not likely to excite half the intrigues against us, 
 which must naturally be produced by the wanton 
 provocations which we had been giving on trivial 
 subjects to all the States around us.^'^ Looking, for 
 the first time, at the anomalous state of things every 
 where prevailing, it seemed to be only too evident that 
 community of resentment for past wrongs, and a being 
 held at arm's length by misgivings of the future, 
 perennially prepare the subject-chiefs for concerted 
 resistance to our sway whenever opportunity should 
 occur. He imagined Runjit Singh to be the likeliest 
 source of trouble on the frontier, and prognosticated 
 (ftrroneusly as it proved) that his personal influence 
 and activity would prove to be sourcca of probable 
 danger. But though he erred in this respect, he 
 evinced true discernment in his general estimate of 
 the situation, and of the perils that encompassed it- 
 *'We have not," hewrote, ^'simply to-look at the irrit- 
 ation of those whom we have scourged with nettles. 
 E^ch Sovereign must have brought the case home to 
 himself, and must have secretly sympathised with the 
 Durbars which he saw insulted and humiliated. ^ 
 
 The Nawab-Vizierof Oude was at this time bitterly 
 
 incensed against the Central Grovernment. He had 
 
 been promised complete immunity from its interference 
 
 when he agreed to surrender the half of his dominions 
 
 1 Private Journal, (Panini offioe reprint p. 25.) ^ 
 
SCiNDU AND HOLKAR i 251 \ 
 
 in 1801^ nevertheless, he had bev3n subjected to every 
 ^jTecTes of petty and prying interference in the manage- 
 Toient of what remained of his affairs, until at length he 
 3e'cTared, *^in open Durbar, that we had driven him to 
 desperation." The Rajah of Berar, though professing 
 *tt be frindly, was not able to conceal his distrust of 
 our intentions towards him — with what good cause he 
 was soon to see. The Nizam, who had so early admit- 
 ted a subsidiary force within his opnfines, **did not 
 disguise his absolute hatred of us," although unable 
 ^to make any attempt at disenthralment. Scindia 
 ionnd it difficult to keep his irregular forces to- 
 gether, and might fairly be credited with the hope of 
 being able to quarter them in other territories than 
 his own. Holkar was in similar case. If one day 
 these ignitable elements should burst into flame, it 
 would be owing, thought the Viceroy, to our own fault 
 in not *^ defining to ourselves, or making intelligible 
 to the Native Princes, the quality of the relation which 
 we had established with them. In our treaties we 
 recognised them as independent Sovereigns. Tljen we 
 sent Residents to their courts. Instead of acting in 
 the character of ambassadors, they assumed the fnncj 
 tions of dictators, interfered in all private concerns, 
 countenanced refractory subjects against them, and 
 made the most ostentatious exbibtion of this exeroise 
 oi authority." 
 
 The Nawab of Kurnool died, and his second son 
 seized the capital and was proclaimed his successor. 
 His elder brother happened to be in English territory 
 at the time, and obtained the assistance of the Madras 
 Government to place him upon the musnud. That 
 done, his allies forthwith proposed to the Governor- 
 General that, while their forces remained in occupa- 
 tion of the city, their protege should be mediatised, 
 and the province incorporated with the Madras Pre- 
 sidency, The Viceroy indignantly rejected the pro» 
 posal. It did not seem to him a natural consequence 
 of our military interposition that, without the surmise 
 of any misconduct urged against the Nawab, he should 
 
.v^i»f1«"W»<«V_ 
 
 L^M^ EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 be deprived di his authority and revenues, except' as 
 to such portion as we mighu munificently leave to him. 
 This was remnant of the old system, in which our 
 convenience was the only influencing principle. Jt 
 was evidently an unjust principle when no real neces- 
 sity could be pleaded ; but he was further convinced 
 that it was a thoroughly impolitic view. *' In nothing 
 did we violate the feelings of the Native Princes so 
 much as in the decisions in which we claimed the 
 privilege of pronouncing with regard to the succes- 
 sion to the musnud.'^ The ignorant assumption that 
 the rule of primogeniture would be recognised among 
 the Mussulman families as binding^ if the British 
 Government openly lent it their sanction and support, 
 appeared to him thoroughly delusive. The eldest son 
 would of course avail himb^elf of our aid as far as he 
 could; but the moment he had succeeded, he would bet^in 
 to assert the same freedom of choice among his chil- 
 dren as his father had done ; and against such an 
 impulse no sense of gratitiide to us would weigh. Thus 
 early do we find the question seriously engaging the 
 minds occupied with Indian aSairs, which, at a later 
 period, was destined to exercise so great an influence 
 9ver the whole course of opinion and action. 
 
 The quarrel with the Goorkhas was certainly not o£ 
 the GovernorpGeneraPs seeking, and in a certain sense 
 it may be said to have been forced upon him. He 
 evinced a desire to parley until his forbearnce tried 
 the temper of most of those around him ; and it can- 
 not be doubted that relying on the remoteness of their 
 country, the excellence of their irregular discipline, 
 the number of their well-armed forts, and, above all, 
 the indomitable spirit of their people, these sturdy 
 highlanders mistook tardiness for weakness, and 
 prudence for irresolution. A fiercer struggle, over a 
 wider range of country, has never been maintained in 
 India. Upwards of 100,000 combatants of all arms 
 were brought into the field on our side ; and the 
 numbers on the other must have been much greater. 
 Again and again detachments were beaten back, and 
 
8CINDIA AND HOLKAR. 
 
 columns compelled to retreat. At lenghth we triumph-^^ 
 ed ', but only at cost of life and treasure such as had 
 never been expended before. The territorial gains, j 
 though not lar^^e, were importaiit, extending, as they 
 didj our sway from the Jumna to the Sutiej. Lord 
 Moira might well have been content with these succes- 
 ses ; but he had caught the prevalent disease iu camp- 
 He could resist neither the promptings of military am- 
 bition, or the appetite for popularity and praise. Met- 
 calfe early gained his ear, and whispered temptations 
 varied and splendid, in the shape of territorial acquisi- 
 iTon. " in a confidential paper on the conduct" of "the 
 "war "with Nepaul, and its probable extension to onher 
 regions, he laid down as propositions incapable of 
 dispute or doubt, that our Empire in India had arisen 
 from the superiority of our military power ; that its sta- 
 bility rested entirely on the same foundation ; and that 
 if this foundation were removed, the fabric must fall 
 to the ground/ Whether delusions might prevail 
 in England respecting the security to be derived from 
 the affections of our Indian subjects, and a character 
 for moderations of our bearance with foreio^n Native 
 States, our power depended solely on our militarv 
 superiority. Yet there was reason Ibo apprehend that 
 this comparative superiurity had in some measure 
 diminished. The signal repulses we had met with at 
 Bhurtpore, Kalunga, Kumaoij, and elsewhere, showed 
 that our military pre-eminence was no longer un- 
 contested, as it once had been. Analysing each 
 sp.nguinary check, and crediting our antagonists with 
 sugmented discipline and valour, he urged that as 
 '^ a great portion of our former military fame had 
 been buried at Bhurtpore, ^^ it had not been retrieved 
 by any successes since obtained. Our opponents 
 were better able to hold their ground than formerly, 
 and our troops had not the saine confidence in them- 
 selves they used to have. The sight of a white face 
 or a red coat was not sufficient on all occasions, as 
 it once had been, to make our adversaries flee in 
 dismay. Either the gradual circulation of knowledge 
 
S54 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 had given them a better mode of defence, or the 
 charm which insured our success was dissolved, or 
 from some other change we were less invincible than 
 we had been. " The numbers oj^ our troops must be 
 permanently augmented in proportion to the increase 
 of our possessions ; " again and again laying stress 
 oTi the fundamental fact, that the existence of Em- 
 pire in Asia must ever be dependent on the sword, 
 and that it had no root in the affections of the people. 
 it coald derive no support from the good-wll, or 
 good faith, of our neighbours. That policy was best 
 suited to our situation in India, which tended in the 
 greatest degree to increase our military power by all 
 means consistent with justice. Increased levies, well 
 disciplined and equipped, would, as he elsewhere ex- 
 plained, ' furnish the means of fresh conquests ; and 
 these in return would supply the resources requisite , 
 to drill, feed, and pay additional levies. In a word, 
 Metcalfe's estimate of our position was, that we had 
 gone too far in t?he way of acquisition to stop ; that 
 when we abandaned the attitude and aptitude of 
 aggression, we could no longer hold down writhing 
 discontent, or keep external enmity at bay ; and that,, 
 so long as hardy and courageous races lay. beyond 
 the frontier, that frontier must continually expand, 
 or, at least, be capable of expansion. 
 
 Lord Moira, who at Westminster, and even at 
 Fort William, had been full of moderate and for bear- 
 ing sentiments, speedily became acclimatisedin camp, 
 and learned to think and act in concert with the 
 habits of thought and action that prevailed around 
 him. The greater portion of his nine years' adminis- 
 tration was consumed in wars, entailing vast sacrifices 
 of life and treasure, and productive of comparatively 
 small benefit of a lasting character. The Pindhar- 
 ries, the great robber clan of Central India, were 
 indeed hunted down, after a long and sanguinary 
 chase, and their chief was found in a jungle with 
 his head cut off. But this was about the most useful 
 
 1' Metcalfe's Papcrp, from pp. 82.-90,. 
 
S(JINDIA AND HOLKAR. 255.. 
 
 of Lord Moira's costly wars. A harder fight was 
 carried on with the Goprkhas, many of whose strong- 
 holds were razed to the ground, and a portion of 
 whose territories was annexed ; bub after varied con- 
 flicts with these proud and gallant mountaineers, the 
 Governor-General was fain to make peace, and to 
 leave them for future unmolested, The Goorkhas 
 have well repaid in later times the immunity they 
 have been permitted to enjoy from further interfer- 
 ence. 
 
 The States of Central India in 1816 were disturbed 
 and disorganised in a degree which temptingly ?^ug- 
 gesre^Ta policy of iutervention. Each of the Mahratta 
 Chiefs who still maintained a substantive or indepen- 
 dent existence was jealous of his neighbours, and each 
 had his stifled, grudge against the still expanding 
 Power that ten years before had humbled him. 1% 
 every Durbar the English Resident was feared and 
 hated as the symbol of past humiliation, the espial of 
 existing weakness, and the fugleman of future attack. 
 It was the aim of every shrewd, native official to mis- 
 lead him — the purpose of every subtle and inventive 
 politician to foil him. Any expedient or device seem- 
 ed justifiable to baffle the designs imputed by all, 
 and not without reason, to that encroaching State 
 whose most sagacious advisers in their turn believed, 
 and truly, that the Mahrattas desired our overthrow 
 and would not scruple to have recourse to any mea- 
 sures destructive to our provinces. ^ 
 
 It was clearly ** our interest to annihilata them, 
 or to reduce them to a state of weakness, subjection, 
 and dependence.^' But with regard to weak and harm- 
 less petty States, it was a just and proper object 
 of a wise and liberal Government to support them. 
 Scindia, Holkar^ an^ Berar, from whom alone we 
 had anything to fear, had confessedly committed no 
 overt act of hostility ; nor was there any deeent pre- 
 text for attacking them. But all of them in turn 
 harboured the Pindharries, and paid them black 
 I Metcalfe la Kayo's I ife p. 432. 
 
256 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 mail, if they did not occasionally hire them as auxiligb* 
 ries. These it was now declared to be an imperative 
 duty to crush ; their existence was a scandal, their 
 impunity a discredit to imperialising rule. Their 
 complete extirpation could hardly be effected with- 
 out active co-operation on the part of the Mahratta 
 power ; and the scheme was formed of a crusade 
 against the freebooters, with a clear provision of tiie 
 more important consequences that might or might 
 '^)e made to ensuOp Once engaged in hunting down 
 predatory tribes on the border* who should say what 
 constituted hindrance of pursuit, or help to escape ? 
 Every day and every movement would bring new 
 cause of quarrel ; every mosstrooper sheltered would 
 be an occasion of complaint ; every presumed acces- 
 8-ary woi;ild be the subject of altercation; the multipli- 
 cation of such sparks would be sure to generate flame, 
 with mutual distrust, resentment, aud aversion foster- 
 ing and fanning it on every side. In pursuit of 
 Pindharries a free passage through tte territories 
 of the Mahratta States might be demanded, and if 
 refused, there would be at once a cause of war, ^^ If 
 Scindia, Holkar. and the Rajah of Berar, should 
 neither co-coperate nor remain neutral if all or any 
 of these Powers should oppose or obstruct our 
 operations, we had no choice but consider them 
 as enemies, and attack them accordingly. Their 
 territories would afford a recompeTise for the expenses 
 of the war, and an increase of resources for the payment 
 of additional force. ^^^ Here then we have avowed, in 
 terms incapable of being mistaken the anticipations 
 with which a fresh campaign on a great scale was 
 prepared, together with a frank confession of the 
 objects of tbe war. 
 
 Events did not fall out precisely as was expected; 
 but in the main the ends sought were accomplished 
 in the wide region which is especially designated 
 Hindustan. The formation of alliances with the 
 minor State which lay on every side around th^ 
 1 Kaye'8 Life of Metcalfe, p. 4B7, 
 
. SCINDIA AND HOLKAR. 267 
 
 greater and more formidable ones, was at the same 
 time pressed on the attention of Lord Moira by hig 
 confidential counsellors. These must be offered the 
 guarantee of Imperial protection, in exchange 
 for tribute to be expended in the organisation and 
 maintenance of additional corps, Scindia and Hol- 
 kar would naturally object to be gradually encircled 
 thus with dependencies; but if they did, so much the 
 better there would thus be another obvious cause 
 of quarrel, and a manifestly good excuse for their 
 destruction. '*We ought to be strong enough,'^ 
 wrote Metcalfe, ^'to conquer them all, and annex the 
 whole of their territories to the British dominions : or 
 ^hey might reluctantly submit, and then they must 
 either devour one another or waste away.^^ 
 
 One voice, indeed, was eloquently raised against 
 these courses. It was the voice of one who, as we have 
 seen, had in earlier days entered eagerly into the 
 spirit of conquest for conquest^s sake; but who had 
 learned wisdom, justice, and mercy, in the adminisr 
 trative school whence others had drawn the opposite 
 lessons. The words of Munro at this memorable 
 juncture are too pregnant with meaning to be for- 
 gotten. Writing to Lord Moira in 1817, he says, 
 *^When I consider the we^ikness of the Native States, 
 and the character of the Chiefs under whose sway 
 they are, I see little chance of war, and none of a 
 protracted' resistance. There is so little subordination 
 ih Mative Q-overnments, that much more energy ia 
 required under them than under the more resrular 
 Governments of Europe bcindia was never formid- 
 able, even in the height of his power. The exertions 
 of Holkar against Lord Lake were still weaker. The 
 power of Scindia's as well as of Holkar's Government 
 has so much declined since that period, that it ia 
 scarcely credible that either they or Ameer Khan 
 would venture to oppose by force any measure for 
 the suppression of the Pindharries. But there is 
 sometimes a kind of infatuation about Indian Chiefs 
 who have lost a part of their dominiuns, which tempts 
 
258 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 J 
 
 them to risk the rest in a contest which they know to 
 be hopeless. Tlie situation of the British Govern- 
 ment with regard to the Native Powers is entirely 
 changed within the last twenty years. It formerly 
 brought very small armies into the field, with hardly 
 any cavalry. It now brings armies into the held 
 superior to the enemy, not only in infantry, but also 
 in cavttlry, both to quality and number. The superi- 
 ority is so great, that the event of any struggle is no 
 longer doubtful. It has only to bring forward its 
 armies, aud dictate what terms it pleases, either 
 without war, or after a short and fruitless resistance.'^ ^ 
 He argues against extending the system of subsidiary 
 forces, and recommends instead,** compelling Scindia 
 to cede the districts restored to him in 1806 — (>.'* 
 Whenever the subsidiary system is introduced, unless 
 the reigning Prince be a man of great abilities, the 
 ' country will soon bear the marks of it, in decay- 
 ing villages and decreasing population. This has 
 long been observed in the dominions of the Peishwa 
 and the Nizam, and it is now beginning to be seen 
 in Mysore. He states, however, that *' its inevitable 
 tendency is to bring every Native State, sooner or 
 later, under tho exclusive dominion of the British 
 Government. It has already done this completely in 
 the case of the Nawab of the Carnatic. It has mad© 
 some progress in that of the Peishwa and the Nizam ; 
 and the whole of the territory of those Princes will 
 unquestionably suffer the same fate as the Carnatic. 
 The Peishwa will probably again commit a breach 
 of the alliance. The Nizam will do the same. Even 
 if the Prince himself were d spoaed to adhere rigidly 
 to the alliance, there will always be some amongst 
 his principal officers who will urge him to break it. 
 As long as there remains in the country any high- 
 minded independence, which seeks to throw off tha 
 control of strangers, such counsellors will be found. 
 I have a better opinion of the Natives of India than 
 to think this spirit will ever be completely extingni- 
 
SCINDIA AND HOLKAR. i,. 2Q9j 
 
 shed, and I can have no doubt that the subsidiary 
 system must everywhere run its course ; and destroy 
 eve^^ry Government which it undertakes to protect, .» 
 Even if we could be secured against every internal 
 convulsion, and aould retain the country quietly in 
 subjection, I doubt much if the condition of the 
 peoples would be better than under their Nativ©^ Prin- 
 ces. The consequence of the conqueS't of India by 
 British arms' would be in p&ce of raisiug, to debase 
 the whole people. There is, perhaps, do example of 1 
 any conquest in which the Natives hav©= been so com- \ 
 pletely excluded from all share of the goverament of 
 their country, as in British India... Am^ong all the 
 disorders of the Native^ States, the field is open for 
 every man to raise himself ;^^ and hence among them 
 thera is a spirit of emulation, of restless enterprise 
 and independence, far preferable to the servility of 
 onr Indian subjects.. ►The power of the British Go- 
 vernment is now (1817) so great that it has nothing 
 to fear from any combination, and it is perfectly able 
 to take satisfaction for any insult without any exten- 
 sion of the subsidiary system.'^ ^ He concludes this 
 letter to Lord Hastings, which was written on the eve 
 of the war, by dissuading him from pursuing the sub- 
 sidiary system further. But his expostulations were 
 disregarded, and the campaign began. 
 I Life of Sir T. Muuro, p. 46e» 
 
CHAPTEH XX. 
 
 ^ T H E P E I S H W i^. 
 
 1818—1823. 
 
 ** The 'Eosrlie}] join the raof-t resolute courage to fchie mi-kpt cautioi^f 
 
 prufileiice. If they shovved as much coocern for the circumptauces 
 . of the faripjBrs and land owners, and fxerted as much solicitijdp ia 
 
 reiievipg and easing^ the people of God aB they do in whatever con- 
 ( cerns their military affairp, no nation would be worthier of oom- 
 ' man«i. But such ia the little reffnrd they show to the inhabitants 
 
 of tht-ae kin^^domp, and such their indiflference to their Wf lfar«, thnt 
 ' the people under their cominjon groan everywhere, and ftie reduced 
 
 to poverty and distress.?' 
 
 MUTAKHEREX, ^ 
 
 IT needed little sagacity on the part of the Mahrattas 
 to divin<9 what was contemplated, as we have seen, 
 
 \^j the advisers of the Governor-General. So long 
 as thej i^ubmittad mutely or passively to be lectured 
 fp^ their indiscretions, and brow bpaten whenever tl><^ 
 betrayed any lingering prid§ or ambition, they might 
 be suffered to escape further sacrifices. Under the 
 fret an4 vvorry of incessant petty provocations, it was 
 not in human nature that they should not sometimes 
 forget the demeanour of prudence, o.nd overstep the 
 limits of deferntial subp^ission. In their camps and 
 durbars, ill-educatpd and irritable men were ever 
 ready to take umbrage at whaX^ they regarded, if it 
 was not intended, ;a.s an overweening tone of dictation 
 on the part of British Residents; and it would have been 
 marvellous if the weak and irresoulute Princes who over- 
 heard malcontent routterings, bad not drifted into the 
 ld?a>ncrerou9 condition of doubtful fidelity to exif^,tincr en- 
 gagements. At Poona especially, uneasiness at tho threa- 
 3 4^ Nfitirt chronii.'Ie?" of t>h • E'"!ul'"Bb iDvafion, 
 
THE PFASHWA. 361 
 
 tening forces oa the frontier early showed itself, the 
 pacifying language of Mr Elphiustone having small 
 effect. Trimbuckiee, an intriguing reckless and cruel 
 man, exercised unbounded influence over the Peishwa, 
 and hel;>ed ovenrualiy to precipitate his ruin. As i£ 
 such secrets could be kept, under the lynx-eyed 
 vigilance of well-paid es^nonage, he had striven to 
 nesfotiate, with Holkar, Bhonsla, and Scindia, tlie 
 formation of an otlensive and defensive alliance; and 
 when charged with the fact, he denied it with an 
 •equanimity which in European diplomacy would be 
 recognised as natural and legitimate, but which was 
 stigmatised at the time as the climax of semi-barbaroua 
 mendacity. 
 
 *Since Dowlat Rao Scindia had lost the custody of 
 the Mogul, he ceased to believe, perhaps, in tho 
 prudence of asserting, against superior odds, the 
 guardianship of the Peishwa; and he entered into 
 engagements by which, in effect, he sevord himself 
 from the other Chiefs of his race, and agreed to help in 
 hunting down the Pindharries. Baji Rao wrote to him 
 expostulating. *'Your father, Madhajee Scindia, 
 served us heart and soul. When you became his 
 successor you entered into alliance with the English; 
 thus you govern in Hindustan, and thus you show your 
 gratitude. It is beK^ting you to put bangles on your 
 arms and sit down like a woman. After my power is 
 destroyed, is it possible that yours should stand ?" He 
 might have answered, that by the Treaty of Bassein the 
 Peishwa himself had first made seperate terms with the 
 'conquerors ; yet he was deeply moved by the reproach- 
 ful appeal thus made to him, and might have yielded had 
 he not already gone too far to hesitate. By the over- 
 powering presence of the invading armies, " he was 
 forced,'^ says Malcolm, •* to become, at the very 
 moment he was recognised as its most powerful Chief, 
 the marked deserter of the cause of his nation.*'^ 
 In truth, however, the struggle against foreign ascend- 
 ancy could have been prolonged by him to little pur- 
 1 Memoirs of Central ladift, vol. i. p. HI, 
 
36S EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 pose, and ho confided in the assurance that if he 
 would enter into permanent engagements, he might 
 combine local freedom with imperial union. Peace 
 and safety vvouid be the lot of his people, and all 
 anxiety for the future of his dynasty and dominion 
 would be at an ead. He made the bargain, and he 
 kept it. For half a century h-e and his successors 
 have remained faithful to Britsh connection, and in 
 the worst of times they have proved true to their 
 treaty obligations. 
 
 But what if the terms of those obligations should 
 one day be eaten away by vermjculate questions as 
 to their meaning in point of law ? What if the vital 
 spirit of the compact may be evaporated in the 
 alembic of a capricious and unscrupulous experimen- 
 talist V What if public faith should one day be declared 
 to be like a tenant's improvement, whereof the benefit 
 is held to expire by the efilux of time? This, and 
 nothing less, is the gist of the doctrine of lapse to the 
 Crown, on default of heirs in tail male, recently set 
 up and acted on, with regard to other governing 
 families in India. Threatening notice has not yet, 
 indeed, been served at Gwalior, and the instinct of 
 self-preservatioi] forbids the utterance of misgiving. 
 But after what we have seen done and attempted 
 elsewhere, it would be idle to affect disbelief in the 
 existence of cankerous fears, in every Native State 
 of sufficient importance to be coveted as food for 
 annexation. 
 
 In 1817, Holkar's numerous and irregular forces, 
 during the long minority of their Prince, had become 
 mutinous, and the Durbar presided over by Toolsah 
 Bai, the favourite mistress of the deceased chief, and 
 guardian of his son, was rent by personal feuds and 
 enmities. A general disposition prevailed to side 
 with the Peishwa ; but no one possessed sufficient 
 influence in council or in camp to bring about an 
 accord, until the army of Sir Thomas Hislop appro- 
 ached Mahi'ipore. After a sanguinary struggle on 
 the bauka of th« Seepra, in which the Mahrattas were 
 
THE PEISBWA, S63 
 
 defeated, a treaty of peace was made at MundiSBore, 
 The claim of ascendancy over the States of Rajpoota- 
 na was renounced, as well as the lands of the Jeypore 
 country) and the territories South of the Satpoorah 
 hills were ceded to the British Government. The 
 integrity of what remained was guaranteed to the boy 
 Chief and his successors. To scenes of turbulence 
 and violence there gradually succeeded the order and 
 security of a settled government. The irregular 
 horse, whose multitudinous array had long rendered 
 the name of Holkar formidable, were dispersed and 
 finally disbanded ; and the Princes of Indore have 
 never since appeared in arms against us. Bereft of 
 the support of the two principal States of the con- 
 federacy, it seemed incredible even to Mr. Elphin- 
 stone that the Peishwa should still seriously medifcate 
 repudiation of the engagements imposed on him by 
 the treaty of Bassein ; but the conduct of his chief 
 Minister, early in 1817, had been such as to lead at 
 last to a requisition that he should be banished, or 
 Bttrrendered as a hostage for their observance. Trira- 
 buckjee fled, and his master first pretended not to 
 know his hiding-place, and he refused to give 
 him up, although he was believed to be actively 
 engaged in organising plots for an armed insurrection. 
 Communications with him from Baji Rao were dis- 
 covered, whereupon the Resident insisted on the 
 surrender of his family, who were still at Poena, and 
 the occupation by the subsidiary troops of certain 
 forts in the neighbourhood of tte city. On the 
 refusal of the Peishwa, he was warned that his con- 
 duct would be treated as equivalent to a cause of war. 
 The parley being prolonged, instructions were for- 
 warded to Mr. Elphhirstone to present as an ultimatum 
 tho draft of an amended treaty, whereby provinces 
 yielding £346,000 a year were to be ceded for the 
 maintenance of a more efficient subsidiary force ; the 
 right to send or receive envoys from other States was 
 to be relinquished ; the offending Minister was to he 
 surrendered; and, finally, the Peishwa was required 
 
S64 EMPIRE IX ASIA, 
 
 to renoance for* ever all right to the headship of th^ 
 Confederacy. To give emphasis to these require- 
 ments, the subsidiary troops wore summoned to the 
 gates of the city, and twenty-four hours were given 
 for an answer. Baji Rao woke to a sense of his 
 desperate position. His ministers appealed unreser- 
 vedly to the forbearance and magnanimity of the 
 Power they had, till lately, been counselling their 
 master to defy. Some allowance ought to be made, 
 they said, for the perplexities of his situation, which 
 had to a great extent been created by previous con- 
 cessions, and the attitude assumed by a foreign force 
 80 mortifying to the feelings of spirited Chiefs and a 
 credulous people. The public opinion of the worlds 
 they said, would not justify treatment so pitiless, and 
 the imposition of terms so degrading. Even if agreed 
 to, they could not long be kept, for the Prince would 
 lose all political respect and authority ; and in either 
 case they must be held to imply the extinction of their 
 State. Their passionate logic was but too convincing^ 
 But Mr. Elphinstone's orders were to yield nothing, 
 and after a long but fruitless controversy #ite new 
 treaty A'as signed. The poison of ISOS^ had 
 done its work, and its latest symptoms were 
 manifested in its effect upon the brain. Every 
 subsequent act of the maimed and wounded 
 Government of the Peishwe was characterised by 
 the craft and inooherency of madness The treaty 
 was no sooner signed than he repented ; its 
 publication alternately filled him with despair, or 
 fired him with wild thoughts of revenge He had 
 fitted on the yoke with his own hands, but it 
 was on that account none the more endurable ; 
 and after some feeble effects to affect resignation, he 
 entered recklessly into schemes of counter-revolution, 
 and in the space of a few months diew down upon his 
 throne and family utter and irretrievable ruin. The 
 capital was occupied by the subsidiary corps. Two 
 Englsh armies entered the country from opposite 
 liidea, and ou th,e ilth February 18 J 8, a proclamatioa 
 
THE PmSIlWA^ 265 
 
 announced that it had been incorporated as a province 
 of the British Enipire4 After two months' campaign 
 Baji Rao gave himself Up as a prisoner of war to Sir 
 John Malcolm, and lived during the remainder of his 
 days at Bitur, near Cawnpore, on a pension of eight 
 lacs. Some years before his death, having no son, he 
 adopted as his heir Nana Saib, to whom he bequeathed 
 his jewels and resentments, cherishing to the last the 
 hope that the house of Balaji Viswanath which for more 
 than a century has occupied an important place amon^ 
 the dynasties of Central Hindustan, should not utterly 
 perish. 
 
 Appa Saib Bhonsla of Nagpore had from the first 
 acted in secret concert with the infatuated Peishwa, 
 and, like him, had attempted to escape from subsidiary 
 thraldom, by attempting to surprise the Residency, and, 
 failing that, to encounter superior discipline with 
 greater numbers in the field. But he, too, signally 
 failed, and was forced to seek refuge among the Sikha. 
 A grandson of Raghuji Bhonsla was elevated to the 
 Gudi, under the guardianship of his mother, Banka 
 Bai. The administration was virtually confided to the 
 Resident, Mr. Jenkins, by whom the resources of the 
 country were carefully developed) and its productive 
 capabilities much increased. The titular sovereignty 
 of the iState was respited during the minority of the 
 new Rajah, who was allowed to reign but not to govern. 
 In the words of Metcalfe, *' We took the government 
 completely into our own hands, and the country was 
 ma?iaged entirely by European officers posted, with 
 full powers, in the several districts. There was not 
 any Native administration, and the interference which 
 weexercised was nothing less than absolute undivided 
 government in the hands of the Resident/, ^ 
 
 Sir John Maloolm, who, in 1818, took over ruling 
 
 charge of the whole of Central India, narrates with 
 
 satisfaction the rapid progress to industrial recovery 
 
 that took place after the war. Scindia's regular troops 
 
 t Letters to Chief Secrgtary August H, 1826 ; Papeta and Corrc«* 
 
S66 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 reduced from 26,000 to 18,000 infantry, and Kid 
 irregular forces were almost laid aside. The revenue 
 rose 25 per cent., dilapidated villages were repeopled 
 1oy the return of the fugitives, who rejoiced in the 
 establishment of tranquillity. The recuperative 
 energies of Holkar's country bore still more abundant 
 fruit- Whole tracts had boon laid desolate by the 
 ravages of intestine broils, and the prolonged waste of 
 military service, while every social tie, save that of 
 allegiance to the head of the State, had been ruinously 
 weakened. But here also the excessive levies were 
 discarded, and peaceful production took the place of 
 mutual plunder. The people, weary of warfare 
 rejoiced in the resumption of peaceful pursuits. In- 
 stead of four lacs a year, the Treasury received sixteen 
 lacs as the year's revenue of 1820. Universally, the 
 evidences of a reaction from disorder and insecurity 
 displayed themselves: all of which proves, as far as it 
 goes, that the protecting influence of suzerain power is 
 not incompatible with material prosperity and popular 
 content, provided it is exercised forbearingly and 
 considerately, and that the natural feeling of self- 
 respect and of preference for customary laws and 
 usages, and for Native rule, whether elective in the 
 village or hereditary in the State, be not wantonly 
 wounded or uptorn. The question, nevertheless, 
 remains — how far does all this go ? Of nations as of 
 individuals, it has been written of old time, *^ Man 
 sliall not live by bread al<me '^ Malwa prospered, as 
 already noted, under Native rule, and was contented; 
 Malwa prospered under alien rule, and was discon- 
 tented. Safe roads, improving tillage, rising prices, 
 diminution of the percentages of crime, an increase in 
 the amount yearly netted for taxation, are undoubted 
 signs of fat ; and if the worth of a country, say to a 
 vendor or purchaser, is to be appraised according to 
 weight, fat tells for more than bone, and quiet is an 
 antecedent and a consequent of fat. All which in 
 policemanship is what is called highly satisfactory. 
 But these things being admitted, history will ask, 
 
THE PElSmVA. 267 
 
 What tlaen ? 
 
 Metcalfe, the British Resident, arrived in camp 
 from Delhi, to narrate th^e repeated efforts made by the 
 Mogal to indiioe the Grovernor-Grenerai to visit him. 
 He had been repeatedly assured that there was but 
 one difficulty — namely^ that no acknowledgment, 
 diroct or inferential, would be made of the dignity 
 ha claimed by inheritance as Suzerain of India, The 
 Act of 1813, renewing the Company^s charter, had 
 specifically declared the sovereignty of all possessions 
 held by the English in the East to be in the British 
 Crown, it would be inconsistent, therefore, as vvell 
 as impolitic, on the part of an English Viceroy to do 
 any" act that might be represented as acknowledg- 
 ing the ancient dynasty or doniinion. The eldest sou 
 of the titular lord of the East, Jehangir, was a young 
 man of spirit and energy, who might soon succeed his 
 father. He was known to be inimical to the existence 
 of Europern power, and he might one day take advan- 
 tage of any admission of his hereditary title, to call 
 the Mussulman Chiefs to arms. We should have 
 difficulty in making out a good case, thought Lord 
 Moira, consistently with our own theory ; and the 
 practical part of the business might be no less embar- 
 rassing. The hopes to which Shah Alum had for 
 ten years clung^ for ever passed away. His deliver- 
 ance from the Mahrattas had been one of the excuses 
 for the war of 1802; and that deliverance effected, he 
 dreamt that he was free. Provinces might have been 
 lost, and revenues lessened ; the name of Delhi might 
 have sunk in the estimation of the world, and the 
 pomp of its Imperial parade might be impaired ; but 
 the throne of Akbarandof Aurungzebe remained; and 
 he was its thirty-third occupant in the direct line of 
 Kings. Faithless lieutenants might have forgotten to 
 pay tribute ; Chiefs whom he or his fathers had enfiefed 
 might have abjured the ties of loyalty; but he was still 
 the acknowledged and visible lead of the Mussulmans 
 in Southern Asia; and in the fluctuations of revolt and 
 conquest^ a day of restitution might come, when his 
 
355 EMPIHE IX ASIA. 
 
 descend^tits woaJd reign again in splendoiit* and iri 
 power. He had been held in captivity by Patfans, 
 but Christans had delivered him ; at Ibast, they had 
 gone to battle saying they would. Was he to believe 
 theta false? Had not his father given them, at the 
 first, leave to live and trade in India ; then grant of 
 land and jurisdiction ; afterwards the colle«*'torate 
 of three trreat provinces, and the lordship of many 
 more ? Had they not made solemn treaties with him, 
 and dver until now recognised, with effusive protesta^ 
 tions, his Sovbreigil rank atid digniiiy ? Arid was riot 
 Mr. Seaton their aocredited Resident at his Court ? 
 How could he harbour a suspicion that ail this 
 was to go for nothing ? I'hey had Unlatched the 
 door of his gilded and jewelled cage ; but told him, at 
 first gently, thgn peremptorily, that he must 
 not come forth. Th^y woUld keep the door for him, 
 and see that neither G-oorkha nor Mahratta should 
 again vehture tiear. Why hot be content to eat and 
 drink, and smoke and do2i0, arid issue daily tnatidates 
 to a multitudinous train, ri.nd p**ay at eventide to- 
 wards Mecca, and teach his son the philsoophy of 
 fickle fortune? Rich farms and pleasUre-groUnds and 
 proves and gardens lay around the city, carefully 
 kept for his support in the seclusion of voluptuous 
 ease — -their produce and rental being expressly gua>- 
 ranteed by his English deliverers for the purpose. 
 They were once his allies : were they not so still? and 
 if so, why Would not the Governor-General, when not 
 a long way off, pay him a visit? None had ever 
 questioned his title, and he no longer questioned 
 Bhglish dominion wkereVer it had be^n gained by 
 the sword. Delhi had been the capital of the Empire; 
 the Ernpiie was gone, but Delhi remained; audit 
 took ten years to make the aged monarch under- 
 stand that m future it was to be simply his prison. 
 
 The Resident, a man of susceptibility and gentle- 
 ness, shrank from the performance of his duties as a 
 keeper. He thought he could not study too much the 
 £e©lingf5 of a Prince so situated } that the most obse- 
 
i 
 
 THE PEISHWA. 260 
 
 qiiions attentions did not compromise our dignity 
 a^d that by yielding in small things we could with a 
 better grace oppose his will when necessary. Mep- 
 caife thojxgl^t otljierwi^e. In Ijis view tji^ helpless 
 captive was but a **poor puppet/' whose illusions 
 it \y.as false kindness to prolong bj ^ show of dete- 
 rence that wqi.s wholly in^^incere. It served bijt to 
 keep 9;wajie i4eas in his mind '^ which ought to be 
 put to sleep foy* ever." When Metcalfe became Resi- 
 dent, he lost no Jirae in realising his theory of dis- 
 illusion, J'h© m^anagement of the lands round the city, 
 ^.nd the direction of the police within it, as well a§ 
 the adr4inistra,tio.n of local justice, were successively 
 assume^ ^s part of the functions whicji the dipjomatio 
 rjepresej^tatiye of JCngland, at wha,t was stiill called 
 €he Co.urt of Dejhi, hac} to pjerform. In due time co,m- 
 plaiDts arose of extrayagance and wa^te, and the 
 need of gj-e^tpr frugality iji keQpijig jip the pageant 
 of superseded roy^^lty. It took lojig to die ; and those 
 who witn.esseji its Jast agonies may h^aye been jfcepipted 
 to regre.t th^^J^i Metcalfe's suu^mary way gf (J^position. 
 and dethronement was not taken. 
 
 To meet the military expenditure which four- 
 ^uccessjv^ campaigns had entailpcj, the Governor- 
 General was obliged to raise mon.ey on any termg 
 that might b^ demanded froqj ja-n insolvent treasury. 
 He borrowed largely from the Vizier of Oude ; ancjl 
 when other securjities were not forjbhcoming, he sold 
 him the provinces reft from the Goorkhas,— the foolisli 
 Saadut Ali forgetting tliat he who gave for a valu- 
 able consideraton could take away without one. Pro- 
 vinces and their inhabitants were t;^eated as chattels 
 By this chivalrous statesman of the supeirfine Court 
 of the ^Q^Qucj ^ who, being a man of sentiment and 
 Eononr. and not as other men, rajght do, m short, 
 anything he pleaded. It pleased him to sanction a 
 near relative becoming a partner in the financial 
 house of W. Paimer & Co. at Hyderabad, whose us- 
 unous dealings with the Nizam were of a nature to 
 call forth the denunciation of the Court of Directors, 
 
S70 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 as being utterly regardless of the limits af decorum. 
 The newly-made Marquis defended Paliuer & Co. as 
 injured and insulted individuals; and challenged the 
 investigation of accouuts which had been framed 
 upon figure-proof principles. The friends of the 
 Viceroy relied upon his character as a man notoriously 
 indifferent as to money to shuw that he could not have 
 been in any way to blame in the shameful business at 
 Hyderabad. Had he not squandered his patrimony, 
 nobody knew how, and then offered to govern India 
 for the bene lit of his creditor? Could anything be 
 more gallant or unsordid? and was- he not now 'Vmost 
 noble V The Nizam, it is- true-, was simply fleeced by 
 a firm of whom the Viceroy's relative was one. But 
 no one could believe that the Marquis kne-^ anything 
 of the tranaaotions ; and the tendernesss of his domes- 
 tic affections forbade him to think evil of his kinsfolk. 
 So the Nizam was robbed; and Lord Hastings came 
 home ; and, — that was all. Lord Amherst, who suc- 
 ceeded to the government in 1823, was not a fine 
 gentleman of the George I V^. sohool, but was only 
 an honest man; and one of bis first acts, therefore^ 
 was U) lend the Nizam money to liquidate his debts 
 to Palmer & Co., which he did upon condition that the 
 Court of Hyderabad should have no more dealinga 
 with the firm, soon afterwards compelled thereby 
 to suspend their commercial enterprises-. The con- 
 queror of the Goorkhas and the Mahrattas reappea- 
 red in London society as badly off as ever, and 
 after having seized and occupied for a season the 
 throne of Tamerlane, he was glad to take the 
 Governorship of Malta as a sinecure penaion for hia 
 closing days. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 LOBDWILLIAM BENTINCK. 
 
 1824—1835. 
 
 ** The man who does most honour perhaps to Europe in Asia, is he who 
 governfl it. Lord NVilliam Benun(3k, on the throne ol the Great 
 Mopal, thinks and acts like a Penrifiylranian Quaker, Yon may easi- 
 ly imagine that there are people who talk of the disf^olntion of the 
 Empire, when they see the temporary ruler of Aeia riding- on horse- 
 back, plainly dressed, without escort, or on hi8 way to the country with 
 his umbrella under his arm. Like Washington, he mixed in scenee 
 of bloodshed and tumulc ; and like him, Lc preserved pure and un- 
 sullied that flower of homanify which the habits of a military life so 
 often withers. He has iasued from the ordeal of diplomacy with the 
 upright mind ftud the pimple and sincere language of a FrankliD, 
 convinced that there is no cleverness in appeariug worse than one 
 
 really is/' 
 
 — Jacqubmont.I 
 
 A War undertaken with inadequate preparations, to 
 reyengejome affronts offered by the Burmese, 
 
 lasted froni 1823 to 1826, and was terminated then by 
 a treaty j^ by which 'the" King of Ava ceded eleven 
 niaritime proyinces^afrd'paid a crore of rupees. In 
 England the war was highly unpopular, from the loss 
 of life and treasure it entailed, and the unprofitable 
 nature of the country soughfc to be partitioned. But 
 Lord Amherst was made an Ea,rl, millions were addejl 
 
 jbo^jfeheL consolidated debt, and the widows and orphans 
 of the bravo men who perished on the banks of the Ir- 
 rawadi became permanently chargeable on the gene- 
 
 j[al estate of the Company. 
 **lThe TrAveli of « French Qeatiem»Q in Indig/' toI. i. pp. 87, Sd. 
 
272 EMPIRE IX ASIA. 
 
 The apologists for the conquests of 1826 admit that 
 the provinces it was deemed advisable to exact ivoux 
 Ava were, at the time of of their cession, of little value; 
 and they particularly observe, that far from being 
 hailed as deliverers, **our advent was followed by the 
 disappearance of the whole of the population. ''^ 
 For many years districts lay wholly waste, contribut- 
 ing in no way to the cost of obtaining them. PartJy 
 to secure these doubtful gains, and partly to pay for 
 previous wars, loans amounting to £19,000,000 were 
 raised. Portions of these were employed in liqui- 
 dating smaller incumbrances, but a permaneut addi- 
 tion was n^ade to the financial charge for the year, of 
 over f 1,000,000 sterjing, in addition to two millions 
 ajid a half p^id in Engjand iu 1827-23, for vyhat were 
 termed territorial expense^. 
 
 Meanwhile, the weakening of garrjson^ every- 
 where througlput Central India, by the necessities of 
 the purmese vyar, created widely an impression that 
 all the resources of the Imperial Government were 
 taxed to carry on the contest. Disturbances broke out 
 in_ many places, which, not Without troubli^_._]gyero 
 repressed ; but the manifestation of gei^eral discojitent 
 OfLt/h^ part of both princes and people ** showed how 
 little sympathy united th^ subject and the sovereign, 
 and the satisfaction with vvhich the people were dis- 
 posed to contemplate the dQ.wjifall of their rulers." * 
 
 Mr. Canning's friendishp fpr Lord T^^^l^^^^J* ^^^ 
 his eloquent eulogy, when^ as President of the Board 
 of Control, hj9 had moved the thanks o*^ Parliament to 
 Lord ^asti^gs and the aruqiy which had vanquished th^ 
 Slahrattas and the Nepaule3e,have given colour to the 
 notion that he too thirsted for territorial extension in 
 Asia. His choice of a G-overnor-General in 1827 
 sufSciently confutes the error. Beset with difficulties 
 at Windsor and at \yestn}in8ter, he might well have 
 been tempted to use the greatest prize in the gift of 
 Administration to silence or propitiate some of hia 
 influential adversaries. He preferred to give India 
 1 Wiicoa's Bntiih India, vol in. chap r. 2 ibid. 
 
LORD WILLIAM BENTINGK. 273 
 
 security for peace, by nominating as its chief ruler, 
 the man of all others who was known to cherish a 
 deep repugnance to the policy of aggression, and who 
 had actually risked and lost high office there, by the 
 exceeding lenity he had shown to Native troops 
 bekiuiled by oversusceptibiiity on account of their 
 religion into mutiny at Vellore. The appointment of 
 Lord William Bentinck was imputed at the time. to 
 favouritism, on account of family connection. But 
 the sin of jobbing is the sin of seliishness : and had 
 self-interest swayed the mind of the Minister, he would 
 at least have hesitated long before bestowing the 
 greatest place under the Crown upon one from whose 
 disappointment he had nothing to fear, and by whose 
 advancement he could not hope to gain a single vote 
 on a division. Lord William Bentinck had not quitted 
 England when the Ministry was changed, and he 
 wrote at once offering to resign his new dignity. But 
 the Duke of Wellington, who knew the real worth of 
 the man, though differing widely from him in political 
 sentiments, frankly assured him of his confidence and 
 confirmed his appointment. The truth is that 
 throughout his long and varied career, the Duke had 
 but a very moderate appetite for conquest. We have 
 seen his early objections to the system in India and 
 we know how patriotically abstinent was his tone, 
 when the Kings of Christendom hung upon his words 
 and watched his every look, at the Conference of Pans 
 and the Congress of Vienna. We shall yet find him 
 giving other proof of the little store he set on terri- 
 torial dominion in Asia. 
 
 Lord Wiliam was the second son of the Duke of 
 Porland, who held in more than one Administration 
 the nominal rank of Premier. Bred a soldier, he had 
 witnessed the campaigns of Suwarrow in Italy, and he 
 subsequently held a command during the war in Spain. 
 As Governor of Madras, he differed with the military 
 authorities and was recalled. He subsequently liefd 
 command in Spam ^,nd Sicily, where his name was, 
 long remembered with affection and respect. LorcJ 
 
 18 
 
574 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 William went forth as Governor-General full of good 
 intentions, and with many advantages for their realisa- 
 tion which his predecessors had not enjoyed. The 
 circumstances of the time were favourable. India 
 was at peace. The Hindus were subdued, &nd the 
 Mussulmans bowed to fate. Bevond the frontier no 
 enemy stirred. No races, save the Sikhs and 
 Affghans, could be said to be formidable ; and there 
 was no indication that their rulers meant to deviate 
 from the policy they had long pursued. The new 
 Governor-General had leisure, therefore, to apply 
 himself uninterruptedly to the great business of peace- 
 ful improvement and adpiini strati ve reform. One 
 who served many yeras under him in India, has said, 
 ** He was nearer to the beau ideal of what a Governor- 
 General ought to be, than any man that ever tilled the 
 office. There have been several good, and several 
 great men in the same poaiti-jn ; but there has been 
 non3 like him. A paramount sense of duty to the 
 inhabitants of India, and of desire to do them good, 
 inspired all his words and i!.ctions.'^ This is high 
 praise ; but it is just. 
 
 One of the earliest provisions of Lord William 
 Bentinck, was that for the suppression o^^Sult^gj^ 
 Lordpornwallis and Lord WelTesTeyTia^ each desired 
 to abolish the practice, but had shrunk form the 
 popular resentment which might, it was feared, ensue. 
 After much careful inquiry, which elicited consider- 
 able difference of opinion among both Natives and 
 Europeans who were consulted as to the possible conse- 
 quences of such an interference with superstitious 
 usage, Lord William Bentinck, with the assent of the 
 Council, issued a Retrulation forbidding the immola- 
 tion, whether voluntary or otherwise, of Hindu 
 widows; and requiring the police to bring to justice 
 all accessaries in such acts of suic'de. In BengaU 
 where the cruel rite had chiefly prevailed, where were 
 murmurs for a time, and attempts at evasion ; but 
 little or nothing that could be called resistance. In 
 the other Fresideucies one aerious case occurred of 
 
LORD WILLIAM BENTINUK. 275^ 
 
 tlie rite being performed in defiance of the police. In 
 the Central and Northern Provinces, it had less 
 extensively prevailed, and its abolition there excited^ 
 therefore, no observable emotion. In. several of the 
 Native States the example was followed, anddecrees 
 were issued putting an end. to the inhuman 
 custom, The interference oi alien authority, was 
 ascribed by the people at large to its true mi^^tive, ajid 
 recoo-nised as being for once wholly disinterested. 
 Even his enemies, and they were not few, gave the 
 Viceroy credit for the cautious circumspection and 
 couraoe shown by him in effecting this salutary 
 change. Kindred in spirit, although wholly diffejenfe 
 in the subject of its operation, w^ jJReg^ula.tion'equv- 
 valent^to^law, made in 1832^ exempting, from> forfei* 
 ture tlm..property of Hindus abjuring theirrfaithV as 
 tfmXout of mind had been the case under the system 
 oTjurisprudenae founded on the enactment of Menu. 
 
 ' Witb regard to the condition of long, misgoverned 
 communities, it is someti ne.s forgotten that it is. not 
 so easy to do real or substantial good as those imagine 
 who ^have never had the opportunity to try. J^ord 
 William's upright and benevolent intentions were 
 not, indeed, wholly without, fruit. They formed, if it 
 were nothing else, a great and la-sting protest against 
 the policy Qt ceritralising absorption and. excessive 
 ex^^erijditjpLr^, They showed that the dignity and 
 influence of the Paramount power might be maintained 
 without new aggressions upon neighbouring. States o^ 
 further measures of absorption within confines of 
 our sovereignty. They proved that extravagance 
 mi^h^t b e cur b^ , and the expenditure and Income of 
 the Government nominally balanced, without any 
 worse effect than that of temporary anger among the 
 classes who thrive upon corrupt and lavish outlay. 
 They proved that justice might be done, in many 
 essential particulars, to the Natives, without wrong to 
 Europeans^ or hazard to the stability of oun empire. 
 They showed that, without preaching a crusade, pi 
 troubling the waters of iutolerance^ soma of the wors^ 
 
276 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 evils of heatheuisin might be lessened, and the protec- 
 tion of a humane and Christian-spirited law asserted 
 in the dark places of cruelty. They showed that a 
 man who despised the trappings and gauds of state, 
 and disdained fco de[end his acts by stifling public 
 criticistn, could win respect and love as well as his 
 more showy predecessors. 
 
 An insurrection at Mysore, in 1831, provoked bv 
 fiscal oppression, led the Government of Madras to 
 interpose : at first in the hope of reconciling the prince 
 and people, and when that failed, with a view to obtain 
 for the latter securities for enjoyment of their indus- 
 try, and the tranquility of the province The Rajah, 
 ill-advised and infirm of purpose, and who had at the 
 time no son, was reported to be unpopular and unde- 
 serving of trust. He was persuaded to relinquish the 
 performance of executive duties into the hands of a 
 species of Commission, over which the Resident 
 presided, a fifth of the net revenues of the State 
 being allotted for his civil list. But the sovereignty 
 of Mysore was in no way questioned under these ar- 
 rangements and all administrative functions, whether 
 judicial, military, or financial, were continued in 
 Native hands. Once, and once only, the Governor- 
 General was induced to deviate from his maxim of 
 non-interference with Native rule. Vira Rajendra 
 was the last of a long line of Princes who governed 
 Coorg They had been subdued by Hyder Ali, and 
 the contitry annexed to Mysore; but on its partition 
 the local governnient was restored by English help, 
 upon the usual terms of protection. Vira Rajendra 
 enjoyed an unenviable notoriety, on account of his 
 vices and hia crimes, which were ascribed to con- 
 firmed lunacy. Yet even in his case the Governor- 
 Qeneral showed great forbearance, after multiplied 
 * bause of offence ; making repeated offers which any 
 ^ Rational man in the position would have readily 
 accepted, and refusing to believe to the last that the 
 Rajah contemplated actual hostilities. The days 
 fufficed to overpower his effortslat resistance, and when 
 
LORD Wl L L I A M B ENflNCK. (277; 
 
 tbe capital was occupied without serious opposition, no 
 male survivor of the Rajah^s family was to bo found. 
 How Lord William Bencinck was persuaded to pass 
 by the claims of the female line, does not appear : but 
 it has been said in after years he regarded his 
 decision with regret, as tending to fortify the pre- 
 cedents in support of the dqctrine of ]apse._ Coor^ 
 waj^ aiug|ejc.ed by p roc lam ati on , an d the R aj ah Jiep t , a 
 state ^risqner_at^ Be nar^ The country has long sin eft 
 been reduced to the approved condition of dull and 
 stagnant quietude. The Collector and Judge of the- 
 district is an artilieryoificer, of good attainments and 
 intentions, but who, like his predecessors, lives apart, 
 only known by the people when discharging hia 
 public duty. One Nacive gentleman only holds the 
 commission of the peace ; and in matters of any 
 moment he does not interfere. A few enterprising 
 Englishmen make money of coffee plantations in the 
 hills, and when they are not content with decisions in 
 law or equity by the gallant Judge and Collector, they 
 appeal to the Supereme Court of Madras ; but the 
 Coorgis, when they are dissatisfied, have neither time, 
 confidence nor nroney enough to undertake a journey 
 of 600 miles in search of justice ; and nobody cares or 
 knows how they like their lot. 
 
 Lord W. Bentinck found the Government heavily 
 in debt, and frequentlv borrowiuif larj^ely to make up 
 yie s^um of its expenditure. He set resolutely about 
 the reduction of salaries, perquisites, and sinecures; 
 but his retrenchments made iittle impression upon 
 the Tnyeterate habits of waste and indebtedness. He 
 wasjncessantly abused for his efforts at economy by 
 ali^the jobbers of the civil and military establish- 
 ments. They would have had him go on borrowing 
 monejjj^ or adding to the taxation. He would do. 
 neither. He thought that, upon the whole, the pay 
 of the functionaries of Bengal was too high. They 
 shared amongst tl:em no less than ninety-seven lacs of 
 rupees, or nearly a million sterling. He reduced the > 
 total to ninety-one lacs, or somewhere about £900,000 
 
1378 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 a year, to be divided amongst 416 individuals; and 
 this he did by curtailing the luxuries of the indolent, 
 and cutting down the allowances of the overpaid. 
 After all those distressing reductions, he still left 
 each civilian, from the writer to the Member of Coun- 
 cil, on an average, the sum of £2,200 a year.^ These 
 changes earned for him theexecration of the lazy and 
 worthless in the service. The tone in which he was 
 spoken of by these much aggrieved characters is 
 illustrated by an anecdote that is told of a pomp- 
 loving old official, who was in the habit of having 
 carpets spread upon the ground whenever he alighted 
 from his equipage ; and who, though only a circuit 
 judge, moved about attended by a showily-appointed 
 retinue or guard. He was asked if he was not related to 
 Lady William. '^No,'^ he replied; '^unfortunately 
 to the brute himself*'' The Viceroy was obdurate. 
 He perserved ; and only abated the excess of 
 expenditure, which Government could ill afford, but 
 the sins of negligence, delay, and inefficiency in the 
 administration, which the country could afford still 
 less. His declaration at the outset was, that he had 
 come to see what serviee he could render to the people 
 of India, and that he was resolved to prove that he 
 was open to susrsrestion and remonstrance from men of 
 ell ranks and races, and to show that he would not 
 govern for the benefit of any particular class, or 
 submit to be a puppet in the hands of others. These 
 promises he faithfully redeemed. He spent some 
 months of every year in visiting various districts of 
 his vast vice-realm. Tie physical and social condition 
 of remote regions thus became known to him in a way 
 they could hardly have otherwise been. He invited, 
 moreover, and indeed, required, constant reports to be 
 wade to him confidentially, in addition to those for* 
 warded in due routine to Calcutta, and thereby 
 obtained acquaintance with personal and local circum- 
 stances frequently of great value in discriminating 
 between competitors for promotion in the public 
 
 1 Oalcutta B«»yi«vir« 
 
tORD WILLIAM BENTIJSrCK. S79^ 
 
 service, and in estimating correctly the worth of 
 official representations of all kinds. The labour of 
 all this, superadded to the duties he had ostensibly to 
 perforai, was necessarily very great; great also was 
 the odium it excited. Indolence, peculation,, and 
 incompetency of all sorts waxed wroth at the imgosi- 
 tion of a yoke of surveillance to which they had,not 
 been accustomed. Old^ and tried servants of the 
 Company coniplainedTthat they were subject for the 
 first time in their lives to a system which they were 
 pleased to term espionage, but which in reality had 
 nothing in common with that worst artifice of police. 
 The reception of complaints by the weak and timid 
 against men clothed with absolute authority, is simply 
 admission by these in supreme power as the only 
 means by which oppression and delinquency can often 
 be made known, and any species of redress secured. 
 Public complaint is, in a free country, easy and 
 Done other need be there resorted to. But in a country 
 governed arbitarily like Hindustan, where no single^ 
 tie of common feeling, or creed exists between 
 the disfranchised population and the dominant few, it 
 was the impulse of a truly good and generous mind to 
 open a door of appeal against hardship and oppres- 
 BJon direct and immediate to the centre and seat of 
 «.uthority. . 
 
 The great experiment about to be tried for thci 
 first time of a free press, was naturally viewed with the 
 utmost apprehension by most of the officials of the old 
 school. Lord William Bentinck did not deceive him- 
 self as to its effects. He believed that it would 
 increase indefinitely the perilous position of the Par- 
 amount Power. Metcalfe thought otherwise ; they 
 agreed that the time was at hand when the hazard 
 must be run. ** If increase of danger/' said Metcalfe, 
 '* be really to be apprehended from incease of know- 
 ledge, it is what we must cheerfully submit to. Wo 
 must not try to avert it ; and if we did we should fail. ** 
 Nevertheless, Lord William Bentinck left to his success 
 «or the responsibility and credit of liberating tha 
 
i^<r',\ 
 
 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 T>^ 
 
 Iridian pross. 
 
 Metcalfe freely owned in 1830, that -^ were he aaked 
 whether the increased happiness of our subjects was- 
 proportionate to the heavier expense of our estjablTsh- 
 fiaentj^he jilioald be obliged to answer according <o his 
 belief in the negative ; for we wereTEoreign conquerors, 
 against whom the antipathy of Native subjects 
 naturally prevailed. We held the country solely by 
 force, and by force alone could we maintain it. " ^ 
 Lord William Bentinck could not bring: himself to 
 realise the inevitabilioy of th^'s dismal and heart- 
 hardening creed. It was an honest grief to him to 
 think he was regarded as the greatesfc Jailor-Greneral 
 in the world. He longed to be respected and to b& 
 loved, and to make the name of his country loved and- 
 respected also. At least, he was determined to try. 
 The most important of his many administrative reforms 
 Was the practical admission j)J Natives to various 
 branches of the Civil Service. The system of Lord 
 Cornwallis had beea based upon their virtual exclusion 
 from every object of legitimate ambition and every 
 hope of reward; and the principle of administrative out- 
 lawry had been maintained inexorably by those who 
 succeded him. Lord William and his best advisers 
 in Council were resolved to remove it. Experience had 
 proved its impolicy ; it needed, in their minds, no 
 argument to demonstrate its injustice. One after 
 another, natives were placed in minor situations of 
 trust. The G-overnor-Greneral was too wise a man to 
 believe that such concessions could suddenly absorb 
 the deep discontent prevailing everywhere among the 
 subject population. Neither was he weak enough to 
 believe that where perfidy or treason lay at the heart 
 of an individual so trusted, the confidence reposed in 
 him would work a miraculous'change He calculated 
 upon many instances of politcal ingratitude, and was 
 prepared to hear of disafifection in the mass, after he 
 had done his best to disarm it. But he did not hesitate 
 to do the right thing therefore. He had a faith in event- 
 ' 1 Metcalfe, rol. iii p. 181, 
 
LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK^ S8t 
 
 tial good, and a sense of the duty those who bear rule 
 owe to those whom they govern that no miserable 
 fear of ill-reqaital could disturb. And in this far- 
 sighted view of policy, he clearly saw that through 
 the path of gradual enlistment of the intellectual 
 ability and ambition of the Natives in the permanent 
 service of their own land, lay our only reasonable 
 or definite prospect of retaining an ascendancy 
 therein. 
 
 His seren years' administration did not indeed 
 eradicate the greatest evils which he tried to 
 grapple, for that was beyond his power. He saw 
 the uupppularity of the central Government, 
 in a great degree by the pressure of excessive and 
 unec[ual taxation ; but he was not slow to cure it. 
 He discerned the unreliability of the Natiye army, 
 and left behind him a Minute, in which he sums up 
 its characteristics in these words, '^It is in my opinion 
 the most expensive and the least efficient army in 
 the world. " Whether he felt sanguine, at the close 
 of his career, that perseverance in a policy of peace- 
 ful and enlightened rule, would eventually reach 
 the popular heart, and that we might hope to become 
 trusted instead of feared in India, we know not, 
 but there can be no doubt that he strove anxiously 
 and patriotically to that end. He saw,as all the best 
 men about him saw, the British rule in Asia was a 
 stockade driven by sheer force into the ground, and 
 impregnable so long as the garrison that manned it 
 were numerous enough and loyal ; but that it had 
 no root in the convictions or feeling'of the community. 
 For the first time the amount of Anglo-Indian debt 
 was palpably and substantially diminished. Swollen 
 by the warlike adraininstration of his predecessor to 
 upwards of £30,000,000 sterling, it was reduced in 
 the seven years of his peaceful sway to £26,947,000; 
 and this was done notwithstanding the heavy blows 
 to productive industry and general commercial credit 
 inflicted by the failure of the great English capital- 
 ists of Calcutta, consequent, as was believed^ ^P??^, 
 
iSS EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 the sudden cpmposifcion, which they do not seem to 
 have anticipated, from the abolition of the Companj^ 
 monopoly in 1833, and the complete emancipation 
 of pxivate trade. The revenue remained very nearly 
 the same as it had been fifteen years before ; the 
 expenditure was reduced more than a million and 
 a half ; and thus at last, instead of a deficit, a surplus 
 appeared in the accounts of the India Exchequer. 
 
CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 Afghanistah. 
 1835—1841, 
 
 •• There ie TO expetliency in the coai^e which the Governor Getift* 
 ral haa pursued ; there is do joRt^ce in the policy he has purstied j 
 it is iu compltite dereliction of every ordinary rule of reason* 
 I have not obj 'cted to the publication of the SimU Proclam»tlon^ 
 but to the thing published ; my objection is not to the tnauner of 
 doing it, but to the thing done." 
 
 ^LoUD liBOUOHAM 1. 
 
 A S senior Membef of Council, SirC. Metcalfe acced* 
 
 *^ ed to the musnud of Port William, until the 
 pleasure of his superiors in England should be known* 
 Thoroughly informed on every subject of civil and 
 military administration, and animated by a noble 
 love of distinction, he could not deny himself the 
 enjoyment of signalising bis term of office, brief 
 though it might be, by an act of State likely to 
 preserve his memory in future years. Judging of 
 the man only from his despatches, saturated with 
 political despondency, and bitter with the belief that 
 European ascendaiicy could J)nly be maintained by 
 military source, no one would probably have surmised 
 what that measure would bo* It was the einan^i^a;:: 
 tion of the Press, in which he was vigorously sup- 
 ported 1)y ^i*; Macaulay, then Legal Member of 
 Council ; but for which they received the pointed 
 reproof of Leadenhall Street. The Directors desired 
 that Mountstuart Elphinstone should be placed at 
 the head of the Indian Executive. He declined, on 
 the ground of broken health. Lord Heytosbury was 
 named by Sir Robert Peel, and was actually on his 
 
 1 Debate on affaire In Afghauiitan, I9th March lS39-~Hiinj^rd» 
 vol. xivi o»] S€0, ^ 
 
284 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 way, when, in April 1835, the Whigs returned to 
 power, and recalled him. When questioned on the 
 subject ministers defended their right to place 
 in a position of so much importance, one in whose 
 political opinions and personal qualities they had 
 entire confidence. Lord Grenville had laid this down 
 as a constitutional maxim not admitting of dispute, 
 and Mr. Canning had always contended that, on each 
 occasion of a vacancy, a representative of the Crv»wn 
 bhould be sent out from England, thus visibly and 
 intelligibly asserting the unity of power throughout 
 the Empire. 
 
 No final decision was made until Lord W. Ben- 
 tinck's return to England, when, to the surprise of all, 
 except the few who were aware of the influence where- 
 by it was brought about, the public were informed of 
 the unfit and unfortunate choice of Lord Auckland. 
 Metcalfe was deeply mortified at being, as he said, 
 pronounced less fit than an inexperienced stranger 
 to fill the highest place in the profession to which 
 he had devoted undividedly his youth and prime, 
 But the ways of patronage are inscrutable ; and as 
 he knew nothing of the Western hemisphere, he 
 was sent first to Jamaica, and then to Canada, as 
 Governor. 
 
 A sense of uneasy languor lay heavily on Anglo- 
 India. The romance of adventure slept. Occasi(»nal- 
 ly H disputed succession in some Native State stirred 
 a feeling of curiosity among listless collectors and 
 dozing judges; or wakened hopes of something to do 
 in barrack or in camp. But the drowsy monotony 
 of unresisted domination was undisturbed. Conquest, 
 though fat, had not grown fastidious, but it had no- 
 thing fresh to eat, and the expedient had not yet been 
 suggested of grilling or boiling down the bones, Over 
 e\rery palisade it looked in vain for some hill tribe 
 coming to molest it. The Goorkhas were quiet, the 
 Sikhs affectianate, and the Burmese showed no dis- 
 position to budge. Was political invention dead; or 
 could no ingenious young man, in want of a career, 
 
AFGHANISTAN. 
 
 ""^Hh.^*" 
 
 discover a danger, or invent a foe capable of be- 
 ing made to look formidable? Alexander Burnes 
 did his best to find a new outlet for energy in 
 want of employment; but he would, probably, have 
 failed to rouse Lord Auckland from his poco-curan- 
 tist dream of office, had not politicians in England, 
 about this time, become haunted with .^ dread that 
 tjSe Czar Nicholas was bent upon aggrandisement at 
 our^expense in the Bast. Russian emissaries were 
 everywhere to be traced throughout the border 
 States of Central Asia. Persia was to_^be bribed 
 or driven into making encroachments on Scinde and 
 Candahar. MuBcovits intrigues were suspected 
 among the Afghans, and Ranjit Singh, though he 
 had never swerved from his alliance with us, was 
 nol to be trusted. The Indus had plainly been de- 
 signed by Providence as the natural frontier of 
 English Empire in Asia. How to get to it was 
 the only question. In the sultry and still noon-tide of 
 prevailing peace, it was so difficult to arouse people 
 to a sense of belligerent duty. Burnes had astutely 
 suggested that the matter should at first be put 
 mernly on commercial footing. A harmless race, 
 inspired about half-and-half with mercenary and mis- 
 sionary motives, ought not to be suspected of meaning 
 any mischief by asking that the navigation of the 
 Indus should be declared free from the sea to its 
 mountain source. There was something noble and 
 philanthropic in the demand. Suspicious and half- 
 civilised tribes might not appreciate the worth of the 
 disinterested idea; but thoy must be made to under- 
 stand it. Once a footing gained on any pretence, 
 all the rest was sure to follow. Russia was stealthily, 
 but steadily, advancing — or what was the same thing, 
 making her political minions or stipendiaries advance 
 — towards the Indus. We must cross the Indus and 
 get firmly posted on the farfcher side, to prevent her 
 reaching its shore. The siege of Herat, unwisely 
 undertaken by the Government of Persia, and pressed 
 for nearly a twelvemonth, threw a lurid light of reality 
 
[286 EMPIRE ly ASIA. 
 
 on these speculations. 
 
 In 1837, a mission to the Courtaof Hyderabad and 
 Cabul, professedly for comiaerciai objects only, for 
 the mtist part failed. Dost Mahoinmed, who then 
 ruled in Afghanistan, longed for Peshawar, which 
 had been ceded to Runjit Sing by Shah Sujah, then 
 aoposed and in exile. Burnes could not promise him. 
 help ; the envoy of Persia did. and to earn it he under- 
 took to assist in the reduction of Herat. About the 
 same time the English envoy, Mr. M/Neile, complained 
 of having been insulted at Tehran. Shah Sujah was 
 ready to promise any term** as the price of ass^istance 
 to regain his thron«, and Runjit Singh was ready to 
 enter into any compact that would secure him the 
 possession of Peshawar. Eortune had dealt the cards, 
 why hesitate to play them? On the 26ch June 1838^ 
 a triple alliance was signed at Lahore^^ whereby Lord 
 Auckland engaged to. _send a. Brrtist army into 
 Afghanistan, to replace his Majesty on the musnud of 
 his ancestors, to secure the Lion Chief of the Sikhs 
 the possession of certain territories named on the 
 right bank of the Indus, and to bind in everlasting 
 friend&hip the three Powers^ for mutual defence 
 against foreign intrigue and hostility. 
 
 Orders were forthwith^iven to prepare for war. 
 Loud was the cry of joy that rose on all sides, that the 
 letliargy of peace had been at length shaken off, and 
 that the spirit of conquest was about to assert 
 itself again. For, whatever illusions might be kept 
 up in England about the scope and purpose of the 
 movement, there was- no misapprehension in India. 
 In a proclamation issued, at Simla, on the 1st October 
 1838^ the G-overnor-Generel promised indeed^ that an. 
 Afghan army would with our auxiliary aid conduct 
 the legitimate King to the seat ofJi.is government at 
 Gabul, and that done, that the auxiliaries would be 
 withdrawn ; but nobody, either then or afterwards, 
 imagined that the raw levies assembled on the con- 
 fines of Scinde, would be ableto face the disciplined 
 troops of Dost Mahommed, or that the fugitive Shah, 
 
AFGHANISTAN, 387 
 
 In whose long*forgotten cause the Viceroy professed 
 to take 80 deep an interest, had a lao of rupess tc^ 
 spare them for food or pay. 
 
 The Simla Proclamauon was denounced in Parlia- 
 mejiL early in the session oflScJQ, by Lord^_ Jlberdeen, 
 Ellen borough, and Brougham. In its viRdication^ 
 papers were laid before both Houses, containing ex- 
 tracts from confidential despatches during 1837, froia 
 our diplomatic agents in the Ease, and especially froaa 
 Captain Barnes, tending to show that anotwprk of 
 Russian intrigue had been stealthily spread over all 
 tEeTcountriea of the Indus. Being pressed, upon the 
 point, Lord Melbourne admitted that explanations had 
 been sought through our Minister at St Peter3>burg, 
 and that the reply ^had been satisfactory.*'^ But 
 this explanation was not communicated to Parliament 
 along with the accusations of Russia^ and further tima 
 was thus permitted to elapse, during which tbe latter 
 might have an effect upon the public mind, while 
 tidings were awaited of the result of the campaign. 
 Meanwhile the corraspondence, thus presented piece- 
 meal, was transmitted to Calcutta, where the chief 
 informer against the Czar read wifch amazement infor- 
 mation aseribed to hTm which he had never given, bufe 
 which, Through some unexplained cause/ had been 
 pubhshed ag accurate. Bixraes told Lord Auckland 
 tjijt^t^e^meant publicly to correct these grave errors,, 
 but he was dissuaded by the representations of the 
 Viceroy, who argued that now his country was commit- 
 ted to a momentious course of policy, it would ba 
 held unpatriotic in a confidential servant to cast 
 doubt on its accuracy and good faith. Be could not 
 suppose that the misrepresentations had been inten- 
 tionalj and as all was well that ended well, he had much 
 better resume diplomatic functions in Afghanistan, 
 than worry himself and others about discrepancies of 
 statement that had become hisfcorical. At the moment 
 all looked bright with triumph, and Burnes felt that 
 his name would forever be associated with the notable 
 
 1 Debate Lords, itb Apdl 1 839 -Hansard, vol. xUi, col, 1305, 
 
988 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 chauges that had been brought about by a combina- 
 tion of diplomacy and arms; and he contented him- 
 self with roprinting privately the more important of 
 his original despatches, with the corrections needed, 
 for circulation among his friends at home. And this 
 is the way history is made. There were in those days 
 no electric means of collation, correction, or confuta- 
 tion ; and the people of England, without means 
 official or unofficial of understanding what the quarrel 
 was about, read only of conflicts worthy of their flag, 
 and listened to the guns iiring for victories gained, 
 and lay clown thankiully to sleep, unconscious of what 
 manner of deeds were doing in their name. 
 
 A large Sikh force joined the British army under 
 Sir Willoughby Cotton, at Ferozepore ; and, proceed- 
 ing through the Bolan pass, formed a junction with 
 the main army undar Sir ., John Keane at Quettah. 
 Thence they moved on Candahar, where they pro^ 
 claimed the restoration of the Afghan King early in 
 May 1839. The fortress of Ghuzni was attacked soon 
 afterwards, and taken; Dost Mahommed abandoned 
 the capital, and on the 7th August, Shah Sujah was 
 by British bayonets enthroned at Cabul. For months 
 a desultory resistance to his authority was maintained; 
 but after the battle of Purwan, Dost Mahommed, in a 
 fit of despondency, surrendered and was sent to 
 Calcutta, where he was treated with all the considera- 
 tion due to his rank and reputation. The submission 
 of the Afghans seemed to be complete. Sir John 
 Keane was elevated to the peerage, and Sir William 
 Macnaghten prepared to quit Cabul for B )mbay, of 
 which, as his reward, he had been appointed Governor. 
 A portion of the British troops left the coontry, but 
 5000 men under General Elphinstone ^e^<ailled, to 
 giye confidence, as was said, to the particans of the 
 restored regime; while a corps under Nott still occu- 
 pied Candahar, to insure the complete tranquillisation 
 of the country. Sir Alexander ]3urnes was about to 
 assume the duties of Resident in the outpost realm 
 which he had contributed so much to bring within the 
 
AFGHANISTAN. 289 
 
 ambit of the Parmount Power, when suddenly the ice 
 of submission gave way, and he, with nearly all the 
 best men of his race who had taken their stand on it, 
 sunk to rise no more. 
 
 Bitter resentments had been thickly sown through- 
 out Afghanistan during its two years' occupation, 
 liy^ the high-handed method of repression imported 
 from beyond the Indus. Conspiracies were formed, 
 discovered, and baffled; but only to be renewed again 
 and again. Ominous warnings were confidentially 
 given at head-quarters, by cool-headed observers of 
 the scene, and listeners to the whispered talk of the 
 people. But tke lessons of eighty years of unchec- 
 ked expansion were too deeply engraved on the minds 
 of men like those in charge ; and they could not bo 
 waked from their fatal security. To humour a whim of 
 their regal puppet, the Bala Hissar, a citadel of great 
 strength, was evacuated by the troops, and converted 
 into a zenana. Little, if any care seems to have been 
 taken to lay in stores on the approach of winter, or 
 to arm the forts in the neighbourhood, which might 
 have rendered the camp ordinarily safe from attack, 
 pn the 2d November, without any known provocation 
 or notice, the Residency of Sir A. Burnes was beset 
 by an armed mob, by whom, alter vain expostulationSj 
 he and his staff were slain. A detachment ordered 
 to occupy the quarter where the outrage had been 
 committed, was hemmed in for hours in narrow 
 streets, and after considerable loss was compelled to 
 fall back. Incapacity and irresolution paralysed 
 those in command. Maonaghten sent urgent appeals 
 for relief to Nott at Caadahar, and to Sale, who was 
 still at Jellalabad ; but some of his messages were 
 never received, and the answer of Sale, when at 
 length made acquainted with the exigency, was that 
 he had neither commissariat or ammunition sufficient 
 to justify his undertaking a winter march through a 
 hostile country. Six weeks were wasted in fruitless 
 negotiation. Food grew more scarce, and the seve- 
 rity of the weather more intense ; while every day the 
 
 19 
 
290 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 compassing hosts grew more numerous and menacing, 
 and the terms of accommodation demanded by their 
 Chiefs grew more humiliating to yield. The situation 
 had become desperate, when on the 23rd December 
 the Resident was beguiled into an interview by an 
 invitation from Akbar Khan — now at the head of the 
 insurgents— and on a signal given, seized and but- 
 chered in cold blood. No attempt was made to 
 avenge his death ; but some days later terms were 
 agreed to by which fourteen lacs of rupees were paid 
 as ransom, all the guns but six were surrendered, and 
 six officers were given as hostages for tiie immediate 
 retreat of the entire army from Afghanistan. Even 
 this failed to secure the immunity so dearly bought. 
 Hardly had the troops quited their cantonments, when 
 they were assailed by their implacable foes. On the 
 third day, Akbar Khan appeared to deprecate the 
 imputation of treachery, and to offer protection to the 
 families of the officers if they were given up to him; de- 
 claring inability to restrain the mountain clans through 
 the midst of whom the retreating corps had to pass, Ten 
 days later General Elphinstone, a few of his staff, and 
 the ladies thus surrendered, alone survived. Four 
 thousand troops, and eleven thousand camp followers, 
 perished in the futile effort to reach Jellalabad ; one 
 officer only gained that fortress to tell the miserable tale. 
 A disaster like this had never befallen the country- 
 men of Clive and Wellesley, and wherever the tidings 
 were made known they spread mortification and 
 dismay. Lord Auckland's term of office had already 
 expired, and he was but too glad to leave to other 
 hands the task of retrieving the results of his ill- 
 fated policy. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough was sent out as Viceroy, with 
 i^nsruotions from &ir Robert Peel to bring the Afghan 
 business to an end as quickly as was compatible with 
 honour; and, for the rest, to keep the peace towards 
 all our neighbours. The first news that greeted him 
 on his arrival was the repulse, with heavy loss, of 
 General Wild's division in an attempt to relieve Jella- 
 
AFGHANISTAN, 29i 
 
 l^bad. This defeat was followed by the surrender of 
 €rhuzni, and the repulse of General England while 
 endeavouring to succour Nott at Gandahar. Amid 
 great difficulties Lord Ellen borough acted with 
 energy and judgment. Fresh troaps were con^centrated 
 uiidexj^ollock and Nott. Akbar Khan was defeated 
 and^i i yen from Oabul, which, having been re-occupied 
 and dismantled, was finally abandoned. Shah Sujah 
 had perished early in the struggle* and the claims of 
 his dynasty were thought of do more. Dost^ahom- 
 med was set at liberty, and continued to reign _oxer 
 X!g h an is tan without molestation for more than twenty 
 vears7~ For all the blood and treasure wasted^and all 
 t he^ s BraTm e ' an d ' grief endured, the Grove rnmenc of 
 E3I£ha3r Nothing to- show but the gates of Somnath, 
 which Lord EUenborongh boasted that our troops had 
 reft from the tomb of Mahmud at Grhuzni, where they 
 had stood for eight hundred years, as a trophy of 
 Afghan spoil, but which it was afterwards discovered 
 were not, as he supposed, the doors which belonged ta 
 the Gruzerat shrine, but substitutes of modern work- 
 manship made of th.e pine wood in which Cabul 
 sibounda. 
 
 «*%. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE AMIB8 OF SCINDK- 
 
 1843—1844. 
 
 "I have all along" «iid, ftnd ever shall 6ay under all circain«»fanc<^8,ftix(i 
 in all societies aud f>lHce8 where I may hear it alluded to tuat tlits 
 case of toe Amirs is the most anprincipled and ditig^raceful thno bai 
 «ver stataped the aianals of our Kaj}jire in ludia. No reasonin<^ can, 
 in myoijinion, remove the foul etain it har4 left on our faith and hon- 
 our; and as I know more than any other man living of previous 
 events and meaHores connected with t'aat devoted country, ^ feel that 
 I have a full right to exercise my judgment and express my eenti- 
 mept on the subject. I cannot use too etroug languagd inexprensiug 
 way diHgust and eoxrow." 
 
 Sir Hbnrt Pottingkb 1 , 
 
 THE son of Runjit Singh feasted at Ferozepore the 
 troops as they withdrew withm the British con- 
 fines ; and amid mutual congratulations at peace res- 
 tored, eternal vows were offered that nothing now 
 should touch it further. Yet even then the sword was 
 but half returned to the scabbard. A feeling intense 
 and unrestrainable everywhere prevailed, that sunia- 
 thing must be done to efface the recollection of recent 
 ^•eyerses, and to restore, at any risk and at any price, 
 the prestige of irresistibility. Unavowedly prepara- 
 tions were already making for another conquest, to 
 compensate for that which had been missed. Spinde 
 and Cutch had been, in 1839, used without leave 
 as places of rendezvous for the armies of Sir W. 
 Cotton and SirJ. Keane. The military chiefs wh«> 
 under the title of Amirs, governed their secluded 
 countrv in a rude and jealous way, Ii.ad not disguised 
 their rdnctance to its being thus inade a base of 
 I liettet to M'jrain^ Caioai^b, SuU ^mu%ry 18H, 
 
THE AMIRS OF SOINDE. 393 
 
 operations against the Afghans; not from any lov<^ 
 for them, but irom instinctive fear of consequencen 
 from us. From those who dwelt in the councry pre- 
 vious to its invasion, we learn that the occupiers of 
 the soil, and those who lived by handicraft and 
 other kinds of peaceful industry, had no great 
 cause to complain of their ruJers. The Amirs led 
 their Beloochee followers in war, and administered 
 justice among their people during peace^ in a rough, 
 irresponsible fashion, not very different from that 
 which prevailed in most parts of Europe in feudal 
 times. It was the absolutism of chieftainry, but it 
 was absolutism tempered by a looking for sharp and 
 swift vengeance for personal wrong. The spirit of 
 equality, in the eye of the law, which has exercised 
 80 potent a spell over the minds of men wherever 
 Islamism prevails, allieviated the weight of arbitrary 
 power. It could not turn the edge of the sword when 
 upli fted in passion, but it often sent it half-drawn, 
 back to the scabbard, and often snapped, it in twain. 
 The daughter of a Kazi of Khairpur, when visiting 
 the Zenana, where she taught its inmates to read 
 the Koran, attracted by her beauty the notice of 
 Mohammed Khan Talpur, by whom she was se- 
 duced. Her father did not expostulate or plead, but 
 entering the xlmir's hall^ cut him down in the 
 midst of his retainers: and instead of being sac- 
 rificed for what he had done, he was protected 
 by the other Amirs, who judged the provocation 
 to have been intolerable, and the penalty no more 
 than fair. In the administration of justice they 
 **erred on the side of clemency.'* They were '*most 
 averse to the shedding of blood'' Over the hill tribes 
 they had no control : buttheir subjects generally were 
 contented, and ^^their condition might have borne ad- 
 vantageous comparison with that of the people of many 
 of oupown provinces/*^ The Hindus stood in somewhat 
 the same relation to the professors of the ruling faith 
 as Dissenters in England and Catholics in Ireland 
 1 Mr- E B. Eastwick, M P. Dry Leaves from Yoaog B^fypt p. 69. 
 
954 EMPIRE IN ASIA. ' 
 
 did with reference to the Home Government fifty 
 years ago. Plantations of sugar-cane, and rich fields 
 of grain, with , innumerable water-wheels, attested 
 the activity of labour and the sense of security. To 
 '^the honour of the Amirs it should also be remember- 
 ed, that to political fugitives, whencesoever they 
 came, they fearlessly afforded the rights of asylum, 
 which is more than can be said for certain Grovern- 
 ments of the West, lofty in their pretensions to regard 
 for the highest duties of civilisation. 
 
 Their mistrust of European intermeddling in their 
 affairs had early been shown. A factory, planted 
 at Tatta in 1775, had been abandoned in 1792; und 
 an attempt to re-establish it in 1799 proved un- 
 successful. In 1809, Lord Minto had with difficulty 
 induced the Amirs to make a general treaty of frieii'd- 
 shtp, by which they engaged not to have any politi- 
 cal or commercial dealings with the French. This 
 was followed in 1820 by another, opening up. in a 
 qualified manner, intercourse and trade. In 1831. 
 when Sir Alexander Burnes explored the countr}? 
 on the right bank of the Indus, a Syud whom he 
 encountered exclaimed, "Alas ! Scinde is now gonOj 
 since the English have seen the river which is the 
 high road to its conquest.''^ Next year Colonel 
 Pottinger concluded a_^ treaty of^ commerce, which 
 gave English merchants access to ports and inland 
 towns, but stipulated that they should not settle in 
 the country ; that having completed their business, 
 they should depart ; and that neither road nor river- 
 should be used for military purposes at any time. 
 There was also a supplementary convention regula- 
 ting tolls and duties, which were to be abated 
 if the British Government thought them too high. 
 In 1838, the Amirs admitted a permanent Resident 
 at their capital. After Tripartite treaty was signed 
 Lord Auckland volunteered to arbitrate between the 
 Amirs and Shah Sujah regarding arrears of tribute, 
 said to be due from Scinde as an ancient province 
 1 Tka Conquest of Scinde, by Geueral T. W« Napier part i p. iO. 
 
THE AMIRS OF SCINDE. S95 
 
 of Afghanistan. The Princes, who had never been 
 consulted as to whether they would accept such 
 arbitration, wholly denied the liability ; and when 
 pressed by Major Outram, produced a release in 
 full of all demands, in consideration of a large sum 
 paid in commutation to the ex-ruler of Cabul, Out-' 
 ram wrote to Calcutta, "How this is to be got over, 
 1 do not myseH s( e.^' The reply wae unhappily but 
 too characteristic: **The Governor-General was of 
 opinion that it is not incumbent on the British 
 Government to enter into any formal investigation 
 of the plea adduced by the Amirs. '^^ 
 
 One of the Chiefs was about the same time report- 
 ed^to be in correspondence with the Court of Teheran. 
 Thisjvas denounced as duplicity and treachery ; all 
 the rest were held responsible for Tiis acts whatever 
 they might have been, and the Resident was instruct- 
 ed to demand the admission of a subsidiary force, 
 and the engagement of the whole military strength 
 of Scinde in the invasion of Afghanistan. When 
 the armies had been collected at Shikarpore, a draft 
 treaty was presented to the Amirs, from which they 
 learned with amazement that the Governor-General 
 had directed a British force to be permanently kept 
 in cantonments at Tatta, and that its numbers should 
 from time to time be regulated by his pleasure. It 
 was further provided that they should pay a fixed 
 sumjor its maintenance. One of the Amirs drew 
 loi'th the previous treaties, and asked significatly, 
 *^ What is to become of all these? Prom the day 
 that we made the firsTof them there has always been 
 tsomething new. We are anxious to live in friend- 
 ship with you, but we cannot be thus continually 
 persecuted. We have given your troops a road 
 through our territories, and already you want them 
 to Femain.^^ But in the face of overwhelming odds, 
 tidey were unable to resist, and after many protests 
 and objurnations, they sucgumbed. It was stipulat- 
 ed by them, that when no longer needed for the 
 1 Thornton's Hittory of Brirish India, p. 589. 
 
IS9S UMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 immediate objects tben impending, the port of Kai*- 
 rachee should be evacuated and restored. Outram 
 consented, and forwarded the treaty, with this stipu- 
 lation, and also with one that the camp of the sub- 
 sidiary troops should be fixed at Tatta. Both stipu- 
 lations were struck out, as not intended to give 
 b*ack Kurrachee to its owners, and it might be neces- 
 sary to increase and remove the five thousand men. 
 Though naturally mortified by these successive exac- 
 tions, they took no hostile part against us in the 
 season of disaster, aud Outram reported that thero 
 was nothing dangerous to be apprehended from any 
 ill-humour they might display. But that they talked and 
 wrote as men civilised or uncivilised are wont to do 
 under a sense of wanton humiliation and wrong, we may 
 take for granted without proof, aud their doing so was 
 enough to draw down upon them the weight of vicere- 
 gal indignation. **ThiS,'' observes Sir William Napier, 
 the historian of the subsequent war in Sciude, and 
 eulogist of his brother's exploits there, **was the 
 first open encroachment on the independence of the 
 Amirs. It is impossible to mistake or to deny the 
 injustice. Was not this simply an impudent attempt 
 ^^..§teal away the country? The proposal to mediate 
 was not less immoral than subtle ; the object was 
 profit, covered with a sickening declamation about 
 friendship, justice and love of peace — all of which 
 recognised Scinde as an independent power/'^ 
 
 Lord Ellenborough, in October 1842, ordered Sir 
 Charles Napier to take the command in Scinde, ^here 
 he was to inquire and report whether any Amir or 
 Chief had evinced hostile designs against us during 
 late events, which might have induced him to doubt 
 the continuance of our power: ^*a8 it was the inten- 
 tion of the Grovernor-General to inflict upon the 
 treachery of such ally or friend a punishment so 
 signal as should effectually deter others from similar 
 conduct/'^ Qiitram's instructions peremptorily ro- 
 
 1 In de8patch, Liea tenant Eaetwick. 26th Janaary 1839, 
 * Conquest o£ Scinde, by General W. t\ Napier p. 113. 
 
TBE XMIRS OF SCINDE. 237 
 
 quired him fco lay before the Goaeral ** the several 
 acts whereby the Amirs or Chiefs mi^ht have beeraed 
 to have departed from the terms or spirit of their 
 engagement.*^ He was, therefore, obliged to enume- 
 rate any acts, uiore or less frivolous and inconsequen- 
 tial, into which two or three of them had been pr»«vok- 
 lid by the demeaiioUr adopted towards them, but 
 none of which, in his judgment as Political Resident 
 warranted a coaviction or aUy actual punishment.^ 
 He added bis testimony of the innocence of the 
 majority, and reminded the Government at Calcutta 
 of the collective fidelity to their engagements on the 
 most critical occasions. He remonstrated, moreover, 
 with Sir Charles Napier, who took a different view, 
 and urged tlie expediency and duty of a policy of 
 conciliation, aud the wisdom of showing the cliiefa 
 a more excellent way of government than their own, 
 by setting them a good administrative example. The 
 grounds of complaint consisted chiefly of tolls levied, 
 not upon the iSnglish, but iipon the natives, which 
 were said to have the constructive effect of 
 impeding trade. When the provisisons of the 
 treaty were pointed out to the Amirs, which 
 the levying of such duties was said to infringe, 
 they exclaimed that they had not understood this to 
 be the meaning of them, or they would not have sign- 
 ed them ; and the resident, when appealed to, owned 
 that he took the same view. But Napier, now inves- 
 ted with supreme command, over-ruled him, and 
 grimly warned the Chiefs that they must abate their 
 pride or prepare for day of wrath ; unless, indeed, 
 they would make a new treaty, and cede districts 
 aloncr the river in commutation of the three !acs they 
 nad bound themselves annually to qay. In any case, 
 a ceretain province was to be expropriated to reward 
 the fidelity of the Khan of Bhawalpore. Meer Roos- 
 tum, the oldest and wealthiest of the confederate 
 Princes, desired an interview with the General, but 
 it was refused. He had been at all times an unswer- 
 5 Gutram'fl Conquest of Scinde, pait I. p. 40. 
 
595 EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 Ying friend ; and though far advanced in years, 
 retained perfect intelligence and great personal influ- 
 ence. " Neither the venerable Prince, whose friend- 
 ly advances were uncourteously repelled, nor any of 
 his brethren had ever injured the hair of a head of 
 any British subject; but they had, in the hour of our 
 greatest need, placed their country and its resources 
 at our disposal. ^^ ^ They were now to have their 
 reward A new treaty was presented for signature 
 on the 6th December, which, besides these terms, 
 contained provisiuns that the Amirs should supply 
 fuel for English steamers navigating the Indus, 
 and in default, that it might be taken without leave 
 from the neighbouring woods : that money should no 
 longer be coined by the native Government, but 
 that of the Viceroy, and that the obverse should 
 bear the effigy of England's Queen. If these pro- 
 V'oking demands should fail in their intended effect, 
 the General wrote, he would forthwith take possession 
 of the provinces enumerated ; and; as if to shut out 
 the remaining possibility that his letter might not 
 be published by the Chiefs, a proclamation was 
 issued announcing that no new tax or existing 
 impost should be levied after the 1st day of the 
 year, then at hand, in the territories which were 
 to be alienated. Discussion was thus rendered a 
 mockery, when every semblance of regard for 
 the rights of negotiation was set at naught. Though 
 disapproving of the policy pursued, Outram felt 
 it to be his duty to dissuade the Amirs from 
 ineffectual resistance, and he actually induced se- 
 veral ol: them to affix their seals to the humilia- 
 ting treaty. When doing so they avowed that 
 their wild and turbulent followers would not easily 
 be reconciled to its conditions, and that it would 
 be impossible to hold them within bounds if the 
 English army continued to advance towards the 
 capital. If half the tales were true of domineer- 
 ing violence and ruthless lust, set forth invidi- 
 1 Outram'g Conpuesfc of Scinde, vol, i> p. 80. 
 
THE AMIRS OF SUlNDE. ^99 
 
 ously as illustrating the prevalent plight of the 
 people under their Native Chiefs, some sect or 
 section, minority or majority, of them would assu- 
 redly have showu gladness at their approaching 
 deliverance, if not love for their deliverers. But 
 no class or tribe affected to regard the invading 
 army with joy, to put any faith in the sincerity 
 of our professions, or to feel grateful for our inter- 
 ference. ^ The advance was not arrested, and the 
 Beloochee soldiery, believing that Outram was the ene- 
 my who had insidiously* beguiled their Chiefs into un- 
 worthy concessions, assailed the Residency, and com- 
 pelled him to seek refuge in the GeneraPs camp. The 
 victory of Meeanee, on the l7th February, virtully de- 
 cided the fate of the campaign* In the murderous com- 
 bat no quarter was given, and the havoc on both sides 
 was terrible. Many instances of heroism and of 
 prowess are recorded, and at nightfall six thousand 
 Belochees lay dead upon the plain. '*So heavy 
 were the retreating masses, so doggedly did they 
 move, without showing any sign of fear, that no 
 attempt was made at pursuit/*' 
 
 The hopes of the General, deferred through long 
 years of tantalisation, were fulfilled at last. At the 
 head of gallant troops, pitted fairly against a numer- 
 ous and well-appointed host, Napier had won a great 
 battle. The hankering for fame which made him 
 clutch with joy at Lord Hill's offer of command in 
 India, and which breathed through all his com- 
 munications with Lord Ellenborough, was satisfied. 
 And yet he would fain have won the goal with less 
 prodigal expenditure of blood. Before lying dov>n to 
 rest, he wandered forth through the midst of the dead 
 and involuntarily asked Heaven if he were respon- 
 sible for all this misery and ruin piled in ghastly 
 heaps around him. His conscience, as he tells us, 
 answered no. The compunctious visitings of mid- 
 night passed away, and he slept so soundly that it 
 was difHcult to wake him. But who shall tell how 
 I £»gtwick Dry Leaves. &c., p, 214. 
 
S()0 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 ofton doubts may have recurred tj the mind of on^ 
 who plainly enough had had it in his power to avert 
 the war, if not to mitigate its miseries ? it is but 
 justice to add, that when the struggle was over, no 
 man could labour more diligently and devotedly to 
 make civil reparation for the damage and detriment 
 he had wrought. And if security and quiet could 
 compoasate a country for having its eyes put otit, 
 or if gravelled walks and carpetings of police could 
 reconcile it to beinj/ forbidden never to ijet on horse- 
 back again, wo might believe that Soinde was content 
 at being nearly thiashed to death and then bathed 
 and fed and bade to slumber, How little the 
 Belochess thought of temporising with tlieir assai- 
 lants, is shown in two brief lines by the triumpliant 
 chronicler of tlie war. Bat three of the wounded were 
 found still living after Meeanee.^ 
 
 The next morning Napier sent to demand the sur- 
 render of the capital. When asked what terms he 
 would gi^Q, he replied, ^*Only life.^' Not long after- 
 wards six of the Amirs rode into camp and sur- 
 rendered. In the treasury of Hyderabad £^00,000, 
 besides a varied store of curious and precious booty, 
 was found, the whole of which passed into the hands 
 of the prize agents. In a few weeks Shere Mohammed 
 had re assembled an army of twenty-five thousand 
 men; but ho was attacked and defeated in a general 
 engagement near the capital, and no further resistance 
 or importance was made. Sheerpore aud Omercote sur- 
 rendered; Napier reported that the country was sub- 
 dued ; and its annexation having been formally 
 proclaimed, he was rewarded with the appointment 
 of Governor of Scinde. 
 
 Outrara returned to England, where his narrative of 
 events confirmed the impression on the minds of many 
 that the invasion had been unprovoked, that the 
 annexation was unwarrantable. Thanks were voted by 
 Parliament to the army, the Viceroy, and the General. 
 Many who knew India well, and who appreciated 
 1 Xh9 Couquett of Sciade, by General W, F. Napier, p, 390. 
 
THE A MIES OF SCINDE. 301 
 
 keenly the difficulties of the situation, lamented Lord 
 Ellen borough*s policy, notwithstanding the success 
 which apparently had crowned it. **Let it be remem- 
 bered that all our treaties with the Amirs were made 
 ajter their warmesti remonstran ces against the in ten d- 
 ed^ Eon our of treating at all ; that the mere circum- 
 Btauco of marching large bodies of troops through ai. 
 independent country contrary to the declared wish 
 of Its rulers, and cutting down timber, abolishing 
 imposts, garrisoping forts, buying up grain and beasts 
 of burthen therein, would be in Europe considered a 
 most flagrant breach of international law; and I 
 think enough will be remembered to show that t\\% 
 Scinde case is one 'that justice (sweeten it however 
 much you may) will lindtoo nauseous to swallow. ''^ 
 Such is the verdict of one who was resident in the 
 couiitry during the years 1839 and 1841, and whose 
 acquaintance with its language, and whose intimacy 
 with its people and their customs, enabled him 
 correctly to appreciate their character and conduct. 
 Mountstuart Elphinstone, writing to Sir Charles 
 Metcalfe, said, '^ Scinde was a sad scene of insolence 
 and oppression. Coming after Afghanistan, it put 
 one in mind of a bully who had been kicked in the 
 streets, and went home to beat his wife in revenge, '^^ 
 
 Elated with his successes on the banks of the 
 Indus, the Governor-Greneral, ere the close of the year, 
 sought fresh laurels in less arduous and unaccustomed 
 field, for five and twenty years the Mahratta princes 
 of_ Gwalior had scrupulously observed the terms of 
 the subsidiaryalliance with the British Government ; 
 nor was there now any breach alleged of its obliga- 
 nions. The death of the Maharajah had necessitated 
 the appointment of a Regent during the minority of 
 lis adoptive heir; but the internal administration o^ 
 Mama Sahib was thwarted by a court factioi., at whoi.:e 
 nominal head was the Maharanee or widow of tiie 
 deceased Prince. The unintelligible causes, details, 
 1 E. B. Eastwick Dry Leavei from Young Ejj^pk. p. 232. 
 
 ' Uth Maroh l^ii. Vide Kftje's Lircaof IndiaD 0£Eioerp,{). IB5. 
 
302^ EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 and consequences of these disputes, are not worth 
 recounting. The Resident endeavoured to interpose, 
 but with little effect, and at length a battalion of 
 native troops, when called on to overawe some distur- 
 bers of the peac«, refused to obey order; whereupon 
 Oijlonel Spiers required that the mutineers should be 
 punished, and offered to lend the aid of the subsidiary 
 troops for the purpose. The offer was declined by the 
 llegent, on the very reasonable ground that such 
 interference would inevitably awaken national sus- 
 piciona and jealousies that had long slumbered. He 
 undertook that discpline would be re.stored by other 
 methods; but in this he unfortunately failed, through 
 want of influence rather than inclination, and in the 
 attempt he was compelled to withdraw from the seat 
 of Government. One form of disorder followed 
 another, and British troops, collected at Agra and 
 elsewhere, were removed lowards the disturbed dis- 
 tricts. The Viceroy repaired to the headquarters of 
 Sir Hugh Gough, then Commander-in-Chief, and from 
 his camp issued a proclamation, which set forth that 
 the tranquility of neighbouring provinces was threat- 
 ened by the turbulence and disorder in the State of 
 (rwalior, and that he was about to interpose by arms 
 for their suppression and the re -establishment of the 
 authority of Scindia's Government. The Mahratta 
 chiefs besought him to forbear, alleging that the 
 disquietude would prove but temporary and pointing 
 to the uncontested fact that in no case had the evil 
 ever passed their confines. The army notwithstanding 
 received orders to advance, and when approaching 
 Mahrajpore, the General unexpectedly found himself 
 in presence of the main body of Sciudia's forces. On 
 the 29thL December was fought a sanguinary battle, in 
 which, though victcrious, the loss on the side of the 
 English was unusually severe. A new treaty dictated 
 by the Viceroy was then imposed, in which the sub- 
 sidiary force was increased, and certain districts 
 ceded for its suyport. The minority of the Prince 
 was to expire on his completing his eighteenth year, 
 
THE A MIRS OF BCINDE. 303 
 
 and in the interim the affairs of the Sta^te was to be 
 conducted by a Council of Regency, who not only in 
 all affairs of moment, but generally, were to act upon 
 the advice of the English Resident who should be ins- 
 tructed from time to time by the Governor-General. < 
 The Maharanee was to be consoled for the extinction g| 
 of her pretensions to any influence over the ad- m 
 ministration; by an annual allowance of three lacs. ^ 
 It^[s almost superfluous to note that for a period 
 of tea years the whole executive authority was by 
 these stipulations transferrsd from GwiiTioF to^'jQal- 
 cuttS7 It was a tentative step towards "annexation^ 
 anTTjut'^for events than unforeseen, it mighThave been 
 followed up to completion. 
 
 Lord Ellen borough's policy was so much disap- 
 proved by the Directors, that they resolved he 
 should be recalled* The act was warmly disapp- 
 roved by the Duke of Wellington, and the Board 
 appeased his dissatisfaction by immediately pro- 
 ceeding to nominate Lord Hardinge as Governor- 
 General. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 PUNJAB AKD PEQO. 
 
 1845—1852. 
 
 "Maiy believo thRt m reallj Christian empire would obtain world wide 
 HDvereiguty by the voluutary aad eager resort of all nations under th« 
 Hbaio^eOi ic«i w:njr8. \Vbetb«r by ench mems as these Great Britain 
 shall socornplisb the domiuioa of the East, reui<iiu8 to be seen ^Ve 
 hare not, 1 fear, uiaie an atispioioun l^egfioninif. Bat if we are to 
 gain no wore by virtue, let us not lose what we have by injustice. 
 Let Uii hansen to w'lpti owi the awful r«^bake p«9so.i by the natives 
 on their C3hri.stian couqnoroi-H, a^i they wer*^ Jed aWay into 
 oapfcivi;y,-Now4 we p^roeire that there is no hope for us of 
 judgmeut or justice until God Almighty shall sit in the Ust great 
 ^dftwlufc." 
 
 - LOED vSHAFTxSBUKT j. 
 
 WHEN Lord Hard icf© reached India the Sikha 
 were in cotnmotioa. The Maharajah had fallen 
 by t^^® hand of an assassin and his brother, but ten 
 vearS <^^^d> had been recognised as the lawful heir of 
 Rnnjit Sing. As a child, he was full of excellent 
 ])romise ; and the Sirdars, though divided by in- 
 ternecine enmities, agreed to rally in defence of 
 his endangered throne ; for, reckless and illiterate 
 though they were, they could not be unconscious 
 of the imminency of danger. The spectacle of 
 Aft^hanijitaa wantonly overrun, and only emanci- 
 pated by the stern pertinacity of resistance on the- 
 part of its people, and the yet more recent spec- 
 tacle of Scinde browbeaten, overborne, and at leng- 
 th reduced to unqualified vassalage, warned them of 
 what they had to expect so soon as their turn 
 1 Speech of Lord Ashley. Debate in tbe Hoa»€ of Commoufoa 
 the Amira ef Scinde, February 8, I8ii. 
 
PUNJAB AND PEG U. 305 
 
 sliould come. How could the most trusting, credulous. 
 or peaceful amongst them believe that they were safe? 
 4.1ready their subjugation had been publicly dis- 
 cussed in the British Parliament as a question only 
 of time. Within two years from the annexation of 
 Scinde, it had been openly foretold that the Country 
 of the Five Rivers would be ours. The forecast had 
 not been nttered by official lips, indeed, for such 
 candour would have been without precedent ; and 
 Sir Robert Peel, above all men, trod faithfully in the 
 way of Parliamentary usage. But the assertion made 
 by Mr. Roebuck^ was not repudiated; and whatever 
 inay have been the confidential counsel given by his 
 colleagues to Sir Henry Hardinge, it would be vain 
 to pretend that his approval, as a soldier of experi- 
 ence and repute, for the post of Governor-General, 
 was likely to tranquillise the misgivings of the Sikhs. 
 The new Viceroy would gladly have deferred the 
 apprehended collision, and those who knew him well 
 will probably contend, with excellent reason, that 
 he was of a nature too just and generous to incur 
 the terrible responsibilities of a sanguinary conflict 
 through any motive of military ambition or personal 
 vainglory. Like the great master of strategy he 
 had served so long, he had seen too much of the reali- ' 
 ties of war to wish to see any more of them. Had 
 there been any man among the Sikhs of ascendant 
 intellect and capacitj- for great affairs, he might 
 have led them to restrain their fears, consolidate 
 their resourceSj and wait for events; in which case, 
 it is by no means clear that they would have been 
 early molested or easily reduced. But it was not to 
 be so; and the first duty of Sir H. Hardinga was to 
 organise preparations to resist an irruption of the 
 fierce and well-armed Khalsa army. The Ranee and 
 her Minister Lall Singh could with difficulty con- 
 trol these restless bands, daily growing more dis^ 
 trustful, not without reason. Letters from the other 
 
 1 Debate on Lord Aehleys motion for liberation of the Amirs 
 
 of Scinde, February 1844. " ^ ■' ' 
 
 20 
 
306 EMPIRE I.V ASIA . 
 
 Bide of the Sufclej described, day after day, the gather* 
 iag of additional troops, and the strengthening of 
 garrisons.^ It was said that the next move in the 
 game of aggression would be to sweep the Rajah of 
 Bhawalpore and other weak powers off the board, 
 A province of partitioned Scinde had been given 
 him as the price of his aid ; but the uninterrupted 
 course of Anglo-Indian annals showed that what 
 Saib Company had given, Saib Company could take 
 away. The *^devil'8 brother^^ also was still in Scinde. 
 Had he not been thanked by Parliament for his 
 doings there ? and was he not believed to have said 
 that his troops were ready for more work? All 
 which did not, and could not justify indeed what 
 followed, though it too clearly explains and accounts 
 for it. Eighty thousand fighting men, attended by 
 a multitude of camp followers, assembled at the tomb 
 of Runjit Sin^h, where, according to the custom of 
 their race, passages suitable to the occasion were 
 read by the officiating Gooro or priest ; after which, a 
 sacrament of bread and wine, according to their rites 
 was publicly administered. Each chief, as he passed 
 touched the hem of the funeral canopy of the old 
 Lion of Lahore, and swore aloud fidelity in life and 
 death to the youthful Maharajah.'- On the 4th_ Decem- 
 ber 1845 they crossed the Sutlej, and we were at 
 war. Two days later Sir Henry Hardinge issued 
 a proclamation calling on the protected states to 
 assist him. An army of 35,000 men, comprising 
 several European regiments, were already assembled 
 at Meerut ; and from other quarters contingents were^ 
 ready to advance. In four general actions the Khalsa. 
 soldiery sustained their reputation for intrepid valour, 
 and were not finally discomfited at Sobroan until 
 they had inflicted fearful losses on their antagonists. 
 Golab Singh, who throughout the* campaign had 
 avoided taking active part with his countymen, 
 whose blind impetuosity he disapproved, met Sir 
 I Lord Dalhoa6ie,8 Administration, by Edwin Arnold* p. 43. 
 
 2lbid»vol.x.p. 44. 
 
PUNJAB AND PEG U, 307 
 
 Hugli Gough at Kussoor, and, in the character of an 
 envoy, ofEered terms of peace. 
 
 A treaty was made, wbi( h added to the Company's 
 territory the Jullundhur Doab, a fine tract of country 
 aituaoed between the rivers Be as and Sutlej, which 
 together with the Cis-Sutlej States, previously under 
 our protection, were now formally annexed. A war 
 fine of a million and a half sterling was exacted, bu,t 
 tlie Lahore treasury being nearly empty, Cashmere 
 was purchased back for two-thirds of this sum by 
 Golab Singh. It was also stipulated that a British 
 Resident should be accredited oo the Court of Lahore 
 and that a force of 10,000 of the Company's troops 
 s^oiild be maintained beyond the Sutlej, ostensibly 
 To "preserve order in the interest of the young Maha- 
 r^iijah, Dhuleep Sing. By the Articles agreed on 
 in a supplementary convention, the British Govern* 
 ment acknowledged the severalty, and guaranteed 
 the integrity, of the Sikh State, and undertook the 
 political guardianship of the Maharajah during his 
 minority. The engagement was to cease ''and ter- 
 minate on his Highness attaining the full age of 
 sixteen years, or on the 4th September 1854.^' Sir 
 H. Hardinge wished the stipulation respecting the 
 trusteeship thus assumed, regarding the existing 
 rights and future interests of the Prince, to be made 
 as public as possible ; fur he was a soldier and a 
 statesman, with a heart full of humanity, and an 
 understanding true to honour. ** It was determined/' 
 he wrote, ''in communication with the Sirdars, that 
 his Highness should come to my camp on this side 
 of the Beas, and I proposed afterwards, when the 
 agreement would be formally ratified, to pay his 
 Highness a friendly return visit at Lahore.'^ ^ In 
 the proclamation subsequently issued, the Governor 
 General said that he felt ^'interest of a father 
 in the education and guardianship of the young 
 Prince,*' and that *' he had at heart the peace and 
 security of the country, the firm establishment of the 
 
303 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 State, and the honour of the Maharajah and his 
 Minister/'^ During the period of Protectorate thus 
 detined^ the Queen^s representative in India was to 
 be empowered to occupy such outposts, and to keep 
 such a garrison in the capital as he might deem neces- 
 sary for securing the objects of the exceptional trust 
 thus assumed. The liesident was, for the time, to be 
 head of the Administration, and to preside o\*er a 
 Council of Regency, to wliom was to be delegated 
 9,11 domestic and local control. This arrant^ement 
 gave the British Minister at Lahore all the authority 
 that could be desired. What Sir H^ Hardinge meant 
 by the conditions he made, we know from his own 
 pen. Instructing the Resident how to act he admonish- 
 ed him that it would in all cases be *' politic to carry 
 the native council with him.'' He might change them 
 and appoint others, as they were .*'entirely under 
 his control and guidance ; and in military aiiairs 
 his power was as unlimited.^ Sir H. Hardinge had 
 sat in Cabinet where every Minister but one is re- 
 moveable at the pleasure of that one ; but he remem- 
 bered that such association, while it recognises pre- 
 eminent responsibility' in the head of the executive, 
 neither involves or implies a mute or base subser- 
 viency on the part of his consultative fellows. And 
 his own experience under the Duke of Wellington 
 and Sir Robert Peel taught him, that this combina- 
 tion of the elements of ministerial rule is not 
 onlv not unworthv or unwise, but is indeed one 
 of the best imaginable for securing the benefits of 
 stable and efficient government. After some month's 
 trial the experiment, far from proving chimerical, 
 seemed likely to succeed. The " Durbar gave th^ 
 Resident as much support as he could reasonbly 
 expect. There had been a quiet struggle for mastery ; 
 but though he was polite to all, he never allowed any- 
 thing wrong to pass unnoticed, and the ra embers of 
 Council were gradual!}^ falling into the proper train. ^'? 
 
 -; 1 Ibid., p. 53. 2 Ibid., p. 18 
 
 ^■> Lcllci to the Goveiiior-CrcvirJij-Augvisl 1S47. 
 
PUNJAB A ND PEG U. 
 
 It was in short, a fair and honest attempt to adjust 
 tho claims of suzerainty with those of local rule, not 
 indeed theoretically perfect ; not perhaps capable, 
 within less compass than that of a dissertation, of 
 being analysed completely, as analysis is employed by 
 political metaphysicians ; but something much better 
 • — a practical expedient, which every body who wanted 
 to understand it could understand, and by means of 
 which ic would have been possible to preserve the 
 self-respect, and to cultivate the confidence of a subor- 
 dinated State with all tte requisite guarantees of 
 security for the peace and strength of empire. Un- 
 happily there were those on both sides who would not 
 be satisfied with this j ^nd between them they succeed- 
 ed ere long in overturning it, thereby furnishing des- 
 potism with another pretence for saying that nothing 
 in India is possible, but the unquestioned sway of 
 central whim. The undisfcorted facts speak'otherwise. 
 Constitutionalism in every form is a lesson that has 
 never yet been learned without many blunderings and 
 breakings down ; nevertheless, it is better worth 
 learning thau'most other lessons of life. 
 
 Ranee Chunda, the widow of Runjit Singh, be- 
 longed to a class of which India has furnished some 
 notable examples, endowed with patriotism and an 
 indomitable will, superior to the reverses of 
 fortune. The young Maharajah showed indications 
 of teaching hostile to English domination, and 
 it was easy to divine the source. Soon after, the 
 disclosure of an alleged scheme to bring about a revolu- 
 tion was thought to^jutuj^ sufficient pretence for the 
 separation of mother and son,and the. detention of the 
 Ranee in the fortress of Shikap'oor. But though 
 stripped of political power and guarded with the 
 utmost caution, her spirit was not subdued, and, like 
 the captive of Fotheringay, she became the centre of 
 a thousand rash cabals and intrigues for her deliver- 
 ance. Notwithstanding these petty rufflings of the 
 stream, it seemed to flow on steadily and peacefully. 
 On the eve of quitting India, Lord Hardinge com* 
 
BIO EMPIRE IN AmA. 
 
 placently boasted of the *^ quiet ^^ which prevailed in 
 the Punjab, and he could write this with the more 
 confidence, because he had permanently posted 50,000 
 men and 60 guns in strategic positions in the valley of 
 the Sutlej, while the Sikh army, which four years 
 previously had numbered 85,000 men and 350 guns, 
 within two day^s march of the British frontier, was 
 reduced to 24,000 men and 50 guns, scattered in remote 
 detachments. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie was received in Calcutta with 
 congratulations by all classes. ** He arrives at a time/' 
 said one journal, ^* when the last obstacle to the com- 
 plete and final pacification of India has been removed, 
 when the only remaining army which could create 
 alarm has been dissolved, and when the peace of the 
 country rests on the firmest and most permanent basis. 
 The chiefs whose ambition or hostility have been the 
 source of disquietude to his predecessors have one and 
 all been disarmed. Not a shot is fired from 
 the Indus to Cape Comorin against our will.^'' In the 
 political atmosphere there was great calm ; but it was 
 not the calmness of content— it was the lull before the 
 storm, the silent accumlation of elements for a violent 
 effort to break the thrall of subjection in which the 
 defeat of Sobraon had bound the high-spirited Sikhs. 
 Ten thousand bayonets at Lahore, and thrice ten 
 thousand within call, might indeed pinion native 
 resentment against Feringhoe domination, and the 
 insults of its Moslem servants to Hindu caste and 
 creed ; but they could not extinguish it. Government 
 was still exercised in the name of the young Maha- 
 rajah, and the Sikh Council of Regency were the 
 visible exponents of authority to native eyes. Foreign 
 power was at least disgruised under the mask of native 
 forms, and the independence of native chieftain was 
 not openly threatened. Pecuniary exactions, which, 
 as we have seen, excited so much of the misfortunes of 
 Bengal in the Company's earlier days, and the avowed 
 intention to denude of his title and authority a popular 
 1 Fri€Rd of India, Janaar, 20, 1848. 
 
PUNJAB AND PEG U. Sll 
 
 t^iiiet, fanned the smouldering resbntment of the nation 
 mto a flame of open resistance. Moplraj,the governor 
 of the city and province of Mooltan, was indebted to 
 the Court of Lahore in eighteen lacs of rupees, the 
 reduced amount of a nuzzur he had agreed to pay on 
 his confirmation in the Nizamut in 1844. Payment 
 was demanded by the British Resident at Lahore, 
 acting on behalf of the Council, and the amount was 
 paid^ a further engagement being extorted from 
 Moolraj for a yearly payment of nineteen lacs. This 
 Bum he afterwards professed himself to be unable to 
 pay ; and failing to obtain any modification of the 
 demand, and unwilling to resist the authority of the 
 Durbar, he offered to resign if a suitable jaghire were 
 given him for bis future maintenance, and he were 
 given a receipt in ful] for all past claims. But 
 ** the Resident was firm almost to harshness.'^ Mool- 
 raj might resign if he liked, but no quittance or pen- 
 sion would be given him. On the contrary, ten years' 
 accounts were demanded **How can I produce my fath* 
 er^s papers?" said the brow beaten chief.** The ants 
 have eaten them; or if the ants have left any, they 
 are useless for your purpose.^' Theu, conscious that 
 he was in the power of those who were bent on his 
 downfall, he added, '*I am in your hands.'' This was 
 construed into a resignatioa of oflSce, and notice was 
 quickly given him that he was superseded in 
 command. 
 
 On the 14 April 1848, Sirdar Khan Singh^ the 
 new Governor, accompaied by Mr. Vans Agnew and 
 Lieutent Anderson, in the character of Political 
 Agent, arrived at Mooltan, and had an interview with 
 the deposed Dewan outside the fortress. On the Iv^th 
 formal possession of the place wpi-s given, the keyd 
 were handed over to Khan JSingh, and fresh sentrie* 
 tvere posted. As the party, Moolraj among them^ 
 were returning to theirencampment without the walls, 
 the first signs of a Sikh outbreak betrayed them* 
 selves, in an attack on the English officefS) who, 
 severely wounded, barely contrived to escape to their 
 
&?2 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 quarters. A message from Vans Agnevvto the native 
 chiefs in Mooltan, to obey the mandate of the Maha- 
 rajah, and accept the new ruler, only brought the 
 reply that ^^Hindu and Sikh, they were all sworn on 
 the Grrunth and Koran to obey Moolraj as their leader, 
 and to fight out his battle/' Tidings of the outbreak 
 were despatched to Lahore, as well as to other sta- 
 tions and the two Englishmen, with Khan Singh, who 
 remained faithful to his trust, prepared to defend 
 themselves till aid should arrive. But the contagion 
 of disaffection spread to their little escort of five 
 hundred men, and before evening they were left with 
 only their servants and half-a-dozen soldiers to repel 
 the assault, which was not long delayed. The mob, 
 fired with fanatical zeal, broke into the apartment 
 where the wounded English men lay, and despatching 
 both, carried their heads to the palace in Mooltan. 
 
 There is not a tittle, of evidence to connect Mool- 
 i'aj with the first assault, or the subsequent murder. 
 On the contrary, the written testimony of the insur- 
 gent chieftains after the sad events, distinctly excul- 
 pates him from a share in the conspiracy which had 
 been organised among the soldiory and priesthood. 
 His disposession enraged them, and the arrival of a 
 siiocessor, accompanied by, and known to be the 
 subservient nominee of, the hated Feringhee, drove 
 them to frenzy. The outbreak at Mooltan aroused 
 further suspicion at Lahore. The imprisond Ranee 
 and almost every Sirdar of the Court, Moolraj himself 
 excepted, were said to be engaged in a wide-spread 
 conspiracy. He indeed drifted into a position which 
 he would not willingly have chosen. It was emi- 
 nently unsafe to provoke native patriotism by any 
 formal proceedings against the Queen-mother ; she 
 was therefore suddenly and secretly spirited away 
 to the less dangerous precincts of Benares : but an 
 example was made of lesser delinquents, some of 
 whom were executed as rebels at the gate of Lahore- 
 In the few hours intervening between the assault 
 on the two Englishmen and their barbarous murderj^ 
 
PUNJAB AND FEG U. ^3 IS 
 
 they liad found means to despatch information to the 
 Resident at the capital, as well as to the detachment 
 at Fiitteh Khan on the Indus. The officer in com- 
 mand there, Lieutenant Bdwardes (afterwards Colonel 
 Sir Herbert Edwardes), at once marched to the relief 
 of his distressed countrymen, though too late to save 
 them. Compelled by the superior numbers of enemy 
 to maintain a defensive warfare for some time, he 
 held the Mooltanj,rmy at bay j and when joined by the 
 friendly forces of the Nawab of Bhawalpore,he defea- 
 ted Moolraj at Kineyru, and again at Suddeosain a 
 month after, forcing him to retire within the walls 
 of Mooltan. The brilliant genius and energy of this 
 young officer, indeed, saved the appearance of British 
 influence in the Punjab* The Resident had sent 
 earnest demands for aid to the Governor-General at 
 the outbreak of the revolt. He deemed it dangerous 
 to leave the Britsh community at Lahore at native 
 mercy by sending the Eurofjean troops at his disposal 
 to Mooltan and to send Sikh soldiers for that purpose 
 might only be to swell the ranks of the enemy. Assis- 
 tance from Bengal was therefore urgently requested. 
 If this insult were not punished, and speedily, we 
 might expect the Afgans to establish themselves on 
 the Indus ; the Cis-Sutlej tribes would not remain 
 quiet 5 and thousands of Sikbs would join Moolraj in 
 the Manjha, giving him out as the restorer of Khalsa 
 rule prophesied by their priests. Lord Gough, how- 
 ever, deemed it impossible to undertake operations 
 at that season of the year, and the Govenor-General 
 coinciding with his military coadjutor, refused to con- 
 sider events in the Punjab as immediately calling for 
 the movement of an army to the north-west* 
 
 Executions, banishments, and the open manifes- 
 ation of suspicion, only inflamed the passions of the 
 (discontented chiefs and soldiers, who saw in the dis- 
 regard of treaties, engagements, and native forms an 
 intention to subvert the Sikh dynasty and dominion. 
 The deportation of the Maharanee indeed decided tho 
 W8;vanng opi^igjia gf g^j^Q 9f thoffliost powerful cbiefa 
 
Bi4 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 and their followers. ** Greater indignation was felt 
 fBan shown when the Maharaiiee was taken from her 
 people and her child,"' and the manifesto of one of the 
 naalcontent chiefs ** is a frank and straightforward 
 state paper, as such thine^sgo.^' "It is known. ^' wrote 
 Shore Singh in this document, "to ail good Sikhs, in 
 fact, to all the world at large, with what oppression, 
 tyranny, and undue violence the Feringhees have 
 ffeated the widow of the great Maharajah Runjit 
 Singh, and what cruelty they have shown towards the 
 people of this country. In the first place, they have 
 Tbi*oken the treaty, by imprisoning and sending away 
 to Hindustan the Maharanee, the mother of her people. 
 Secondly, the race of Sikhs have suffered so much 
 from their tyranny, that our very religion has been 
 taken away from us. Thirdly, the kingdom has lost 
 its former repute. '' After the arbitrary deed was 
 done, the Resident himself acknowledged its mischie- 
 vous effects on the native mind in a despatch to 
 Calcutta, wherein is rei)orted the disturbance it caused 
 among the Khalsa soldiery at Rajah Singh^s camp, 
 and their declaration that, the Maharanee being gone, 
 and the young Maharajah in our hands, they had no 
 longer an induce nent to oppose Moolraj, and would 
 seize their officers and go over to him. Dost Mahom- 
 med, the friendly ruler of Cabul, also warned the 
 British Resident, Captain Abbott, that the Sikhs, were 
 *^daily becoming more and more discontented,*' and 
 he cited the treatment of the Maharanee as one of the 
 chief causes of that discontent. The Sikha were 
 strongly possessed with the love of home and country; 
 banishment was regarded as a worse punishment for 
 political offences than even death. '*Such treat- 
 ment,^' wrote the sovereign of Cabul, '' is considered 
 objectionable by all creeds, and both high and low 
 prefer death.'' This incident affords another illustra- 
 tion of that want of equity in matters of State dealing 
 with native powers, which is so often repeated in the 
 pages of Indian history. It is not to be doubted or 
 1 Ainold*g DaliioaBie'fi Admiiii«tration. 
 
PUNJAB AND PEG V. SIS 
 
 denied, that the widow of Runjit Singh was a steady 
 opponent of British power in the Punjab; but, carefully 
 guarded from collusion with more active plotters her 
 influence would have died out. "There was not a man 
 who would shoulder a musket at her bidding,'^ wrote 
 one who had the best opportunities of gauging native 
 inclinations at the time.^ *'Her memory survived, 
 for she was not a woman to be forgotten, '^ and the 
 unjudicial and injudicious act of the Resident stamped 
 that memory with the seal of martyrdom in the 
 national cause. Thoui^^h there was matter for grave 
 suspicion, the Resident himself acknowledged that 
 "legal proofs of the delinquency of the Maharanee 
 would not, perhaps, be obtainable^' but he considered 
 it was '^not a time for us to hesitate about doing what 
 might appear necessary to punish State offenders, and 
 to vindicate honour and position of the British 
 Government. '^2 'I'hat position, be it remarked, was, 
 by the treaties of Kussoor and Byrowal, one of joint 
 trusteeship with the native Sirdars. They had no 
 right or title to act in any other capacrty— Dhuleep 
 Singh being the acknowledged sovereign prince, 
 awaiting his majority. But the members of the Coun- 
 cilof Regency afhxed their names to the decree of 
 banishment, one of whom was a known personal 
 enemy of the Princess, the other two being separated 
 from her by differences of creed. A show of numeri- 
 cal support was sought by the signature of a council* 
 ler's brother, but the native draughtsman of the docu- 
 ment destroyed this flimsy disguise when he wrote the 
 preamble that it was issued *^according to the advice 
 of Sir Frederick Currie, and Fakir Nur-ud-din, '^ the 
 first being the Resident himself, and the last a 
 Mohammedan confidant That there would have been 
 considerable difficulty in obtaining **legal proofs" for 
 condemning the Maharanee in a proper investigation, 
 which she herself demanded, is clear from the fact 
 that when, at the Resident's order, her papers and 
 1 Lieutenaiit Edwardes, A Year on the Punjab Frontier 
 2 FaujahPapere, 1840. 
 
pl9 EMPIRE IN ASIAi 
 
 efi'ecta wore seized, nothing of a compromising natiirej 
 was found among them. True to the habit of con- 
 fiscating the property of those whom they first forced 
 to quarrel and then to fight, the invaders of the 
 Punjab stripped the deposed Princess of all her 
 jewels and valuables and her allowance, which 
 had been fixed by the treaty of Byrowal at 
 £15,000 a year, and on her imprisonment in 
 Shikapoor reduced to £48000, was now cut down 
 to £1200. 
 
 The feelings of resentment thus engendered were 
 further intensified by fresh arbitrary acts on the part 
 of the British political agents. The young Mahar- 
 rajah, Dhuleep Singh, was betrothed to the daughter 
 of Sirdar Chuttur Singh, Q-overnor of Hazara, and 
 sister of Rajah Shore Singh, the commander of the 
 Sikh royal army ; and it was agreed between the two 
 chiefs that the acquiescence or objection of the Prince's 
 guardians should bo regarded as a test of their 
 intentions with regard to the fubure. Formal applica- 
 tion was accordingly made to the Resident at Lahore 
 to fix a date for the marriage ceremony Major Ed- 
 wardes, who united keen diplomatic instinct with 
 military skill, supported the application by a letter, 
 in which he reported the tenor of a conversation with 
 Shere Singh on the subject; and added, *'there can 
 be no question that an opinion has gone very pre- 
 valently abroad, that the British meditate declaring 
 the Punjab forfeited by the recent troubles and 
 misconduct of the troops. It would, I think, 
 be a wise and timely measure to give such public 
 assurance of British good faith and intention to adhere 
 to the treaty as would be involved in authoritative 
 preparations for providing the young Maharajah with 
 a queen. It would, no doubt, settle men's minds 
 greatly/' The answer of Sir P. Currie was just of the 
 indefinite nature calculated to increase and not allay 
 suspicion. He professed to consult the members of the 
 Durbar, promised the desire of the British Grovernmenfc 
 [[ to prowQt© tho honour and happiness of the Maha- 
 
PUNJAB AND PEGU. 3 If 
 
 rajah, the bride, and ber family ;'' bnt fae added this 
 qualification, *' I do not see how the proceeding with 
 the ceremonies for the Maharajah^s nuptials can be 
 considered as indicative of any line of policy 
 which the Grovernment may consider it right to 
 pursue now, or at any future time, in respect to the 
 administration of the Punjab. '^ The mischievous 
 effect of this subtle rejoinder to a straightforward 
 request were increased by the conduct of the Resident 
 in the province of Hazara. Captain Abbott had the 
 unfortunate distinction of disagreeing with every 
 native of note with whom he came in contact, yet at 
 this critical juncture he was suffered to remain at his 
 post. Long before the events under consideration, Sir 
 Henry Lawrence had written of him, that he was ^^ too 
 apt to take gloomy views of things,'^ and that he had 
 " unwittingly done Dewan Jawla Sahaee injustice, '' 
 the chief referred to beicg, said the Resident, '^ a 
 respectable, as he is assuiedly an able man/^ On the 
 outbreak at Mooltan he imagined that Ghuttur Smgh 
 and other nobles wore leagued with Moolraj for the 
 extirpation of the English, and he became so offensive 
 in his conduct towards them as to call forth remon- 
 strances from his superior officer at Lahore. ^* The 
 palpable distrust with which Captain Abbott regards 
 Sirdar Chuttur Singh seems not unnaturally to have 
 estranged that chief from him. He looks upon Chut- 
 tur Sing as a sort of incarnation of treason ; and the 
 Sirdar has been led to believe that Captain Abbott is 
 bent on the annihilation of himself and the Khalsa 
 army on the first opportunity/^ The suspected chief 
 wag old and infirm, and his connection with the royal 
 family gave him a position in itself some guarantee 
 for his being circumspect, if not cordial. Another 
 British official had called him ^^a harmless old fool,'^ 
 Captain Abbott, however, refused all personal com- 
 munication with hirp, and took up his residence at 
 thirty-five miles' distance. A portion of the Chur- 
 Tunjeet regiment of horse having mutinied, the Resid- 
 ent charged their general, Chundah Singh, with whole- 
 
St8 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 sale conspiracy, and drew forth the rebuke from Sir 
 F. Carrie that such charges were '^without foundation/' 
 and that the Sikh commander ** had closely and scru- 
 pulously obeyed his orders/' in a despatch to the 
 Governor-General he also complains of the **ready 
 disposition of Captain Abbott to believe in cons- 
 piracies, treasons, and plots ; suspicion of everybody 
 far and near, even of his own servants, and a convic- 
 tion of the infalilibility of his own conclusions, which 
 was not shaken by finding, time after time, that they 
 were not verified."^ A small portion of the Pukli 
 brigade of troops, stationed near the residence of 
 Chuttur Singh, avowed an intention of joining the 
 malcontents at Mooltan ; but they were few in number, 
 were wholly unsupported by tbeir officers, who strove 
 to quell the mutiny, and there was nothing to sub- 
 stantiate the Idea that the Sirdar Governor approved 
 or encouraged the movement. Captain Abbott, however, 
 chose to regard it as formal participation in the revolt 
 at Mooltan, and appealing to fanatical instincts of men 
 of a different race and creed, he called out the Mo- 
 hammedan militia of the district in great numbers, 
 surrounded the town of Harripore, where Chuttur 
 Singh resided, and made such hostile demonstrations 
 as forced that chief to dispose his troops, m order to 
 repel the attack which seemed imminent. The com- 
 mandandant of artillery under the Sirdar, — an 
 American, — when ordered to move his battery with 
 the rest of the troops, refused to do so without 
 permission of Captain Abbott. A second command, 
 with an explanation that ^'Captain Abbott could 
 not know that the ^uns were in peril of seizure 
 by the armed population,^' failed to move the disobe- 
 dient officer. Two companies of Sikh infantry were 
 sent to enforce the Sirdar's commands; but Oanora 
 loaded his guns with grape in double charges, and 
 when the native havildars or sergents refused to 
 fire, he cut one of them down, and applied the match 
 himself. The gun missed fire, and Canora was shot 
 
 I Punjab Papers, p. 2S6^ 
 
PUNJAB AND PEGU. S19 
 
 down by the advancing files, not before he had pistol- 
 led two Sikh officers. That Canora met the due 
 punishment of insubordination, there can be no doubt 
 in the minds of impartial judges; yet Captain Abbott 
 wrote a highly-coloured account, charging Chuttur 
 Singh with *^an atrocious deed/^ in the *'determined" 
 and *'cold-blooded'^ murder'^ of Colonel Canora. The 
 Sirdar also sent a manly and consistent report of the 
 transaction, and the unprejudiced mind of our represen- 
 tative at Lahore accurately estimated the value of each. 
 Sharp, but just, was the remonstrance and reprimand 
 which he addressed to his impetuous subordinate. He 
 refuted the gratuitous assertion that Canora was^ 
 basely murdered, affirming that he justly fell a victim 
 to circumstances arising out of his disobedience of the 
 lawful commands of his superior officer, the Sirdar 
 Chuttur Singh. He deplored the injudicious excite- 
 ment of civil war in Hazara. ^*i have given you no 
 authority, ^^ he wrote, *'to raise levies, and organise 
 paid bands of soldiers, to meet an emergency of which 
 I have always been sceptical. I cannot approve of 
 your having abstained from communication with the 
 Sirdar on the state of his administration, for the purpose 
 of making t is silence or otherwise on the subject a test 
 whereby his guilt or innocence was to be determined by 
 you. You had already withdrawn your office from the seat 
 of Government, and had ceased all personal communi* 
 cation with him, and had told his Vakeel that you. 
 had no confidence in his master. It is not to be won- 
 dered at that under the circumstances, a weak, proud 
 chief should feel offended, and become sullen.^' ^ Nor 
 is this a solitary illustration of the demeanour of 
 »ubordinate officials. The correspondence of the time 
 teems with proofs that ithe unjustifiable misgivings 
 and domineering spirit of our agents goaded the Sikh 
 chieftains at last into an open breach. In the words 
 of Sir F Currie, *^ the initiatve was clearly taken 
 by Captain Abbott,'' and that initiative was not open- 
 ly repudiated at headquarters, but, on the contrary, 
 
 1 JPttnjab Papers, 1849, p, 41 «. 
 
S20 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 being threatened with sequestration of estate and 
 title, Chuttur Singh at last joined the ranks of hi^ 
 outraged and insulted countrymen. His son, Shore 
 Singh, had striven by every means in his power to 
 prove his own loyalty, and to preserve that of his 
 troops. He showed his father's letters to Major 
 Edwardes in the camp at Mooltan, discussed the 
 matter, says the latter, ^* with great good sense. ^^ and 
 defending his father^s resistance to Captain Abbott 
 as perfectly natural and excusable, said, *' No man 
 will allow himself to be killed without a struggle. ^■ 
 The same officer adds his testimony, ** that up to the 
 end of August, Rajah Shore Singh was still faithful- 
 and determined to go any lengths to check disloyalty 
 ill his raen.^^ Early in September, however, he recei- 
 ved letters from his father couched in terms of despair 
 at the treatment to which he was subjected; and 
 lie wrote to his brother, Golab Singh, ^t Lahore, on 
 the 14th, that he '^resolved yesterday to join the 
 Singh Saib (his father), and devote himself to the 
 caus^ of their religion.'' 
 
 Tha,t which at first was nothing but an emeute of 
 disatisfied soldiery, was thus by perverse policy 
 developed into a formidable outbreak. As late as 
 July it had been recorded that, ''the Sirdars were 
 heart and soul on our side," and evidence is over- 
 whelming as their energy and sincerity in resisting 
 the spread of military revolt. On the 18th August, 
 Major Edwardes was reinforced by a contingent of 
 British troops under (ieneral Whish, and the siege 
 of Mooltan was commenced. The defection of Shore 
 Singh in September left the besieging force too weak 
 for safety, and the siege was accordingly raised on 
 the 15th. The Rajah met with scant welcome in Mool- 
 tan. His previous fidelity to the Feringhees caused 
 him to be regarded with distrust and suspicion, which 
 a fictitious correspondence from the English camp 
 helped to increase ; and disgusted with the doubts 
 cast on him, he left Moolraj to join the army of hia 
 father, ChutturSingh. Reinforcements arrived from 
 
PUNJAB AND PEGU. 321 
 
 gombay in December, and the siege of Mooltan was 
 renewed on the 26th. The city was stormed and 
 captured on the 2nd January 1849, and siege opera- 
 tions were commenced against the fort, whither Mool* 
 raj had retired. After a gallant resistance he sur» 
 rendered uuconditionally on the 22d ; and begged 
 for instant execution by his conquerors rather than 
 exile from his country or banishment over the Dark 
 Sea. Partial engagements at Kamnuggur and Soodala- 
 pore, in which the British forces had suffered severely 
 showed that valour and skill were not alone on their 
 side. Shore Singh's army now amounted to 30,000, men 
 and 60 guns; Chuttur Singh was master of Peshawar, 
 Attock, and other places in the north, and was moving 
 to join his son ; and Lord Gough was requested to 
 *^sbrike a blow at the enemy with the least possible 
 delay. ^^ A drawn battle, which came very near be- 
 comiiig for us a defeat and rout, was fought at Chil- 
 lianwalla on the 18th January. The Sikh commander 
 eluding the vigilance of his foes, drew off his army 
 unmolested, and effected a junction with his father's 
 troops at Goojerat. Their united forces, 40,000 in 
 number, occupied there a strong position, protected by 
 60 guns; but Lord Gough, strengthened by the con- 
 tingeut under General Whish, just relieved from 
 Mooltan, gave battle on the 2 1st February with 
 25,000 men, and nearly 100 guns. From dawn to 
 noon a terrible artillery duel went on ; the superior 
 numbers and heavier metal of the British guns grad- 
 ually silencing and beating back those of the Sikh 
 army; the infantry carried the Sikh positions at the 
 point of the bayonet, and cavalry charges, in which 
 Lord Gough himself took part, conipleted the discom- 
 fiture and rout of the Khalsa troops. Goojerat retri- 
 eved the disaster of Chilianwalla, had practically 
 ended the S8>cond war. Flying columns were sent in 
 pursuit of the broken squadrons, and especially to 
 capture or extirpate a body of Afghan horse under 
 Dost Mohammed, which had left the battle field in- 
 ,cact, but which was driven ignominionsly through 
 
 21 
 
323 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 the Khybor Pass. On the 14th March, at Rawul Pin- 
 dee, Lord Gough received the submission of the Ra- 
 jahs Chuttur Singh and Shere Singh, who presented 
 ^' nuzzurs'' of fealty; thirty-five Lesser chiefs laid 
 down their swords, and their followers, passing through 
 lines of British infantry, piled their arms and armour 
 at the feet of the victors. 
 
 The submission of the army was speedily followed 
 by the despatch of instructions to the Resident at 
 Lahore, to inform the Council of Regency. It was- 
 Lordpalhousie's first opportunity to gra,sp at t»errij- 
 t<^i^A^^ be hastened to enjoy it by annexin^^ the Pun- 
 jab to the Queen's dominion a. A brigade was sent to 
 overawe any remonstrance or lesistance that might be 
 shown to the imperious edict, and Mr. Elliot, the Go- 
 vernor- GeneraPs secretary, was charged to represent 
 him at the Durbar. The time had arrived, it was said,, 
 when it was necessary to acquaint tlie Lahore Goveru- 
 ment with the determination formed regarding tha 
 future administration of the Punjab. If Durbar 
 acquiesced in that determination, the Resident was 
 authorised to grant the terms contained in an enclo- 
 sed paper, that on tbeir relinquishing at once and for 
 ever, on behalf the Maharajah, the title and so- 
 vereignty of the Punjab, he and they should be secui- 
 red in the enjoyment of an adequate state and income. 
 In case of tbeir refusal, fhe British Government would 
 take its own course, and they would receive no such 
 consideration. Six of tke eight S'irdars of the Coun- 
 cil had remained faithiul to the trea.ty and to their 
 trust all through the late outbreak. They well knew 
 that it had been at first but an isolated effort of reven- 
 ge on the part of a disbanded and disaffected sol- 
 diery, which prompt action in its earlier stagea^ 
 might have quelled ; but which the siipineness, sus- 
 picion, and wanton insolence of the British agents had 
 spread through the Khalsa army, and which had en- 
 tangled, much against their better judgement, two and 
 only two of the higher nofcles of the country. Na 
 wonder they told the Governor-Generars envoy that 
 
PZTNJA B ANT) PEG U. 32S 
 
 fchey were unconvinced of the right and justice of the 
 threatened proceeding, while they condemned the 
 ra!^hness of the war which had lent an excuse for it.. 
 Urgently and feelingly they pleaded against the ex- 
 patriation of the Maharajah and the royal Court. 
 "When they have quitted the palace and its res- 
 traints/^ said the Devvan I>eena Nath, thej will lead 
 licentious lives, and bring scandal on the mBmory of 
 Runjit Singh. '^ It was answered that h& wouJdi be 
 sent ta the Deccan, to which the Rajah Tej Singby re- 
 plied, '' He must not go there, God knows whether the 
 people there are Hindus or Mohamniedans. Lat him 
 go to Benares.^* It was finally promised that he 
 Srhould nat be sent far from the sacred Ganges; and 
 convinced that prayer and remonstrance' were now 
 alike useless, they reluctantly put their hands to the 
 deed of abdication. No time was lost in publicly 
 opening the new chapter in Indian history. On the 
 following day (29th March J849) the laat Durbar waa 
 held iu the palace of Lahore. 8ir Henry Lawrence, 
 who had reassumed the duties of resident, and Mr, 
 Elliot_, attended by a strong body of cavalry, were 
 met at the gate of the citadel, and escorted by the 
 young Maharajah and his suite to the hall of audienq^. 
 There, with a callous disregard to the feelings of the 
 Dewan Deena Nath, who made another effort to miti- 
 gate the harshness of the treatment of his sovereign, 
 eiting the treatment of France after the fall of Napo- 
 leon as a precedent for restoring the Punjab to native 
 rule, the boy Ptince was required to afSx his initials to 
 the conditions of abdication, and the ceremoney was 
 over. As the en TOY left the palace the Dnion Jack 
 was hoisted on the fort, and the thunder salute 
 of artillery announced that the country of the five 
 Rivers had passed under British rule. Natives as- 
 sembled in large numbers, and the farce of explain- 
 ing the object, of the meeting was gone through. A 
 narrative of Sikh and British relations since the death 
 of Runjit Singh from the British point of view was 
 recited in English, Persian, and Hindustani. Its in- 
 
EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 genious sophistries evoked no sign of anger or com? 
 ment from the stupefied and overawed Sikhs. 
 
 The fruit of illegitimate conquest thus forced tQ 
 ripening was plucked without delg,y. On the oOth 
 March a proclamation, dated froaa ferozepore, was 
 circulated throughout Anglo-India declaring tha 
 Punjab to be thenceforward a portion of the empirej 
 and on tbe 5th April the Governor-General ratified 
 the conditions of abdication which secured to Maha- 
 rajah Dhuloep Singh a yearly allowance of ^we lacs^ 
 and the courtesies due to a deposed sovereign. Acquisi- 
 tion did not stop, indeed, at title and territory. It 
 was stipulated that the splendid jewel known as tho 
 '* Koh-i-aoor," or Mountain of Light, the central gem 
 in the state turbans of the Khalsa rulers, should be 
 surrendered to the Queen of Great Britain, as a token 
 of submission. The history of this wonderful diamond 
 is remarkable and romantic First l^eard of in the 
 possession of Kama, King of Anga, invasion and 
 conquest made it successively the property of Moham- 
 medans, Hindus, Afghans, and JSikhs. Poison, bullet, 
 or steel, caj;)tivity or defQat, had been the fate o£ 
 most of its wearers, and native supersition ascribed 
 to it baneful influences which its associations went 
 far to justify. 
 
 The storv of this transaction, when limited to the 
 mere outlines of facts, or even when ingeniously co-^ 
 loured to give it a plausible excuse, must raise a doubt 
 in the minds of refiective readers. But it is only 
 after the perusal of official documents, despatches, and 
 private letters, the minutiae of intelligence and testi- 
 paony which form the connecting links between pro^ 
 minent incidents of history, that we are able accur- 
 ately to understand the true nature of such incidents, 
 and to judge the character and policy of the individu- 
 als who figured in the full story of the Punjab 
 annexation is only to be gathered from such sources.; 
 Measured by any known rule of public law the depo- 
 sition of Dhuleep Singh and the annex.^tion of hi« 
 country must be he Id to bo unjustifiable. As a minor h«r 
 
PUNJAB AND PEGU. B3S 
 
 was not personally accountable for political actions. 
 At the head of the Regencj? sat the British Resident, 
 who not for an hour during the insurrection was in- 
 terrupted in the discharge of his duty. No tumult 
 took place in the capital, and no proof, however faint, 
 was even trumped up of any general outbreak among 
 the people at large. The Ranee was a thousand miles 
 off in captivity at Benares, and G-olab Singh, the 
 most powerful and opulent of the Sikhs, was confes- 
 sedly unshaken in his devotion, Mooltan, the only 
 strong place which had shut its gates against British 
 troops, had been taken, and the crime committed by 
 its wretched mob exemplarily avenged. If the pro- 
 clamation for a time of martial law and the suspension 
 of ordinary rights, with the disbanding of the insur- 
 gent Khalsa corp, had been decreed until punish- 
 ment for acts of individual violence, and compen- 
 sation for public and private losses had been exacted, 
 rigorous justice would have been satisfied. Beyond 
 this, impartial history will say that all was mere 
 spoliation. 
 
 While Lord Dalhousie was laying out the Punjab 
 like a Scotch estate, on the most approved principles 
 of planting, road-making, culture, and general man- 
 agement, the chance of another conquest at the opposite 
 extremity of his vicekingdom summoned him to Cal- 
 cutta. The master of a trading barque from Chitta- 
 gong who was charged unjustly with cruelty to a 
 pilot, had been fined £100 by the authorities of 
 feangoon, and the captain of a brig had in like man- 
 har been amierced for alleged ill-treatment of his 
 crew. To support a claim for restitution, two Eng- 
 lish ships of war had been sent to the mouth of the 
 frrawadi. The Burmese Governor had been removed, 
 and his successor professed his willingness to treat. 
 B^ut misunderstandings arose on somo inexplicable 
 point of etiquette, which Commodore Lambert consi- 
 dered an opporl^unity '^that he with sword would ope.'^ 
 The English residents in the town were warned to 
 come on board the Hermes and the Proserpine without 
 
^36 SMPlRE IN AStA, 
 
 delay; whereupon at i midnight on the 6th January 
 he proceeded to seize the Yellow Ship, a royal yacht 
 which lay defenceless in the river. As might have 
 been expected, this breach of the peace without any 
 sort of notice prt)ved too much for the discretion of 
 the Burmese ; the guns from whose forts commenced 
 an attack in retaliation, which drew from the ships 
 a damaging fire of shot and shell. With an unprece- 
 dented economy of time and trouble in the discovery 
 or making of plausible pretexts, a second war with 
 Burraah was thus begun. 
 
 A long catalogue of affronts, wrongs, and injuries, 
 now for the first time poured in. When claims for 
 compensation are receivable on national account, 
 there are never wanting claimants. The subjects 
 of the **Grolden Poof must be taught the consequen- 
 ces of their presumption, and must be reminded of 
 their former lesson in the principles of civilisation. 
 They must make an official apology for their misbe- 
 haviour, pay ten lacs compensation, and receive a 
 permanent Resident at Rangoon If these demands 
 were not met within five weeks, further reparation 
 would be exacted otherwise, and as there was no fear 
 that they would, preparations were made for an expe- 
 dition, troops being ordered from Madras and Bombay. 
 The sepoys did not relish the notion of crossing the 
 dark water. They had been enlisted, they said, only 
 to serve on land, and when ordered to go on board 
 they stood fast, and could not be induced to move. 
 They were sent forthwith to Dacca to be decimated 
 by cholera, then raging there; and the other battali- 
 ons were quietly shipped to their destination. The 
 Governor-General threw himself with enthusiasm into 
 an undertaking which promised him anther chance of 
 gratifying, as his biographer says, his **passion for 
 imperial symmetry .^^ He resolved *Ho take in king- 
 doms wherever they made a gap in the red line run- 
 ing round his dominions or broke its internal, con- 
 tinuity.^^ ^ There was a gap in the ring-fence be- 
 l PuliuUbie's aduiiiiirsliftlion of Biitieh India, b} E. AriiO d, vul. ii. p, 12 
 
PUNJAB AND PEG U. S37 
 
 Iween Arracan and Moulmein, which Pegn would 
 fill. The logical inference was clear^ the duty of 
 appropriation obvious. Let us have Pegu, Ten 
 millions of silver happening just then to lie in the 
 coffers of Forfc William, how could they be better 
 invested than in a jungle on the sea coast, inhabited 
 by quadrupeds and bipeds after their various kinds, 
 alike unworthy of being consulted as to their future 
 destiny? More than countervailing damage had been 
 done; and the king's ship was held in pledge for 
 payment of compensation. Grievance, if any, lay the 
 other way; but what did fchat signify? Ahab would 
 have the vineyard ; so the expedition sailed. In 
 April, Martaban and Rangoon were taken with trifl- 
 ing loss. Operations being suspended during the 
 rainy season, the city of Prome was not attacked till 
 October; and after a few hours' struggle it fell, with 
 the loss of a single sepoy on the side of the victors. 
 There was in fact no serious danger to encounter, 
 save from the climate but that unfailing ally fought 
 with terrible effect upon the side of Ava. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie was not blind to the financial 
 consequences of this wonton and inglorious expedi- 
 tion. At the outset, he professed to regard further 
 possession in Burmah as "second only to calamity 
 in war,^^ and on learning that Prome had capitulated, 
 he confessed that the maintenance of 20,000 men at 
 such a distance, and in such a country, would soon 
 bring the Government of ilndia to **exhausted cash- 
 balances and re-opened loans'^ Wherefore, then, had 
 he sent forth an army under General Godwin, at a 
 huge expense and risk of life? or why, when venge- 
 ance had been stated for mere affronts, did be persist 
 in the annexation of Pegu? Will history accept his 
 answer to the question ? <*Let us fulfil our destiny, 
 which there, as else where, will have impelled us for- 
 ward in spite of our wishes.'^ ^ 
 
 Well might Richard Cobdian say of this empty and 
 thougHless make-believe of a reason for doing wha.t 
 1 rArliamentary I^iipers on BarmcBC Attairs, 1861, p. &3 
 
3^3 ilMPtRE IN ASIA . 
 
 credit for the sincerity of all this, what will be said 
 of its statesmanship ? I put aside the pretence of 
 •destiny, which is not to be tolerated as a plea 
 amongst Christians, however valid it may be in Mo 
 hammedan casuistry. But where lies the necessity for 
 annexing any part of Burmah, if it be not our interest 
 to do so? We are told that, if we do not seize a por- 
 
 ' tion of the enemy's territory, we shall be disparaged 
 in his eyes. In other words, unless the Government 
 of India, with three hundred thousand troops, and 
 
 ■ backed by the whole power of the British Empire, 
 pursues a policy injurious to its own interest, it will 
 suffer in the estimation of the Burmese/' ^ At first 
 the Lieutenant of the Queen demands restitution of 
 JB990, and an apology, from the Governor of a Burmese 
 town ; without giving time for fair discussion, he 
 raises the terms of his requisition to £100 000, and an 
 apology from the Burmese Court; and while a tem- 
 perate letter from the King, offering to negotiate, re- 
 mains unanswered, he hurls an invading force against 
 his realm, drops all mention of compensation or 
 apology, and seizes an extensve province, with 
 threats of further partition of his dominions if he will 
 not pay the expenses of the war, the world being ask- 
 ed the while to believe that all has been done unwill- 
 ingly, in self-defence. 
 
 On the 20fch December 1852, a proclamation was 
 issued, which, after reciting undieguisedly the in- 
 effably inadequate pretext for the war, informed 
 the inhabitants that the Governor in Council had 
 resolved that the maritime province of Pegu should 
 "Henceforth form a portion of the British territo- 
 fies^in the East, and warning the King of Ava, 
 ^* should he fail to renew his former relations of 
 friendship with the British Government, and seek 
 to dispute its quiet possession of the province, 
 the Governor-General would again put forth the 
 power he held, which would lead to the total sub- 
 i Ih Origin of the Burmese War," by Eichard Cobden, Esq., M P, p.69 
 
PUNJAB AND rmV. B2§ 
 
 version of the Barman State, and to the ruin and 
 exile of the King and his race.^' But no depth 
 of humiliation could bring the Sovereign or hia 
 Ministers to acknowledge the hopelessness of defeat 
 or the permanency of dismemberment. Envoys 
 came from Amarapoora offeirng to buy off the in- 
 vaders, by payment of all the expenses of the 
 war, if they wotild retire within the former land- 
 marks ; and subsequently Captain Phayre was sent 
 on an embassage tendering a treaty couched in 
 the threadbare phraseology of eternal friendship 
 ^nd peace, but it came to nothing. Twenty years 
 have passed, and no treaty recognising the alie- 
 nation of Pegu has yet been signed. Is there 
 a Statute of Limitations barring the execution 
 of predatory threats, or may the obduracy of Bur- 
 mah be one day set up as a pretence for its further 
 partition ? 
 
tHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ZULM. ^ 
 
 i849— 1853. 
 
 '*The Bafefcy of our rule in increased, nofc diminished, by the maihtehah- 
 ce of native chiefs Well affected to us. Should the day come when 
 India shall be threatened by an external enemy, or when the intereaf-a 
 t)f Etigland elsewhere may require that her feastern Empire shall in- 
 cur more thail oMin ity riBk> one "of otir best mainstays will be foutid 
 in theee Native Stues. But to make them so we must treat their 
 chiefs and influentinl families with consideration and '^euero.-ity , tea- 
 chingf them that, in spite of all snppi»?ion to the coiiirary, their inde- 
 pendence is saTe, that we arv^ not waiting^ for plausible opportunitios to 
 convert their country into Butish Icrritory." 
 
 — LOBD CAKNINQ. 2 
 
 The gilded frame of acquisitioh was complete ; it re- 
 mained only to point out the forms and hues, 
 vet uDobiiterated, which did not harmonise with 
 the general tone, colouring, and perspective or em- 
 pire. Two-thirds of Southern Asia owed our sway 
 and the rest iio lonp^er challehgf^d it. Many Mo- 
 hammedan and Hitidu Princes still exercised the 
 jjower of life and death, the right to levy local 
 taxation, to ^nrol battalions of militia, to hold 
 Durbars, to send Vakeels, and to enforce within 
 their ancient limits the respect due to their dy- 
 nastic dignity. But their territories lay like is- 
 lands compassed round on every side by the in* 
 croacliing Waters of foreign rule. In every direction 
 Iay_^itl rtiins the moles and outworks of native 
 principalities and chieftainries, which but yester- 
 day had been like their own. Of those that still 
 retained nominal independence, none any longer 
 1 Oppression, 2 Adopt ou MicutCi 30th April I860. 
 
WlM. SSI 
 
 struqreriei or, save in passing dreams, realised thd 
 possibility of secession from our Empire in Asia. 
 Some acknowledged unreservedly their allegiance to 
 the Suzerain whose sword had taken the place of the 
 sceptres of Mahratta and Mohamedan dorainiont 
 others murmuringly bowed to kismat, but questioned 
 no more the overruling authority of the Paramount 
 Power. With all of them its relatione were defined 
 in treaties actually subsisting; and in each of these 
 engagements one of the chief considerations named 
 was the recognitiojn of State severalty, and its per- 
 manent guarantee by the indefeasible inheritance 
 acknowledged in the family of the reigning prince. 
 On what principles the law of inheritance was based, 
 to what exceptions, if any, it was liable, and accor-* 
 ding to what rule contingent remamderships were 
 to be traced, was not set down in any of the pact^ 
 made in the name of England by successive Viceroys 
 with the chiefs or rulers of Asia. Has any one ever 
 heard of stipulations of the kind beino- embodied in 
 similar documents by any other Government in the 
 world, in any age ov clime? Treaties have through- 
 out all time been for the most part brief in language^ 
 general in the terms employed, and confessedly i^-' 
 tended, not as exhaustive anticipations of all im- 
 aginable contingencies, but as laying down broadly 
 and in simple forms of speech, the outlines of pear'fjf 
 and amity; upon the implied condition that the 
 application of these terms to any and every case that 
 might thereafter arise should be such as the common 
 understanding of both communities would admit, 
 or the judgment of an impartial arbiter declare* 
 Tested by this obvious rule of international rights 
 the guarantee of perpetual inheritance was undoubt- 
 edly intended, and undoubtedly understood, to imply 
 the devolution of title, dignity, and power to what- 
 ever heirs could from time to tim.e establish their 
 respective claims, — not acoording to the 1*jX loci of 
 the foreign and alien party to the compact, but 
 according to the lex logi of the State w.h ose autonomy 
 
*'^:i2 kMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 the treaty had been confessedly framed to assure. 
 Until the circumambiency of conquest was complete, 
 Bcarce the whis{)er of a doubt v\as ever overheard 
 as to the simple honesty of this rule. Tli® case of 
 Coorg bas indeed been sometimes relied on as fur* 
 liishing an early precedent for lapse to the Para- 
 mount Pviwer throuyfh want of male heirs. But it is 
 enough to say, thai no case resembling that of Coorg 
 either in point of fact or iti point of principle, has 
 arisen of recent years Those which of late have 
 engrossed unhappily the minds of men in India, have 
 each and all of them turned upon the right of success- 
 ion by collateral heirs, or heirs hy adoption. About the 
 traditional usages wbich recognised in native states 
 such claim to succession, there is hardly, atnong 
 unofficial men, standing room for doubt. The assump* 
 tion by Lord Dalhousie, in the case of Satara, that 
 notwithstanding the treaties of. 1818 and. 1819, the 
 Raj ha^' lapsed to the British Crown, because the 
 heir of Pratab Singh was not his son, was as blunt 
 and bald an act of usurpation as though it had been 
 made in the . form of asserting that he was not of 
 Pictishor Norman lineage. Time out of mind the 
 rights and duties of adoption have been as noto- 
 riously part and parcel of Hindu law and religion, 
 as the powers to dispose of fee simple at the plea- 
 sure of the owner has been part and parcel of our 
 own system of jurisprudence. The limitations as to 
 property and privilege varied in different states, and 
 Xvhen the Mussulmans began to interweave portion of 
 Hindu law and custom with their own, one of the most 
 prominent and important they appropriated was that 
 of adoption. So long as the Nawab or Maharajah 
 retained life and health, the hope of posterity remai- 
 ned and he seldom bequeathed by anticipation his 
 diadem, lest his grey hairs, like those of Lear, might 
 prematurely be discrowned. But when his end pal- 
 pably drew nigh, the childless prince was wont to 
 nominate his successor, whose first duty after the 
 decease was to perform his obsequies with pious care. 
 
ZULM. 333 
 
 If he were young, feeble, or depraved, a pretender 
 sometimes started, bid high, for popular support, and 
 offered to abide the arbitrament of battle. Have we 
 not heard of like questioning and conflict amongst 
 kings and feudatories in Christendom, where the title 
 by primogenitural right, could not be disputed ? But 
 revolution is the converse of law, not a part of it ; and 
 the Paramount Power which would rely on the si^ccess 
 of suppla,nters vietarmis^ must prepare for the crop 
 which proverbially springs from the teeth of the dra- 
 gon. Death, which is no respecter of longitudes, any 
 more than of conditions, sometimes stole upon the sick 
 man in his sleep, so that he woke not on the morrow 
 to fulfil his purpose of naming a successor ; and then 
 Muftis and 3rahmins held that the Kanee or Begum 
 should carry into effect the intention of the deceased, 
 which she was naturally presumed to be most likely 
 to know. Numberless instances are upon record 
 where this course was followed, for the most part 
 without cavil or controversy. A.Y2Lvioe> or ambition 
 occasionally brought an uncle or cousin to wrestle 
 with the adoptive heir. We too have heard of strugg- 
 les not dissimilar, of a disinherited Tudor superseding 
 and beheading the successor by adoption named by 
 the previous king, and of a Saxon monarch actually 
 in possession overthrown by a Norman devisee by 
 will. But cases like these were never held to alter 
 or settle the national law of inheritance. They were 
 appeals to the power of moral force or of physical 
 force, or of both combined ; the convulsion passed, the 
 legal current of the blood resumed its natural course; 
 and the form of the visage of property and order was 
 not perceptibly changed. Succession through the 
 female line, in default of male heirs, has been the pre- 
 valent law of Europe as well as of Hindustan for 
 centuries ; and the indefeasibility of pretensions 
 through the parenthetical exercise of female power to 
 lands, honours, privileges, principalities, and powers 
 has prevailed as widely near the rising of sun as 
 beneath his jsroins: down. 
 
EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 It pleased the Governor-General of India, not-witb- 
 standing, to be persuaded of the contrary; and beings 
 persuaded, to proceed, with as little moral trufch as 
 legal truth, to proclaim his right to interpret the 
 meaning of Hindu or Moslem heirship^ and to fabri- 
 cate a meaning as unknown to Menu, Mahomet, or 
 Akbar, as to Alfred^Ed ward III., Elizabeth, or Crom- 
 well, in one of his earlier despatches he expoanda^ 
 the policy he bad it in contemplation to pursue, of 
 appropriation on the plea of lapse to the Paramount 
 Power. ^' I take occasion of recording my strong and 
 deliberate opinion, that_in the exercise of a wise and 
 sound policy, the British Government is bound not to> 
 'put aside or neglect suoh rightful opportunities of 
 acquiring territory or revenue, as may from time to 
 time present themselves, whetber they arise- from the- 
 lapse of subordinate btates, by the failare of all heirs- 
 of every description whatsoever or from the failure 
 of heirs natural, where the succession can be su-stain-^ 
 ed only by the sanction of the Government being^ 
 given to the ceremony of adoption, acco^:ding to 
 Hindu law.'^ The first occasion fo>r applying this 
 gweepmg doctrine of confiscation presonted itself 
 in 1848 in the principality of Sattara. 
 
 When the Peishwa fell in 1818, a proclamation 
 was issued, in whirh it was declared that, as his us- 
 urping authority had ceased to exist, the legitimate 
 heir of Sivaji should be restored, " and placed at the 
 head of an independent sovereighty of such an extent 
 as might maintain the Rajah and his house; '^ and in 
 the treaty of 1819 Lord Hastings had, in words of wi- 
 dest meaning, recognised and guaranteed the Rajah of 
 iSattara to Pratab Singh, and his heirs and successors 
 for ever J whether heirs of the body, heirs by adoption 
 or heirs by will. The Persian words which signify 
 these different species of heirs were inscribed in the 
 counterpart held by the Mahratta chief. No question 
 was ever raised as to their authenticity ; but they 
 were rendered in the English version of the treaty by 
 simpler and more generic term?. For seventeen years 
 
ZULM. 335^ 
 
 the Maharajah had confessedly been among the 
 faith fnlest of feudatories. General Robertson and 
 General Briggs, who were successively Residents at? 
 liis court, uniformly testified to his worths, ability, and 
 rectitude : and in 1835 the B-oard of Diractors presen- 
 ted him with a j^ewelled sabre in aknowledgment of 
 his undeviating friendship and fidelity. Subsequently 
 a misunderstanding arose respecting certain jaghiros,. 
 to which his reversionary rights- were disputed by the- 
 Government of Bombay. Hurt by the neglect of his^ 
 representations, he offered to refer the question 
 unreservedly to Mouutstuart Elphinstone, by whose- 
 advice he had been freed from duress on th^ fall of 
 the Peishwa and restored Ho his ancient heritasre.. 
 This was refused ; further delays occurred, vexation 
 gave place to suspicion, and suspicion to resentment, 
 until at length his mind became possessed with the 
 idea, that having served a temporary purpose, he and 
 the severalty of his S^ate were to be brought to an 
 end. The vehemence of his objurgations piqued the 
 Government of Bombay into a temper of hostility, 
 and eventually into a course of proceeding which it is^ 
 impossible to justify. During three years he was the 
 object of secret inculption, and inquiries which drew^ 
 down the censure of the Court of Directors as being 
 ** a waste of time, and seriously detrimental to the 
 character of the Government/' They were, notwith- 
 standing, persisted in, and Pratab Singh asked in 
 vain for a capy of the charges made against him. 
 It was refused. He then waited alone on Sir James 
 Carnac, the Governor of the Presidency, and offered 
 to give himself up and remain in captivity, surren- 
 dering " the charge of his kindgera until his inno- 
 cence was established.*' But this was lihewise 
 declined. He was asked to sign a paper admitting 
 his dishonour, which he passionately spurned. A 
 lying story of his being in conspiracy with Scindia 
 and the Nizam was confuted by Metcalfe and Stuart 
 then reaident at their courts ; but mutual distrust had 
 become ineradicable, and his appointment of an agent 
 
336 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 to appeal for him in England, to the justice of the 
 .Company, or of Parliament, was treated as a proof 
 of duplicity. Finally he was seized at dead of nitrlit 
 in his palace, and borne away under escort to a dis- 
 tance from the happy and prosperous country he was 
 never to see again. What was to be done with the 
 vacant throne? Sir Robert Grant had been told by 
 those about hio^ that the ^'erection of Sattara into 
 a separate principality was a blunder, as it broke the 
 continuity of British territory/' and that *'the present 
 was an excellent opportunity for repairing the error.'' 
 Precedents were not wanting. ** The history of the 
 British connection with India recorded the names of 
 many chiefs and princes whom we began with advan- 
 cing to honour, or at least supporting with our pro- 
 tection, and ended with deporting^ destroying, depriv- 
 ing of a great part of their territories or reducing to 
 political ^annihilation. '^ But there were circums- 
 tances which rendered it just then inexpedient to 
 destroy or annihilate this interceptive state. People 
 would be apt to say that there was no overt act war- 
 ranting forfeiture, and many countervailing circumst- 
 ances. '*If we awarded the Rajah any punishment 
 which should be of material benefit to ourselves, the 
 
 story of his guilt would never be believed t 
 
 Persons would argue that, having made use of this 
 prince, and now considering his dominions a convenient 
 acquisition, we had readily adniitted or even suborned 
 calumnious accusation against him as an ex'*use for 
 the fulfilment Qf our rapacious purposes. Such WQuld 
 be their re presentation, and it would, I fear, be very 
 generally credited/'^ Lord Auckland was then 
 preparing the invasion of Afghanistan, and did not 
 think it expedient unnecessarily to multiply provoca- 
 tions in the Western Presidency. Instead of annex- 
 ing Sattara, therefore, he resolved to set up Appa 
 Saib, the brother of the deposed prince, in his room, 
 requiring him to renounce all claims to the disputed 
 ji^ghirs. When dying, Appa Saib nominated a youth 
 1 Minute in Couucil, by Sir K. Grant, 30 th January 1837. 
 
ZULM. 337 
 
 of his kindred, who in due course lighted his funeral 
 pyre, and took possession peaceably of his rank and sta* 
 tion. His only rival to the Grudi was the adopted son of 
 the deposed Pratab Singh, whose will, executed three 
 years before, now became known. He died in 1847 
 and thus the only reasonable competition was between 
 the two cousins by adoption. Mr. Frere, the English 
 Sesideht at Sattara, apprised Lord Dalhousie, that 
 among coUatereils there was **no one who would thinlj: 
 his claim sufficiently strong to be put in competition 
 with that of the adopted son of either the late Rajah 
 or his brother; because all other relations, who might 
 otherwise be claimants, believe both adoptions to b^ 
 regular. But there were many who might have asser- 
 ted their claim had no adoption taken place, and who 
 might possibly assert it should they he^rthat both ad- 
 options were invalidated, and any uf them, as far as he 
 could judge of the facts of the case before him, would, 
 were other competitors save the British Government 
 out of the field, be able to establish a very good 
 frima facie claim in any Court of Justice in India, to 
 be the Rajah's heir by blood, as against the British 
 Government in its character of heir to all who die 
 leaving no natural heirs of their own; which appeared 
 to him the only characters in which our Governmend 
 could, consistently with the treaty, lay claim to the 
 gattara State,'^ 
 
 To deny the universality of adoption as a practice 
 was as idle as to question the prevalence of Brahmini- 
 cal traditions ; and to dispute the duty of adoption 
 was to outrage the general sense of right and wrong 
 in one of its chief behests, xidoption, it should never 
 be forgotten, is not a means of merely supplying, in 
 some occasional instance, the lack of kindred, or of 
 inventing an heir-at-law where there is none by blood; 
 it is ordinarily a mode of choosing among many 
 relatives who shall stand in place of a son, not only 
 to inherit property, but to discharge sacred obliga- 
 tions, and to offer up those propitiatory prayers and 
 sacrifices for the departed soul, which none can offer 
 
 22 
 
338 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 but one who is duly clothed with a filial character ; 
 and without which, a long sojourn in the ^Gehenna of 
 the Hindu is believed to be inevitable. The upstart 
 claim of annexation by virtue of the doctrine jo^ 
 lapse was the most foolish and offensive form confisca- 
 tion could be made to assume ; inasmuch as it woun- 
 ded every moral and religious, as well as every social 
 and political, feeling. In the case of Sattara, it 
 casts a retrospective glare upon the pretended cori- 
 spiracj of 1837 and all the events of that time. What 
 made the annexation of Sattara recklessly unjust even 
 in European eyes, was the fact that Pratab Singh 
 whom Lord Hastings had made much ado about 
 restoring to his ancestral throne, was himself the heir 
 of Sivaji by the observance of the law of adoption. 
 Twice had the descent in the male line failed, and on 
 the second occasion it had been preserved so late as 
 1777 by resort to this natural, legal, and hitherto 
 undisputed expedient, Appa Saib was a wise ruler, 
 who laid out, it is said, eight per cent, of his income 
 on works of public utility, and there never was an 
 allegation of the country being misgoverned. But, in 
 truth, one sickens in the unavailing search for plau- 
 sible ground of justification, or of palliatives for 
 wrong, sa repugnant to every principle of public 
 equity or private right. 
 
 Throughout Malwa and Rajpootana the tiding* 
 spread dismay and hate. There was no mistaking 
 their import or th^ir scope. All landed property heldb 
 by tenure, analogous to our fee simple or fee tailj, was 
 in jeopardy. The decencies of consistency, legalitj, 
 expediency, were rent and torn. The Resident, Sir 
 John Low, a friend of Malcolm, reported that ^^the 
 confidence of the native States was shaken.'^ Colonel 
 MacpTierson wrote from Gwalior that Scindia and 
 other Hindu princes were thrown* into *'a state of 
 great anxiety on the subject of family succession/' 
 Sir Frederick Ourrie also placed on record his con- 
 viction, as a Member of the Council at Bengal, that 
 ^Hho decision in the Sattara case caused surprise 
 
ZULM. 339> 
 
 and alarm throagliout India/' He exposed the- 
 fallacy of those who argued against the right, because 
 it required re^^ognition by the Paramount Power. 
 This was equally true with respect to heirs natuiralvand 
 amounted to no more than the ordinary discre^tion of 
 investiture or confirmation, which, in some form* or 
 other, has always belonged to^ suzerainty, whether 
 temporal or eccles-iaaticaU But discretion to guard 
 against heedless choice,- or the imposition' @£ saih 
 incapable snccessor through corrupt artifice or death- 
 bed fraud, cannot warrant the indiscretion of a usurp- 
 ing power to destroy for the future the very relation 
 in virfcue of which it claims to act. Thi«, likewise, 
 was the opinion of Sir G. Clerk, who contended again 
 and again that adoption conveyed as clear an equit- 
 able right to recognition by the Suzerain as heirship 
 by birth.^^ 
 
 Sir Frederick Currie's views, ably and unbending- 
 ly expressed in Council,, were happily sustained by 
 Sir Henry Lawrence as successor to Sir John Low, 
 when, in 1852, the Governor-Greneral meditated the 
 application of his doctrine of lapse to the small State 
 of Kerowli. It was the first of the Rajpoot States 
 thus threatened, and there can be little doubt that had 
 one of them been sacrificed, a great fear would have- 
 fallen upon all of them, and implacable feelings 
 engendered of detestation proportionate to their dread- 
 Intelligence reached England,, moreover, of what was 
 impending, and the India Reform Association, led by 
 Mr Dickinson, succeeded in calling public attention 
 in time to its impolicy and iniquity. A motion by 
 the late Mr. Blaokett was threatened in the House of 
 Commons, and the Peelite Administration, careful of 
 the repute of one oi the chief personages of their 
 party, bade the Vioeray hold his hand. 
 
 Thus Kerowli was reprieved, and after a period of 
 
 1 See the authorltiee and arguments on the subjeofc, carefully 
 eollected and lucidly arranged in ** Thoughts on the Policy of the 
 Crown." by J. M, Ludlow; and in ^'Retrospects and FroapectB of 
 indiaa Policy by M^jor Eyana Eeil. 
 
840 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 uncertainty, prolonged through many months, adop- 
 tion was recognised in favour of Madden Pal, by 
 wliorn the little State has been ever since quietly 
 governed. Whether ovoing to the intercession of Sir 
 Henry Lawrence or Sir Frederick Currie, the danger 
 was for the time averted; but who should say what 
 might happen they were gone? Thg shock given to 
 the Mahratta Princes, great as well as small, was not 
 easily forgotten. **'rhere were childless men among 
 them, and from that time a restless, uneasy feeling 
 took possession of them, and no man felt sure that his 
 house would not perish with hiiji/'^ 
 
 The rasidue of what wa^ onoe the powerful State 
 of Berar, had since its partition iji 1805 been left to 
 the famUy of Bhonsla. In 1818, the Maharajah had 
 beeii deposed and banished, and in his room the next 
 of kin to the fornier Sovereign was chosen by the 
 chiefs and nobles to take his place, which he did with 
 the full sanction and approval of the British Govern- 
 ment. There was no dispute regarding the inheritance. 
 Sir Richard Jenkins, who was Resident at his court, 
 and who thoroughly possessed the confidence of hia 
 Government, at the time spoke of the ^^restoration of 
 the State of Nagpore to its rank, as one of the sub- 
 stantive powers of India-'^ i^ ^^g she^r trifling 
 therefore to pretend that the Governn'ient had been 
 set up by ^lien power, might be superseded, when 
 occasion served, by the like authority. Upon his 
 demise in 1854, the Rajah being childless, the natural 
 wish of his family arid chief adherents was expressed 
 through the Resident at Nagpore, that his successor 
 by adoption might be duly recognised by the Supreme 
 Power. Mr Mansel in no doubtful terms enforced the 
 fitness of the claim. It was the bitter cry on all sides ho 
 observed, that our rule exhibited ho sympathy for the 
 natives of rank, and not even for other classes ; that 
 the improvement of the native princes was in our own 
 power ; and that whatever sins ol mismanagement 
 were charageable on the past Government of the 
 1 Arnjld vul ii, 2 Hell Retrospects and proFjpec^^ p. 29. 
 
ZULM^ 341 
 
 PrinoipxT.lity, fche blamo was at least partly due to 
 ^vant of (jare and solicitude on the part of the repre- 
 seatatives of the sazeraiu.' The Viceroy and his 
 Council treated such suggestions with disdain. Mr. 
 MansePs functions as Resident were at an end, and 
 his advice was no longer wanted. Measures wete 
 taken to cut down pensions to the Raneies, aud minutea 
 were_racorded of the value of the jewels, no more to. 
 Fe accoiTnted heirlooms in a family about_ tQ^. be 
 strT|)ped^ofT(yyal r^ fortune. Jeswunt Ahee 
 
 Rao publicy performed the obsequies of the deceased 
 prince, and, attended by the nobles and officers of 
 the household was installed in the palace of the 
 Maharajats of Nagpore without the semblance of con- 
 tention. Suddenly in October it was surrounded by 
 British troops — the regalia and caskets containing 
 gems valued at £1,000,000 sterling were seized and,, 
 subsequently put up to sale by auction in the Vice-, 
 roy^s name ; the princesses and their retinue werq 
 treated as prisoners of State, and interdicted frum 
 holding any communication with persons outside 
 thejr g^arden bounds, save through the newly appoin- 
 ted Commissioner sent to take charge of the dominions 
 of our late ally; and, finally, those dominions were 
 publicly proclaimed by Lord Daihousie to have, by 
 failure of heirs male, lapsed to the Central i:^ower, andl 
 to be henceforth inorporated with those of Britain . 
 In vain the aged Maharanee Banka Baee pleaded and 
 remonstrated with her gallant gaolers on behalf of 
 the ladies and children of her Court; in vain she asked 
 permission to send persons of distinction, hitherto trea- 
 ted with every outward mark of honour, and against 
 whom not a breath of complaint had been ever heard, 
 to sue for justice at Calcutta. All intercourse save 
 through the Commissioner was for months forbid- 
 den, and effectual means were taken to prevent 
 any evasion of the interdict. Major Ouseley was 
 , arrested on his way to Nagpore, where ho was 
 vready to offer such service as loyalty would permit, 
 
 1 Despatch 29r.h April 1864. 
 
^42 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 to the unhappy princes3es ; and certain Mahajuns, 
 who were willing as bankers to advance funds for 
 their release, were likewise, flung into prison for their 
 contumacy. 
 
 When the chief articles of value had been remo- 
 ved, and all apprehension of tumult or resistance 
 had passed av7ay, some of the captive nobles were 
 miowed to approach the rifled treasure-house, and to 
 communicate by letter with the bereaved and broken- 
 hearted Queen, urging her in language of despera- 
 tion never to acknowledge the disinheritance of her 
 race or the annexation of her country. She con- 
 trived to send agents to England in the idle hope of 
 obtaining justice here. Could she not await their 
 answer ere she signed the capitulation drafted by 
 the Commissioner, whereby pensions were ofiered 
 to her helpless relatives and courtiers as the price 
 of her nominal acquiescence ? Her Vizier had died 
 of mortification and rage, and most of those who 
 were suspected of being able to counsel her aiight^ 
 were still detained in custody. A hot breath or 
 two strove to rekindle the embers of expiring self- 
 respect and pride in her aged bosom; but the chill 
 of eighty years and the feebleness of despair quen- 
 ched each spark of hope ere it could be fanned 
 into flame ; and the widow of the once feared and 
 formidable Raghojee Bhonsla> amid tears and trem- 
 l3lings, was driven at lengh to sign a renuncia- 
 tion of all claims of Regency or Sovereignty on 
 her own behalf. Even in this extremity not a word 
 was said repudiating tte legal and religious title 
 by adoption of Jeswant Rao. Sentries mounted 
 guard no more ; trusty garrisons were maintained 
 at every post of the appropriated realm ; trusty 
 agents were set to watch each chief suspected of 
 harbouring i^esentment, and the Civil Administra- 
 tion of the country was rapidly reorganised in accor- 
 dance with injunctions from Calcutta. Local self-rule 
 at Nagpore, which had lasted for generations, ceased 
 to be; and all was over. 
 
ZVLM. S43 
 
 Not all : for the trophies of this glorios exploit 
 were still to be displayed ; and the value of the stolen 
 goods was yet to be realised in cash. In the Cal- 
 cutta J/ormti^ CAromcZe of r2th October J 855, was 
 read the following advertisement, whTcH it were a pity 
 to abate by any jot or tittle of what it has to say for 
 
 itself 
 
 Grand Public sale. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Nagpore Jewels. 
 
 HAMILTON AND COMPANY. 
 
 Have the honour bo anDouuce, that they have been favoared with the 
 COMMANDS OF GOVERNMENT, 
 
 To submit to Public and Unreserved SaJe, 
 
 THE WHOLE OF THE 
 
 Nagpore Jewels, 
 
 &c. &c. &c, 
 — :o: — 
 
 These Magnificent Ornaments (the Largest and Most 
 Valuable Collection^ever exhibited in Calcutta J ^ are noitf 
 on View at Messrs Hamilton and Company's Show 
 Rooms, 
 
 XHEY COMPRISE. 
 
 Diamonds, of Immense Size and Weight, 
 and of Pure Water, Set at Armlets, Bracelets, 
 Rings, and L'irge Diamond Drops of Various 
 Weights, One of these Diamonds is Considerably 
 Larger than the*Darya-i-Noor.' 
 
 Pearl Necklaces, Very Large and Uncom- 
 mon, Single, and Four-Kows, with Diamond 
 Pendants, or Dook Dhookies, 
 
 Large Emerald Necklaces, Elegantly Cai?-- 
 ved and Polished, 
 
 Several Superb Drop-shaped Diamonds and 
 Other Necklaces. 
 
S44 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 Hiiidoosfcanee ear-riugs, Very Handsome, Set 
 with Diamonds and Pearls. 
 
 Various Diamond, Ruby, and Emerald Jee- 
 gahs, Serpeches, Gosepaioh and E>ajeh-sye, or 
 head Ornaments. 
 
 A Very Elegant Diamond Torrah, or Turban 
 Ornament, Containing many Drops. 
 
 Several Pearl Ditto, ditto. 
 
 A Char CO be, or Royal Dress Coat, Orna- 
 mented with Beautiful Diamonds, Pearls; Rubies, 
 and Emeralds all over. 
 
 Several Gold and Enamelled Horse Trapp- 
 ings, Set with Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, 
 Cats' Eyes, and Pearls; Gunda8;Hykuls, Kulgee; 
 and Elower Ornaments for Horses' Heads; 
 Saddles; Charmajahs, or Saddle Cloths, embroi- 
 dered with Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, and 
 Pearls. 
 
 Very Handsome Gold and Enamelled Ankoo- 
 ses, or Guzbags. for Driving Elephants, Set with 
 Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, &c. Gauntlets, Set 
 with Ditto, Ditto, Ditto. 
 
 Gold and Enamelled Utter and Paun Dauns, 
 Rose-Water Sprinklers, Spice Boxes, Surroy, 
 Water Jugs, Kitllum Dauns, &c, &o., Set all 
 over with Purely White Diamonds. 
 
 A Very Elegant Gold and Enamelled 
 Hookah, Set all round with Beautiful Large and 
 Pure-Water Diainoads, with Chillum, Cup, Sur- 
 pose. Mouth Piece, Kirrenah Mounted with 
 Diamonds, and a Snake Embroidered with Pearls 
 and Rubies and Large Emerald Pendants. 
 
 A Large number of Gold, Diamond, and 
 Buby Mounted Swords, Rhinoceros' Hide Shi- 
 
 V 
 
elds, Daggers, Knives, Bows, Arrows, Quivers, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Several Very Costly Sword Belts and Knots, 
 Studded with Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, and 
 Pearls. 
 
 l^ure Gold and Silver Ornaments, viz, Paun 
 and iTtter Dauns, Rose- Water Sprinklers. Spice 
 Boxes, Salvers, with Enamelled Work, Water 
 Jugs, &c« &c. 
 
 Gold Jewellery; viz. Several Bracelets, Neck- 
 laces, Armlets, Waist Chains or Chunder Harrs, 
 Ear rings, Bangles, Anklets, Toe Rings, &c. &c. 
 
 Armour; viz. Steel Gauntlets, Helmets. Coats* 
 Spears, Battle Axes, Kandahs, Knives, Shields, 
 Several of them Inlaid with Gold, &c. &:c. 
 
 Plate Chests, Containing English. made 
 Silver, Electro Plated Ware and Porcelain Dinner 
 and Dessert Services, to Dine 100 Persons. 
 
 Can any one be at a loss regarding the impression' 
 mstde on the mind of every prince of India by the 
 public sale, in the metropolis of the East, of the per- 
 sonal effects of /one who, throughout bis reign, had 
 been our faithful ally ? Can any one doubt that the 
 advertisement was execrj^^ted in every Bazaar, and 
 cursed in every Zenanah, as a threatening notice 
 ostentatiously given that the picklock of despotism 
 would be used without shame as an implement of 
 exaction: and none could tell whose regalia or casket 
 would next be rifled. Our historians are never weary 
 of reprobating the sudden and summmary decree of 
 Bayonne, in which Napoleon informed the world that 
 in the Peninsula the house of Bourbon had ceased to 
 reign, and in reprobating the duress under which an 
 imbecile sovereign was driven into an act of formal 
 abdication. And many severe things have been 
 justly said of the pictures taken from the Eszurial, and 
 of the bronze steads bprne away from thQ Piazza, q^ 
 
346 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 San Marc. But at least Napoleon cannot be upbrai- 
 ded with stealing or selling the gems and apparel of 
 his victims. It was bad enough to appropriate the 
 sword of Frederick, but Napoleon, unscrupulous 
 though he was, would have been ashamed to make 
 away with rings and necklaces of the Prussian queen 
 and then to have put them up to the highest bidder 
 among the brokers of his capital. If vice loses half 
 its hideousness by losing all its grossness, it may like- 
 wise be said that public violence becomes more hate- 
 ful when ib is tarnished with the reproach of base 
 cupidity. At the very time when the Queen^s Lieut- 
 enant-General ill Asia was thus playing the freebooter 
 and auctioneer, our Foreign Secretary was addressing 
 to the court of St. Petersbursr remonstrances ao^ainst 
 the sequestration of the revenues of certain Polish 
 noblemen upon suspicion of their complicity in sedi- 
 tious designs. Well might the minister of the Czar 
 scornfully retort, — -'Thysician, heal thyself.*' 
 
 Another absorption which belongs to the same 
 period is that of Jhansi, whose chief, from having 
 been a vassal of the Peishwa, became a feudatorv of 
 the British Grovernment. Raofonath Rao at his death 
 in 1835, left a youth who was said to be his adopted 
 son; but the latter failing to substantiate his claim, 
 one of his uncles took possession of the Gudi without 
 resistance by the people or interference by us. And 
 because as Rajah cte facto, and presumptively dejure 
 he was recognised by Lord Willam Bentinck as head 
 of the State, Lord Dalhouse pretended that he had 
 a precedent therein for rejecting any claimant by 
 right of adoption in 1853, uot — in favour of a rightful 
 heir by blood or popular choice, in favour simply 
 of confiscation of the territorv and its revenues. It 
 may or may not be the duty of the Paramount Power 
 to interfere in cases of disputed succession, but it 
 never can be its duty or right to take advantage of a 
 presumed or factititious flaw in the title of a particular 
 claimant in order to shut out all the members of a 
 family, some one of whom in the opinion of their peopl© 
 
JVLM 347 
 
 must be entitled to reign. Yet, this and nothing else 
 was that which was done by Lord Dalhousie. Anund 
 Rao was in 1853, in all due form, adopted by the dying 
 Prince as his son and heir. The Rajah wrote to the 
 GovernorGreneral respectfully commending his youth- 
 ful choice to his consideration and care, and asking 
 for the recognition of his widow as Regent during 
 the minority. He appealed to the second article of 
 t^e subsisting treaty, which guaranteed the territory 
 to^heirJL,of his family in perpetual succession^whetlier 
 heirs by descent, consanguinity, or adoption, and he 
 trusted that, " m consideration of the fidelity he had 
 always evinced towards Government, favour might be 
 shown to this child/' He was allowed to die in the 
 Selusion that native fidelity would be remembered. 
 The Empire was grown so strong that the autocrat ot 
 Fort William thought it could afford to forget fidelity. 
 The youthful Maharajh's rights were denied ; the 
 Regent Ranee was assigned a palace for her prison, 
 and Jhansi was by proclamation incorporated with 
 the Company's, possessions. Luckshmi Bai grieved 
 unforgivingly. At the first note of insurrection in 
 1857, she took to horse, and for months in male attire 
 headed bands, squadrons, and at length formidable 
 corps of the Mahrattas, until she became in her way 
 another Joan of Arc to her frenzied and fierce follo- 
 wers. No insurgent leader gave more trouble to the 
 columns of Sir Hugh Ruse ; but not even in desperate 
 and deadly fight, lasting for many hours, could she 
 be persuaded to quit the field. In the general melee 
 of defeat, Luckshmi fell by a random shot, but not 
 until she had exacted terrible retribution for the 
 wrongs and insults to her family and her country. 
 
CHNPTER XXVI, 
 
 TAKING IN KINGDOMS, 
 
 1553—1856. 
 
 'To the evils of annexation, growing out of our inpatiable love of 
 tentorial aggrandisement, we shiill probably he wifully blind, until 
 awakened from a great n itional illusion by somo rude shock to tne 
 fabric uf oar Indian finance." 
 
 — RiCHAKD GOBDBN. 1 
 
 SIK.E. and Hiudu had felt alike the heavy hand of 
 annexation. Before quitting India. Lord Dalhou- 
 sie was resolved to leave indelibly bis mark likewise 
 on Massalniari States. The gloi^y had indeed depar- 
 ted from them, but the after-glow of power still lin- 
 gered. Grloom had long settled over them ; but in the 
 exquisite words of the poet, *^It was not darkness^ 
 but light that had died.'* And even this faint and 
 fadifig solace of grandeur gone, and hope, whose 
 heart was broken, destructive despotism grudged* 
 It was not content to have overthrown, it would obli* 
 terate reproachful memorials. Ungated with super- 
 Cession, it thirsted for the drops of comfort still re- 
 niaining in the broken cup of bondage, and longed to 
 appropriate what it did not want. Four Mohamme- 
 dan Courts had, within the century, lent it aid from 
 time to time, as we have seen. Each of them in turn 
 had been undone, and all were now more or less at 
 its mercy. The Viceroy was a man of many gifts, 
 but mercy was not among them. Mercy he showed 
 none. 
 
 When English trade stood shelterless on the beach 
 of Malabar, the Nawab of Arcot was its first friend. 
 It Iftnt him help against the French, and in exchange 
 i ^ow wars vixe^ot up in Imdifti by Bicbard Cobdeot M. F., p. 5$. 
 
TAKING IN KINGDOMS. S49 
 
 he gave it storage-room and dwelling-place. As it» 
 grew his power dwindled, and as his tulwar rusted 
 its bayonet waxed bright. The enthymeme of usur- 
 pation rxeed not be again recited. By the time Lord 
 Welleslsy came to renew the treaty between Madras 
 and Arcot, ^'the Oarnatic had been,^' says Mr Arnold, 
 **immeshed in the net of our friendship and the noose 
 of our protection/' But Lord V/'ellesley had a soul 
 above pettifogging oppression, and he would havo 
 disdained to take advantage of forfeited pledges. 
 Omdut-ixl-Onirah was suspected of intrigues with Tip- 
 poo Saib ; and Ali Hussein, his son, inherited, it was 
 feared, his father's infidelity. But this was not made 
 a pretence for breaking our engagements with hia 
 house, or confiscating the revenues repeatedly guaran- 
 teed them. With Azim-ul-Dowla a fresh treaty was 
 made **for settling the succession to the Soubahdary 
 of the territories of Arcot, and for vesting the civil 
 and military administration of the Qarnatio in the 
 company. '' The fourth article declared that four- 
 fifths of the revenues were for ever vested in the Com- 
 pany, and the remaining one-fifth ^'appropriated for- 
 ever for the support of the Nawab.V His son enjoyed 
 liis dignities, privileges, and emoluments, until his 
 death in 1853, when Lord Dalho^sie thought the time 
 tad arrived to let the curtaiii fall upon the farce of 
 Gratitude to Arcot. ' The Cabinet of Lord Aberdeen 
 and the Court of Directors assenting, he forbade Azim 
 .Jah to assume the title, and refused ]bo pay him the 
 stipulated fifth of the i-evenues, which he claimed as 
 undisputed heir, upon the ground that when treaties 
 are made ^''fof ever'' with feu49«tories, the suzerain isi 
 ijiot bound longer that the seiise of expediency lasts; 
 or in other word, that the observance of public faith 
 IS obligatory only on one side, because the semblance 
 of royaljiy, witliout any of the power, is a mockery o£ 
 authority which must be pernicious. If anything 
 were surprising in the mis government of India, it 
 would be the audacity which could misrepresent the 
 faded finery of Chepank Palace as keeping up 
 
350 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 illusions, even in its powerleaa owner, of pietender- 
 ship to royalty. Royalty, in the best days of the- 
 family, had never been asserted by them. They were 
 Bubordinate to the Nizam, who was himself a feudatory 
 of the Padishah Local authority they really had. 
 enjoyed a hundred years gone by ; but it was authori- 
 ty which had no more to do with royalty than Hamlet 
 had to do with Hercules. Much or little, it was all 
 clean gone; the archives af Madras and of Calcutta 
 could tell where. But its property and rank and 
 titular privileges had hitherto been reapected, because 
 they had been made matters of public stipulation 
 by the representatives of the British crown • and now 
 the monay was to be taken by force, the use of the^ 
 titles interdicted by decree, and the broken covenants^ 
 given to the winds. 
 
 The despotic demeanour of Lord I>alhousie towards- 
 the Native Princes was not exempliiied alone in the- 
 arbitrary absorption of States on the plea of lapse 
 from default of male heirs. The Viceroy let no^ 
 opportunity escape for impressing the native mind 
 with a sense of the autocratic. will and domination of 
 the Central Power, of which he was the mouthpiece ; 
 and his conduct towards the Nawab-Nazim of Bengal,, 
 one of the oldest of our allies in Asia, was in keeping; 
 with what had gone before. Bengal had come to be 
 regarded as the home farm of Empire. The treaties 
 of 1757, 1770, and 1763 with Mr. Jaffr and Mir 
 Kasim, as we have seen, gave us the first political 
 and territorial locus standi^ and the engagement of 
 1765, 1767, and 1770 witb their successors, each 
 marked a step in the progress of Bncroachment upon 
 native rule. The administrative experiments of Has- 
 tings, Cornwallis, and subsequent Viceroys, gradually 
 withdrew from the Court of Moorshedabad even tha 
 semblance of government; but five formal treaties 
 had acknowledgBd the rank,, dignity, and social pri- 
 vileges of the Nawabs-Nazim of Bengal. By terms 
 which indicate perpetuity of obligation, if they mean 
 anything at all, a suitable income had been provided 
 
TAKING IN KINGDOMS. 361 
 
 for the ex-ruling family, and the minutes and despat- 
 ches of each (ioveruor-Greneral in succession were 
 unanimous in treating the descendants of Mir Jaliir- 
 as princes de facto if not de jure. The cession of exe- 
 cutive functions on the one side, and their accept- 
 ance on the other, was not brought about by the 
 conquest, was not signalised by incidents of violence 
 or victory, and was accompanied by no formal act of 
 abdication. The process of transfer was silent, its 
 progress was steady, it had its origin in the com- 
 pacts which gave the Company command of the forces 
 and the control of the exchequer of Bengal. With 
 the instruments as well as the sinews of war at their 
 disposal, they did as powerful Minsters had afore- 
 time done elsewhere, usurped the sceptre in reality,, 
 while paying ceremonious respect to its holder. The 
 minority of Mobaruck-ul-Dowla, the last of the heirs 
 of Mir Jaffir, favoured this alienation of native rule. 
 The Governor and Council had during that time 
 ample opportunity of consolidating the supreme 
 authority, then resting unquestioned in their hands; 
 and when in due course it should have reverted to the 
 Subahdar, they showed no disposition to yield it up, 
 while the native community, growing used to tha 
 mandates of Port William, knew not how to substitute 
 those of Moorshedabad. The Navvab protested, but 
 his complaints were unheeded, o-r were ans^wered only 
 with plausible evasion. Successive Nawabs were 
 treated by successive Viceroys with scrupulous regard 
 to the formalities of rank and station, but not an inch, 
 of power was restored. No attempt, however, was 
 made to question the validity of the treaties, which 
 were palpable acknowledgments of the rank and 
 right of Mir Jaffir's dynasty. No one had contended 
 that, although we had absorbed all power, dignity and 
 its attendant privileges did not remain with tha 
 Princes of his house. On the contrary, Lords Welles- 
 ley, Minto, Hastings, Amherst, Hardinge, and even 
 Lord Dalhousie himself, had penned letters and 
 despatches acknowledging the rights ''guaranteed 
 
3o2 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 by subsisting treaties," and promising to ^^uplioldl 
 the interests, dignity, credit, and prescriptive pri- 
 vileges" of the family. In 1838, Syud Munsure Ali- 
 Khan, the eighth in regular descent from Mir Jatfir. 
 succeeded while a minor to the musnud of Bengal, 
 All the formalities of investiture, proclamation, and 
 congratulation were duly observed with him, as with 
 his predecessors ; the Government of India officially 
 notified to the public, its allies, and all. friendly 
 powers, that Syud Mansur Ali had succeeded to the 
 hereditary hoaours and dignities of the Nizamut and 
 Soubahdary of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, and was 
 declared to have assumed the authority, dignities, and 
 privileges thereof, and a salute of ninteen guns and 
 ihree volleys of musketry was ordered to celebrate the 
 event. 
 
 "Excepting disagreements as to the appropriation 
 of certain sums from the annual allowance guaranteed 
 by the treaty of 1770, nothing disturbed the harmony 
 of the relation^ subsisting between the past and 
 present rulers. One of the most dearly prized of the 
 privileges enjoyed by the Nawabs in their regal 
 ^'etireiilent was exemption from the jurisdiction and 
 authority of the Adawljiits, and even of the Supreme 
 Court. By a special legislative Act in 1794, they 
 had been authorised to t^ke cognisance and adjudi- 
 cate on all matters in dispute between members of the 
 family, the court, and the retinue of Moorshedabad ; 
 and by three subsequent enactments in 1805, 1806, 
 and 1822, the mode of piiblic and ofiicial intercourse 
 with the Nawabs was regulated; and position of 
 plaintiff or defendant in legal suit being incompatible 
 with the social rights of princes according to Eastern 
 custom, it Wfis ordamed that the Grovernor-General^s 
 agent at the Nawab^s Court should be his vicarious 
 representative in legal process. An attempt had been 
 madeMn 1834 by local authorities to set aside some 
 of these privileges ; but on reference to the Govern- 
 ment at Calcutta, they were strenuously upheld, — 
 Sir Charley Trevelyan recording the emphatic declara- 
 
TAKING IN KINGDOMS. 353 
 
 ti on that " the Nawab had been recognised by the 
 British Government as an independent Prince, and 
 that the national faith was pledged for nothing being 
 proposed or carried into execution derogating front 
 his honour.'^ The Supreme Court had *^ no right to 
 exercise jurisdiction over the Nawab-Nazim of Ben- 
 gaP' and the Advocate-General was instructed **to 
 ado£t every necessary legal means for resisting it/' 
 The Act of 1825 had been framed to prevent his being 
 **iiable to any indignity in person or property in the 
 process of Zillah Court/' for if his liability to the 
 Supreme Court were admitted, there was no degree 
 of indignity which might not be inflicted on him in 
 contravention of the pledged national faith, and the 
 respect obviously due to the representative of our 
 oldest ally on this side of India. ^ 
 
 The conscientious avowals of his predecessors had 
 no weight with the haughty annexationist. To him 
 treaties were only tentative formul^iries, to be ruth- 
 lessly swept away when they barred the progress of 
 imperial acquisition. To him the fame of spreading 
 fear was more than the credit of national faith, and 
 humiliated races more than the plighted honour of his 
 own nation. In 1853 an incident occurred which 
 brought out in strong relief the overbearing nature 
 of the Viceroy. In March of that year the Nawab 
 was on a shooting excur^ion^ two English official^ 
 being among the guests, wh^n two Hindu lads were 
 seized on suspicion of haying stolen a box of jewels 
 beioiiging to one of the subordinate eunuchs, and by 
 some of those officers were beaten with such severity 
 as to cause death* The act was undoubtedly one of 
 gross brutality, and deserved the punishment inflicted 
 on some of the Eawab's servants, to whom, after a 
 long and patient investigation, it was clearly brought 
 home 5 but his Highnesses principal officer, Aman Ali, 
 and others of rank, who were included in the indict- 
 ment, were, after a long trial, honourably acquitted, 
 1 LettQr to U, Pciulia, Esq, Conapaoy's Attoraey, 20(ih Febr^«» 
 
 23 
 
354 EMPIRE IN ASM. 
 
 while not a tittle of evidence was adduced tending ta 
 implicate the Nawab in the slightest degree. In trial 
 and review of proceedings, the matter went through 
 two courts, and after passing such an ordeal the 
 Prince might surely be excused if he regarded the 
 acquitted servants as innocent, and reinstated them, 
 in bia retinue. This act of justice^ however, drew 
 down on him the wrath of the Gavexnor- General, ly ho, 
 disdaining to notice the decision of the Adawluts 
 presided over by English judges, a^Sdressed a violent 
 despatch to the agent at Moorshedabad, asserting, 
 that the outrage had been committed *^ under the 
 very eyes'' of the Nawab, and demanding explana- 
 tions why Le kad failed to **exert his authority to 
 prevent so outrageous a crime, committed almost iux 
 Ms very presence.'' It should here be remarked that 
 the evidence, carefully reviewed and criticised by Eng- 
 lish judges, had established the fact sufficiently for 
 all unprejudiced minds that the Nawab was^ entirely 
 ignorant of the cruelties practised on these unfortu^ 
 nate men, and that their death was circumstantially 
 reported at the time to have taken place from cholera. 
 Nevertheless Lord Dalhousie called on the Nawab t(>> 
 give an explanation of his conduct in the matter, and 
 he determined that '^measures should be taken to^ 
 mark the sense entertained by Government of such- 
 proceediags, and that safeguards should be provided, 
 against a repetition of them in future." The mea- 
 sures thus extra-judicially resolved on were the hum- 
 bling of the Prince by reducing his salute from nine- 
 teen to thirteen guns, refusing him permission to 
 travel, stopping the amount in hia civil list for travel- 
 ling expenses, and appointing a police officer to 
 accompany him on all excursions. He was also per- 
 emptorily required to dismiss the suspected persons^ 
 of his household, and to "hold no further communica^ 
 tion with them*" Finally the Ticeroy in Council 
 repealed the four Acts alluded to, on the specious 
 plea that ihe privileges they secured ''were a serious 
 impediment to the course of justice.'' It had hardly 
 
TAKING IN KINGDOMS S&S 
 
 feeen matter for surpri&e if the Prince, thus in&ulted 
 and oppressed in defiance of every principle of law, 
 logic, or common sense, had looked on sullenly in the 
 day of England's difficulty. But in common with 
 many other Native Chiefs, he aided materially and 
 morally Lord Canning's Government during the^ 
 Mutiny. Throughout, his conduct was. one of unswerv- 
 ing fidelity. When British pawer em^erged,, abaken 
 but unshattered, from the atormi of rebellion,, to. th©^ 
 official request to know what expense he- had he&m at 
 for unusual service rendered, he anawered^ d-etilining^ 
 to receive any pecuniary return, affi-rming that h© 
 had done his duty, fulfilling the- conditions- oi the 
 treaties entered into by his ancestorSv'' In de^s, if 
 not in words, he repeated the reproach of hia^ progeni*^ 
 tor ninety -seven years before. '*You have thought 
 proper to break your engagements ; I would not mine." 
 The Government waa bound in decency to acknow- 
 ledge in some way this requital of good for evili the 
 restoration of hi a salute, the removal of the police 
 inspectors,, and the reimbursement of travelling ex* 
 pensea were therefore ordered. In other reapecta the 
 Dalhouaie deprivationa have been maintained ; the 
 demanda of the Nawab for an equitable adjustment of 
 accounta^ which the maladministration of Govemmenfe 
 agenta over many years haa involved in complication 
 and confusion, and the restoration of certain moneys 
 to which he is clearly entitled aaheir-at law, but which 
 have been persistently aequestrated, have been re- 
 fused ; his righta under solemn treaties made with his 
 family — treaties which were the title-deeda of oup 
 settlement in India only a century ago — are declared 
 to be obsolete, and even hia rank and title have been 
 mutteringly threatened with extinction. 
 
 The year 1854 aaw two more valuable provincea 
 absorbed through other means. The subsidiary force 
 kept up at the expense of the Nizam had long been 
 ©xcesaive, meaaured by its nominal use or hia ability 
 of paying for it. 1 Lord Dalhousie admitted that it 
 
 1 Kaye's Sepoy War, vol. i, p. 9Zv 
 
S06 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 was too large, and suggested that the staff, at ail 
 eyents, ought to be reduced. But £750,000 were due 
 a& arrears, and no improvident willingness to raise 
 loans at 30 per cent, held out any real hope of liquida- 
 tion. The Viceroy, therefore, caused it to be intimated 
 that hQ would accept the fertile cottou districts of 
 Berar, the Raichore Doab lying between the rivers 
 Krishna and Tumbudra, together with pther lands, in 
 payment of the debt, and as security for future 
 charges for the contingent When the draft treaty 
 was presented, the J^Iizam expostulated, asking 
 whether ap alliance which had lasted unbrokdn 
 m.ore than sixty years ought to have an ending like 
 this. H© did not want the subsidiary force ; the 
 Viceroy might withdraw it if he pleased ; or he might 
 cut down its supernumerary strength and extravagant 
 allowances, which were merely maintained as ways 
 of patronage by the Governor-General, Q,nd not for 
 any" bene fit to him. But to ask him to part with a 
 third of his dominions was to hi^mble him in the eyes 
 of hifs people, and to abase him in his own esteem. 
 H^ had not deserved tratment so heartless, and he 
 CQjald pot be expected to submit to it. Biit he was 
 expected, he did submit: and soon afterwards he 
 died* leaving liis son to try, as best he might, how the 
 work of govf rnment could be carried on. The nett- 
 ings of 1853 were full of cotton and opium, for the 
 provinces newly added are among the most prolific in 
 Southern Asia/ 
 
 ; We are come to the last, and the most memorable 
 of Lord Dalhousie's acts of annexation. From Clive 
 to Auckland, every Anglo-Indian ruler had dealt 
 with the Government of Oude as that of an indepen- 
 dent State. It had been invaded, rifled, mutilated, 
 sometimes aided with troops to do mischief to its 
 neighbours, and sometimes to its own people. More 
 than once it was flattered by the gift of expropria- 
 tions from other States, and as often humbled by 
 being compelled, not to give them back to the right f ul 
 owners, but jbo give them up to the Paramount Power. 
 
TAKING IN KINGDOMS 35f 
 
 the Undermining of native authority had indeed been 
 pitilessly continued under ail circumstances by tha 
 never failing means of an exorbitant subsidiary force^ 
 The Yizier being left every year less discretion 
 in affairs^ fell ever more lamentably under the influ- 
 ence of parasites, who wasted his revenues, and shut 
 him 111 from all knowledge of his people^'s condition, 
 and from all hearing of their complaints. It cannot 
 be doubted that beneath the unchecked cupidity and 
 caprice of some of the Talookdars they suliered grie- 
 vously and that portions of their fair and fertile 
 country had in consequence become impoverished and 
 wasted. Disorganisation had in fact become normal, and 
 making every allowance for sinister exaggeration, it 
 is impossible to regard the remonstrances of succes- 
 sive Residents at Lucknow as having been made 
 without substantial cause. Reforms in every branch 
 of the administration had become ursrent and indis- 
 pensable, and it may freely be admitted that it was 
 the duty of the Paramount Authority to insist upon 
 their being made. But until it can be shown that , 
 honest, intelligible, and consistent efforts were tried 
 to 'redeem the local institutions, which mercenary 
 encroachment had perverted, and to restore the local 
 health imperialism had poisoned, there cannot be a, 
 shadow of justification for inflicting the sentence or 
 death arbitrarily pronounced against them. To the 
 last men of intellect and honour, who had intimate 
 knowledge of the whole state of the case, believed 
 that reparation was in our power, and pleaded hard 
 that it ought to be made. But from first to last it 
 never was seriously attempted. Things were suffered f 
 year by year to go from bad to worse, while the gripd 
 of exaction never was relaxed, until at length, in 
 1859, the scandal of mismanagement was pronounced 
 ripe, not for the pruning-knite of suzerain control, 
 but for the axe <3if ruthless annexation. 
 
 When war against the Mahrattas had left the 
 Company without a pagoda to sustain the public 
 credit or to pay their troops, Lord Hastings bribed 
 
558 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 the "Vizier with the pinchbeck ^title of King to give 
 him a million sterling out of his private treasure. 
 When war against the Afghans needed new resources, 
 Lord Auckland made a fresh treaty requiring the 
 surrender of half his territory to sustain additional 
 troops. On every occasion the diplomatic engage- 
 ments dictated at Calcutta and imposed at Lucknow 
 were profuse in professions of respect for the dynasty 
 and acknowledgement of its sovereign rights. To the 
 last Oude was flattered witb egregious assurances of 
 friendship and consideration, until at a blow all was 
 swept avvay. 
 
 When absorption and incorporation had been 
 determined on, differences of opinion arose in the Sup* 
 reme Council as to the mode of proceeding in point 
 of form. The Viceroy affected to have scruples. 
 He would have preferred declaring the treaties broken 
 by the failure of Vajid Ali to fulfil the conditions of 
 sufficient t^overnmeiit embodied in the treaty of 1837 ; 
 he would then have withdrawn the contingent, without 
 which the city and the palace would have been left 
 defenceless against banditti ; and when insurrection 
 and anarchy had spread alarm among the neigh- 
 bouring provinces, he would have been prepared fop 
 armed intervention at the request of the King, or 
 without waiting for it. But he has left on record a 
 confession that this would have been a circuitous 
 method of attaining the end which General Low, Mr 
 Peacock, Mr Grant, and Mr Dorin thought it less 
 dishonouring to bring about by more direct and sum- 
 mary means. The Board of Directors and Board 
 of Control, when the two plans were laid before 
 them, refrained from deciding, and left the Marquis 
 free to do as he thought best.^ The diffiulty was 
 like that felt by Warren Hastings on a former occa- 
 sion, which Sheridan, amid the cheers of the House 
 of Commons, declared to be that of choosing between 
 Bagshot and Hounslow. It was, however, speedi- 
 ly got over by the Governor-General yielding to 
 1 Bell's Retrcispecte a.;d Prospocte, chap. v. 
 
TAKING IN KINGDOMS. 859 
 
 the more summary method urged by his collea- 
 gues. The Resident was therefore directed to in- 
 form the Prince that he had been weighed in the ba- 
 lance and found wanting, and that the kingdom had 
 departed from him. 
 
 It was said by the apologists of the act, that 
 the treaty of 1837 conferred the right to seize the 
 government of Oude, should its native rulers fail 
 to govern well, and that consequently no more was 
 done in 1856 than what that bargain provided for 
 and justified. The flimsiness of this plea has been 
 thoroughly exposed by Major Bell. The treaty of 
 J 837 *'did not give Lord Dalhousie ^11 he wanted. 
 It did not give him the surplus revenues of Oude, 
 to be disposed of as he pleased, but compelled 
 him to accout for them to the State of Oude. It 
 gave him a right indeed to seize the government, 
 but only for a temporary object, and bound him 
 (in the words of the treaty) to maintain the native 
 institutions and forms of administration, so as to 
 facilitate the restoration of those territories to the 
 sovereign.'^ The Viceroy felt the pressure of these 
 cogent terms, and tried hard to prove that be- 
 cause the Directors bade Lord Auckland exone- 
 rate the King from supplying an increased num- 
 ber of troops, the whole of the treaty of 1837 
 had been abrogated. Nothing can be more untrue. 
 It was duly ratified at Fort William on the 18th 
 September 1837 ; was never repudiated by the 
 Crovernment of the Queen, and was never disal- 
 lowed by the Board of Directors, whose ratifica* 
 tion was in point of fact never deemed necessa- 
 ry in the case of a new treaty. **No one in India 
 at Lucknow or at Calcutta, ever doubted 
 the validity and binding force of this treaty until 
 Lord Dalhousie found that it staod in the way of 
 his scheme of appropriating all the revenues of 
 Oude.^'i / 
 
 Sir H. Lawrence and Sir W. Sleeman both pub* 
 1 ^Bells BetroBpects ftud Prospecte, ohap. t 
 
860 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 liclj expressed fcheir conviction that the Central 
 Government was endued by it with all the powers 
 necessary for securing in Oude an efficient and 
 humane administration ; and Lord Hardinge, in 
 1847, impressively warned the Court of Lucknow 
 that, under and by virtue of the treaty, they were 
 liable to have the powers of government seques- 
 tered if they were not properly discharged. But 
 sequestration is not synonymous with confiscation ; 
 and the suspension of a spendthrift's allowance 
 does not mean the appropriation of his estate. It 
 is not unworth of note that Lord W. Bentinck, 
 the most lenient and considerate of men, contem- 
 plated temporary interposition in Oude, in the hope 
 and with the view of introducing juster and soun- 
 der principles of local adminstration, and that he 
 obtained the sanction of the Court of Directors in 
 case he should think fit to make the experiment. 
 But who will debit his memory with contempla- 
 tion of the crime perpetrated in 1855? We have 
 his own clear definition of his meaning. **It may 
 be asked of me, — when you have assumed the 
 management, how is it to be conducted, and how 
 long retained ? I should answer, that acting in 
 the character of guardian and trustee, we ought 
 to frame an administration entirely native. — an 
 administration so composed as to individuals, and 
 so established upon the best principles, as should 
 best serve for immediate improvement, and as a 
 model for future imitation ; the only European 
 part of it should be the functionary by whom 
 it should be superintended, and it should only 
 be retained till a complete reform might be brought 
 about.*' 
 
CHAPTER XXVIL 
 
 TO DAY ; AND TOMORROW? 
 
 ** A feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction exists among «ycry class, 
 both European and Native, on account of the oonBtnnt increase 
 of taxation wbich has for years been going on. My belief ia 
 that^the_.Coatinuance of that feeling is a political danger tho 
 magnitude of which can hardly be over estimated; and any senti- 
 ment of dissatii^f action which may exist a mang disbanded soldiers 
 of the Native Army is as nothing, in comparison with the state 
 of general dia content to which I have referred... We can never 
 depend for a moment on the continuance of general tianqnillity ; 
 bat I believe that the present state jof public feeling, as regards 
 taxation, is more likely to lead to disturbance and discontent, 
 and to be to us a source of greater danger than the partial reduction 
 which we propose in the Native Army can ever occasion. Of the two 
 evils 1 choose the lesi>er.'* 
 
 W 
 
 —LoBD Mayo. 1 
 HEN Parliament assembled early in 1858, the 
 
 uppermost thought in the mind of all was 
 urgent need of remedial measures for India. A 
 century of misrule had ended in a convulsion so 
 terrible that the best and bravest natures shud- 
 dered at its contemplation, and the wisest and 
 ablest servants of the State were tlose who said 
 the least about it. The whole of the dreadful truth 
 has never yet been spoken,— will never probably 
 be spoken in our time; but enough became gene- 
 rally known to make men of all parties anxious, 
 by a thorough change of policy, to take securities 
 againt the like ever happening again. Notice was 
 formally given by ministers, to the Bast India 
 Company that its days were numbered. What wai 
 1 MinatQ of theTioeroy, on Military Expenditure, 31 OQto|?^r 1 870^ 
 
362 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 called the ''double government*' had long been 
 regarded as incurably evasive of responsibility, and 
 incurably vicious in its abuse of patronage. The 
 time had arrived when national opinion ratified the 
 prescient condemnation of Francis, Burke, and Fox, 
 and pronounced decisively, though tardily, that a 
 secret Committee of the Directors of a joint-stock 
 company should be permitted no longer to sbare with 
 the Imperial Cabinet the power ef nominating the 
 rulers of our great dependency. The public voice 
 called on Parliament to do its duty to India, as well 
 a-s to portions of the empire inferior in extent, popula- 
 tion, and importance. However it had been acquired, 
 all political parties agreed in owning that the Queen 
 was bound to the natives of her Empire in Asia '*by 
 the same obligations of duty which bound her to all 
 her other subjects..' These were in fact the words 
 placed in Her Majesty's lips by Lord Stanley, when, 
 as Secretary of State, he counselled and counter- 
 signed the memorable Proclamation, assuming the 
 direct and unqualified government of her possessions 
 in India. But while Parliament in ite legislative 
 capacity acknowledged and confirmed to the Crown 
 the undivided dignity and authority of supreme ad- 
 ministration, it did not thereby renounce or pretend 
 to shake ofif the enhanced burthen of its own obligation 
 to exact a rigorous and righteous account of all that 
 might be done from time to time in the name of the 
 Queen. The Statute of 1858, putting an end to the 
 Charter of the East India Company, and declaring 
 that in time to come no privilege of race or creed 
 should be tolerated, and no respect of persons by re- 
 ason of their lineage or place of birth be known in 
 the eyes of the law, bade the tribes and nations of 
 Hindustan stand forth and claim their full measure 
 of rights and immunities, and pledged Queen, Lords, 
 and Commons to be ready to hear and determine their 
 plaint for justice whenever dul}'- preferred, and to 
 enforce reparation and restitution for wrong when- 
 ever proved. 
 
m^DATi AND TO-MORROW 7 '^3 
 
 The Royal Proclamation of the 1st November 1858, 
 renounced solemnly all thought of further annexation. 
 
 ** Whereas, for divers weighty reasons, we have 
 resolved to take upon ourselves the Government of 
 India, heretofore administered in trust for us by the 
 Honourable Bast India Company — we do by these 
 presents notify and declare that we have taken upon 
 -ourselves the said Government, and we hereby call 
 upon all our subjects within the said terntories to be 
 faithful, and to bear true allegiance to us, our heirs 
 and successors. 
 
 '*We hereby announce to the Native Princes of 
 India, that all treaties and engagements made with 
 them by or under the authority of the Hononrable East 
 India Company, are by us accepted, and will be scru- 
 pulously maintained, and we look for the like observ- 
 ance on their part. We .desire no extension of our 
 territorial possessions : and while we will permit no 
 aggression upon our dominions or our rights to be 
 attempted with impunity, we shall sanction no encroa- 
 chment on those of others. We shall respect the 
 rights, dignity, and honour of Native Princes as our 
 own. 
 
 *' We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our 
 Indian territories by the same obligations of duty 
 which bind us to all our other subjects, and those 
 obligations, by the blessing of Almighty God, we shall 
 faithfully and conscieniously fulfil." 
 
 The Princes of India received these assurances 
 with satifaction, qualified only by their inability to 
 judge how far the representatives of Majesty afar off 
 would observe their equitable tenor. Remembering 
 the past, they could not feel sanguine as to the future; 
 for they were told that the preponderating will in Par- 
 liament decided who should be the Queen's ministers, 
 and who should be her Viceroys; and they and their 
 fathers had oftentimes appealed in vain against the 
 haughty satraps who had been set over them. Their 
 hopes rose when, some what later. Lord Canning, iu 
 bis celebrated Minute regarding Adoption, explicitly 
 
364 EMPIRE IN ASIA: 
 
 laid it down that the policy o£ the Government would 
 thereafter be to recognise the native rights of succes- 
 ^8ion in royal and noble houses, because it had been 
 resolved to preserve subsisting dynasties and chief- 
 tainries as essential to '^ood government and peace. 
 *' 1 was astonished," he said, '* at the effect produced 
 by my declaration at Grwalior, where the announce- 
 ment was received with expressions of joy like those 
 on the birth of a prince/* Scmdia told the Resident 
 that a cold wind had been blowing on him incessantly 
 for years, from which he was now relieved. Yet, unh- 
 appily, too soon — 'Svas it gone, and for ever, the 
 light they saw breaking?" Hardly was the ink of 
 the Adoption Minute dry when Government recalci- 
 trated ; and the old policy of confiscation 
 and absorption was summarily put in force upon 
 a new and equally untenable plea. The young Rajah 
 of Dhar was suddenly informed that his accession to 
 his father's titles and privileges had been disallowed, 
 without a hearing or a trial of any description, and 
 that his dominions were to be incorporated with those 
 of the Crown, because, during the revolt, some of his 
 troops had mutinied, and for a time resisted the efforts 
 of his guardians to bring them back to discipline and 
 loyalty. Lord Canning assigned as his only reason 
 that he was determined to show the Durbars of the 
 minor States that they must be held accountable if 
 they were unable as well as if they were unwilling to 
 restrain the misconduct of their soldiery, in reply 
 to a question, put in the House of Commons, Lord 
 Stanley frankly repudiated the doctrine thus laid 
 down, which did not, he said, lie in the mouth of a 
 Power which had been itself unable to keep its troops 
 from mutiny ; and he promised that the annexation 
 should be reversed. His despatch reprieving Dhar 
 and its people from the penalties of sins whereof they 
 were guiltless in all but the name, was set at nought 
 by Lord Canning, who directed Sir Robert Hamilton, 
 the Resident at indore in August 1858, to inform the 
 young Rajah that his principality was annexed, an4 
 
TO-DAY) AND TO MORROW ? 36i 
 
 |ibat his treasure and jewels were to be divided as 
 prize-inonej among the troops of the column then 
 sepying betore the place. He was to accompany the 
 announcement with an intimation that while Grovern- 
 ment reserved its decision, the unfortunate family 
 must never hope to be restored- The Resident, an 
 upright ^nd a fearles3 man, acquainted with the real 
 circumsta;ices of the case better than the Viceroy^ 
 expostulated against this injustice. The rulers and the 
 people of Dhar had been faithful allies until, in the 
 midst of the tempest of mutiny raging round them, 
 the mistake had been committed of turning loose upon 
 them the lawless marcenaries removed from the 
 Nizam's country, because .they were supposed to 
 be dangerous there. Certain fanatics had seized the 
 opportunity to foment sedition, the local (government 
 being in the hands of a Regei^cy ; but the British 
 Agent had throughout been on terms of constant 
 cornmunication with the Kajah, and had nothing to 
 complain of in him, his relatives or influential advi- 
 sers. If he were to be deprived of his political 
 authority, Sir Robert Hamilton pleq,ded hard that at 
 le.ast he should not be despoiled of his property. 
 Lord Canning'^ pride was nettled at the rebuke he 
 had received from the Secretry of State. He left to 
 Colonel Durand the task oi answering the remonstran- 
 ce, and the decree of sequestration was pitilessly 
 enforced. The potent influence of Mr Bright was 
 exerted in the following session, and Sir Charles 
 Wood, who had succeded Lord Stanley in the India 
 Office, sought to compro^lise the question by giving a 
 pledge that; on attaining his majority, the Rajah 
 should be reinstated, one-ifth of his territories being 
 permanently retained by way of smart inonpy. Two 
 years afterwards, public notice was given throughout 
 Malawa of the sale i^y auction of the family ornaments 
 and gems — or, as it was called, of the **Dhar plunder" 
 — valued at £8,000. After many' delays upon the 
 ground that he was not yet qualified to govern, the 
 friends in England who had watched over the endan- 
 
336 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 gered rights of the Rajah had aatiaf action of hearing 
 that he was restored. 
 
 It is deeply to be regretted that, within the last 
 few years, the Anglo-Indian adminstration seems 
 to have been drawn to thoughts of reviving the 
 **lanatic policy of annexation,'^! It ought not to 
 have been forgotten, indeed, that **during the perilous 
 crisis of 1S57, the most seviceable and titrAely aid, in 
 men and money, was furnished by every class of 
 native rulers/* Lord Canning had publicly thanked 
 many of them for their effectual help; and, alluding 
 to the smaller States, he admitted that ^'these patches 
 of Native Government served as breakwaters to the 
 storm, which would otherwise have swept over us in 
 one great wave.''^ At such words each meiiaced 
 and mistrustfml ruler might well have said, like the* 
 captive king in the tent of Saul, '* Surely the bitter- 
 ness of d^ath is past." Evil traditions, however, are* 
 insidious and strong, even when they are not respect- 
 able through age. The danger past, the^ old craving 
 for more territory returned. After two partitions, a. 
 separate though protected Raj was still left in Mysore. 
 With prescient care the Duke of Wellington had, 
 upon the fall of Seringapatam, warned his brother 
 that although the treaty, with the restored Rajah pro- 
 fessed to be one of "perpetual friendship and alli- 
 ance,'* which was to last so Hong as the sun and 
 moon endured,'' its terms were sufficiently ambiguous 
 to '^give ground for the belie^f that we gave the Rajah 
 the country with the intention af taking it away 
 again, when it should suit our convenience ;" and ha^ 
 expressed his strong opinion that "the conduct of the 
 British Government in India had not at all tim*es been 
 such as to induce the natives to believe, that at some- 
 time or other improper advantage would not betaken 
 ef the article in question.'^^ But when the Duke waa 
 I Mr. Bright— Debate oq Indian Budget;, let Aagast 1859« 
 2 The MyBora. Reveraion][by Major Evane Bell, p. 2; 
 3 Adopdon Minute, 
 ^ Letfeex of Colonel Arthur Wellesley to Lord Moruinffton 5,1799*. 
 
TO-DA T ; AND TO MORBO W^ 367^ 
 
 dead it was thought the time had come when advant- 
 age might be taken of the omission, in the treaty, of 
 the words, heirs and successors. Lord Dalhousie left 
 oil record his advice, that should the reigning prince 
 die childless, the last remnant of tha ancient realm of 
 Mysore should be forthwith absorbed ; and in 1865 
 the Anglo-Indian Government prepared ta secure the 
 expected escheat by lapse. In that year the Rajah 
 adopted a distant relative as his son, according to 
 Hindu rites; the representative of the British Govern- 
 ment being present, and the chief persons of rank and 
 property in the State. The fact was formally notified 
 by him in a letter to the Governor-General. &ir John 
 Lawrence declined to recognise the validity of the 
 adoption, and wa& su&tained in hia efforts to defeat it 
 by the Secretary of State. But his arguments were 
 controverted by five distinguished members of the 
 Supreme Council, who each and all stigmatised the 
 attempt to pervert the treaty of 1799^ in a manner,, 
 as the ^Duke of Wellington had foretold, that 
 would "not be creditable to us. ^^ Fortunately for 
 the honour of England and the tranquillity of India^ 
 another pen was dipped in indignation at the con* 
 tempiated injustice. In a work of rare ability both 
 as regards the matter and the manner, Major Evans 
 Bell called the attention of the public to the history 
 of the case, and beneath the cloud of witnessess 
 against this miserable scheme of usurpation, appealed 
 from the Council Board of Calcutta to the judgement 
 of the people of England. Citing the damnatory 
 protest of Sir H. Montgomery, who characterised 
 the project as a "breach of good faith,'^ of Sir F» 
 Currie, who declared it to be "unjust and illegal ;'* 
 of Sir J, Willoughby, who termed it a "flagrant in* 
 justice,*' of Sir George Clerk, who called it " the 
 result of wild counsel, neither honest nor dignified /* 
 of Captain Eastwick, who said " that it could not be 
 justified by our treaty obligations, nor by the law 
 and practice of India,'^ he challenged the Government 
 to defend their purpose. Party convenience ren* 
 
515* EMPIRE IN ASIA 
 
 4ered the season unsuitable, and thus another Native 
 State was saved from extinction. But what sort of 
 tenancy-at-will is thi3 for Native Governments, on 
 whose stability the order, prosperity, and peace of 
 an Empire depend ? Other Prince^ naturally and 
 inevitably brood over these things, and feel, though 
 they may not say aload — -Nusquam tuta fides ! Parlia- 
 ment, in almost every session, is asked to enquire 
 into some case of actual injury or threatened depri- 
 vation ; and individual meinbers, unconnected with 
 o^ce, are often found willing to master the details 
 of grievance, and to declaim eloquently against evil 
 done, if not against evil doers. But it usually comes 
 to nothing. A politic)al tribunal so constituted is, if 
 possible, even more helpless than the House of Lords 
 proved to ba in 1795, to do justice between the Be- 
 gums of Oude and Warren Hastings. Until suitable 
 means are found for the trial of such caases, there 
 will and can be no sense of security felt by the Prin- 
 ces of India. But after what hi^s happene4 afore- 
 time, and in our own time, Parliament will be inex^ 
 cusable if conscious of the reproach, yet unmindful 
 of the shame, it neglects to make due provision for 
 the purpose. It will, of course, be said by all the 
 indolent and apathetic, and all who prefer the 
 unbridled power of bureaucracy to the vindication 
 of the national influence and honour, that tbe erection 
 of a Parliamentary Tribunal fit to try issues of right, 
 revenue, dignity, and rule, between Suzerain and 
 vassals, is a thing impossible ; if not in^possible, 
 unpreQedented ; and if not unprecedented, revoluti- 
 onary. It is not worth while arguing about the 
 impossibility. Most things worth doing, in our day, 
 have been declared by official politicians to be obvi- 
 ously impossible, because to them the possibility was 
 not obyions. Catholic Emancipation, the Repeal of 
 the Corn I^aws, Household Suffrage, and much beside, 
 were each and all prenouuced, on the best authority, 
 to be things that could not be done. But they were 
 done, notwithstanding, and the earth still goes round 
 
TO'DAT ', AND TO MORROW ? m9 
 
 And nobody feels materially the worse : a good many 
 think they feel considerably better. As for the lack 
 of precedents, it might be enough to say, that the 
 case of India is one so utterly unparalleled also. In 
 truth, however, it is only necessary to put together 
 maxims grounded on established precedents, in order 
 to spell out warily and wisely all the conditions that 
 are required: and for the nickname of revolutionary, 
 one C9»n hardly be expected to care, when the only 
 object that is sought is the conservation and content? 
 jnent of an empire. Sobriquets are easily given, but 
 they need applicability to make them stick; and if 
 any man can devise a method to vindicate the solemn 
 pledge of Parliament to India, to realise the plighted 
 faith of the Queen, and to build up steadfast faith 
 and hope in the Princes and people of Asia, he need 
 not trouble himself ^bout being called a revolutionist; 
 for he will have done the most anti-subversive thing 
 which it is possible to conceive. 
 
 Why not then consider how a joint Committee of 
 the Two Houses, three from each, may be chosen 
 whenever a claim duly authenticated and verified 
 is raised by any of the feudatories of the Crown in 
 India ? Why should the selection of three noblemen 
 and of three gentlemen without miserable imputations 
 of party bias be impracticable? Why should we 
 ©very year see questions as pecuniarily great, inte- 
 rests as morally and socialiy grave, referred without 
 misgiving to a Gominittee in each House, to be pra- 
 ctically disposed of, without any of the more solemn 
 judicial sanctions with which it would be easy to 
 invest the Tribunal thus proposed? Why should not 
 the composition, order, and procedure of such a 
 tribunal be regulated by statute? and why should 
 not the co-ordinate authority of the Grown be repre- 
 sented in a Chairman or Assessor, to be named from 
 amongst ex-Chancellors or Chief Justices, to guide 
 its deliberations by the wisdom of experience, and 
 acquaintance with the principles and practice of 
 international law? Why should not unofficial peergf 
 
 24 
 
EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 and commoners deem it a high distinction to bo 
 chosen by their fellows to be daysmen between central 
 power all but absolute, and therefore always liable 
 to err, and local freedom, all but helpleas, and there- 
 fore always liable to distrust and disaffection? Why 
 should not such a judicature be a Court of Record, 
 its decisions contributing to build up, as with hewn 
 stones, carefully chosen and fitly joined together, a 
 wall of defensive justice and right, beneath which 
 princes and chiefs might sleep securely, and dare to 
 resume their ancient air oi dignity and self-respect, 
 no man making them afraid? 
 
 Natives of wealth and education have been, in 
 compliance with the Statute of 1858, admitted to the 
 Council of each of the Presidencies. As a step in 
 the right direction, the change ought not to be dis- 
 paraged ; but it would be idle to suppose that its 
 political effect can be of any appreciable imporiancOi 
 At Calcutta, three or four Rajahs living in the neighs 
 bourhood are summoned periodically to meet the 
 Governor-General and their European colleagues at 
 the Council Board ; and chiefs of secondary rank are 
 in like manner invited to confer with the Governora 
 of Madras and Bombay. As a formal renunciation 
 of the exclusiveness of alien rule, it is well ; but who 
 takes it for a participation of power between foreign 
 authority and native will ? The question is not one 
 of numerical proportion ; — that would be % childish 
 view to take of the matter. Votes are of no value 
 when the subjects to be voted on are settled and 
 arranged beforehand, by one over whom the voters 
 can exercise neither veto or control. As equerries, 
 men of birth and opulence are gratified by being 
 asked to ride in a pageant, or take their places at a 
 banquet ; and the opinion of political outriders is 
 sometimes asked in courtesy about the political wea- 
 ther. It is even said that their deferential expressioa 
 of opinion has been known to have been acted on res- 
 pecting wind or rain, or the colour of a court suit. 
 But who is fooled by such lofty condescension into 
 
TO'DATyAND TO-MORROW? 371 
 
 imagining that grooms in-waiting are Ministers of 
 State? If power remaina where^ it was and what it 
 was, permission to assist at its ceremonies is but the^ 
 politenses of centralisation, and no more; 
 
 In a subordinate sphere another step, and one that 
 had more of the look of reality about it, was that of 
 conferring upon natives the Commission of the Peaces. 
 At first the Ryots were incredulous, then half inclined, 
 to laugh, afterwards distrustful, but by degress they 
 were convinced that the Talookdar or Baboo must have- 
 paid handsomely for the right to do himself and his. 
 neighbours justice in certain small matters^. When, 
 the practice shall be carried further, and some 
 approach shall be made to the system of local justice 
 prevailing in our own agricultural districts, where- 
 every resident gentleman of property, not as of poli-^ 
 tical favour, but as of social right,, is called upon 
 to act as a magistrate, not capriciously and alone, 
 but according to recognised principle^ and in concert 
 with others like himself, the people of India may 
 come to believe that Goverment is sincere in desir^ 
 ing to extend some English institutions to India in 
 substance as well as in name; For the present, ifj 
 would be premature to hazard an opinion on the 
 success of an experiment which is yet but in course 
 of being' tentatively made. In many great districts 
 the number of persons^ holding the Commission of 
 the Peace is infinitesimally small ; in others the native 
 magistrates are described as not venturing to decide- 
 in reality any question open to serious controversy. 
 
 The local administration of justice remains through- 
 out the Non-Regulation Provinces for the most part 
 in European hands. In the provinces of earlier 
 acquisition, Hindus and Mus&ulmans have at all times 
 "been judges of subordinate courts, and much stress 
 has been recently laid upon the admission of candi- 
 dates of these appointments by competitive exami- 
 nation. Many who are well qualified to judge, set 
 but a low estimate on the adequacy of such a test of 
 fitness for judicial office. However that may be, thq 
 
87S EMPIRE IN ASIA 
 
 main fact stares us in the face, that not one inj| 
 hundred of the higher judges has been born or bre^ 
 in the country whose disputes he is empowered tQ 
 determine, and whose inhabitants he may fine, flog, 
 imprison, or impoverish at his individual discretion. 
 From the nature of things he must be a judge both 
 of law and equity. This equity he must find for him- 
 self out of his inner consciousness ; the difficulties 
 of l^-w are more perplexing when they arise from 
 various codes ancient and modern, written, half- 
 written, or )qo< written at all, but often preserved 
 in a kind of fossil state, now and then rubbed up for 
 a special purpose, and thus partially made to reveal 
 their antique qualities. When the young gentleman 
 from England is sharp-witted and of an inquiring 
 turn, he gets after a time to know, by the help of 
 interpreters, what illiterate peasants, roguish wit- 
 nesses, lying tahsildars, and grain usurers swear, in 
 their various dialects, for or against one another. 
 But it takes him a long time to be able to feel 
 sure how much of what he calls justice is not guess 
 work, and how much of it is not behind his back com- 
 passed by corruption .It is no use blaming him for blun- 
 ders that are inevitable, and wrongs he cannot help, and 
 seldom so much as hears of. Appeal of course is said 
 to be open (like the London Tavern), to all who will 
 avail themselves of it, and are prepared to pay for 
 tlie gratification j but the privilege, which never was 
 general, has been materially circumscribed by the 
 imposition of innumerable, and by the vast majority, 
 impayable stamp duties on every species of litigation 
 which an exotic system of finance has rendered neces- 
 sary. The enormous distances, moreover, which the 
 bulk of suitors have to travel, and the delays at the 
 central seats of law which await them there, form 
 impediments not to be overcome. In a great number 
 of districts the Collector or district Commissioners 
 still exercise theTunctions of a yice-Chancellor and 
 puisne judge. He is usually a soldier, with a fair 
 disuosftioij to dq^right, g.ccording to the principles 
 
TO'DA t ; AND TO MORROW. S7i 
 
 of common sense, and with an ignorance of what in; 
 England we think a judge ought to jknow, that would 
 be ludicrous if it were not lamentable. To-day he 
 has to assess damages according to the customs 
 sanctioned by Akbar, to-morrow to marshal assets 
 in bankruptcy, conformably with the orders of Bas- 
 inghall Street ; and next day to settle a question of 
 legitimacy according to Brahminical traditions. What 
 would the people of London think if a cavalry oiEcei' 
 were made Recorder, a colonel of marines Common- 
 Serjeant, and a first class prizeman in gunnery ap- 
 pointed to preside at Bow Street ? But with all the 
 fine bureaucratic talk about the protection of Parlia- 
 ment having been extended and applied, it is clear 
 that, in matters of judgment, justice, and mercy, any 
 qualifications or disqualifications, are still deemed im- 
 material in India. 
 
 To seats in the Supreme OourtS; native practitioners 
 at the bar are not only now admissible, but are actual- 
 ly admitted ; andBaglish judges who have sat with, 
 them are forward to acknowledge how honourably 
 and usefully they bear themselves. This is something, 
 and it would, indeed, be much, if, beyond the Presi- 
 dential cities the fact were practically brought home 
 to the minds of the community ; but, whatever may 
 be the code of civil or criminal law, the adjudication 
 of ordinary disputes between man and man must be 
 local, if it is to be prompt, cheap, and intelligible ; 
 and if it be not, it signifies comparatively little what: 
 it is, or what it is believed to be. The indigGUou,§i 
 tribunal of Panchayat has. been all but suspended by 
 the imposition of a system of stipendiaries, whose 
 unacqusintance with the infinite details of social life, 
 renders them ineffably feeble in their best attempt 
 to exercise any moral or equitable sway. The people 
 must be idiots to reverence law so administered; but 
 the blame lies neither with commissioners, assistants, 
 or deputies, who have to administer as best they may 
 the system they have found existing ; it will hereafter 
 lie at the door of ^Parliament, if having undertakei>^* 
 
S74 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 tiie government of an unrepresented Empire, it faila 
 to reform the administration of justice thoroughly, 
 and in a sense conformable to Indian public opinion. 
 
 The apologists of dislocation, and of concentra- 
 tion of all authority in one central hand, have always 
 relied on its physical results as outweighing bene- 
 ficially the discontent and demoralisation it palpably 
 entails. India, for the first time, enjoys, according 
 to them, the industrial blessing of security from the 
 caprices of arbitrary exaction, and from the ravages 
 of internal war. Taxation may not be always light, 
 and it can be seldom agreeable; but at all events, it 
 is based on principles of uniformity and moderation, 
 and it is not spent on Court shows, or equipments for 
 border raids. Logically, India ought to grow fat; 
 for, dividing the population by the total revenue, the 
 average payment for English Government is no more 
 than 7s. a head by 150,000,000 of people ; while most 
 of the nations of Europe pay three or four times 
 that amount; and we, in England, bear a buvthen on the 
 average (taking into account local as well as imperial 
 taxation) of not less than £3 a head. But the fallacy 
 of this mode of argument is fundamental and glaring- 
 Shelter from the ravagres of looal warfare is un- 
 doubtedly a geat gain ; so is the shelter of a twenty- 
 feet prison-wall against the licence of marauders, 
 and the edge of the east wind. But did anybody 
 ever seek voluntarily such protection, or grow rich 
 and haypy beneath its shadow? A physical benefit 
 is onlv entitled to gratitude, and only receives 
 it when it may be had at a price worth paying for 
 it. The question here is not the specific good which, 
 as an abstract proposition, is little more than a form 
 of words without meaning; but whether the cata- 
 leptic trance imposed by the Paramount Power — im- 
 posed on all spontaneous local activity, warlike or 
 peaceful — is not bought unnecessarily dear ? Does 
 rural or urban industry thrive within the precincts 
 of the great imperial pound? Does it delve and 
 weave; speculate and spin, with the energy and pro* 
 
TO'DA T 5 AND TO-MOREO W ? 375 
 
 fit necessary for the accumulation and the diffusion 
 of wealth? Are the people of India growing rich 
 or poor? Is the taxation they pay really lighter 
 really heavy ? Is the government sum in short 
 division, which gives a quotient of a few shillings 
 a head, as against nine times as much which we pay, 
 a true or a fair statement of the fact, or mere a statis- 
 tical delusion ? 
 
 How ought this comparison of taxation to be made ? 
 We might as well take an average of the length of 
 the tails of the dogs and horses, or of the backbones 
 of the bipeds in human form, for the purposes of such 
 comparison. The wondar is how men in high office 
 could ever have been betrayed into talking in such 
 f-ashion. If taxes were paid in bone or bloody to 
 divide their sum into the aggregate of blood and 
 bones, might have some reasons or sense in it ; but 
 there is literally no sense in a bald capitation esti- 
 mate of fiscal burthens ; for the only idgredients 
 of the computation worthy of attention or care are 
 palpably omitted. Taxes are deduction not from 
 men's bodies, but from their purses. If their pursea 
 are small and nearly empty, a tax of a rupee may be 
 extortionate ; if their purses are deep and full, the 
 exaction of a £5 note may be light. If we compare^ 
 the £50,000,000 of Indian revenue, with the £72,000 ' 
 050, of Birtish revenue, the sole question worth ask- 
 ing Ts, how do the national incomes stand, out of 
 which the two amounts are drawn. All else but 
 this is mere irrelevancy and trifling. What then 
 do we find ? From the most authentic sources we 
 gather that the total production of the Indian Empire 
 is under £300,000,000 a year ; that of the United King- 
 dom is about £900,000,000 sterling. This would ^iye 
 a taxtion q£ 3s.Ad* in the pound in India, and less 
 fhan Is. 8d. m the pound in England. The difierenco, 
 Eowever, between the incidence of the two burthens 
 is enormously increased by the circumstance that 
 nineteen-twentieths of our taxes are annually, month- 
 ly, it might almost be said daily re-spent amongst 
 
Cm\ 
 
 ^ ^, EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 us; while of tte revenues of India a large portion 
 is'exported hither to furnish us with extra means of 
 "comfort aad of luxury. The manure is thus con- 
 tinually withdrawn from eastern fields to enrich the 
 island gardens of the West. It has been variously 
 estimated that, irrespective of interest on debt, six, 
 seven, and even eight millions a'year are drawn from 
 India to be spent by Englishmen either there or at 
 home. The process of exhaustion may be slow, but 
 it is sure. Science, skill, care, invention may devise 
 means of compensation, and when they are applied 
 systematically and permanently, we shall be able fco 
 measure their value. But is there any pretence for 
 saying that any attempt of the kind has ever been 
 made, or is efficiently making new? We have laid 
 the people and Princes of India under tribute, and 
 after a century of varied experiments, the only limit 
 of exaction seems to be the physical capacity of the 
 yield. 
 
 Lord Mayo says plainly in his minutes and des- 
 patclies, that the burthen of Imperial taxation has 
 increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished. 
 In 1859 the total expenditure amounted to £38,378,026, 
 and that for 1870 was £50,7^2,412, or an increase 
 of more than seventeen millions sterling. Mean- 
 while, what is the condition of the mass of the 
 people? By the confession of the latest) authority, 
 they are reduced to the lowest point at which exis- 
 tence can be maintained. Penury, with all its attendant 
 jprivations, when the season is good, and pinching want 
 bordering on destitution when the season is bad, are 
 the only alternatives of the ryot's lot. Even this is 
 not the worst. When, owing to exceptional causes, 
 the harvest fails, the same dreadful consequences 
 follow under our system of so-CMlled civilised rule as 
 used to happen in former times*, Not five years ago six 
 hundred thousand persons perished of starvation 
 within three hundred miles of the capital of Anglo- 
 India. 
 
 Even an increased taxation of 50 per cent, ia 
 
V 
 
 TODAY, AND TO-MORROW? (37? 
 
 insufficient to meet the expenditure. In spite of the 
 imposition of an Income Tax, novel, unequalled, and 
 prolific of fraud> constantly recurring deficits require 
 to be met by fresh loans. The augmented expendi- 
 ture, which augmented taxes and loans are raised to 
 meet, consists mainly of outlay upon the army and 
 upon public works. Even since the Mutiny, the 
 number of European troops has been permanently in- 
 creased, and the rise of prices has greatly swollen the 
 cost of the Commissariat. Encouragement to rail- 
 ways has become part of the standing policy of the 
 Government. To stimulate agricultural industry, and 
 to furnish means of cheap transic for goods of bulk, the 
 increase of canals has become a duty still mora 
 imperative. Their advantages can hardly be exag- 
 gerated. At a sixth of the cost of iron roads (as iron 
 roads are made in India), water ways can be con» 
 structed, as in the region of the Godavary, that would 
 pay for their own cost, and diffuse the blessings of 
 fertility around them. The growth of cotton has not 
 spread as rapidly as was prognosticated and the 
 present Commander-in-Chief is of opinion that, stra- 
 tegically, railways can only be regarded as valuable 
 so long as they are in our actual possession, while 
 their establishment inevitably dislocates and dimini- 
 Bhes the old means of transit, which cannot suddenly be 
 reorganised on an emergency. Be that as it may, all 
 mankind have learned to trade and travel by steam, 
 and the least we can do for the country, whose ancient 
 ways and works of civilisation have been half des- 
 troyed in our struggle for ascendancy, is to secure it 
 the mechanical advantages of our own. Canals, if not 
 railways, must be extended, however, they have to be 
 made. But communities denuded of Native power, 
 dispirited by disappointment, and drained for genera* 
 tions of the accumulations of their industy, cannot 
 be expected to make such works for themselves. We 
 have broken the limbs of enterprise, and we must find 
 it splints and crutches. To some extent this has been 
 done by guarantees of interest given by the Anglo* 
 
B78 EMPIRE IN A&IA. 
 
 Indian Treasury for millions of capital expended on 
 railways. But, when other capital for public works 
 is wanted, the question is, to what account shall this 
 money be charged. Mr. Laing set it down as an 
 item in the Capital Account of Empire, arguing justly 
 that it was an expenditure indispensable to political 
 security, and an expenditure which the debilitated 
 and disheartened energies of the country were unable 
 without grievous detriment, to bear. The Home 
 Government overruled his decision, and sooner than 
 lend himself to a course which, as a statesman, he had 
 pronunced blundering and oppressive, he resigned. 
 Various expedients have been resorted to in order to 
 choke the gaping deficit, but hitherto without effect. 
 Mr. Massey concurred substantially in opinioniwiih 
 Mr. Laing ; and being unable to induce the Homo 
 Government to sanction the framing of his budt^ets in 
 the way which he thought equitable, he sought to 
 vindicate his own consistency by arraying the neces- 
 sary expenditure in a time of peace against the normal 
 results of taxation, whereby he made both ends meet; 
 and then, below a black line of warning, added the 
 charge for Oiiices, barracks, and canals, wherefrom 
 arose the deficit to be provided for, either by borrow- 
 ing, or by bxceptional and oppressive taxation. It is 
 now admitted that the outlay of millions on largo per- 
 manent barracks has been worse than money thrown 
 away. Aggregation, which proves so detrimental in 
 Europe, is deadly in Asia. Not only in Bengal, but 
 in the north-west provinces, these monuments of 
 bureaucratic blundering serve only to remind the 
 overtaxed community of one kind of jobbing on which 
 their money has been recently spent. The merchants 
 of Bombay, in the remarkable protest addressed by 
 them in May 1870 to the Secretary of State against 
 raising the income-tax to eightpence in the pound, 
 ireasonably suggested that ^^if the charges of cons- 
 tructing extensive public works of a permanent 
 nature were met by terminable loans for fixed periods, 
 instead of beipg defrajQ^ from the current revenu^Sj. 
 
TO-DAY', AND TO-MORROW? 379 
 
 due main cause of deficit in the finances of India would 
 be (eliminated." But the recommendation has not 
 been adopted; and fresh disclosures of the unfair and 
 fraudulent working of the income-tax are made day 
 after day. The bulk of the community, it is true, 
 escape its incidence. Their discontent is secured by 
 the heavy duty on salt, which can only be evaded 
 by the peasantry who are fortunate enough to 
 Tive near the sea, or the works where this indispens- 
 "abie element of life is manufactured ; the former boil 
 their rice in sea-water, and the latter mingle with it 
 portions of the mud that has become saturated with 
 saline particles.^ The Duke of Argyll in 1869 pressed 
 upon the attention of the Viceregal Council the need 
 of securing an equilibrium, and Lord Mayo, in langu- 
 age equally earnest, acknowledged the expediency of 
 military retrenchment. Pre-eminently responsible for 
 {He peace and safety of the vast dependencies com- 
 mitted to his charge, he avews that, even were 
 the embarrassments of the Exehequer less urgent, we 
 should not be justified **in spending one shilling mora 
 upon our army than can be shown to be absolutely 
 and imperatively necessary. There are considera- 
 tions of far higher nature involved in this matter 
 than the annual exigencies of finance, or the interests 
 of those who are employed in the military service of 
 the Crown. Every shilling that is taken for unneces- 
 sary military expenditure, is so much withdrawn from 
 those vast sums which it is our duty to spend for the 
 moral and material improvement of the people." But 
 what are vast armies maintained for in a countrv so 
 circumstanced? Danger from without there is none 
 that, with the advantages of railways and telegraphs, 
 half tthe number of troops now kept under arms would 
 not be able to repel. But if danger be from within, 
 is it not timethat Parliament should cunsider whether 
 the engrossment of India patronage in alien hands, 
 and the exclusion of princes, nobles, traders, and land- 
 owners from all substantial share in the government 
 1 Keport of the Bombay Association for 1870, 
 
380 EMPIRE JN ASIA. 
 
 of their countrv. is not a national error and a national 
 wrong, that sooner or later may cost us very dear. 
 " The key of the position is in the public purse. 
 Until it is taken in hand and firmly held by Parlia- 
 ment, the prison doors of India's progress will never 
 be unlocked. Misrule cannot exist without an over- 
 grown aroay, and wasteful military expenditure can- 
 not live but by misrule. From first to last the policy 
 of conquest and confiscation has implied and required 
 riot only an amount of force which good government 
 would not have wanted, but an amount of jobbing, 
 under the name and pretence of military expenditure, 
 which good government would under no circumstances 
 have needed or allowed. Wholly apart from the 
 enormous drain upon the profits of Indian industry, 
 in the form of emoluments hoarded and husbanded for 
 private use at home, the resources of the 
 country have systematically been exhausted for 
 the pay and keep of an excessive military estab- 
 lishment, of which a great portion has at all times 
 been European, Fifteen years after the suppression 
 of the last revolt, the standing army emplya- 
 ed in keeping India 'down costs £16,500,000, a vast 
 increase as compared with the period previous to 
 the Mutiny, and the whole of the increase being upon 
 European men, equipment, and stores. Lord Mayo, 
 endeavouring to meet the suggestions of the Secretary 
 of State, proposed to reduce the number of native 
 troops to fche extent of 7000 or 8000 men, thereby 
 to effect a saving of £64,000 a year; but he admit- 
 ted that ** serious opposition '' was likely to be offered 
 to measures of economy by the military authorities 
 of the Government ; and unless he received the most 
 complete, prompt, and vigorous support from the 
 Home Government, he feared **hi3 efforts would be 
 ineffectual/' The entire force may be set down at 
 2,000,J00 men, and one-third being British. Two years 
 and a half were consumed in discussions as to how. 
 even this moderate change was to be effected. The 
 correspondence disclose the existence of anxieties 
 
TO-DAY', AND TO-MORROW. 381 
 
 ^mtertained in the highest quarters, which it would 
 be inexcusable for the Legislature to disregard. Lord 
 Jjawrence and Sir W. Mansfield were of opinion iu 
 1868 that no reduction of the standing force could be 
 safaly attempted. The present Commander-in-Chief 
 unequivocally concurs in the same view. ,*^ Our whole 
 experience of India, ^' he says, '^should warn us that 
 we cannot always depend upon tranquillity ; that 
 disturbances arise when they are least expected ; and 
 when they comm,enc,e at one point, unless immediately 
 checked, they are sure to be followed at others. There 
 are considerable forces under native chiefs who may 
 be individually friendly, but whose troops can never 
 be relied on not to join against us.^^^ He proceeds 
 to enumerate the quarters in which future collision 
 might possibly arise, unresrvedly pointing to the 
 greater Native States who in 1857 remainded faithful. 
 In the controversy of thirty years carried on be- 
 twoQu the p^-rtisans of annexation by right of lapse, 
 and the defenders of local independence under the 
 form of adopted heirship, hardly a word is said of 
 the people's \\ishes in the matter. Parenthetically 
 their feelings are sometimes glanced at by Sir Charles 
 Metcalfe, Mr. Frere, and Colonel Sutherland; threa- 
 teningly they are noticed as adverse, and liable to 
 become dangerous, by Sir Claude Wade. But even 
 these clear-sighted and true-hearted ^ advocates of 
 the wiser and the just^r ways of rule felt themselves 
 restrained by the prevalence of opposite ideas among 
 their superiors in office, and still more among tbeir 
 equals and associates in the service, from urging 
 too openly or too often considerations which they 
 knew would be sneered at as sentimental, and laugh- 
 ed at as weak and fantastic. An honest man placed 
 in the trying position where he would fain ward off 
 injustice from the weak, and at the same time save 
 the honour of his country from the stain of sordid 
 wrong, and who is conscious that, failing to dissuade 
 those above him in authority from the Qvil course 
 1 Minute, l«th September 1870. 
 
382 EMPIRE IN ASIA. 
 
 contemplat7ed, ha will himself be called upon to ho^ 
 its instrument, or to give way to a successor less 
 s<;rupulous than himsalf, — an upright and honest maa 
 in such a case may well be pardoned if he fears fco 
 embody in a formal report sentiments of indigna- 
 tion and grief, which in his private confidence may 
 overflow. To his doctrinarie chief in power, he feels 
 that it were worse than useless to appeal on grounds 
 of magnanimity or expediency. All his weight with 
 him, and all his chance of leave to throw that weight 
 into the scale while yet it wavers, depends upon his 
 retaining some measure of respect with the short- 
 sighted. He must gulp down each rising ouggestion 
 of immediate pity or of remote policy, lest the ruling 
 spirits inflamed by such remonstrance, should ex- 
 claim,** What have we to do with thee? art thou 
 come to torment us with misgivings before the time ?'' 
 with presages of calamity that may prove but 
 rhodomontade, and which sound like mere romance? 
 Many a worthy English official has had to gnaw his 
 heart out with vexation at finding himself placed in 
 a positon of this kind ; a position which he knows 
 not how to justify thoroughly to himself, and yet 
 which may seem cowardice and selfishness to aban- 
 don. The consequences of the hand to mouth im- 
 policy of fiscal exaction and territorial encroachment, 
 weigh upon his pen and tongue by day, and trouble 
 his sleep by night. The field committed to his care^ 
 which he would have sown with the seeds of content- 
 ment, confidence, and gratitude, he sees doomed to- 
 bring forth suspicion, anger, hatred and the mute- 
 looking for a day of restitution. And his grief, if 
 he be a true man, true to the honour of his race, his- 
 creed and his country, is that his hand should, in 
 spite of himself, be used to withhold the good, and 
 to scatter broad-cast the pestiferous seed. 
 
 This may in some degree account for the silence,, 
 too seldom broken throughout the Annexation con- 
 troversy, regarding its aspect in the eyes of the- 
 millions whose intersts are compromiaed thereby. 
 
TO' DA Y',AND TO-MORRO W. 38S 
 
 Even jurists and critics, writing independently on 
 the subject in England, seem prone to fall into the 
 same tram of thought as their countrymen on the 
 banks of the Ganges and the Indus. We have had 
 able arguments in maintenance of the right of Adop- 
 tion, and subtle pleadings in favour of its disallow- 
 ance ; both have mainly turned upon the conflict 
 between supreme and subordinate authority ; nearly 
 every argument on the one side has been nakedly 
 arrayed on behalf of the maintenance and extension 
 of British rule ; and nearly every argument on the 
 other has been in deprecation of the hardship and 
 injustice to Mohammedan Nawabs or Hindu Rajahs% 
 Yet, even for tlie sake of the unhappy Princes who 
 have been despoiled, or of these who, in their seclud- 
 ed palaces, listen tremblingly for the footfall of tha 
 spoiler, it would seem a hopeless task to plead for 
 restitution, or lasting re-assurance, on grounds like 
 these. Where or when, in the history of conquest, 
 from the days of Cyrus of Scipio, the rein been 
 drawn at the undefended gate of dependant royalty? 
 Tell the aggressor to beware of ambush; tell him 
 there is a mine that may be fired; tell him of untamed- 
 able tribes fanatically vowed to vengance ; tell him 
 of snows to be traversed in retreat, of wells that may 
 be poisonod, or communications that may be cut 
 off; paint, in a word, the imprudence of being piti- 
 less ; and Native princes may get breathing time 
 if they be not saved eventually from ruin. But the 
 tale of acquisition in the Bast is full of warnings^ 
 that no fidelity to our cause, and no obvioua inability 
 to resist our paramount away, can afford any assur- 
 ance against dethronement and denudition. Forty 
 years long did Scindia, the Ni«am, and the King of 
 Oude, adhere unswervingly to the side of English 
 ascendancy ; all that time they were honoured (or 
 humoured) with recognition^ as staunch and faithful 
 allies are ever entitled to be; nevertheless, we have 
 seen the dominions of one absolutely annexed, those 
 of another partitioned, and the question serioualy 
 
384 ' EMPIRE IN ASIA, 
 
 jdebated respecting 9.II who are situated like the third, 
 whether immemorial customs and traditions, regard- 
 ing the law of inheritance, should not be set aside, 
 in order that their lands and subjects should be 
 summarily transferred to the care of a foreign satrap. 
 
 The dangerous prevalence of discontent is confes- 
 sed by the Gommander-in-Chief and by the Governor- 
 General in terms so grave, that the Secretary of State 
 has felt it to be his duty to lay them before Parlia- 
 ment for its information and admonition. Simultane- 
 ously with the disclosure, tidings have come of tragic 
 events, which public conjecture ascribes to the plot- 
 tings of those who desire to turn Moslem grudge and 
 grievance to seditious account. Dr Hunter, who has 
 made the subject his especial study, undertakes to 
 tell us how the Wahabee conspiracy arose, how it has 
 continued to exist, and^how its ramifications spread 
 .over dissimilar and distant regions, feeding and grow- 
 ing upon the fruits of our misrule. ^ Some of hig 
 statement^ are said to be exaggerated, and some of 
 his inferences to be too sweeping, by the wiser and 
 wealthier sort, who have much to hazard and nothing 
 to hope, from insurrection. 
 
 Speaking generally of the present generation of 
 Mussulmans in India, Colonel Nassau Lees states his 
 belief that they are *^ quite prepared to accept the 
 supremacy of the English as an evil which must be en- 
 dured, because it cannot be cured. They are prepa- 
 red to live as peaceably and contentedly under Bri- 
 tish rule as they would under any Mohammedan Go- 
 vernment they are likely to see established on its ruins, 
 provided they are considerately treated, and wisely 
 and well governed.^' ^ 
 
 But are they so? The President of the Mus- 
 sulman College at Calcutta answers the question 
 fearlessly in the negative. Instead of trying to 
 make them feel that our ruler, as regards educa- 
 tion and the protection of individual rights, is 
 1 Our Indian Mussulmans. Hunter, 1871. 
 ^Letter to the Times, I8fch October 1871. 
 
EMPIBMINA8IJ. 385 
 
 Ibetter than that whioh it supplanted, we^ have so 
 Acted as to make it difficult for the most loyally 
 disposed to defend us from the reproaches of their 
 fellow believers and ignominious to try. Instead of 
 furnishing them with the arguments in favour of 
 submission, which can be founded only on appeals to 
 a conciliatory and consistent policy, our course has 
 been unstable, unequal, and unfair. While our grow- 
 ing power was weak, we affected the utmoet deference 
 for the Mogul, and the utmost regard for his authority. 
 Even when we bought, beguiled, or bullied our way into 
 the poeition of his Lieutenants, we affected to acknowledge 
 the superiority of believers in the one true God above the 
 worshippers of Siva and Vishnu. When all political 
 disguise had been thrown off, and our claim to ascendancy 
 was concealed no longer, we still continued to reiterate 
 incessantly the pledge, that no man should have cause to 
 fear disfavour or molestation on account of his religion, 
 and that under the suzerainty of England, all races should 
 be made to feel themselves lequal. Of late years a different 
 policy has been systematically adopted. The descendants 
 of the once dominant minority find themselves the objectss 
 of peculiar and differential distrust. Whatever may have 
 been done to conciliate the Hindus and Sikhs, nothing has 
 been sincerely or intelligently attempted to appease the 
 old grudge of the Mussulmans, while many new grievances 
 have arisen, of which they have been suffered to complaiu 
 without any prospect of obtaining redress. In Bengal 
 says Colonel Lees, their discontent is rather our fault than 
 their own. For there " it is certainly due mainly to those 
 wnjust and iniquitous proceedings of early Indian Govern- 
 ment, which made landlords out of Hindu collectors of 
 revenueV and finally crystallised the injustice thus done 
 to tbe community in general, and the Mohammedan portion 
 of it in particular, by that gigantic blunder. The perpetual 
 settTemeht placed the whole of India under unequal and un- 
 just contribution." 
 
 But throughout India grievances of more recent date 
 famish tbe fanatical Wahajbees with aever^failing themes 
 
386 TO'DAT; AND TO-MORROW ? 
 
 of taunt and adjuration to aid their plots and preparations 
 for a Holy War. 
 
 They objaet thafc the Inam Oommission unjiisfcly de- 
 prived, many of them of the lands granted to them by the 
 Mohammedan Sovereigns of India. 
 
 That the apoouitment of Cazi and Government Moham- 
 medao Law Offioers, ha3 been abolished, whereby they have 
 been deprived of the benefit of properly ooastituted authori- 
 ties to perform and register many of their civil rights. 
 
 That funds left by charitable and pious Moslems, for 
 educational purposes, have been taken from them and 
 religious bequests (waqf), or funds left to be devoted to the 
 ^'Service of Goi,*' have been misapplied by Government, 
 whion is the self-appointed trustee for their proper 
 administration. 
 
 That they have been elbowed out of almost all Govern- 
 ment appointments by Hiadus, no efforts are made by Go* 
 vernment to rectify this injustice, or to better their prospects. 
 
 That no offices under Government are open to Mussalmans 
 learned in their own sciences, laws, literiture, and languages; 
 that consequently, learning and learned men have disappeared, 
 and their community is left in darkness; while the Govern- 
 meat system of education is such that they cannot accept it, 
 aad retain the raspact of their co-religionists, if even they 
 may remain good Moslems. 
 
 But it is time to bring this narrative to a close. The 
 words of Mr. Bright, uttered twelve years ago, are still apt 
 and true. "The question assumes every year a greater 
 magnitude and a greater peril. We have what we have had 
 for twenty years— deficit on deficit, and debt on debt. Some 
 
 day or other it will find us out or we shall find it out 
 
 What we are now meeting is the natural and inevitable 
 
 consequence of the folly we have committed But take 
 
 India as it is, the Empire as it stands, and see if it is not 
 possible to do something better with it than you have done 
 before."^ It will, of course, be said the task is difficult : it is 
 
 1 Mr. Bright, Debate on the Indian Budgofc, August 1, 185d. 
 
EMPIRE IN A SI A. 387 
 
 indeed so difficult that there is not a day to lose in setting 
 about it ; for if Empire in Asia is to be preserved, the thing 
 has to be done, and that ere long. To Mr. Paweett is due 
 the credit of having made an excellent beginning in the 
 appointmenti of the Select Committee on Indian Finance, The 
 interest with which its proceedings are regarded by all 
 intelligent and reflecting persons in the great centres of 
 Eastern activity, is a good omen of the practical and business- 
 like temper of the time The past is irrevocable But the 
 shaping of India's destiny in the future is still within our 
 power. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 •— :o:- 
 
 Abbott, Captain, 316—18 
 Act of, 1773. 74 pregnant cla- 
 use in, 75, 113, 
 AdawlutB, Sudder and Nizamut,87 
 Adoni, battle of, 135. 
 Adoption, right of, 337 
 Afghanistan, 285-7, 290, 294,304 
 Agnew, Mr Vans, 311, 312. 
 Ahalya, 96—96 
 Ahiuedabad, settlement at, 9. 
 Akbar Khan, 337, 338, 
 Aliverdy Khan, 21, spirited con- 
 duct of 22 
 Ambition, English, 51. 
 Amherst, Lord, 270, 271. 
 Amyatt, Mr 44. 
 Anderson, Lieutenant, 311, 
 Annoxatien, completed, of India to 
 
 the British crown, 360. 
 Anund Rao 346. 
 Anstruther J, on international 
 
 justice 141. 
 Appa Saib Bhonsla. 264, 336. 
 Appeal, proposal to erect a tribunal 
 
 of, to try Indian issues 368. 
 Arcot 18, 20, Nawab, of 148, 348. 
 Argyll, Duke of opinion of, on the 
 present financial situation 378. 
 Army, Indian its cost and strength, 
 
 379, proposals to reduce 379. 
 Ashley, Lord, speech of, 304. 
 Asia, southern states of in time ot 
 Walpole and the elder Pitt, 2. 
 Asuph-ul-Dowla, 125—27 
 Atkinson E., 93. 
 Attache-Extraordinary 247. 
 Auckland, Lord. 283, 284, 285. 286, 
 294, 296,336. 
 
 Lord Brougham, on. 283. 
 Aurungzebe, 11, grandson of, 14, 
 disintecration of dominions of, 
 16. 97^; 
 Awthoiity, paramount. aBEumption 
 
 of, by Government 74. 
 Ava, King, pf 327, 
 
 ( 383 
 
 Azim Jah, 348-9. 
 Baille's corps, 136, 
 
 137. 
 
 Baji Rao 11, "221, 223, 264-6. 
 
 Bankerh, the native, of India, 34, 
 36, 
 
 Baramahal, 130, 131, I75. 
 
 Barlow, Sir S., 241, 243. 
 
 Barwell, Mr, 75, 115.' 
 
 Bassein, tieaty of, 222, 224, 226 
 
 Batavia 243—4. 
 
 Beckford, alderman, motion of 62-31 
 
 beerbhoom, Rajah of, 70, 
 
 Bell Major E. 365-6. 
 
 Benares, treaty of, 109-10, 123*4, 
 125-6. 
 
 ^enfield, Paul, 149-50. 
 
 Bengal, the chiefs of, jealousy of 
 and rupture with Company, 
 12-13 the Nawab cf, 12-13 
 Mohammedanism in, 16 ; the 
 Nawab-Nazim of, 16-17,32-3,38-4 
 native governments of, 28-29 
 famine, pestilence, and destitu- 
 tion in 1768, and its consequen- 
 ces, 66-70 ; hard exactions 
 in, 70-1. affairs of Company 
 in, 81, 82, 218-9, 359. 
 Bengalis, the 67-8. 
 Bentinck, Lord W, Quaker sim- 
 plicity, 271 ; appointment to go- 
 vernor-gencralship, 272-3 ; qua- 
 lifications, 272-3 ; abolition of 
 Suttee, 273, 274, 275 ; lessons 
 of his administration 275-i 
 and Coorg, 276-7, severe 
 regime, 277-9 distrust of a 
 free press, 279, his most im- 
 portant reform, 280, on the na 
 tive army, 281, results of adrcin. 
 istration, 281, 2, on interpo- 
 sition in the affairs of Oudh, 360, 
 Berar, Rajah of 260-1, cotton dis- 
 tricts of, 250-1, annexation of, 
 355. 
 
 ) 
 
iNDEX. 
 
 389 
 
 Shawal'pora, Khan 6i, 297-8. 
 
 Bill, a, of 0O3b3, 35, 36, 
 
 Bill, India, of the Coalition of 1783, 
 
 143, 144, of Pitt, 143-5, 164. 
 Biaheopore, Rajah of 69. 
 Bishop, first, 249 
 *^ Blaok Hole " of Calcutta 25. 
 Book keeping by double entry, 26, 
 Bombay, 11-2 ; presidency of 214. 
 
 Merchants of 378-9. 
 Bourdonnais, Lo, l7-8. 
 Bourbon, Isle of, 244. 
 Brahmins, and Mohatomadanism, 
 
 16. 
 Bribery 23. 
 Bright, Mr. 365-6, 386 t on India, 
 
 386. 
 Bulwark Singh, 123 4. 
 Burke, Edmund, 7, views of, 64-6 ; 
 
 oversensitiveness 72 ; raillery, 
 
 80-1; on Nuncomar's death,117-8; 
 
 129 ; on Sir P. Francis, 144-5, 
 
 143-9 motion of inquiry, 149-50, 
 
 152 ; impeachment of Hastings, 
 
 ]56 169-60 161-2. 
 Burmah, first War with 271*2 ; 
 
 second war with, 325-9i 
 Burnes, A., 284-290. 
 Buxar, battle of, 47. 
 
 Calcutta, 14, panic at, 24-6, 33-4, 
 
 38-9, 70, 60. 
 Calicut, settlement at, 10-1- 
 Cambay, settlement at, 9-10. 
 Canning, VIr 271-2. 
 Canning, Lord, on maintenance of 
 
 native grates, o30, adoption mi 
 nuteof. 330, annexation of Dhar 
 
 363-4; and Lord Staniy, 364-5 
 
 and the smaller States, 365-6. 
 Canora, Colonel, 318-9. 
 Carnatic, the, 18, 20, 26, 39-40. 136. 
 
 149,210,214, Nawabof, 247-8, 
 
 349, 
 Cartior, Mr. 60, 67. 
 Caatlereagh, Lord, and the oolo- 
 
 niea, 6, 219, 
 Catherine's Princess, marriage por- 
 
 portion, 11. 
 Champion, Calonel, 109-11. 
 Chaiidernagore, French settlement 
 
 at, 23, 30. 
 
 Charles II, 11 
 
 Chatham, Lord> 6; and colonial pos- 
 sessions, 6, and the E. I Com- 
 pany, 63, understood programme 
 in regard to India 62 4 ; oil Sir 
 P, Francis, 146. 
 
 Cheyte Singh, 124, 126, 142, 158, 
 
 Chillianw.illa, 321. 
 
 ChisWiok, Uncle, 79. 
 
 Chittagong, 13, 14, 45. 
 
 Chunda Sahib, 18, 2^. 
 
 Chuttanatti, siettleraeut at, 14. 
 
 Chutur Singh, 317-320. 
 
 Circars, Five, 130 
 
 Classes in India, relation of to the 
 soil, 99. 
 
 Clavering, General, 76, 105, Hit 
 113, 117, 120, 124, 
 
 Clive Robert, character and an- 
 tecedents of, 19 ; expedition to 
 recapture Bengal, 27; treaty with 
 SurajaDowla, 27 ; account of the 
 runaway council, 28; proposal to 
 destroy the French settlement 
 at Chandernagore 23, 29 ; domi- 
 nant influence in the council, 
 30 ; perfidy of, 32 ; bill of costs, 
 33, moderation 34 ; dishonesty, 
 37, a new dignity, 38 ; letter to 
 Pitt, 39 ; return home, rewards, 
 and peerage ; Mir Jaffir's legacy 
 to 39, 40 ; political influence, 51; 
 appointment as general in chief 
 of the forces in Asia,51; letter to 
 Mr, Rouse, 52 ; arrival in Cal- 
 cutta, 53 ; eifect on, of a tropi- 
 cal sun, fsS ; and the Directors. 
 62, impeachment, 71; suicide, 72 
 and Hastings. 80, 83, 86, 108. 
 Close, Colonel, 236. 
 Cobden, 7 ; on Burmese war, 323^ 
 Colebrboke, Sir G, 72. 
 Committee select, 53. 
 Commons, House of, and the Com- 
 pany 63. 
 Company, East India, first cha. 
 rter, 10 ; original aims, 10 ; 
 first grant of jurisdiction, 10 ; 
 commercial intolerance and cru- 
 elties, 11 1 first eighty years of, 
 12 ; ** abject" submiBsiveneee of, 
 
390 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 12 ; rupture with chiefs of Ben, 
 gal, 12 ; first attempt at aggree- 
 sion, 14 ; aimB of territorial ac- 
 quisition, 14 ; insidious doings, 
 14 ; first grant of a jaghire. 14 ; 
 grant of new powers to, 17 ; 
 Suraja Dowla's opinion of, 30 ; 
 S2 ; extortion of the servants of 
 42 ; treaty with Mir Jaflar, 46, 
 cheated by its servants, 50, 
 farmers general of the revenue, 
 of Orisea. Behar and Bengal, 
 54 ; taxed by parliament, 64 ; 
 conduct of, towards Hydar Ali, 
 184, 139 ; impolicy in regard to 
 conquest, 208 ; dissolution of, 
 29. 
 
 Coi.dore, battle ef, 39. 
 
 Conscience, a troubled 70. 
 
 Control Boar of, 146, 149, 162, 
 188, 21.1, 231. 
 
 Coorg 190, 191 ; annexation of, 
 277. 
 
 Coote, Sir E. 139. 
 
 Cornwallis, Lord, 7, 128, 141, 3 61, 
 171, 177, J78, 180, 182, 
 on the conquest frenzy 'ii32, em- 
 barrassments, v33, policy of. 234 
 regrets, 236 ; opinions as to 
 empire in India, 236 ; con- 
 ference with Welleeley, 239 
 death, 239. 
 
 Coeimbuzar, factory at, 13, 24. 25. 
 
 Council, Calcutta, ^4, 27, '8, 31, 
 32,33, 36, 36. 40, 41 42 44,46, 
 44, 48 66, (Warren Basting's,) 
 76, 106, 111-114. 
 
 Court, a phantom, 161. 
 
 Courts, supreme, native judges in, 
 373 
 
 Oisis of 1867, 36 \ 
 
 Crown, paramount power of, 330 
 331 ; lapse to the, 331, 334. 
 
 Custom dues, and the Company's 
 servants, 43, 44, 63. 
 
 Dalhousie, Lord, arrival, 310, em- 
 barrassments, 313 ; annexation 
 of ^ Punjab, 322, and Pegu, 
 327, policy, of appr.priation 
 S34 ; 336, 347, 348, 360, 363 ; 
 
 and the Nawab of Bengal, 
 352, 353 and the Nizam, 356 ; 
 and Oude, 366, 35& ; and ^Jysore, 
 367. 
 
 Deccan, the French in, 18, 21 ; 
 musnud of, 129 
 
 Delhi, and its court 9 ; first Eng- 
 lish embassy to 10, 13, 12 i7, 
 18, 23, 30, 64 ; durbar 55 ; court 
 of 90, 96, 98, 267 
 
 Despotism, Indian, not exceptio- 
 nal, 93-4. 
 
 Devecotah, fort and jaghire, 19, 
 20-1. 
 
 ** Devils brother, *' the, :06. 
 
 Dowany, the, of Bengal 66. 
 
 Dewanny, gift of, 51, h^, 57, 68, 
 182-8. 
 
 Dhar. and its rajah, 364 " plun- 
 der, " 365 
 
 Dhuleep, Singh, 307, 309, 312, 
 316, 317, 322-6. 
 
 Directors court of, 24, 40, 49, 58, 
 59, 72,75,148, 144, 151, 251, 
 335,337,380. 
 
 Doctrine, the, of lapse to the 
 crown. 332. 
 
 Dost Mahommed. 286-91,314, 323, 
 
 Dowlat Rao Scindia. 260-1 
 
 Dundas, Mr, 141, 350, 352, 168, 
 159, 161. 
 
 Dupleix, 18, 21 ; wife of 18 
 
 Dutch, the, in India, 2 ; successful 
 struggle with the Portuguese. 9; 
 10, 11 ; and English 28, 129, 
 174. 
 
 Edwards, Sir H., 311,316,320. 
 
 Effrontery, solemn, of the Calcutta 
 Council, 66. 
 
 Ek-Chusm-ud- Dowla, 241. 
 
 Ellenborougn, Lord, 290, 291, 296, 
 299,301,303. 
 
 Elliot, Sir Gilbert, 143. 
 
 Ellis, Mr, 44. 
 
 Elphinstone, General, 288-290. 
 
 English, the, in India, arrival and 
 first outlooks of 2, their in- 
 veterate lust of conquest and ter- 
 ritorial acquistion, 6 ; settle- 
 ments of, at Surat, Cambay, 
 Ahmedabad, 10 ; at Caliout and 
 
INDEX. 
 
 391 
 
 Masulipatam, 10 ; prowess in 
 the defence of Surat, 11 ; at 
 Madras, 17 ; at Calcutta, 17,28, 
 
 Expenditure, excessive 376. 
 
 Experiment, an, 308. 
 
 Fawcet Mr, 418. 
 
 Finances, Indian, under Hastings 
 
 153 
 Forde, Colonel, 38. 
 
 Forgery, crime of, in India, 116, 
 
 Fowke and Bristowe, 120. 
 
 Fox, J. C , on arbitrary rule, 1 ; 7, 
 
 142. 149, 154, 155, 160. 
 
 FrancisSir P., 76, 106,113,114, 
 117, 120-122 ; speech of 144, 1 54, 
 161. 
 
 France, 194, fear of, 196, 199. 
 
 French, the, in, India, arrival and 
 jSrst outlooks of, 2 ; ambitious 
 views of 18, struggle of, with 
 Fnglish. 18, 19 ; concession for 
 peace, 21 ; in the Carnatic, 21 ; 
 vigorous action against the Eng» 
 lish, 24, conduct of, towards the 
 English in Calcutta, 28 ; at 
 Chandernagore, 29, 30, 129, 201; 
 powerlessness of '^O^. 
 
 Fuller, Mr, motion of, 63. 
 
 Fjzoola Khan, 110. 
 
 Oama, Vasco de, 8, 9. 
 
 Game, a, not worth the candle, 213. 
 
 Gentlemen in the polStica! line 
 233. 
 
 George II , 36. 
 
 George 1 II. and Clive 40 and Lord 
 Hillsborough, 76, J44, 174. 
 
 Geriah, battle at, 4f . 
 
 G^alior, 364, Maharanee of, 
 301. 
 
 Glencoe, Miseacre of, 25. 
 
 Golab Singh. 306, 320, 325, 
 
 Goordas, 87. 
 
 Goojerat, 321, 
 
 Gccrkhas, war with the, 256. 
 
 Gcugh, Sir H., 302, 347, .313, 321. 
 
 Government, new attempt at 60, 
 62, end of " double" in India, 
 362. . 
 
 Governments, separate, of Bombay, 
 Madras, Calcutta, 74; tbe native, 
 
 91 ; 92 Mohammedan and Hin« 
 doo, 92. 
 
 Governor-Groneral, first, and his 
 colleagues, 75-6. 
 
 Govindpur settlement, 14. 
 
 Grafton, Duke of , on Indian re-* 
 form, 62, 
 
 Hafiz, Rahmet, 110. 
 
 Hardinge, Lord, 304, 306, 307, 
 309, 
 
 Harris General, 205 
 
 Hastings, Warren, 26, charact- 
 ter of 72 ; appointment as first 
 Governor-General, 7^, an- 
 tecedents, 78, a Grecian and 
 something more, 79, a say under 
 Clive, 80, literary ambitions and 
 Dr, Johnson ; 81 ; mtanness 
 and munificence of 82, marriage, 
 
 82, at Madras, 83 at Calcutta,, 
 
 83, counsel to the Directors, S^ 
 and Anglo-Indian jurispruden, 
 oe, 103, object of his diplomacy, 
 105, and the Vizier of Oude, 
 ll6, 109, and treaty of Benares 
 109, and his colleagues, 
 112, complaints against, 112, 
 letter to Lord North, 113, 
 tried and convicted by his 
 colleagues, 115, and Nuncomar, 
 115, 116, tenders resignation and 
 then withdraws it, 120 ; un« 
 natural ccmpact with Asuph-ul- 
 Dowla, 126, condemnation and 
 demand fcr the recall cf 142 and 
 the Wahratta war, 142, prosposi-* 
 tion of a peerage to, 150, re- 
 signation, 151 ; letter to direc- 
 tors 152 ; administration, 151-2; 
 return, 154, impeachment, 155 
 defence 157 Sheridan's estimate 
 of, 160, arraignment in "West- 
 minister Hall, 162 aoqittal, 167. 
 
 Hastings Lord, on the i>fau ideal 
 of rule, in India, 257 and 
 Vazier of Oude, 358, 
 
 Hastings, Marquis of. See Lord 
 Moira. 
 
 Hastings, Mrs. 151, 163. 
 
 Herat, siege of 285. 
 
 Hindustan, people of, 9 ; foegiCM 
 
392 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ning of conquest of, 20, secret of 
 
 ooaqueat of 20 J^. 
 HoiKar. 234, 222, 225, 230, 240, 
 
 244, 251, 255, 257, 253, 
 Hoiwdll, Mr. 25 ; memofial of, 41, 
 
 42. 
 Hooghly, the first settlements on, 
 
 14, 24, Phouadar of lI3. 
 Hunter, Dr, quotation from, 60. 
 , Hurry Punt, interrogatory of, 
 
 235. 
 Hyderabad, 132, 199, treasury of, 
 
 300. 
 Hyder AH ; 97, 129-131. 
 
 Imhoof, Baron <ind Baroness, 
 82,120. 
 
 Imbeclity, official 381, 382. 
 
 Impey, Elijah, 79, 104,117,127, 
 142, 161, 168, 169. 
 
 India in 1600, iu relation to 
 Europe, 1 ; eifeots on of, doub- 
 ling the Cape, 2 ; present 
 extent and population, 3, 4 ; 
 present political condition con- 
 trasted with its past, in the 
 days of Walpole and the 
 elder Pitt, 3, 4 ; c mpleted 
 subjugation of to British 
 away, 4 ; 362, 363, first voyage 
 by the Cape, 8, Southern, 16, 
 secret of conquest of, 20, ban- 
 kers of, 34, not a mine of 
 fabulous health- 38 ; a new El 
 Borado, 48, 49, turning point 
 in the fortunes of, 55, stock, 
 51 62, 75, econom3^ 246, com- 
 plete pacification, 310. 
 
 \ James I., 10. 
 Jeh'iugir, 10, 267. 
 Jeawunt Ahee Rao, 341-2. 
 Jhansi, annexation of, 346-7. 
 Joan of Arc an Indian, 342. 
 Johnson, Dr, and Hastings, 81. 
 Judicature, high court of 75, 
 
 103, ]15. 
 Juggat Sat, 34. 
 Juggafct Stngh, 233. 
 JuUndhar Doab 30 7» 
 Janiua, 106, 122. 
 
 Justice, local administration o! 
 371. 
 
 Kazi of Khairpur, 293. 
 
 Koane, Sir J.. 288. 
 
 Kerowli, 339-41. 
 
 Khalsa army, 305. final rout, 
 
 32;i, 
 Khan Singh, 311 
 Koh'i-nor, the 324. 
 Kurnool, Nawab of, 251. 
 Kurracheo, port of, 296. 
 
 Lahore, treaty with, 242 court of, 
 327 Resident of, 308 British 
 at, -11. 
 
 Lake, Lord, 228, 235, 238, 
 241. 
 
 Lally, 38. 
 
 Lambert, Commodore, 325. 
 
 Land its distribution and owners 
 in Bangal, 18:> revenue and its 
 collention, 183, tenture, 184- 
 186-7, settleiuent, 189. 
 
 Lawrence, Sir H., 323, 359. 
 
 Lawrence, Sir J, 367. 
 
 Leadenhall Street in 1872, 75 ; da- 
 light at, 83, 146, 181, 213, and 
 conquest, 218. 
 
 Lee.H, Colonal Nassau, 384, 
 
 Luckuow, court of, 17, 
 
 Lukshrai Bii, 347. 
 
 Lust of Christian Europe, 1, 2 ; of 
 England, 5. 
 
 Macartney, Lord, 140. 
 Macaulay, Lord, on war of sheep 
 
 against wolves, 37 ; 105, 117 
 
 288. 
 
 Maonaghten, Sir W., 288 235. 
 Madras authorities at, 17, sid- 
 
 ge of. 39 ; Hastings at, 82, 33 ; 
 
 130, 176; garrison of, 133 307, 
 Maharanee Bank^i Baee, 341. 
 Mahe. seig^ aad surrender of, 
 
 136. 
 Mohomed Reza Khan. 52. 84, 8« 
 
 8S, 88, 97, 1X4. 
 Mahrattas, the. 16, 54, 97, 107, 
 
 109, 122. 132 133, 135, 140, 
 
 171, 176, 179, 201, 210. 221, 
 
 226 ; war with the, oasus adli, 
 
tNDBt. 
 
 3d3 
 
 226, 228; its objects, 228, ita 
 terminatioa 229, 231 ; 255, 290, 
 26a, 301, 302. 
 
 Maharatta princes, the, 340. 
 
 Maianio. M., 201,' 202, 204,205. 
 
 Malcolm, Sir Jo comparative est- 
 imate of Europe and India, 8 ; 
 IS, 19, 99-102. 
 
 •* Mali, the glorious little 238, 
 
 Mangalore, treaty of, 173. 176. 
 
 Manael, Mr, advice of, 340, 341. 
 
 Maaulipatam, 10, 39, 129. 
 
 Matthews, Generail, in Mysore, 
 140 
 
 Mauritus, 245. 
 
 Mayo, Lord, on danger of excess- 
 ive taxation, 361,376,379, 380. 
 
 M'Leod, Lord, papers of, 138. 
 
 Meadows. General, 175. 
 
 Meauee, victory of 299, 300. 
 
 Meer, Roostnm 297. 
 
 Metcalfe, Col 240, 241 ; oonfog- 
 sion ki46, on our empire in 
 India, 253, 2.^4,-267 265, 267, 
 269, 279, 283, 284. 
 
 Mill, James, on Hyder Ali, 135, 
 136, 137. 
 
 Minto, Lord, 245 ; boast of, 246 
 
 Mir Jaffir Ali Khan. 31 -34 ; trea- 
 ty of, with the Company, 37 ; 
 S3, 39, 40. 45, 46, reproaches of 
 against the good faith o! the oo- 
 uuoil,46, 46 
 
 Mir Kasim, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47. 
 
 Mobaruok ul-Dowla, 85, 172. 
 
 Mogul, the, 10 ; an ' the Company 
 *t Bombay, 12 ; and the 
 Company at Hooghly, 14, 64, 
 55, 92. 93 
 
 Mogul Empire, disintegration of, 
 16 17 ; 98. 
 
 Mohammedanism in India, 13, 14, 
 ^4-5,98. 100. 
 
 Mohimmed Ali, 21. 181. 
 
 Mohammed Khan Talpur, 293. 
 
 Moira, Lord, 247 ; favour with the 
 Regent, 248, tenderheartedness, 
 
 248 ; finances of 270 ; sagacity. 
 
 249 ; and fhe Goorkhas, 252 ; 
 administr-fttioQ, 254 ; finanoe, 
 
 269 J return 270 ; governorship 
 of Malta, 270. 
 
 Mongbeer, fall of, 45. 
 
 Montague, Mr. F., 160, 
 
 Moolraj, 311-313,3204. 
 
 Moorshedabad, court of 32 ; march 
 on, 32, 33 ; treasury of, 33, 45, 
 fall of, 88. 
 
 Motnington, Lady 197. , [ 
 
 Mornington, Lord 196, 201 on 
 French ambition, 202, pious con- 
 cern for the faith and morals of 
 Tippco Saib, 202, 203 ; 205. 
 
 Moultan, out break at, 311, 312 
 siege, 320, 325. 
 
 Mound, St Thomas, the EugliSh 
 at, J 39. 
 
 Monson, Colonel, 76, 113, 112, 
 113. 117, 1^0. 
 
 Mussulmans, the and Britfsh rule, 
 384-6 
 
 Munuy Begum, 112. 
 
 Munro, Sir Hector, army of, 137, 
 138. 
 
 Munr'd, Sir T 100, 101, 174, 176, 
 179, 208, 210 ; v<ll, on watching 
 opportuniues, 170 ; wise coun- 
 sel of, 257,— 29. 
 
 Mutakheren on the English 260. 
 
 Mutiny, the oondiic of the Na- 
 Wab of Bengal during the, 355, 
 
 Mysore, 129, 130-132, l^^}^^.^ 
 proiected partition of, l//, -"p 
 20?! raj.h of, 208. 210. 
 attempted annotation ot, 500, 
 867. 
 
 Nagporo, annexation of, 341-341^, 
 jeweles of. 343 — 345. 
 
 Nana Furnivs, 176. 
 
 Nana Saib, 265. 
 
 Nap!er, Sit C, 296-300. 
 
 Napier, Sir W. 296. 
 
 Napoleon, parallel between the ag- 
 grandisinjz policy of, in Europe 
 and that of tne British in India, 
 4, 5, 196 ; dxepedition of 
 Egypt » 202 
 
 Natives, vain complaints ox, 
 
 54*5. 
 
S94 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Na wabs-Nazim of Bengal, 17, 50, 
 
 69, 60, 66, 86, 360, 364,366. 
 Nizam, the, 17, 20, 39, 132, 
 
 179, 180,201.208,261, 270. 
 North, Lord and the Company, 
 
 64, 113,127, 142. 
 Nuddea, Rajah, of 69. 
 Nudjum-ul-Dowla, 48, 62, 64, 
 
 63, 86. 
 Kunoomar, 62, 88, 97, 114, 115, 
 
 116. 117. 
 
 Oath of fealty by the grave of 
 
 Runjit Singh 306. 
 Official frauds, 70, 
 Omiohund, 36 
 Oodwa defence, 46. 
 Oude, 126, 128, BegumQ of 126- 
 
 128, annexation of, 368, 
 Oude and its viziers, 17, 38, 47, 64, 
 
 106, 123, 128, 216 260, 290 ; 
 Ouseley, Major, 341. j 
 
 Outram, Major, 295 299. 
 Oxenden, Sir, E„ 11. 
 
 Palmer, W., ^ Co. 269, 270. 
 Parallels historic, 93-96- 
 Parliament, injunction of i80. 
 PAtriotism, common, of Hindu 
 
 and mofilem, 92-93. 
 Patna, 13, 30, 44. 
 peace, native commissions of the, 
 
 371-2 
 peel, Sir R , 306, 308 
 Peers who voted in the case of 
 
 Hastings.. 1^7. 
 Pegu, annexation of. 320-329 
 Peiswa, the 220 221-224, 236, 
 
 283-286, 260, 262-265 
 Penal laws, absense of, ]04> 
 Pensions, English, from Louis 
 
 XIV.. 56. 
 PhilipII. of Spain. 178. 
 Pindh^rries. the 264-267,261. 
 Pitt, William and our colonial po- 
 , Bsessions 6 ; 1 etter to, from Olive, 
 39, India Bill of 1<j3-6. 148, 
 150. 161, 158, 160, 162, 195, 
 197, 198,^13, J32. 
 Plassey, battle of 33. 
 ?pndioherry, 136. 
 
 Poona, spectacle at 226 
 
 PortUL^'uese, the in India, 2 ; 
 purely commercial aims of, 9,10; 
 i29. 
 
 Partab Singh ?^32, 338 
 
 Presidency, the, in Calcutta, and 
 
 Soubahdar's Court, 61. 
 
 Pretab Singh, 19. 
 
 Princes, native, distrust of Eng- 
 lish fidelity. 368. 
 
 Proclamation, royal assuming 
 the government of India in 
 name ol the Queen, S63. 
 
 Prome, fall oi, 327. 
 
 Proprietors, court of 90, 91. 
 
 Proselytism, infatuation of 16. 
 
 Punciiayet, tribunal of, 373- 
 
 Punjab, 304, 310, 313, 316; an- 
 nexation of, 322, 324. 
 
 Pvadachurn Mittre, ]16. 
 Ragonath Rio 346. 
 Railways, 377. 
 
 Rajahs, the, as members of the 
 councils of the Presidencies, 
 370. 
 Raia Muhl, 33. 
 Rajashie, Rani of, 69. 
 ! Rampur. tattle of. 110. 
 Ranee Chunda 306, 309, 312— • 
 
 316, 325. 
 Rangoon, authorities of, 326 — 327. 
 Rapine, heyday of 60, 82. 
 Retrenchments, 85, 86 ; call for 
 
 military 377-8 
 Revenue, board of, 88. 
 Revolution, silent, in Bengal, 
 
 60, 61. 
 Richmond, Duke of, ^Q 
 Roe, Sir Tomns, 10. 
 Rohillas, the 106—111. 158. 
 Rohillchund, 107-111. 
 Rose, Sir H. 347. 
 Rotten, at heart, the 27, 82 
 Rumbold, Sir T. 141. 
 Ruujit Singh, 285, 286.^ 
 Russia, suspected intrigues of, 
 285. 
 
 Sahuji,19. 
 
 Satara annexation of, 834, 386. 
 
 ScindOi amirs of, 292, 302. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 395 
 
 Scindia, 221- 225, 229, 230, 241, 
 251. 256, 256, 266, 364. 
 
 Scott, Major, 160, 164. 
 
 Seaton, Mr. 268. 
 
 Sepoys, the 328. 
 
 ISeringapatam, 132, 299. 
 
 Servants, the Compan^s' 171. 
 
 Shah Alum , 47 ; firman of, 48, 54. 
 
 Shah Alum II., 228, 284, 267. 
 
 Shah Sujah 288, 291. 
 
 Shahzada, 38. 
 
 Shelburne, I^ord, 142, 150. 
 
 Shere Moham^led 300. 
 
 Shere Singh, 314, 316, 320 322. 
 
 Sheridan, R. B . 118 on the Com* 
 pany 319 ; on Sir E. Impey, 
 127 ; 165 ; speech against 
 Hasting 159, 160, 197. 
 Shore, Mr. report af, 68 ; 74> 186, 
 t. 188, 193. 
 Sikhs, the, 304, 807, 312, 314, 319, 
 
 335. 
 Simla proclamation, 287. 
 Sirdars, the 304, 306, 316, 321-2. 
 SitabRoy,87. 
 Siyajee, 97. 
 Sivajl, 11. 
 Sobroan, 306. 
 Somuath, gates of 291. 
 Sp^iQ, jdep.endencies cf, under ph« 
 
 ilip II., 16. 
 Stanley, Lord, 3^2, 365. 
 St George, Fort, founding of, 11 ; 
 
 fitrachey, H., on native justice, 90. 
 Struggle for empire in Europe, 
 
 194, 196. 
 Supcession, rights to, 831-334^ 
 
 l)alhouzie*8 disregaird of native 
 
 law, 384. 
 Sujah-ul-Dowla 47. 
 Suraja Dowls, 23*26-S7, 28, 30, 
 
 31, 82. 
 Surat, taken from Portugal by the 
 
 Dutch, 9, II, 214. 
 Suttee, abolition of,374« 
 Syef-ul-Dowla, 86. 
 
 Tanjore, 214. 
 
 Tanjore, Rajah of, 18. 
 
 Tatta cantonments at, 294, 296. 
 
 XaxAtioD, pomparatiTe» $74*3. 
 
 Teheran, 28 6, 295* 
 
 Thurlow, Lord, 150-1. 
 
 Tippoo Saib, 139, 140. ; character 
 
 of, 171-175, 176 ;submission,178» 
 
 180 ; 196, 200, 202, 204, 206, 207. 
 Tolerance, 96, 97. 
 Travancore, Rajah of 175, 180, 
 
 243. 
 Treaty, French and English, of 
 
 1764, 20 ; with Mir Jaffir, 35 
 
 37, 44, 46. 
 Tribunals of justice, 164-166, 
 Trimbuckjee, 261, 263. 
 Troops, native and European, 20, 
 
 Unit, the social, in India, 100, 101* 
 Vansittart, Mr. 40, 42, 60, 62, 71. 
 Verelst, Mr. 60, 66, 86, 106, 117. 
 Vira Rejendra, 276. 
 Vishnu, traditions of J 6. 
 
 Wahabees, complaints of, 417. 
 
 Watson, Admiral, 27, 29, 37. 
 
 Watts, Mr, 25, 29, 30, 33. 
 
 Wellesley, Lord, administration 
 of .an epoch, 208; advice, 210, 
 regard for trappings of royalty, 
 212; love of glory, 212; expensi- 
 veness, 213; indifference to Lea* 
 denhall Street, '^14; ' isposal of 
 Oude, 216 ; military policy, 216; 
 inexorable finance arrangemea? 
 ts, 216, 217; his place in the hi- 
 story of our Indian empire, 217; 
 and Leadenhall Street, 218, sch^ 
 eme of a cpllege for Indian 
 statesmen, 218; resignation ten- 
 dered And refused, 219 ; treaty 
 dictated to the Peishwa, 223, 
 224 ; correspondence with the 
 Mahratta chiefs, 226-^28; extra- 
 vagant rule, 230 ; See Welling- 
 ton. 
 
 Wellington, Duke of, on extension 
 of territory, 194 ; 273 ; and the 
 Bajah of Mysore, Z66, See Well- 
 esely. 
 
 Wheler, appointment as Governor- 
 General. 120. 
 
 William, Fort, erection of, 14; 
 surrender 26; 117. 
 
 Wine, ntw, in old bottles, 102*11^ 
 
 WynADd, 200,2C2SC4,2Cf 
 
Piut Puhliahed in 1872, by Trubner ^ Co.^ 
 
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 Ptiated by R. S. Pathak at Ibd Uaioa Pieaa, AlUhabad. 
 
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