8 X. PEARCE. 30K BINDER ~.\xn — Bsoi Maaafactnrer. icokuk, Iowa. V'^ ^ /•^ a H^j^JL^ oCo ( LIBRARY UHIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE %t T H £ ;0 -|'^ ^ O ! DKT nf t^f :-lrV«:4 \';\.:_'''* f » f^«-^ /" DEDICATFn BY IlKll MOST GKACI0U8 AUTHORITY TO MAJESTY THE QUEEN. THE INDIAN EMPIRE: HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, CLIMATE, POrULATION, CHIEF CITIES AKD PROVINCES; TRIBUTARY AXD PROTECTED STATES ; MILITAKY POWER AND RESOnRCES ; RELIGION, EDUCATION, CRIMK ; LAND TENURES ; STAPLE PRODUCTS ; GOVERKMENT, FINANCE, AND COMMERCE. WITH A PULL ACCOCST OP THE MUTINY OF THE BENGAL AEMT ; OF THE INSUEEECTION IN WESTEEN INDIA; AND A.N EXPOSITION OF THE ALLEGED CAUSES. \ BY R. MONTGOMERY MARTIN, {/I AUTHOR OF THE ** HISTORY OP THE BRITISH COLONIES, ETC. ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS, PORTRAITS, AND VIEWS. VOL. I. HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, POPULATION", GOVERNMENT, FINANCE, COMMERCE, AND STAPLE PRODUCTS. THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED: 97, 9S, 99, & 100. ST. JOHN STREET. LONDON; AND 35. HET STREET. VTW YORK. INDEX VOL. I. OF THE "INDIAN EMPIRE." Abdallin, or Dooranis, 173. Abul Fazil, axitbor of Akher Namah and Ai/eM Akbery, 91, 108; assossi- nntion, 1 M. Adit Shah dipinufi/ at fieejapoor — orij^in, 96 ; wur witii tlutnayuti, 130 ; extinc- tion hy Auruiiifzebc, 150. Administraiinn ofjitstice, 550, 551. Afqhans, or Pataru, SfJ. A/r/han war — opinions thereon, 435. Afghanistan, 27 ; rcci'ption of Moham- medanism, 56 ; war with Aurnniizebe, 1*17 , Shah Soojali restored by British troops, 437 ; British beleaguered in Cabool cantonments, 440 ; capitula- tion and retreat, 442 ; massacre in the JugduUuek Pass, 443 ; British reoccu- pation of Cabool, 445 ; jiroceedings of " army of retribution" denounced by Lord Brougham, 44 7 ; destruction of Great Bazaar and Mosque, 448 j evacu- ation of the country, 448, Agra occupied by Baber, 81 ; captured by Lake, 3%; topography, 481. Ahalya Bye. (See Hnlcar I'rincipalitg). Aheer, or shepherd, 249. Ahmedmigqitr, 98; kingdom subjugated by Shah'jehan, 130. Ahmed Shah {Emperor), accession, 173; deposition, 175. Ahmed Shah Doorani, King of Afgha- nistan, 3; invades India, 173; obtains cession of the Punjab, 175; gains the battle of Paniput, 179. Ajnteer, 106. Akber (Emperor), birth. 88 ; early perils, 91; accession, 107; Hindoo marriages, 110; conquests, 110; character, 115; personal appearance, 116; death, 116; vast wealth, 119. Aibur Kha?i, the Wallace of Cabool, 440, 442, 445. Alexander the Great, 21, 25; invades India, 27; Indian marches, 29, 36; departure and ileatli, 35 ; cities or mili- tary statiims fttunded by him, 37; his commercial policy, 37, All Verdi Khan, or Mohabet Jung, vice- roy of Bengal. 170, 243; death, 271. Allahabad and Corah, sold by E. I. Com- pany to Shuja Dowlah, 326. Almora (see Kinnaon), 413. Aliimgeer JI. (Emperor), accession, 175; assassination, 176. Amber, or Jeypoor, 106; Rajah Jey Sing II. builds Jeypoor, 162; condition of principality in 1745, 249. Amboynai Dutch government torture and execute English factors, 209. Ameer Khan, Mohammedan adventurer, 392, 393, 408, 416. Ameer-ool-Omra ; Ameer, Emir, or Mir, 75. Ameers of Sinde, division of power, 449; patriarchal administration, 450; con- quered and deposed by British, 452 ; case of Ali Morad, 452, 459. Amercot, Rajpoot principality, 88, 106, 452. Amrul Rao, 393, 394. Anjengo settlement, 253. Arcol, founded, 251 ; occupation and de- fence by Clive, 204. Aria (Kingdom nf), 48. Armegaun, station formed there, 211. Army (Anglo-Indian), state in 1765. 304 ; increased to enforce collection of taxes, 312; hired by Shuja Dowlah to extirpate Rohillas, 329 ; arrears of par, 352; sepoys faithful, though nearly starving for want of pay, 30 1 ; arrears in 1780, 365; state in 1793, 378; European and native force join British in Egypt, 388 ; dissatisfaction of Euro- peans at Madras, 409; state in 1817, 410; military expenditure, 422; con- dition before the mutiny of 1857, 553 — 555 ; tabular view of Europeans and natives employed, 565. Arracan, ceded to E. 1. Company by King of Ava, 425. Artillery, early use in India, 96. Afteerghur, 104, 105; obtained possession of by the first Nizam, 1 59 ; captured by the English, 398. Asiatic Society of Bengal, 375. A.\oca, edicts of, 86. Asnf Jah (see Cheeii Kilich Khan), 156; meaning of term, 160. Attack Fort, 113. Aurungzebe(Emperor),(j; character, 133; usurpation, 135; imprisons his father, 135 ; procures the death of his brothers and nephews, 135 — 139; illness, 140; Hindoo insurrection, 147 ; rebellion of his son. Prince Akber, 148; personal appearance, 151 ; his armies, 151 ; last campaign in the Deccan. 152; death, 153; will, deci'eeing division of empire among his sons, 153; peculiar direc- tions for his funeral, 153; farewell letters, 153; conduct to Hindoos and to conquered enemies, 154 ; anecdote, 229. Auto da Fe'at Goa, 193. Ayeen Akbery, 570. Baber (Emperor), early history, 79 ; invasion of India, 80 ; autobiogra- phy, 80 — 82 ; foundation of Mogul empire, 83 ; death, character, and career. 84, Bactria (Kingdom of), 48 — 50. Bahadur Shah, or Alnm Shah Bahadur, £»y;cror (Prince Mauzim), 140; geue- rous mediation on behalf of King of Goleonda, and seven years' imprison- ment, 150; accession, 154; wars and death, 155. Bahadur Shah, King of Gu/erat, opposes Hum&yun, 84 ; killed by Portuguese, 85. Bahar, or Behar (M.Tgadha), 15, 18, 107. Bahmani kings of the Deccan, origin of dvnasty, 93 ; good King Mabmood Shah I., 93, 94 ; Humayun the Cruel, 94 ; extinction of dynasty, 96. Baird (Sir David), 381, 3S2. Bamlu, Seik lender, 155 ; capture and execution, 157, Banians, native bankers, 218. Banks (Indian), 565. Ba/ipoo Gokla (.Mahratta general), 417, 418. Barred Shah dynasty of Bedar, 101. Barlow (Sir George), provisional admin- istration, 406 ; breach of treotiea, 406, Batrrala, defended by Ranee against Portuguese, 191 ; massacre of English for slaughter of a cow, 230. Balla, extra pay, 304, 428. Battles, Paniput (1526), 81; Paniput (1556), 108; Huldighat (1592), 112; Samaghur(1658), 134; Cujwa (1659), 137; Kurnaul (1738), 164; Paniput (1759), 179; Plassy (1757), 278; Buxar (1764), 299 ; Chercoolee (1771), 319; Baroilly (1774), 329; Porto Novo (1781), 354; PolUoor (1781), 355; Assaye (1803), 395; near Delhi (1803). 396; Laswaree (1803), 397; Argaum (1803), 398; Kirkce (1817), 417; Corygaum (1818), 418; AshK* (1818), 419; Mahidpoor (1817), 420; Tezeen (1818), 420; Meanee (1843), 451; Hyderabad (1843), 452; Maha- rajpoor (1843), 452; Puniar (1843), 452; Moodkee .wd Ferozshah (1845), 454 ; .Miwaland Sobraon (1846), 455; Chillianwallah (1849), 456; tabular view of principal battles, 460 — 463. Beechwa, Mahratta weapon, 143. Beejanuggur, Hindoo kingdom, 96 ; ex- tinction, 97. Becjapoor, conquered by.^urungzebe, 150. Beera, or fmn. 111. Benares, 1 7 ; Rajah Cheyte Sing depoied by Warren Hastings ; resistance, de- feat, and banishment ; annexation of principality by E. I. Company, 360 — 352 ; natives resist a house-tax, 410. Benfeld (Paul), intrigues in the Car- natic, 34 7. Bengal, 106; state of presidency in 1707, 234; in 1757, 271 — 282; revenue and expenditure in 1760, 290; corruption of officials, 294 ; general profligacy, 17G0 to 1770, 307; civil service in 1772, 322 ; supreme council. 331. Bentinck (Lord William), character given by Jacquemont, 428 ; administration, 428—431. Berar, or Nagpoor (see Bhontlay family), invaded by Patans and Pindarries, 409, 414; subsidiary force established in Berar, 414; annexation, 459. Bemadotte, captured by British at Cud- dalore, 353. Bemier, Shah Jehan's French physician, 132. Bhairatpoor (Khan of), rewarded by Lord Ellenborough, 450. Bheels, 141. Bhonslay family establish principahty in Berar, 168; Pursojee, 168; Ragojce, 394 ; Cuttaek and Balasore surren- dered to E. I. Company, 399; Appa INDEX TO VOL. I. OF THE " INDIAN EMPIRE. Sahib usurps the throne, 414; joins Peishwa against English, 418; defeat, flight, and obscure death, 420. Bhupal. 416. Bhow (Mahratta term), 177. Bhurtpoor {Jat fortress of), 249, 405, 420. Bikaneer {Rajpoot state of), 106. Bishops of Calcutta— MiddUton, 421 ; Heber, 421 ; James, 421 ; Turner, 421. Bo-mba}/, island ceded by Portugal, 216; transferred by crown to E. I. Company, 217; population. 217; presidency, 315, 340—345; topography, 481. Boodliism,\i,\!i; .\lompra, 422 ; Shwe- da-gon, or Boodhist temple, 424. Bore, Macedonian galleys injured by phenomenon, 34. Boughton (Gabriel), obtains trading pri- vileges from Shah Jehan, 214. Brahminism, 13, 15. BrahminSj character of, by Abul Fazil, 117. Briggs {Colonel), translation of Ferishta's History of Mohammedan India, 55 ; and of the Sigar ul Mutakherin, 156. Brinjarries, itinerant corn dealers, 370. Bruce' s Annals of E. I. Company. 231. Brgdon {Dr.), survivor of Cabool mas- sacre, 443. Bullaee, Bullawa, or Dher, Hindoo func- tionary, 572. Bundelcund, 106, 395; annexation, 398. Buonaparte, letters to Tippoo Sultan and Zemaun Shah, 377. Burman Empire, 423 ; migration of Mughs, 423 ; first Burmese war, 423 ; titles of kings of Ava, 423 ; English invasion, 424 ; second Burmese war, 456. Burnes (Sir Alexander), 438, 439. Bit^sy, French commander-in-chief, 261, 263 ; captured by English, 285. Byadhee, Hindoo functionary, 572. Caaba, or Kaaba, at Mecca, 52. Cabool, severed from Mogul empire by Nadir Shah, 167; Zem,mu Shah, 377, 388, 433 ; Shah Soojah and Dost Mo- hammed, 433. (See Afghanistan). Cabot {Giovanni or John), 197. Calcutta — settlement formed, and Fort William built, 224 ; presidency created, 235; soil purchased in fee-simple, 240; Mahratta ditch formed, 243 ; Fort William besieged and taken by Surajah Dowlah, 273 ; the " Black Hole," 273 ; Fort William recaptured by Clive and Watson, 274 ; supreme court in 1780, 337; topography, 481. Call, consort of Siva, 253 ; human heads offered at her shrine at Chittledroog, 348. Calicut {Hindoo principality of), 182; Portuguese defeated, 18C. Cananore {Hindoo principality of), 184. Candahar, comiuired by Baher, 80 ; lost by Shah Jehan, 131 ; kingdom founded by Ahmed Shah, an Afghan, 172; Cashmere incorporated with Candahar, 219 ; city occupied by Shah Soojali and the English, 436. Canovj, ancirnt Hindoo city, 65. Carcoovt, or clrrks, 141. Camatic, extent, 93 ; singular misnomer, 251 ; English and French support rival nawabs, 263 ; history during the 18th century, 270 ; renewal of hostilities, 283; suflVrings of population, 315; annexation, 387 ; Camatic debt and firm of Palmer and Co., 421. Ciuhmerc, 41 ; history of, 113; " saffron meads," 127 ; favourite retreat of suc- cessive emperors, 249 ; severance from empire, 249. Casie^ 14 ; interference with, at Vellore, 407. Cazi, or Mohammedan judge, 117. Champaneer hill-fort, 102. Chanderi, 106. Chandemagore, French settlement, cap. tured by English, 275 ; condition in 1757, 275. Chandraairi {Ray eel or Raj a lis of), 213, 218. 250, 253. Changi. standard of Mewar, 112. Charnock {Job), 222. Cheen Kilich Khan, 1 56 ; known as Nizam-ool-Moolk, the !Nizam, and Asuf Jah — intrigues at Delhi, 158 ; governor of Malwa, 158 ; founds an independent power in the Deccan, 159; becomes vizier, 160; called " the old Deccani baboon," 160 ; quits Delhi in disgust, 160 ; returns to the Deccan, and establishes his government at Hy- derabad, 160; courted back to Delhi, 162 ; character, 162, 167 ; death, 173. Chelah, 118. Child {John and Josiah), 220. Cholera, or Black Death, traverses India in 1817, 419. Chout, levied by Sevajee, 146, 249. Chowkeedar, Hindoo functionary, 572. Christianity in India, 529 — 535. Chunar fortress, captured by Humayun, 86. Cities {principal Indian), 481 — 485. Claccring {General), 331 ; quarrel with Warren Hastings, 336 ; death, 337. Climate, 486—491. Clive {Robert, Lord), birth and early career, 258 ; attempts suicide, 258 ; narrow escape at Arcot, 264 ; marriage, 203 ; obtains jaghire from Meer Jatfier, and great wealth, 281, 287 ; created Baron of Plassy. 301 ; subdues mutiny of English officers, 305 ; traits of character, 305 ; irregular gains, 306 ; parliamentary inquiry, and suicide, 307, Cochin, 184; rajahs ill-treated by the Dutch, 244 ; tribute to English, 410. Coins, 565 ; dihnar, 62 ; dirhera, 62, 69 ; fanam, 75; gold fanara, 311; boon, 97 ; pagoda, 75, 235, 384 ; pice, 217 ; rupee, 217; sicca rupee, 294; shah- ruki, 81 ; tunkha, 570. College of Fort William, 402. Combermere {Viscount), at Bhurtpoor, 426. Commanders-in-chief- — Coote, 355, 357, 358 — (see Comwallis and Harris) ; El- phinstone — captivity, 439 ; death, 445 ; O -'-h, 445. Commerce (Indian), 560, 562. Conolly, three brothers, 441 ; John, 441; Arthur martyred at Bokhara, 447. Coolcurny , hereditary village accountant, 98. Coolies (Hill), 141. Coorg, 253; captured by Hyder All, 348; insurrections under Tippoo Sultan, 307 ; Rajah Veer Rajundra supplies the English with grain in the invasitm of Mysoor, 379 ; annexation, 430 ; ex-rajah in England, 430 ; daughter god-child to Queen Victoria, 430 ; question regarding rajah's funded pro- perty, 430 ; landed tenure in, 569. Cornwallis (Lord), governor-general and commaiidei'-in-chief, 366 ; establislu'S a fixed land rent tliroughout Bengal, 366; zemindar settlement, 573; judi- cial system and foreign policy, 367 — 373 ; second administration, 405 ; death, 406. Covenanted and uncovenanted services, 549. Crime, statistics of, 542 — 544. Crishna, or Krishna, 17,253. Crishna Kumari, Princess of Oodipoor. 408. Cvnjee, or rice-water, 265. Currency, insufficient, 311. Cutwal, or magistrate, 101, Dacoits. or Decoiis, 330. Dalhousie (Marquis of), review of ad- ministration, 459. Danish E. I. Company, 205 ; settlements in the 18th century, 234, 245. Debt {Indian). 365, 374, 422. Deccan, sufferings of inhabitants during wars of Aurungzebe, 152. Dehra Doon annexed by E.I. Company, 413. Delhi, 41 ; slave kings of, 72 ; sacked by Timur, 78; captured by Baber, 81; new city built by Shah Jehan, 135; earthquake, 159; seized by Nadir Shah — massacre of citizens, 165; captured by Mahrattas, 178 ; seized by Rohillas, emperor blinded, and his family tor- tured, 373 ; taken by Lake, 397. Dellon (French physician), imprisoned by Inquisition at Goa, 193. Dennie (Colonel), 436, 444. Deo, a good spirit, 175. Desmookhs, 141 ; meaning of word, 157. Devicotta, capture of, 258 ; occupation by English, 259. Deu-annee, 300 ; of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. obtained from Shah Alum. 303. Dhar (Puars of). 161, 320. Dhungurs of Maharashtra, 249. Dhurna, species of dunning, 169. Diamonds, and other precious stones, 497. Diseases (Indian), 491. Diu occupied by Portuguese, 190. Doiit Mohamjncd, 433, 436, 437, 443. Duelling prohibited by E. I. Company, on penalty of dismissal, 366. Duff's (Captain Grant), History of the Mahrattas, 149. Duleep Sing (Maharajah). 454. Dupleix, French governor-general, 248 ; political intrigues of Madame Dupleix, 259 ; brilliant success, 263 ; reverses, 208 ; super.session and death, 269. Durrahs, or camps, 239. Dustucks, or passports, 416. Dutch power, rise of, 195; Cornelius Houtman, 195 ; E. I. Companies, 196 ; dividends, 206 ; position in the 18th century, 233 ; lucrative trade, 245 ; hastilities with English, 288 ; decreased importance, 317; cession of settlements to English, 421, 427. Dyt, an evil spirit, 175. East Indiamen, 227. Education, 537, 538. Edwardes (Major Herbert), 456. Ellmburovgh (Earl of), ordejs evacna- tion of Afghanistan, 445; "song of triumph," 448 ; recall, 453. Elphinstone (Mountstuart), British resi- dent lit Poona, 416; enibatsy to A - ghaniston, 434. English E. I. Companies, origin, 5, 6, 197; first company, 196; chartered and protected by Elizabeth, 200 ; terms of charter, 201; first fleet, 202; in- crease of navy, 204, 227; commence- ment of trade with Bengal, 212; par- Uamentory discussions, 212 ; statisticii, INDKX TO vol.. I. OK THIi INJJIAN KMriKE. lU 212, 213; (lividends, 213; liontilities with AurunKzrbc, 221 ; ronvoy pilKriin vcHscis to Mfcai, 227 ; hostilily of rivjil nmipniiies, 228 ; rival JigriHMi-H nt Mogul court, 229 ; large importution of piece goods, 229 ; union of rompanics, 23H ; wtir witli Fn-ru-h, 2r)l ; bribery and corruption, 301 ; parliamcntiiry interference, 309 ; compiiny on verge of bankruptcy, 312 ; *' regulating act" of parliament, 312 ; breach of faitli with the emperor, 324 ; renewal of charter (1793), and financial ]H)sition, 371 ; finances, -122,428; renewal of charter (1833), 431. English Rmsian Company, clmrtered by Queen Klizabetl), 198. English Turkey Compaug, 199. Etal Rao, faitliful Mahratta leader, 3M. Eunuchs, 120. Eusofzie Afghans^ 1 13. Execution by blowing from guns, prac- tised by Lally, 283 ; by Munro, 299. Famine in 16C1, 139; in Bengal, 1769- '70, 310 ; in the Carnatic, 350 ; in the Uecean, 400, Fcdcgan, zealots of Almowut, 72. Eeizi, brother of Abul Fazil, 1 15. Ferdotm, author of Shah Namah ; death, 66. Ferishta, Mohammedan historian, 55 ; his works, 102; definition of Christian doctrines, 232. Feroksheer {Bmpero?-), 156 ; accession, and free use of the bow-string, 156; war with Sciks, 157; murdered by Seyed brothers, 158. Fish {Mogul Order of the), 262. Foujdar, or military governor, 117. Francis [Sir Philip), 331 ; reputed author of Junius' Letters: wounded in duel with governor-general, 339; resigns, and returns to England, 339. F^eJich East India Companies^ 7, 205 ; company formed by Colbert, 218 ; un- successful as tnulers, 227 ; position in India in the IHth century, 235 ; Dumas governor-general, 24G ; war with Eng- lish, 254 ; proceedings in the Carnatic, 261; power at its height, 263; no military post left, 286 ; extinction of company, 287. French officers in natitie service — Per- ron, 390 ; Ventura, Court, and Allard, 454. French possessions in India, 349, 350 (see Buonaparte); republic negotiate with Tippoo Sultan, 379 ; Pondicherry seized by British, 389. Gadi, or Hindoo throne, 162. Galloivag {General), 427. Ganges, steam navigation, 430; source, length, &c., 480. Geography of India, extent and bounda- ries, 41)4, 465 ; aspect of provinces and districts, 510, 511. Geology, 492—494. Ghaut {Bala and Payeen), 251. Ghazis, or Ghazeps,'^\, 96, 108, 436. Gheria captured from the Angria family, 271. Ghor {House of), 71. Ghuznee {House of), 59; population, 66 — 69 ; termination of dynasty, 70 ; city taken by English, 436 ; sandal-wood gates, 445 ; destruction of fortress, 447. Gillespie {Rollo), 411. Goa captured by Portuguese, 97, 187; Inquisition established, 193. Gohud {Rana of), ill-treated by E. I. Company, 405 ; Lord Lake's appeal on bis behalf. 405. Golconda, last independent Mohamme- dan state destroyed by Aurungzebe, 150. Gomantahs, or native agents, 295. Gomhroon, 208. Gfinedulees, 174. Goorkas, spread over Ncpaul, 410; origin of dynasty, 411 ; infantry, 445. Gosaen, Hindoo religious mendicant, 146. Government {Anglo-Indian), 545—548. Governors - general — Warren Hastings, 331—365; Marquis Cornwallis, 366 — 374 ; Sir John Shore (afterwards Lord Teignmouth), 374, 375 ; Earl of Morn- ington (afterwards Marquis Wellesley), 370 — 404 ; Marquis Cornwallis, 405^ 406 ; Sir George Barlow (provisional), 400, 407; Earl of Minto, 408—410; Lord Moira (afterwards Marquis of Hastings), 410; John Adam (provi- sional), 422 ; Earl Amherst, 422— 428 ; Butterworth Bayley (provisional), 428; Lord William Bentinck, 428— 431 ; Sir Charles Metcalfe (provi- sional), 431 ; Lord Auckland, 431 — 433 ; Earl of Ellenborough, 443—452 ; Sir Henry (afterwards Lord) Hardinge, 453 — 455; Earl (afterwards Marquis) of Dal)iousie, 456 — 459. Great Moguls, Emperors, or Padshahs, of the House of Timur. {See Timur, Babcr, llnmaymi, Akber, Shah .fehan. Shah Alum, Aurungzebc, Bahadur Shah, Jehander Shah, Feroksheer, Mohawrned Shah, Ahmed Shah, Abnn- geer II.) Enormous wealth of Great Moguls, 119 ; crown and tiirone, 120; peacock throne, 135; seized by Nadir Shah, 166. Grunth, Seik scriptures, 155. Gunpowder (alleged use in India, a.d. 1008), 64. Gum, 155; Guru Govind, 155. GiLzerat, kings of, 101 ; Mahmood Be- garra, 103; Bahadur Shah, 85. 103; conquered by Akber, l.iO ; chout and surdeshmooki granted to Mahrattas^ 161, 249. GtralioTf 106; Gwalior fortress, a state prison, 120, 128; Bastille of Hindoo- stan, 136; taken by Rana of Gohud, 344 ; permanent occupation by Sindia — standing camp established, and city founded, 416. Hafz, poei of Shiraz, 9L Halhed's Digest of Hindoo Laws, 323. Hamilton's {Captain), New Account of the East Indies, 211. Hamilton {Surgeon), cures Feroksheer, and obtains privileges for E. I. Com- pany, 239. Hanivay {Jonas), 172. Harauti, Rajpoot principality, 106. Harbours {Principal), 512. 513. Harris {Ijird), commander-in-chief, 398; governor of Madras, 582. Hastings {Marquis of), character of his administration, 421; death, 422; his wife, the Countess of Loudon, 422. Hastings {JVai'ren), 200; advocates na- tive rights. 299 ; early history, 321 ; made governor of Bengal. 322 ; sells children of robbers as slaves, 330 ; appointed governor-general, 331 ; per- son and character, 331 ; cliarges of peculation, 332 ; contest with Nunco- mar, 335 ; repudi.ites resignation ten- dered by his agent 336 ; marries Baroness Imhoff, 337 ; duel with Fran- cis, .139 ; conduct to Rnjah of BenarPB, 360 ; flicH by night from lU-uawh, 301 ; extorts money from Begumft of Oude, 303 ; torturcN their nt;ed hcrvant«, 363 ; private purse of MrM, Hfititings, 364 ; return to England, 365 ; impeachment, 305 ; acquittal, poverty, and death, 366. Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, 421. Hedaya, Mohammedan law code, 323. Herat, seized by Uoht Mohammed, 433. Heroic, or vanguard, 122. HetknrecH, Concan mountaineers, 151. Hindoo anfhors, 153. Hmdoo-Koosh, 25, 26, 4GG. Hindoos, character of, by Abul Fazil, 117. Hindoostan, 13. Holcar, or Indore Principality, origin of family, 101 ; Mulhar Rao, 161 ; suc- cessful administration of the good prin- cess Ahalya Bye; person, character, and administration, 390—392, 580; Jeswunt Rao, 392; sack of Indore by the Pindarries, 393 ; predatory war with the English, 399 ; idiocy and death, 408 ; Jeswunt Rao's concubine, Toolsoe Bye, 419; her career and death, 420, Ilooghly taken by Shah Jehan from Por- tuguese, 130; made the royal port of Bengal, 131 ; trading post established by English, 213. Humaynn {Emperor), 84 ; memoirs, 85 ; exile, 87; restoration, 92; death and character, 92. Hyderabad, capital of the Deccan, his- tory during the 18th century, 270. Ilyder Ali, of Mysoor — early career, 285 ; agreement with Lally, 285 ; seizes Bed- nore and Malabar, 316; detects con- spiracy for his assassination, 317 ; op- posed by Peishwa, 319; quarrels with Tippoo, 319; extortion and economy, 345; confidence in Swartz, 350; French officers in hie service, 353 : avoidance of pitched battles, 354 ; flight from Polliloor, 355; death, 356; treatment of English prisoners, 359 ; tyrannical assejjsment, 571. Imad Shah dynasty of Betar, 101. Imaum Hussyn and family murdered. S8 ; fate of Imanm Hassan, 265. Impey [Sir Elijah), 331 ; condemnation of Nuncomar. 334 ; recall, 338. Imports and Exports, 563. India, 113; Arrian's account, 36; Me- gasthenes' account, 38 ; edicts of Asoca, 38 ; early divisions, 40 — 44 ; social condition, 43; laws, 44; position of women, 44 ; astronomy, trigonometry, geometry, decimal notation, chrono- logy, 45; geography, medicine, litera- ture, 46 ; music, painting, sculpture, architecture, fetes, police system, dress, currency, 47 ; condition when Akber began to reign, 93 — 107; commercial intercourse with Europe, 181 ; condi- tion in the middle of the 1 8th century, 249, 253, 308; state at the close of Lord Dalhousie's administration, 459. Indo- Mohammedan dynasties (table of), 180. Indus river, crossed by Alexander. 228. Inquisition in Portuguese settlements, 193. Interest (legal rate), 313. interlopers, 203; favoured by Cromwell, 216; Skinner's case, 217; treated as pirates, 225. Invasion of India — Semiramis, Sesostris, Hercules, and Cyrus. 19; Alexander the Great. 26; S^^leucus, 37 ; Arab inva- sion of Western India, 56 ; Mahmood IV INDEX TO VOL. I. OF THE " INDIAN EMPIRE. of Gbuznee, 62 — 68 ; Shahab-oo-Deen, of Ghor, 71 ; Moguls from Tran- EOxinna, 73 ; Tiruur Beg, or Tamerlane, 77 ; Baber, 80 ; Persians under Nadir Shah, 162; Afghans under Ahmed Shah Dcorani, 175, 176 ; threatened by Zemaun Shah, .S77. Investment (mercantile) of E. I. Com- pany, 237; Bengal investment of 1771, 311. Islands on the coast of India, 511. Jaghire, origin and conditions, 306. Jain religion, 16. Jansi, or Jhansie, 162, 459. Jats, Jits, or Juts, 68 ; rise under Au- rungzebe, 152, 249; agriculturists, 177; progress, 249. Jebbttrn, magical incantation said to have killed Lord Pigot and Hyder Ali, 357 ; performed by order of Tippoo Sultan, ' 3S0. Jee, Mahralta adjunct, 141. Jehander Shah {Ejnperor), accession, 155; violent deatli, 156. Jehanyeer {Eviperor), Prince Selim, 114; autobiography, 119; accession, 120; habits of intoxication, 190; edict against use of tobacco, 121 ; captivity and rescue, 126 ; death and character, 127. Jellalabad (see Sieges), destruction of for- tress, 447. Jengis, or Ghengis Khan, 72. Jessulmer, Rajpoot principality, 106. Jeypoor (see Amber), 106. Jezail, Afghan rifle, 443. Jezia, or capitation-tax on infidels, abo- lished by Akber, 118; reimposed by Aurungzebe, 147. Jhalor, Rajpoot principality, 106. Jhelum, or Hgdaspes river, crossed by Alexander, 29. Johur, Hindoo self-immolation. 111. Jones {Sir Harford), Persian embassy, 409. Jones (Sir William), 165; death, 375. Joowaree, coarse grain, 161. Jnanpoor {Kingdom of), 107. Jugdulluck Pass, massacre of English, 443. Jummoo {Lords of), 453. Kalloras, Persian adventurers, 449. Kanhojee, or Canojee Angria, of Kolaba, 168 ; piracies of his sous, 243. Kativar, or Surashtra peninsula, 101. Khaji Khan, the Mohammedan historian, 135; true name and position, 139; negotiations with English at Bombay, 227. Khan Jehan Lodi. and his sons, 129. Khans of t'andeish, 105. Khilji (House of), 73 ; Khiljies, 437, 442. Khitlut, or Khelat, 168; form of recog- nition necessary to legal succession, 426. Khotbah, 93, 107. Khyher Pass, 444. Kidd {Captain), executed for piracy, 227. Kidnapping of native children by Euro- peans, 330. Koh-i-Noor diamond, 433, 434, 435. Kolapoor {Rajah of), 174; principality, 253. Koord-Cabool Pass, massacre of English, 412. Koutb Shah dynasty at Golconda — origin, 99 ; extinction by Aurungzebe, 150. Koran, 53. Kotah Principalily, 400; Regent Zalim Sin<;, iW), 401. Kudapa {Nabob of), 261, 202. Kumaon, taken from Goorkas ; annex- ation, 413. Kurnotil, Patan chief of, 253, 261 ; annexation of principality, 443. Kurpa, Patan chief of, 253 ; captured by Hyder Ali, 349. Kurrachee, annexation, 450, La Bourdonnais, governor of the Mau- ritius, 247 ; able administration, 247 ; capture of Madras, 255 ; imprisonment and death, 255. Lahore, capital of Punjab (Sangala), 31, 41; occupied by Mahmood, h7 ; royal residence transferred from Gbuznee to Lahore, 70 : burnt by Baber, 80. (See Rvnjeet Sing). Lake {Lord), noble conduct at Las- waree, 397 ; intervention on behalf of native piinces, 405 ; resignation on ac- count of breach of treaties, 406; death, 406. Lally {Count), 282 ; surrender to Eng- lish, 286 ; return to France ; death by the guillotine, 286. Lambert's {Commodore) proceedings at Rangoon, 457. Land, tenure of, 323 ; Warren Hastings' method of raising revenue, 323 ; Lord Cornwallis' perj)etual settlement in Bengal, 366, 367 ; Munro's ryotwar assessment, 421 ; general account of land tenures, 567 — 5S2. Land-revenue in each presidency, 566. Land-tax in each presidency, 581. Languages of India, 503 ; Pali or Ma- gadhi, 38, 39; Tamul, Canarese, Mah- ratta, and Urya, 41; Persian, 124; Hindoostani, 124; Mahratta, 250. Latter {Major), success in war with Ne- paul, 411. Latter {Captain), assassinated at Prome, 458. Law {John), Scottish adventurer — E. I. Company, and other projects, 246. Laws — Digests of Hindoo and Moham- medan codes, 323. Lodi {House of), 79. Lueknow, capital of Oude, 276. Luhburs, plundering expeditions, 416. Lushknr, or Leskar, Indian camp, 124. Maajun, intoxicating confection, 116. Macartney {Lord), governor of Madras, 355; probity, 366; duels, 366. Macherri (treaty witli rajah), 406. Macnaghten {Sir \V.), 437 ; Lady Mac- naghten, captivity and rescue, 446, Madras, founded, 213 ; raised to a presi- dency, 213 ; formed into a corporation, 221 ; first English church erected by Streynsbam Masters, 232 ; state of presidency at beginning of 18th cen- tury, 234, 235 ; salaries of officials, 236 ; captured by French, 255 ; re- stored, 257; history, 1761 to 1/74, 315—320; incursions of Hyder Ali, 318; money transactions of English officials with Mohammed Ali, 345; dealings with Hyder Ali, 351 ; his secoiul invasion, 352 ; Colonel Baillie's detachment cut off by Ilyder, 353, topography, 481. Maha Jibarat, or Great M'ar, 17. Maha liajah, 325. Maharashtra, 140, 250. Mahi, or Order of the Fish, 262. Mahmood of Ohuznce, peison and cha- racter, 01 ; thirteen expeditions to India, 62—08; death, "69. Mahratta state, rise of, 140; reign of Rajah Sevajee, 145 — 149; Rajah Suni- bajee, 149 — 151; national flag, 151; mode of fighting, !52 ; Rajah Shao, 155; chout levied in the Deccan, 155, 157; power at its zenith, 177; condi- tion in 1772, 321 ; in 1800, 38'9; mili- tary force in 1816, 415. Mahrattas, 140; characteristics, 370. Malabai — Portuguese proceedings, 184; Syrian Christians persecuted by Portu- guese, 193. Malcolm {Sir John), life of Clive, 305 ; Persian embassy, 388, 409 ; political agent at Poona, 416. Malwa, kings of, 104; Mandu founded, 104; conquered by Akber, 109; revolt of governor Cheen Kilich Khan, 168. Maritime stations {British), 513. Maruar, Rahtore principality, 106. Massulnh boats, 235. Mauritius, or Isle of France, 24 7 ; French governor assists Tippoo against the English, 377 ; taken by English, 409. Mau'ulees, 141, 151. j Meer adel, Mohammedan judge, 117. Meeran (the Chuta Nabob), career, cha- racter, and death, 281 — 289. Meer Cossim Khan made Nabob of Ben- gal, 290; able administration, 292; deposition, 297 ; war with English, 298 ; defeated at Buxar, 299. Meer Jaffier Khan conspires with English against Surajah Donlah, 275 ; made Nawab of Bengal, 280; deposed, 290; replaced on the musnud, 297 ; death, 300. Menu {Institutes or Code of), 14, 569. Merut, or Meerut, 1 06. Metcalfe {Sir Charles, afteru-ards Lord), 421, 573. Mewar, Rajpoot principality, 106, 249. Mildenhall {John), embassy to Jehangeer, 200. Military contingents of Native states, 525, Military resources of India, before the mutiny, 525. Military stations {British), 513. Mmeralogy, 495. Mir Cholam Hussein, Mussulman his- torian, 156. Miras, form of landed tenure, 572. Missions (Christian), 529 — 535. Missionaries (Amo-ican) — Price and Jud- son negotiate with the King of Ava, 425. Missionaries (Banish) — Swartz, the only ambassador Hyder Ali would receive, 350. Missionaries (Btitch) — Baldseus, 231. (Frejich) — Zavier, 191. Alogul Empire at the death of the Em- jieror Akber, 117. Moguls, as distinguished from Turks and Tartars, 81, 82. Mohammed — birth, person, character, career, 52 ; Hejira, or flight, 53 ; death, 54. Mohammedanism — rise in Arabia, pro- pagation in Africa and Europe, 54, 55 in India, 56. Mohammed Ali, Nawab of Carnatic, 266 ; maladministration, 315; puts Moham- med Esoof to death, 316; a worse ruler than Hyder Ali, 345. Mohammed Shah (Emperor), accession, 158; politic mother, 159; triumphs over Seyed brothers, 159; just and merciful, 166; his death. 173. Mohiin Lai (Moonshee), 438, 447. Monetary system, 559. Monsoon, 487. Moolloh. Mohammedan priest, 164. Moorsaun (Rajah of), in Alighur, 580. INDKX TO VOL. I. OF TlIK " INDIAN EMPIRE." Moomhed Kooli Khan, viceroy of Bengal, clmractpr mill oiiiuliiit. 2-10; ilcntli, 21.'!. M'iplah, or Mti/iil/ii. :117. M„ran Kao, Irudcr .if Mahr.il I .. m.T- cciuvii-s 2fil; (■sl..lilisl.fs lumscll ..t Gniilv, 207; Funinilcr to lljilir Ali, iin-1 liciUi .'ilB. Moiilimi. iir Mdiilhm, 77, 107, 'ir.B. itfoHnlfai«,v— extent, |iositi.in, elevation, and Reology, 4GG— 470. Momitaiii paxsrs, 471. Mnnra (f^'ir Hector), at Polliloor, S.'i.'j. Mimro (.S'lr Thumns). novern.ir of Ma- ,|,.„s— exorbitant laml assessment, 421 ; death, 422 ; deseriiition of ancient vil- lage system. •'>73. lUnnmlKlars. IIH. Miixxulman aul/m-x, 15S. Muthiij of ICni^lish soldiers at Bombay. 220- of sepoys under Mnnro, 298 ; of English ofiieer.'i under Clive, 305 ; sep.iys at Vellore. 407; sepoys at Bi.rnickpoor, 424. Mvtira. 05 ; capture by Ahmed .Sliah Doorani, and massacre, 175. Mi/tipnurie {Rajah of). 580. Miisoor, origin of state and name, 25:i ; historical summary, 270 ; restoration of Hindoo dynasty, 383; revenue in 1799, 3H4 ; Poornea, good and able Hindoo minister, 384. Nabob, or Nawab. 221. Nadir Shah, of Persia, 3 ; early career, 103 ; invasion of India. 105; immense plunder obtained in Delhi, 100; re- turns to Persia, 107; character, ap- pearance, and stronc; voice, 107; crimes .-.nd assassination. 172. Ncf/ijoor. (See Bcrar). NiKias. or Snake godx, 113. Noii. 109. Naik Sviahdar, 156. Nnirs of Malabar, 183. Nana Furnai^cfie, 390. Nannk, first Guru of the Seiks, 155. Napier {Sir Charles), proceedings in Sindc, and controversy with Outran); 419. Narwar {Principality of), lOG. Nnvii {Indian). 555. Nearvhia; Ale.'iander's admiral, 32 ; voyage from the Indus to Persian gulf, 35. Nemnd, religious impostor, 159. NepanI, war with Goorkas. or Nepaulese, 411,412. Nizam-ool-Moolk. (See Cheen Kihch Khan). Nizam Shah dynasty at Ahmednxtygvr, origin, 98 ; regency of Chand Beeby, 99; extinction of kingdom. l.'^O. Nizams of the Veccan, or Hijderabad— declaration of independeni^e, ! 5B ; French corps of Nizam Ali di.sbandeJ by Marquis WcUesley, 378; military strength in 1810, 415. Nizamnt Svddnr Adnwliit, 324. Northern Circars. 2ij9. North- fVesteni Proriiiccf — land revenue, area, and population, 514, 515; land tenure. 570. Nour Malial (afterwards Empress Noiir Jeban), birth, early life, 121 ; her jewels, 122; rescues the emperor, 120 ; widow, hood and death. 127. Nvkara. or state drum, 120. jVimcomar— history, 313, 335; beard in council against governor-general, 333 ; trial and execution, 335. Nuieerec tiattalions, 413. Nuzur, or Nuzzvr, 108. Ochlerlony {General Sir David), 409, 411, 41,3; d™th, 421,425. fjniirhvnd pro.-ures r.-lease of Burvivorn of m.i.k Ilol.', 274, 277; intriguen with Knglisb, 270.277; deci-ived by forg.-d tr.'i.ty.279; discovery of deceit, innunity, and death, 280. Onrrha. in Bund.dcnnd, lOG. Opium motiopoly. 305 ; growtli or use of opium )irohibited by Tijipoo Sultan, 37" ; not used by Ameers ol Sinde, 450. Ormn: {Islaud if), 208. (Jrri/, his Indian policy, 24C, 254. Osl'cnd E. I. Company, 24 1 . Ottde, or Ayodhya, 15, 17; Sadut Khan, viceroy, 104;' his dcth, 100; Shuja Dowloh, nawab-vizier, 314 ; obtain- ment of Robilcund, 329 ; death. 330 ; Asuf-ad-Dowlah— i-hara<;ter, 302; Be- gums of Oude ill-treated by Hastings, 303 ; tribute reduced by Cornwallis, 307; disputed succession, 375; Sadut Ali chosen. 375 ; Vizier Ali causes death of British resident— escapes, is captured, and imprisoned for life, 386 ; Gliazi-oo-deen lends money to E. I. Company, 4 13 ; is suffered to assume title of king, 421 ; financial transactions, 422 ; annexation, 459. Oudipoor, or Oodipoor, capit.al of Mewar, founded. Ill; Uana I'ertap, 1 11 ; Rana Cmra, 123 ; Rana Raj Sing rescues the intended bride of Aurungzebe, 148 ; restoration of territory by Bahadur Shah. 155 ; condition in 1745, 249 ; in 1772^ 320; excellent minister, Umra Chund, 320 ; sacrifice of Princess Chrisna. 408. Ovsely {Sir Gore), Persian embassy, 409. Oiitram {Sir Jamr.), controversy with Napier, 449. Overland Route, 430. Palihothra, King Chandra Gupta, 38. Pan. HI. Paima. in Bundelcund, lOG. Parker {Chovans of), 106. Paropamisvs, 25. Parthia {Kingdom of). 4R, 50. Patels, Hindoo village functionaries, 141. Pegu, annexation of, 458. Peons, native police. 221. Pepjjer, sale of, 200 ; demand for, 208 ; stock of E. I. Company seized by Charles 1., 213 ; Malabar pepper, 232 ; Banee of Garsopa, " the pepper queen." 253 ; Company agree with Hyder Ali for monopoly of purchase, 319. Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, 43. Perron, 395, 396. Peslmwer, or Peshnirvr, 65. Peshiras, or Peishtras, 98 ; Brabmin dvnasty at Poona founded by Balajee AViswanath, 160; Bajee Rao, character and person, 101 ; defies Nadir Shah. 169; death. 109; Balajee Bajee, cha- racter and death, 179 ; summary, 270 ; Mahdoo Rao opposes Hyder Ali. 317, 319; death, 320 ;Narrain Rao (Peishwa) murdered. 340 ; traits of character, 341 ; Ragoba supported as Peishwa by English, 341 ; Anundee Bye, wife of Ragoba, 340, 390 ; Bajee Rao (the last Peishwa), 390 ; faithlessness and un- popularity, 394 ; concessions to E. I. Company. 415; hostility — defeat at Kirkee, 417; flight from Poona, 418; surrender, and residence at Beithoor, or Bithoor, as a British stipendinry, 419. Pcllnh, native town, 33. Piijot {Lord), governor of Aladras, 347; attempt to bribe, 347; arrent, and death in prison, 347. Pindarries, 319, 390; etymology, 414; duppression by Lord IlaKtings, 415 — 420; fate of lendcrK, Heeroo and Bur- run, 410; Kurecm Khan, Wahil Mo- hammed, an.l Chectoo, 420. Pitt diamond, 238. Polygars, 571. Pimilii-herry, capital of French possen. sions, foundi-d, 247; wise government of M. Martin, 246; surrendered by I.ally to Coote, 286. Poona, 141; made Mahrattn capital by Peishwa Babijec Bajee, 174,250,270; annexation, 419. Popalaliiin, 498—503; 514—525. Portuguese dominion, rise, 182; Vase.o de Gama, 182; Alvarez Cabral, 183; Duarte Pacheco, 185; conquest of Malacca, 187; bigotry and corruption, 194 ; position at the end of the 10th century, 194; position in the 18th century, 233. Portuguese viceroys, or govemort-general — Almeida, 185; Albuquerque, If 6; Soarez, 188 ; Vaico de Gama, 189 ; De Sousa, 190. Poms, 29 ; defeated by Alexander, 30. Potail, or Patel, 141, 572. Pottinger {Eldred), 434, 446. Potlinger (.Sir Henry), 449, 450, 458. Pousta, deadly drink, 139. Press — deportation of Silk Buckingham, 422; restrictions. 4 28 ; restrictions re- m.ived, 431 ; English and Native, 539. Prester {John), 192. Prithee nidhee, meaning of term, 161. Prize-money obtained at Gheria (1750), 271; ill effects, 298; Benares (1781), 302 ; Seringapatam (1799), 382 ; Agra (1803), 396; Bhurtpoor (1826), 427; Sinde (1843), 449 — 151. Puar {Udajee). origin of principality of Dhar, 161, 320. Pupgee, Hindoo village detective, 572. Punchayet, Hindoo village jury, 324. Punjab, invaded by Alexander, 29 ; divi- sions. 41 ; invaded from Ghuznee, 63 ; Mahrattas expel Dooranis, 177; pos- sessed by Seiks, 321 ; annexation, 456. Puranas, Hindoo sacred writings, 16. Purdhans, ministers of state, 161. Pursaee, Hindoo village functionary, 572. Pniirarree, village registrar, 572. Railtvays, 565. Rajast'han.or Rajpootana, 106 ; condition in 1772,320. Rajpoots, 42 ; character, 71, 122, 176. Ramayana, Hindoo epic poem, 16. Rainoosies. mountain tribe, 141. Rampoor (Fyzoolla Khan, chief of), 330. Ram Shaslree, Mahratta judge, 341. Rangoon, capital of Pegu, 422. Renies, or Ranees, of Malabar and Canara, 97. Religion, 527. 535, Rerenue and Expenditxtre, 556 — 558. Rfrenue system 3.Ao\iieA by Akber,117,570. Rivers of India, 472 — 477. Rivers of Afghanistan, and the north- west frontier, 478. [Roe {Sir Thomas), 120, 123; mission to Jehangeer, 205 ; advice to E. 1. Com- I pany regarding official salaries. 302. Rohilcund and the Rohillas, 171; founder, 249; Nujeeb-oo-Dowlah. 313: pos- sessions of various chiefs. 327 ; English troops hired by Shuja Dowlah, to ex- tirpate Rohillas and conquer country, 329 ; Hafiz Rehmet slain, 329. VI INDEX TO VOL. I. OF THE " INDIAN EMFIRK. Rohtas Forty in Behar, 85. Rohtas Fort, near the Indus, 88. Roushenia, a relii^ious sect, 113. Rumbold {Sir Thomas), governor of Ma- dras, 348 ; favoured by Lord Hastings, 421 ; connexion with the house of Palmer and Co., 42L Runjeet Sirtg, of Lahore, 409, 4M \ undue roncessions raade by Lord Auckland, 435; death 436,453. Runn of Cutch, 68. Ryotwar settlement in Madras, 573. Sadhs, or Satnamist 147. Sadras. Dutch settlement, 268. Salaries of E. I. Company's servants, 222,313. Sale {Sir Robert), 424; Lady Sale wounded in the Koord-Cabool Pass, 442 ; her captivity and rescue, 446. Sal forest, bordering Nepaul, 413. Salt monopoly, established by Clive, 306, 310; profits, 365. Sanitaria, at hill-stations, 513. (Sa^/ara, capital of Mahratta rajahs, IGl, 174, 251; administration of Rajah Pertab Sein. 431 ; deposition of rajah. 432; annexation of principality, 459. Savanoor, Patan chief of, 253, 261, Seiks, or Sikhs, revolt during reign of Aurungzebe, 152 ; origin and early pro- ceedings; doctrines; Gurus or chiefs — Nanuk, Guru Govind. and Bandu. 155 ; number and position. 321. Selirngfnir, portion of Delhi citadel, 136. Senapvttee, commander-in-chief, IGl. Senassies, religious mendicants, 330. Sepah sillah, Mohammedan viceroy, 1 17. Sepoys, 235; gallantry at A rcot, 264 ; at Je'Ualabad, 444. Serinyapata7n,how populated, 349 ; situa- tion, 371; state when captured by Lord Harris, 382. Sevajee, birth, parentage, and education, 141; daring boyhood, 142; rebels against Beejapoor government, 142; assassinates Afzool Khan, 143; wars with Aurungzebe, 144 ; surprises Mogul camp, 144; plunders Surat, 144; es- tablishes seat of government at Raighur, 144; assumes title of rajah, 145; en- thronement, and costly gifts to Brahmins, 219; treacherously captured by Au- rungzebe, 145 ; escapes from Delhi in a basket, 145; first levies chout, 146; civil policy, 146; conquers territory from Beejapoor, 148; surlden death, 148; character, 148, 149. Seyeds, lineal descendants of Mohammed, 156 ; Seyed rulers of Delhi, 78. Seyed brothers — Abdullah Khan and Hus.vein Ali ; political career, 156, 158 ; their death, 159. Shch Alum {Emperor), 176, 289; ar- rangement witli E. 1. Company, 293, 303 ; enters Delhi under Maliratta pro- tection, 315 ; blinded by Rohillas, 273 ; taken under Iititi--h protection. 396. Shahamet AH, author of Sikhs and Af- ghans, 447. Shah Jfhfin [Emperor), or Prince Khoo- nim, 119; rebels against his father, 125 ; refuge in Oudipoor, 125 ; ac- cession, 128 ; murders his brothers, 128; revenue survey, 131 ; hisrhihlren, 132 ; deposition, 135 ; review of his reign, l."i5; miserable captivity, 139; deiith. 146. Shah Soojah, of Cabool, 433—445. Shastrax, Hindoo scriptures, 414. Sheer Shah, Afglian usurper, 88. Sheiahs, followers of Ali, 62, 98, 133; denounced by Nadir Shah, 164; strife with Sonnites or Sunnis, in Delhi, 175. Sheik -nl-Jubbnl, or Old Man of the Mountain. 72. Shipping (India built), 402. Shroffs, native bankers, 218. Sicca, royal right of stamping coin, 93. Siddee, or Sccdee, of Jinjeera, 220. Sieges— Chittore (1568), 111; Hooghly (1632), 131; Raighur (1690), 151; Devicotla (1748), 259; Arcot (1"^1)' 264; Pondicherry (1760), 286; Rock of Amboor, 318; Wandewash (1781), 354: Cuddalore (1784), 359; Mangalore (1784), 359; Savendroog (1791), 370; Seringapatam (1792), 371 ; Seringa- patam (1799), 380; Alighur (1803), 395; Agra (1803). 396; Aseerghur (1803). 398 ; Gawilghur (1803), 398 ; Delhi (1804), 401; Bhurtpoor (1804), 401; Kalunga, or Nalapanee (1814). 411: Deothul (1814), 412; Almora (1816), 413; Maloun (1816), 413; Aseerghur (1818). 420; Malligaum (1819), 421 ; Bhurtpoor (1825-'6), 426; Herat (1838), 434; Khelat-i-Nuseer (1839), 447; Ghuznee (1842). 444; Candahar (1842) 444 ; Jellalabad (1842), 444; Mooltan (l^^^), 456; Rangoon (1852), 458. (For statistics of Sieges, see 460 — 463). Simla first resorted to by Lord Amherst, 427. Sinde^ Aiah conquest of, 57, 58 ; its rulers, 106 ; taken possession of by Nadir Shah, 167; Tatta pillaged by Portu- guese, 193 ; rule of the Ameers, 434 ; exactions of E. I. Company, 435; an- nexation, 449 — 452. Sindia, or Gwalior Principality, origin of family, 161 ; Jeiapa Sindia, 171 ; Ma- hadajee Sindia's force disciplined by European officers, 373; De Boigne, 373, 390; arrogance of Mahadajee, 374 ; Dowlut Rao, 374, 390, 392 ; war with Holear, 393 ; Oojeen and other places captured and rifled by Holear, 393 ; troops commanded by M. Perron, (see Perron), 395 ; subsidiary force stationed at Gwalior, 399 ; Dowlut Rao's character, 416 ; supports Pindar- rics, 416; death, 427; his favourite "wife, Baiza Bye, adopts a sou and as- sumes th*> regency, 427; death of adopt*ii prince, and new adoption, 432 ; war with English — Gwalior captured ; fortress permanently occupied by Eng- lish, 452, Slavery in India, 117. 118, 349, 507. Somnauth {Temple of ), 07; sandal-wood gates taken by Mahinood to Ghuznee, 67; restored by order of Lord Ellen- borough, 445. St. Helena occupied by English, 216. St, Thomas, or Meliapoor (near Madras), occupied by Englisli, 257. Stuart {General), treacherous arrest of Lord Pigot,347 ; misconduct at Cudda- lore, 358 ; arrested and sent to England by Lord Macartney, 359; duel with Lord Macartney, 366. Subsidiary forces {British) — Nizam, 371 ; Peisiiwa, 373 ; general view, 526, Suddur Dewaimee AdauHut, 324. &'(/mroo, German advtnturer, 297 ; Begum Sumroo faitliful to Slmh Ahiru, 373. Sirjee,or Shirzce Rao (ihatkay, 393, 400. Strohiy Rajpoot state, 106. Sirpa, dress of honour, 168. Siyar-ul-Mn(akherin, 156 ; translations liy General Briggs, and a Frenchman, l'70. Smith {Sir Harry), at Aliwal, 455. Sonnites or Sunnis, traditionists, 62; strife with Sheiahs, 99. Sonthal insurrection, 459. Stoddart {Colonel), cruel death at Bok- hara, 446. Subahdar, native officer, 117. Sumbajee, rajah of the Mahrattas, son of Sevajee, 149; capture and execution, 151. Sunnud, edict. 287. Surajah lJoivlah,\iceYoy of Bengal — cha- racter, 271,275; deceived by Clive, 276; betrayed by Meer Jaffier at Plassy, 278 ; defeat, flight, capture, and assas- sination, 282 ; fate of conspirators, 335. Suraj Mul, chief of the Jats, 177. Svrat, 103; fort burned by Portuguese, 189; visited by Dutch, 208; annexed by English, 387. ' Surdeshmooki — Aurungzebe negotiates its payment to the Mahrattas, 153; ex- planation of term, 157. Suttee or Sati, of Mifchta Rye, 391; self-immolation prohibited, 428. Swedish E. I. Company, 242. Tabular jnejo of Anglo-Indian army, 565. Battles and sieges, 460 — ■ 463. East India banks, 565. — Imports and exports,563, 564. Indo-Mohammedan dy- nasties. 180. Land revenue of each presidency, 566, 582. Land revenue, area, and population, 5 1 4— 538. Mountains, 466 — 4 70. ■ Mountain passes, 471. Population, 500, 501. Rivers in India, 472 — 477. , — ^ — Rivers in Afghanistan, and on the north-west frontier, 478. Table-lands of British India, 479. _ Table-lands of Afghanis- tan and Beloochistanj 480. Tributary and protected states, 519—524. Taj Mahal, erection of the, 130. Talookdars, 571. Talpoors of Sinde, 449. Tarijore, 252 ; native troops disciplined by Flemish officer, 253 ; English interfere in a case of disputed sovereignty, 258, 259; historical summary, 270 ; capture and restoration by E. I. Company, 34" ; Rajah Serfojee, the aeeomplisiied pupil of Swartz, 387 ; annexation, 387. Tara Bye, Mahratta princess, 153; cha- racter, 175 ; death, 179. Tariff, 505. Tatla, 34. Ta.n/a, 26, Tadiles. 26, 29. 'J'ea, first importation into England, 217. Tcgnapatam, or Fort St. David, founded, 223 ; progress, 236. Tenasserim ceded by King of Ava, 425. Thome {Robert), 197. Thornlon^s {Edward) History of India, 431. Thvys, or Phansigars, 429. Tilac, the accursed number, 111. Timnr Beg. or Tamerlane, 70; auto- biography, 77; c!i))ture of Delhi, 78; person and character, 77, 78; House of I Tiniur,. 81, INIJEX TO VOL. X. Ol' TllK INDIAN ii-MriRE. VII Tijipna Sultan mcnnrcs Mndrns, 318; character, 3.')7 ; cruelty to liiif^liili prisoners. 3f>9 ; persecutes tlic '• Portu- guese Nnznrciics," 307 ; circulnr hunt, 367 i forcihlc conversions, 3(17 ; his work, The Kini; of Jfislnricf, 307; intrifiucs with French republic, 377; killed in defenilinR his ciipital, 380 ; person and i^ovcrnnicnt, 382 ; liberal provisicui made by Lord Wellesley for Tippoo's family, 383. Tod'n {Colonel) Annuls of Rajatt'han, lOG, 122. TndnrMul {Rajah), Hindoo financier, 570. Tor/htai {Home of), 74 ; cruelties of Mo- iiammed Toghlak, 75; ciicular hunt, 75. T'ltnlt of Ilumaynn at Delhi, general re- ceptacle for murdereil [irinces of the House of Timur — Emperor Feroksheer buried there, 158. To/iassPS, 235. Torture Commission, Madras, 577. i'rarancore, sovereignty inherited by Tamburetties, or princesses of .\ttinga, 253 ; historical summary, 270 ; appeal to E. I. Company against Tippoo Sultan, 3G8 ; annexation, 410. yVea<iM— English and French (1754), 2G9. E. I. Company with Surajah Dowlah, (1757), 274 ; " Red Treaty" with Omi- chund (1757), 280 ; with Meer JatHer (1757), 280; of Allahabad, with the eraiieror (i7t)5), 326; with Hyder Ali (1769), 319; of Benares, with Nawab- vizierof Oude(1773),327; of Poorundcr, withtheMahrattas(1776), 342; conven- tion of Wurgaum (1779), 343; of Salbye with Sindia, (1782), 356; with Tippoo Sultaa (1784), 359; of Chunar with 'l^ude (17S1), 363; Tippoo Sultan (1792), 372; of liassi'in with Peisliwa ( 1 802), 393 ; of Dcogaum with Ragojce Bhonslay (1803), 398; .Surjee Anjen- gaum with .Sin.lia (1803), 399; with Jcypoor, Joudpoor, ISoondi, Macherry, Hhurtpoor, and liana of Gohud (1803), 399; witii liunject .Sing (1810); Se- goulee with N'cpaul (1816), 413 ; I'oona with tlie I'cishwa (1816), 415; with Uurmah (1826), 425; with Ameers of Sinde (1838), 435, 449, 450; with Runjeet .Sing and Shah Soojaii (1838), 434 ; with the Nizam (1853), 459. Tributary and protected States before the Mutiny — area, population, revenue, amount of subsidy or tribute, and military resources, .519 — 524. Triehinopoty, 251 ; historical summary, 270. Tiii/uazu, species of dunning, 169. Turaee or Terai {Plain of), 410, 413. lima, " the august bird," 382. Uni/nnl, annexation of, 459. Uzbeks, 80. Vakeel-i-Mootluk, 60, 95. Vedas, Hindoo scriptures, 13, 498 ; Sama Veda, 14 ; Rig Veda, 497. Vellore fortress, residence of Tippoo Sultan's family, 383 ; and of Vizier Ali, 383; mutiny at, 407. Vicramaditya, King of Malwa, 40. Villaye system {Hindoo), 571. V^yasa, alleged compiler of the Vedas, 12. Wadeyar (lord of thirty-three villages), 2,53. Wagnuck, Maliratta weapon, 143. Wattrni {AAmirat), refosen to sign a fibfl treaty, 277 ; signature forged by order of Clivc, 277 ; death, 279. Wnvp-offeriny, 159. Wriijhts and Meantres, 565. Wellesley {Marf/ttis), birth and early IJfs as Loid Mornington, 376 ; j>erson aiui character, 377 ;. subsidiary system, 385 ; proter!ts Rajpoot principaliti(8 against Mahratta aggressions, 399 ; eradi&iteti French influence in India, 402; recall, and character of administration, 403, 407; attacked by Paull; grantof money by E. I. (Jomijany ; death, 404 ; views on land-tenure, 578. Wellesley {Colonel), afterwards Duke of Wellington, 382 ; military command in Mysoor, 383 ; pursuit and death of Dhoondea Waugh, 383 ; war with Mahrattas, 394 ; Assaye, 395. Willonyhliy {Sir Huyh), voyages, 197 ; death, 198. Wulsa, immigration in war-time, 315. Wuttm., inheritance, 160. Yogees, Hindoo ascetics, 28. Zamorins of Calient, or Tamuri rajahs, 182; wars with the Dutch, 243; Slaan Veeram Raj driven to suicide by Hyder Ali, 318 J secret name of the Zamorins, 423. Zavier {Fran(ois), comes to India, 191. Zemaun Shah, projected invasion of India, 377, 388; deposed and blinded, 433; vicissitudes of fortune, 433, 448. Zemindar, 107, 571. Zemindar system, established in Bengal, and IJahar, 573. Zinar, Brahminieal cord, 111. ERRATA.— VOL. I. Page 388, heading: for An(jlv-Inilian army join Brifisli in Jnd'ui, read E(pjpt. ,, 396, „ for haitlc of Aiiijhur — rjaUaut de- fence, of Delhi — 1803, read gal- lant defence of Aliyhur — battle near Dc//ii— 1803. ,, 401, „ for si'cf/c of Bhurfpimr — defence of Delhi, read defence of Delhi— sieye of Bhurfpoor. „ 413, col. 1, line 11, for il/aroun, read 3/f(foH)i. ,, 42G, „ 1, line 0, dele words nothiiuj but. ,, 489, heading: i'or decrement, re^d diminution. ,, 489, col. 2, line 52, for comjetation, read con- gelation. „ 492, „ 1, line 19, for rerepresentatives, read rejiresentatives. 506, col. 2, 507, „ 2. Page 503, Table : alter heading from resume of censuses to piipulatiun returns, and dele males and females. line 3, for Suuthats, read Son- thals. line 16, for homogeuety, read homogeneity. Pages 550, 551, headings: aher modes of administer- ing justice in India, and mode of administering Justice in India, to administration ofjue- tice in India. for codification, read code. 2, line 4 (of note), for a honour, read an honour. Page 552, heading : „ 553, note, col. DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR PLACING THE ENGRAVINGS.— VOL. L Frontispiece — Lord Palmerston. Vignette — Encampmeat on the Sutlej. Map of Britisli India - - To face page View of the Palace of Agra from the River _ _ - - To face page 112 View of Bombay, showing the Fort - - 217 View of Madras - - - To face page 57 Table of Distances to be placed at end of Vol. DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR PLACING THE ENGRAVINGS.— VOL. XL Frontispiece — Lord Clyde. ' Vignette — Death of General Neil. Lord Viscount Canning - To face page 1 The King's Palace at Delhi - - - - 116 Map of Northern India - - _ - 125 Mutinous Sepoys dividing Spoil - - - 215 General Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B. - - 276 The Nana Sahib leaving Lucknow - - 346 The Palace at Agra - - To face page 358 i Capture of the Guns by the Highlanders - 377 Portrait of Kooer Sing - _ - _ 400 The Relief of Lucknow by General Have- lock 420 Blowing up of the Cashmere Gate at Delhi - 442 Capture of the King of Delhi by Captain Hodson - - - - - - -447 Seik Troops di\iding the Spoil taken from Mutineers _ _ - To face page 479 Titties' Correspondent looking on at the Sacking of the Kaiserbagh - - - 479 Death of Brigadier Adrian Hope - - - 493 Mahomed Suraj-oo-deen Shah Ghazee - 159 Zeenat Mahal, Begum or Queen of Delhi - 453 DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR PLACING THE ENGRAVINGS.— VOL. III. Frontispiece — Hindoo and Mohammedan Buildings. Vif/nette— Scene near ChiUah Tarah Ghaut, Bundelcund. Troops encamped at the Entrance of the Keree Pass. ... To face page 1 The Ganges entering the Plains near Hurdwar 2 Hurdwar, a place of Hindoo Pilgrimage - 3 Assemblage of Pilgrims near Hurdwar - 4 Hurdwar, the Gate of Hari, or Vishnoo - 5 Mussooree and the Dhoon, from Landour - G The Abbey and Hills from ncai' Mussooree - 8 Snowy Range from Landour - - - 9 Snowy Range from Tynee - - - - 11 Village of Naree ------ 12 Bridge at Bhurkote ----- 13 View near Kursalee ----- 14 Kursalee, a Village in the neighbourhood of Simla -..----15 View on the River Jurana - - - - 16 Falls near the source of the Jumna, above Delhi 18 Fugitive Sepoys taking refuge in a Mountain Fastness, near Jumnootrce, on the Jumna 18 Snowy Mountains, Northern Bengal ; source of the Jimina ------ 19 Fugitive Sei)oy6 crossing the River Tonse by Rope Bridge 20 Gungootree, the sacred source of the Ganges 21 The Village of Khandoo, Himalaya Moun- tains -23 Village of Roghera and Deodar Forest - 24 The Choor Mountains ----- 25 Jerdalr, a Hill Village; Ghurwal - - 2(i Grass-rope Bridge at Terec, Ghurwal - - 27 View near Jubberah, Northtrn Bengal - 2S View at Deoijun, near Umballah - - - 29 Mohuna, nerfr Deobun ----- 30 Valley of the Dhoon, Himalaya Mountains - 31 The Forti'ess of Nahun, in the dominion of Oude - - - - -To face page 32 Fortress of Bowrie, in Rajpootana - - 33 The Pass of Makundra - - - - 34 Scene in Katteawar — Travellers and Escort 36 Zanghera, or the Fakeer's Rock, on the Ganges -------37 Colgong, on the Ganges - - - - 38 Seik IiTegular Cavalry - - - - 39 Tomb of "Shere Shah, Sasserain - - - 41 City of Benares ------ 43 Benares - - -.- - - -44 Hindoo Temple, Benares - - - - 46 Sarnat, a Boodh Momunent, near Benares - 47 View of Cawnpoor from the River - - 48 Agra, the scene of the late insurrectionary outbreak -------50 Taj Mahal, Agra 51 Jumma Musjid, Agra ----- 52 Agra— from the Jahara Bang - - - 53 Akber's Tomb, Secundra - - - - 54 Futtehpoor Sikri ------ 55 An old Fort at Muttra - - - - 57 Dellii, showing the entrance to the Palace - 58 Cootub Minar, Delhi 59 Tomb of Humayun, Delhi . ... 60 A ruin on the banks of the Jumna, above Delhi 61 Ruins, old Delhi 62 Ruins, south side of old Delhi - - - 63 Calcutta from the Esplanade. No. 1 - - 64 Ditto Ditto No. 2 - - 66 Fort George, Madras - - r - - 70 Bombay Harbour in the Monsoon - - 74 Simla, near Belaspoor - - - - - 76 Fortress of Shuhur, Joypoor, Rajpootana - 80 Hindoo Temple at Chandgoan - - - 81 Perawa, Malwa ------ 82 King's Fort, Boorhanpoor - - - - 83 Jumma Musjid, Mandoo - To face page 84 The Water Palace, Mimdoo. - - . 58 The Fortress of Dowlutabad - - - 86 Aurungzebe's Tomb, Rozah - - - 87 View of Sassoor, in the Dccean - - - 88 Tombs of the Kings, Golconda - - - 89 The British Residency at Hyderabad - - 91 Bcjapoor ------- 92 Sultan Mahomed Shah's Tomb, Bejapoor - 94 Seven-storied Palace, Bejapoor - - - 96 Palace of the Seven Stories, Bejapoor - - 97 Mosque of Mustapha Kh;in, Bejapoor - - 98 Tomb of Ibrahim Padshah, Bejapoor - - 99 Taj Bowlee, Bejapoor - ... - 101 Asser Mahal, Bejapoor - ' - - - 102 Singham Mahal, Torway, Bejapoor - - 104 Hindoo Temples and Palace, Madura - - 106 Entrance to the Cave of Elophanta - - 106 Triad Figure, interior of Elephanta - - 107 Cave of Karli - - - - - -III Front View of Kylas, Caves of EUora - - 112 Excavated Temple of Kylas, Caves of EUora 113 Dus Outar, EUora ----- 115 Rameswur, Caves of Ellora - - - - H5 Skeleton Group in the Rameswur, Caves of. EUora 116 Interior of Dher AVarra, EUora - - - 117 Sutteeism on the banks of the Ganges - - 119 View of .\llahabad, showing the Fort - - 122 View of Lucknow ----- 124 Dewan Khass, or Hall of Audience, Palace of Delhi 128 Agra— View of the Princiiial Street - - 130 Tomb of Elmad-ud-DowIah, Agra - - 132 The Residency, Lucknow - - - - 134 The HiU Fortress of (iwalior - - -140 View of Delhi, from the Palace Gate - - 143 INTRODUCTION. The Anglo-Tiulian Empire ! what do these words represent in the minds of the people of Britain? They spealc of dominion over a far-distaut sunny land, rich in barbaric gold, precious stones, and architectural beauty, occupying upwards of a million square miles of the most varied, fertile, and interesting i)ortion of this globe, and inhabited by more than one hundred million of the human race. j The early history of this wonderful country lies hid in deep obscurity. Not the obscurity that naturally attends insignificance, but, far otherwise, caused by , the dense veil which Time drew around Ancient India, in thickening folds, during ] centuries of deterioration ; leaving the ruins of magnificent cities, and widely- | scattei'ed records graven in mysterious characters on almost imperishable materials, to attest the existence of civilised races — regarding whom even tradition is silent — at a date long prior to the Christian era. | Whence India was peopled, is quite unknown ; but thirty different lan- guages, and an e(iual diversity of appearance and character, dress, manners, : and customs, seem to indicate long-continued immigration from various quarters. The Alexandrine era (b.c. 330) throws light on little beyond the Macedonian invasion of the north-western frontier ; the Arab incursions (a.d. 709) afford only a few glimpses of the borders of the Indus ; and the thirteen expeditions of Mahmood the Ghuznivede (a.d. 1000 to 1025), give little beyond a vague and general idea of the wealth of the country and the dense population of the Western Coast, whose idolatry INIahmood was empowered to scourge with the strong arm of an Iconoclast; though he himself was but an instrument in the hands of Providence ; and in battering down guardian fortresses and destroying temples and shrines dedicated to false gods, had evidently no higher motive , than that of pillaging the dedicated treasures, and carrying away the worshippers into slavery. From this period we can faintly trace the progress of Mohammedan con- quest in India, to the establishment of the dynasty known as the Slave Kings of Delhi (a.d. 1208.) Its founder, Kootb-oo-deen, originally a Turki slave, established the centre of Moslem dominion in the grand old Hindoo capital, chiefly by reason of the disunion which had arisen among the leading Rajpoot princes upon the f^iilure of a direct heir, and the consequent jealousies and disputes regarding tlie succession. INTEODTJCTION. Then the page of history becomes more and more legible until it records the invasion of Timor or Tamerlane (a.d. 1398), the terrible details of the siege of Delhi, and the general massacre in which it terminated ; and all the horrors enacted before " the apostle of desolation " took his departure, carrying off men and women of all ranks and ages into slavery, and leaving the devoted city without a government, and almost without inhabitants. The succeeding Indian annals, though confused, are tolei'ably full to the commencement of that important epoch which comprises the reigns of the Great Moguls. This brings us within the pale of modern history : we can note the growth and decay of Mogul dominion, and trace, at least in measure, the operating causes of its extension and decline. Viewed as a mere series of biographies, the lives of the Great Moguls attract by incidents, which the pen of fiction, fettered by attention to probability, would hardly venture to trace. The members of this dynasty had a decidedly literary turn, and several of them have left records not only of the public events in which they plaj'ed a leading part, but also of the domestic scenes in which they figured as sons, husbands, or fathers. The value of these memoirs in elucidating- or corroborating the histories of the period, is, of course, very great, and their authenticity rests on solid grounds, apart from the strong internal evidence they afford of having been actually AAritten by the persons whose names they bear. Nothing can be more characteristic than the intense self-adulation with which Timur, or Tamerlane, narrates his perfidious and sanguinary career, except perhaps the peculiar power of observation and analysis brought to bear on new scenes which mark the autobiography of his descendant Baber, who, following in his footsteps, invaded India from Cabool, and, after a fierce struggle on the plains of Paniput (a.d. 1526), gained easy possession of Delhi and Agra, and succeeded in laying the foundation of an extensive empire. numayun(A.D. 1530), Akber (a.d. 1556), Jehangeer (a.d. 1605), Shah Jehan (a.d. 1628), all encountered vicissitudes of the most singular and varied character; and the Mogul history increases in interest until it culminates in the long reign of Aurungzebe (a.d. 1658), the ablest and most powerful, but the most ambitious and bigoted of his race. During his sway the predatory hordes of Maharashtra Avere formed by the Hindoo adventurer, Sevajee, into a poAverful state; the hated and despised Mahrattas grew strong upon the spoil of independent kingdoms demolished Ijy the haughty emperor ; and finally, his troops, vA^orn by incessant toil, became mutinous for want of pay and provisions, and suffered their aged leader to be hunted even to the death by foes he had been accustomed to treat as utterly contem])tiblc. The decay of the empire, Avhich commenced several years before INTRODUCTION. the death of Aurnngzebc (ad. 1707), then became rapid; usurping viceroys, rebelling against their government and warring with the rulers of neighbouring states or provinces, aggravated the internal disorganisation. Nor were external foes wanting to complete the work of destruction : adventurers of all creeds and comi)lexions fought fiercely over the ruins; while, distancing meaner com- petitors, Nadir Sluih (a.d. n."?!)) and Ahmed Shah (a.d. 1759), the robber kings of Persia and Alfghanistan, swooped down like vultures to secure their share of the carcass; and the chief cities of India, especially Delhi, repeatedly witnessed the most sanguinary enormities, and continued to do so until, one by one, they became gradually included in the widening circle of British supremacy. And why dwell thus on the past at such a crisis as thi.s, when the mag-ic circle of our power has been rudely broken — when Delhi, filled to overHowing- with all the munitions of war, has been treacherously snatched from our unsuspecting- hands — and \\hen the Crescent; raised again in deadly strife against the Cross, has been reared aloft as if in testimony that the Moslems who came into India i)roclainiing war to the death against idolatry, have quite abandoned their claim to a Divine mission, and are ailecting- to make common cause with the Hindoos, whose creed and practice they formerly declaimed against with so much horror and disgust? Now Mohammedans and Hindoos unite in committing crimes of a character so deep and deadly, so foul and loathsome, that we find no parallel for them ; not in the relentless, inventive vengeance of the Ked Indians ; not even in that crisis of civilised infidelity, that fierce paroxysm of the French Revolution, still shudderingly called the " lleign of Terror." The Red Republicans made public avowal of atheism 5 and awful was the depravity into which they sank, world-wide the shame they incurred : but recantation soon followed. These treacherous Sepoys, who have so suddenl}' risen in a body, violating every oath of fidelity, every tie of feeling and association — they, too, have their watchword : it is not " There is no God j" it is " Death to the Christians !" As in France, no religious persecution, but rather a state of conventional apathy, leavened by the poison of Voltaire, Diderot, Condorcet, and their clique, preceded the atheistical and sanguinary outburst ; even so has it been with India. Efibrts for the extension of Chi-istianity have been wholly exceptional; the rule has been tolerance, amounting to inditierence, in all religious matters. Few who have been in the habit of reading Indian periodicals, much less of mixing in Indian society, will deny that, however manifest the desire for the diffusion of the Gospel might be in individuals, the government had remained markedly neutral. INTEODTJCTION. The Mussulmans, let it be repeated, subjug-ated and g'overned India in the character of anti-idolaters. The}' tolerated — and barely tolerated — the heathenism around them, to which their aversion was, for the most part, quite undisguised; and they were al\va3-s eag-er for individual conversions. Their open assertion of the superiority of their faith was viewed as natural by the Hindoos; nor does any angry feeling- appear to have been excited, save in exceptional cases of actual persecution. Aurungzebe certainly' alienated a larg-e portion of his subjects by reviving a long--abandoned capitation-tax on infidels; and Avhether he did this from a desire to refill the treasury emptied by incessant warfare, or from sheer big-otry, the result was the same. Many causes (among- which may be named, not as the avowed ones, but certainly not as the least powerful — sloth and sensualit}^, fostered bj' an enervating- climate) have concurred in rendering- the Indian followers of Mohammed comparatively reg-ardless of that integ-ral portion of their creed which enjoins its extension by all and every means. But no earnest believer in the Koran can be tolerant of idolatry ; and therefore, when we hear of Moslem and Hindoo linked tog-ether in a most unprovoked crusade ag-ainst Christians, it is manifest that the pretext is altog-ether false, and that the Mussulman, who is taught by the book he deems inspired never to name our Blessed Lord without reverence, or idols without abhorrence, cannot now be actuated by any relig-ious motive, however perverted or fanatical, in violating- the first principles of his faith and by affected sympath}' with the professors of a creed heretofore declared utterly polluted and debasing-, using- them as dupes and tools in carrying- out an incendiary plot, the planned details of which only Devil-worshippers, possessed by unclean spirits, could have been supposed capable of conceiving- and executing-. The conspirac}', beyond a doubt, has originated in the desire of the Mohammedans to recover their lost supremacy in India. Its immediate and secondary causes are involved in temporary obscurity ; but the j)rimum mobile must be sought for in the pages of history. It is true the flame has spread like wildfire : but the important question for those who are capable of grappling- with the com- plicated bearings of this all-eng-rossing- subject, is not — what hand applied the match ? but how came such vast masses of combustibles to be so widely spread, so ready for ignition ? To understand this in any satisfactory degree, the inquirer must be content to begin at the beginniug-j by carefully weighing- the fragmentary I records we possess of the history and character of the Hindoos as a distinct people, noting the causes Avhich led to their gradual subjugation by the Moslems; next, those which paved the way for the introduction of European INTRODUCTION. Powers; iiud, liistly, the establisliinent mid operation of British supreirisicv throuo-liout. ]ii(liii. The indiiFereiicn wliieli the British nation and its ruh-rs have so long" evinced to the study of Asiatic histor}', has been most unfortunate. Wrapped in fancied security, we. have been too i<^'norant to be anxious, too indolent to be watchful ; and the kw who have felt it an imperative duty to speak words of warning- by bringung- the experience of the past to bear upon the sig'ns of the present; have found themselves set down as alarmists on this point at least, whatever their g-eneral character for ability and sound judg-- ment. Yet the fact is certain, that almost every leading* authority from the date of our earliest assumption of territorial power, has dwelt forcibly on the necessity for unsleeping* vigilance in the administration of Indian affairs. This conviction has been the invariable result of extensive acquaintance with the natives, and it is abundantly corroborated by the recorded antecedents of both Hindoos and Mohammedans. The history of India, whether in earl}^ times or during" the Mohammedan epoch, is — as the brief outline sketched in preceding- pag-es was desig-ned to indicate — no less interesting- as a narrative than important in its bearing; on the leading* events of the present epoch, which, in fact, cannot, without it, be rendered intelligible. The struggles of European Powers for Asiatic ascen- dancy, form leading- features in the annals of each of these states. Portug-al was first in the field, and lono" and fierce was the combat she wao-ed to maintain exclusive possession of the rich monopoly of Oriental conunerce. The Dutch (then known as the Netherlanders) enjoyed a share of the profits in the capacity of carriers between the Portug-uese factories and the northern nations of Europe ; but when, in 1079, the>' formed themselves into a separate g-overnment in defiance of the power of Philip of Spain, that monarch, who then g-overned Avitli an iron sceptre the united king-doms of Spain and Portug-al, forbade the employment of the Dutch as inter- mediaries — a prohibition which led to their trafficking- on their own account, formino- various trading- settlements in the East in the commencement of the seventeenth centur}', and supplanting* their former employers. The first attempts of Eug-land were made, at the same period, b\' a company of London merchants, warmly eucourag*ed by the Queen, who signed a charter on their behalf on the last day of the sixteenth century. During* the following- century the English continued to be simply traders, with no cravings for political or territorial ag*g*randisement — absorbed in the business of buying- and selling-, and anxious only for the safety of their fleet, Avhich rapidl}' became more formidable and extensive in proportion to the rich u INTEODUCTIOK freig'ht it Avas destined to bear throug'h seas infested with pirates, and fre- quently preoccupied b}' hostile European squadrons. The eig'hteenth century opened upon an entirely new phase of Indian annals. The deca}^ of Mog'ul power, which had, as has been stated, com- menced before the death of Aurung'zebe in 1707, was greatly accelerated by that event, and by the Avar of succession which followed, as a natural con- sequence, the death of a Mog-ul emperor. The will of the deceased ruler decreed the division of his dominions among' his sons ; and had they consented to this arrangement, and cordially united in carr^'ing- it out, their allotted portions might possibly have been consolidated into distinct kingdoms. But brotherly love rai'ely flourishes under the shadoAV of a despotic throne ; and the House of Timur formed no exception to this rule, having- evinced a remarkable tendency to fratricide throug-hout the entire period of its Indian career. The younger sons of Aurung-zebe went to war with their elder brother, each on bis own account, and died the death they had provoked, leaving" the survivor, Bahadur Shah, to rule as best he might the scattered territories styled the Empire. Anything- more devoid of org-anisation — of any approach to unity — than the so-called Empire, cannot well be conceived. When Aurung-zebe snatched the sceptre from the hands of his father. Shah Jehan, and condemned him to life-long- captivity, the dominions he usurped were comparatively well g-overned, and might, under the sway of a ruler of such unquestionable ability, such indomitable perseverance, have been consolidated into a comparatively homogeneous mass But the unhallowed ambition at whose shrine he had sacrificed the liberty of his father and the lives of his brothers, still hurried him on, rendering- him reckless of the internal decaN^ which was manifestly at work in the very heart of his king-dom, while he was lavishing- his resources in spreading- desolation and ruhi, lamine and the sword, throug-h every independent king-dom within his reach — extending- his own only in name, throwing- down gfovernments and ancient land-marks yet erecting- none in their stead; becoming- terrible as a destroj-er, when he mioht have been creat as a statesman and a consolidator. A right view of the character of Aurung-zebe, and a patient investigation of his career, is absolutely necessary to the obtainment of a clear insig-ht into the state of India at the period when the English East India Company began to exchang-e their position of traders on suiierance for that of territorial lords. The first steps of this strange transformation can hardly be said to have been voluntary. The Eng-lish merchants were still essentially traders. An exami- nation of the East India House records (and no attempt has ever been made to g-arble or hide them away from friend or foe), will prove to the most pre- INTRODtrCTION. judiced observer, tliiit, its a body, tliey persistently opposed tbe acquisition of dominion. Nothing- short of complete iiiditFerence can account for the exces- sive ig-nornnce of Indian politics manifested in their official correspondence. It may, indeed, be urged that English factors in a foreign land, in addition to their characteristic reserve, are naturally much engrossed by the duties and cares of their calling, and, apart from prejudice, may well be excused for a degree of preoccupation which prevents them from making- any very vio-orous effort to penetrate the barriers of language and creed, manners and customs, which sepnrato them from the ])eople with whom they come to traffic. A time arrived, however, when the English could no long-er be blind to the alarming- political and social state of India. Evei-y 3'ear, much more every decade, the disorganisation increased. Certain native Hindoo states, such as Mysoor, Travancore, the little mountainous principality of Coorg-, and a few others, had been exempted, by their position or their insignificance, from Moslem usurpation. With these exceptions^ strife and anarchy spread over the length and breadth of India. It was no oro-anised struiiji-le of race or creed ; for Mussuhnan fought against Mussulman, Hindoo against Hindoo, and each ngainst the other ; Affghan warred with Mogul, Mogul with Ilajpoot; Mahratta M'ith all. The hand of every man was raised ag-ainst his neighbour: the peasant went armed to the plough — the shepherd stood ready to defend his flock with his life; the energy and determination of local authorities kept up some degree of order in their immediate districts; but, in general, the absence of a government strong- enough to protect its innocent subjects from internal vice or external aggression, was manifested in the fearful audacity Avith which the Pindarr}-, Dacoity, and Thug, the trained marauder, thief, and assassin, pursued their murderous avocations, in the blaze of noon as in the darkness of midnight. The Hindoos fell back upon the ancient village system, which the usurping Mohammedans had vainly striven to destroy ; and the internal organisation of the, '■ little municipalities, each possessing its own Potail or Mayor, enabled them to parrv', or at least rally from, attacks from without. The English laboured for the effectual fortification of the various factories gradually established in different parts of India, and included, according to their situation, in the three presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. Armed neutrality, however, would have been barely practicable, even so far as the numerous warring native powers were concerned. The conduct of their European rivals rendered such a position quite untenable. The French East India Compan}- had, so far as trade was concerned, proved a decided INTEODTJCTIOX. failure : its employes were very inferior to the Eug'lish as factors ; but as political ag'ents, they jjossessed diplomatic instincts peculiar to themselves. Dumas, Dupleix, and the g-ifted La Bourdonnais, saw clearly the oppor- tunity afforded for the territorial establishment of their nation, and they eagerly took part in the quarrels around them, making- offensive and defensive alliances with the neighbouring" states, interfering* in cases of disputed succession, and taking-, with bold and unfaltering* steps, the apparent road to political power. None of the English functionaries approached their rivals in ability 5 but they could not be blind to the increasing" dang'er of their situation ; and the example set by the French, of drilling- iiati^'e troops and org-anising- them as far as possible in accordance with European notions, was followed throuo'hout the British settlements. Then came the inevitable struo-gle between the two powers whose unsleeping- rivalry had so often evidenced itself in strife and bloodshed at the vei'y ends of the earth. At first they met in indirect hostility as the auxiliaries of native princes j but the first indications of European war were eag'erl}- seized on as a cause for direct opposition, and a fierce strug-gle ensued, which eventually left the English complete masters of the field. While the Carnatic, in Avhich Madras is situated, was the scene of this contest, the English in Beng-al were sub- jected to the most oppressive exactions by the usurping- Mohammedan g-overnor, Surajah Dowlah, whose seizure and pillag-e of Calcutta in June, 1766, was marked by the horrible massacre of the " Black Hole" — a deed which, up to that period, even Mohammedan annals can hardly equal in atrocity; but to which, after the lapse of a hundred years, man}" terrible parallels have been furnished. The tiding's spread like wildfire through the British settlements, and the conviction became deep and g-eneral, that it would be madness to trust to the faith or humanity of such men as the depraved Surajah Dowlah and his Moslem compeers. The Mog-ul Empire had become an empty name so far as the distant provinces were concerned, and there war. absolutely no native state either strong" enoug'h to protect the Eng-lish settlements, or just enoug-h to be trusted. Never was the indomitable resolve of Britons in a foreio-n land more sternly tested, or more triumphantly evinced, than when their fortunes seemed at the lowest ebb — when the French and the Mohammedans, in different quarters, menaced then- overthrow and extinction. "To drive these dogs into the sea 1" was then, as now, the fervent aspiration of every Mosleui regarding" every European. But they wished to squeeze the orange before they threw awaj^ the rind. Tiiey were themselves divided, and had plana of individual aggrandizement to can"}" out ag-ainst each other, and INTEODUCTION. g^enerally over the Hindoos ; and tliey well knew tlie value of European co-opf'ration nnd instruction in the art of" war. Tlie recapture of Calcutta was speedily efFected by a force of 900 Euroi)eaii troops and 1,500 Sepoys, commanded by a ci-devant writer, who had turned soldier, and risen to distinction in the Carnatic war. Robert Clive — for it was he — looked round and saw tlie opportunity ofTered for exchangino- the precarious footing- then occupied by his countrymen for one of far g-reater importance and security. The Hindoos were daily becon)ino' more impatient of the Mohammedan yoke, and the haug-lity Mussulmans were themselves divided reg-arding- their ruler, whose reckless proflig-acy and violent temper had g-iven man}^ of them provocation of a description which excites, in an Oriental, feelino-s of the fiercest and most endurinof reveno-e. The English watched the course of affairs with deep anxiety, and soon ascertained that, in violation of a treaty entered into after the reconquest of Calcutta, Surajah Dowlah was plotting- with the French for their destruction. Unquestionably, this procedure justified them in adopting- hostile measures against their treacherous foe ; thoug-h it does not even palliate some of the minor details, in which the crooked policy of Clive appears in painful contrast to his braver}^ as a soldier and his skill as a g-eneral. Tiie result was the battle of Plassy (a.d. 17o7), rapidly followed by the permanent establishment of Eritish dominion in Beng-al. After this, the tide of success flowed on fast and full. If the reader will patiently peruse the pages of this history, he will see that our power has increased with marvellously little effort on our own part. As, Avhen a stone is flung- into a river, the first small circle expands and multiplies beyond calculation — so, in India, have we g-one on extending- our 1-imits, as from the action of some inevitable necessity; less from our own will, than because we could not stand still without hazarding- the position already g-ained. True, there have been most distressing- instances of injustice and ag-g-ression ; but these are the few and comparatively unimportant exceptions. So far as the g-eneral obtainment of political ascendancy in India is concerned, we may quote the apt comparison used by an old Eajpoot prince to Colonel Tod, in 1804, as conveying a perfectly correct idea of our process of appropriation. Alluding to a sort of melon which bursts asunder when fully matured, Zaliin Sing- said, "You stepped in at a lucky time; the p'foot was ripe, and you had only to take it bit by bit."* The manner in which we have acquired power in India, is one thing; the use we have made of it, is another and more complicated question. For ray * Annah of EajasChan, Yol. I., p. 766. 10 INTEODUCTION. own part, I have long* watched the Anglo-Indian g-overnment with feelings of deep anxiety, and have laboured to the utmost of my ability to awaken the British nation to a sense of the responsible and critical situation they had been led to occupy. It is now close upon twenty years since I was permitted, by the East India Company, to edit the official records of a survey made by Dr. Buchanan in Eastern India ; and the impression on my mind was so forcible, that I could not refrain from prefacing- the selections with a declara- tion that the handwriting was on the wall, and nothing- but a complete and radical alteration of our system of government, could avert the punishment justly merited b}^ our misuse of the great charge committed to us. The ijrimar}^ reason of this misuse I believe to be the false and wicked assertion, that " we won India by the sword, and must keep it by the sword." There is another aphorism, much older and of much higher authority, which Ave should do Avell to think on — " They that take the sword shall perish by the sword." AVe did not conquer India by violence : we came as peaceful traders, and spent long- years in that capacity ; and during* that time we succeeded in impressing- on the minds of the natives a lively conviction of our energj", ability, and integrit}'. When the crisis came — as come it did, without our knowledo-e and o-reatly to our discomfiture — countiuo--houses were turned into barracks, bales of piece-goods helped to make bai-ricades, clerks and writers were metamorphosed into military leaders, and, while themselves but learners, drilled the natives round them into a state of discipline before unknown. Thus was formed the nucleus of that army on which we have leaned as if that, and that alone, had been the means of our obtaining- dominion in India. For the perfect org-anisatiou of that mighty force, Avhich lately numbered 300,000 men, we laboured with unwearied patience ; and to this g-rand object we sacrificed every other. So long- as the Sepo3'S were duly cared for, the condition of the mass of the people was a matter of com- parative indifference. It was not the Great Ruler of the Universe, whose inscrutable decrees had placed this vast tract of heathendom in the hands of a people who professed to serve Him and Him only ; rejecting- every tradition of men 5 rel3'ing- only on the mediation of His Sou ; resting for guidance only on His written word ; asking only the interpretation of His Holy Spirit ; — not so ! The Anglo-Indian dominion had nothing whatever to do with any such religious speculations. We were not bound to set before the people the example of the faith which we aflb(;t to believe the very leaven of the earth. Until the last few years we did not view it even as a case of stewardship. We were not even called upon to exert our energy for developing INTEODUCTIOIf. 11 the pliysical resources of (Iio country, and lunelioratiiio^ the coiulition of the mass of tlu! people. jVud wliy? Because free Britons, in the niidilh! of tlie nineteenth century, have seen fit to assume the position of military despots, drownin;^- the conviction that India was a God-given trust, in the viigMie notion of its being- "an empire of opinion;" and then sinking', by an easy transition, from rationalism into the more jjopular notion of sheer force — "an empire of the sword," held I)y the migdit of our own strong- arm. Scepticism and cowardice lie at the root of our present disasters: delibe- rately have we chosen the fear of man, which blinds and enervates, rather than the fear of God, Avhich enlightens and streng-thens. With infatuated credulity we have nursed in our bosom the serpent that has stung- us to the quick. Tolerance is, indeed, an essentially Christian quality; but who shall dare assume that praise for the Christianity which was nmde in tlifr persons of high Protestant (1) officials, to bow its head before the licentious ])roflig-ac3^ of the Mussulmans, and the heathen abominations and disg-usting" im])urities of the modern Brahminical priesthood, and to witness, in silence, the spiritual enslavement and pliysical deg-radation of the mass? We thoug-ht, perhaps, both Mussulmans and Brahmins too enervated by their respective org-ies to be dangerous as enemies. This but proves our utter ig-norance of the Oriental character, especially as developed in the ' Mohammedans. Let the reader glance over the history of their founder (and I have striven to sketch it in a subsequent pag-e, in faithfulness, and not Avith the pen of a caricaturist), he will see in the False Prophet the type of sensuality, big-otry, ambition, g-rounded and rooted in the fiercest fanaticism; and that type has been perpetually reproduced, and will continue to be so until Mohanmiedanism shall be swept from the foee of the earth. How soon that may be, none can prophes}' ; but the g-eneral rising- now taking- place among- the Mussulmans in Africa and Syria, as well as in India, are pointed at by many observers as preceding- nnd indicating the death-throes of this once powerful, but already deeplv sunken race. For us, if we would hope to conquer, it must be by turning- to the Lord of Hosts, as a nation, in deep repentance and humility: then only may we Justly look for present help, and anticipate for the future that gift in which we have been so 'nmentably deficient — " a rig-ht judg-ment in all things." Thus favoured, we shall not shrink from the responsibilities of an evang-elized nation ; but shall understand, that there is no surer way of obtaining- respect in the eyes of the quick-witted Hindoos, than by a consistent adherence to our religious professions. The means commend themselves to every unprejudiced person really versed in Indian affairs; and, assuredly, none 12 INTRODUCTION. other will be blessed of God. AVe cannot hope to pass off indifference for tolerance : the Mohammedans see through the flimsy disg-uise, and bid the heathen throw off the ig-nominious yoke of Kafirs (infidels.) Christianity the}' reverence, and dread to see lis manifest any tokens of it. "Well they may; for nothing- else will cover our head in the day of battle. That day has come. May we now have g-race to control the fearful passions provoked by the most horrible outrag'es ; and may the memory of our own shortcomings towards Godj enable us, if He gives the victory, to use it mercifull3\ Let us not forg-et, that the innocent blood spilt in the last few weeks, cannot blot out the memory of the debt which England owes to India.* The Parliament of Britain now must dictate the course to be followed in a matter of vital importance to the nation whose opinions it represents. The portion of the British public impressed with sound and practical relig-ious views, is, happily, hirg-er and more influential than would appear to superficial observers. The fact is indicated in the increase of missionary enterprise, the extension of education, and, indirectlj',. in the prog-ress of public improvements, and the initiation of reformatory measures. The faulty judicial system, the partial and vexatious land-tenurcj the defective monetary circulation of India, have come under discussion ; and if, as God in mex'cy g-rant, Britain is permitted to retain the brightest jewel in her crown — the most valuable of hei transmarine possessions — it is ferventl}^ to be desired that we may apply ourselves dilig-ently to remed}'- all deficiencies, to repair, as far as possible, past neglects, and provide ag-ainst future emerg-encies. The details of the present terrible episode will be g'iven fully in subsequent pag-es ; day by day that close seems approaching, with the record of which the Author hopes to be enabled to terminate this Work. * The pecuniary debt is wlioUy on the side of England. The cost, alilie of civil and military government, including the payment of the royal troops, has been entirely defrayed from the Indian revenues : so, if we succeed, must be the expenses of the present insurrection. The money remittances to England from the three Presidencies average five milhon sterling for the last sixty years. There is scarcely a country in the United Kingdom but lias had the value of its landed property enhanced by the investments of fortunes, the fruit of civil or military services or of commercial success in Hindoostan. Again, how many British statesmen and commanders have had their genius elicited and educated in India. A noble field has been annually opened for the youth of Britain, and an expansive tone given to society by t!ie constant discussion of great subjects. The merchant and the manufacturer can best estimate the importance of a large, increasing, and lucrative marltet, free from high or hostile tariffs ; and the advantage of an almost unlimited command of commodities, the regular obtain- ment of whicli is essential to the steady employment of their operations. Nor must it be forgotten, that Indian Imports and Exports, to the amount of tliirty million sterling, now furnisli profitable employment to the best class of mercantile shipping. : S ^ if Si's m i&nrts of l^e potrng. The first mutiny fat Berhampore\.. Mutiny and massacre at Meerut,.... Kevolt and massacre at Delhi, Tlie Mogul empire pruclaimed, Mutiny and massacre at Lucknow,. Cawnpore invested by Nana Sahib,. >' Surrender of the garrison -Feb. 25 -May 10 . " 11 . " 12 . '• 31 .June 6 .. " 26 . " 27 ■July 16 ., " 17 » The second " If Relieved by Gen.llavclocl g SS 2 ) CO <^ J = -> *! ..-v-Vl )^^^^,ry;v (Ebtnis of the Ruling. IJclh! invOHted Ijv Oen. Barnard,... ..June H " The HrHt aKHauU, ..Sopt 14 " The city taken, .. " 20 Caiitiiri! of till; KIni! .if Delhi .. " 21 Death (if hlH HotiH and KratidHOn "Lucknow InveBted hy Nana Hahlb.. .. " 21 ..Auk 4 .. rolieveabyGeu. llavolo<:k,..8ept 2S T II E INDIAN EMPIRE. CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY, JIVTTIOI.OGICAL AND TRADITIONAL— PERSIAN AND OTHER INVA- SIONS— GHKKIC EXPEDITION AND CONQUESTS OE AM'.XANDER- PI.UNDICKING INCURSIONS OE iMAHMOOn THE GHUZNIVEDE — MOHAMMEDAN CONCiUESTS, DOMINION, AND DOWNFALL— RISE AND PROGRESS OF liRITISH POWER AND SUPREMACY. Ancient History, to the time of Alex- ander. — India or Iliiuloostiiu, with its noble rivers, diversified climate, jiroductive soil, and extensive coast-line, oli'cred advantages for colonization, which were availed of at a very early period in the history of the hnman race. Of its iirst inliabitants we know little, beyond their being, as it is generally believed, still represented by various bar- barous tribes who yet inhabit the mountains and forests, and follow rude religious prac- tices that are no part of the primitive Hin- doo system. By whom or at what time these \icre subdued or expelled there is no ground to rest anything more than a sur- mise; and of the many that have been, or might be, hazarded on this difficult but in- teresting subject, perhaps not the least I'ea- sonable is the supposition based on the varied craniological development, and distinct lan- guages of the existing Hindoo race — that thcj' were originally composed of numerous migrating hordes who, at intervals, poured iu from the wild Mongolian steppes and Turkoraanian ranges, from the forests of Scythia, the arid shores of the Caspian, and the sunburnt plains of Mesopotamia ; from the plateaux of Persia, the deserts of Arabia, and even from the fertile valley of the Nile, allured by the extraordinary fertility of this most favoured portion of the Asiatic con- tinent, or driven from their native land by tyranny or want. Time and eircumstances gradually fused the heterogeneous mass into something like homogeneity; the first step to which was probalil}' made by the introduc- tion, in a rude form, of that village system which so nu^rkedly characterises India when viewed as a whole, and which, under the scourge of sanguinary wars, and the heavy o exactions of native or foreign rulers, lias ever been the mainstay of the people. The invaders, if such they were, probably brought with them the elements of civilisation; and the peaceful pursuits of pastoral and agri- cidtural life would necessitate a certain amount of concentration, as no single man or family could dwell alone in a country whose dense jungle required combined la- bour, both to clear it for use and guard it from wild beasts. All this, however, relates to a period concerning which we possess no liistorical record whatever — in which must have originated what may be termed Brah- ininical Hiudooism, whose rise and early progress is shrouded in dense obscurity. From the internal evidence afforded by the system itself, so far as we arc acqiuiinted with it during its early purity, it would seem to have been framed by a snudl confederacy of persons, whose knowledge, both religions and secular, Ijcing far in advance of their age, had enabled them to draw up rules for the guidance of their countrymen, both as regarded their duty to God and their fel- lows. Fully aware, as it would appear, of the great fact, that human institutions have strength and permanence only when based on a religious principle, they set forth their own scheme as the direct ordination of the "Self-Existent One," the "Great First Cause," whose attributes they described in a tone of solemn grandeur not uubefittiug their high theme ; and to enforce their precepts and heighten their influence, made much use of the rude lyrics extant among the people, to which they added others. These were com- piled under the name of the Yedas (a word derived from a Sanscrit root, signifying to know), by one ^'yasa, who lived iu the four- 14 CODE OF MENU— NINTH CENTURY, B.C. teenth century before the Christian era. In describing the religious creed of the Hindoos, and commenting on the opinions entertained respecting the comparative an- tiquity of Brahminism and Boodhism, the most ancient sacred writings of each of these great sects will be noticed ; but here it is only necessary to remark, that the Vedas bear incontestable evidence of having been written at difierent periods, some being in very rugged Sanscrit, others, though an- tiquated, coming within the pale of that language in the polished form in which Sir William Jones found it, when he declared it to be " of a wonderful structure, more per- fect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either."* One only of the Vedas, the Soma Veda, has yet been translated into English. The translator. Dr. Stephenson, of Bombay, leans to the opinion of its having been com- posed out of India, but brought there by the Brahmins from some northern country at a very remote period. Another authority, after a careful examination of the same book, has arrived at a directly opposite conclusion. f Be this as it may, there are expressions in the Vedas which prove that the majority of the detached pieces of difl'erent kinds of poetic composition which they comprise, were written in a country where maritime commerce was highly esteemed, where a sa- crificial ritual had already been fixed, and mythological legends abounded. The fre- quent reference to war and to chariots in- dicate, moreovei', the previous establishment of sepai'ate states, and the cultivation of military art. The first comprehensive view of the state of society among the Hindoos is aflbrded by the code of laws which bears the name of Menu, and is supposed, but not on very convincing data, to have been compiled in or about the ninth century, b.c.J Whe- ther Menu himself were a real person- age or no is an open question, and one of little importance, since his appearance is merely dramatic, like that of the speakers • Astatic liasearches, vol. i., p. 422. T Arthur's Miasio7i to the Mysore, p. 441. X Sir W. Jones supposed the Code to have been compiled about 300 years after the Vedas {As. It., vol. vii., p. 283) ; but Klphinstone fixes the date at some time about half-way between Alexander, in the fourth century, li.c, and the Vedas in the four- teenth. (Vol. i., p. 430.) § Cast, the common woi-d, is not Indian, but Vm'^- lish ; and is given in Jolinson's Dictionary as derived from the Spanish or Portuguese, casta, a breed. In in the dialogues of Plato or of Cicero. No hint is given as to the real compiler, nor is there any clue to the ancient commentator Calluca, whose endeavours to gloss over and explain away some doctrines of Menu, seems to indicate that opinion had already begun to change, even in his day ; while many suc- ceeding commentators, and some of very ancient date, speak of the rules of Menu as applicable to the good ages only, and not extending to their time. The chief feature in the code is its di- vision of the people into four classes or casts ;§ namely, the Brahmins or sacer- dotal ; the Cshatriya or military ; the Vai- syas or industrial ; and the Soodras|| or ser- vile. The three first classes were termed the " twice-born," their youths being admitted, at certain ages, by a solemn ceremony, to participate in the religious and social privi- leges of their elders ; but the fourth and low- est cast was rigidly excluded from all these. The degradation of the Soodras has given rise to the idea of their being the people whom the superior classes had conquered ; and similar inferences may be drawn from the fact that, while the " twice-born" were all strictly forbidden, under any circumstances, to leave, what, for want of a better term, may be styled Hindoostan Proper ; the Soodra, distressed for the means of sub- sistence, might go where he would. It ap- pears, however, from the code, that there were still cities governed by Soodra kings, in which Brahmins were advised not to re- side. From this it seems probable that the independent Soodra towns were situated in such of the small territories into which Hindoostan was divided as yet retained their freedom, while the whole of the tracts south of the Vindya mountains remained un- touched by the invaders, and unpenetrated by their religion. Ou the other hand, it is remarkable that neither the code of Menu, nor the more ancient Vedas, so far as we ara at present acquainted with their con- tents, ever allude to any prior residence, or to a knowledge of more than the name of Sir W. Jones' Translation of Menu, the word em- ployed is " class :" the Brahmins constantly use the Sanscrit term as signifying a species. \\ Tliere are few things more perplexing in the study of Indian history than the various modes of s])elling proper names and other words, which have resulted from the difficulty of re|iresenting them in the characters of our alphabet. In tlie present work, tiie author has deemed it advisable to adopt that best known and most easily read, in preference to what might have been more eriticallv correct. HINDOO CHRONOLOGY. SOLAR AND LUNAR DYNASTIES. 15 any country out of India. Even mytho- logy goes no farther than tlic Himalaya mountains for the location of tlio gods. Witli regard to the condition of the Sooth'as, it appears to have hccn in many points similar, hut in some decidedly prefcrahle, to that of the helot, the slave, or the serf of the Greek, the Roman, and the feudal sys- tems, excepting only its stern prohibition of any share in the ordinances of religion. But this might have originated in the probable circumstance of the conquered people having a distinct creed of their own, to prevent the spreading of which among their discii)les, the Brahmins* (in whom, Elphinstone has well said, the common interests of their class, mingled, probably, with much pure zeal for their niouotheistic faith, was deeply rooted) united religion and rank so closely in their able scheme, that to break through, or even in minor observances to deviate from the strict rules of duty laid down for the guidance of the several regenerate classes, was to forfeit position, and literally to incur the penalty of a civil death, far passing excommunication in severity, and to place themselves under a ban which wearisome penance could alone remove. One passion — and it would seem only one — was strong enough to break down the barriers of cast. A mixed race sprang up, who were gradually formed into classes, and divided and subdivided, until the result is now seen in an almost countless number of small communities. In subsequent sections, in describing manners, customs, laws, and government, it will be necessaiy to show what these were in the days of Menu, atul the changes which graduallj' took place up to the period of English dominion ; but at present wo are more immediately concerned with that difficult sidijeet, the chronological succession of events in Hindoo history. Oriental research has, as yet, revealed to us but one Hindoo work that can be strictly considered historical, the Annals of Caxh- mere, ably ti'anslated by Professor Wilson, which refers chiefly to a limited territory on the extreme northern frontier of India, and contains little more than incidental men- tion of Hindoostau and the Dcccau. There is, besides, an evident and not unnatural desire on the part of the native writer to aggrandize the rulers of Cashmere at the • Elphinstone suggests a doubt " whether the conquerors were a foreign peop'.e or a local tribe, like the Dorians in Greece; or whether, indeed, they were not merely a portion of one of the native states (a religious sect, for instance,) which had outstripped expense of the neighbouring princes, which gives an impression of onc-sidcdncss to a production possessed, notwithstanding, of much value aiul interest. The student is, therefore, compelled to fall back upon the wide field, as yc't but very partially explored, presented in tlie sacred books, the legislative records, and the two great epic poems. The knowledge obtainable from these sources is, in too many cases, rendered comparatively useless, l)y the misleading chronology taught by the Brahmins, apparently as a means of sustaining the claim of their nation to a fa- bulous antiquity. The periods employed in the computation of time arc equally strange and imsatisfactory, and arc rendered pe- culiarly puzzling by the astronomical data on which they arc partially founded. A complete revolution of the nodes and ap- sides, which they suppose to be performed in 4,.320,000,006 years, forms a calpa, or day of Brahma. In this are included four- teen manwantaras, or periods, each contain- ing seventy-one maha yugas, or great ages, which again comprise, respectively, four yugas, or ages, of unequal length. These last bear some resemblance to the golden, silver, brazen, and iron ages of the Greeks, and are alone considered by the Brahmins as marking the periods of human history since the creation of the existing world, which they believe to liave occurred about four million years ago. The first, or satya yuga, lasted 1,728,000 years, through the whole of which a king named Satyavrata, otherwise called Vaivaswata, lived and reigned. This monarch is described as having escaped with his family from an uni- versal deluge, which destroyed the rest of the world. From him descended two royal lines, one of which, under the designation of Soorya, the children of the sun, reigned at Ayodhya orOude; the other, Chandra, or the children of the moon, at Pratisht'hana or Vitora, in the tract between the Jumna and Ganges, through the 1,296,000 years of the second, or trcta yuga ; the 8f) 1,000 years of the third, or dwapar yuga ; and the first 1,000 years of the present, or eali yuga, at which time both the solar and lunar races became extinct; as also a distinct cotempo- rary race, the descendants of .Tarasandha,who began to reign in Magadha or Behar, at the their fellow citizens in knowledge, and appropriated all the advantages of the society to themselves." — Jlhtnrii iif India, vol. i., p. 90. t It is evident that in the time of Menu there were no slaves attached to the soil. IG RESIDENCE OF EARLY HINDOO PRINCES AND BRAHMINS. commencement of the call yuj^a. I'he last reigning; prince of the Jarasaudha family was slain by his prime minister, who placed his own son, Pradyota, on the throne. Fifteen of the usurping race enjoyed the sovereignty to the time of Nauda, who, in extreme old age (after a reign, it is said, of 100 years), was murdered by a Brahman, by whom a man of the Maurya race, named Chandra- Gupta, was placed on the vacant throne.* The genealogies of the two parallel lines of the sun and moon are derived from the sacred writings called the Puranas.f Sir AYilliam Jones framed his list from the Bha- gavat Parana; Captain Wilford subsequently collated his genealogical table of the great Hindoo dynasties from the Vishnu and other Puranas;J and, if critical research should eventually succeed in enabling us to correct the errors of Indian chronology, much information may be obtained by means of those lists respecting the early rulers. Wanting this clue, the student will find abundant material for theory, but the historian little that he dares make his own ; for the narratives given in the Piiranas abound in discrepancies regarding time and place, and are so blended with myths and allegories, that it is next to impossible, at present, to separate truth from fiction, until the period of the^Maha Bh.arat or Great War.§ The scene of the adventures of the first princes, and the residence of the most fa- mous sages, appears to be uniformly placed, both in the Purauas, and the far older in- • Accordiiiff to Mill (vol. i., p. 160) ; but Elphin- stone states Chandra Gupta to have been ninth in succession from Nanda. — Vol. i., p. 261. t Tiiere are eighteen Puranas, which are considered to have been composed between the eighth and six- teenth centuries, A.D. ; but several of the_ authors ap])ear to have made use of much more ancient MS. histories to interweave among their own. X The lines of the Sun and Moon, and the Magadha dynasty, are given at length by Colonel Tod, in the first volume of his vaKuible and voluminous work the Annals of Rajaslhan. They were extracted from the Puranas by a body of pundits, and differ more or less in various parts from those published by Sir W. Jones, Mr. Bentley, and Colonel Wilford. Tod's view of the vexed question of early Hindoo records may be understood from his careful enume- ration of various traditions which all " appear to point to one spot, and to one individual, in the early history of maidund, when the Hindoo and Greek ap- proach a common focus, for there is little doubt that Adnath, Adiswara, Osiris, IJaghes, Bacchus, Menu, >Ien(:s, designate the patriarch of mankind, Noah" (vol. i., p. 22). The solar and lunar lines he con- fciders to have been established 2,2.10 ye.irs, B.C., about a century and a half after the flood, the former bv Ichswaca the .son of Vaivaswawo Menu, the latter stitutes of Menu, in a tract called Bramha- verta, because of its sanctity, situated be- tween the rivers Seraswati (Sersooty) and Drishadwati (Caggar), 100 miles to the nortli- west of Delhi ; and about 65 miles long by 20 to 40 broad. || Probably the next territory ac- quired lay between that above-mentioned and the Jumna, and iucluded North Behar, this country being mentioned in the second place under the honoured name of Brahmar- shi, while Brahmins born within its boun- daries were pronounced suitable teachers of the several usages of men.^ At Oude, in the centre of Brahmarshi, the Puranas, (in which the preceding early stages are not noticed,) fix the origin of the solar and lunar races, from one or other of which all the royal families of ancient India were de- scended. Some fifty to seventy generations of the solar race, who, in the absence of re- liable information, appear little better than myths, bring down the Purana narrative to Rama, the ruler of a powerful kingdom in Hindoostan, and the hero of the oldest Hindu epic — the Ramayana. The chief incident is the carrying off of Sita, the queen of Rama, by Ravana, the king of the island of Lanka, or Ceylon. Rama leads an army into the Decean, penetrates to Ceylon, and, with the assistance of a strange people allegorized as an army of monkeys, led by Hooniman, their king, gains a complete victory over the ra- visher, and recovers his wife, who vindicates her fidelity by successfully passing the or- deal of fire. According to the system of by Boodha, who married Ichswatoo's sister Ella, asserted to be the earth personified — Boodha him- self being " the parent and first emigrant of the Indu [Sanscrit for the moon] race, from Saca Dwipa or Scythia to Hindust'han" (p. 45). In another place Tod describes Boodha as the great progenitor of the Tartars, Chinese, and Hindus, " Boodha (Mercury), the son of Indu (the moon), [a male deity] became the patriarchal and spiritual leader, as Fo in China ; Woden and Teutates of the tribes migrating to Europe. Hence it follows that the religion of Boodha must be coeval with the existence of these nations ; that it was brought into India Proper by them, and guided them until the schism of Crishna and the Sooryas, worshippers of Bal, in time depressed them, when the Boodha religion was modified into the present mild form, the Jain" (p. 58). § See Prinsep's Thcful 7'nhles, Professor Wilson's edition of the I'ishnu Purona, Sir W^. Jones and Colonel Wilford's articles in Asiatic Jicscarches, vols. ii. and v., and Dr. 11. Buchanan's Hindoo Oencahirjics. \\ Menu, book ii., v. 17, 18: 'Wilson, preface to Vishnu Purann, p.lxvii. ^ Menu, book ii., v. 10, 20; Elphinstonc, vol. i., p. 388. NATIVE PRINCES MENTION KD IN THE RAMAYANA. 17 deifying great men after their decease, whieli gradually erept into Brahuiinism, Rama, upon Ills death, was honoured as a f;od, aiul Ids iniafjc worship])pd, his natural form heiu;; declared to have been an i^iearnatiou (the seventh) of Vishnu, one of the three persons, or prinei|)l('s, of the Hindoo 'J'riuity. A remarkable passage occurs in the Uaina- yana, in wliieli mention is made of certain forcifin princes,who were invited by Dasaratha (the father of Kama) to be present at the As- wamedha* or solemn sacrifice of a horse about to be ofl'ered up by the aged monarch, to proein'C from the gods the bli^ssing of male posterity. The names mentioned are the " sovereign of Kasi or Benares, the rajahs of Magadha or Behar, of Sindu and Su- rashta (Sinde and Surat), of Unga and Savira (of which one is conjectured to mean Ava, the other some district situated on the Persian frontier), and, in fine, the princes of the south or the Deccan. lleeren, who cites the above passage from the Ram'ayana, adds — " they are represented as the friends, and some of them also as the relations of Dasaratha, by no means however as his vassals. It is therefore evident that the author of the most ancient Hindoo epic poem considered India to be divided into a number of separate and independent princi- palities. "t This opinion, however, is not founded en indisputable grouiuls, for many of his auxiliaries appear to have stood to Dasaratha in the relation of viceroys, or at least inferior chieftains. The antiquity of the poem is unquestioned ; the author, Val- miki, is said to have been cotemporary with the event he has so ably commemo- rated, i but we have no means of fixing the date of either poem or poet except as some- where between that of the Vedas and the Maha Bharat, since king Dasaratha is de- scribed as deeply versed in the precepts of • Aswa is thouglit to be the etymon of Asia, niedlia signifies " to ivill." t llceren's Historical Jiesearchcs, Oxford Transla- tion; 1833: vol. iii., \).2'.n. I "llama preceded Crishna: but as their histo- irians, Valmika and Vyasa, who wrote the events tliey witnessed [this point is, however, questioned], were cotemporaries, it could not liave been by many years."- -(Tod's Annals of Rnjasihaii, vol. i., p. 457. § The origin of the I'andon family is involved in fable, invented, evidently, to cover some great dis- grace. According to tradition, Pandoo, whose capi- tal was at Hastinapoora, being childless, his queen, by a charm, enticed the deities from their spheres, and became the mother of Yoodishtra, IJhima, Ar- jooua (the famous archer), Nycula, and Sidcva. On the death of Pandoo, Yoodishtra, with the aid of tl;o priesthood, was declared king, although the illc- the Vedas and Vcdangas, while on the other hand an epitome of the Ramayana is given in the Maha ]iharat. After Rama, sixty princes of his race ruled in succession over his dominions, but as no more mention is made of Ayodha ((Jiule) it is possible that the kitigdoni (which was at one time callc'd Coshala) may have merged in another; and that the capital wa.s transferred from Oude to Canouj. The heroic poem, entitled the " Maha Bharat" or Great War, afibrds an account of many historical events, in the details of a contest between the lines of Pandoo§ a]id of Curoo, two branches of the reigning lunar race for the territory of Hastinapoora, supposed to be a ])hice on the Ganges, north-east of Delhi, which still bears the ancient name.|| The rivals are supported by numerous allies, and some from very remote parts. The enumeration of them appears to aftbrd evidence similar to that deducible from the above cited pas- sage of the Ramayana, that there were many distinct states in India among which a con- siderable degree of intercourse and connec- tion was maintained. Not only are princes from the Deccan and the Indus mentioned, as taking part in the struggle, but auxilia- ries are likewise included belonging to na- tions beyond the Indus, especially the Yavans, a name which most orientalists consider to apply exclusively to the Greeks. ^f The Pandoos are eventually conquerors, but are represented as having paid so dearly for their victory, in the loss of their friends and the destruction of their armies, that the chief survivors quitted their country, and are supposed to have perished among the snows of the Himalaya.** The hero of the poem is Crishna, the great ally of the Pan- doos, who was deified after his death as having been an incarnation of Vishnu, or even Vishnu himself. He was born of the gitiniacy of himself and his brothers was asserted by Dnryodhanu, the nephew of the deceased sovereign, who, as the representative of the elder branch, re- tained his title as head of the Curoos. For the whole story of the Maha Bharat, and it is a very interesting one, see the Asiatic liiscarc/ics, and the comments of Tod in the early part of his Amtals of Rajasthan. II Kljihinstone, vol. i., p. 390. 5[ Tiie Greeks, or lonians, are descended from Javan, or Yavan, the seventh from Jai)het. — (Tod's liajasthah, vol. i., p. 51. •• Tod surmises that they did not perish thus, but migrated into the Peloponnesus, and founded the colony of the Heraclida>, stated by Volney to have been formed there 1078 years, H.e. See the reason for this conjecture, based chiefly on the supposition of the Pandoos i>eing the descendants of the liidian Hercules, pp. ■iS, 51. 18 MAGADHA ICINGS TO CHANDRA GUPTA, OR SANDRACOTTUS, royal family of Mattra on the Jumna, but brought up by a herdsman in the neigh- bourhood, who eonccaled him from the tyrant who sought to slay him. This phase of his life is a very favourite one with the Hindoos, and he is worshipped in an infant form by an extensive sect, as also under the figure of a beautiful youth, in commemoration of the time he spent among the " gopis" or milkmaids, dancing, sporting, playing on the pipe, and captivating the hearts alike of rural maidens and princesses. Among the numerous exploits of his more mature age was the recovery of his usurped inheritance, whence, being driven by foreign foes, he removed to Dwarika, in Guzerat, where he founded a principality. He soon however became again involved in civil discord, and, according to Tod, was slain by one of the aboriginal tribes of Bheels. The Maha Bharat describes the sons of Crislina as finally returning to the neighbourhood of the Jumna. The war is supposed to have taken place in the fourteenth century, b.c, about 200 years before the siege of Troy, and the famous and lengthy poem in which it is commemorated is, as before stated, attri- buted to Vyasa, the collector of the Vedas. The princes who succeeded the Pandoos, are variously stated at from twenty-nine to sixty- four in number; they appear to have transferred the seat of their government to Delhi ; but little beyond a name is recorded of any of them. The kings of INIagadha or Behar (the line mentioned as cotem- porary with the latter portion of the dy- nasties of the sun and moon), play a more conspicuous part in the Purana records ; they afford a connected chain from the war of the INIaha Bharat to the fifth century after Christ, and present an appearance of proba- bility, besides receiving striking confirma- tions from various quarters. Tlicy arc fre- quently referred to in inscriptions sculptured on stone, or engraved on copper plates, conveying grants of land, or charters of privileges and immunities, which are very numerous, and not only contain the date of the grant, and the name of the prince by whom they were conferred, but in most cases enumerate, also, certain of his pre- decessors. The first of the Magadha kings, Jara- sandha, is mentioned in the Maha Bharat as the head of a number of petty princes. The ruling monarch at the conclusion of the war was Sahadcva ; the tliirty-fifth in suc- cession from him was Ajata Satru; and in his reign, according to high authority,* Sakya, or Gotama, the founder of the Boodha religion flourished, and died about 550, B.C. This date, if reliable, does good service by fixing the era of Satru ; but other eminent writers consider Boodhism of much earlier origin ; and some as coeval with, or even older than Brahminism.f The sixth in succession from Satru was Nanda, who, unlike his long line of regal ancestors of the Cshatriya, or military class, was born of a Soodra mother ; his ninth suc- cessor, who bore his name, was murdered by Chandra Gupta, J a man of low birth who iisurpcd the throne. This Chandra Gupta has been, after much research, identi- fied with Sandracottus, the cotemporary of Alexander the Great, and thus a link had been obtained wherewith to connect India with European history, and also with that of other Asiatic nations. The foregoing particulars have been given on strictly In- dian authority, for although much extrane- ous information may be obtained from early foreign writers it is difficult to ascertain how to separate truth from fiction. § Ac- cording to Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Cicero, the first Indian conqueror was Bacchus or Dionysus, afterwards deified, who led an army out of Greece, subdued India, taught the inhabitants the use of wine, and built the city of Nysa. The Egyp- tians, who spared no pains to fortify their claim to the highest antiquity and earliest civilization, and never scrupled to appro- priate the great deeds of the heroes of other countries, as having been performed by their own rulers, maintained that Osiris, their conqueror, having first added Ethi- opia to his dominions, marched thence to India through Arabia, taught the use of wine, and built the city of Nysa. Both these stories evidently refer to the same person ; namely, the Indian prince Vaisva- wata Menu; whom Tod, the pains-taking but wildly theoretical Maurice, and other writers affirm to have been no other than the patriarch Noah. Be this as it may, one of the most valuable of ancient writers, Diodorus the Sicilian, declares, on the authority of Indian tradition, that Bacchus (Vaisvawata Menu) belonged to their own nation, was a lawgiver, built many stately * EIpliiiiRtnne, vol. i., pp. 209,201. t See note to page 14. i Chanilra Gupta signifies "protected by tlip moon." § .lustin stales that the Scythians conqiiercd a great part of Asia, and penetrated to Egypt l,r>00 years before Ninus, first king of Assyria. INDIAN INVASIONS.— SEMIRAMIS, SESOSTRIS, HERCULES, & CYRUS. 1!) cities, instituted divine worship, and erected everywhere courts of justice. Tlic alleged invasions of Semiramis,* Sc- sostris,t IlcreuleSjf and Cyrus, are all denied by Arrian, except tliat attributed to Her- cules. Strabo disjiutcs even that, adding; that the Persians liired inerceiiarics from India but never invaded it.§ The whole question respecting the nature of the alleged con- nection c-vistiug between India and Persia, is one which scarcely admits a satisfactory explanation. Before the time of Cyrus the Great (the son of King Carabyses, the con- queror of Babylon and the Shepherd whose coming to perform the pleasure of the om- nipotent God of the Hebrews, was foretold by Isaiah) ||, Persia was no more than an • The Assvrian invasion, acoordinp; to the chrono- logy of Capellus, took place about 1970, a.m. It was planned by Semiramis, the widow of Ninus, who, after consolidating her husband's Bactrian conquests, resolved to attempt the subjugation of India, being led tliereto by the reported fruitfulncss of the soil and the riclies of its inliabitants. She spent tliree years in assembling an immense army, drawn from all the provinces of her extensive empire, and caused the sliipwrights of Phoenicia, Syria, and Cyprus, to send to the frontier 2,000 shijjs or large barks, in pieces, so that they might be carried thence to the Indus, and there put in array against the naval force of the Indians. All things being ready, Semiramis niarohed from Bactria (Balk) with an army, which it has been well said, " the Greek historians have, by tlieir relations, rendered less wonderful than incre- dible j" for they describe it as having consisted of 3,000,000 foot, 000,000 horse, 100,000 war chariots, and 100,000 camels, a portion of the latter being made to resemble elephants — by means of a frame- work being covered with the skins of oxen ; this device being employed to delude the Indians into the belief of the invaders being superior to them even in this respect. Stabrobates, the king of tlie countries bordering the Indus, on receiving intelli- gence of the intended invasion, assembled his troops, augmented the number of his elephants, caused ■4,000 bo.ats to be built of cane (which is not subject to rot, or to be eaten by worms, evils known to be very prevalent at the pre.sent day), to occupy the Indus ; and headed his army on the eastern bank, in readi- ness to su))port them. The attacking fleet being victorious, Stabrobates abandoned his position, leav- ing the enemy a free passage ; and Semiramis, mak- ing a bridge of boats, crossed over with her whole force. The counterfeit elephants, which play an important part in the narrative, were marched in front, and at first created great alarm ; but the deception being revealed by some deserters from the camp, the Indians recovered tlieir spirits. A fierce contest ensued, in which the Assyrians had at first the advantage, but were eventually totally over- thrown, and Semiramis fled, accompanied by a very slender retinue, and escaped with great difficulty to lier own dominions. Such is the tale related by Diodonis Siculus ; and, however little to be relied on in many respects, it may at least be cited in testi- mony of the reputation for wealth and civilization inconsiderable kingdom, uftcrwards compre- hended in a single province, retaining the ancient name of Pars ; but the conquests of the youthful general, on behalf of his uncle and I'atiier-in-law, Cyaxares, King of Media, whom he succeeded, enabled him to unite the thrones of Persia and Media, as well as to sway neighbouring and distant states, to an extent which it is at present not easy to deline, though it was amply sufficient to form what was termed the Persian empire, 557, B. c. His eastern frontier certainly touched the verge of India ; but whether it encroached yet farther, is a matter of doubt, and has been so for centuries. Nor is it even an established point wdierc India itself terminated ; for although Elphinstouc and enjoyed by India at a very early period. With regard to Semiramis, recent discoveries of ruins and de- ciphering of inscriptions have placed her e.xistence as an historical personage Ijeyond a doubt. t The invasion of Sesostris, king of Egypt, A.sr. 3023, is alleged to have been as successful as that of Semiramis had proved disastrous. Desu-ing to render his subjects a commercial peo])le, he fitted out a fleet of -100 ships in the Arabian Gulf, or Ked Sea (being the inventor, it is alleged, of ships of war), by means of which all the countries stretching along the Ery- threan or Arabian Sea tolndia were subjugated. Mean- while he led his army through Asia, and being every- where victorious, crossed the Ganges and advanced to the Indian Ocean. He spent nine years in this expedition, but exacted no other tokens of submis- sion from the conquered nations than the sending annually of presents to Egypt. Perhaps this story, recorded by Diodorus Siculus, and quoted by Harris and by Robertson (who discredits it), in his Histo- rical Disquisition coiiccrnint/ Ancient India, ]). 6, may have originated in the eflbrts of Sesostris for the extension of commerce ; but the success of his plans, whether pursued by warlike or [jcaceful means, could have been at best but short-lived, since, after his death the Egyptians relapsed into their preWous anti-maritime habits ; and centuries elapsed before their direct trade with India became of importance. t The Greek accounts of Hercules having been in India is tliought to have arisen from the fact of there having been a native prince of that name, who, according to the Hindoo traditions cited by Diodorus Siculus (wlio wrote -14, B.C.), was after his death honoured as a god, having in life excelled all mere men in strength and courage ; cleared both the sea and land of monsters and wild beasts; founded many cities, the most famous of which was Palibotbra, where he built a stately palace strongly fortified, and rendered impregnable by being surrounded by deep trenches, into which he let an adjacent river. Whea liis numerous sons were grown up, he divided India equally among them ; and they reigned long and happily, but never engaged in any foreign expe- ditions, or sent forth colonies into distant countries, being content with the resources of theh own fertile doMiains. § Arrian's Indica: Strabo, lib. sv. ; Elphinstone, vol. i., p. 440. ■ « Isaiah ; chap, xliv., v. 28. 20 DARIUS CODOMANUS OF PERSIA PHILIP OF MACEDON— b.c. 337. other writers follow Strabo in declaring the Indus, from the mountains to the sea, to have formed its western limit, other autho- rities eonsider the territory of the Hindoos to have stretched far beyond. Colonel Wil- ford adduces a verse in their Sacred Writ- ings, which prohibits the three ujoper, or " twice-born" classes, from crossing the In- dus, but says that they were at liberty to pass to the other side, by going round its source.* Amid so many difficulties and con- tradictory statements, it is only possible to note the points which seem most reasonable and best authenticated. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was raised to the throne of Persia, b.c. 521, by the seven nobles who conspired against Gomates, the Magian, by whom it had been usurped after the death of Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, whose daughter Atossa he afterwards married. Desiring to know the termination of the Indus, and the state of the adjacent countries, with a view to their conquest, Darius built a fleet at Cas- patyrus, in the territory of Pactyica on that river, which he entrusted to a skilful Greek mariner named Scylax, who fulfilled his in- structions by sailing down the whole length of the Indus, thence coasting to the straits of Bab-el-iMandeb, and ascending the Arabian gulf to the port at its northern extremity. The account given by Scylax of the fertility, high cultivation, and dense population of the country through which his route lay, incited Darius at once to attempt its acquisi- tion. By the aid of the Tyriaus, who were intimately acquainted with the navigation, he brought a numerous force on the coast, while he himself headed a laud attack. According to Dr. Robertson, he subjugated " the districts watered by the Indus ;'t while Colonel Chesney speaks of his conquests as limited to the " Indian territory westward of the Indus. J" Both appear to rely exclu- sively on the testimony of Herodotus, who states that " the Indians" consented to pay an annual tribute of 360 Euboean talents of • Asiatic liacarches, vol. v!., p. 58.5. t Jh. Kobertson's Historical JUisrjuisifinn, p. 12. j Colonel Chesney's Siirvei/ of the liicers Tigris and Euphrates. London: 1850; vol. ii., p. 180. § Herodotus, lib. iii. and iv. II During tlio reign of Artaxerxes, the third son of Xerxes (llie Aliasuerus of the book of Esther), Ctesias, the king's physician, and the author of a voluminous history of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and I'ersian empires, wrote a book on India, founded upon the accounts he obtained from the Persians. His works are not now exUuit^ though various extracts are to be gold, or a talent a day — the Persian year being then considered to comprise only 360 days. The sum wotild appear to be over- stated ; for a single talent, at the lowest computation, was equal to £3,000 English money ; and even, though India may have then deserved its high reputation as a gold- producing region, this tax would have been very onerous. It is, however, certain, that at this time the force of Persian gold was known and feared by neighbouring states, and had a powerful share in enabling the successors of Darius to keep together the chief part of the widely-scattered dominions, which he displayed great ability in even par- tially consolidating and dividing into satra- pies, or governments ; of these his Indian possessions formed the twentieth and last.§ Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius, had a body of Indian troops in his service ; but he discouraged maritime intercourse, considering traffic by land more desirable ; and indeed he and his successors are said to have adopted the Babylonian policy of pre- venting invasions by sea, by blocking up the navigation of some of the chief rivers, in- stead of guarding the coast with an efficient naval force. We find but few traces of India || during the remaining reigns of the Persian mo- narchs, until the time of their Last ruler, Darius Codomanus, who succeeded to the sway of a disorganized territory, consisting of numerous provinces, or rather kingdoms, differing in religion, languages, laws, cus- toms, and interests ; and bound together by no tic of a permanent character. A power- ful enemy was at hand, in the neighbouring kingdom of Macedon, which had sprung into importance almost as rapidly as Persia, and in a similar manner, having been raised by the talents of a single individual. Philip had acceded to the government of an ordinary state, weakened by war and dissension ; but taking full advantage of the comiiianding geographical position ot the country, and the warlike spirit of its hardy sons, he ren- found in different autliors. They are all unfavour- ably commented on, especially that on India, by se- veral Greek writers, who pronounce them fabulous. Plutarch, Aristotle, and even Strabo, notwithstand- ing tlieir severe censures, have, however, not scrupled to borrow from the jiages of Ctesias such statements as ai)i)eared to them probable ; and Diodorus, as well as Herodotus and Athenseus, are said to have drawn largely from the same source. Xenophon, w)io was ]ieisonally acquainted with (.'tcsias, speaks of him with great respect, though differing from many of his opinions. ALEXANDER CROSSES THE HELLESPONT TO IxNVADE ASIA. 21 dered it the centre of arts and civilization, second only to Persia in power, and supe- rior even to Persia in inflnenee, on account of the state of corruption aiul excessive luxury into which that enipire liad fallen. The free (Jrci'iaii repui)!ies, weakened hy strife and division, became for the most part subject to Macedonia, whose ancient consti- tution — a limited monarchy, which it was the interest of the community at large to maintain — proved a source of strength alike in olfensive and defensive warfare. Still TMaeedonia appears to have been in some sort triljutary to Persia; and it was pos- sibly a (lis[)ute on this point which had led Philip to form the hostile intentions he was preparing to carry out, and which Arses, King of Persia, was occupied in endeavour- ing to prevent, when both were suddenly arrested in the midst of their schemes; Pliilip, who had escaped so many dangers in the l):ittle-field, being stabbed in his own jialace during the bridal festivities of his daughter Cleopatra, by Pausanias,* a Mace- donian youth of rank ; and Arses was poi- soned about the same time. The tender age of Alexander was for- gotten in the enthusiasm raised by his manly and powerful eloquence, lie assured the assembled Macedonians, previous to the funeral obsequies of his father, that though the name was changed they would find the king remained ; — and he kept his word, elevating none of his personal friends, but continuing the able statesmen and generals in the positions in which he found them. By extraordinary address, this youth (for * The motive of Pausanias is variously stated as having been the instigation of the Persian monarch (in which liglit Alexander chose to view it) ; a desire to revenge a personal insult; or otherwise, from un- governable ])t\ssion for Olympias, the mother of Alex- an<ler. — Sir John Malcolm's Ilistiirii of Persia, vol. i., J). 54. Justin attributes the deed to tlie incitomc'nt of the vindictive Olympias, who, immediately after her husband's assassination, caused his youngest wife and child to be pui to a cruel death. t Historians agree in describing Darius as amiable and equitable. 'I'he tale related by tlie Persian au- thor, Zeenut-ul-Tuarikh, concerning his message to Alexander, is therefore inconsistent with his cha- racter. According to this writer, Philip had agreed to furnish an annual subsidy of 1,000 eggs of pure gold. The Persian envoy, sent to demand the tri- bute from his successor, received the jeering reply that " the birds that laid the eggs had flown to the other world." Parius thercujion despatched an am- bassador, with a bat and ball, as a fit amusement for the youthful monarcli, and a bag of very small seed, called gunjud, as an emblem of the innumerable Persian army. Alexander taking the bat, said — " This is my power with which I will strike your E he was but twenty years old (succeeded in stifling the disturbances which followed the catastrophe at home, and in establishing his aseendaney as elii('f, i)y the free choice of the majority of the Grecian republics, notwith- sttuiding the \inremitting exertions of De- mosthenes and his ])arty. Once firmly seated on the throne, having brought the Illyrian war to a rapid and suc- eessfid conclusion and captured Tiiebes, Alexander made ready for a hazardous con- test with his |)owerful compeer Darius, the successor of Arses ; who, previous to his ac- cession to the throne of Persia, had been distinguished for the judicious government of a large tract of country of which he had been satrap (viceroy). Although averse to war,t he had nevertheless distinguished himself in the conduct of military j)ro- cecdings with hostile nations ; and he lost no time in preparing for the threatened invasion. In the spring of the year 331', B.C., Alexander, with very limited resources in his possession, but with the riches of the East in prospect, crossed the Hellespont at the head of a confederated J arniv, variously estimated at 30,()()() to 13,000 iuiautry, and 5, 000 cavalry ; and after a severe contest, defeated a Persian army 110,000 strong, who disputed with him the passage of the river Granicus, near Zelia, in Bithynia. In eastern warfare the first victory is of incalculable importance — for the satraps and inferior governors are ever ready to transfer their allegiance to the conqueror, consider- ing that he could be such only by the will of God, to which they are bound to submit. sovereign's dominion ; and this fowl," pointing to one which had been brought at his command, and rapidly devoured the grain, " shows what a mere morsel his army will prove to mine." Then, giving the ambassador a wild melon, he desired him to tell Darius what he had heard and seen, and to give him that fruit, the taste of which might indicate the bitter lot that awaited him. — Malcolm's Persia, vol. i., ]). 55. X Tlie Grecian republics, excepting Lacedcmonia, were favourable to Alexander's proposition of an Asiatic expedition ; and his own hopes of success rested upon the jealousy and dissension which he knew existed among the numerous satraps or vice- roys of Damascus, over whom the supreme authority of " the king of kings," as the Persian monarch was granddoquently styled, sat lightly enough. The zeal of his officers, to whom rewards, almost princely, were held out in the event of success, and the admir- able discipline of his troops, would, he trusted, pre- vail over the opposing force, and probably cause the defection of tlie bands of Greek mercenaries employed against him, as well as gain the suffrages of the Greek settlements in Asia, whose release from Persian rule was one of his avowed objects. 22 BATTLE OF ISSUS, IN CILTCIA— b.c. 333. The consequence of this brilliant opening must have exceeded the ho])cs even of the Maeedonian, who conducted himself with singular moderation — treating the people everywhere as subjects, not enemies ; exact- ing from them no additional tribute to that previously claimed by Darius ; and strictly forbidding pillage or massacre. H;'.ving ob- tained the " sinews of war" in the treasury of the Persian monarchs at Sardis, through the treachery of Mithrenes, the governor, Alexander proceeded on his brilliant career, tnitil he became master of the whole of Lesser Asia. The possession of Cilicia was the next point necessary to his purpose, as it comprised the most practicable route be- tween Greater and Lesser Asia, as well as the communication with Syria by land and with Greece by sea. The pro\'ince was gained without difficulty ; and Alexander (when recovered from a dangerous fever, which for a time cheeked his impetuous career) employed himself in securing his position, while Darius was straining every nerve to form an army, which should deci- sively defeat his adversary and re-establish the tottering fabric of the Persian empire. According to Arrian, he increased his Greek mercenaries to 30,000, to whom were joined about 60,000 Asiatics, called Cardacs, trained like the Greeks for close fight, and the middle and light-armed made up a total (including the followers) of 600,000, of whom perhaps i:;0,000 to 200,000 were fighting men. Darius crossed the Euphrates, and with his immense force covered the plains of Cilicia. After a fierce struggle between the Mace- donian phalanx* and the Persian -Greeks, the powerful monarchs met face to face : Darius, in the centre of the line, in a strik- ing costume, and seated on a splendid chariot drawn by four horses abreast, had been from the first a special object of attack : Sabaces, the satrap of Egypt, and many illustrious Persians, perished by his side, * The fiimous Macedonian ov quadruple phalanx, as it was sometimes called, to mark its division into four parts, consisted of a hody of 18,000 men, each defended hy helmet, breast-plate, greaves, and th'> large shield called the aspis, and armed with a long sword and with the famous sarlssa, a spear measur- ing four-and-twenty feet. The ordinary depth of the phalanx was sixteen ranks, the best soldiers being placed in the foremost and hindmost ranks, which formed as it were the framework of an engine ■whose efiicicncy depended on its com])nctness and uniformity of movement. — Rev. Connop (now Bishop) ThirlwallsWreeco, vol.vi., p. 147, until his wounded horses became so un- governable ainong the heaps of slain, by which they were hemmed in, that the mo- narch was with difficulty resetted from the melee, by the valour of his brother Oxathres, and placed in another chariot, in which he fled, hotly but imsuccessfully pursued by Alexander, who had himself been slightly injured in the thigh. f Tlie loss of the Persians is stated by Arrian at 100,000, including 10,000 horse; the most valuable part of the baggage had been conveyed to Damascus, but was soon after captured by Parmenio, Alexander's ablest general, through the treachery of its governor. J Meanwhile the family of Da- rius — his mother, wife,§ and children — fell into the hands of the conqtieror, who showed them much personal kindness ; but when earnestly solicited to release them at the price of any ransom he might name, haugh- tily replied, that he would listen to that request only if asked in person, and on con- dition of being addressed as king of Asia, and lord of all once possessed by Darius. The insulted monarch had no resource but once more to prepare for war, which he had still ample opportunities of doing with a fair prospect of success, for the troops of the eastern satrapies, including some of the most warlike in his dominions, were on their way towards Babylon, and a few months might again see him at the head of a more nu- merous and more powerful host than that defeated at Issus, and Alexander might yet meet the fate of the younger Cyrus. Nearly two years elapsed before the kingly rivals again met. Meanwhile the conqueror pursued his meteor-like cotirse, astonishing the world by his unequalled daring, yet consolidating his successes as he proceeded, by the consummate and thoroughly con- sistent policy with which he used all things as instruments of his great designs ; dili- gently and ably promoting the material wel- fare of stibjccts (made such by the sword), t Arrian, lib. ii., cap. xii. j A loyal subject, moved with indignation, slew the traitor, and laid his head at the foot of his injured master. § Statira, the beautiful and beloved wife of Darius, died soon afterwards in childbirth, and Alexander caused her to be interred with every mark of honour; his conduct towards her throughout, so ditfcrent from the usual licentious cruelty of Asiatic con- I qiu'rors, excited a feeling of lively gratitude in the ' iireast of her ill-fated husband, who never forgot this one redeeming feature in the conduct of his un relenting opponent. TYRE, JERUSALEM AND EGYPT SUBDUED, b.c. 832-1. 28 humouriiif? jncjudicc, flattoriug national vanity, rcwaidiiif^ individual service with unbounded nuiniliccuce, but at tlie same time violatin;; in every action the recog- nised rights of men, and showing himself throughout utterly unscrupulous as to the amount of sufl'criug he iullictud, whether in subduing patriots to his will, or inflicting signal vengeance on those who, from the purest motives, ventured to oppose hiui. The island-city of Tyre, after a seven mouths' siege, was conquered by him, through the unconscious fullilment of a 'scripture pro- phecy, in joining the island to the main, by a causeway 80O yards in length. The Ty- rians defended themselves to the last with unfaltering determination ; and, probably to check all thoughts of capitulation, executed their Macedonian prisoners and east them into the sea in the sight of the besiegers, who, when their hour of triumph arrived, made this cruel act the excuse for the most unmitigated ferocity. With the exception of the king and some of the principal peojile, all were involved iu a fearful doom ; 8,000 perished in the first slaughter, 2,000 pri- soners were crucified by order of Alex- ander, and 30,000 (including a number of foreign residents) were sold into slavery.* I Gaza was next subdued : the citizens, to the last man, died in its defence, and their ■women and children were sold as slaves. Alexander then ruarched upon Jerusalem, ■whose high priest Jaddua, had excited his ■wrath by refusing to violate the fidelity due to the Persian monarch in furnishing the invader with a supply of troojis and pro- visions during the siege of Tyre. The Chaldeans and Phoinicians — ancient ene- mies of the Jews — accompanied the con- queror, buoyed up with the hope of sharing in the anticipated plunder, but they were witnesses of a very different result. Wheu the array approached the Holy City, the High Priest, attended by the priests and Levites in their sacerdotal vestments, fol- lowed by a multitude of the inhabitants, decked in ■white feast-day robes, came out to meet Alexander, who, recognising, as he afterwards declared, iu Jaddua, a figure shown to him in a dream at Dios, struck ■with pious awe, ■went up to the temple as a worshipper, and sacrificed according to the • Arriun. Curtius, howovei-, states ihat ij.OOO persons were rescued by the Sidonians. t Tliey probably showed him Daniel, chaps. 7 & 8. X Whiston's Juscphus, book xi., chap. viii. § The ajiproacli to the harbour of .\lexandria was Jewish ritual. The priests informed him of his position as the fulfillor of the prophecy of Daniel, t than which nothing coulcl be more gratifying, either to the ambitious designs or superstitious tendencies of Alex- ander, who took his departure, after luuking munificent offerings, and bestowing extra- ordinary privileges on the Jewish nation. J In January, oIJl, ihc Greeks penetrated into Egypt ; and the people, whose reli- gious prejudices had beeu cruelly insulted by their Persian masters, welcomed the approach of the conciliating conqueror, whose late worship of the God of Israel did not hinder him from sacrificing to their monstrous idols — even to Apis. Sailing down the western or Canobic arm of the Nile, he proceeded to found the greatest of the many noble cities which bore his name, on a sitc§ which he saw would render it an emporium for the commerce of the eastern and western world ; it was colonised w ith a mixed population of Greeks and Romans — the abolition of the alienating prejudices of race being a marked feature in his mighty plan for the establishment of an universal empire. After imitating the exploits attributed by Greek legends to his famous predecessors, Hercules and Perseus, In-aving the bare rocks and burning sands of the Libyan desert, and questioning the oracle of the temple of Ammon, erected in its famed Oasis, he re- turned to Memphis, completed the an-ange- ments needful for the peaceable government of Egypt, and proceeded to Tyre, the ap- pointed rendezvous of his fleet and army, to prepare for a final contest wifh Darius. In the autumn of the same year (331) he crossed the Euphrates, advanced at fidl speed towards the Tigris, where he had expected to meet the hostile force, but being disappointed, rested a few days on the left bank, and then, continuing his march, came up with Darius, whom he found encamped in one of the wide plains between the Tigris and the moimtains of Kurdistan, at a village named Gaugamcla (the camel's or di'omedary's house), about twenty miles from the town of Arbcla, which gave its name to the battle. To the last, Darius had endeavoured to make peace with Alexander, oflcring him the hand ot dangerous; for this reason the famous beacon tower, reckoned among the seven wonders of the world, was built by the first Ptolemy, on a rock near the eastern point of the island of I'hai'os, and threw a light to a (lisUmcc, it is said, of nearly forty miles. 24 BxiTTLE OF ARBELA, 351, b.c— DEATH OP DARIUS. liis daughter, with a dower of 30,000 talents I in gold, and intimating even willingness to divide the empire ; indeed it was probably the hope of some such compromise being effected that induced him to allow the Greeks to cross the Euphrates and Tigris unmolested. The numbers of the respective armies would seem to liavc warranted him in the expectation of being able to dictate rather than solicit peace ; but his munificent terms were not the less unhesitatingly re- jected by the invader, though Parmenio and the Council urged tlieir acceptance. Accord- ing to Arrian, Alexander's force amounted to no more than 40,000 foot, and 7,000 horse; but this is evidently exclusive of the Asiatic levies, which there is reason to be- lieve he had raised. The Persian army has been variously stated by Curtius, Diodorus Siculus, and others, at from 200,000 to W0,000 infantry, and from 40,000 to 200,000 horse, besides the Indian contingent of 200 war chariots and fifteen elephants, ranged in the centre of the mighty host, near the per- son of the monarch. During the weary night preceding the combat, Darius passed along the line by torch-light, cheering his soldiers, all of whom were, by a mistaken policy, kept continuously under arms, from momen- tary fear of a surprise. The dreaded attempt is said to have been actually suggested bj' Parmenio to his sovereign after the latter had retired to his tent, but rejected on the ground that it would be alike ignoble and impolitic to steal a victory, instead of gain- ing it by a fair trial of strength. In the morning the battle commenced, and was long and stoutly contested; the Indo-Scy- thian troops being, we are expressly told by Arrian, among the flower of the Persian army, and figliting valiantly to the death. The strife became very intricate, hostile bodies intermingled witli each other in fierce combat, and the issue seemed to promise little short of annihilation to both parties, when a circumstance, slight in itself, turned the scale. A dart flung by Alexander, who was on horseback, killed the charioteer of Darius ; and the confusion tluis occasioned gave rise to the general belief that the king himself was slain. A complete [lauic en- sued ; the Persians fied in irremedialjle con- fusion, followed by Alexander — who was, however, obliged to renounce the pursuit and return to rescue Parmenio, who com- manded his loft wing, from the critical position in which he had been placed by the resistless onset of the INIassagctian horse. There is no credible statement of the amount of life sacrificed on this eventful day; for that of Arrian, which records the loss of the Persians at 40,000, and the Greeks at 100, can scarcely be entertained. This contest scaled the downfall of one powerful empire, and crowned the conqueror with the fallen diadem, although the escape of Darius was still felt as affording serious cause for anxiety. After allowing his army a brief revel among the luxuries of Babylon, and drain- ing the treasury of Susa of its vast stores of unwrought ingots and golden darics, Alex- ander proceeded to Persepolis, and though he met with no resistance, suffered the stately city to be plundered by his soldiers, excepting oniy its magnificent palace, (which he afterwards set on fire with his own hand,)* and the citadel, which ancient writers agree in statitig to have contained the pro- digious sum of 120,000 talents, or more than £27,000,000 sterling. t Four months elapsed before he resumed the pursuit of Darius, who had meanwhile gathered together a small force, and intended to take refuge in the Bactrian satrapy of Bessus ; but this dis- loyal servant, considering his master's for- tunes desperate, conspired with the satraps of Arachosia and Aria either to kill or to deliver him to the Greeks, according as might best serve their private purpose — the securing independent possession of their satrapies. Alexander, after marching rapidly through Media, had reached a mountain pass called the Caspian Gates, before intelli- gence arrived of the plot; he exclaimed bitterly against the treachei-y to which his own am- bition had subjected the royal fugitive, and pressed eagerly onwards to his rescue. The conspirators fled before him, and Darius re- solutely refusing to accompany them, was left mortally wounded in his chariot, where his lifeless body was found by Alexander, who buried it with regal honours, provided for the maintenance of Sisygambis (his mother), married his daughter Statira, took charge of the education of his other children, and declared his determination of punishing the assassins. Artabazus, the faithful and long- tried adherent of Darius, then ninety-five years of age, he took into his own service, and evinced his res[)cct for his fidelity by unremitting kindness to him and to his sons. * .\t tlie siifjn-estion, it is siiid, of 'I'lmis, an Athe- nian cn\ii't.i'saii, made to liim wlion I'.patod with wino. Both I'lntarcli and Arrian record his immediate -ind undisguised rcj^ret for the deed. t Qiiintiis Cnrtius, lil). v., cap. 5 ; Diodorus Sicu- lus, lib. xvii., cap. 18 ; Iiislin, lil). xi., cap, 11. GREEKS CROSS THE PAROPAMISUS, AND CAPTURE BACTRTA, 320,8.0. 25 Bessus finding himself disappointed in his hopes now braved the worst, by Ijoklly as- suming the tiara, and the title ol Artaxcrxca King of Asia, in defiance of the pretensions of Alexander, who wished to be coiisi(h'red as the avenger and rif^htfid siiecessor rather tlian the eoniiiieror of Darius, and to receive even from his ]\Iaee(h)iiian sul)jeets the spe- cies of adoration offered by the Persians to their king, as a preliminary to tlic divine honours, to which an oraelc had declared him entitled. The Macedonians viewed these pretensions with undisguised aver- sion, and several of his bravest subjects, including I'hilotas and his father Parmenio, the beloved general of Philip,* became, under different pretences, victims to their opposition to this glaring impiety. f Bar- zaentes, one of the confederates of Bessus, took refuge among the Indians on the bor- der of his eastern satrapy of Arachosia, but was delivered up by them to Alexander, who caused him to be put to death ; Sartabar- zaues, another of the traitors (and a double- dyed one, for he had voluntarily sworn alle- giance to the conqueror), was slain in battle, and the arch conspirator Bessus alone remained. He had consulted his personal safety by fleeing across the vast mountain barrier of India, a part of which is there called the Paropamisus,J trust- ing that the natural difficulties of the coun- try would greatly impede, if not entirely block up, the pursuit of a hostile force. He probably little knew the zeal with which, from very childhood, Alexander had striven for accurate geographical knowledge, eagerly questioning the ambassadors of his father's court as to the routes they had traversed, or heard of, so as to give the wisest of them some partial insight into the schemes even then passing through his brain. On arriving at the root of the chain, he was probably well acquainted with its general direction, as well as the defiles by which it might be traversed, especially since, during his so- journ in Phceuicia, he had had abundant opportunity of ascertaining the nature of • It is recorded by Plutarch, that Philip ohee said the Athenians were lucky to be able to fir.d ten gen- erals every year ; he, in the course of many years, had only found one, Parmenio. t The famous quarrel in which, during; a carousal, Alexander slew his tried friend t'leitas, who liad pre- served liis life in battle at the risk of his own, arose from the same cause; as did also tlie execution of Callisthenes, though on the avowed charge of having incited a conspiracy among the royal pages. t This range (according to Alasson) is distinct from the true Indian Caucasus, or Hindoo Koosh; — the trade with India, and the means by which it was carried on, by land as well as by sea. At the foot of the pass by which he intended crossing, Alexander founded an- other Alexandria (ad f^ancasum), where he planted a colony of M;iecdoiiian veterans; then, undeterred by the severity of the yet unexpired winter, he avoided the dangerous period of the melting snows, by commenc- ing his mountain march, which lasted fifteen days, and was rendered arduous and hai'as- sing, not oidy from the natural causes of cold and fatigue, but also by scarcity of pro- visions. Bessus had laid waste the whole country between the lower valleys on the northern side, and the left bank of the Oxus, before he passed over with his troops, after which he burned the boats which had conveyed them. Alexander having captured the town and fortress of Aorni, and IJaetra the chief city of Baetria (supposed to be the modern Balk), committed the eliarge of the newly-acquired territory to the venerable Artabazus ; then dismissing some of the more infirm, or least willing, of the Mace- donian troops and Thcssalian volunteers, he proceeded across a strip of the great desert, which stretches from the Caspian to the high table-land, containing the .sources of the Oxus and Jaxartes. On arriving at the former river, no boats or building materials could be procured, and the breadth was little less than 800 yards ; but even this obstacle was overcome, and the whole of the troops transported safely over on skins stuffed with straw. The passage being aecorapjislied after six days' labotir, the Greeks pushed across the desert in a northerly direction, ] but were met by envoys from two of the chief followers of Bessus, who fell a victim to the same treachery he had practised to- wards Darius ; and being delivered up by his followers, Spitamenes and others, sutlcrcd a cruel and ignotninious death. ^ The ob- tainmcnt of the avowed object of the expe- dition did not put a stop to Alexander's progress. According to Plutarch it was about this period that he first entertained the name is derived from " par" and " pam," signify- ing hill and Jhit — the region around consisting of flat-topped hills. § He was publicly stripped and scourged, his nose and cars were cut off, and (according to Curlius and Diodorus) he was eventually surrendered to Oxa- thres and other kinsmen of Darius to he executed; but by some accounts he is represented as having been, by order of Alexander himself, torn limb from limb, by means of two trees, to which he was bound, being first bent and then sufi"ered to spring back. — See Langhorne'sPlutarch,ij/(So/'.,Jfca:o«rf<'>-,vol.i¥.,p. 186. 20 COUNTRY OF TAXILAS, AND SITE OF ITS ANCIENT CAPITAL. the idea of followiug up his conquests by that of India. He had now reached a de- lightful region of great beauty and exuberant fertility, whose pastures afforded him fresh horses to supply the loss sustained in march- ing through mountains and deserts ; thence he advanced to the capital of Sogdiana, called Maracanda, since known as Samar- cand, in whose citadel lie placed a Greek garrison. Still proceeding northwards, he founded another Alexandria on the Jaxartes, and was involved in some sharp contests with the Asiatic Scythians, in one of which a body of Macedonian horse were surprised and slain, and in another he was himself wounded. After repressing disturbances among the Sogdians, on whom he wreaked a cruel vengeance for what he thought fit to call rebelUon to his self-constituted autho- rity, he proceeded at the close of 329 to take up his winter quarters at Bactria or Zariaspa. For the next twelve months he found ample employment in stifling the efforts for indej)endeuce of the Scythians, Sogdians, and the Bactrians, incited by Spitamenes, the most active and determined enemy he had yet encountered in Asia. This chief's motive appears to have been dissatisfaction at receiving less reward than he had expected for the surrender of Bessus. ; By a remarkable retributiou he was in turn I betrayed by his own troops, who, desirous I • Taxila must have been a large and splendid city, but its site is still a matter of dispute. Schlosser places it at Attock, and Kennell at or near tlie same place. On the route leading thence to Lahore, are the ruins of a very ancient town of unknown name and origin, which is also supposed to have been Taxila. Abundance of Greek and Bactrian coins have been found in the numerous ruins and cupolas or topes which are scattered over the plain on which the present small village of Manikyala stands. One of these topes or tumuli (examined in 1833-34, by Mons. Court, an engineer officer tlien in the service of Kunjeet Sing) was 80 feet high, with a circum- ference of 320 feet, solidly built of well-dressed quarried stones, some of huge size, cemented with lime ; while a range of small columns, the capitals ornamented with rams' heads, surrounded the base. The Hindoos resort to the sjjot to offer up the first cuttings of the hair of their male children, a custom said to liave been prevalent in ancient Greece. There are about fifteen smaller topes near the jirincipal one ; and, indeed, similar t\miuli abound in different parts of Affghanistan, at Cabool, Jcllalabail, in the Khyljer hills, ^^ic. They are generally constructed of sandstone, and of a nummulitic limestone (full of shell impressions), such as is found in the ]'"gy])tian pyramids. In one of the topes, which had a height of sixty or seventy feet, a cell was discovered at ten feet from tlie ground-level, whose four sides corre- sponded witli tlii^ cardinal points; it was constructed in a solid manner, and covered with a massive slab dangerous of conciliating their powerful foe, cut off the head of their leader, and offered it as their own propitiation. Several of his confede- rates still lived and took refuge in the mountainous region about the tipper valleys of the Oxus, with other chiefs who perse- vered in the struggle for liberty. They were not, however, of sufficient importance to detain Alexander any longer in the coun- tries where he had already spent nearly two years, and which had been subdued only with much difficulty and large expenditure of blood and treasure, as well as by diplomacy; for example, by his marriage with Roxaua, the daughter of Oxyartes, an influential Bactrian chief, he converted a enemy to a firm friend. Greek Invasio.v of India. — In the spring of 327, Alexander prepared to attempt the conquest of the almost unknown countries bordering and beyond the Indus. The pres- tige of his success, and the generosity with which he treated all who submitted to his sway, induced a native ruler to send a friendly embassy before the armyn^uitted Sogdiana. The name of this prince was recorded by the Greeks (who are unfortunately prover- bial for the manner in which they distorted foreign words to suit their own pronuncia- tion) as Omphis, or Mophis ; but he was commonly called Taxiles, from Taxila,* the capital of his country, which lay between containing inscriptions, some resembling the writings of the Rajpoots of the Himalaya, others the Ethio- pian character. In the centre was a copper urn or cylinder, encircled by eight copper medals, (some apparently of the Winged-cap Sassanian dynasty,) with a wrapper of white linen tightly adhering to the surface, which fell into shreds on being exposed to the air. The copper enclosed a silver urn, the in- tervening space being filled with a moist paste, devoid of smell, of the colour of raw umber, in which lay a thread of cotton gathered up into a knot. The silver, from age, had become quite brittle, and crum- bled into bits between the fingers, as the metals found at Nineveh have since done. Within the silver ves- sel was a much smaller golden one, and seven silver medals with Latin characters. The gold cylinder contained four small, worn, golden coins of the Gra-co-Scythian, or Gra»co-Indian type, but of a far inferior fabrication to the silver ones; there were also two precious stones and fovir ])erforated pearls (which had been pendants of ear-rings), fragments of a vitreous nature, and small transparent yellow substances, willi decayed organic matter. The country around, as ])rovcd by the quantity of ruins of old iiouscs, must have once been verv populous. Whether these topes or mounds served for royal mausolea, or lioodhistical shrines, or botli, is doubtful : they were possibly the consecrated tombs of kings or of per- sons of distinction. Some curious coincidences are observable between the ancient monuments and the sepulchral tumuli or harrows discovered in Kssex ALEXANDER'S CAMPAIGN IN AFFGU/VNISTAN, 3i37, n.c. 27 the upper Indus ami the Ilydaspcs (Behiit or Jholum), the vrestcrmost of the five great vributarifs, from whieh the whole eastern basin of the Indus, down to tlieir confluence, is called the Punjaub (five rivers). From Bactria and So^diana, as also from ilio ncighbourini; Scythian hordes, auxil- iaries were raised to the amount of 70,()()() pel sons, of whom 80,000 were youths, levied to servo at once as hostages and soldiers. Altogctl-.er tlic Greek force (exclusive of a corps of 10,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry left in Bactria, nndcr the command of the satrap Amyntas) consisted of 120,000 foot and 15,000 horse. After crossing the Para- pamisau chain, in ten davs, (apjiarently by a riifi'crcnt route to that which had been taken in the winter of 329,) through a pass de- scribed by Arrian as " high, narro'.v, and short,'' the troops reached Alexandria ad Ca\icas\>m, and from thence proceeded to a town named Nysa,* which would appear to have been the same city alleged to have been founded by the Indian Raeehus, or Dionysus. The inhabitaiits are said to have dexterously turned Alexander's claim to be considered as a son of Jupiter to advantage by entreat- ing him to spare and protect the city founded by his " celestial brother ;" and as an e\'i(lenec of the truth of their statement, they pointed to the abundance of vines, wild and imcnltivatcd, growing in their valleys, and to the ivj' and laurel first planted by the hand of Bacchus, of which the Mace- donians had, until then, seen none since they left Greece. Alexander offered sacrifices in honour of his divine predecessor, and per- mitted Nysa, which is described as an aris- toeratical republic under a discreet ruler named Acuphis, to retain its libcrtj' and laws.f On proceeding to the banks of the river Copheues, he was met at liis own re- quest by Taxiles, and several chiefs from the and other parts of Englaiul, which contained, like those of the Punjaub, various bronze urns, enclosing fragments of burnt bones, coins, glass, and even a similar brown or light yellov.- liquid or paste. Virgil, also, in the JEiivid {\i., 215), describes the Roman custom of burning the dead; milk, wine, blood, and other mtincra, supposed to be grateful to the de- ceased, were poured on or mingled with the ashes, and money was usually added to defray the fee of Charon for ferrying the departed spirit across the Styx. • The locality of tlie different towns and rivers mentioned bv Alexander's historians, is much con- tested by modern geographers. The site of Nysa is pointed out by M. Court, at Ashnagur (whose sub- urbs are scattered over with vast ruins of unknown d&te) ; that of Alexandria ad Caucasum is variously placed at Ghuznee and at a place called Siggan ; 1 while the Cophfiies is supposed to denote cither tlie region west of the Indus ; they brought him presents, and promised to gratify his desire for trained elephants, by the gift of all they possessed, which, however, amounted only to five-and-twenty. The army was then divided ; one ])ortion, under IIej)ha;stion and Perdiceas, took the direct road to the Indus, with orders there to prepare a bridge of boats for the passage of the main body, whieh Alexander conducted by a more nor- thern route over difficult mountain paths, to meet the hardy and warlike tribes, men- tioned by Arrian under the names of the Aspii, tlie Thrynei, and the Arsjei. In a contest with the iidiabitants of one of the towns, he was wounded, and tlie Greeks in their rage (having carried the double walls,) g.ivc no quarter, but slaughtered all without distinction, and reduced the place to ashes. The whole of this campaign in the high laiuls of Affghanistan was marked by de- termined bravery on the part of the moun- taineers, and sanguinary cruelty on that of the invader, who had no other plan for sub- duing a people, who desired — not generosity but justice, not to be well governed after his fashion, but to remain independent after their own. In the country of the unoffend- ing Assaccncs]: he behaved with especial barbarity. Having encamped before their capital, ]\razagu, he made three determined attacks with battering-engines on different days, during whieh he was wounded in the leg and arm ; the result of a fourth assault was yet doubtful, when the Affghan chief was slain, and the garrison were suffered to capitulate on the condition that 7,000 mer- cenaries from the Punjaub, who had been engaged ii\ tlie service of the deceased leader, should join the Greek army. They accordingly marched out and encamped on a hill for the night, but evinced so much reluctance at the thouglit of fighting against river formedby the confluence of the Cahonl with the PeiitlJsher, or else the eastern branch of the Sel- muuil, now known as the Tarnuck. The reader desirous of understanding the grounds upon which these and other opposite opinions rest, will find them fully discussed by the highest Indian authorities, in the jiages of the various yVsiatic journals, and in the works of Rennell, Vincent, Elphinstone, Vigne, Burnes, Chesney, Masson, Long, &c. t Recorded by Arrian, Quintus Curtius, and Plu- tarch in his Life of AUxander. J Arrian says they had been subject to the Assy- rians, then to the Medes, and subsequently to the Persians. The Orita; are described by the .'lanit; a-.Uhority, as a nation whose country extended along the sea-coast for about 150 miles; and who wore the dress and arms of the other Indians, but differed from them in language and manners. 28 AORNUS CAPTURED— THE INDUS CROSSED. their countrymen, that Alexander, suspect- ing them of an intention to desert, caused them to be suddenly surrounded and cut to pieces. He then set at nought the capitu- lation by storming the defenceless city. The strongholds of Ora and Bazira vrere next reduced, the inhabitants of the latter place fled to a hill-fort on the right bank of the Indus, whose name seems to have been lost by the Greeks in that of Aornus,* a term indicative of its extraordinary height, above the flight of a bird. Here Hercules ■was said to have been defeated, and Alex- ander, desirous of excelling the exploits of even fabled heroes, and of proving himself not to be deterred by natural difficulties, pro- ceeded to the attack ; passing, it •would ap- pear, through the district of Peucelaotis, and taking possession of the chief city, Peucela, whose ruler, Astes, had fallen in the thirty days' siege of the force under Hephsestion and Perdiccas on their march eastward. Aornus he captured by forming a mound across a hollow of no great depth, but of considerable width, which separated a neighbouring hill from the pyramidieal rock itself; thus a vantage-ground was gained to the surprise and terror of the besieged, * Aornus was probably a general name for a stockaded mountain, such as that already mentioned in Bactria, and most likely Hellenized from the Sanscrit Awara, or Awarana, an enclosure. Its position is considered by some authorities to have been a little distance above Attock,wlule others con- sider it to be found at Peshawer, in front of the Khyber Pass, and reconcile this opinion with the statement of Arrian and Strabo, that the Indus flowed at the base of Aornus, by declaring that these writers evidentlv deemed the Cabool river the true Indus. T It seems to have been during his stay at Taxilu that Alexander had fij-st tlie opportunity of gratifying his curiosity respecting the doctrine and practice of the Hindoo ascetics called gymnosophists by the Greeks. At Corinth, struck by the imperturbable stoicism of a man, who had nothing to ask, but that he should stand from betwixt him and the sun, he is reported to have exclaimed, that were he not Alex- ander he would wish to be Diogenes. In India he must have witnessed a far more interesting spectacle. The Greek philosopher had no higher object in his dogged abstinence from the comforts of civilized life than to place himself beyond the reach of wliat, in his blindness, he called chance or fortune ; but the Brahmins sought, by self-inflicted tortures, and un- ceasing exposure to the severe influences of their burning sky, to win by slow degrees a release from mortality, and absorption into the Divine essence. Alexander was utilitarian in all his views; it might therefore be sujiposed lie could Iiave little sympathy with men w lioni lie might have considered as visionary enlhusiasts.buthewas also extremely superstitious: his great intellect groped in darkness, unenlightened by any rav of revealed truth, which could show him the fundamental error of striving to found a univer- Ba), or at least an Asiatic cmjiire, liy means of uii- who endeavoured to escape at night-fall, but were pursued with great slaughter into the plains beneath. The accounts given by Arrian of the next steps of Alexander's pro- gress are scarcely reconcileable with those of Diodorus and Curtius ; btit it appears that he was compelled to return to the moun- tains to suppress insurrection, and that the people fled before him. He despatched his generals, Nearchus and Antiochus, to scour the country towards the north-west, while he himself opened a road, which no army had ever before trodden, to the banks of the Indus, and on his way captured some of the fugitives, who, among other information, told him that their elephants had been left in the thickets on the west side of the river. These animals having been obtained by the aid of native hunters, vessels were con- structed, in which the force dropped down the stream to the bridge prepared for them by Hephfestion and Perdiccas, with the assistance of Taxiles, who came out with his army and elephants to meet Alexander on his arrival at the eastern shore of the Indus, and conducted him with much pomp to his capital.-|- Taxiles appears to have been very desirous to obtain the assistance of the limited conquests, gained at a terrible cost of blood, tears, and moral degradation. Still he was no mere conqueror; it was not simply a selfish ambition that prom])ted him — far less any brutal, or rather demonia- cal, love of fighting. He ever strove to conciliate strange nations, by respecting their religious obser- j vances, as the best means of retaining permanent dominion over them ; and it was probably a high political motive which rendered him solicitous to converse with the Brahmins (or rather Yogees), fifteen of whom were congregated in a grove near the city. The eldest and most honoured, called by the Greeks, Dandamis, refused either to visit or write to Alexander, declared (according to Strabo) to a total disbelief of his alleged Divine origin, and expressed equal indifference to persuasions or threats ; gifts he needed not, and he added, alluding to the Hindoo doctrine of metem])- sychosis — " If he should put me to death, he will only release my soul from this old deere])it body, which will then pass into a freer and purer state ; so that I shall suffer nothing by the change." One of the Yogees, named Sphines, called Calanus by the Greeks was, however, prevailed upon to go to Alex- ander, who, being much pleased witli his discourse, carried him with him throughout his expedition, and even back to Persia. Calanus was there attacked with illness ; and considering it as a summons from above, being then seventy-three years of age, pre- pared to terminate his life. Alexander having vainly laboured to dissuade him, caused a magnificent funeral ])ile to be raised, which Calanus, though weak with pain and illness, ascended with unfalter- ing resolution, singing hymns of ])rayer and praise. He then calmly com])osed his limlis, and without moving, was consumed in tlie sight of the king and the whole army.^( (Vi/f Arrian, Strabo, and Plutarch.) PROGRESS FROM THE INDUS TO THE IIYDASPES OK JUKLL.M. 29 Greeks in carrying on war with a neighbour- ing and powcri'ul ])rincc, whose proper name has not deseended to us, but only that of Ills i'atnily, I'orus.* Alexander sent a pe- r(!niplory summons, rc'(iuiriiig tribute and allegianee, to whieii the Indian prince replied that he would come to the borders ot' his kingdom to meet the invader, but it should be in arms. His kinsman, a neighbouring ruler of the same name, whether from jealousy or induced by the munifieent pre- sents made to Taxiles, despatched an em- bassy with od'ers of submission. It is jjrobable that Taxiles received an enlarge- ment of his territory by the annexation of some of the newly-coni(uered districts on the west of the Indus; but the price paid by him was nothing less than the loss of liberty, since a Greek satrap was appointed for this part of India, and a Greek garrison stationed in his chief city. With forces strengthened by 5,000 Indian recruits, led by Taxiles, Alexander resumed his march in the middle of the year 326 ; for so it would uppcar from the statement of Aristobulus, that he expe- rienced the eommencement of the summer rains, which are not known to fall in the Punjaub before June or July. Ou his road to the Hydaspes he was intcnaipted, in a defile through which his road lay, by a nephew of Porus named Spittacus, or Spi- taces, with a body of troops. These he soon dispersed, and arrived without further oppo- sition on the right bank of the river, where he beheld the hostile army drawn up on the opposite side, the intervening stream being deep, rapid, and, at the time he reached it, probably little less than a mile broad. Al- though well provided with boats, rafts, and floats, Alexander was too prudent to attempt forcing a passage in the face of an equal if not superior enemy, and had therefore re- course to stratagem to disarm the vigilance of his antagonist. After making excursions in various directions, as if uncertain where to attempt crossing, he ordered magazines of provisions to be formed, as if for a long * Tod says that Porus was a corruption of Pocru, the patronymic of a branch of the royal Lunar race (liii/ast'han, vol. i.) ; and Kennell states that the pre- aeccssor of the prince in question reigned in Cauoge or Canouj, on the Ganges, which, according to Fe- rishta, was then the capital of all Hindoostan (Me- moir of a 3Iap of Jlinilouatati, \>. 51). t The precise spots at which the army encamped upon the Hydaspes, and crossed it, are not ascer- tained. Strabo points out that Alexander marched as near as possible to tiie mountains, and this useful indication is considered by Masson to establish his having followed the high road from Attock to sojourn, and gave out that he intended awaiting the termination of the monsoon, which it is probable he would liave rcullv done but for intelligence that auxiliari(!s were on their way to strengthen the enemy. Night after night, bodies of cavalry rode noisily up or down the right bank, and Porus repeatedly drew up his elephants and proceeded towards the quarter whence the clamour arose ; until, wearied by false alarms, he paid no attention to the movements upon the opposite shore. Alexander having selected a spot a day's march distance above the eamp,t wliere the river made a westerly bend, and a thickly-wooded island divided the stream, left a strong division at the first station with orders to remain there until the elephants should be withdrawn from their menacing position, in which case they were to attempt the passage forthwith. The same command was given at the series of posts (horse and foot), stationed between the camp and the place of embarkation. Here preparations w'ere made, under cover of the wood which clothed the projecting bank of the river, the din of axes and hammers, which might otherwise have attracted atten- tion, (notwithstanding the feints previously resorted to) being overpowered by pealing thunder and torrents of rain, that lasted through the night hours, but ceased at day- break. Alexander set out, accompanied by Perdiccas, Lysimachus, and Scleucus, with the flower of the jNIaeedonian cavalry, and the Baetrian, Sogdian, and Scythian aux- iliaries. In passing the wooded island before mentioned, they were first seen by the In- dians, who immediately gave the alarm. The invaders landed, on what they thought to be the river bank, but really on another island, separated from the main by a channel swollen by floods into a formidable stream, which however proved fordable, and the whole division was, after some delay, landed, and drawn up in order of battle. The cav- alry numbered about 5,000, the infantry probably nearly 20,000. Porus, perceiving Jhclum, which probably was then as now the most nortlierly of tlie Punjaub routes, and the one almost e.\clusively practicable during tlie monsoons. Con- sequently Porus took up his position on the eastern bank of the Jhelum at the point to which he knew Alexander must come, that is near the present vil- lage of that name, in whose locality, the sites of NiciPt and Bucephala, (though on ditl'erent sides of the river) must be sought for. Pennell places the encampment opposite where the fortress of Rotas afterwards stood; and Vincent (who supposes the wooded island passed by Alexander to have been Jamad) about twenty-eight miles below Kolas. 30 BATTLE BETWEEN ALEXANDER AND THE INDIAN KING PORUS. that Alexander's tent remained in its place, and that the main body were apparently still at the encampment, regarded his actual approach as a stratagem to tempt him from an advantageous position, and merely sent forward his son or brother Hages with 2,000 horse and 120 war chariots, whom Alexander charged fiercely, with the whole of his cavalry. Hages and some 400 of his followers were slain, and the chariots, which had been with great difficulty brought over ground turned into a swamp by the rains, were all captured. Porus, on learning this disastrous commencement, left a part of his elephants to contest the passage of the Greeks stationed under Craterus at the en- campment, and advanced to the decisive con- flict, with a force (according to Arrian) of 30,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and 300 cha- riots. Beyond the swampy ground, near the river, lay an open sandy tract, affording firm footing, and here he awaited Alexander's approach ; his 200 elephants, bearing huge wooden towers, filled with armed men, being drawn up in front of the line, at intervals of a hundred feet, occupied with infantry ; while one-half of the cavalry was posted at each flank, and the chariots (each containing six armed men) in front of them. After a long and quick march, Alexander arrived in sight with his cavalry, and lialtcd to allow time for the foot to join him. Observing the disposition of the enemy, he instantly apprehended the necessity of depriving Porus of the advantage he must obtain from the almost invincible strength of the elephants and chariots when brought to bear in a direct attack, as well as the superior num- bers of the opposing infantry, by a skilful use of the mounted troops, in which his strength lay. An attack on the enemy's left wing, would, he foresaw, dvavf the cavalry into action for its protection. Therefore, ordering the horse-bowmen to advance, lie followed up tlic slight disorder caused by their arrows, by charging with the rest of the cavalry ; while the Indian horse from the right being brought up, as foreseen, Ccenus, in accord- ance with previous orders, charged them in the rear, and the Macedonian phalanx ad- vanced to take advantage of the confusion that ensued. Tiio engagement became very complex; the clepliauts hemmed in and maddened by wounds, turned their fury in- discriminately against friend and foe, until many were killed, and the rest, spent with pain and toil, ceased to be formidal)lc. Another general charge of liorsc and foot was made by the Greeks ; the troops of Porus were completely routed, and fled, pur- sued by Craterus and the division from the right bank, who, having by this time effected their passage, engaged with ardour in the san- guinary chase. As is usual with Alexander's historians,* his loss is stated at an extremely small, and that of the enemy, at a proportion- ably large amount. The more moderate statement of Diodorus Siculus, gives the number of the slain on the side of Porus, at 12,000, including two of his sons and great part of liis chief officers, besides 9,000 taken prisoners. The loss of the Macedo- nians is given at less than 1,000. Porus himself, mounted on an elephant, to the last directed the movements of his forces ; and, although wounded in the shoulder, (his body was defended by a corslet of curious work- manship which was proof against all mis- siles,) would not retire until his troops were hopelessly dispersed ; then he turned his elephant for flight, but, being a conspicuous object, was speedily captured, and carried, while senseless from loss of blood, into the conqueror's presence. Alexander, who had observed his gallant bearing during a con- flict of seven or eight hours' duration, asked him how he desired to be treated, but could obtain no other answer than "as a king;" and, on observing that " this a king must do for his own sake," Porus replied that, " nevertheless in that all was included." The quick perception of character, which was one of Alexander's distinguishing and most ser- viceable qualities, taught him that Porus might prove a valuable and trustworthy auxiliary. He reinstated him in royal dignity, added considerably to his dominions, and brought about a reconciliation, in form at least, with Taxiles. On the Hydaspes or Jhelum, the conqueror founded two cities ; one near the field of battle, named Nicsea, and another near his landing-place, named Bueephala, in honour of liis famous horse, which, having accompanied him thus far, sank from fatigue, wounds, and old age, in the hour of victory. Craterus was left to superintend the building of these cities ; and the main body were allowed a mouth's rest, probably chiefly on account of the continu- ance of tlic lieavy rains. Alexander himself, with a select division of horse and foot, pur- sued his aggressive marcii through the rich and populous valleys on the north of the * The details recorded hy Arrian, Diodorus Sicu- lus, QuinUis Curlius, and Plutarch, vary consido- rably, hut the general tenor is the same. REFUSAL OF GREEK ARMY TO MARCH TO THE GANGES. 31 territory of Poms, to the river Aecsincs or (CliciKib,)* rccciviuf^, iiccordiiiff to the Greek liistoriaiia, tlic subiriissiion of thirty-seven cities — none coiit;iiiiiii<; less than 5,000 in- lifihitauts, — all of which he amiexed to tlic kinj;(loiii of I'orus. Tlic younfjcr Porus, called the coward, fled from his dominious, from the fear that the favour siliown to his kinsman portended his ruin, and took re- fuge at the court of Nanda, the reigning monareli of the Pi-aehii or Prasii — who swayed nearly the whole of Eastern India. Ani()isarcs, the king or chief of a tribe of mountaineers, and Doxareus, another native rajah or prince are mentioned by Arrian, as tendering their allegiance; the former sent a present of forty elephants. After crossing the Uijdraoles [Ilavee), Alexander traversed the country of the Cathreans to attack San- gala, a city of great strength and impor- tance, which seems to have occupied nearly the same site as the modern capital of the Sikh monarchy, Lahore, on a branch of the Ravee, near the edge of a small lake.f The Cathaeans or Cathcri, (supposed, by Sanscrit scholars, to be a corruption of Cshatra, a mixed race, sprung from females of the warrior class, and men of inferior cast,) J had confederated with the IMalli and Sudracjc, or OxydracPE, that is, the people of Moultau and Outeli. On approaching Sangala, the Greeks found the Cathteans entrenched on an isolated hill, behind a triple barrier of waggons. YUcxander, at the head of the phalanx, forced the three lines, and car- ried the place by storm ; but with the loss of 1,200 killed and wounded. This vigorous resistance was revenged by sanguinary car- nage — 17,000 of the Cathasans were slain, 70,000 made prisoners, and Sangala razed to the ground. Despatching Porus (who had arrived during the siege with about 5,000 men) to place garrisons in the Cathasan towns, Alexander continued to advance to the south-cast, received the submission of two princes, called by the Greeks Sopithes§ and Phcgelus, and arrived at the banks of the Hypliasis [Bcyuh), just above its junc- tion with the Hesudrus [Sutlej). The limit of his eastern progress was at length reached, for, even under his leadership, the weary and home-siek army would pro- ceed no farther. He could Lave given * Alexander called it Acesines ; the ancient native name was Chandrabaglia — the moon's gift. t Burnes, vol. i., p. 156.- — Masson does not con- sider the Sangala of Arrian to have denoted the Indian city of Sagala, whose site is now indicated by that of Lahore, but places it at Hareepah. them, at best, but unsatisfactory grounds of encouragement to continue their course. The narrow boundaries assigned by the geo- graphers of the day to India, and the eastern side of the earth, were manifestly incorrect; the ocean wliieh he had been taught to be- lieve was separated by no very vast distance from the banks of the Indus, liad receded, as he advanced to an immeasurable dis- tance ; and he had learned that beyond the Ilydaspcs a desert, more extensive than any yet encountered, parted the plains of the Punjaub from the region watered by the tributaries of the Ganges — a river superior to the Indus, having on its banks the capi- tal of a great monarchy, that of the Prasii and Gangaridse, whose king could bring into the field 200,000 foot, 20,000 horse, and several thousand elephants. The king himself is however represented to have been looked upon as an upstart and a usurper; and Alexander might probably have hoped to be enabled to carry out his object, by similar divisions among the natives to those which had materially aided him in his par- tial conquest of the Punjaub. The very dangers and difficulties of tiie attempt were but incitements to one whose object was universal empire — to be attained at the hazard of life itself, which he unhesitatingly imperilled in every battle. With passionate eloquence he reminded the Macedonians that the Ilydraotes had already become the limit of their empire, which extended west- ward to the ^Egean Sea, and northward to the river Jaxartes ; and he urged them to cross the Ilyphasis ; then, having added the rest of Asia to their empire, to descend the Ganges, and sail round Africa to the pillars of Hercules. — (Arrian, lib. v., cap. 25.) Finding this appeal without eflect, or at least overborne by the recollection of the fatigues and privations undergone during the preceding campaign in the rainy season, Alexander angrily declared that he should proceed, attended only by those who de- sired to accompany him ; the rest might return home, and say that they had forsa- ken their king in the midst of enemies. The silence and deep gloom which pervaded the camp at length convinced Alexander that no considerable portion of the army could be prevailed upon to cross the Hy- X Masson dissents, believing them to have been the Catti, a nomadic Scythian tribe. § According to .Arrian, Sopithcs submitted in the descent of the fleet from IJucephala, whence three days' journey brought Alexander to the territory of this prince, where Strabo says there were famous salt 32 DESCENT OF THE INDUS COMMENCED BY ALEXAMDER. pliasis. He found either a pretext or a reason for yielding to the general wish, in the unfavourable auspices which attended the sacrifices offered for the purpose of con- sulting the gods respecting his future ad- vance; and, after erectiag twelve colossal towers or altars, in token of liis gratitude for having been brought thus far safe and victorious, and reviving, by horse-races and gymnastic exercises, the drooping spirits of his troops, he conferred on Forus the gov- ernment of the country towards the Hypha- sis,* and commenced retracing his steps. At the Aeesines he found the city which Hei^haestion had been ordered to build, ready to receive a colony, and there he left the disabled mercenaries, and as many natives of the neighbouring districts, as were willing to join them. At the Hydaspes, he re- paired the injuries caused by floods to Nicrea and Bucephala, and was reinforced from Greece by 6,000 horse and 7,000 in- fautry.t The fleet, (comprising 2,000 ves- sels of various kinds, whereof eighty were war galleys, which part of the army had been employed all the summer in construct- ing, while the rest, wanted for transport and provisions, had probably been seized from the people of the counti-y,) was completed and manned, and the command entrusted to Nearchus. Having divided his army into four corps, of which the main body, with about 200 elephants, were to advance along the eastern bank, Alexander himself em- barked, and proceeded without impediment to the confluence of the Hydaspes and Aeesines, where, owing to the narrow chan- nel and high banks between which the united rivers were then pent np, rapid and strong eddies were formed, which so asto- nished the sailors as to deprive them of the self-command necessary to fulfil the instruc- tions previously given by the Indian pilots. Several of the long galleys were much shat- tered, two sank with tlie greater part of their crews, but the shorter and rounder vessels sustained no injury. J A headland on the right bank aftbrded shelter to the fleet, which Alcxaiuler left to undergo the neces- sary repairs, while he proceeded on an inland expedition to the westward against the Secvi or Saivas, a people evidently thus named from their worship of the second member of the Brahminical Triad, whose symbol they marked upon their cattle. Then, crossing the river, he marched eastward against the Malli and Sudraese, the latter of v/hom ap- pear from their designation to have been derived from the Soodra caste, while among the former the Brahmins decidedly pre- dominated. They did not intermarry, and had little or no fricndh' intercourse. The sudden danger which threatened their inde- pendence had driven them to a partial junc- tion, and their aggregate forces are stated at the lowest at 80,000 foot, 10,000 horse, and 700 chariots, but want of unanimity in the choice of a leader had prevented their combination. The Malli especially seem to have relied confidently on the strength of their fortified towns, and on the natural advantages of their peninsula, which was protected to the north by a desert of con- siderable extent. As it was on this side that they might be expected to feel most secure, Alexander struck across the desert into the heart of the country with a division of light troops, while two separate corps, un- der Hephajstion and Ptolemy, traversed it in other directions to intercept the fugitives he might drive before him. By marching day and night, with a very short intermission, he appeared early on the second morning before one of the strongholds, in which, as likely to be last attacked, many of the natives had taken refuge. A great number were surprised unarmed without the walls, many were put to the sword, the rest fled into the town, which, notwithstanding a gallant defence, was speedily stormed, and the people massacred without distinction. The inhabitants of the neighbouring villages forsook them, and some fled to the Hy- draotes, pursued in a forced night march by Alexander, who, on coming np to the ford, made considerable slaughter among those who had not yet crossed, and then, plunging in the stream, pursued the fugitives on the opposite side. IManj^ took refuge in an- other fortified town, which is described by the Greeks as if inhabited by Brahmins only, and these are mentioned as a different race from the Malli, who fled to them for shelter. Here the most determined resis- tance was ofl'ered ; when the besieged could no longer defend their walls against the mines ; — tins seems to refer to the Salt range of Pindi Waden Khan. • According to Arvian (lib. vi., cap. 2), by the final arrangement of the affairs of the northern Pun- jaub, Porus gained a fresh addition of territory, and became lord of (in all) seven nations and 2,000 cities. t Quintus Ciirtius, lib. ix., cap. fi. X The chief obstructions appear to have been worn away, for the passage is no longer formidable. CONTESTS WITH THE MALLI— ALEXANDER WOUNDED. 33 superior skill of tlic assailants, they re- trciitcfl to tilt; citadel, and tliis beinf; stormed, set fire to their houses; and almost all, to the number of 5,000, perished l\^\\t- in^^, or in the llamcs. The last memorable contest with the MalJi, occurred in the taking of their capital, wliieh Burncs con- siders to be represented by Moultan, but llenncll supposes to have been at Tolumba, nearer the Ilydraotes. Ilavin;^ dispersed the hostile army drawn u]) on the hif^h and steep banks of this river, Alexander en- circled the town with his cavahy, and the next morninr; commenced the attack on two sides. The besieged retreated to the citadel, j'.nd the king and his troops, cutting their way with the hatchet through a postern, arrived at the foot of tlic wall. Here Alexander eagerly called for scaling lad- ders, but these, from the supposition that all resistance was over, had been mostly left behind. Two or three were liowever brought; seizing the first, Alexander fixed it himself, mounted and gained the top of the wall, which it seems was narrow and with- out battlements. The soldiers, alarmed for his safety, crowded after him with such im- patience that the ladders broke with their ■weight, and Alexander, in his splendid armour, with but three companions, stood a mark for the enemy's missiles from the nearest towers and the adjacent parts of the fortress. The JIaccdouians beneath, en- treated him to throw himself into their arms. He liesitated a moment, but to turn his back upon his foes, even under such cir- cumstances as these, was a step he could not bring himself to take ; and, probably remembering that his guards would dare a thousand deaths for his rescue, he lea])t down into the citadel, and alighting on his feet, took his stand against the wall, shel- tered also by the trunk and spreading boughs of a tree. Here he defended him- self, until joined by his three associates, one of whom (Abreas) speedily received a mortal wound from an arrow, in the face. Almost immediately afterwards another arrow pierced Alexander's corslet, lodging deep in the right breast ; and, after a short struggle, fainting through loss of blood, he sank upon his shield. His remaining companions, Peucestes and Leonnatus, though both wounded, stood over him until they were * It must be remembered that cities, so called, are very easily founded in the east. For this purpose a fort or castle, and walls of brick or mud, marking out the limits of " the Pettah" or town suffice for a joined by their friends, who, by various ex- pedients, (such as driving pegs into the clay walls,) had climbed the top, and forced a gate from the inside, through whieli num- bers jiourcd in, carried off their king, and in thrir fury slaughtered every man, woman, and child without exception. For some time the conqueror lay in his tent, reduced to the last extremity by the great loss of blood which followed the extraction of the Ijarbed steel, while deep anxiety prevailed in the camp — inspired jjartiy by true affec- tion, and partly by fear fur themselves, in the event of the death of the only man they believed capable of leading them back safely through the strange lamls they had traversed as victors. At length Alexander rallied ; during liis tedious convalescence, such of the jNIalli and Sudracaj as had remained in arms, tendered submission. The envoys consisted of above 100 of their chief men ; they were persons of lofty stature and bear- ing, all rode in chariots, were clad in linen robes embroidered with purple and gold, and bore magnificent presents. According to Curtius, a tribute of the same amount as they had previously paid the Arachosians was imposed upon them ; and a thousand of their bravest warriors were demanded as hostages, or, if they were willing, to serve in the Greek array. These were immedi- ately sent, together with 500 chariots as a free gift, and, among other rarities, several tamed lions and tigers. Alexander, pleased with their readiness, accepted the chariots and sent back the hostages. At the eon- flucnee of the Aeesincs with the Indus, he ordered a city,* with docks and arsenals, to be constructed ; and sailed down the latter river to the chief place of a people, called, by the Greeks, Sudraca^ or Sogdi. Here he planted a colony; changed the name to Alexandria, built an arsenal, refitted a part of liis fleet, and, proceeding southward, en- tered the rich and fertile territories of a powerful ruler, whose real name has been apparently perverted into that of ^lusi- canus. This prince proffered allegiance, which Alexander accepted, but ordered a fortress to be built in his capital, which was occupied by a ^Macedonian garrison ; thence, marching to the westward, he advanced against a chief, spoken of under the name of Oxyeanus, or Porticanus, who was con- commencement, and population snon follows, brouglit either by compulsion or attracted by the natural ad- vantages of the site, to erect there the mud hovels which form their ordinarj- dwellings. 34 EXPLORATION OF THE MOUTH OF THE INDUS— b.c. 335. sidered to have held himself suspiciously aloof, and stormed two of his cities — in one of which, Oxycanus was himself taken or slain ; upon this all the other towns sub- mitted without resistance. In the adjacent high-lands, a chief, called Sambus, whose territory is now known as Siude, fled from his capital (according to Arrian) at the ap- proach of the invader ; who took possession of his elephants and treasure, and proceeded to capture a town which ventured to oppose him, at the instigation of some Brahmins, whom he slew. The same influence, during Alexander's absence, had been exerted in the court of Musicauus, and he revolted, in an evil hour, for himself and his country : Being taken prisoner he was crucified with the leading Brahmins, and the chief towns razed to the ground, or subjected to the stern surveillance of foreign garrisons. The submission of the king of Pattala, named or entitled Moeris, Avhose rule ex- tended over the Delta of the Indus, com- pleted Alexander's command of that river. At Pattala, (thought to be now represented either by Tatta or Allore,) he immediately prepared to fortify a citadel, form a harbour, and build docks sufficient for a large fleet, and likewise to dig wells in the neighbouring districts, where there was great scarcity of water, to render the country habitable, and suitable for the passage of troops or tra- vellers. According to a modern writei', (Droysen,) Alexander's object in so doing was nothing less than to facilitate the com- munication between Pattala and the east of India, and to open it for caravans from the countries on the Ganges and from the Dec- can; but even supposing him to have obtained sufficient geographical knowledge for the formation of this plan, he had no present means of executing it, and must have con- tented himself meanwhile in surveying the mouths and delta of the Indus, and taking measures for the establishment of com- mercial intercourse with the West. With a squadron of fast sailing galleys he prepared to explore the western brancJi of the river to the sea ; but the voyage proved disastrous, the native pilots brought from Pattala made their escape, and on tlie second day a violent gale meeting a rapid current of the Indus, caused a swell in wliich most of tlic galleys were severely injured and many went to pieces. While the shipwrights were engaged in repairing this misfortune a few light troops were sent up the country in search of pilots, who being obtained, con- ducted Alexander safely almost to the mouth, when the wind blew so hard from the sea, that he took refuge in a canal {nullah) pointed out by them. Here the Macedonians, first beheld the phenomenon called the "'Bore," and witnessed with extreme consternation the sudden rush of a vast volume of water from the ocean up the river-channel, with such violence as to shatter the galleys not previously firmly imbedded in the mud. After ajrain refitting, the fleet was moored at an island named Cilluta, but Alexander, with the best sailors, proceeded to another isle, which lay beyond in the ocean. Here he offered sacrifices to various deities ; then, putting out in the open sea, to satisfy him- self that no land lay within view to the southward, he celebrated different rites in honour of the sea-god Neptune, whose pro- per realm he had now entered. The victims, and the golden vessels in which the libations had been offered, having been thrown into the deep, he rejoined the squadron, and re- turned by the same arm of the Indus to Pattala. The navigation of the rivers ha,d employed about nine months ; and nearly four appear to have been spent in and near Pattala. It was toward the end of August 325 b.c.,* when the preparations were completed for the departure of the fleet and army from the Indus ; the former, under Nearchus the Cretan, being destined to undertake a voy- age of discovery to the Persian Gulf; the latter, under Alexander, to march along the coast — an enterprise of little less danger, in which, according to tradition, the armies of Semiramis and Cyrus had perished almost to a man. Of the real difficulties of the route Alexander had probably but a vague conception, but he was incited to encounter them, by a desire to provide for the exigen- cies of the fleet, and to explore and consoli- date a portion of the empire which he had hitherto at most but nominally subjected. The force of either armament is not re- corded. On invading India it would ap- pear the army liad consisted of 120,000 men, and while there had received rein- forcements ; allowing therefore for the numbers lost or left behind in garrisons and colonics, and for the division previously sent from Pattala under Crateriis, (through Arachosia to Carmania,) probably, at least * ]1r. Vincent in bis Voyarjc of Nearchus, vol. i. 1). 180, fixes the time of dcpai-turc at a year earlier, but I have preferred followinp; Thirlwall's reading or rather correction of Arrian's clu'onology. HOMEWARD ROUTES OF ALEXANDER AND NEARCHUS. 35 50,000 remained under the immediate com- mand of the king. Respecting tlie squadron under Nearclius, wo liavc no other guide than the list of the thirty-three galleys hc- forc referred to as c([uipi)cd on tlic Ilydas- pes ; many of these were fitted out hy in- dividuals at tlieir own cost, for it would appear that at that period the finances of their leader were at a very low ebb, pro- bably owing to the unbounded munificence with which he lavished upon his friends what lic had accpiircd by the sword. Sonic weeks had yet to elapse before the trade- winds would set in from the north-east, and so become favourable to the voyage. The departure of the army was not however de- layed on this account, and Alexander set out on his return to the West, leaving the admiral and fleet to follow at leisure. Ilis route need be here but briefly noticed. Crossing the chain of mountains which descends west of the Indus from the I'aro- pamisus to the sea, he entered a region sur- rounded on three sides by lofty ranges, tra- versed by a river called the Arabius, [Poor- allee or river of Sonmeamj,) which separated the territory of two independent tribes — the Arabitre and Oritsc, the former of whom fled to tl'.c adjacent desert, but the latter, who were more civilised and their lands better cultivated, offered a formidable resist- ance, fighting desperately with poisoned arrows. Their country was however overrun by the cavalry ; and, in what seems to have been the largest of the villages in which they lived, named Rambacia, Alexander planted a colony. Thence advancing through a difficult pass in the western mountains, he arrived at about the begin- ning of October in the wild barren region of Gedrosia, the southern ]Mekran ; tlie whole coast of which as far as Cape Jask, is called by the Greeks, the land of the Ichthyophagi or Fish-eaters. The heat, though beginning to subside, was still ex- cessive ; the troops generally moved during the night, but often at daybreak were obliged to prolong their weary march under a burning sun, until they should reach the next watering-place. Yet their road seems to have seldom diverged more than two or three days' journey from the sea — being frequently within sight of it — with- out crossing any part of the Great Sandy Desert, bounded by the mountains of southern Mckran ; except perhaps for a short distance near the confines of Gedrosia and Carmania (Kerman). In the latter fruitful* and well-watered province, Alex- ander was soon after his arrival joined by Craterus and his division, and all anxiety respecting Nearehus was subsequently dis- pelled by tidings tliat the admiral had landed on the coast within five days' march of the camp. lie had been compelled by the hostility of the natives at Pattala, to start before the proper season had arrived ; and, though he waited four-aud-twenty days on the Arabite coast, three of his vessels were afterwards lost in the adverse monsoon. On the coast of the Oritjcf lie met Leonnatus, who had been left in Rambacia to furnish him with a ten days' supply of corn, and who had been meanwhile engaged in a sharp conflict with the natives. Nearehus does not appear to have lighted on any of the magazines stored at various points by Alexander for his use ; but, after manifold hardships and perils from the dangers of an unknown sea, the barrenness of the coast, the hostility of the people, and the despondency of his own crews, he at length with the aid of a Gedrosian pilot reached the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and eventually lauded near the mouth of the river Anainis [Ibrahim), not far to the west of the island of Ormuz. These happy events were celebrated by a solemn festival and triumphal procession — enlivened, as usual, by gymnastic games, musical and poetical contests, which probably gave rise to the idea of the march through Carmania having been one continued Bacchanalian revel. The king urged Nearehus to allow some other officer to conduct the fleet to the mouth of the Tigris and not expose himself to further danger and fatigue : but he would not consent to let another complete his glo- rious expedition, and rejoined the squadron with orders to meet Alexander at Susa. As it was winter the main body of the army proceeded thither along the Persian Gulf where the climate was mild, and Alexander with some light troops and cavalry took the upper road through Persepolis. At Susa we take leave of this great man ; his career so far as India was concerned was quite ended, indeed life itself was fast ebbing away. In the spring of 323 B.C., in the second year after his return to Babylon, while planning a fresh capital for his Asiatic empire, he caught a fever in the Mesopo- tamian marshes, and this disorder being in- creased by one of the drinking matches • Strabo says the gi-apes hung in clusters threo feet long. ' t See note to page 27. 36 DEATH OF ALEXANDER, b.c 323.— STATE OF THE HINDOOS. which disgraced his court, abruptly termi- nated an eventful career at thirty-two years of age, the solace of his last days being to hear Nearchus relate " the story of his voyage, and all that was most observa- ble with respect to the ocean."* The long and sanguinary contests which ensued among his generals, — commencing while his body lay unembalmed and ending not until the majority of those disputants themselves, as well as all of his kin, (including his half- brother and successor Arridffius, his wives Statira and Roxaua, his posthumous son Alexander, and his beloved though wicked and intriguing mother Olympias,) had fallen victims to the treacherous plots formed by the majority of them against each other — have no place in these pages. The history and triumphs of Alexander have been nar- rated at some length, for the sake of show- ing the manner in which he was led on, first by the pursuit of Darius, and after- wards of Bessus, to Bactria and to the verge of ludia. His progress is no mere matter of antiquarian research,t but exer- cises an important bearing on the political question of the present time, respecting the possible advance of an European army through central Asia to the Indus, or via Syria, the Euphrates, and the Persian Gulf, to the shores of the Indian Ocean ; a sub- ject which will be discussed when examining the motives of the British incursions iuto Afghanistan, in 1839-10. In the history of the civilized world, the epoch of Alexander would ever be memora- ble were it only for his exploits in India, • Langhonie's Translation uf PlutarcKs Life of AlexiintJer, p. 218. t It may be here well to observe, that in the fore- j^oing brief sketch of Alexander's march, written for f^eneral readers, no attempt has been made to enter upon the discussion of the disputed localities at which he conquered or founded cities. One such point would involve as much space as can here be devoted to the whole march — at least, if the varying; opinions of the several authorities ancient and modern, were to be fairly and fully stated. I have, therefore (with some slight exceptions), merely given the probal)le sites, leaving the reader to prosecute further inquiries in the pages of the oriental scholars already rc))eatedly named. It is greatly to be re- gretted that the works of none of the primary his- torians have descended to us, save some fragments preserved by their successors. Of these last, Arrian, who wrote in the early part of the second century B.C., is recognized as the most trustworthy, though his bald outline contrasts forcibly with the more liighly-coloured pictures of Quintus Curtius, who seems to have followed Alexander's campaigns with much diligence, ijtrabo also is a most valuable authority on this as on other geographical questions. since by them this great country was first placed as it were within reach, and some firm ground afforded to European geogra- phers whereon to set foot in future investi- gations. The Greek historians though often contradictory, and censurable in many re- spects, have yet recorded much valuable information respecting the Indians (as they term the Hindoos), the accuracy of which is attested by the ancient records revealed to us by the labours of oriental students, and further by the striking resemblance which their descriptions bear, even after the lapse of two thousand years, to the existing cha- racteristics of the inhabitants of the coun- tries then visited. Thus Arrian, whose account of Ancient India is unquestionably the most to be relied on of any now extant, notices among other points the slender form of the Hindoos, the classes or sects into which they were divided, and the pro- hibition of intermarriage, widow burning,} perpetuation of trades in families, vegetable diet, faces streaked with colours, men wear- ing earrings, veils covering the head and shoulders, parti-coloured shoes, umbrellas carried only over principal personages, cot- ton manufactures of great fineness and whiteness, two-handed swords, and other matters. The people appear to have been extraordinarily numerous, and to have made considerable progress in the arts of civilised life. Their bravery was strikingly manifest ; and it is remarkable, that notwithstanding the numbers recorded as having fallen in their engagement with Alexander, are as usual incredibly greater on their side than Yet the loss of the writings of Barton or Biton the authorised recorder of the marches, is irreparable, (especially when we consider the importance attached by Alexander to accurate geographical information) as also those of the iirst Ptolemy, and of Apol- lodorus the famed historian of Bactria. No conclu- sive opinion can be formed regarding the knowledge possessed by the Hindoos of this invasion, until we are belter acquainted with the records still stored up and hidden from us in various places. Thus, the literary treasures of the libraries of Patan (a city in Kajpootana) of Jcssulmer (a town north-west ol Joudpore) Cambay, and the Thibetian monasteries remain to be explored, as also many other valuable MS. collections, including those of the travelling Jain and Boodhist bishops. According to Tod and other writers, Alexander is known in India under the name of Escander JJ/mlcaniein (two-horned), in allusion to his dominions in what they considered tlic eastern and western extremities of the earth. The rajahs of (Jhiltoor are also said to boast of de- scent from the sovereign termed Porus who opposed the Macedonian conqueror. X In the country of Taxile.s, but only however as an exceptional instance. INTERCOURSE BETWEEN SELEUCUS AND CHANDRA GUPTA. 37 his ; yet he lost a larger proportion of troops in battle with tliciii tliaii had i)reviously fallen in the Persian war. The odlce of the husbandniau was invariably held sacred among the Hindoos, he was never dis- tnrbed in his labours, and to root up or wilfully injure growing crops was a breach of a recognised natural law no native prince would have ventured to commit. On the whole the impression of the Irulian eharae- ter left on tlu; mind of the Greeks was de- cidedly favourable; the people were described as sober, moderate, peaceable, singularly truthful, averse to slavery in any form, and attached to liberal municipal institutions. The productions of India had by tedious routes (which it will be necessary to |)oint out in a subsecpicnt section, when depicting the present state of their commerce), long found a ready market in Europe. The de- sire for them now increased tenfold. The foresight of Alexander was fully vindicated by the rapidity with which the Egyptian Alexandria began, under the first Ptolemy, to receive and pour forth its full tide of wealth ; and Pabylon also became a great emporium. His characteristic policy* in freeing the Euphrates and Tigris from the physical impediments to navigation placed by a weak restrictive government, shattered the fetters which had long bound the enter- prising spirit of trade in these countries, and enabled it to find vent in the passage opened up with India, both by sea and laud. The cities or military stations placed near the Indus soon languished, for the Europeans left there by the king, on hear- ing of his death hastened to escape from what they had from the first considered no better than hopeless exile. Eut commerce had received a [lowerful stimulus, and cotton and silk manufactures, ivory, gems richly set, costly gums, pepper and cinnamon, dyes and drugs, were poured rapidly into Europe in return for the precious metals,t which entered India in coins of many forms (now vainly sought for by antiquarians), and were there melted down to be shaped into idols, or to deck unhallowed shrines, and be thus stored up to an incalculable extent, to gorge eventually the avarice of the ruthless iMussulmans of a later age. • Alexander's conquests were intended, as has been repeatedly stated, as a means of carryinir out liU vast commercial schemes. Ho hoped out of war to bring peace ; and one of his favourite plans to promote this ultimate object was, the founding of several new cities in Asia and in Europe, the former to be peopled with Europeans, and the latter with TnK GiiEEK TO THE ]MonAMMi:i)A\ Inva- sions. — The king of the Prasii (as the (Jreeks termed the Prachi or East) at the time of Alexander's camiiaign in the Pun- jaub, was the last Nanda, who, as has been shown, both Greek and Hindoo writers agree in describing as of low birth. He was slain by his successor, Chandra Gujita, or San- dracottus, about 310, n.c, who appears to have spent a short time when a youth in the Macedonian camp, whence he fled to avoid the wrath of Alexander, which he liad roused in some unexplained manner. Chandra Gupta was king when Selcueus, to whom in the division of power Syria and the Hactrian and Indian satraprics had fallen, proceeded to claim the sovereignty, though at first under the name of the governorship of these territories. He marched in person to reduce the local authorities to obedience, ami flushed with victory proceeded at the head of a considerable force to India, b.c. 303. The brief and conflicting accounts of his progress which have descended to us, indicate that he advaticed even to the Ganges, but was deterred from warlike pro- ceedings, either by the necessity of turning back with his strength unimpaired to defend another portion of his dominions attacked by Antigonus, or else by the formidable array drawn out against him by Chandra Gupta, who had previously greatly extended and consolidated his kingdom. The result appears to have been that Selcueus made over to the Hindoo sovereign, not only all the country conquered by Alexander eastward of the Indus, but also that to the westward as far as the river Arabius ; while Chandra Gupta on his part acknowledged this con- cession by a present of 500 war chariots. How far Porus and Taxiles, or their succes- sors, were constdted in this proceeding, or how they acted, is not stated ; but in tlieir conduct immediately after the king's death, they showed themselves faithful and much at- tached to the Greeks. A family connection is alleged to have been formed between Selcueus and Chandra Gupta, by the marriage of a daughter of the former with the latter, (who being a Soodra might mai'ry as he pleased ;) and it is certain that friendly intercourse ex- isted between them, an ambassador named Asiatics, so that " by intermarriages and exchange of good offices the inhabitants of those two great con- tinents might be gradually moulded into a similarity of sentiments, and become attached to each other with mutual afTcction." — (Diod. Sic, lib. xviii., c. 4.) t I'liny, writing in the first century of the Chris- tian era, complains that Konie was exhausted by a 38 EECENTLY DECIPHERED EDICTS OF ASOCA. Megastbeues having been sent to PaUbotbra, the capital of the Prasii, where he resided many years. It is further stated that the Hindoo mouavch had Greek mercenaries in his service, and placed Greek governors in some of his provinces ; that daring his reign the foreigners were much resjjectedj but afterwards brought general odium upon their nation throughout Western India by their treacherous and cruel rapacity. Their language must have spread and taken root in the laud — for according to Masson, one of our best authorities on this head, " there is suf- ficient testimony that the Greek language was studied and well known by the fashion- able and higher classes during the first and second centuries of the Christian Era.'' The embassy of Dimachus to the son and successor of Chandra Gupta (called AUitro- chidas by the Greek writers), is tlie last transaction recorded between Syrian and Indian monarchs, until the lapse of about 80 years, when Autiochus tlie Great, after the close of his war with the revolted pro- vinces of Bactria and Parthia, entered India, and made peace with a king named Sophra- gaseuus (supposed to be Asoca), after exact- ing from him elephants and money. The descriptions given by Megasthenes,* who had the best means of judging correctly on the subjects of which he wrote, are cal- culated to convey a high opinion of the wealtli and power of the kingdom generally, but especially of Palibotlira.t Yet, ac- cording to this writer, India comprised no less than 118 independent states; but this however he only gives on hearsay, and, sup- posing the number to be unexaggerated, we cannot tell how small the territories may have been which tliis eniuucration included. drain equal to £400,000 per annum, required for the purchase of hixuries — the produce of India, Seres, and Arabia ; and Robertson, writing in 1791, says — " India, from the age of Pliny to the present time, has been always considered and execrated as a gulf which swallows up the wealth of every other country, that flows incessantly towaids it, and from which it never returns." — (Ilixtorical Dixquisitinn, p. 20;i.) Since the commencement of the jjresent century, the golden current has changed its course, and flowed with increasing volume from Ilindoostan to Britain, not, however, by the channel of commerce merely, but of compul;iory tribute, to an extent and in a manner which will be subsequently shown. • Megasthenes wrote many works, of which only scattered fragments have been preserved. His dis- position to exaggerate, and undue love of the mar- vellous, were urged as reasons for this neglect; but it is to be doubted whether the critics were always competent judges of what they rejected. As it is, enougli remains to testify, in connection with exist- The Soodra successors of Chandra Gupta certainly exceeded him in power — and in the hyperbolical language of the Puranas, are said to have brought the " whole earth under one umbrella." J Asoca, the greatest of that line, exercised command over the states to the north of the Nerbudda river; and the edicts § graven on columns at remote points prove not merely the extent of his dominions but also the civilized character of his government, since they include orders for the establishment of hospitals and dis- pensaries throughout his empire, as well as for planting trees and digging wells along the public highways. Aud this too was to be done, not only in Asoca's own pro- vinces, but also in others occupied by " the faithful," (meaning the Boodhists, of whom this king was the great patron) , " even as far as Tambapanui ; (Taprobane, or Ceylon,)" and "moreover within the do- minions of Antiochus the Greek [Antiochia Youa Raja] of which Antiochus's generals are the rulers." An edict found on a rock, and from its shattered state only partially legible, expresses exultation at the ex- tension of the doctrines of Asoca (?) Pryadarsi (especially with regard to sparing the life of animals, which however is not a Boodhist tenet) in foreign countries ; and contains a fragment translated thus : — " and the Greek king besides, by whom the chapta (?) kings Turamayo, Gongakena, and Maga."|| Turamayo was considered by the late Mr. James Prinsep to denote Ptolemy Pliiladelphus, who had a brother named Magas, married to a daughter of Antiochus I., which would establish that the Antiochus referred to in the edict previously quoted, was either the first or the second of that ing Hindoo records, ruins, and inscriptions, that the writer was a keen observer, and a valuable witness, although occasionally led into the narration of fables, or at least gross exaggerations. t Palibothra was described by Megasthenes as being eight miles long, and one and-a-half broad, defended by a deep ditch, and a high rampart, with o70 towers and 64 gates. Its site is placed by Ilen- nell at I'atna, by D'Anville at Allahabad, and by Wilford at Uaj-mehal. X Wilson's Hindoo 'Tlieatre, vol. iii., p. 14. § Similar mandates are inscribed on a rock on Girnar, a mountain in Guzerat; and on a rock at Dhauli in Cuttaek on the ojjposite side of India. They were' deciphered by Mr. 1 rinsep, and are writ- ten in I'ali, the dialect in which the sacred books of the Boodhists are composed. II At Kupur di Gliari, the entire edict exists in the Arian language, tlie word translated by Prinsep " Chapta" is there " chatare," _/(/«;•, Gongakena reads Antukiina and Maga, Mdka, — Mussoii. INTE RCOURSE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHIN A— FIFTH CENTURY. :\d name ; that is, either the son or grandson of Seleucus. It is remarkable that Asoca, in his youth, was governor of" Oojcin or Malwa, which must therefore have been possessed by his father. The reigning family was succeeded by three other Soodra dynasties, the last of whieli, the Andras, acceded to power about the beginning of our era; and, according to two Puranas, terminated in Puliraat or Pulomarehish, A.D. 436. By a curious coincidence, the Chinese annals* translated by De Guigncs, notice in a.d. 408, the arrival of ambassa- dors from the Indian prince, Yuc-gnai, King of Kia-])i-li, evidently Capili (the birth-place of Boodha or, according to Colonel Sykes, the seventh Boodha, Sakya-muni), which the Chinese have put for all Magadha. Yue-gnai again bears some resemblance to Yaj-nasri, or Yajna, the king actually on the throne of the Andras at the period re- ferred to. A confused enumeration of dynasties succeed, with little attempt at historical order, from which a foreign in- vasion, followed by a long period of disorder, has been inferred, though perhaps not on sufficient grounds. At length, after an interval of several centuries, Magadha is spoken of as subject to the Gupta kings of Canouj, and from that period is no more distinctly noticed ; but its fame has been preserved, from its having been, as before mentioned, the birth-place of Boodha, and from its language (Magadhi, or Pali) being * CIn-fc\-llian, a Chinese Boodliist priest, visited India at the bep;inning of the fifth century, on a pil- grimage to the chief seats of the religion of Boodlia, where he spent six years. His travels have been translated from the Chinese by M. Renmsat. The Boodhistical religion, according to his account, had then suH'cred a serious and irreparable decline at Mathura and in the eastern districts of Hindoostan ; and the Brahminical faith was in the ascendant. Tenijiles and towers of past ages still existed, but the population had disappeared, and the country was in many such places a wilderness. Bajagriha, the abode of Jarasamlha, the first of the Magadha kings, and the ancient capital, tlicn exhibited the ruins of a large city, of which traces were still visible to Dr. Buchanan, in 1807-1814. The palace of Asoca, or A-yu,at Palali-pootra.or Kusuma-pura, built of stone, was entire when seen by I'VUian, and presented such superior specimens of sculpture and engraving, that thev were ascribed to superhuman architects — genii, who laboured for the patron of Fo. The city of Ni-li, built in tlic neighbourhood by Asoca, was embellished by a handsome column, surmounted by a lion. Other columns, with lion capitals, were seen in different places. Central India is spoken of as under the government of one king; the cities and to'viTis large, the people rich, charitable, and just in their actions, but given to discussion. In the month of Jlay (the birth-day of Sakya-muni) four-wheeled employed in the writings of that extensively diffused religion, as well as in those of the Jains. The claim of universal monarchy in India, is found advanced in records and inscriptions, not only l)y princes of the Magadha dynasty, but also by those of Cashmere, of Dellii, Canouj, Bcng.al, Mahva, Guzerat, and other places; but the evidence cited in favour of their respective claims, is ])retty generally deemed insufficient, and is frequently contradictory. To attempt re- ducing the histories of these kingdoms and their pretensions into form, would be a long and tedious task ; which, even if suc- cessfully accomplished, could have little interest for the general reader, for at best, it would be but like arranging the scattered fragments of a child's puzzle, of which the chief pieces are wanting. At a futui'e but perhaps not distant day, the patient and able research already so successfully directed to the study of oriental literature, may enable us to decide upon many points now involved in numberless difficulties and to draw a correct picture of India, vathout the dan- ger, at present inevitable, of gi\nng undue prominence to events of minor interest, and omitting altogether many important features. Before passing entirely from the subject of the condition of India between the time of Alexander and the oVIohammedan era, it is, however, necessary to add a few remarks on the chief kingdoms of Hindoostan and the Deecan, so as to afford the reader cars were drawn about the streets ; they had each a building of five stages which looked like a tower, were ornamented with gold, silver, coloured glass, and embroidery, and hung with carpets and white felt, adorned with painted figures of the celestial divinities ; on the summits were a figure of Boodha. This was a season of great festivity, the streets were filled with iieoide who flocked in from the neigh- bouring country; there were theatrical representa- tions, fe.its of the athletrc, concerts of music and nightly illuminations; hospit.als were opened for the sick, cripples, and orphans, who were solaced and relieved by the representatives of the diflerent chiefs. At Magadha the priest sat himself down in a monastery for three yea)-s to study the sacred lan- guage and copy the MSS. Bengal then carried on extensive maritime traffic with the south-west regions and other places. Fa Hian took a passage in a large trading ship to Ceylon, which he reached (during the north-west monsoon) in fourteen days; thence he sailed for Java in a Hindoo ship, with 200 people, provisioned for ninety days. Altogether the travels of this intelligent Chinese abound in curious infor- mation ; they corroborate the accounts of cities, and of tlie manners and customs of their inhabitants, given by native writers, and j)rove the Hindoos were then merchants, and even navigators on a consider- able scale. — (.Abstracted from twtes on Ancient India. By Colonel Svkes. London, 1841 ; p. G to 76.) 40 KINGDOMS OF INDIA DURING THE DARK AGES. some slight clue to their relative impor- tance, antiquity, and position.* That of Bengal is mentioned in the Maha Bharat, and the Ayeen Akbery con- tinues the succession through five dynasties up to the Mohammedan conquest. These lists are to some extent supported by the inscriptions found in various places, which among other matters refer to a series of princes with names ending in Pala, who reigned apparently from the ninth to the latter part of the eleventh century, and are asserted to have ruled all India from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin, and from the Brahmapootra to and even beyond the Indus. They are also asserted to have sub- dued Tibet. The dynasty of Pala was suc- ceeded by one whose names ended in Sena, and this last was subverted by the Moham- medans about A.D. 1203. The kingdom of Malwa is far less ancient than those already mentioned. Its famous monarch, Yicramaditya, is the Haroun al Raschid of Hindoo tales, of which a great number have been collated by the inde- fatigable zeal of Colonel Wilford. He is said to have passed the early part of his life among holy men in austere seclusion, and even when arrived at regal power, to have eschewed all pomp, using utensils of earth rather than of gold, and sleeping on a mat instead of a bed. There is reason to believe that this hero of romance was really a pow- erful monarch and conqueror, who ruled a civilised and prosperous country, extended his sway over the Deccan and even over Cabool, and was a distinguished patron of literature. Oojein became populous on account of the great image of JNIaha-Cali, or Time, which he erected there ; but he himself worshipped only one invisible God. He was slain, 56 B.C., in old age, in battle with Salivahana, aprinceof the Deccan, who will be subsequently referred to; and his death formed the commencement of an era, which is still current among the * The autliorities mainly relied on being the valu- able summary contained in Elphinstone's India,yo\. i., pp. 388 to i'Z^) ; tlie Ayccn Akhcry : Brigg's transla- tion of Ferislita ; Todd's Kajast'han : and Grant L)uft''.s History of the Muhndtas. f Vincent's translation of the Periphls, p. 111. \ Malcolm's Persia, vol. i., p. 112. — "The coun- tries beyond the Oxus, as far as Ferghana, all those to the Indus, some provinces of India, and the linest districts of Arabia, acknowledged the sway of the mighty monarch of I't-rsia." Sir John adds that the emperors of China and India sent presciits, the description of which reads more like a chapter from the Arabian Niyhls than the page of even a I'ersiau historian. Among the gifts of the first potentate countries northward of the Nerbudda. It is of Yicramaditya that the traditions of uni- versal empire are most common in India. A long period of anarchy ensued in Malwa upon this abrupt conclusion of his able gov- ernment. The next epoch is that of the re- nowned Rajah Bhoja ; whose reign of forty years terminated about the end of the eleventh century. His grandson was taken prisoner, and his country conquered by the Rajah of Guzerat ; but Malwa soon reco- vered its independence, which was finally destroyed by the Mohammedans, a.d. 1231. In Guzerat, from its having been the re- sidence of Crishna, and other circumstances, an early principality would appear to have existed ; and the whole is spoken of as un- der one dominion, by a Greek writer of the second century. f Colonel Tod mentions another principality, founded at Ballabi, in the peninsula of Guzerat, in the middle of the second century, b.c, by an emigrant of the Solar race, which reigned in Oiide. This dynasty was expelled in SSI', by an army of barbarians, variously conjectured to have been Parthians, Persians of the Sassanian dynasty, and Indo-Bactrians. The second supposition is probably correct, as Sir John jMalcolm asserts on the authority of various Persian writers, that Nousheerwan, who reigned at or about this period, carried his victorious arms into India ; but that the tri- bute, which was the fruit of his conquest, was after his death no longer paid to his degenerate sou and successor. J Another Rajpoot tribe, called the Chauras, succeeded to the rule of Guzerat, and finally estab- lished their capital in a.d. 746, at Anhal- wara, now Pattan. Failing Chaura, in a.d. 931, through the death of the last rajah without male issue, the succession devolved on his son-in-law, a prince of the Rajpoot tribe of Salonka ; whose family were chiefs of Callian, in the Deccan, above the Ghauts. The kingdom was absorbed by the Mussul- was the image of a panther, the body covered with pearls, and the eyes formed of rubies ; a wonderful robe, the border of which was of celestial blue, while the centre was occu])icd by a representation of the king himself, clothed in his royal robes, and sur- rounded by his attendants; and lastly, enclosed in the same golden box as the robe was a female figure, the beauty of the face veiled by long tresses, and " overpowering as a flash of day during a dark night." The Indian offerings were a thousand pounds' weight of aloe-wood, a vase filled with pearls, and formed of one precious stone, on which was engraven the figures of a maiden seven bands in height, and of a lion ; and a carpet made ol a ser- pent's skin, delicately fine and exquisitely tinted. CANOUJ, CASHMERE, DELHI, BENARES, SINDE, THE PUNJAUB. 41 man conquests of 1297. Canovj, in early times, was called Pancliala, and seems to have been a long but narrow territory, ex- tending on the east of Nepaiil (wliieh it iu- chulcd) ; and on the west, along the C'lnun- 1ml and Bunnass as far as Ajmcer. Notwith- standing the noliec it has attracted as one of the most ancient, wealthy, and magnifi- cent places in India, its early history is very little known.* Its wars with the neighbour- ing state of Delhi contributed to accelerate the ruin of Hindoo independence ; and it was conquered by the JSIussulnmns in 1193. Cashmere is asserted, by its historians, to have c.\isted 2,()00 years b.c. Its last monarch was subdued by j\Iahniood, a.d. 101,'). Its an- nals, as before stated, have been written care- fully and at length ; and placed within reach of the British public by Professor Wilson. Delhi is first named in the I\Iaha Bharat; it was governed by a Rajpoot line, whose last prince was dethroned, a.d. 1050, by an ancestor of the Prithwi Rajah, conquered by the Mussulmans, a.d. 1192. The earliest mention of Benares is found in the same poem ; and its independence terminated contemporaneously with that of Delhi. Mith'di existed in Rama's time, and was the capital of his father-in-law, Sita. It was famous for a school of law, and gave its name to one of the chief Indian lan- guages. Gour, named in the ]\Iaha Bharat, seems to have lasted up to about a.d. 1231. Sinde, referred to in the same record, was independent in the time of Alexander (325 B.C.); and was finally conquered by the Mo- hammedans. Mewar, Jessulmer, and Jeipur, founded respectively in a.d. 720, 731, and 967, still exist as distinct states. Ajmeer is traced back by Tod, for seven generations before a.d. 695 ; it fell at the same time as Delhi. The Punjaub can hardly be spoken of as a distinct kingdom, since it appears to have been generally broken up into various small states ; but from a very remote time a great city is thought to have existed near LahorCjt though under a different name. Our insight into the history of the Deccan commences, for the most part, at a much later date than that of Hindoostan. The five distinct languages — Tamul, Canai'csc, Telugn, Mahratta, and Urya, are considered to denote an equal number of early na- tional divisions, the first-mentioned indicating • The Pala dynasty at Canouj are tliought to have displaced as paramount rulers in India, the Gupta dynasty of Prayaga and Delhi. Pray.-.ga or Allah.i- bad, the ancient Gupta capital, contains a column the most ancient, viz., the country.of Dravira, which occupied the extreme south of the peninsula; the earliest cohjnists from Hin- doostan having traversed the bleak plateaux of the upjjcr Deccan, and settled down on the fruitful plains of the Carnatic and Tanjore. The kingdom of Pundya was formed aijout the fifth century. In the time of the " Pe- riplus" it comprcheuded a part of the Malabar coast; but it was usually nounded by the Ghauts to the westward, and occupied only the territory now known as the dis- tricts of Madura and Tiuivelly. The seat of government was at INIadura, in Ptolemy's time, and remained there until about a cen- tury ago. The last prince was conquered by the nabob of Arcot, in 1736. The neighbour- ing kingdom of Chola was at one time of considerable extent, its princes haWng, it is supposed, about the middle of the eighth century, possessed large portions of Carnata and Tclingana. Their sway was greatly diminished in the twelfth century, being re- duced to the limits of the Dravira country. Chola lost its separate existence about the end of the seventeenth century. The capital was, for the most part, at Conjeveram, west of jMadras. Chera comprehended Travan- core, part of INIalabar, and Coimbatore, and seems to h.ave existed about the commeuce- menccment of our era. It was subverted in the tenth century, and its lands portioned among the surrounding states. Kerala included Malabar and Carnara. About the first or second century of the Christian era a colony of Brahmins from Hindoostan settled here, divided the country into sixtj'-four districts, and governed it by means of a general assembly of their cast ; renting allotments to men of the inferior classes. The executive government was held by a Brahmin elected every three years, and assisted by a cotineil of four of the same tribe ; but in the course of time, a chief of the military class was appointed. The northern di^^sion appears to have been ruled by a dynasty of its own till the twelfth century, when it was overturned by the Be- lala rajahs; and subsequently became stib- ject to the rajahs of Vijayanagar. The Concan, in early times, was a wild forest tract (as great part of it still remains), thinly inhabited by ]\lahrattas. Cantata seems to have been originally with an inscription of Samadras Gupta's, which has been translated by Mr. Prinsep. t A\'hen the Pala princes held Canouj, members of the family ndcd at Lahore, and thence extended 42 ANCIENT DIVISIONS OF THE DECCAN, CARNATA, ORISSA, &c. divided between tte Pandya and Chera princes and those of Carnara (tlie nortliern half of Kerala). It was afterwards par- titioned among many petty princes, until the middle of the 11th century, when one considerable dynasty arose — the family of Belala — who were, or pretended to be, Raj- poots* of the Yadoo branch, and whose power at one time extended over the whole of Carnata, together with Malabar, the Tamul country, and part of Telingana. They were subverted by the JMussulmans about A.D. 1310. The eastern part of Te- lingana appears to have been, from the be- ginning of the ninth to nearly the end of the eleventh century, in the hands of an obscure dynasty known by the name of Yadava. A Rajpoot family of the Chalukya tribe reigned at Callian, on the borders of Carnata and Maharashta. They are traced by inscrip- tions, from the tenth to the end of the twelfth century ; are supposed to have possessed the whole of Maharashta to the Nerbudda,t and even to have been superior lords of the west of Teliugana.J The last king was deposed by his minister, who was in turn assassinated by some fanatics of the Lingayet sect, which was then rising into notice, and the kingdom fell into the hands of the Ya- doos of Deogiri (Doiilatabad). Another branch of the Cbalukya tribe ruled over Calinga, the eastern portion of Telingana, which extends along the sea from Dravira to Orissa. The dynasty perhaps begau about the tenth century, and certainly lasted through the whole of the twelfth and thir- teenth ; it was greatly reduced by the Gana- pati kings of Andra, and finally subverted by the rajahs of Cuttack. Andra is the name of all the inland part of the Telingana country, the capital being at Varangul, about eighty miles north-east of Hyderabad. Its kings, Vicrama and Sali- vahana, alleged to have been connected with the Andra race in Magadha, are among the earliest mentioned. After them, ac- cording to local records, the Chola rajahs succeeded ; then a race called Yavaus,§ who reigned from 515, a.d., till 953 ; next came the family of Ganapati, who attained great their sway to Cabool, where they remained up to the time of Sultan Mahmood, the then rajah being named J aya I'ala. — Masson. • " Some of the Hindoos assert that the tribes of Brahmin and Ksholry [Cshatriya] existed from time immemorial, hut that the Itajpoots are a modern tribe, only known since the beginning of the Kulyoog [Cnli Yuga, a.m. 321>5.] Tiie rajahs, not satisfied with their married wives, had frequently children by power about the end of the thirteenth cen- tury, and are even affirmed to have possessed the whole of the peninsula south of the Godavery. In 1332 the capital was taken by a Mohammedan army from Delhi, and the state merged at length in the Mussul- man kingdom of Golconda. The history of Orissa, like all others in the Deccan, begins with princes mentioned in the Maha Bharat, describes in a very con- fused manner the successive occupation of the country by Vicramaditya and Sali- vahana, and the repeated invasions of Ya- vans from Delhi, from a country called Babul (supposed to mean Persia), from Cashmere and from Sinde, between the sixth century before, and the fourth after, Christ. The last invasion was from the sea, and in it the Yavans were successful, and kept possession of Orissa for 146 years, being expelled, a.d. 473, by Yayati Kesari. This point is thought to be the first established, for the traditions regarding the Yavans cannot be satisfactorily explained. The natives suppose them to have been jNIussulmans, but the first Arab invasion was not till the seventh century after Christ. Others apply the story to Seleucus, or to the Bactrian Greeks ; while Masson suggests the possibility of the people of Yava or Java being meant. The Kesari family lasted till a. d. 1131, when their capital was taken by a prince of the house of Ganga Vansa ; his heirs were supplanted by a Rajpoot dynasty, of the Sun or Surya race. The government having fallen into confusion about 1550, was seized on by a Telingu chief, and ultimately annexed to the ilogul empire by Akber, in 1578. The greatest internal prosperity and improve- ment seems to have been enjoyed towards tlie end of the twelfth century ; but during several years before and after that date, the people of Orissa claim to have made exten- sive conquests, especially to the south. In the middle of the fifteenth century the gov- ernment of Orissa sent armies as far as Conjeveram, near Madras ; and about the same time their rajali advanced to the neigh- bourhood of Bidr to assist the Hindoo princes of those parts against the Mohammedans. their female slaves, who, nlthough not legitimate successors to the throne, were styled Itajpoots, or the children of the rajahs." — (Briggs' Translation (if Fen's/ltd. — Introduction, p. Ixiii.). t J'ide Mr. Walter Elliot's contribiitions to Joiir- niil of the lioijol Asiatic Sociclij, vol. iv., p. 1. J Wilson, Iidi-od.to Mach-cmie jxipers, p. exxix. § The country north of I'eshawer was anciently called Yava, perhaps these Yavans came thence. ANCIENT STATE OF MAHAHASHTA OR MAHRATTA COUNTRY, 43 Maharushta or tlic Muhrcdla cmmlry, thougli situated on tlic frontier of tlic Dcccaii, and of great size, if we may jnd^^c from the wide extent over wliicli tlic lan- guage bearing tliat name is spoken, is only vaguely noticed in early records. After tlic legends regarding Rama, whose retreat was near the source of tlic Godavery, the first fact mentioned is the existence of Tagara, which was frequented by Egyptian mer- chants 250 years b.c. It is alluded to in inscriptions, as a celebrated ])laec in the twelfth century, and is still well known by name. It is mentioned bj'' the author of the " Periplus,"* but in such a manner as to certify little more respecting its site than that it lay about 100 miles to the eastward of Paitan, on the (jodavery. Grant Duff supposes it to have been somewhat to the north-east of the modern town of Bheer.f It is said to have been a very great city, and one of the two principal marts of Dachana- bades, a country so called from Dachan, which in the " Periplus" is stated to be the native word for south. The other mart was named Plithana.;]: Tagara, wherever situated, became the capital of a line of kings of the Rajpoot family of Silar. The reign of their most famous monarch, Salivahana, gave rise to a new era, commencing a.d. 77. He is stated to have been the son of a potter, and to have headed an insurrection which over- turned the existing government (whatever it might have been), and removed the capital to Prutcsthan or Paitan, on the Godavery. Prom this period nothing is known of the history of Maharashta (except by the in- scriptions of the petty princes of Callian and Pernala) till the beginning of the twelfth century : a family of Yadoos then became rajahs of Deogiri, and continued to reign until 1317, when the country, which had been previously invaded by the ]\Iohammedaus from Delhi, was finally subjugated. About this time the Mussulman writers begin to mention the Mahrattas by name ; before they had been noticed only as inhabitants of the Deccan. Our information regard- • The "Periplus [dcsenplion] of the Erythrcan Sea," is the title of a GrceK work, issued in 153.3, from the printing-])ress of Froben, at Basle. It eon- tains the best account extant of the commerce car- ried on from the Erythrcan or Ked Sea and the coast of Africa, to the East Indies, during the time that Egypt was a Roman province. l)i'. Vincent, the learned Uean r-' Westminster, who, in 1800, wrote an elaborate treatise, in two vols., -Ito., to elucidate a translation of the '' Periplus," says — " 1 have never been able to discover from what manuscript the work was first edited;" neither could he ascertain ing their early attainments so utterly fails to elucidate the trstiinony which the famous cave temples of Ellora and elsewhere, bear to the capabilities and numbers of the people by whom such mighty works were planned and executed, that, notwithstanding tiie use- ful labours of their historian (Grant Duff), we may believe there is yet much to be learned respecting them, probably a very interesting portion of their existence as a nation. Re- cently they have played a prominent but deso- lating and destructive part, which has drawn from the pen of a modern writer a denunci- ation of "those southern Goths, the Mah- rattas." — (Tod's Rajast'han. Introduction.) Concerning the social condition of the inhabitants of Ilindoostan and the Deccan during these dark middle ages, we have certainly not sufKeient data on which to found any general conclusions, except those which may be deduced from the edicts of such exemplary monarchs as Asoca — unhap- pily rare in all countries — and other col- lateral evidence. Our present information divides itself into two classes ; and comes cither through the channel of jjoctry, that is, of history travestied into fable ; or else tlirough the medium of Brahmin or Bood- hist priests : it must consequently he well searched and sifted before it can be relied on as unbiassed by political motive or sec- tarian prejudice. But search and sift as we may, little light is thrown on the condi- tion of the people, nor probably ever will be, at least in the sense given to that phrase in the present era of European and Americau civilization. The states noticed in the fore- going sketch would each one of them afibrd matter for a volume, full of wars, usurpa- tions, change of dynasty, and, above all, ex- tension of dominion ; all this resting on local records, and reading on smoothly enough; but much of it entirely incompatible with the equally cherished traditions of neigh- bouring states. The code of ]Meuu is per- haps an exception to this censure, but the uncertainty attached to the epoch at which it was written, and the extent to which its the name of the author, generally supposed to be Arrian the historian, but who, in his opinion, must have lived a cefttury before. There is internal evi- dence, according to the Dean, that the writer was a Greek, a merchant of Alexandria, and that he ac- tually made a voyage on board the fleet from Egypt as far as the Oiilf of Cambay, if not to Ceylon. — {Sec Vincent, vol. ii.) t Iliston/ of the Mahraltas, vol. i., p. 25. I Elphinstone conjectures Plithana to be a mis- take of the Greek copyist for Paithana or Paitan. The word occurs but once in the " Periplus." 44 EARLY CIVILIZATION, RELIGION AND LAWS OF THE HINDOOS. institutes were ever observed, greatly im- , pairs its value. The first objection applies ■ also to the Ramayana and Maha Bharat. Thus much perhaps may be reasonably inferred, from the concurrent testimony of Hindoo and foreign records, of inscriptions, and much incidental evidence of various kinds — that, at a period long antecedent to the Christian era, and while the natives of Britain were nude, nomadic savages, the people of India had attained a high position in arts, science, literature, and commerce, and lived under the hereditary rule of their own kings or rajahs ; the evils attendant on the otherwise irresponsible power of a patri- archal and despotic ruler being probably counterbalanced by the respective rights of the chiefs of the sacred, and of the warrior casts, but still more by the municipal insti- tutions which seem to have been general throughout the country. In many smaller states the government appears to have been a sort of oligarchical republic. The manners and customs of the Hindoos, the influence of cast, and the changes gradually brought about by ]\Iussuhnan and British conquerors, will, if space permit, be specially though briefly narrated in another section. Between the time of Menu and the Mohammedan epoch, the religious and social habits of the people had sadly deteriorated. Their belief in an omnipresent or "all-pervasive" God had gradually been warped bj' perverted but plausible reasoning, into a belief that be- cause God was in everything, therefore any- thing might be worshipped, not simply as His representative, but actually as Himself. Be- ginning probably with those glorious natural objects of the Sabajan heresy, the sun, moon, and stars, they had at length become so de- graded as to fall down before images of wood and stone, and had lost sight almost wholly of their original doctrine of an indivisible triad, by ignoring Brahma (the creating prin- ciple) and according to Vishnu (the preserv- ing) or Saiva (the destroying),* a paramount place in the pantheon of hero-gods, sacred animals, and grotesque, or often (to Euro- pean eyes) immodest figures, which gradually arose, and swallowed up in Ijic darkness of heathenism the rays of light which pos- sibly slioue upon the earliest of the Hindoo race in the ])atriarchal age. Their rvliyiuus observances involved a tedious and a!nu)st * These are mythologically reijreseiited as liaving wives, namely, Seraswati or Devi, Ijakshmi or lilia- vani, and Parvali or Durga, eonsidercfi metaphysi- cally as the active powers_ which develop the prin- ciple represented by each member of the triad. impracticable ritual, with abstinence from many things which in the christian dispen- sations are treated as harmless — but the character of Brahmin and also of Boodhist teaching, generally distinct, was alike in being, with some great and glaring excep- tions, merciful and even comparatively moral. The laios of the Hindoos, especially for civil judicature, have been eulogized by Sir W. Jones, Munro, and other authorities, though severely criticised by Mill, who on this subject was prejudiced, and ia fact pos- sessed but a small part of the information since revealed. The equal partitionment of property, and the consequent disability of willing away land or money, has been much canvassed as to its effect in preventing the accumulation or improvement of possessions. It undoubtedly stimulated the dedication of large sums to religious, charitable, or public purposes ; to the building of temples, of ' choultries or houses of refreshment for tra- vellers,' and to the formation of tanks and canals — most necessary works in a land where such means, under Providence, can alone prevent hundreds, nay thousands, not only of cattle, but of human beings, from perishing by the maddening pangs of thirst, or in the more prolonged agonies of hunger, when the parched earth, gaping in deep chasms, plainly bids man, if he would be sustained by her increase, use the energy and ability with which God has blessed him, to supply as best he can, the want of kindly dew and rain, to renew her strength and fertility. The position of ivomen was decidedly supe- rior to that of the weaker sex in almost any other ancient nation, with regard to the hereditary laws of property : they were, if unmarried, to receive portions out of their brothers' allotments. Menu ordains that whoever accosts a woman shall do so by the title of " sister," and that way must be made for her, even as for the aged, for a priest, for a prince, or a bridegroom ; and in his text on the laws of hospitality he enjoins that " pregnant women, brides and damsels, shall have food before all the otlier guests." The seclusion and ignorance to which females are now subjected had their origin in the like Mohammedan custom. Formerly they were taught to read and write, they were the ornament and deliglit of the social circle ; ami historic or traditionary annals abound in records of their virtuous anJ noble deeds. Suttee or widow-burning ; infanticide ; the carrying out of the sick, when deemed past recovery ; suicide under the same or dificreut ASTRONOMY, GEOMETllY, ALGEBRA, AND CHRONOLOGY. 4r. circumstances, including immolation be- neath the car of Jufjgcrnaut and self- inflicted tortures arc almost entirely inno- vations whicli gradually crept in : Jugger- naut especially — being of quite modern date. Tlie extent of scientific knowledge ae(]iiired by the Hindoos and the date of its attain- ment, is a source of endless discussion ; yet the subject is too im])ortaiit to be wholly liassed over, even in this intermediate stage of their history. In astronomy, much merit is assigned tliem by Cassini, ]5ailly, and Playfair, who assert that a considerable degree of progress had been made 3,000 years before the Christian era, as evidenced by observa- tions still extant. La riaec, De Lam- brc, and others dispute the authenticity of these observations, but all agree in ad- mitting a great antiquity. Mr. Bentley, who has examined the calculations very minutely, and is one of the most strenuous opponents of the claims of the Hindoos, pronounces their division of the Ecliptic into twenty- seven lunar mansions, to have been made B.C. 1412. Mr. Elphinstone is of opinion that the Indian observations could not have commenced at a later period than the fif- teenth century, B.C., or one or two ectituries before the first mention of astronomy in Greece. In the fifth century the Brahmins discussed the diurnal revolution of the : earth on its axis, and they were more eor- \ rect than Ptolemy in their notions regard- ing the precession of the Equinoxes. In an Indian work (the Surya Sidhanta) to which the date of the fifth or sixth century is generally assigned, a system of trigono- metry is laid down which involves theorems that were not known in Europe until the sixteenth century. Geometry was probably studied long previous to the date of the above book, as exemplified in the demonstrations of various properties of triangles, the pro- * " Mr. Colcbrooke has fully established that algebra had attained the highest pcrl'eetion it ever reached in India before it was known to the Arabians, and, indeed, before the first dawn of the culture of the sciences among that people." — (El- phinstone, vol. i., p. 250). t The Samaritan is the most ancient of the orien- tal versions of the Scriptures, but its exact age is unascertained; it contains only the Pentateuch. I The anonymous writer of a Key to the Chrono- logy nf the IliiiiJoox, whose opinions are set forth in 2 vols. Svo., printed at Cambridge in 1820 j under- takes to convince his readers that "the Hindoo dates correspond with the Hebrew texts of our Scriptures, and that they date the Lotos or creation 6,817 years from the present time, which is only six portion of the radius to the circumference of the circle, and other problems. The in- vention of decimal iwlation is ascribed to the Hindoos, who, even in algebra, so early as the sixth century,* under a celebrated teacher, (firahma (jupta,) excelled all their cotemporaries, not merely in propounding problems, but in its application to astrono- mical investigations and geometrical demon- strations. Their chronology has long been a stumbling-block (see p. 15), but it is never- theless considered by several critical in- quirers to admit of satisfactory explanation ijy means of astronomical and arithmetical calculations. Megasthencs expressly declares that the Indians and the .lews were the only nations possessed of a rational chronology, and that they agreed. Mr. JMasson remarks, on this statement, — "when I look at the enormous sums given of millions of years elapsed during the three first yugas, and ask how can they be reconciled with the dictum of [Mcgastlienes, I call to mind a verse somewhere in Menu, which tells us that a year of a mortal is but a day with the gods, and conceit that these large num- bers have been calculated on some such base as there suggested — just as in the Hebrew Prophets, Daniel, &c., periods are ex- pressed by days, weeks, &c. — only in these, multiplication is needful, and with the Hin- doos divisio.i." In the private letter from which I have ventured to quote the preced- ing passage, INIr. Masson adds, that by the use of the multiple 360 and the divisor nine (the sacred number of the Tartars and other nations), the Hindoo statement can be made to agree with that found in one (? the Samai-itanf version) of the Scriptures within a single year. J And he considers that the system of Indian chronology was framed in some manner intelligible to the initiated, § by whom the sacred writings were solely, or at least particularly, intended to years from the true period, according to the best calculations we have, and only two years according to the vulgar • era of Clu-ist', a.m. ' 4004." In an elaborate disquisition he contends that the com- Jiiencement of the fourth historical age, Call ynya, "is correctly placed at n.c. 3182;" the three pre- vious ages "contain a period of 900 years only;" and by adding 900 years to the current year of the fourth, or Cali age, we get the true epoch of creation, according to all oriental chronology." The ycnr of the world is com])uted by the Greek church at B.C. 5509; by the Abyssinian church, 5492; by the Jews, ."5760. The Bible chronology gives it as 4004 B.C. § It is stated in the " Key " that some European suggested to Sir W. Jones an explanation by cutting the ciphers off the numerals. 4G GEOGRAPHY, MEDICINE, LANGUAGES, AND LITERATURE. be read, the Bralimins in this respect differ- ing essentially from the Boodhists. In geography they had, as a nation, made little progress, and though unquestionably engaged in traffic more or less direct with the nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, pro- bably entered, at the utmost, only as indivi- duals on the carrying trade beyond their own coast, and gave little thought to the position or affairs of other countries ; and this accords with the metaphysical, rather than practical, turn of their minds. There is, however, a passage in Menu •which shows that marine insurance was practised his time ; and various writings, poems, plays, and tales written during different periods from the first to the twelfth century, detail adventures at sea, in which Indian sailors and ships are immediately concerned. That the Hindoos established colonies in Java and other places there is reason to believe, though -we cannot tell at what time, or under what circumstances. Bryant, who contends that Chaldea was the parent coun- try of the Hindoos, asserts, in his Analysis of Ancient Mythology , that these people were found in Colchis, in Mesopotamia, and even in Thrace. Recently they have been met with in Arabia, Armenia, and Astracan. In medicine they had not merely studied the virtues of simples, but had also attained considerable skill in chemistry, and knew how to prepare (for the most part in modes peculiar to themselves) sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acid ; oxides of copper, iron, lead (of which they had both the red oxide and litharge) tin, and zinc; the sulphurets of copper, zinc, and iron, and carbonates of lead and iron. They employed minerals internally, giving both mercury, arsenic, and arsenious acid ; cinnabar was used for fumi- gations, to produce safe and speedy saliva- tion. They also practised inoculation for small-pox. Their surgery is still more re- markable, from their ignorance oi anatomy — dissection or even the touch of dead bodies, being deemed the extreme of pollution — yet they cut for the stone, couched for cataract, and performed other delicate operations;* and their early works enumerate no less than 127 sorts of surgical instruments, which, however, were probably always rude. Of the languages and Hlerainre of India, it would be impossiljlc to convey any idea in few words, without appearing to assume a dogmatic attitude on the many difficult • Vide Dr. Koyle's Essay on the A7itiquity of the Indian Materia Mcdica. questions involved therein. The transla- tions of Sir William Jones from the Sanscrit, of Sacontala, a pastoral drama of great anti- quity, and other poems, together with the Hindoo Theatre of Professor Wilson, enable English readers to form their own opinions of the degree of dramatic excellence very early attained in India. Portions of the Ramayana, of the Maha Bharat, and the whole of the Sama Veda have also been translated; the fourth, or Antharva Veda, (whose authenticity is disputed), being still sedulously withheld by the Brahmins, and denounced as a " Black Book," teaching as- trology and witchcraft. The six Angras or Shastras, are supposed to have been written by inspiration to elucidate the sub- lime mysteries contained in the Vedas. They treat of theology and ritual observances ; of grammar, metre, astronomy, logic, law, the art of government, medicine, archery, the use of arms, music, dancing, and the drama. AVith the eighteen Puranas we are not immediately concerned, for two reasons. They must be subsequently referred to as ex- planatory of the present (would to God that we could say the past) idolatrous polytheism of the Hindoos ; and moreover in the opinion of Professor Wilson, none of them assumed their existing state until the time of Sankara Acharya, the great Saiva reformer, who flourished aljout tlie eighth or ninth cen- tury, and consequently, subsequent to the period of which we are now treating: Wilson traces several of them to the twelfth, four- teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries of our era. The Puranas have been already frequently quoted, because they comprise the genealogies of various dynasties, especi- ally of the solar and lunar races ; which are valuable, although sometimes misleading, being evidently a compilation of fragments obtained from family records. Many historical documents probably yet remain uninjured, hidden away from the desolating torch of the soldiers of the Crescent, who generally did their utmost to destroy the writings of an idolatrous people, at least any that might appear connected with their creed, which all were more or less. Doubtless much valuable data has thus ut- terly perished; and the loss is now irreparable. The remark made by the people of Rajast'han to Colonel Tod, when he complained of the numerous deficiencies in their annals, was suilicient explanation and apology. "When our princes," said they, "were in exile, driven from hold to hold, and com- ARCHITECTURE, FETES, POLICE SYSTEM, AND COINAGE. 47 pcllcd to flwc'll ill tlie clefts of tlio inoiiii- tniris, often (loiil)tfiil wlictlicr tlioy would not be obliLjcd to abandon tlic very meal prcijarint; for tlicni — was that a time to think of historical records ?"* In the lighter department of literature they excel ; and, indeed, in talcs and fables appear to have set the example to the rest of mankind, since to them may be traced the subjects of the most popular Oriental and even European fictions. t Their music is said to have been syste- matic and refined, but it has since greatly de- teriorated: jmintiiig was probably always at a low ebb, unless l)cautifully illustrated manu- scripts may form an exception — in which, however, the figures are the worst executed portion of the ornaments. Their ancient sculpture often presents spirited and some- times exceedingly graceful groups ; but is generally rendered unpleasing, not only by the grotesque and many-limbed forms of the gods and goddesses, but also by their igno- rance of anatomy, and inattention, even as copyists, to the symmetrical arrangement of the limbs and muscles, and to the mainte- nance of proportion between dilferent figures. Architecture early became a favourite and practicalstudy,J butvaried greatly in different parts of India {vide section on topography). It is said that the arch was not understood before the Mussulman era, but this seems to be contradicted by the age of some speci- mens which still exist. Tanks or reservoirs for irrigation or for bathing were made on a scale of great extent and magnificenee, and also wells of considerable depth and breadth, the more ancient of which were square and surrounded by galleries, with a broad flight of steps from top to bottom. Their triumphal columns and massive gateways and pagodas take rank among the finest specimens of the architecture of any nation. Their manufactures and commerce have been noticed sufficiently for the present purpose : their mode of agriculture was so nearly what it is at present, that that sub- ject, together with their rights in the land and the revenue system generally, may be best deferred for examination to a future chapter. Chariots were drawn in war by horses, but ou a march by oxen and sometimes by camels. Elephant chai'iots were also kept as a piece of extraordinary magnificence, used • UnJasfJuin, vol. i. p. ix. t J'i(/u 2'riinsiiciii}ns of lite Boi/a! Asiatic Socieli/, vol. i. p. 16G, oil Ihe Indian origin of European fdblts. in their famous festivals, when well appointed troops marched in procession ; and thrones, tables, goblets, lavcrs, set with precious stones, and robes of exquisite colours richly em- broidered with gold, were borne along in state. Tame lions and panthers formed part of the show which birds, remarkable for gorgeous plumage or sweet song, were made to enliven; being conveyed on trees transported on large waggons. In short, a Hindoo fete in the ancient days, was a thing that even a Parisian of the time of the second Buonaparte might sigh for — always excepting fireworks, for it does not appear that they had any knowledge of gunpowder, although in war they arc said to have used arrows tipped with some com- bustible or explosive compound. The police system ^Mcgasthcncs declared to be excellent; royal roads are spoken of by Strabo, in one place, and mile-stones in ano- ther. § The dress, as described by Arrian,|| was precisely the two wrappers of cotton cloth, still worn by the people of Bengal and by strict Brahmins everywhere. It is asserted that no Indian coinage existed prior to the introduction of that of the Greeks or Bactrians. This, if proved, would be no criterion of barbarism : the Chinese, at the present day, have no gold or silver pieces — their only coin being a small alloyed copper "cash," of which about a thousand are equal to one Spanish dollar. All sales have for ages been regulated by bars or blocks of the precious metals, with a stamped attestation of their respective purity; and it is possible that in ancient times a similar course was pursued in India. There arc however passages in a Sanscrit play and in the penal code of the Hindoos which refer, not only to the standard, but to the fabric and stamp of coin, and to the punish- ments due to the fabricators and falsifiers of the public monies. Small flat pieces of silver, square, round, or oblong, weighing from forty- eight to fifty grains, with a rude punch, symbo- lical of a sun, moon, or star, or a nondescript figure, of an unknown age, have been found in considerable quantities in various localities. Hindoo gold and silver coins, tolerably well executed, have been discovered at Beghram, Cutch, Benares, and other places appertaining to the Balhara dynasty ; which is thought to have ruled the country from Oojcin to the Indus, 375 years posterior to the \ Essay on Ilimloo Architecture by Ram K&Z, published by tlio Oriental Translation Fund. § Strabo, Lib. xv., pp. -174 — 194, ed. 1587. i{ Intlica, cap. xvi. i8 KINGDOMS OF BACTRIA, ARIA, AND PARTHIA. Vicramaditya era. Coins of tlie Chandra Gupta dynasty have been collected from the ruins of Behat near the Doab Canal, and at Canouj ; others, of a Jain or Boodhistical type, have been procured at Rajast'han and at Hurdwar on the Gauges. Recent investigations* have brought to light no inconsiderable quantity of Indo- Scythian and Sassanian coins, which gradu- ally mixed with and at length merged into a distinct Hindoo type. This, with modifi- cations, lasted to the time of the Moham- medan conquerors. A very curious Eng- lish collection of Hindoo silver monies con- nects two dynasties ; indeed, there are not many links wanting to form an entire series of Greek, Bactriau, ' NysDeau,t Sassanian, Indo-Scythian, and HindooJ (Giizerat, Raj- poot, Canouj, or Rahtore, &c.) coins, from the time of Alexander to that of the Moslems in the eleventh century. The Roman coins discovered in India extend in antiquity through a period of more than 1,000 years, from the Augustan age down to the decline of the Lower empire ; those generally found are of the smaller denominations, consistuig of the common currency of the eastern parts of the empire : many of the copper coins are of Egyptian fabrication. Badria, Aria, and Parthia. — The two first-named countries, comprising the terri- tory lying on either side of the Hindoo Koosh, between the Oxus and Indus Rivers, are on the high road of Asiatic conquest, and have been the battle-field of every tribe and nation that has risen to dominion in the East. Parthia has been always intimately connected with them, and the three have iointly and severally exercised an influence in India, the extent and nature of which is still but imperfectly understood. Recent discoveries of coins (above re- ferred to) have confirmed and augmented the information bequeathed by ancient * Sec Ariitna Antiqiin, a tlcsci-iptivc account of the antiquities and coins of Afglianistan, with a memoir of the huildings, called topes, by C. Masson, Esq. Edited by Prof. Wilson, 4to, 1841. Also the expositions of J. I'rinsep in the Jonriuildf the. Jlctiffal Asiatic Sucicti/ ; and II. T. Piinsep's Hist, llesults. t The features of tlie sovereigns of the various dynasties stamped on these coins are quite distinct, and they are generally well executed. The Nysscan have a fillet or diadem round tlio head; reverse, a horseman ; tlie Indo-Scythian av. erect figure of Her- cules resting on his club : the Sassanian, a fire altar on the reverse. The legends are generally in (ircek, or in Pehlevi, a language which was contemporary with the Parsi (of Per.sia), and the Zend (of Aledia), five or six hundred years, B.C. It was used in authors, and thrown a new light on the connection which existed with the kingdom of Baetria — that is, of the country watered by the Oxus and its tributaries, and sepa- rated from Hindoostan by the range of mountains whence the Oxus and Indus derive their respective sources. It has been already stated, that after the first contest for the partition of the vast empire of Alexander, all his eastern conquests, including Hyrca- nia, Parthia, Baetria, Aria,§ &c., were ap- propriated by Seleucus. Baetria remaine I subject to his descendants, until civil wars and the impending revolt of the Parthians induced Diodotus, or Theodotus, the satrap or governor of the province, to assert his independence and become the first king, about 250, or, according to Bayer, 255, B.C. Parthia also successfully revolted from the sway of the Seleucidse, under Arsaces,l| who, according to Strabo, was by birth a Bac- trian, but is called by other writers a Da- hian, that is, a native of Sogdiana :^ who- ever he was, he appears to have used Greek only on his coins and in his public letters and correspondence. Baetria itself, however, cannot be sup- posed to have been colonised by any great body of Greeks, but probably received many of the partially-disciplined recruits raised by Alexander during the later part of his progress. Even the Greeks, by intermar- riage with Persian, and doubtless with In- dian wives, would soon lose their distinctive character; and after the establishment of Parthian power, the immigration of adven- turers from Greece, and, indeed, all commu- nication with that country would cease. This accounts for the total silence of Greek authors respecting the termination of the Bactrian kingdom. Its limits, during the most flourishing period, included some parts of India. Strabo quotes an ancient author, who asserts that the Bactriaus possessed the region round Assyria, and probably in Assyria itself, — but together with the Zend h.as been a dead language for more than two thousand yeai's. I The ancient Hindoo coins have various devices — a horseman, a horse, an elephant, a lion, a bull, an antelope, a goat, the Sankh, or sacred shell, or the hieroglyphic called Swastika. § Aria is the territory of which Herat is the capital. Ariana (Eeran) is the general name for the country east of Persia and Media to the Indus. II Sogdiana designates the mountains wliich feed the Jaxarles and divide tliat river from the O.xus. ^f Arsaccs was the title of Partliiun princes. The Parthians were the Saca; of Asia, and Saca-dwipa (the coiintry of the Saca;') lay about tlio fountains of of the Oxus. — Condcr's Modern 'I'racellei: (^Jndia.) BACTRIA OVERRUN BY SCYTHIAN HORDES.— b.c, 125, 49 " the most conspicuous part of Ariana" (Kliorasan), and coii(|ii(rc(l more nations in India than even Alexander. In this last achicvonicnt the principal actors were Mc- nandcr, Appollodotus, and Demetrius, who arc mentioned together by Straho ; but their date and the limits of their sway are not clearly stated. Demetrius is a puzxlc, or rather the site of his kingdom, for he once had one, and was a conqueror besides. Two or three of his coins have been found in Cabool, not snflicicnt to establish the fact of his rule tlicre, but rather the reverse ; two or three others — of silver — have been brought from Bokhara. Appollodotus and Menaudcr * certainly ruled over Cabool, their copper coins being found in such numbers, and so constantly, as to prove they were once a currency there ; but then, as regards Appollodotus, Cabool is held to have been merely a province, his capital being established elsewhere, to be looked for, perhaps, where his copper money was circular instead of square, as at Cabool, and such circular coins are discovered more eastward in the Punjaub, and even at Muttra (the old Mcthora), on the Jumna. Masson strongly suspects the kingdom of Appollodotus and Menaudcr to have been rather Indian than Bactrian ; and Professor Lassen supposes three kingdoms to have existed besides that of Bactria, of which the eastern, under IMcnandcr and Appollodotus, comprehended the Punjaub and the valley of the Indus, with Cabool ana Arachosia, or Candahar, added in times of prosperity. The western kingdom, he places conjecturally at Ileerat and in Seestau, and the third would include the Paropamisau region, which, however, Prinsep inclines to attribute to Bactria. t Unfortunately, no information has been obtained to prove how far north or west of Cabool the currencies of the aforesaid kings spread, otherwise the limits of their rule might have been partially traced in those directions. The Greeks, under Menaudcr, made extensive conquests, subduing the Seres and Shauni to the north and north-east of India ; crossing the Hy- panis (IIyphasis,orBcyah), and proceeding as iar as the Isamus to the south-eastward ; and * "Whether Appollodotus succeeded or preceded Menander is uncertain, Ijut an opinion may be raised that althougii always mentioned first, he really fol- lowed Menander, because his circular coins so closely resemble in style and i'abric tliose of Azcs (in Bac- tro-Pali, Aya) that it is evident the one currency followed the other, in the I'unjaiib and to the east, but not in Cabool, where that of Ilermias prevailed. on the south-westward reducing Pattalenc, that is, the country about Tatta, forming the Delta of the Indus. All the interme- diate territory ap])cars, from the statement of Strabo, to have been vanquished; and we might form a tolcraljly satisfactory conclu- sion as to its extent, but for doubts suggested of the meaning of the word I.iamus. This is by some considered to denote the Jumna Uiver, by others the Himalaya Mountains {sometimes called Imaus), and, thirdly, with perhaps better reason, tlic Isamutti River, which falls into the Ilooghly, a western branch of the Ganges. BaclriaProper, as established by Diodotus, appears to have continued through his suc- cessors Diodotus II., Euthydemus, Eucra- tides, and his successor (supposed by De Guigncs and Bayer to have been his son and murderer, Eucratidcs II., but by Mas- son, Ilelioclcs), until about 125 years B.C., when, (according to Chinese records, quoted by Dc Guigncs) a great movement which took place in Central or Eastern Tartary impelled across the Jaxartes (Sir) an irre- sistible torrent of Scythian hordes. Tliis statement is corroborated by the testimony of Strabo, who gives the names of the four principal tribes by whom the overthrow of the Greek kingdom was eflFected. From these names they would appear to have been composed of a mixture of Gct;e or Goths, Dahi or Dacians, Sakarauli or Sakas, and Tochari, perhaps, but not certainly, Turks. All seized portions of Bactria ; and after some time the Geta; subdued the others, and advanced upon India. Crossing the Hindoo Koosh, they dispossessed the suc- cessor of HermiaSj if not the old king him- self ; and their presence is very clearly indicated by tliose coins bearing the name of that king, with the prefix Su. Soon after the coinage was varied ; busts probably in- tended to represent their own kings or chiefs were introduced, and Bactro-Pali legends oa the revei-sc, much diflering from the Greek ones encircling the busts — the latter, indeed, becoming unintelligible. The Getaj, more- over, we arc assured, retained power in the countries bordering on the Indus for foirr ccntiu'ics — liable, necessarily, to vicissitudes. For this remark, as well as other information inter- woven in the text conveying a brief sketch of Bac- trian affairs, 1 am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Charles Masson. t Because of the bilingual as well as pure Greek coins of Ileliocles and Antimaehus, kings of Bactria. — llistoricat Results dedueible from recent discoverits in AfghunUtan, by H. Prinsep. Esq., p. 66. 50 PERSIA AND CENTRAL INDIA SUBDUED BY THE CALIPHS. but stili maintaining themselves until finally j overcome by the Huns. The Partbians ' benefited by the occasion of attacking Eu- cratides, and deprived him of two satrapies ; but although certain coins bearing a national tinge, with an attempted imitation of the names and titles of Heliocles are fouud in Cabool, there is little other e\ddence of Pai-thian rule there — while in the Pun- jaub, immediately on the banks of the Indus, there is more. It is not impro- bable, that they contested the possession of Cabool with the Getse, but were unsuccess- ful, and directed their attention rather to Sinde, and thence ascended the Indus ; but it may be doubted if these Parthians were those established in Persia — although of the same or kindred race — they may have been Dalia;. Though weakened and disorgan- ised, Bactria cannot have been entirely overwhelmed by Scythian or Parthian in- cm-sions, that is not in the time of Eucra- tides or Heliocles, since Horace, 120 years later, deemed it of sufficient importance to engage the attention of Augustus. Its final disruption by Parthian agency must have been of considerably later date. The fortunes of Partkia likewise under- went considerable vicissitudes. Arsaces pos- sessed only Parthia and Hyrcania, the nucleus of his sovereignty being the colo- nies planted by Alexander eighty years be- fore. His immediate successors were brave and valiant, and their empire at one time ex- tended from the Euphrates to the Jaxartes ; but whether it included or received tribute from the ancient soil of the Hindoos is little better than matter of conjecture.* The sceptre of Persia continued to be wielded by this line until a.d. 235, when Ardeshur Babakun, or Artaxerxes, a distinguished ofificer of the Parthian army — having been slighted by the reigning monarch, Arsaces- Artabanus — revolted, and after three severe battles, conquered and slew Artabanus, and established his own dynasty, the Sassanian, being crowned at Balkh, where his last vic- tory was gained. Thus closed the Greco- Parthian dominion in central Asia, after a continuance of very nearly 500 years ; and the same date marks the end of the tran- sition of Parthia back from Hellenism to an entirely Asiatic sovereignty and condition of society. The system of government had been always purely Asiatic ; that is, by sub- ordinate satraps or viceroys invested with full and absolute authority over the person and property of the people committed to their charge. Alexander had experienced the evils of thus forming an Impmum in imperio in every province, in the misconduct of several satraps during his absence in the Indian campaign ; and, had he lived, would probably have introduced a sounder system j but his successors had neither the ability to plan, nor perhaps opportunity to execute, any such radical change in their respective governments. They lacked, moreover, the prestige of their great master's name and character, which had alone enabled him to check the ambition or rapacity of his vice- gerents, by the exercise of an arbitrary power of removal. After his death, the method generally adopted of controlling, removing, or punishing a military satrap, was to turn against him the arms of a rival neighbour. The result was, of course, the origin of a number of irresponsible despots. Keeping this in mind, it is the less surprising that Parthian coins should be found, asserting independence and bearing arrogant titles, in Afghanistan, since these may indicate nothing but the temporary successes or pre- tensions of various petty satraps. f The most celebrated of the later Sassanian kings was Chosroes, who reigned from 531 to 571 ; his grandson was deposed in 628, and after a few years of tumult and distraction, Persia fell under the power of the Caliphs, by whom it has ever since been ruled. • Mithridates II., who reigned in the early part of the century before the Christian era, and whose death was followed by an interregnum of civil war, or doubtful sovereignty, in Parthia, was the first of the Arsacida! who adopted the title of " Great King of Kings," which is believed to be of Indian origin, and was probably assumed after the acquisition of coun- tries bordering on India. — Prinsep's llislorical lie- sults, p. 07. t I 'idc I'rinsep's Iliatorical Results, for much in- teresting discussion regarding Bactrian coins, espe- cially tlie opinions of Wilson, Masson, and Lassen ; al«o regarding the newly-deciphered language gene- rally used in writing, when Greek became quite extinct, called .\rian, Arianian, Bactrian, and Ca- boolian, according to tiie supposed locality of its native use. Mr. James Prinsep, (whose laborious investigations had before been mainly instrumental in restoring the language of the ancient Indian kings who made treaties with Antiochus and Selcucus,) while examining coins with bilingual inscriptions, used the names given in Greek on one side, te find out those of Uie unknown language on the other. He thus obtained a key to the alpliabet, and deciphered words which proved to be Pracrit (the vernacular form of Sanscrit), written semitically from right to left. There are still, however, some inscri])tions in the Allan characters upon rocks and on tlie relics of topes and tumuli, remaining to reward further research. ElSli OF MOHAMMEDANISM IN ARABIA— SEVENTH CENTURY. 51 MolIAMMRDAN TO BlUTISIT Epocii. — In tlio bcgiiiniiif^ of the scvciilli century, when tlie Christian cliureli was torn by dissensions and perplexed by heresies, and Mhen IIk; greater part of the inhabitants of Asia andof Afriea were sunk in Ijarbarism, enfeebled by sen- suality, or enslaved liv idolatry, there arose on the shores of the l{ed Sea, a Power, at once religious and militant, which ra])idly attained and has since continued to exeieisc an extraordinary inllucnce on the coiulition of one-third of the liuman race. Arabia is considered by oriental writers to have been originally colonised l)y the pos- terity of Shcni and Ham, the former having followed pastoral, the latter agricultural pur- suits ; to these were subsequently added a mixed race — the descendants of Abraham, through Tshmael, the son of Ilagar tlin l)ond- wonian.* The posterity of Ham, through Cash and Nimrod, his son and grandson, brought with them from Mesopotamia one of the most ancient languages (supposed to be the Himyaritie, still spoken in j)arts of the country), and the creed of the Patriarchs, or at least a ])ortiou of it ; that is, the exist- ence of one Ood, the Creator and Governor of the world, and the doctrine of the resur- rection of the dead, of future rewards and punishments. A sense of sin and unwor- thiness probaldy induced " the adoration of heavenly spirits as mediators between man and one immutable Holy Being ; and to these they raised temples and altars for sacrifices and supplications, to which were subsequently added fastings."t The sun and moon next became tlie objects of wor- ship, at first probably as symbols ; next followed the seven planets, tlie twelve signs of the zodiac, and the twenty-four constella- tions. Almost every tribe had its ])eculiar idol, dead men were worshipped, and also angels or genii ; some even denied all kinds of revelation, having sunk into the lowest depths of idolatry ; but the descendants of Shcm passed from pure Theism iiito Sabaj- ism, or a belief in the peopling of the heavenly bodies with superior intelligences, by whom the lives and actions of men were regulated. The immigration of a few Jewish and Christian tribes bad introduced among the more thoughtful, purer notions both of faith and practice ; but tbese had made little progress among the mass of the people, * Istunael is said to li.ivc married the daughter of Mozauz or Modhaugh, the sovereign of Hijaz. — (See tabular genealogies of these three tribes in Colonel Chesney's work on the Euphrates and Tigris, vol. i.) who, as regarded their political and social state, were still, as they had been for ages, to a great extent isolated by ])ovcrty and by geographical position, from the rest of the w(jrld. Their country, consisting of some mountain tracts and rich oases, sepa- rated or surrounded by a sandy desert, has been aptly compared to the coasts and islands of a sea. J The desert was thinly scattered with small camps of predatory horsemen, who ])itclied their tents \vhcrever a well of water could be found ; and aided by the much-enduring camel, overspread ex- tensive regions, to the great peril and anx- iety of peaceful travellers. Tiic settled in- habitants, though more civilized, were scarcely less simple in their habits; the various tribes formed distinct communities, between whom there could be little commu- nication except by rapid journeys on horse- i)aclc or tedious marches, in the present caravanseray fashion. Each tribe acknow- ledged as its chief the representative of their common ancestor; but probably little check was ever imposed upon the liberty of indi- viduals, save in rare cases, when the general interest imperatively demanded such inter- ference. The physical features of the land and its scanty agricultural resources helped to foster the hardy and self-reliant character of its sons, who, unconnected by the strong ties of religious or commercial fellowship, and never compelled to unite against a foreign foe, found vent in the innumerable feuds which constantly spring up between independent tribes and families, for the warlike and roving instincts which seem so inseparably bound up with tlic wiry, lithe- some, sui)ple frame, and the fiery, yet ima- ginative and sensuous temperament, of the Arab. Such a people, united for a common pur- pose under a common leader, might, it was evident, accomplish extraordinary results; and purpose and leader were presented to them in the person of a man, whose fame as a subjug.ator may be mentioned in the same page with that of Alexander the Great, and who, as a lawgiver, takes much higher rank — higher, that is, in the sense of hanng used and abused powers never entrusted to the iMaccdouian. INIohammed the False Pro- phet, was, beyond all doubt, intimately acquainted with both the Jewish and Chris- The sons of Ilani, Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan peopled parts of AVcstern .\sia, as well as .Vfrica. t £cchell,iisis, Chrnn. Orien., App., c. 6, p. 148. X Elphinstone, vol. i., p. 488. 53 MOHAMMED, THE FALSE PROPHET. tian scriptures, lie recognised the mighty truths they contained, and the sharp wea- pons those truths would afford, wielded against idolatry. Incited by strangely- Ijlendcd motives of ambition and fanaticism, he boldly defied the curse pronounced on those most impious of all deceivers, who shall dare to add unto, or take away from, the revealed word of God. {Revelation, ch. xxii. V. 18, 19.) It is necessary to know something of his private life, before we can understand the steps by which an unknown enthusiast sprang suddenly into importance; and, gathering together with marvellous skill and energy the scattered tribes, formed them into a nation, prohibited retaliation without the previous sanction of a trial and a sentence, and in short, induced them to abandon intes- tine strife and combine in a religious crusade. Mohammed was born a.d. 5G9, at Jilecca, one of the oldest cities in the world, and belonged to the head family of the tribe of Koreish, who were the hereditary guardians of the great temple of Caaba, which is built round a well, supposed to be that miraculously pointed out to Hagar to save the life of Ishmael. Tradition declares the temple itself, or at least the first temple whicli existed on this site, to have been vouchsafed in answer to the prayer of Adam, who im- plored that he might be permitted to have a sanctuary like that in which lie liad wor- shipped in Eden. The prayer was granted, and in curtains of light a model of the para- disaical temple was let down, precisely beneath the spot where the original had stood. On this model Seth built a temple, which was swept away by the deluge, but rebuilt l)y Abraham and Isaac. The worship offered in the Caaba was at the beginning of the sixth century idolatrous, the chief objects being Abraham and Ishraacl, to whose images, each holding a bunch of arrows, such as the Arabs use for divining, regular worsliip was offered. Thus Abraham, the divinely-com- missioned witness against idolatry, became in process of time the object of the very crime he had so zealously condemned. With him and his son there appear to have been in all 3G0 gods, the number having pro- bably reference to the days of the Persian year. The chief command of the Caaba and of the city were vested in the same person, and to this double office of priest and eliief JMo- liammcd was presumptive heir, when the death of his father Abdullah before his grandfather, cut him off from the succession, and threw him a destitute orphan on the care of his uncle, Abu Taleb, who taught liim the business of a merchant, and carried him on long trading journeys into Syria, thus giving him early insight into foreign countries and creeds. When but fourteen, jMohanimed entered into a rancorous war that had broken out among the tribes, and greatly dis- tinguished himself for courage and abilit}\ Till twenty-five he remained in the service of his uncle, and then married Kadijah, the richly-endowed widow of a merchant of Mecca. Thus raised to independence, he was enabled to pursue tlie objects most con- genial to his own mind ; Imt the nature of his occupations for many years is unknown. Some suppose him to have employed that long interval in the study of various manu- scripts, although throughout his life he con- stantly affirmed liimself unable to read or write* a single word. It is very possible that, by the aid of a retentive memory, he might have obtained orally a great part, or even the whole, of the information he possessed, espe- cially with regard to the unity of God, by intercourse with a cousin of his wife's, named Warka ben Naufel, who was skilled in Jewish learning, and is said to have translated the Scriptures from Hebrew into Arabic. He withdrew himself at length from all society, and spent long periods in complete solitude in the cave of ilara, near his native city, giving free scope to meditations, which brought him to the verge if not actually into the abyss of insanit}', and opened a door for fancied visions and every species of mental delusion. At length, when about forty years of age, he declared his alleged mission to his wife, and afterwards to a few of his family; and, some three or four years after, publicly announced himself as " the last and greatest of the prophets." He is represented as having been a man of middle size, singularly mus- cular, with a very large head, prominent forehead, eyebrows nearly meeting, but di- vided by a vein, whicli in times of excite- ment throbbed violently, black flashing eyes, aquiline nose, full and florid cheeks, large mouth, and small teeth of the most exquisite whiteness ; glossy black hair fell over his shoulders, and a full beard flowed down upon his chest. His countenance is alleged to have been beautiful in the extreme, and to • Pci'liaps tlie strongest presumption against the trutli of tliis assertion, is the cirevimstance of his calling for a pen that he might write, while delirious, during his last illness. Tiie ret^uesl was refused. THE IIEJIRA OR FLIGHT FROM MECCA— a.d. 622. 53 Iiavo a<l(l(Ml not !i little to tliocfl'i'ct produced l)y his iusiiiuatiuf; address and coiisiniiiiiatc cloquoiiee upon the impressionahie natures of his oounti-ynien.* The creed he first taught was simply this : — " There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet;" find all who received and repeated this compre- hensive formnla were styled "true believers." The Koran he declared to be a perfect book, already written in lieavcn, but communicated to him in portions only, through the medium of the angel Gabriel. This provision cna!)led him to disseminate his doctrines gradually, to observe tlio manner in which they were received, and to modify and even change them at successive periods ; but, at the same time, the very facility of obviating imme- diate diflicultics, led to many discrepancies and contradictions in his pretended revela- tions. In spite, however, of much extrava- gance, of the wildest dreams related as if sober realities, and, worse than all, of the glaring impiety of pleading the Divine com- mand as a reason for intolerance and immo- rality, many chapters of the Koran are still remarkable as compositions. f They stamp their author as far superior to any existing writer of his country, and even exhibit him in the light of a reformer — for his religion was founded on the sublime theology of the Old Testament, and his morality, faulty indeed in comparison with the Christian code, was yet far purer than that then general in Arabia, for it must be remem- bered that INIohammed represented himself as privileged to break through at pleasure the very rules he most strenuously enforced on others. The Koran abounds in ad- monitions to spiritual and moral exccUenec, enunciates the necessary laws and directions for the guidance of Alohammcdans, and especially enjoins the worship and reverence of the only true God, and resignation to his will. In the course of its 111 chapters, Adam, Noah, !Moses, Joseph, David, Solo- mon, and other patriarchs, prophets, and kings, are referred to by name, the facts being evidently derived fi'om the Jewish Scriptures, the fictions in which they are enveloped, from tradition, or more fre- quently from the teeming brain of the im- * Foi- a graphic and condensed account of the im- postor and liis early proceedinjjs, see a publislied lecture on Mohammcdiinism, by the Rev. W. Arthur. Major Price's comj)cndious Mttlnnnmcdan History is an excellent book of reference, as well as of agree- able reading. t " The style of the Koran," says its able trans- lator, Mr. Sale, " is generally beautiful and fluent. postor. It seems almost profanati(jn to mention the sacred name of the Great !{cdeciuer in connection with the lying tales of the False Prophet. Suffice it to say that Ilis divine mission is recognised iu the Koran, but His divinity denied. For ten years after the first public an- nouncement of his alleged calling, IMoham- med continued to play the part of a zealous and enduring missionary, sufi'cring liimself " to be abused, to be spit upon, to have dust thrown upon liim, and to be dragged out of the temple by his own turban fastened to his neck."j Persecution had its nsual cfl'cct of drawing its object into notice ; liis doctrines gradually took root, until, upon the death of his uncle and protector, Abu Talcb, the rulers of Mecca determined on his destruction. lie lost his faithful wife and earliest convert, Kadijab, about the same time, and a comiilete change came over him. At Medina, 270 miles from ]\Ieeca, his doctrines had been favourably received, and a deputation from that city invited him to become its governor. lie gladly fled thither, escaping, by stratagem, from a con- spiracy formed in jNIccca, leaving his young cousin Ali lying on his bed, covered with his well-known green robe. The Ilejira or flight forms the era from which !Mohammedans date ; it occurred a.d. 622. On his arrival at !Mediua, whither all his converts followed him, he was immediately made governor. j\Iany Jews and Christians then resided there, the latter he rather favoured, but the former as a nation incurred his bitter enmity, by indignantly rejecting his overtures to become proselytes, or to aid in making Jerusalem the head-quarters of the new creed. Once established at ]\Icdina he built a mosque, threw ofi' his submissive attitude, and declared his intention of having recourse to arms in his own defence, and also for the conversion or extermination of infidels. He strengthened his cause by several mar- riages, and subsequently added to the num- ber, as policy or inclination prompted, until he had fifteen, or as some say, twenty- one so-called legitimate wives — other men being allowed four at the utmost. The true secret of his success probably lay in the cispecially where it imitates the prophetic manner and scripture phrases : it is concise and often obscure, adorned with bold figures after the Eastern taste, and in many places, especially where the majesty and attributes of God are described, sublime and magniticcnt." — (Preliminnrtj Discourse, )). 44.) X Tiirikhi Tahari ; quoted by Col. Kennedy, in the Sombcuj Literary 2'ransactions, vol. iii. 54 DEATH OF MOHAMMED, a.d. 732.— HIS SUCCESSORS. force of his grand doctrine of the unity and omnipotence of God, as contrasted with idolatry. This he declared was to be in- sisted upon everywhere, at the cost of life itself, which it was meritorious to lavish freely, whether that of believers in spreading the right faith, or of infidels to lessen their number. The enthusiastic Arabs were easily induced to unite as fellow-workers in an enterprize they believed enjoined by the direct command of God, and eagerly dared the fiercest contest in the battle-field, intoxicated by the lying words which as- serted that " the sword is the key of heaven and of hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, or a night spent under arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer. "Whoever falls in battle, his sins ai'e forgiven at the day of judgment ; his wounds shall be resplendent as vermillion and odoriferous as musk ; the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubims."* The first contest, which took jilace at Beder between 300 of the Mohammedans and 900 of the Koreish tribe, terminated in favour of the new sect, and laid the foundation of a great military empire, of sucli rapid growth, that when in the tenth year of the Hejira, and the sixty-third of his age, Mohammed lay writhing in the last strug- gles of the long agony of four years' duration, which followed the eating of the poisoned dish prepared by the persecuted Jews of Chaibar — not only was all Arabia united under his swav, but the king of Persia, the emperor of Rome, and the king of Ethiopia had been called upon to acknow- ledge his divine mission and receive the Koran : the dominions of the emperor (Hera- clius) had indeed been actually invaded by a successful expedition into Syria. Yet this was but the nucleus of the singular power exercised by his successors, for instead of falling to pieces like a snow-ball in the contest for its possession, as might have been expected, since Mohammed, like Alex- ander, left no undoubted heir, the reins of government were placed by his followers in the hand of Abubekir, one of the earliest of the so-called " true believers," in spite of the opposition of AH, the cousin and son-in- law of Mohammed, who had expected to be * Tl'.e Decline and Fall of the liomitn Empire, contains a detailed account of llie rise and progress of the Moslem empire, wiltten with all the power and caustic irony peculiar to Gibbon. t That is, civil and spiritual ruler, or high-pontiff. chosen caliph and iraaum.f Abubekir, fearing the revival of the domestic feuds of tribes or clans, forthwith proclaimed anew throughout the Arabian peninsula the favourite and convenient doctrine of the False Prophet, that fighting for religion was the most acceptable service which man could render to his Maker, and declared his intention of sending an army for the com- plete subjugation of Syria. The life and rule of Abubekir terminated in two years. In accordance with his desire, Omar, a noble citizen of Mecca, acceded to the supreme authority, with the title of " commander of the faithful." Under his vigorous rule the Arabs invaded Persia and utterly destroyed the second or Parthian empire, gained complete possession of Syria, after defeating 40,000 Greeks in a severe contest on the Yermuk, a river running into the lake of Tiberias, and, as a crowning triumph, compelled the surrender of Jerusa- lem, for which, as the " city of the pro- phets," Mohammed had always professed high veneration. Egypt was over-run by Khaled, a general whose victories had procured from Moham- med the title of " the sword of God," and Alexandria was speedily added to the bril- liant roll of Mussulman conquests. The great abilities, united to extreme simplicity and purity of life, which distinguished Omar, doubtless contributed to the spread of the doctrines and temporal sway of the people he governed. At the expiration of ten years he was slain while praying in the mosque, by a Persian, whose rage was ex- cited by being obliged to pay two pieces of silver daily, as a penalty for refusing to abjure his faith — the alternatives oft'ered by the Mohamrnedans, being "the Koran, tribute, or the sword." The large majority of the conquered chose the first, especially in Persia, wliere a lifeless form of govern- ment and a fantastic and superstitious creed, needed but a slight shock to hasten the pro- gress of decay, and crumble into dust, to be moulded anew and receive vital energy, iu greater or less degree, according to the will and ability of the first dominant power which might be l)rought to bear upon it. The doctrine of the unity and omnipotence of God was received by the Persians as a mighty truth, divinely revealed to man, as it really was, notwithstanding the false and distorted medium through which it reached them, and it must liave peculiarly commended itself to all who had seriously considered the FORTUNES OF THE AEAB EMPIRE— a.d. 644 to 1258. ba suhjent of rclij;ioii, l)y frrciiif; thciri from tlic cntlu'iilinc-iit of a f'owar'Jly iuid (U-^riulin^ system, wliicli taiiglit men to seek the aid or deprecate tlie wrath of bein};s who added to superliuman influence the worst viecs of fallen creatures. Otlinian succeeded Omar, but (|uiekly displeased his jjenerals, and at the close of a turbulent reign of twelve years, was besieged in his own house, and after a long defence, murdered with the Koran on his knee. Ali was at length elected caliph, not- withstanding the rivalry of Mauwiyah, the lieutenant of Syria, but assassinated within five years in Persia, while entering a mosque for evening worship. His son and successor Hassan, was defeated by Mauwiyah and abdicated in his favour. The new caliph, the founder of the dynasty of the Onimiades, extended the dominion of the Arabs to the Atlantic, having subjugated all Roman or Northern Afi'iea. In A.I). 713, Spain was subdued, and the Mussulmans continued to advance until they had reached the heart of France, but were met on the Loire, in 732, between Poitiers and Tours, by Charles ]\Iartel, and utterly routed. The last caliph of the dynasty of the Ommiades (JNIcrwan) was slain in a sedition raised by the descendants of Abl)as, JMoham- med's uncle. The second priuec of this dynasty built the city of Bagdad and re- moved the seat of -government thither ; the fifth was the famous Haroun al Raschid. Under the Abbassides learning flourished and the original simplicity of the court gave way to luxury and magnificence, but the coherent strength of the now vast empire was on the decline, and a gradual but sure progress of dismemberment eomuienced. In Spain, a branch of the Ommiades maintained an independent sway ; Khorassan and Trans- oxiana b<, amc virtually independent, and in Egypt, deSecnrlants of Fatima, (daughter of Mohammed and wife to Ali,) established a distinct caliphate. The fortunes of these new powers will be noticed when connected with India, as also those of the Seljuk tribe, whose barbarities at Jerusalem (under the • Islam, dei'ived from an Arabic root, signifies "the true faith," Moslem or Mussulman a believer therein. t Mohammed Kasim, surnamed Ferishta, resided at the court cf Ibrahim Adil Sliah II., at Beejapoor, about the close of the sixteenth century, and, sus- tained by royal patronage and assistance in collecting authorities, wrote a history of the rise of the Moham- medan power in India till the year \C>\'2, which has been ably translated from tlie original Persian by dreaded name of Saracens) provoked the nations of (yliristcndoin to attempt the rescue of the Holy Ijatid ; but the struggle carried on there for nearly three centuries, never imme- diately affected the centre of the Moham- medan empire, which continued at Bagdad for about 500 years. ]\Iustassem was caliph when Hulaku, a descendant of the cele- brated Jengis Khan, besieged and captured Hagdad. The cruel victor, after mocking his wretched prisoner with vain hopes until he had obtained his hidden treasures, ex- posed him for seme days to the lingering torments of .starvation, and then, under the pretence of unwillingness to shed his blood, caused him to be wrapped in coarse camlet, and rolled about on the ground until he expired. Thus perished the last of the Abbassides, a.d. 12.58. In the city alone, 800,000 persons, or according to some au- thorities, a much greater number were slain, so that the Tigris was dyed with gore. Indo-Arabic Conquests. — In .\.n. 0G4, a large force marched from Meru to Cabool, and made converts of upwards of 12,000 persons. At the same time, Mohalib, (after- wards an eminent commander in Persia and Arabia,) proceeded thence with a detach- ment in the direction of India, penetrated to Moultan, and having ])lundcred the country, triumphantly rejoined the army at Khoras- san, bringing with him many captives, who were compelled to declare themselves converts to the Moslem*crced. No further attempt is recorded as having been made on the north of India during the continuance of the Arab rule, but the prince of Cabool appears to have been rendered tributary, if not subject to the caliphs, since his revolt is mentioned by Ferishta,t as the occasion of a new in- vasion of his territories eighteen years later. The Arabs at this period met with an unex- pected check : they were drawn into a de- file, defeated, and compelled to surrender, and to purchase their freedom by an ample ransom. One old contemporary of Moham- med is said to have disdained all compro- mise, and to have fallen by the swords of the infidels. This disgrace was immediately revenged by the Arab governor of Seestau, Colonel Briggs. A considerable portion of it had been jireviously rendered into English by Colonel Dow, but the value of his work is lessened by mis- translations, and also by being largely interspersed with reticctions and facts collated from other sources, which, though often interesting and important in themselves, are so closely interwoven with the text as to leave the reader in doubt regarding the portion , which actually rests on the testimony of Ferishta. 56 AEAB INVASIONS OF WESTERN INDIA— a.d. 699 to 710. and yet more completely by Abdureliman, governor of Khorassan, who in a.d. 699, led a. powerful army in person against the city, and reduced the greater part of the country to subjection. A quarrel with Hejaj, the governor of Bassora, led Abdurehman into rebellion against the reigning caliph (Abdel- melck, one of the Ommiades), whereupon he formed an alliance with his former enemy, the prince of Cabool, in whose dominions he was compelled to take re- fuge, and at length, to avoid being given up to his enemies, committed suicide.* The nation to which this prince of Cabool belonged is rendered doubtful by the posi- tion of his capital at a corner where the countries of the Paropamisau Indians, the Afghans, the Persians, and the Tartars are closely adjoining each other. Elphinstoue supposes him to have been a Persian, and considei's it very improbable that he could have been an Afghan, as Cabool is never known to have been possessed by a tribe of that nation. At this period the northern portion of the tract included in the branches of the Hindoo Coosh, and now inhabited by the Eimaks and Ilazarehs, was known by the name of the mountains of Glior, and probably occupied by Afghans, as also the middle part, all of which seems to have been included in the mountains of Solimau.t The southern portion,' known by the name of the mountains of Mekran, were inhabited by Beloochees as at present ; and the other ridges connected with the same range as those of Ghor, but situated to the east of the range of Imaus and Soliman; were probably tenanted by Indians, descendants of the Paropamisadse. Ferishta seems to have been led by their traditions to believe the Af- ghansf to have been converted to Moham- medanism in the life-time of its originator, and represents them as invading the terri- tory of the Hindoos as early as a.h. 63, and • Kholasat al AlMar, and tlie Tarihhi Tahari, ([uoted by Price (vol. i., pp. 45j — 4G3). t Elphinsloiie, vol. i., 4'J6. I am informed by Mr. Masson, on the authority of Mirza Sami, the minister of Dost Mohammed, who corrected the mistake made by Sir A. Burnes on the subject in his presence, that the term Hindoo Coosh is esi)ccially given to the high peak of the range to wliicli it belongs, immediately overhanging Ghosband, although it is applied, in ordinary parlance, to some extent of the range stretching east or north-east. X Ferishta records, on the anthority of tlie Mutla- ool-Anwar, a work .supposed to be no longer extant, but which !ie describes as written l)y a respectal)le author, that the Afghans are Copts of the race of the as afterwards continually eng.iged in hos- tilities with the Rajah of Lahore, until, in conjunction with the Gukkurs (a people on the hills east of the Indus), they obtained from him a cession of territory, secretly engaging in return to protect him from the attacks of other Mussulmans. It was owing to this compact that the princes of the house of Samani never invaded the north of India, but confined their predatory incursions to Sinde. Ferishta further mentions that the Afghans gave an asylum to the remains of the Arabs who were driven out of Sinde in the secoiad century of the Hejira. § This account is on the whole sufficiently probable. The Afghans may have willingly received the Koran 1| long before their subju- gation by Sultan Mahmood. On the sub- ject of their early religion, Mohammedan historians afibrd no light, owing to their not distinguishing denominations of infidels. Arab descents on Sinde by sea are men- tioned as early as the caliphate of Omar, but they were probably piratical expeditions, undertaken for the purpose of carrying off the women of the country, whose beauty seems to have been much esteemed in Ara- bia. Several detachments were also sent through the south of IMekran (the Gedrosia of Alexander), during the reigns of the early caliphs, but all failed owing to the impracti- cable character of this barren region. At length, in the reign of the caiipt Walid, an Arab ship laden with slave-girls and rarities from Sinde having been seized at Dival or Dcwal, a sea-port connected with Sinde (supposed to be the site of the modern Kurrachee), the rajah, named Dahir by the Mussulmans, was called on for resti- tution. The capital of this prince was at Alor, near Bukkur, and he possessed Moul- tan and all Siude, with, perhaps, the adjoin- ing plain of the Indus, as far as the moun- tains at Calabagh. His territory was por- tioned out among his relations, probably Pharaohs, many of whom, after the overthrow of the infidel monarch and his host in the Ked Sea, became converts to tlie true faith; but others, stubborn and self-willed, continued obstinate, and, leaving their country, came to India and settled in tlie Soliman Mountains under the name of Afghans. (Briggs' Ferisht<i,\o\. i., p. G.) The jieople themselves claim descent from Afghaun, grandson of Saul, kiiigof Israel. § A quarter of the Balla llissar, or citadel of Ca- bool, retains the name of Arabah, and its occupants are of Araliie descent. II 'i'he Tartar nations, China, the Malay country and tlie Asiatic islands, afford evidence of the jiropa- gation of the religion of the Mussulmans, iaae- pendeiit of their arms. \ < \ / 9 CAPTURE OP THE FORT OF ALOR BY CASIM— a.d. 711. 57 Rii tl>e feudal tenure still common amoiip; tlie Rajpoots. Diiliir refused conipliunee with tlio demand of Waiid^ on t!ic j^round that Dcwal was not suliject to his .-uithority ; the excuse was deemed uusatisfactorj', and a body of 1,000 infantry and iJOO horse were dcspatciicd to Sindc; but this inade- quate force pcrislicd like its predecessors on the road. Ilejaj, the Ijcforc-mcntioned governor of Bassora, prei)arcd a regular army of G/)()0 men at Shiraz, and entrusted the command to his sou-in-law, Mohammed Casim, then only twenty years of age. By him the troops were safely conducted to the walls of Dewal, a.ii. 'J2 (a.d. 711). Casim, being provided with catapultas and other engines, commenced operations by attacking a celebrated pagoda without the city, sur- rounded by a high enclosure of hewn stone, and occupied, in addition to the numerous Brahmin inhabitants, by a strong gai-rison of Rajpoots. The Arab leader having learned that the safety of the place was believed to be connected with that of the sacred standard displayed on the tower of the temple, directed his engines against this object, and having succeeded in bringing it to the ground, the dismay of the besieged soon terminated in surrender. The town was like- wise taken, and a rich booty obtained. The Brahmins rejected the proposed test of con- version- — circumcision : all above the age of seventeen were put to death, and tlie re- mainder, with the women, reduced to slavery. Brahmanabad, NcronKow (now Hyderabad), Schwan, and Salem* were in turn reduced, and Casim, strengthened by a reinforcement of 2,000 horse from Persia, continued to advance, notnithstauding the op])Osition of a powerful force under the rajah's eldest son, until he reached the neighbourhood of Alor or Abhor, where he was confronted by the r.ajah himself, at the head of 40,000 men. The disproportion of numbers rendered retreat or advance equally hazardous for the invader, who prudently ensconced his small forcet in a strong position, and awaited the attack of the Hindoos, anxiously watching for any error or disaster which might create • Thesile of lirahriKinabad is supposed by Burnes to be marked by the ruins close to the modern town of Tatta (Travels, vol. iii., p. 31), but Captain M'Murdo {li. A. S. Journal, No. I., p. 28), thinks it must have been situated on the other side of the pre- sent course of the Indus, nnicli farther to the north- east. Sehwan still retains its ancient name. The site of Salem is doubtful. + It is stated in a work, abstracted from the family aimals of Mawab Bahawal Khan, and translated and disorder among their unwieldy ranks. Such a circumstance occurred at an early period of the engagement. A najjtha fire-ball struck the rajah's elephant, and the terrified anitnal becoming absolutely ungovernable, rushed from the field of battle and plunged into the adjacent river ludiis. Duhir, al- thotigh severely wounded by an arrow, mounted his war-horse and returned imme- diately to the scene of action, Ijut the dis- appearance of the leader had produced its usual effect on an Asiatic army; the fortune of the day was already decided ; and the brave rajah, after vainly attempting to rally his panie-strickcn forces, plunged into the midst of the Arab cavalry, and, with a small baud of trusty followers, fell covered with wounds. His son fled to Brahmanabad, but his widow collected the remains of tlic routed army and successfully defciuled the city, until famine within the walls proved a more powerful enemy than the sword with- out. Inflamed by her cxann)lc, a body of Raj- poots resolved to devote themselves and their families to death, after the manner of their tribe. When all hope of deliverance had fled, they bathed, and with other ceremonies took leave of each other and the world; the women and children were then sacrificed on a fune- real pile, and the men, headed by the widow of Dahir, flung open the gates of the for- tress, and all perished in an attack on the Mohammedan camp. The city was then car- ried by storm, those who remained in arras were slaughtered, and their families reduced to bondage. A last desperate stand was made at Ash- candr.a, after which Moultan seems to have fallen without resistance, and every part of the dominions of the ill-fated DahirJ was gradually subjected. Each city was called upon to embrace the religion of Mohammed or to pay tribute; in default of both, an assault was commenced, and unless saved by timely capitulation, the fighting men were put to death and their families sold for slaves. Four cities held otit to the last extremity; and in two of them the number of soldiers who were refused quarter is esti- published by Shahamet Ali (a native gentleman in the service of the British government), under the title of.the Ilistonj of Bahawalpur (London, 1818), that a Brahmin of great abilitv forsook his master, the rajah, previous to the final conflict, and afforded great assistance to Casim; if so, he was probably accompanied by other deserters. \ In the history of Sinde, translated by the late Captain I'ostans, it is asserted that Dahir ruled Cabool, as weU as Sinde, and coins have been found 58 EXTINCTION OP ARAB POWER IN INDIA. mated at 6,000 each. The merchants, arti- zans, and such like were exempt from moles- tation, beyond what must have been insepa- rably connected with the storming of a town. "When the payment of tribute was agreed to, the sovereign retained his territory, sim- nly becoming amenable to the usual rela- tions of a tributary prince, and the people retained all their former privileges, including the free exercise of their religion. Casim himself, notwithstanding his ex- treme youth, seems to have united to mili- tary talents of the first order, discretion and ability to keep by conciliatory measures what he had gained by violence.* Several Hindoo princes were induced to join him during the wai", and at its conclusion he re-appointed the Hindoo prime minister of Daliir to his previous office, on the express ground that he was best qualified to protect old rights, and maintain established institutions. The conquest and occupation of Sinde being completed, the victor organised an army on a large scale, f By some writers he is alleged to have accomplished a trium- phant march to Canouj on the Ganges, estab- lishing a Mohammedan garrison in every large town on his route, when a sudden blow from a most unexpected source terminated at once his projects and his life. Among the females captured at Sinde were the two daughters of the ill-fated rajah, who, from their beauty and high rank, were deemed worthy to grace the seraglio of the Com- mander of the Faithful. There they re- mained until the year of the Hejira 96 (a.d. 714), when Walid became enamoured of the elder sister, who vehemently declared herself unworthy of his notice, having been dishonoured l^y Casim befoi'e being sent from her own country. The enraged caliph, in the first headlong impulse of passion, wrote with his own hand an order to Casim, that he should cause liimself to be sewn up in a raw hide and thus embrace the fate which he deserved. The faithful subject literally obeyed this tyraTuiical mandate, and his body was sent to Damascus. The caliph showed it to the princess, as evidence of the fate which attended those who dared insult the "deputy of the prophet," upon which she cxultiugly declared that his ill- fated servant was wholly innocent of the crime attributed to him, and had fallen a with Nagai'i legends, whicli Mr.Masson reads as refer- ring to Sri ])alur, but Professor Wilson, to Sri Malic. * A Persian MS., the Tarikhi Hind o Smd, pre- served in the India House, is tlie source whence most ^ictim to her successful stratagem, planned to revenge the death of her father, mother, brother, and countrymen. This strange and romantic incident is recorded with little variation by Mohammedan historians, and it is perfectly consistent with the determined character of the Hindoo women, where the objects of their affections are concerned, and also with the pure and unhesitating self- devotion repeatedly evinced by the servants of the caliphs. J The conquests of Casim were made over to his successor Temim, whose family pos- sessed them for about thirty-six years, that is, until the downfall of the house of Ommia, A.D. 750, when the Mussulmans were ex- pelled by the Rajpoot tribe of Sumera, and their territories restored to the Hindoos, who retained possession for nearly 500 years. Part of the expelled Ai'abs found refuge, (as before stated) among the Afghans. Such is the account given by Elphinstone, on the authority of Ferishta and the Ayeen Akbery — but in the History of Bahawa/pur, since published, it is asserted that on the ex- pulsion of the Ommia dynasty and the ac- cession of Abul Abbas, governors were sent out by him to Sinde and the Punjaub. But little resistance was made, and the Abbas house continued in the enjoyment of their Indian acquisitions without molestation, until the caliphate of Kader-Bellah, that is, for a period of 286 lunar years, at the ex- piration of which the formidable enemy of Hindoo independence, Mahmood of Ghuz- nce, appeared on the stage. These statements are quite contradictory; but whatever degree of influence or authority the Arabs may have retained after the check given by the death of their leader, Casim, it is certain that neither their power nor their creed spread, but rather diminished from that moment. The passive courage of the Hindoos generally, as well as the more active bravery of the Rajpoots, associated especially with a devoted attachment to a religion closely interwoven with their laws and customs — opposed great obstacles to in- vaders, even more desirous of converting than of conquering them. Besides this, the great change whicli took place in the spirit of the Mohammedan rulers, rendered their antagonism far less dangerous. The rude soldiers of Arabia, who had raised the accounts of Casim's military transactions are derived. t About ij(),0()0 Molianimedans are said to have collected around his standard on this occasion. t Briggs' Ferishta, vol. iv., p. 410. EISE OF THE KINGDOM OF GHUZNEE. 60 wild war cry of Islam, passed away ; ancccod- ing generations (iiUul their plaee, reared less hardily, wliilc their chiefs in an absorbing desire for luxury and magiiilieencc at home, cared little for the dear-bought triumphs of victory and the glory of their standard abroad. Omar set out to join his army at Jerusalem, (in compliance witli the stipulation of the ('iiristians that he should personally receive the surrender of the holy place), with his arms and provisions on the same camel with himself; and Otiiman ex- tinguished his lamp, when he had finished the necessary labours of the day, that the public oil might not be expended on his enjoyments. Al Malidi, within a century from the last-named ruler, loaded 500 camels with ice and snow; and the profusion of one day of the Abbassides would have de- frayed all the expenses of the four first caliphs. Thus it was left to other Mus- sulman nations, and to dynasties formed during the gradual dismemberment of the great Arab empire, to estabUsh permanent dominion in India. House of Ghuznee* — To i;nderstand the origin of this powerful family, it is necessary to retrace our steps, and briefly notice the country from whence they came. After the conquest of Persia, the Oxus became the northern Arab frontier : on the opposite side lay a tract of country (bounded ou the north by the Jaxartes, on the west by the Caspian Sea, and on the east by Mount Imaus,) to which they gave the name of Mawer ul Nahr, literally Beyond the River, but commonly translated Trans- oxania. It comprised much desert ground, intermingled with tracts of remarkable fer- tility, and was occupied partly by settled in- habitants, who were chiefly Persians, and partly by nomadic and pastoral tribes, com- prehended under the vague and general name of Tartars. f To which of the three great nations, commonly included iu Euro- pean writings under this head, the people of Transoxania belonged at this period, whether Turks, IMoguls, or IManchoos, is still unde- termined ; but the first-named people are generally supposed to have formed the bulk of the wandering and also a section of the * Ghiizneo, otherwise spelt Ghizni and Ghazni. t Tod, rcriiring to De Guignes, says — the Heong- nou and the ()u-houn. the Turks and Moguls, were called " Tatar," from Tatan, the name of the country from the banks of the Irtish, along the mountains of Altai, to the shores of the Yellow Sea. l)e Guignes invariably maintains Ilcong-nou to be but another name for the Turks, among whom he places Attila ])ermancnt population. It was more than half a century after the subjugation of Persia and five years before the occupation of Sinde, that the Araijs crossed the Oxus under Catiba, governor of Khorassan, and after eight years spent in a contest, with varying success, Transoxiana was subjected to the sway of the cali|)li.s, a.d. 71.3. In HOG, a revolt occurred, which the son and successor of Ilaroun al llasehid, Mamoon, was enabled to quell, aiul afterwards by residing in Khorassan, to retain authority over that province. Ikit on the removal of the court to Bagdad, Taher, who had been the principal instrument of Mamoon's eleva- tion to the caliphate, to the detriment of his brother Ameen, established indepen- dent authority in Khorassan and Trans- oxiana, which were never again united to the rapidly decaying empire. The family of Taher were deposed after about fifty years' rule, by the Sofarides, whose founder Yacub ben Leith, a brazier of Seestan, commenced by raising a revolt in his native province, afterwards over- ran Persia,J and died while marching to attack the caliph iu Bagdad. At the ex- piration of forty years, the Samanis, a family of distinction, whose members had held gov- ernments under !Mamoou while he resided in Khorassan, and afterwards under the Taher- ites, superseded the Sofarides and took pos- session of their territory, nominally in behalf of the caliph, but rcallj' without any refer- ence to his authority. It was in the reign of Abdelmelek, the fifth prince of this dynasty, that Aluptugeen, the founder of the kingdom of Gliuzuee, rose into impor- tance. He was of Turkish descent, and had been a slave, but his royal master recognising his ability, had appointed him to various oilices of trust, and at length to the govern- ment of Khorassan. On the death of his patron, a deputation was sent to consult Aluptugeen respecting the choice of a suc- cessor from the royal family, and having given his suflVage against Mansoor the presumptive heir, on account of his extreme youth, he ineuiTcd the ill-will of this prince, (wliohadmeantime been raised to thethrone,) was deprived of his office, and but for the and the majority of his army, whose hideous physi- ognomy anil savage manners lent a fearful prestige to their desolating marches. Another division of the same branch of the Heong-nou had previously settled among the Persians in Transoxiana, and acquired the name of the White Huns, from their changed complexion. — (Hisloirc gincrale dcs Jliins.) J He likewise subjugated Cabool. — {Mr. Thomas.) 60 DEFEAT OP JEIPAL, RAJAH OF LAHORE— a.d. 978. fidelity of a trusty band of adherents, aided by his own militarj' skill, would have lost liberty, if not life. At Ghuznee, in the heart of the Soliman mountains, the fugi- tive found safety, aceomp.anied by 3,000 dis- ciplined slaves {Maineluks) . Here he was probably joined by soldiers who had served under him, as well as by the hill Afghans, who, even though they might not acknow- ledge his authority, would be readily in- dueed by wages to enter his service. In his flight Aluptugcen was attended by a faith- ful slave named Subuktugeen, brought by a merchant from Turkistan to Bokhara.* Following the example of his early bene- factor, he had fostered the abilities of the youth until, on the establishment of a king- dom in Ghuznee, he rewarded the service of his adherent, both as a counsellor and general, by the titles of Ameer-ool-Omra (chief of the nobles) and Vakeel-i-Mootluk (representative). He is even said to have named him as his successor, but authorities differ on this point, some stating that Subuk- tugeen acceded immediately to the throne on the demise of Aluptugcen, a.d. 975; others, that he was chosen, on the death of that monarch's son and successor, two years later, by general consent of the chiefs, and then married the daughter of his patron. Having been recognised by the caliph ]\Ian- soor as governor of Ghuznee, he had, con- sequently, nothing to dread from that quar- ter, but was speedily called upon to make preparations against Jeipal [Jaya Pahi), rajah of Laliore, who, alarmed by the growing power of a jMohammedan ruler so near his frontier, and already harassed by frequent incursions, determined in turn to become the assailant. At the head of a large army he crossed the Indus, marched to Laghman at the mouth of the valley which extends from Peshawer to Cabool, and was there met by Subuktugeen. Some skirmishes ensued, but a general engage- ment was prevented by a terrible tempest of thunder, wind, and hail, in which some thousands of both armies were said to have perished. This disaster was attributed to supernatural causes ;t rmd the Hindoos, less accustomed than their hardy foes to the • He is alleged to h.ive been lineally descended from Yezdijerd, the last of the Persian monnrchs, who wlien flying from his enemies during the cali- phate of Othnian, was murdered while sleeping at a water-mill near the town of Meru. ]lis family lieing left in 'J'urkistan formed connections among the ])CO])lc, and his descendants became Turks. t I'rincc Mahmood learning that in the camp of extreme vicissitudes of climate, and probably more superstitious, proposed terms of peace, to which Subuktugeen, notwithstanding the opposition of his warlike son Mahmood, then a mere boy, at length consented, on representation being made to him of the determined courage of the Hindoos, espe- cially the Rajpoots, when driven to the last extremity. Jeipal surrendered fifty ele- phants, and engaged to pay a large sum of money, but on regaining the shelter of his own dominions, fear gave way to resent- ment, and, forfeiting his pledge, he impri- soned the messengers sent to demand its redemption. Hostilities re-eommenced ; the rajahs of Delhi, Ajmeer, Calinjar, and Canouj,J made common cause with their countrymen ; and when the rival forces again met in Laghman, the Ghuznee sove- reign, baring ascended a height to ascertaia the disposition of the enemy, "beheld the whole plain covered with an almost count- less host, comprising 100,000 horse and a prodigious number of foot soldiers. Un- daunted by the prospect, and considering himself " as a wolf about to attack a flock of sheei)," Subuktugeen divided his troops into squadrons of 500 men each, and di- rected them to attack successively one par- ticular point of the dense line of the enemy, which would thus be continually compelled to encounter fresh troops. The manoeuvre succeeded in occasioning some disorder, which was the signal for a general assault ; the Hindoos gave way, and were driven with dreadful slaughter beyond the Indus, up to which point Subuktugeen at once took pos- session, levied heavy contributions in addi- tion to the plunder found in the camp, and left an officer, supported by 10,000 horse, as governor of Peshawer. The Afghans and Khiljis (a distinct Tartar tribe) tendered allegiance, and furnished useful recruits. He then employed himself in consolidating his own dominions, which now extended on the west beyond Caudahar, until an appeal for help from his nominal sovereign Noah (the seventh of the Samanis) against the inroads of the Iloeike Tartars, who then possessed all Tartary as far cast as China, induced him again to have recourse to arms. Jeipal was a spring, into which, if a mixture of or- dure were thrown, a fearful storm would arise, caused this to be done and the predicted result im- mediately followed. — (i'6'ris/(<o.) The fact of there being near Laghman, a spot subject to tempests of extraordinary severity, renders this tale interesting. J These princes were all of the I'ala family, and consequently related to the rajah of Lahore. ACCESSION OP MAHMOOD OF GHUZNEE— a.d. 998. CI So efficient was tlic assistiincc rendered, tliat Noah, reinstated in liia autliority, recognised the right of Subuktugcen over all his acqui- sitions, and conferred the government of Khorassan on Malnnood, with the title of Syf-ood-Dowla (Sword of the State). This arrangement was almost immediately dis- turljed by the death of the two chief parties, and the changes aud dissensions whicli arose in their dominions. Mahmood, being absent at the time of his father's demise, was supplanted in liis claim to the succession by his brotlier Ismael, whom, after defeating in a pitched battle, he captured and imprisoned for the rest of his life, mitigating however the severity of the sentence by every indulgence consistent with such a situation. During the seven months spent in establishing himself in Ghuznec, events occurred in Bokhara very detrimental to liis interests. The new king, Mansoor II., fell into the power of the old enemies of his family, and by the influence of Elik Khan the Tartar sovereign, was compelled to receive Faik, one of his most turbulent and rebellious nobles, as his prime minister or rather master. The ap- plication of Mahmood to be continued in the government of Khorassan was abruptly rejected, and soon afterwards some court intrigues led to the unhappy ISIansoor's being dethroned and blinded, whereupon Abdulmclck was elected his successor as the instrument of Faik, a.d. 999. On this, Mahmood ordered the name of the Samanis to be omitted in the public prayers; took possession of Khorassan in his own behalf; and having received an investiture from the reigning cali[)h (the dispenser of powers which he himself no longer enjoyed) pro- claimed the indepeudeuee of his sway. He is henceforth commonly termed Sultan, an old Arabic word signifying king, but this title is not found upon his coins.* He ne.\t made peace with, and married the daughter of Elik Khan, who had secured his share in the spoil of a falling dynasty by seizing on Transoxiana, and had thus put an end to the dominion of the Samanis after it had lasted 120 years. Mahmood was now little more than thirty years of age. The vigour and ambition of his mind were in accord- ance with his athletic and well-proportioned • Sultan, first stamped by the Seljuk, Toghral Beg, was assumed in Ghuznee some fifteen years later by Ibrahim, a.d. lOGO. (Thomas, on G/iazni Coins.) t Alexander was reproached by his mother for placing his friends on a level with princes, by his frame, but, gi-eedy of personal distinction of every kind, he considered the mens sana \ in corpora sano insufficient compensation for an ordinary stature, and features dis- figured with the small po.ic in a manner, which at least in his youth, lie Ijitterly re- gretted, as calculated to mar the efl'ect of the splendid j)ageants in which he delighted to form the cliicf object. For Mahmood, famous warrior as ho afterwards and liad indeed already proved himself, could not as a legislator bear comparison with his vaunted teacher Mohammed, and was very far from uniting the comprehensive ability of the statesman to the sword of the conqueror, like his mighty predecessor in India, Alex- ander; who, heedless of the externals of royalt}', lavished gold and jewels upon his followers until his own coffers were empty,t and — superior to the vanity which led his successors to stamp their resemblance on coins and images, cared so little for this species of notoriety, that of his kingly form no popular notion remains, save that con- nected with the keen intelligence of the eye, and the peculiar carriage of the head, dwelt on by cotemporaries as his peculiar characteristics. The vice of covctousness, in the indul- gence of which Mahmood's intense selfish- ness found constant gratification, gradually swallowed up the higher qualities of his intellect, as well as the better feelings of his heart. It had probably been early stimu- lated by the rich booty captured during his father's war with Jeipal, and by reports of the immense stores of wealth heaped around idolatrous shrines, which it was the duty of every " true believer" to pillage and destroy. The unsettled state of the surrounding na- tions offered a wide scope for his ambition, but Indian conquest appears to have been his paramount desire. Having therefore, as before stated, entered into a friendly alli- ance with Elik Khan aud m.ade arrange- ments for the government of his own domi- nions, he proceeded with 10,000 chosen horse to invade India, a.d. 1001. Near Peshawcr he was met by his father's old antagonist, the rajah of Lahore, whom, after totally defeating, he made prisoner. From thence the conqueror pursued his victorious march beyond the Sutlej, to the fort of Ea- unhoundcd generosity. Mahmood when dying or- dered his treasures to be spread out before him, and shed bitter tears at the thought of parting with them, but distributed no portion among the faithful adherents who had assisted him in their acquisition. 62 MAHMOOD'S EARLY EXPEDITIONS TO INDIA— a.d. 1001—1005. tinda,* which he stormed, and then returned ' to Ghuzuee with the rich spoils of the camp and country, including sixteen necklaces, one of which, belonging to Jeipal, was valued at 180,000 dihnars,t or £81,000. In the ensuing spring the Hindoo pri- soners were released on payment of a hea^y ransom, but the Afghan chiefs who had joined them were put to death. Jeipal him- self returned to his kingdom, and having made over his authority to his son Auung Pal, bravely met the fate a mistaken creed assigned as a duty to a sovereign twice con- quered by a foreign foe; and mounting a pyre which he had caused to be prepared, set it on fire and perished in the flames. Anung Pal (Ananda Pala) appears to have at first endeavoured to fulfil his father's engagement, but the rajah of Bhatia,J a dependency of Lahore, on the eastern side of Moultau, refused to furnish his quota of the stipulated tribute, upon which the sultan proceeded in person to enforce it (a.u. 1004), and drove the offending rajah, first from a well-defended iutrenchment, and then from a strong fortress, until the fugitive, in des- pair, finding himself pursued even among the thickets of the Indus, where he had hoped for refuge, and being at the point of cap- ture, turned his sword against his own breast : the majority of his remaining ad- herents perished in vainly endeavouring to avenge his death. After annexing Bhatia and its dependen- cies the conqueror departed, bearing away as usual much booty of various kinds, in- cluding 280 elephants and many captives. A third expedition into India was soon * Situated in an almost inaccessible tract inhab- ited by the Bhattis or Shepherds. Though sur- rounded by a sort of desert, the rajah resided here, alternately with his capital Lahore, probably as a measure of security. Bird's History of Gujarat, from the Persian of Ali IMohammed Khan. f Valuing the dihiiar at nine shillings. j Site disputed, generally considered to be the present Bhulneer. § Brigg's Perislda, vol. i. p. 40, This expression probably alludes to a supposed falling into hetero- doxy rather than paganism. Sects and dissensions liad early arisen among the Mohammedans, and in- creased until they amounted to seventy-three, the niimber said to have been foretold by Mohammed. These may be classed under two heads. The be- lievers, generally deemed orthodox, are included under the term Sonnites (or traditi(niists), because they acknowledge the authority of the Sonna, a collection of moral traditions of the sayings and actions of tlieir founder, whicli is a sort of sup])lemcnt to the Koran, answering in name and design to the IMishna of the Jews. The Sonnites regard the Koran as uncreated and eternal, in opposition to the Motazalites (or sepa- undertaken against the Afghan ruler of Moultan, Abul Futteh Lodi, the grandson of the chief who had joined Subuktugeen after his first victory over the Hindoos. Abul, although educated as a Mussulman, had " abandoned the tenets of the faithful,"^ and what Mahmood considered of more im- portance, thrown off his political allegiance, and entered into a close alliance with Auung Pal, who, on learning the approach of their joint foe, advanced to intercept him, but was defeated near Peshawer, pursued to Sodra (near Vizirabad) on the Chenab, and compelled to take refuge in Cashmere. Moultan was then besieged, but at the end of seven days a compromise was effected, the revolting chief promising implicit obedi- ence for the future and the payment of an annual tribute of 20,000 golden dirhems;|| terms which Mahmood was only too glad to grant, having received intelligence of a for- midable invasion of his dominions by the armies of Elik Khan. The ties of relation- ship had not sufficed to prevent the en- croaching Tartar from endeavouring to take advantage of the unprotected state in which his son-in-law had left his home possessions, while intent on aggressive incursions abroad. Hoping to acquire Khorassan without diffi- culty, he despatched one force to Herat and another to Balkh to take possession. But he had formed too low an estimate of the energy of the opponent he had wantonly provoked. Committing the charge of his acquisitions on the Indus to Sewuk Pal, a Hindoo who had embraced Mohammedanism, Mahmood immediately proceeded by long and rapid marches to Ghuznee, and thence to ratists) and others, who maintain such an assertion to be rank infidelity ; and some caliphs of the Abbas family (Motassem and Wathek) endeavoured to sup- press it by punishing its advocates with whipping, im- prisonment, and even death. An account of the numerous false prophets who sjirang up, in imitation of the arch-deceiver himself, is ably given in the in- troduction to Sale's Koran ; among them figures Mokanna, the veiled prophet, the hero of Moore's most popular production. The Sheiahs, a term sig nifying sectaries or adherents in general, is pecu- liarly applied to the followers of Ali, who hold him to have been the rightful Caliph and Iniaimi, or high ])onliff, (by virtue of his birth, of his marriage witli Fatima, and of his having been the first independent person who recognised the mission of Mohammed,) and consider the supreme authority both tempoi-al and spi- ritual inalienably vested in his descendants. Tlie Per- sians are mostlySheiahs; theTurks gcnerailycome un- derthehead of Sonnites, and those, like many less con- spicuous sects, are in direct oiipo'iition to each otlier. II The value of the silver dirhem is about five- pence ; that of the golden one. Colonel Briggs states, is not estimated in any work he has examined. HOSTILITIES IN MOULTAN AND THE PUNJAUB— a.d. 1008. C'-i Balkh, whence the intruders Hod, as did the troops at Herat, before the force detached for their expulsion. Elik Klian, alarmed at the turn of affairs, applied for assistance to Kadr Khan of Khoten, who marched to join liim with .50,000 men. Thus strcni;thciicd he crossed the Oxus and was met near iiaikh by Mah- mood, who had employed even more than wonted skill in the arrangement of his re- sources. Not the least of these was a body of 500 elephants, captured at various times from the ilindoos, the mere sight of which would, he rightly conjectured, check the fury of the Tartar charge, and probably suc- ceed in breaking their line : but being well aware that failing in this, these timid and unwieldy, though sagacious and gentle crea- tures, would, as he had often witnessed, becoming alarmed and injured, rush back furiously on their masters, he stationed them at intervals among the troops, leaving free way for their retreat in the event of a re- pulse. This forethought, however, proved needless. IJoth armies advanced with im- petuosity to the charge, and Elik Khan, attended by his guards, attacked the centre of the army of Mahmood, who, perceiving his intention, leaped from his horse, and after (as was his wont, on the eve of any great struggle) prostrating himself on the ground and invoking the aid of the Al- mighty, — mounted an elephant and ad- vanced to meet his assailant. The well- trained animal seizing the standard-bearer of the enemy in his trunk, tossed him aloft, to the dismay of his companions. The Ghuznevides urged on the other elephants and pressed forward themselves to support their leader ; the Tartars were driven off the field with prodigious slaughter, and Elik Khan escaped across the Oxus with a few attendants, having received a severe lesson not again to meddle with the dominions of his warlike relative. But for the inele- • On the third night of the pursuit a violent storm of wind and snow occurred. The army remained unsheltered, but the royal tents had with much ditRculty been pitched and heated by stoves, so that many of the courtiers began to throw off their upper garments. One of them came in shivering with cold, wliich ^I.ibmood perceiving, addressed him with — " Go, Dilchuk, and tell Winter that he may burst his cheeks with blustering — here we defy his power." Dilcliuk went out, and returning, declared that he had delivered his message, and the surly season replied, that though he might fail to touch royalty or its immediate retainers, yet he would so evince his power over tlie army that in the morning the sultan might be compelled to saddle his own horse. mcney of the season, it being the winter of lOOG, he might have fared still worse; for Mahmood, after two days' pursuit, was not without great rcluetanec compelled to return to his capital by the intense cold, from which some hundreds of his men and horses perished.* Meanwhile Sewuk Pal, the renegade Hindoo governor, had relapsed into ido- latry and cxiJcUcd all the ofliecrs appointed by Mahmood, who, marching to India, de- tached a body of cavalry in advance, by whom the offender was surprised and cap- tured. His sentence was a heavy fine and imprisonment for lifc.f In the spring of 1008, the Sultan as- sembled a lai'gc army and set out on his fourth Indian expedition, on the plea of revenging the opposition he had received during the hostilities in Moultan from Anung Pal, who, on becoming aware of his danger, sent ambassadors to the Hindoo princes on all sides, urging them to unite for the protection of their religion and in- dependence. The appeal was successful ; the rajahs of Oojein, Gwalior, Calinjar, Canouj, Delhi, and Aj nicer entered into a confederacy, and collecting their forces, ad- vanced into the Punjaub with an army, whose magnitude so astonished jMahmood, that instead of displaying his usual alacrity to meet danger, he halted in the presence of the enemj', took up a position near Peshawer, and remained forty days in a de- fensive attitude. It must have seemed to him as if the whole male population of Hindoostan had come, en masse, to obstruct his progress, and to die, if necessary, in the attempt. Their numbers and enthusiasm daily increased, contributions constantly arrived from the women of distant parts, who sold their jewels and melted down their ornaments to provide ample resources for the defence of their country, and the Gukkurs and other warlike troops rallying round the AVilh all his faults, Mahmood seems to have been neither irascible nor tyrannical in his bearing to- wards those about him. The reproof thus wittily conveyed is said to have induced him to renounce the idea of further advance, but the distressing scenes of death and suffering manifested by the dawn of the following day must have sufficed to afford reason for retreat. — (Briggs' Ferishta, vol. i., p. 44.) t In the text I have followed the example of Elphinstone in adopting the statement of Ferishta ; but Mr. Bird asserts, on the authority of older Per- sian writers, that there was no such person as Sewuk Pal, and that the mistake arose from placing the expedition to Moultan before, instead of after, the war with Elik Khan. — {Jlislort/ of Gujarat, p. 23.) 64 DEFEAT OF CONFEDERATED HINDOO EAJAHS— a.d. 1008— '10. popular standard, encompassed the Moham- medans, who were compelled to intrench their camp. Mahmood perceiving the in- creasing danger, strove to profit by the strength of his defences, and sent out a body of 6,000 archers to provoke an attack. The success of this stratagem had vrell nigh proved fatal to the schemer, for the hardy Gukkurs having repulsed the archers, pur- sued them so closely, that in spite of the sultan's personal efibrts, a numerous body of these mountaineers, bare-headed and bare-footed, variously and strangely armed, passed the entrenchments on both flanks, and throwing themselves among the cavalry with irresistible fury, proceeded to cut down and maim both horse and rider, until in a very short space of time between 3,000 and 4,000 Mohammedans were slain. The assailants however, after the first onset, were checked and cut oft' as they advanced, till, on a sudden the elephant on which the Hindoo leader rode becoming unruly * turned and fied, and his followers thinking themselves deserted, gave way, and were easily routed. Mahmood immediately de- spatched 10,000 men in pursuit of the re- treating army, of whom nearly twice as many were slain before they could reach a place of safety. Then, without allowing the scat- tered hosts time to reassemble, he followed them into the Punjaub, and on their eflectual dispersion, found himself at liberty to give free scope to his plundering propensities in the rifling of the fort of Bheem (now Nagar- cot), a fortified temple on a steep mountain connected with the lower range of the Pliraalaya. This edifice was considered to derive peculiar sanctity from a burning foun- tain or natural flame, which issued fi'om the ground within its precincts, and was en- riched by princely ofl'erings, besides being the depository of the wealth of the neigh- bourhood ; so that, according to Ferishta, such an arnount of treasure was never col- lected by any prince on earth. It would seem incredible that a place of the first import- ance should be left unguarded, but its * In various copies of Fcrishtn, the cause of the elephant's alarm is ascribed to guns and muskets. As no Persian or Arabic history speaks of gunpowder before tlie time assigned to its Kuropcan invention, A.D. 1317, Briggs, by a slight change of the diacrital points in the manuscripts, renders it — " naptha balls and arrows." Klphinstone deems the expression an anachronism of the author ; but as there is every reason to believe that this ex))losivc material \yas then used in China, it seems just possible that it might have been obtained from thence. garrison having been drawn off during the late eflbrt to free Ilindoostan from her per- secutor, the rapidity of his movements had cut oft" any chance of reinforcement ; and when, after having laid waste the surround- ing eovmtry with fire and sword, he ap- proached the walls, no opposition was at- tempted by the defenceless priests, who glad- ly capitulated on the condition of their lives being spared. Entering the temple with the chief officers of his court and household, Mahmood gazed in delighted amazement at the vast stores garnered up therein. Gold and silver, wrought and unwrought, in dih- j nars, plate and ingots; pearls, corals, dia- monds, rubies and various other jewels,t accumulated since the time of Rajah Bbeema, in the heroic ages, became the prize of the royal maratider, who returned with his booty to Ghuznee, and in a triumphal festival held during three days on a spacious plain, displayed on golden thrones and tables manufactured from his Indian spoils, the richest and rarest of his acquisitions. Sumptuous banquets were provided for the spectators, alms liberally distributed among the poor, and magnificent presents bestowed on persons of distinction ; all this display being at once very gratifying to the sitltan's love of magnificence, and well calculated to contribute to his popularity, and the maintenance of internal tranquillity during his frequent absence. In A.D. 1010, Mahmood proceeded against the strong country of Ghor, in the moun- tains east of Herat. The inhabitants were Afghans, and had been converted and sub- dued by the caliphs in the commencement of the second century of the Hejira. Their chief, Mohammed Soor, strongly posted, and at the head of 10,000 men, repelled the attacks of his assailant from early morning till noon, but was eventually tempted from his secure position, by the pretended dis- orderly retreat of the Ghuznevides, in pur- suit of whom the Ghorians sallied forth, but were speedily made aware of the trap into which they had fallen, by the sudden halt f There are said to have been 700,000 golden dihnars, 700 mauns of gold and silver plate, 200 mauns of pure gold in ingots, 2,000 mauns of un- wrought silver, and 20 mauns of jewels. There are several kinds of maun ; the smallest, that of Arabia, is two pounds; the most common, that of Tabriz, eleven pounds ; and that of India, eighty pounds. Taking the smallest weiglit, we liave 1,100 1b. of gold and silver plate, 4001b. of golden ingots, 4,000 lb. of silver bullion, and 40 lb. weight of jewels. — (liriggs' Ferishta, vol. i., p. 48.) and fierce onset of the foe, by whom they were compctcly defeated. Their eliicf being taken prisoner, swallowed some poison, whieh he always kept about him in a rin;,', and died in a few hours. His eonntry was annexed to the dominions of Ghuziiee, but it is worthy of note tliat by his descendants the conquering dynasty was at length utterly overthrown. Two years afterwards, the mountainoiis country of Jnrjistan,* adjoining Clhor, was reduced, and another attack made upon Moultan, whieh had revolted. In the words of Ferishta, who, as a Mussulman historian, chooses very gentle phrases in wliieli to ex- press the sanguinary deeds of fellow-believers, " a number of the infidel inhabitants were cut ofi"," and Abul Futteh Lodi brought to Ghuznec as a captive, and doomed to languish in the gloomy fort of Ghooruk for life. In the following year, 1011, Mahmood undertook an expedition of unusual length to Tancsur (thirty miles west of Delhi). He was met by the urgent entreaties of the Hin- doos that he would spare the temple, whieh they held in great veneration, and accept a ransom, but he replied, " the Koran declared that the extent to which the followers of the prophet exerted themselves for the sub- version of idolatry would be the measure of their reward in heaven, — it therefore be- hoved him, by Divine assistance, to root out the worship of idols from the face of all India." Proceeding forthwith to Tancsur, before its defenders had time to assemble, he plundered the temple, destroyed the idols, sacked the town, and carried away 200,000 captives and much treasure, so that throughout the camp " no soldier was with- out wealth or many slaves. "f Two predatory incursions into Cashmere Avere next attempted, the second of which proved disastrous from the difficulties of a march commenced when the season was too far advanced.} A brief interval of repose for India followed, during which ]\Iahmood took advantage of the disturbed state of the affairs of Elik Khan's successor in Tartary to acquire possession of Ti'ansoxiana, and extend his dominion to the Caspian Sea. From this period his Indian exploits were on a grander scale, and he seems to have united a much stronger desire for the per- * Mistaken bj' D'llcrbclot and others for Georgia. t Briggs' FcrisJifa, vol. i. p. 53. I Stewart's Histnnj of Bcittial, pp. 10, 11. § Mahmood writing to Ghuznec declared that Muttra contained a thousand edifices "as firm as the mancnt possession of conquered territories, to his zeal for the destruction of idols, and the appropriation of their spoils. Asscm- l)ling an army of 100,000 horse and 20,000 foot, drawn more especially from his newly- acquired dominions, lie made judicious ar- rangements for the home government dur- ing his absence, placed his two sons in important governments aided by trusty counsellors, and then commenced carrying out the jjlans which, after much careful in- vestigation, he had devised for the prosecu- tion of a three months' march to the Gan''es, across seven great rivers, in an unexplored country. Leaving Peshawer in the spring of 1017, he passed near the confines of Cashmere, and being joined by the prince whom he had established there, proceeded on his way, keeping close to the mountains until he had crossed the Jumna. Then turning south, and driving all opposition before them, the Mussulmans presented themselves unexpectedly before the walls of Canouj ; a city, says Ferishta, " whieh raised its head to the skies, and, in strength and beauty, might' boast of being unrivalled." The r.'ijah, taken by surprise, made no attempt at defence, but came out with his family and surrendered himself to !Mah- mood, who, on this occasion, (either from a motive of policy, or possibly actuated by one of the kindly impulses in which his nature, though warped by bigotry and ava- rice, was by no means deficient,) showed unusual clemency, and after three days' tarry, left the stately city uninjured. Other places and their rulers were less fortunate — many were bravely defended. At Mahawan, near Muttra, terms had been entered into, when an accidental quarrel among the troops led to the massacre of the Hindoos, whose leader, conceiving himself betrayed, destroyed his wife and family, and then committed suicide. ]\[uttra§ itself, the famous scat of the Hindoo religion, was completely devastated by the excesses of the troops during a twenty days' halt, the hor- rors of a conflagration being added to the ordinary sufferings of the people of a sacked city. Idols of gold and silver, with eyes of rubies, and adorned with sapphires and pre- cious stones, were demolished, melted down, and packed on camels ; destined perhaps to faitli of the faithful," mostly of niarhlc, besides in- nuinrralde temples, and considered that many mil- lions of dihnars must have been expended on the citv> the fellow to whieh could not be constructed under two centuries. — [Ferishta, vol. i. p. 58.) 66 TklAHMOOD AND FERDOUSI, THE PERSIAN POET. excite scarcely less censurable feelings in the breasts of tlicir new possessors, tban formerly as the unballowed mediums, or too often the actual objects, of Hindoo worship. The temples -were however left standing, either on account of the excessive, and, in one sense at least, unprofitable labour ne- cessary to their destruction, or else for the sake of their extraordinary beauty. The fort of Munj was taken after a siege of twenty- five days, its Rajpoot defenders at length ending the long struggle by rushing through the breaches on the enemy, springing from the works, or meeting death in the flames of their own houses, with their wives and children ; so that not one remained to be enslaved. Various other towns were reduced and much country laid waste, before the vic- torious army leaving the beautiful plains of ill-fated, because idolatrous, Hindoostan steeped in blood and tears, returned to their homes in triumph, carrying with them many prisoners.* New tastes had been acquired to- gether with the means for their gratification, and incited by the recollection of the stately structures they had ruthlessly despoiled, the rough soldiers so lately accustomed to make the saddle their seat by day, their pillow by night, now, following the example of their king, employed the wealth, labour, and talents of their wretched captives, in rearing palaces for their private abodes as well as public buildings for the adornment of the capital, which soon became orna- mented with mosques, porches, fountains, aqueductS; and reservoirs beyond any city then existing. Mahmood himself erected a magnificent mosque of marble and granite, called " the Celestial Bride," which was in that age the wonder of the East; and founded a university, supplied with an extensive and valuable library, and a museum of natural curiosities. To the maintenance of this establishment he appropriated a large sum of money, and formed a permanent fund for the support of the students and the salaries of q\ialificd instructors. He also set aside a sum nearly equal to £10,000 a-ycar, for pensions to learned men — and through this munificence his court became as celebrated through Asia for its brilliant literary circle, as was afterwards that of the Medici in * Ferifihta's confused account of their route is dis- cussed in Bird's llislury of Oiijaral, p. 31. t The rulin<; dynasty was Turltish, but Malimood was the illegitimate son of a Persian mother, and in language and manners identified with that nation. Europe. The liberality thus evinced con- trasted strongly with his usual parsimony, and it was well directed, for it did much to secure for him the present and posthumous fame which he ardently desired. Large re- wards were offered for the production of an historical poem which should embody the achievements of ancient Persianf heroes ; and the author who commenced the work (Dakiki) having been assassinated when he had finished about a thousand couplets, the continuation was entrusted to the celebrated Ferdousi, who performed his task with such ability that, although so obsolete as to re- quire a glossary, it is still the most popular of all books among his coimtrymen.J The sultan was delighted with the poem ; but when, after thirty years' labour, it was at length concluded, his characteristic failing prevailed over justice, and the proffered reward was so disproportioned to the expec- tations held out, that the disappointed Fer- dousi indignantly rejected it, and withdrew to his native city of Tus, whence he launched a bitter satire at IMahmood, who on mature reflection evinced no ordinary amount of magnanimity by passing over the satire (which is still extant), and remitting for the epic, what even its author must have con- sidered, a princely remuneration. But it came too late ; the treasure entered one door of Ferdousi's house as his bier was borne out of another. His daughter proudly rejected the untimely gift, but was eventu- ally prevailed upon by Mahmood to accept it, as a means of procuring an abundant supply of water for the city where her father had been born, and to which he had been always much attached. In 10.22, the sultan was roused from the unusual quiet in which he had remained for five years, by advices from India that a con- federacy had been formed against the rajah of Canouj by the neighbouring princes to avenge his alliance with the enemy of his country. Mahmood immediately marched to his relief, but on arriving found that the unfortunate prince had been defeated and slain by the rajah of Calinjar, against whom the Mohammedan arms were directed, but without any remarkable result. § This cam- paign is however memorable as marking the establishment of the first permanent garri- \ The Shah Namah or Book of Kiiu/s. § In tlie kin};dom of Gluiznce at this time, many soldiers and magistrates were Arabs by descent, but a great ])ortion of the court and army wore Turks, and the rest, with almost all the people, were Persians. LAHORE OCCUPIED BY MAIIMOOD-SOMNAUTH TAKEN— a.d. 1024. 07 sou on tlic cast of llic Indus; for tlic new rjyah of Lahore (Anung i'al's successor) liaving ventured to 6i)[)0sc the invader, was driven from his country, whicli was despoiled and annexed to Giiuznec. In 1024, Mali- niood ])crformed, if not tlie f^rcatcst, at least the most famous of his Indian ex[)loits. At the head of an immense army, swollen by a crowd of volunteers from beyond the Oxus, and attended by 20,000 camels bear- ing supplies, he set off, nerved to encounter a long march, partly through hostile terri- tories and partly through a desert 350 miles broad, of loose sand or hard clay, almost entirely without water or forage. Having overcome these obstacles he sud- denly appeared before Aj nicer to the con- sternation of the rajah and inhabitants, who fled, leaving the Mussulmans to ravage the country and pursue their desolating course, to Anhalwara, the capital of Guzcrat, whose rajah, also taken by surprise, was con- strained to abandon it precipitately, and leave the way clear for the invaders to the great object of their hopes, the famous temple of Somnauth, the richest and most frequented place of worship in the country.* It stood at the southern extremity of Guzc- rat, on a peninsula connected with the main land by a fortified isthmus, the battle- ments of which were guarded at every point by armed men ; who, on witnessing the ap- proach of the Moslems, loudly asserted, in the name of their object of worship, that this great force had been drawn together only to be utterly destroyed as a retribution for the desecrated shrines of India. Nothing deterred, ]\Iahmood brought for- ward his archers, who commenced mounting the walls with their accustomed war-cry, " Alia hu Akbur !" (God is supreme !), but the Rajpoots having prostrated themselves before the idol, hurried to the defence and drove back the enemy with heavy loss. The next day brought a more signal repulse, and on the third the neighbouring princes presented themselves in order of battle. In the furious conflict which ensued victory was doubtful, when the arrival of the rajah of Anhalwara with a strong reinforcement • For its maintcnancp, the revenues of 2,000 vil- lages had been granted by different princes ; 2,000 priests, 500 dancing-women, and 300 musicians offi- ciated in its ceremonies, atwliicli 200,000 to 300,000 votaries used to attend during tlie eclipses. The chain supporting a bell wliicli tlie worshippers struck during prayer weighed 200 mauns of gold, and the idol itself was 'Jaily washed witli water brought from the Ganges, a distance of 1,000 miles. brought the invaders to the verge of de- feat. IMahinood, leaping from his horse, prostrated himself, invoking Divine aid ; then, remounting and taking a Circas- sian general by the hand, he advanced against the foe, loudly cheering the troops who had so often fought and conquered with him, and who now, excited to renewed exer- tion, rushed forward with unlooked-for im- petuosity, broke through the opposing line, and in a single charge laid 5,000 Hindoos dead or dying at their feet. The rout be- came general; the garrison of Somnauth beheld it with dismay, and renouncing all hopes of further defence broke up, and, to the number of 4,000, made their way to their boats, some of which were intercepted, and sunk by the enemy, Mahmood then entered the temple, ac- companied by his sons and chief nobles, and gazed with astonishment on the stately edifice. The spacious roof was supported by fifty-six pillars, curiously carved and set with j)recious stones, and illuminated (the light of heaven being excluded) by a lamp suspended by a golden chain, whose flame, re- flected from the numerous gems, shed bright gleams around. The idol itself stood in the centre, and was of stone, five yards in height, two of which were sunk in the ground. Ac- cording to Ferishta, it is a well authenti- cated fact that INIahmood was entreated by a crowd of Brahmins to accept a costly ransom and spare the object of their venera- tion, but after some hesitation, he exclaimed that were he to consent, his name would go down to posterity as an idol-seller instead of destroyer, he therefore struck the face of the image with his mace, and his example being followed by his companions, the figure, which was hollow, burst open and exposed to view a store of diamonds and other jewels, far surpassing in value the sum oft'ered for its preservation. f Altogether, the treasure taken is said to have exceeded that acquired on any former occasion, Mahmood next captured Gundaba, a fort supposed to be protected by the sea, bj' en- tering the water at the head of his troops diu-ing a low tide. He appears to have passed t Hesides this idol, we are told there were some thousands of smaller ones, wrought in gold and silver, and of various shapes and dimensions ; but no description is given of the especial object of worship, a simple cylinder of stone, the well-known emblem of Saiva or Siva, from whose designation Sama Ka- tha, J.ord of tlie 3Ioon, the temple derives its name. The famous sandal-wood gates carried by Mahmood to Ghuznee will be subsequently alluded to. 68 MAHMOOD'S THIRTEENTH EXPEDITION TO INDIA— a.d. 1025.- tlie rainy season at Anlialwara, with wliose mild climate, beauty, and fertility he was so much delighted, as to entertain thoughts of transferring the seat of govei'umeut thither, at least for some years, and making it a point of departure for further conquests. Among his projects, was that of the forma- tion of a fleet for maritime invasions ; the pearls of Ceylon and the gold mines of the Malayan peninsula offering cogent reasons for the subjugation of these countries. These schemes his counsellors earnestly and successfully opposed, and as the rajah of Anhalwara still kept aloof and refused submission, Mahmood selected a new ruler, a man of royal descent, who, though living the life of an anchorite, was not proof against the attractions of a throne, thougli clogged with the liumiliating conditions of subjection and tribute to a foreign foe.* The homeward route of the Mussulmans was fraught with toil and suffering — the M'ay by which they had come was occupied by a strong force under the rajah of Ajmeer and the rightful, though fugitive prince of Anhalwara. Mahmood, with an army already wasted by the casualities of war and climate, did not care to risk a conflict, the effect of which, even though successful, would still further thin the ranks and di- minish the energy of those who had after- wards a long and weary march to encounter, besides risking the rich booty with which they were encumbered. He therefore avoided further hostilities, by returning a different road, through the sands to the east of Sinde. The hot season was advanced when the troops started, and their suflerings for want of water and forage increased, until they • The conclusion of the new rajah's history afTords a remarkable instance of retributive justice, even allowing for oriental embellishment. Fearing the rivalry of a relation, he prayed Mahmood to deliver him into his custody, promising to spare his life, and kept his pledge by causing a cell to be dug under his own throne, in which his victim was to linger out the remainder of his existence. A sudden revolution occurred, which is said to have been occasioned by a vulture having flown upon the rajah while lying asleep under a tree with his face covered with a red handlicrchief, and totally bliiided him by fixing its talons into his eyes ; thus rendering him, by the laws of his country, incapable of reigning. Tlie position of the parties was immediately reversed, tlie cruel schemer being forthwith removed to the dun- geon which he had himself [irepared ; thus, says I''erishta, fulfilling the Scripture, in which it is written — " lie who digs a pit for his brother, shall himself fall therein." — (Hriggg, vol. i., p. 80.) t It is surprising that the passage along the Indus should not have been chosen by Mahmood, who must have been acquainted with it, both from the readied a climax in three days of in- tense agony, during which they wandered through the worst partr of the desert, wil- fully misled, it is said, by their guides, who after severe torture, were brought to confess themselves disguised priests of Somnauth. Many of the soldiers perished miserably, some died raving mad, and when at length they came upon a pool of water, it was received with inexpressible transport as a miraculous interposition of Providence in their favour. Eventually they reached Moultan, and from thence proceeded to Ghuznee,t but before the expiration of the year, their rest- less leader was once more in arms to avenge the molestation offered by a body of Juts,J in the Jund mountains, to his forces during their march to Somnauth. Foreseeing the expedient to which the Juts would have re- course, he was provided with an extensive flotilla ; and when they took refuge in the islands of the Indus, hoping to elude pur- suit by repeatedly shifting their position, he pursued them so pertinaciously that though not without a desperate defence, the men were mostly destroyed and the women and children enslaved. Thus terminated Mahmood's thirteenth, and last expedition to India. Hostilities were then directed against the Turki tribe of Seljuk,§ whose growing power he had incautiously favoured, until they became too unruly to be restrained by his local repre- sentatives ; nor were they without difficulty compelled to respect his immediate autho- rity. The next act was the seizure of Persian Irak (extending from the frontier of Khorassan, westward to the mountains of Koordistan, beyond Hamadan). This he account of Mohammed Casim's proceedings and from the neighbourhood of the Afghans. Elphin- stone, in commenting upon this circumstance, sug- gests the existence of jihysical obstacles now re- moved, adding, that the Munn of ViUch, now a hard desert in the dry season, and a salt marsh in the rains, was, doubtless, formerly a part of the sea ; and remarks, that the changes which have taken place under our own eyes prepare us to believe that still greater may have occurred in the 800 years that ha've elapsed since the fall of Somnauth. (Vol. i., p. 558.) X Probably a Tartar horde of the Geta; stock, widely disseminated over India, and, according to Tod, called by their ancient name of //Vs in the Pun- jaub, Jats on the Jumna and Ganges, and Juts on the Indus and in Saurashtra. § The tribe is supposed to have originated in n chief who held a liigh station under one of the great Tartar princes, but having incurred the disjjleasure of his sovereign was driven into exile, and his sons and adherents became subject to Mahmood in Trans- oxiana, fre(iuently however, carrying on wars and incursions on their own account. DEATH OF MAHMOOD— A.D. 1030— HIS SUCCESSORS. Gi) eccoraplislicd by takiiif; advantaojc of the disturbances which oceiirred in the rcif^n of one of the representatives of a brancli of tlie family of Buya, called also the J)(Mleniites ; the person of the prince being trcaelicrously seized in tlie Moslem camp. The resistance of the people of Ispahan and Cazvin was cruelly revenged by the massacre of several thousands in each city. The ordinary excuse of zeal for the glory of Islam — that is to say, the bigotry which has sometimes really prompted cruel aggres- sions, but has far more frequently been assumed as a mask to cover ambition or rapacity, cannot in this case be urged in palliation of these grasping and sanguinary transactions, probably the worst, as they were the last, of the life of ]\Iahmood. Re- turning triumphant to (Jhuzuec, he was attacked by a disease which soon completely prostrated liis extraordinary physical and mental energies, and of which he died, after a reign of thirty-tliree years. During pa- roxysms of excruciating agony, he might well have envied even the wretched slaves whom liis marauding incursions had made so cheap that purchasers could not be found for them at ten dirhems (about 4s. 7d.) a head. At such moments his hundred measures of jewels * could aSbrd but poor consolation ; even the delusive doctrine of the Koran con- demned alike the means by which they had been acquired, and the master-passion whose strength was never manifested more forcibly than in tlie closing scenes of his eventful career. "When taking a sorrowful leave of his great possessions, the dying Sultan per- haps thought bitterly of a sentiment some of the numerous poets of his court might have rhymed, though scarcely so sweetly as our own Southcy : " In heaven ambition cannot dwell, Nor avarice in the vaults of hell — " He had ample reason to regret leaving a world in which lie liad— with reverence for the sacred text be it spoken, " laid up much treasure for many years ;" nor is it probable that he could look for reward or even pardon in another, on the ground of faithful service to the cause of Islam. Notwithstanding his character for bigotry, and frequent and public invocations of Divine assistance, a careful review of Mahmood's * Hearing of the wealth of the Samani princes, who had accumulated jewels enough to fill seven measures, he exclaimed exultingly, that he possessed BufRcicnt to fill an hundred. t On this point, see Elphinstone, vol. i., p. 569. actions renders it more tlian d(jubtful whe- ther all these were not liollow pretences to raise the eiitliiisiasm of his more truthful followers who, it must be borne in mind, had been accustomed from the earliest times to prayer before battle, and tlianks- giving in the hour of victory. If he were really a scepticf regarding the creed which he made the pretext for destroying or en- slaving niiolfcnding inuititudes, his condition was wretched indeed ; but if he did actually believe it an imiicrativc duty to increase the numbers of " the faithful," at all costs, then at least his conduct, with tlie exception of some few memorable instances, was very unaccountalilc ; for, besides liis ajiathy in not endeavouring to establish ^loslem colo- nies in India, schools, or other means of instruction, it ajipears that he never liesi- tatcd to exercise perfect tolerance whenever it suited his views. The rajah of Canouj, for instance (his only ally), was an uncon- verted Hindoo; he appointed a strict de- votee to the throne of Guzerat ; employed a large body of native cavalry, without regard to their religion, and contrary to orthodox ^Mohammedanism — circumstances which would testify liberality of feeling, but for their manifest inconsistency with other parts of his conduct, for which excessive zeal is urged in apology. The house of Ghuznee reached its culmi- nating point in the person of ^Mahmood's tiu-bulcnt son, jNIasaud, who, liaving deposed and blinded his brother Mohammed, after five months' rule, mounted the throne, and completed the remaining conquest of Persia, except the province of Pars. He made three expeditions into India, during which he captured Sersooty on the Sutlcj, quelled a rebellion at Lahore, and stationed a garri- son in Soupat, near Delhi. In the mean- wliile the Scljuks completely defeated his general, and compelled ]Masaud, on his return, to march against them in person. After two years of indecisive operations a battle took place near ^Meru, in which the Ghuzncvides were totally routed. The sul- tan returned to Ghuznee, but finding it hopeless to restore order there, determined to withdraw to India. All respect for his authority was however destroyed, and soon after crossing the Indus, the remnant of his forces mutinied against him, and placed the injured Mohammed on the throne, a.d. 1010. This prince being rendered incapa- ble by blindness of conducting the govern- ment, transferred the administration to his I TERMINATION OF THE HOUSE OF GHUZNEE— a.d. 1J60. sou Alimed, one of whose first acts was to put his uucle the deposed king to death. 15ut the sins of this family, committed on the plea of just retaliation, did not end here. IModood, the son of Masaud, on hearing of his father's murder, quitted Balkh, where he had been engaged in watching the pro- ceedings of the Seljuks, and with a small body of troops made his way from Ghuznee to Lahore. At Futtehahad, in the valley of Laghman, he was met by ^Mohammed with Ahmed and other relatives, who after a fierce contest were defeated, taken prisoners, and all put to death by the conqueror, with the exception of Prince Abdool, a son of ]\Io- hammed's, who was spared for the sake of kindness shown to Masaud during his capti- vity. Modood had not yet removed all domes- tie foes — the opposition of his own brother, ]\Iadood, was still to be overcome, and it threatened to be troublesome, this prince having obtained possession of Lahore and its dependencies. The armies of the rival brothers were marshalled for action when the dispute for superiority was suddenly terminated by the deatli of Madood and his vizier (prime minister) apparently by poison. The forces then coalesced under Modood, who contrived not only to occupy Ghuznee, but to recover Transoxiana, which he was perhaps enabled to do the more readily from having espoused the daughter of a Seljuk chief. But while thus successful in the west, the rajah of Delhi recovered the terri- tory seized by Masaud beyond the Sutlej ; and elated by this first success, pushed his forces to the very gates of Nagarcot. Volun- teers crowded into thePunjaub, and entered with such ardour into the enterprise that the temple-fortress, despite its strong posi tion and garrison, became again their own. The Moslems driven thence took refuge in Lahore, and after a seven months' siege, durinjg-sj'hich no succour arrived from Ghuz- nee, were well nigh reduced to despair, when swearing to stand by each other to the last they rushed out upon the enemy, and by one determined effort induced the Hindoos to disperse, and raise the siege. Modood died A.D. 1019. one of his last acts of trea- chery being to render Ghor tributary and in some sort dependent ou himself, by per- fidiously murdering the prince whom he had promised to assist in recovering possession of the throne. The speedy decline of the house of Ghuznee from this period would be of little interest but for its important bear- ing on the fortunes of Hindoostan, nor does it seem necessary to follow in detail the tedious and distasteful accounts of con- spiracies and assassinations which too gene- rally form the staple of oriental historians, the progress and condition of the people being rarely even alluded to. Suffice it to say, that the second successor of Modood succeeded in recovering Nagarcot from the Hindoos, but being compelled to oppose the sedition of a chief named Toghral in Seestan, marched to attack the rebels, leaving the bulk of his army in India. His force proved unequal to the task, and he was compelled to shut himself up iu Ghuznee, where he was seized and put to death with nine princes of the blood-royal. Toghral seized upon the vacant throne, but was assassinated within forty days; and the army, having by this time returned from India, resolved upon continuing the crown in the family of the founder of the kingdom. Three princes of his lineage were discovered imprisoned iu a distant fort, aud their claims being nearly equal were decided by lot. The chance fell on Farokhzad, whose brother and successor Ibrahim, celebrated for sanctity, captured several cities on the Sutlej. In the follow- ing reign (that of Masaud II.) the royal residence began to be transferred to Lahore (about A.D. 1100.) Behram, a prince of great literary renown, acceded to the throne in 1118, but after thirty years of peace and prosperity, com- mitted an act of cruel injustice, which led to his own ruin aud the extiuctionof his dynasty. Having had a difference with his son-in- law, the prince of Ghor, he caused him to be put to death ; and after a long contest with the brother of his victim, succeeded in defeating and slaying him also, under cir- cumstances of aggravated barbarity. Ala- oo-deen Soor, indignant at the fate of his murdered brothers, entered the territories of their destroyer at the head of a small but determined force, compelled him to fly for his life, and seizing on Ghuznee, devoted the magnificent city, and its miserable in- habitants, for three (or some say nine days) to the desolating effects of flame, slaughter, and pillage. The superb monuments of its kings were utterly demolished, except those of Malimood, Masaud, and Ibrahim. Beli- ram strove to take refuge in India, but died on his way, worn out liy fatigue and disap- pointment. His son Khosru continued the retreat to liahore, and there established himself, A.D. 1152. The next king, Khosru Malik, the last of the race of Subuktugecn INDIAN CONQUESTS OF THE HOUSE OF GHOR— a.d. 1202. 71 reigned in t.riininiiHity for twoiity-sovcn years, and was then doi'(;atcd and taken prisoner, with his family, and eventually slain by the Ghor prinees, from whom his house thus received the final blow, in return for a long series of injuries and aggressions. House (if Ghor. — Shahab-oo-decn, the conquGror of Malik, on taking possession of Lahore, was snpjiorted by an army drawn from all (he warlike provinces between the Indus and Oxus, and accustomed to contend ■with the Seljnks and the northern hordes of Tartary. ]?eing at liberty to direct his ex- elusive attention to India, he probably ex- pected to subjugate extensive territories with ease and ra[)idity, owing to the peace- ful character of the people, the more so as their chief rulers were at variance with one another. Of the existing kingdoms the greatest •were those of Delhi, held by the elan of Tomara; Ajmcer, by that of Chou- han; Canouj by the Rahtorcs, and Guzerat by the Baghilas, who had supplanted the Chalukas. The Tomara chief dying with- out male issue, adopted his grandson Prithwi rajah of Ajmcer, who thus acceded to the double authority, greatly to the mor- tification of the rajah of Canouj, another grandson of the deceased ruler's. These internal differences did not how- ever prevent very determined resistance being offered to a foreign foe, though it probably marred the effect which might have resulted from a more united plan of defence. None of the Hindoo principalities fell without a severe struggle, and some were never entirely subdued, owing chiefly to the essentially warlike habits, and pecu- liar social position of the Kajpoots, whose almost feudal system of government, led them to contest the ground, not so much in a single great action, as inch by inch, each man fighting for his own chief, and his own hearth and home. The origin of this still powerful and interesting class has been alluded to (see p. 42), and will be more par- ticularly mentioned in commenting on the characteristics of the Hindoo population. Here it may bo observed, that had their prac- tical ability and energy in time of peace kept pace with their chivalrous enthusiasm and unswerving resolution under the stimulus of war, India might have spurned the hateful yoke of the Sloslems. But the constant use of pernicious drugs, seconding only too efVeetually the enervating tendencies of an eastern clime, brought indolence and sen- suality in their train, and while rendering their victims daily more infatuated with the varied forms of idolatry, which rapidly multi- plied, to the extinction of more sjiiritual aspirations — induced also inertion and list- lessncss with regard to material dangers, until the hour for preparation was passed, and no alternatives remained save death, slavery, or apostacy. Then indeed they kept the foe at bay with the courage of the lion, and braved their fate with more than Spar- tan fortitude. Thus Shahab-oo-deen and his successors found their task long and tedious, and repeatedly contested the pos- session of the same ground. The first attack was directed against Prithwi rajah, and took place at Tirouri, between Tancsur and Kurnaul, on the great plain where most of the eouff icts for paramount ])Ower in India, have been decided. The Hindoos succeeded in outflanking and completely routing the Mussulmans, who charged after their usual method with successive bodies of cavalry. Shahab himself was dangerously wounded, and after a pursuit of forty miles escaped with difficulty to Lahore, where, having col- lected the wreck of his array, he crossed the Indus, and after visiting his brother at Ghor, settled at Ghuznee. Two years later (1193) having reernited a fresh force he again encountered Prithwi rajah, whom he overcame by the dangerous stratagem, so frequently recorded in Moham- medan annals, of a pretended flight. The immense Hindoo army followed in headlong pursuit, when a body of Afghan horse 12,000 strong, suddenly wheeled round and charged upon them with terrible effect; the viceroy of Delhi and many chiefs were slain on the field, and the brave rajah liim- self being captured, was put to death in cold blood by his merciless opponent, who soon afterwards, having taken Ajmcer, massacred some thousands of its inhabitants, reserving the rest for slavery. In 1191, Jaya Chan- dra, the rajah of Canouj, was defeated and slain on the Jumna;* Canouj and Benares were taken by Shahab, whose power was thus extended into Bchar. In the follow- ing year Gwalior, in Bundelcund, and several other strong positions there, as also in Ko- hilcund, were successively seized, and the invader pursued his conquering career until the death of his brother placed him on the throne of Ghor, a.d. 1202. His four years' • The body was recognised by the false teeth, or according to' other writers, by the golden studs re- quired to fix thfc natural ones into tlieir sockets, on account of extreme age. 72 SLAVE-KINGS OP DELHI— 1206 to 1288. reign was full of vicissitudes. A report of his death during a war with the king of Kharizm,* occasioned the defection of seve- ral of his western tributaries^ and the wild tribe of the Gukkurs issued from their mountains in the north of the Punjaub, took Lahore, and devastated the whole pro- vince. Kootb-oo-dcen, originally a Turki slave, but raised by Shahab to the govern- ment of his Indian possessions, remained faithful to his patron, aided him in recover- ing the Punjaub, and induced the Gukkurs to embrace Islamism. Shahab was, however, slain in his camp on the Indus by a band of these mountaineers, who, stimulated by the desire of revenge, having lost relations in the late war, swam across the river at midnight, and entered the royal camp unopposed. f He left no son; and, although his nephew Mahmood was proclaimed throughout the whole of his uncle's dominions, yet these broke up without a struggle into separate states. The deceased monarch had care- fully trained several Turki slaves, of whom three were in possession of extensive govern- ments at the time of his death. The most noted, Kootb-oo-deen, was invested by Mah- mood with the insignia of royalty, a.d. 1206, and thus commenced the line, named from the seat of government, the Slave-kings of Delhi. The whole of Hindoostan Proper (of course excluding the Deccan), except Malwa and some contiguous districts, had now been subjugated in a greater or less degree ; Sinde and Bengal were in rapid course of reduction, but in Guzerat little dominion had been acquired beyond that connected with the possession of the capital, which was for a short time retained. Thus <in Indian empire was established, of which the Indus formed the western boundary, though before this epoch there seems reason to believe that " India," in the common accp- tation of the term, had a far wider extent. Altamsh acceded in 1211 j he was of a noble family, but had been sold as a slave by liis envious brothers. During his reign the whole face of Asia was changed by a terrible scourge. Jcngis Khan, originally a petty chief among the Moguls, having subdued the three nations of Tartary and swelled • Kharizm, the Chorasmia of tlio .incicnts, a city which gives its name to the province, became in- denendent under Atziz, the revolting; governor of a Seljuk Siillan, by the aid of the Kliitans, a Tartar tribe. 'J'he Kliarizm kings conquered Ghor, and were overtlirown by Jcngis Khan. t By another account, the death of Sliahab is at- tributed to one of tlie Fedeyan or zealots of Almo- his bands with their united hordes, swept like a desolating torrent over the Moham- medan kingdoms. Altamsh, by politic con- duct, succeeded in shielding most of his ter- ritories from the fury of Jengis and his myriads ; but Sinde and Moultan, imder the dominion of a refractory Moslem governor, did not escape so easily. In the former place, 10,000 prisoners were massacred ou account of a scarcity of provisions in the Mogul camp. Altamsh employed the last six years of his life in completing the conquest of Hin- doostan Proper, that is, in bringing the principalities into partial dependence, in which state they continued during the whole period of Tartar and subsequently of Mogul supremacy, the degree of subjection varying greatly with the character of the reigning prince, and being occasionally in- terrupted by isolated attempts at freedom on the part of native rulers. The caliph of Bagdad formally recognized the new king- dom, in which, during the general subver- sion of Mohammedan governments, no less than fifteen sovereign princes (of Ghor, Kha- rizm, Bagdad, &e.,) took refuge at one time, during the reign of Bulbun or Balin (1206 to 1286). The only monarch of this line claiming especial notice is the Sultana Rezia, who, Ferishta writes, " was endowed with every princely virtue, and those who scrutinise her actions most severely will find 'm. her no fault but that she was a woman." So great was the confidence of her father Altamsh in her practical ability, that during his campaigns he left Rczia in charge of the home authority in preference to his sons. Her administration when raised to the throne (after the deposition of her brother, a weak and incompetent prince) is repre- sented as unexceptionable; but the faction by whom her accession had been opposed raised a rebellion, on the pretext of the undue partiality evinced to an Abyssinian slave who had been elevated to the rank of Ameer- ul-omra. The sultana marched for its sup- pression, but the army mutinied and delivered up their sovereign to the hostile leader, a Turki chief, who, becoming enaiuourcd of his captive, married her and proceeded to assert her rights against his former confederates. wut (Eti;/lc's nest), a famous fortress in the Kohistan, tenanted by a cruel and powerful set of fanatics, who for more than a century and-a-half were the dread of orthodox Moliammedans ; the calipli on his tlirone and llie dervise in liis cell, alil<e falling victims to the knives of these midnight assassins, wlio were at length extir])ated by Ilulaku Khan. Their chief was termed the Sheikli-uI-Jubbul, or OCd Man of tho Mnunlain. HOUSE OF KIIILJI— A.D. 1288.— ALA-00-DEEN. After two severe conflicts, both llczia and her !nis!)and were taken and put to death in cold blood, a.d. 12.'5!*. 'I'lie short reij^ns of the two succccdinpf kings both ended in deposition and murder ; that of the latter is meu\orable for a INIogul incursion throuf;h 'J'ibct into ]3cngal, the only one recorded from that quarter during the period of authentic history ; on the north-western frontier they were frc(|uent and destructive. The assassination of Kei Koi)ad (a cruel and dissolute monarch) in 1288, paved the way for a new dynasty. House of K It'll ji. — .Telal-oo-dcen was placed on the throne by his tribe, the (Khilji*) ■when seventy years of age, in spite of his own reluctance. At the end of his reign the Dccean was invaded by his nephew, Ala-oo-dccn, who, diverting the attention of the Hindoo princes by a pretence of having quarrelled with his uncle and being about to join the Hindoo ruler of llaja- mundri, succeeded in marching at the head of a chosen body of 8,000 horse to Deogiri (Doulatabad), a distance of 700 miles, great part of it through the moun- tains and forests of the Yindya range. Deogiri, the capital of Ramdco, rajah of Maharashta, once reached was taken with- out difllcult}', as Ilamdeo, utterly unpre- pared for an assault, had no means of de- fending it, but retired to a hill-fort with a body of 3,000 or 4,000 citizens and domes- tics. The town was pillaged and the mei'- chants tortured to make them surrender their treasures. The fortress might have held out successfully, but that in the hurry of victualling the garrison sacks of salt had been taken in mistake for grain. The rajah was consequently obliged to make the best terms he could, which involved the payment of gold and jewels to an immense amount, and the cession of Elikpoor and its depen- dencies. Ala-oo-dccn returned in triumph through Candcish into jNIalwa, but his am- bition, stimulated by the success of his late nnjust proceedings, prompted the seizure of the throne of India. For this end, he scrupled not at the commission of a crime, heinous in itself to the highest degree, and aggravated, if possible, by the circumstances under which it was perpetrated. The counsellors of the aged monarch had emphatically warned him of the crafty and unscrupulous character of his nephew, but • A tribe of Tartar descent long settled among t(ie Afghans, with whom tlieir name is almost in- variably found associated. could not shake his faith in one whom he had reared from infancy. He therefore crossed the Ganges with very few att('iidants to meet and welcome the conqueror; whom he was fondly embracing at the moment when the heartless ingrate, by a preconcerted .sig- nal, summoned the assassins posted for the purpose, who, coming forward, stabbed the king to the heart, and fastening his head upon a spear, carried it througli the city. The two sons of the rajah he inveigled into his power, and caused to be jjut to death, lie then strove, by lavish gifts and [jrofusion in shows and festivals, to reconcile the people to his usurpation. Public granaries were constructed, prices fixed for all commodities, importation encouraged by loans to mer- chants, and exportation prohibited ; the origin of these measures being a desire to reduce the pay of the troops and the con- sequent necessity of diminishing the expence of living. Although, during liis prolonged administration, Ala-oo-deen showed himself ignorant and capricious, as well as cruel and arbitrary; though his arrogance and covetousness constantly increased, yet his twenty years' reign left the country in a far better condition than it had been imder the sway of his kind but weak predecessor : so true it is that in despotic governments, one vigorous tyrant, whose will is the law of all, generally occasions less suffering than the feeble though gentle sovereign, who, inca- pable of swaying an undivided sceptre, shares his power with a crowd of petty despots, by whose harassing exactions the strength and wealth of the nation is gradually frittered away. Several IMogul invasions from Trans- oxiana (the last for many years) were re- pelled by Ala ; the most serious occurred A.D. 129t), and was attended with great suf- fering to the people of Delhi. A fierce con- test took place between armies of extraordi- nary magnitude, and was gained chiefly by the valour of the INIoslcm general, Zafar Khan, who, having become an object of jealousy to his treacherous master, was pur- posely left unsupported. Perceiving his situation, the flying foe turned back and cut him and his small detachment to pieces, after a resistance worthy of his character. The Mogul chiefs taken at this and other times were trampled to death by elephants, and the men butchered in cold blood, to the number of 9,000 in a single instance. Fear- ing, perhaps, the spirit of vengeance to which such ferocity might give rise, Ala suddenly- discharged the whole of the Mogul converts 74 HOUSE OF TOGHLAK— A.D. 1321. from his service, a violent and imprudent measure, for -which, though habitually tur- bulent, they appear to have given no imme- diate cause. Driven to despair, some of them entered into a conspiracy to assassinate the king, who, detecting the plot, caused the whole, to the number of 15,000, to be mas- sacred, and their families sold into slavery. Very extensive conquests were made in the Deccan by the Moslems under the leadership of Cafur, a slave and eunuch, I taken in the capture of Guzerat, but pro- moted by Ala to high command. Maha- rashta and Carnata were subjugated, the princes who still retained their dominions being compelled to pay tribute, while the suc- cessor of Ramdeo (the rajah of Deogiri, pre- viously conquered) having refused to do so, was put to death. The spirit of the Hin- doos was however yet far from being com- pletely bowed under the oMussulman yoke. Guzerat revolted; Chittore (a celebrated hill- fort in Mewar) was recovered by Rana (prince) Hamir ; and Harpal or Hari Pala (son-in-law to Ramdeo) raised an extensive insurrection in the Deccan, and expelled many of the foreign garrisons. These ill-tidings coming one upon an- other, produced in the mind of Ala-oo-deen transports of rage, which a constitution weakened by habitual intempei'ance and un- ceasing anxiety could ill bear. Conspiracies and insurrections, real and imaginary, em- bittered every hour of his life; and the well- nigh successful attempt of his nephew prince Soliman, to seize the throne by a plot similar in its perfidy to his own, inspired constant suspicions of domestic treachery. The only being in whom he trusted, Cafur, his victorious general, proved to he a hypo- crite, designing and ambitious as himself; who, after alienating from his master the chief nobility, induced him, by innumerable artifices, to imprison the unoffending queen and her children, and then hastened his decease by poison. Under the alleged authority of a forged will, (by which Ala bequeathed the throne to an infant son, and appointed Cafur regent,) the traitor assumed the reins of government, caused the eyes of the captive princes to be put out, and sent assassins to dispatch a third named Mobarik. The plot failed ; Cafur was liimsclf murdered by the royal guard ; and Mobarik succeeded to the throne, A.D. 1317, after blinding liis infant brother, who was immured in a hill-fort for life. Under a government where the extirpation of possible rivals was deemed a matter of expediency (that lying word so often used in diplomacy to make wrong seem right, or at least disguise its full wickedness), even such barbarity as this might create little aversion, but to provide against any such feeling, while yet unsettled on the throne, Mobarik set free all prisoners, to the amount of 17,000, restored the lands confiscated by his father, removed his oppressive taxes, and abo- lished all restrictions on trade and property. He then marched to the Deccan and captured Harpal, who was inhumanly sentenced to be flayed alive. A converted Hindoo slave, styled Khosru Khan, was made vizier ; by him Malabar was conquered, and this service so won upon Mobarik, that confiding the whole administration to his favourite, he commenced a course of the most odious and degrading debauchery. A continual suc- cession of disturbances and rebellions fol- lowed, attended with all the pernicious ex- citement of cruel tortui-es and executions; but the king, like his wretched father, was doomed to receive his death-blow, not at the hands of his indignant and cruelly in- jured subjects, but from the serpent whom he had cherished in his bosom. Khosru occupied the palace with his creatures, filled the capital with Hindoo troops of his own caste, and then, the web being woven, murdered his infatuated victim and seized the vacant throne. After completely extii'- pating the house of Lodi, the usin-per strove to gain over the ameers or nobles, and some of them consented to take ofliee under him. Others refused, and joined Toghlak, governor of the Punjaiib, who marched to Delhi, and after the defeat and death of Khosru, was proclaimed king, a.d. 1321. House of Toghlak.- — The new ruler (the son of a Turki slave by an Indian mother) proved a blessing to the people by whom he had been chosen. Order was restored to the internal administration, and the threatened invasion of the Moguls on the north-west checked by a line of defences formed along the Afghan frontier; Telingana was conquered, as also Dacca ; Tirhoot (for- merly Mithila) reduced, and the rajah taken prisoner by Toghlak, who, when returning victorious to his capital, a.d. 1325, was crushed to death, with five other persons, by the fall of a wooden pavilion, erected to re- ceive him by his son and successor, to whom a treacherous design is attributed. Moham- med Toghlak, on whose reputation the stigma of parricide is thus allixcd, was re- TYRANNICAL AND DESOLATING RULE OF MOHAMMED TOGHLAK. 75 markablc for great talents, often wickedly, and soiiictiaic.s so wildly usi'd, as to render his sanity a doubt fid qiicstiou. In ]an>;ua;^es, logie, Greek pliilosoiiliy, matheniaties and inedieine, his attainments were extraordi- nary; in war lie was brave and active ; in domestic life devout, abstinent and moral. Notwithstanding all this, he proved one of the worstkings underwhose seourgcludia has ever bled antl sud'cred. When released from tlie fear of invasion on the [lart of the Moguls, whoso absence was obtained by an enormous bribe — he completed the reduction of the Decoan ; and tlien gave the I'cin to his ambitious but ill-digested schemes, by as- sembling an army (comprising, according to Eerishta, 370,000 horse), intended for the conquest of Persia, but which, after it had consumed his treasures, broke up for want of ])ay, carrying pillage and disorganization m every quarter. Next followed an at- tempt upon China. For this 100,000 men were sent through the Himalaya Mountains, and having with loss and difficulty efl'ccted a passage, were met on the enemy's frontier by a powerful force, with whom fatigue and want of provisions rendered the invaders unable to cope. The approach of the wet season compelled a speedy retreat, which the pursuit of the Chinese, the difficulties of the route, famine and heavy rains, made so disastrous, that at the end of fifteen days, scarcely a man survived to tell the tale, and many of those left behind in garrisons dui'ing the advance of the ill-fated force, were put to death by the unreasoning rage of the disappointed king. An endeavour to fill the royal treasury, by substituting paper, for copper, tokens,* utterly failed in its object, from the known insolvency of the govern- ment, and it seriously injured trade and impoverished the people; who, no longer able to endure the increasing pressure of taxation, deserted the towns and tied to the woods, in some places maintaining them- selves by rapine. The infuriated despot ordered out his army, as if for a great hunt, surrounded an extensive tract of country, as is usual in an Indian chase, and then com- manded the circle to close and slaughter all within it (mostly inoftensive peasants), like wild beasts. More than once was this hor- rible performance repeated; and on a sub- • AVith regard to coinage, it may be remarked that at the time of Cal'\u''s invasion, there was, according to Ferishta, no silver coinage in the Carnatic ; and colonel Briggs remarks that the same was true, to a certain e.\tent, till very lately, the common coin sequent occasion, its atrocities were paral- leled by a general massacre of the inhahi- taiits of the great city of Canouj. Famine, induced by cruelty and misgoverument, bnjuglit to a climax the miseries of the nation, and various attempts were made to break the fetters of such unbearable oppression. Mohammed's own nephew took up arms in IMalwa, but was defeated and flayed alive; the governor of the Punjaub next rebelled, and he also was subdued and slain. ]]cngal, and soon afterwards the Carnatic, revolted under ISIoslcm governors, and were never again subdued ; Carnata and Telin- gana combined suceesfully under native rajahs for the recovery of their indepen- dence ; and lesser struggles took place in every quarter. The Amccrf Judeeda, or new nobles (the name given to the Mogul chiefs and their descendants, who, having invaded India, had embraced Islaniism and the service of the kings of Delhi at the same time), became seditious in the Deecan; and in Malwa, seventy of them were treacherously massacred by the new governor, a man of low origin, desirous to show his zeal — upon which the officers of the same nation iu Guzcrat, prevailed on the rest of the troops to join them iu insurrection. Mohammed in person advanced for its suppression, and ravaged his own province as if it had been that of an enemy, devoting the rich towns of Cambay and Surat to plunder. With equal vigour he proceeded to quell a general rebellion in the Deecan ; but no sooner was seeming quiet restored in one place by a costly effusion of blood, than new distur- bances broke out in another. The king, wearied out with marching and counter- marching, fell a victim to a fever, caused, it is said, by a surfeit of fish, but more pro.< bably by political anxiety, added to the habitual tumult of his own ungovernable passions. He died at Tatta, whither he liad proceeded in ptirsuit of some fugitives from Guzcrat, who had taken refuge with the Ilajpoot princes of Sinde. The only marvel is, that he should have been permitted to reign twenty-seven years, and yet escape the common fate of Asiatic tyrants — poison or the sword. Few could ever have provoked such an cud more pertinaciously than Mohammed Toghlak, who, iu spite of his being the pagoda : there was also another gold coin called afanam, in value about equal to a sixpence. t Ameer, Emir or Mir alike signify noble, com- mander, chief. Thus, Ameer-ool-omra, means head of the nobles, or commander-in-chiefl 76 FEROZE TOGHLAK AND HIS SUCCESSORS— a.d. 1351 to 1394. intellectual gifts and personal bravery, alternately excited emotions of horror and contempt in the breasts of his subjects, evincing alike in his extensive projects or less disastrous follies, the same utter reck- lessness with regard to tlieir lives and pro- perties. Thus — desiring to transfer the capital from the magnificent city of Delhi to Deogiri, as being a more central position, he proceeded to attempt the execution of this design, by ordering all the inhabitants of the former, to remove at once to the latter place, to which he gave the name of Doulatabad, and there built the massive fort still existing. After this the people were twice permitted to return to Delhi, and twice compelled, on pain of death, to leave it : these movements being all, more or less, attended with the horrors of famine, occasioning the death of thou- sands, and rain and distress to many more. As an instance of his minor freaks, may be noticed that of having a stately mausoleum erected over a carious tooth, extracted dur- ing his campaign in the Carnatic, and this too at a time when his troops, ravaged by pestilence and decimated by civil war, found full employment in heaping a little earth over their fallen comrades. In the early pai't of this reign, the Mohammedan em- pire east of the Indus, was more extensive than at any other period ; but the provinces lost during its continuance were not all regained till the time of Aurungzebe, and the royal authority received a shock which the iron grasp of the ]\Iogul dynasty alone sufficed to counterbalance. Feroze Toghlak succeeded to the throne, in the absence of direct heirs, chietly by the influence of the Hindoo chiefs, and after some disturbances raised by the INIogul mercenaries. His reign stands out in pleasing contrast, not only to tliat of his predecessor, but to despotic rulers in general, llejecting the pursuit of what is commonly called glory, he recognised the independence of Bengal and the Deccan, and without seeking to extend the empire by the sword, employed himself in its consolidation and improvement. The diminution of capi- tal punishments, the abolition of torture and nmtilation, the removal of numerous vexa- tious taxes, alterations in the collection of tlie revenue, the abrogation of lluctuating and precarious imposts — all spoke the earnest solicitude of the ruler for the welfare of the people, llcservoirs and canals for irrigation, mosques, colleges, caravanserais, hosj)itals, public baths, bridges, and many other edifices were erected, and the revenues of certain lands assigned for their maintenance. The chief of these works still remains a noble monument to the memory of its founder — viz., a canal extending from the point where the Jumna leaves the mountains by Kurnaul to Hansi and Hissar. It reaches to the river Gagar, and was formerly con- nected with the Sutlej. A portion, extend- ing about 200 miles, has been restored by the British government, and will be described in the topographical section. Feroze long retained his energies ; but in his eighty-seventh year, increasing infirmities compelled him to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, Nasir-oo-deen, a.d. 1385. This prince was displaced in little more than a year by two of his cousins, who having secured the person of the old king, proclaimed his grandson, Glieias-oo-deen, sovereign ; soon after which event, Feroze died, aged ninety. Gheias, in five months, was de- posed and murdered by the kinsmen who had placed him on the throne. His suc- cessor, Abu-bekir, was displaced by the pre- viously exiled monarch, Nasir-oo-deen, after a long and severe contest, during which Delhi repeatedly changed hands. The Hindoos took an active part in the struggle, and the household troops, who were all foreigners, having shown particular hostility to the conqueror, were banished the city, none being permitted to remain if incapable of pronouncing a certain letter peculiar to the languages of Hindoostan. The rule of Nasir was weak and inefficient, and that of his son, Mahmood, who acceded to power in 1394, while yet a minor, em- barrassed yet more the public affairs. Mozuffer Khan, the governor of Guzerat began to act as an irresponsible ruler; while Malwa and the little province of Can- dcish permanently threw oft' the yoke, and remained independent principalities until the time of Akber. The vizier of Mahmood, with peculiar disloyalty, seized on the pro- vince of Juanpoor and founded a kingdom. The remaining territories were torn with the dissensions of jarring factions, and each party was occupied with its own quarrels, when the fierce onslaught of a foreign foe involved all in a common calamity. Ameer Timur, better known as Timur Beg (chief or couunaudcr) or as Tamerlane, has been designated " the fire-brand of the uni- verse," " the apostle of desolation," and by various otheropprobrious epithets, all of which his own autobiography, if its authenticity may INVASION OF INDIA BY TIMUR OR TAMERLANE— a.d. 1398. 77 be trusted, proves to have hccu (nWy merited.* He claimed a remote descent from tlie same stoek as Jcnf;;is Kliau, whom he ia many points rcscml)lcd; for, tliouf^h born near Samarcand, iu a eompiirativelj' civilized country, and a zealous iMussulmau by pro- fession, Timur was as barbarous iu his war- fare, and as short-sighted (though more treacherous and wily) in his policy as the ferocious Mogul. IJoth were unprincipled marauders, who overran countries and slaughtered unoffending myriads, for plun- der; but the latter, while everywhere carry- ing anarchy, famine, and pestilence in his train, and sparing neither nation nor creed, invariably asserted zeal for Islam as the main spring of his actions, and by a strange mixture of superstition and egotism, seems to have succeeded in deceiving himself at least, as to the true character and conse- quences of his career. Tlie Seyeds or legi- timate descendants of "his holiness the prophet" (through Ali and Fatinia), were the exclusive objects of his protection, and their exemption from a personal share in the horrors of war, he considered, or pretended to consider, a certain means of absolution for a life spent in unceasing aggression on the individual and collective rights of the rest of mankind. Having united the hordes of Tartary in the same manner, though not to the same extent as Jengis had done, Timur, after conquering Persia and Transoxiana, ravaged Tartary, Georgia, and Mesopotamia, with parts of Russia and Siberia. Candahar, Ghuznee, and Cabool, to the frontiers of Hindoostan, were also subjugated and placed under the government of Peir ]\Ioliammed, the grandson of Timui-, who eiideavoiu'cd to extend his dominions to the south-east by an attack on the Afghans in the Soliman mountains; which proving successful, the invader eventually proceeded to cross the Indus and occupy the city of Ouch, whence he marched to invest iMoultan. The place was bravely defended, and Peir lay for six months before its walls. INIeanwhile Timur, learning the doubtful state of affairs, re- nounced his intention of invading the more distant provinces of the Chinese empire, and conducted his forces to India, a.i>. 1.'398, • Vide Mulfuzat Timuri (pvintesl at the cost of the Oriental Translation Fund). Originally written in Turki, a language as distinct from the modern Turkish as Saxon from English ; translated into Per- sian hy Abu Talib llussyny, and thence into our tongue by Major Stewart. These memoirs afford strong internal evidence of having been actually dic- M being, lie alleged, stimulated thereto by accounts of the gross idolatry still suffered to extend its influence throughout the countries swayed by Moslem rulers. Fol- lowing the usual route to Cabool, he marched by Ilaryuband liunnoo to Dinkot, a place on the Indus to the south of the Salt range, whose exact position is not known. After crossing the river, by a bridge of rafts and reeds, he advanced to the Ilydaspes, and I marched down its banks, ravaging the country as he passed, as far as Toolumba, where a heavy contribution proved insufli- cicnt to save the city from pillage, or the peojilc from massacre. Moultan had by this time been taken by blockade, famine having conquered where external force had utterly failed ; and Peir, leaving a garrison there, joined his grand- father on the Sutlcj. At the head of a detach- ment of 11,000 chosen horse, Timur took possession of Adjudin, where the few remain- ing inhabitants threw themselves upon his mercy, and being chiefly Seyeds, were spared and shielded from the excesses of the sol- diery — a very rare case, for although the promise of similar forbearance was often obtained from the fierce invader, it was almost invariably violated ; whether from inability or disinclination to restrain his tur- bulent associates matters little, since it scarcely affects the degree of guilt involved in giving, or rather selling an immunity which, from one cause or another, he well knew, would not be preserved. His deso- lating career in Hindoostan may be briefly told ; for the terrible details of pillage and slaughter recur again and again, until the mind, sickening with an unbroken chain of similar scenes, has the sense of their atrocity almost dulled by the monotonous repetition. At Bhutnecr, the country people who had taken refuge under the walls were mas- sacred ; in spite of their capitulation, the inhabitants shared the same fate, and the town was burned. Thence Timur's detach- ment marched to join the main force, slaying the people of every place traversed, as far as Samaua, where the towns being absolutely deserted, the swords of these mur- derers had some rest, but only suiiieient to tated by Timur; to quote the words of an able critic, any doubt on the subject " would be removed by the unconscious simplicity with which he [Timur] relates his own inti'igucs and perfidy ; taking credit for an excess of goodness and sincerity which the boldest flatterer would not have ventured to ascribe to him.'' — (Elphinstone's India, vol. ii., p. 79.) 78 CRUELTIES OF TIMUR— GOVERNMENT OP THE SEYEDS— a.d. 1412. prepare them for renewed exertion, since, ou reaching Delhi, all prisoners above fifteen years of age were put to death, from the fear of their taking part with their couutry- meu. The number was doubtless very great, even after making large deductions from the accounts of Mussulman writers, who state it at 100,000. Upon the defeat of the Indian army, the reigning prince of Delhi, Mahmood Toghlak, fled to Guzerat, and the city was surrendered under a solemn assurance of protection. Tamerlane was proclaimed em- peror of India, and while engaged in cele- brating a triumphal feast, his ferocious hordes, laughing to scorn the dearly-bought promise of their leader, commenced their usual course of rapine and plunder, upon which the Hindoos, driven to desperation by witnessing the disgrace of their wives and daughters, shut the gates, sacrificed the women and children, and rushed out to slay and be slain. The whole Mogul army poured into the town, and a general massacre followed, until several streets were rendered impassable by heaps of slain. At length the wretched inhabitants, stnpified by the over- powering number and barbarity of the foe, flung down their arms, and " submitted themselves like sheep to slaughter ; in some instances permitting one man to drive a hundred of them prisoners before him." Delhi yielded an enormous booty in gold, silver, and jewels, especially rubies and dia- monds ; the historian* above quoted, de- clares that the amount stated by his autho- rities so far exceeds belief, that he refrains from the mention — neither does he give the number of men and women, of all ranks, dragged into slavery ; but it must have been immense. Among them were many masons and other artificers, competent to the con- struction of a mosque, similar to the noble edifice of white marble built by Feroze, on the Jumna : in which the sanguinary Timur, on the eve of departure from the blasted city, had the audacity to ofl'er up public thanks for the wrongs he had been permitted to inflict. Merut next fell beneath the same terrible * Briggs' Fcrhhtn, vol. i., p. '194. For the career of Timur, see Elphinstone's able summary — India, vol. i., pp. 75 to 80 ; Price's 3Iiihtiinmcdun History, vol. iii., pp. 2153, 213 ; and Keniiell's 3Icmoir of' a Map nf llinddostan, pp. 110, 121. t In Catron's Miiyni I^nipire, (a work pviblished in 1709, and allef;ed to be fbinuled on data collected by a Venetian named Manouchi, wlio acted as physician to Aurungzebe,) the troops of Timur are represented as commenting severely on the person of their leader, scourge : the walls were thrown down by mines, and every soul put to the sword. The invaders then crossed the Ganges, and proceeded up its banks to near Hurdwar, where the river leaves the mountains. Several minor contests took place with bodies of the Hindoos in the skirts of the hills, in which Timur, although suS'ering from illness, and burdened with the weight of more than seventy years, took his full share of danger and fatigue, never scrupling to hazard his own personf equally with that of the meanest individual of his force. From Jammu or Jummoo, north of Lahore, he turned south, and reverting to the route by which he had entered India, took his final departure, having occasioned, during the short space of five months, an almost in- credible amount of ruin and bloodshed. For many weeks Delhi i-emained un- governed and nearly uninhabited. A chief named Ecbal at length obtained possession, but being slain on an expedition to Moultan, the authority reverted to Mahmood, who, having returned from Guzerat, had taken refuge at Canouj, then held by the king of Juanpoor. IMalimood died, a.d. I'il2. His successor, Doulat Khan Lodi, at the expi- ration of fifteen months, was expelled by Khizer Khan, the governor of the Punjaub. The Seyeds. — The new ruler, though born in India, was descended from Mohammed, and for this cause found favour with Timur, to whom he complained of having had the governorship of a portion of the Punjaub unjustly taken from him, and was thereupon appointed to the undivided rule of the whole. He affected to recognize his patron as emperor, and did not assume the title or style of royalty on taking possession of the government, which now comprised little be- yond Delhi and the adjacent territory. The Punjaub was temporarily re-annexed by him, but the eastern portion, with the coun- tr}' about Sirhind, revolted and severed itself from Delhi, despite the opposition of Khizer, who made spirited eflbrts to main- tain and extend his authority. Tribute was levied from the llahtores in Roliilcuud, and incited by a strong dread of Rana (the title signify- ing prince being mistaken for tlie name), whose do- minions are described as " almost situate in the midst of Hindoostan," and whose Rajpoot soldiers had the reputation of being invincible. " Have we not," said they [the Tartars], one to another, " served this hair- brained cripple long enough, who, to the loss of a leg, has now, in this last battle, added the loss of an arm." They are, however, induced to persevere, and complete victory is the result. ([). I'i.) from otlirr Hiiuloos near Owalior, Imt flic- war witli tlu; kiii^ of (iuzcrat, Uu)iii;Ii -dili- gently ])rosocuto(l, liad no important result, and tliat state retained its indepondcnce, as did also the permanent monareliies in tlic Dceean, topjctlicr with ]\fal\va, ]5engal, Juan- poor (comi)rcheii(liiif^ Oiulo and Canoiij), and the }>'overnments of Samana, 15iana, and Cal|)cc (in Unndclciind). Kliizcr died in 1421 — his three Seycd sueeessors were en- gaged in struggles, first, with the Mogul ruler of Cabool (Shah Rokh, the sou of Timur), who oceasionally took part with the Gukkurs in ravaging the I'linjaub; and afterwards with the kings of Juanpoor and Malwa. Under the sway of the last Seycd ruler, Ala-oo-dccn, the territory apjicrtain- ing to Delhi had become so reduced as in one direction to extend for only twelve miles from the capital, and in another scarcely a mile. Moultan, among other places, had become independent, but Bada- yoon beyond the Ganges being still jios- sesscd by Ala, he removed to that place, and having abdicated in favour of Bchlol Khan Lodi, who forthwith assumed the title of king, a.d. 1450, he was suftered to remain unmolested in Badayoon for the remaining twenty-eight years of his life. Jloi/se of Lodi. — The grandfather of Bch- lol Lodi had been governor of jNloultan under Ferozc Toghlak, the great patron of the Afghans, and his fatiicr and uncles held commands under the Scyeds. Their wealth and power as military chieftains, together with the calumnies of a disaffected relation, at length excited the jealousy of the then sultan (Mohammed Seycd), by whom the Lodis were driven into the hills, where they sueecssfully resisted his authority. Bchlol found means to occupy, first Sirhind, then the whole of the Punjaub, and eventually (by a treacherous use of the influence of Hameed the vizier or prime minister of his predecessor Ala), gained possession of Delhi, to which the Punjaub became thus re:-au- nexed, as also Juanpoor, after a contest carried on with little intermission for twenty-seven years. By this last acquisi- tion, together with others of less import- ance, the dominions of Bchlol were extended, until, at his death in 1488, they reached from the Jumna to the Himalaya mountains as far east as Benares, besides a tract on the west of the Jumna stretching to Bun- delcund. The next king, Seeander Lodi, regained Bchar as far as the frontiers of Bengal, and increased his territories in the direction of Bundelcund. Sccander was a just and merciful prince, a poet, and a niuni(irent jiatron of letters. The single reproach on his character, one rarely brought forward against the Moslem sovereigns of India, is that of bigotry, evinced in the de- struction of idolatrous temples in the towns and forts captured from the Hindoos, and in the jjrohibition of pilgrimages and cere- monial bathings on certain festivals at places situate on the sacred streams within his dominions. His conduct in this respect was at least in accordance with the teaching of the Koran, and greater tolerance would have been contrary to his views of duty. The zeal of Sccander is once, and only once, al- leged to have prompted an act of cruelty, namely, the execution of a Brahmin who had sedulously propagated the doctrine that " all religions, if sincerely practised, were equally acceptable to God." Ibrahim Lodi, the sou and successor of Seeander, early offended his family and clansmen, by de- claring that a king should acknowledge no such relationship, but shoidd place all the subjects of the state on the same footing. The Af;ghan chiefs whom his father and grandfather had suffered to sit in their pre- sence, were henceforth commanded to stand in front of the throne with folded arms. The proud Lodi tribe enraged by the contumelious treatment they received, re- solved to leave Ibrahim in possession of Delhi, and to raise his brother Julal Khan to the throne of Juanpoor. After a twelve- month's contest, Julal was taken prisoner and put to death by Ibrahim, who impri- soned the remainder of his brothers, and endeavoured by violence and treachery, to keep under the disaffected and rebellious spirit which his arrogance and distrust per- petually excited among his nobles. At length the whole of the eastern part of his dominions was formed into a separate state under Deria Khan Lohani, whose son after- wards took the title of king. Doulat Klian Lodi, the governor of the Punjaub, dreading the fate of other viceroys, revolted and in- voked the aid of a neighbouring potentate who had already evinced his desire to take advantage of the distracted state of India by marauding incursions into the Punjaub. The celebrated Baber — sixth in descent ' through his paternal ancestors from Timur ' the Tartar or rather Turk, and connected through his mother with Jengis Khan the Mogul — acceded, at twelve years of age, by i the death of his father to the throne of Fer- 80 BABER— HIS EARLY HISTORY AND INDIAN INVASION. ghana,* (a.d. 1494), which, nothwithstancl- ing his extreme youth, he struggled long and ably to retain, against his own relatives, and the' Uzbeks,t who were then founding the dominion which they still possess in Transoxiana. In the defence of his rightful inheritance Baber appears to have been at first svicccss- ful, but the death of his uncle, the king of Samarcand, and the confusion which ensued, induced him to attempt the conquest of that city, and after more than one failure, this boy of fifteen became master of the famous capital of Timur. He had however bartered the substance of power for the shadow. The resources of Samarcand, already drained by war, afforded little as- sistance in the payment of the army, dis- affection ensued, which spread to the troops left in Ferghana, and Baber prostrated for a time by dangerous sickness, arose stripped alike of the territory towhichhe had rightfully succeeded, and that acquired by the sword. After various attempts, both on Samarcand and Ferghana, Baber succeeded in regain- ing his native kingdom, but being again induced to leave it by the hope of securing the former place also, he finally lost both, and after several years of trial and vicissi- tude, was betrayed by some Uzbeks whom he had tempted to foi-sake their ally Tambol (his own rebel general), into the hands of this powerful enemy. Escaping from cap- tivity, Baber, accompanied by his mother, bade a last farewell to Ferghana, with all the bitter feelings of an exile, aggravated by his own peculiar trials, and carrying witli him fond recollections of that beautiful laud which were never obliterated by the excite- ment of the brilliant career that awaited liim beyond the range of the Hindoo Koosh.J The princely adventurer was well received in Bactria, and the Moguls flocked round his standard, until his small force of 200 or 300 men (many of them only armed with clubs) had become the nucleus of a regular and well-equipped army. At this time the des- cendants of Timur had been expelled from Cabool, which was occupied by the IVIogul or Turki family of Arghoon, who had been for some time in possession of Candahar. Baber invaded Cabool, and found little difficulty in • A small l)ut rich and beautiful country situated on the upper course of the river Sirr or Jaxartes. t The Uzbeks (so called from one of their khans or sovereigns) were what the fjeologists would call " a conglomerate" of tribes of Turki, Mogul, and pro- bably of Fennic origin, the former greatly prepon- securiug the sceptre, which he swayed for twenty-two years before his conquest of India, and then bequeathed to heirs of his own lineage, by whom it was enjoyed until the end of the seventeenth century. His long reign was spent in contests with in- ternal and external foes. The rebellion of his brother, Jehangeer, and the attempts of two of his cousins to regain the sovereignty for this branch of the family of Timur, were with difficulty subdued. The victor freely forgave his brother, and spared the lives of his other relatives, thus evincing a clemency very unusual in an oriental despot, and the more to be admired since his power, and even existence, were repeatedly in jeopardy, and only rescued from destruction by the great skill aud courage with which he never failed to govern and animate his troops. The conquest of Candahar and expeditions into the mountains of the Afghans and Hazarehs, occupied the first years of his sway in Cabool. In all these journeyings great perils and hardships were endured, and once he nearly perished in the snow during a winter march to Herat, undertaken to secure the co-opera- tion of the members of the Timur house then ruling there, against the Uzbeks. "With these old and determiiaed enemies, Baber had many severe contests, until, happily for him, their leader Sheibani Khan, went to war with Shah Ismael Saffavi, king of Persia, and was defeated and slain in 1510. By this event the tide of Tartar conquest was turned, and Baber, aided by the Persian monarch, occupied Bactria and made im- portant conquests in Transoxiana, but these were wrested back again by the Uzbeks, by whom his army was completely routed, a.d. 1514. Baber now turned his attention to India, and after an invasion of the Punjaub, already- alluded to, but attended with no important result, gladly accepted the invitation of its rebellious governor, Doulat Khan Lodi, to return under the pretext of claiming this part' of the inheritance of Timur. Some of the Afghan chiefs remained loyal, drove out Doulat Khan, and opposed the assumption of the foreign usurper, but were totally overpowered, and Lahore itself reduced to ashes. Debalpoor was next stormed, and derating. Tliey had before been settled on the Jaik, and had possessed a largo tract in Siberia. { Vide J\[('»tiiii-s of Baber, written by himself in Turki, translated by Dr. Leyden and Mr. Erskine; sec also Mr. Caldecott's Life of liaher: I'rice, and the FcrislUas' of both liriggs and i)ow. BABER GAINS THE BATTLE OF PANIPUT— a.d. 1526. 81 the garrison put to tlio sword. 15;il)('r jiiir- siind his coiuiiu'riiip; course to Sirliinii, wlicii a quarrel witli Doulat Klian, who fled to the hills, oblif^cd him to retrace his steps, leaving Debalpoor in chargcof Ala-oo-dcen,a brother of king Ibrahim, who, having escaped from captivity, had joined the invader. Doulat Khan was chcek(nl by one of Baber's generals, hut Baber himself, I'ully oceujiied in defend- ing l?alkb (the capital of iJaetria) against the Tljibcks, deputed to Ala-oo-decn the charge of advancing upon Delhi, which he did, and the insurgents being increased to 40,000 by the disalfcction ])rcvalent among the king's troops, defeated the latter in an eugagemcnt under the walls of the city. To- wards the close of the year 1525, Baber, having settled Balkh, and finally subdued Doulat Khan who was compelled to sur- render his hill fort and library of valuable boohs — rather a singular possession for an Afghan chief of the sixteenth century — proceeded from Ropur on the Sutlej, above Lodiana, and from thence nearly by the direct road to Delhi. At Paniput, he learned the advance of Ibrahim at the head of an army, which, by his own account, numbered 100,000 men, with 1,000 elephants. One quarter that amount, midcr an able and popular leader, might have sufficed to in- spire the opposing force, of but 12,000 men, with despondency ; but even if the numbers are correctly stated, the characters of the respective leaders render the result easy to be conjectured. Baber took up a position, linked his guns together with ropes of twisted leather, and lined them with infantry, strengthening Lis flanks by field-works of earth and foscincs. Ibrahim, on first ap- proaching the enemy, seemed inclined to stand on the defensive likewise ; but, chang- ing his mind, after a few days' skirmishing, led out his army to a general engagement. • This coin is only about tenpence or elevenpence in value, yet the total sum must have been very great. t The terms Turk, Ttirtar, and Mogul afford in- exhaustible food for controversy to scholars versed in oriental learning ; and to convey in few words anything like a clear idea of the different meanings severally attaclied to them, is utterly impracticable. For the sake of readers unversed in such discus- sions, it may however be useful to remark that Tar- tary is the general term now applied by Europeans to the extensive but little-known country whence, under the name of Scythia, barbarian hordes have from very early times issued forth to desolate the fairest portions of Asia and even Europe. Of these a passing mention has been made in noticing the events of the second century of our era (p. 49); tlie Tochari, named by Strabo as one of the four chief ti-ibes by whom the Greek kingdom of Bactria was AVhilc attempting to storm the hostile front, tlu; Hanks and rear of the assailants were at- tacked by the right and left wings of Baber, whose advance, showering flights of arrows, was seconded by an occasional discharge of cannon. After a protracted struggle, Baber, perceiving the success of his counter-move- ment, ordered his centre forward, and com- pleted the rout of the Indian army. Ibrahim was killed, and his force having been nearly surrounded in the contest, which lasted from sunrise till noon, suffered prodigious loss, 15,000 being left dead on the field, of whom a third part lay in one spot around their king, while their total loss in the battle and pursuit was reported at 10,000. Baber mentions especially that his guns were dis- charged many timc.i with edieiency, these engines of destruction having at this period (1526) attained neither in Asia or Europe their present terrible pre-eminence ainong the weapons of war. Delhi surrendered, and Baber advanced to occupy Agra, the late royal residence, where his first act was to distribute the spoil among his adherents, in a manner which procured for him the nick-name of " the Calender," in allusion to a religious order whose rules forbade them to make provision for the morrow. To his son Humayun was given a diamond of ines- timable value, and a shahrukri* to every man, woman, and child in the country of Cabool. House of Timur. — The conqueror assumed the supreme authority in India, and became the founder of what is universally called the Mogul empire. Yet Baber, although con- nected through his mother with the royal race of the ^loguls, jiever names that people in his writings but with undisguised aver- sion, and always makes mention of himself as a Turk,t and the representative of Timur, whose barbarous massacres he too frequently overthrown, being supposed to signify the Turks. Timur, in liis Memoirs (p. 27.) and a Persian author quoted by Price in his Muhaiiunetlan History, ascribe the origin of the Khans or sovereigns of the wide- spread Tartar nations to Turk, the son of Japhet, the son ofXoah. Thegreat grandson of Turk, Alonjah Khan (during whose reign the people forsook the worship of the living God and became idolators), had twin sons named Tartar or Tatar, and Mogul or Mongol, and the quarrels of their immediate de- scendants gave rise to the inextinguishable animosi- ties which have ever since prevailed among their respective tribes. Mogul is said to be derived from Mungawul, signifying abject or simple-hearted. Tartar, according to the traveller Carpini, a.d. 1246, was the term app^ed to the Su or Water Mongols, one of four chief tribes then inhabiting Central Tar- tary, from the name of a river which ran through 82 CHARACTER OF BABER, FOUNDER OF THE MOGUL EMPIRE. imitated wherever the slightest resistance was offered ; probably desiring by this fero- city to inspire a degree of terror not war- ranted by his limited force. Yet Baber was in domestic life kind and affectionate ; his Memoirs offer repeated evidence of feelings uncliilled by ambition and grandeur, of sen- sibility to the beauties of nature and art retaining its freshness amid the declining years of pampered royalty, and of a temper whose sweetness remained to the last un- marred, even by the thorny pillow of an usurper, or the excesses into which his social temperament helped to draw him. " It is a rehef," says Mr. Erskine, "in the midst of the pompous coldness of Asiatic history, to find a king who can weep for days, and tell us that he wept for the com- panion of his boyhood." And Mr. Elphin- stone, when citing this remark, adds — " He [Baber] speaks with as much interest of his mother and female relations as if he had never quitted their fire-side, and his friends make almost as great a figure in the per- sonal part of his narrative as he does him- self. He repeats their sayings, records their accidents and illnesses, and sometimes jokes on their eccentricities." Yet this same indi- vidual, in many points so estimable, never- theless deserved the degrading surname of Baber [the Tiger), which has superseded his more flattering designsitions,* for in his cha- racterofconquerorevenlie couldseldom afford to be merciful and still more rarely to be just. To return to the narrative — the occupa- tion of Agra was far from carrying with it the conquest of the kingdom, and before that could be accomplished Baber had three their territory (Hakluyt, vol. i., p. 30), wliile Gmelin (Decoiivertes Rtisses, vol. iii., p. 209) gives the deriva- tion of the -n-ord from tatanoi, to collect, used in a reproachful sense to denote robbery, and declares that the Moguls and Calmucks, who are doubtless closely allied, have not the shadow of a tradition which favours the ideaof their having ever composed one nation with the Tartars (meaning Turks). De Guignes, on the contrary, recognizes only the Eastern and Western Tartars — the first the Manchoos, the se- cond Turks and Moguls, whom he looked upon as one race, the hatter descended from the former. His authority, though usually of much weight, is in this respect diminislied by the mistakes committed in confounding distinct races, and likewise in the indis- tinct geography of Tartary — defects scarcely to be avoided even by writers of the present day on this dark and difficult subject. Tlio tribes now inhabiting Tartary arc very numerous and various: language is the chief, if not the only guide by which Europeans have been enabled to class them under the heads of — lit, Manchoos, who extend over the region called Mantchouria, stretching from the Eastern Ocean along the north of China, and whose influence is distinct obstacles to overcome ; namely, the opposition offered by the Moslem viceroys, who had revolted in the time of Ibrahim, as well as by Afghan and Fermuli chiefs, at- tached to the late government; secondly, the deep aversion of the Hindoos, evinced by the abandonment of the villages near the spot where the army was encamped, and the con- seqtient diSieulty of procuring grain or forage. In the third place, the troops them- selves became disafl'ected, and the weather being unusually sultry and oppressive, so aggravated the sufferiitgs necessarily expe- rienced by natives of cold countries during an Indian summer, that at length all ranks united in demanding to be led back to Cabool. Baber declared his unalterable determination of remaining in India, but gave to all who chose permission to return. The majority decided to stay and share his fortttnes, but a part persisting in tlieir former desire, were dismissed with honour under the authority of Khaja Khilau, who was ap- pointed to a government beyond the Indus. This arrangement produced a change of feel- ing throughout the kingdom, and dissipated the general idea that Baber would depart as Tiraur had done. Some governors vo- luntarily tendered submission, detachments were sent to reduce others, and in the course of four months, not only had the country held by Sultan Ibrahim been secured, but all the revolted provinces ever possessed by the house of Lodi, including the former kingdom of Juanpoor, were conquered by Prince Humayun. The supremacy of Baber being thus established over the Moslems, his arms were next directed against the Hindoos. confined chiefly to that country, where at the present moment (1853) a severe struggle is taking place for their extirpation ; 2nd, Moguls, who occupy the cen- tral portion (Mongolia) between the other two ; 3rd, Tartars Of Turks, (of Toorkistan,) whose boundary is the MuzTagh (ice mountains), theBelutTagh (dark or cloudy mountains), Hindoo Koosh, &c. The Turki is the language of the Tartars as distinguished from that of the Moguls, but whether these two differ essentially or only as very different dialects of the same tongue is perhaps yet to be decided (Erskine's Halx-r, p. xxi.) Whatever may be the barrier be- tween the Turks and Moguls, it is certainly a great one and of ancient origin. In appearance the con- trast is most striking between the sliort, square, and athletic though disproportioncd body, bullet-shaped head, small angular eyes, scanty beard and eyebrows, high cheek-bones, flat nose, and large cars of a Mogul or Calmuck, and the comely form of a Turk, whose well-known Caucasian features and (lowing beard in many points resemble those of a European, the exception being the contraction of the eyes. • His original name was Zehir-oo-decn (protector of the faith) Mohammed (greatly Jiraised). STRUGGLES OP HINDOO PRINCES FOR INDEPENDENCE, 83 Saiif^a, tlio Rajpoot prince of Mcwar (sixth in succussiou from Ilaniccr Siiijr, the recoverei' of Clicetore or Cliittoor in l.'JKi), had immediately before the arrival of Hahcr been cngafTcd iu hostilities with Mahmood, king of Mahva, whom he had defeated and taken prisoner. The king of Delhi was likewise the enemy of Sanga, wlio opened a friendly communieation with J5abcr while marching against ]i)rahini, but on finding him establislied on the vacated throne, transferred his enmity to the new ruler, and proceeded to combine against him with the Lodi chiefs (previously defeated by llu- mayun) and Hasan Khan, rajah of Mcwat, a hillv tract cxtcndinjr towards the river Chumbul, from within twenty-five miles of Delhi, and including the jjctty state now called Maeheri or Aiwa. The first move- ments of the Hindoos were_ successful ; the garrison of Biana (within fifty miles of Agra) were driven with loss into their fort, and communieation cut off between them and the capital. Baber marched forward with all his forces, and at Sikri, about twenty miles from Agra, found himself in the vici- nity of the enemy, by whom his advanced guard was immediately attacked, and though supported by the main body, was defeated with heavy loss. The assailants, instead of following up the victory, withdrew to their encampments, and thus gave Baber time to fortify his position, and revive, by his own indomitable encrg}', the di'oopiug spirits of the troops. This was no easy task ; for the Indian auxiliaries began to desert or give way to hopeless despondency, and the feel- ing spread throughout all ranks, being deep- ened by the unlucky arrival of a celebrated astrologer from Cabool, who announced, from the aspect of Mars, the incntable de- feat of the ^loslem army, which was drawn up in an opposite direction to that planet. Baber cared little for soothsaying, but fully recognised the perils of his position, and, by his own account, repented of his sins, forswore wine, gave away his gold and silver drinking-vessels to the poor, and remitted the stamp-tax on all Moslems (that is, the re- venue collected by means of a stamp or mark affixed on all imported articles). Assembling all the officers, from the highest to the lowest, he addressed them in glowing terms — not, however, in the usual inflated style regard- ing the rewards, temporal and eternal, awaiting the champions of Islam, but ap- pealing almost exclusively to their sense of honour, and setting the chance of military glory, in plain terms, against the risk of (leaLh. With one accord they swore on the Koran to conquer or to die, and liabcr de- termined to bring matters to an immediate crisis, a step rendered the more expedient by the daily accounts of fresh disturbances in the provinces. A desperate battle en- sued ; rajali Sanga was defeated, and escaped with dilliculty; Hasan Khan and many otiier chiefs were slain. The mistaken astro- loger ventured to congratulate Baber upon his victory, but received in return a sharp lecture for perversity, conceit, and mischief- making, with a command to quit the royal dominions, accompanied, liowever, by a libe- ral present iu acknowledgment of long ser- vice, faithful though not discreet. Mewat was next reduced and settled. In the beginning of the following year (1528) Chandcri, on the borders of Bun- delcnnd and Malwa, was attacked. It was held by Medni Rai, a Rajpoot chief, who had escaped from the late battle, and des- perately but vainly defended by the Raj- poots, who, on perceiving the troops of Baber mounting their works, slew their women, rushed forth naked, drove the enemy before them, leaped from the ramparts, and continued to fight with unabated fury until all had found the death they sought: 200 or 300 had remained to defend Medni Rai's house, who for the most part slew one another sooner than fall into the hands of the enemy. An Afghan insurrection occurred simultaneously with this siege. The latter was no sooner ended than Baber marched to the Ganges, where the Afghans were drawn up, tiirew a bridge over the river under cover of artillery, and compelled the insurgents to disperse and take refuge in the dominions of the king of Bengal. It was probably on this occasion that he re- duced South Behar, which was subsequently seized by the Lodi prince. Sultan ^lahmood, wdio being once more forced to fly, all that country south of the Ganges reverted to Baber; but North Behar remained in the possession of the king of Bengal, with whom a treaty of peace was formed. The health of Baber now began to fail, and its decline was hastened by circum- stances connected with the dangerous ill- ness of Humayun. The physicians had declared the condition of that prince to be beyond the help of their art, upon which the fond father resolved to devote his own life to the preservation of his son's, in con- formity with a superstition still prevalent in 84 REMARKABLE DEATH OF BARER— a.d, 1530.— HUMAYUN, the East. His friends, who do not seem to nave in the least doubted the efficacy of the measure, entreated him to forbear for the sake of the millions whom he ruled, ■ but without effect. After the customary for- mula of walking three times round the couch of the prince, Baber spent some moments in earnest prayer to God, and then, impressed witb a conviction of the fulfilment of the desired sacrifice, exclaimed, " I have borne it away ! I have borne it away I" All historians agree that Huma- yun began from that time to recover, and Baber to sink rapidly, which latter result may be readily believed. Calling together his sons and ministers, he enjoined con- cord among them all, and affection among his children, and soon afterwards expired at Agra, a.d. 1530, and was buried in Cabool, at a spot selected by himself, and still marked by a small mosque of marble, above which rises a hill, from whence a noble prospect is obtained. Though he did not attain to the age of fifty years, Baber had, in one sense, lived many lives, from the incessant activity of both mind and body.* On his last journey, when his constitution was evidently giving way, he rode in two days from Calpee to Agra (160 miles), without any particular motive for despatch, and swam twice across the Ganges, as he mentions having done every other river he traversed. Besides the neces- sary business of the kingdom, the intervals of peace were occupied by planning aque- ducts, reservoirs, and other improvements, and in the introduction of new fruits and other productions of remote countries, "i'et he found time to indite many elegant Pei'siau poems, and compositions in Tuj-ki, which entitled him to distinction among the writers of his age and country. His contemporaries were, in England, Henry VII. and VIII. ; in France, Charles VIII., Louis XII. , and Francis I. ; in Germany, Maximilian and Charles V. ; in Spain, Fer- dinaiul and Isabella, and Charles. Thus the career of Baber formed part of a me- morable epoch, of which the great events were — the discovery of America by Co- lumbus ; of the passage to India, via the Cape of Good Hope, by Vasco di Gama; * Towards the close of his life, Baber observed lliat since his eleveiitli year he had never kept the annual fast of the Kamzan twice in any one ])lacc — a strong proof of the roving, warlike disposition which brought him to India. And it should be remembered that, in spite of many attractive qualities, Baber comes under the same condemnation, for lawless usurpation and the increase of the power of France by the annexation of the great fiefs to the crown, and of Spain by the union of its kingdoms under Charles ; the destruction of the em- pire of Constantinople ; the influence of the art of printing ; and the rise and progress of the Protestant reformation. (Luther and Baber were born in the same year.) Baber left three sous besides Ilumayun, but as he made no declaration in their favour he jirobably intended the empire to descend undivided to the child for whose life he had evinced such tender solicitude. Of tlie three younger brothers, one named Kamran was governor of Cabool and Candahar, and being firmly seated there, appeared disposed to maintain his position if necessary by a degree of force with which Humayuu could ill cope, since to assemble an army for action in Cabool would necessitate the evacuation of the lately-acquired and disaffected pro- vinces. Kamran was therefore recognized as the independent ruler of his previous govern- ment, to which was added the Punjaub and the country on the Indus. The other brothers, named Hindal aud Askeri, were appointed to the sway of Sambal and Mewat. By the cession to Kamran, Humayun was deprived of the trusty and warlike retainers who had long been the hereditary subjects of his family, and left to govern new con- quests, unsupported by the resources which had materially contributed to their acquisi- tion. At first, by the aid of the veteran army of his father, he succeeded in putting down the Afghan insurrections, which were among the early disturbances of his reign, and came to terms with his future rival, Sheer Khan (an influential Afghan, claiming descent from the kings of Ghor), wlio sub- mitted on condition of being suffered to retain the hill-fort of Cliuuar, near Benares. His next struggles were with Bahadur Shah, king of Guzerat, one of the most powerful of the states formed out of the fragments of the empire of Delhi, and which had been recently increased in size aud influence by the annexation of Malwa, and the vassalship or fiefdom promised by tlie princes of Can- deish, Berar, and Ahmednugger. Bahadur had taken under his protection Ala-oo-dcen, the brother of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, who had bloodshed, as his ferocious ancestors, Jengis and Timur. Nor is his private character free from heavy reproach. Drinking he eventually renounced ; per- severed in the use of into.'iicating confections; but po- lygamy, with other vices not to be named, lie refers to with as little regret as to the " erection of minarets of human lieads," and other common incidents cf war. POUTUGUESE ASSIST BAHADUR AGAINST IIUMAYUN. 8iJ played so conspicuous a part durin;^ that monarch's disastrous rci^n, and lie assisted him with troops and money to assemble a force for the attack of Agra, a.d. 153 k The attempt failed, for the army was as speedily dispersed as it had been collected, and Tatar Khan, the son of Ala, fell bravely fighting at the head of a division which had remained faithful amid the general deser- tion, llumayun jirocccdcd against 15ahadur, who was engaged in besieging ('hittoor or Chectorc, then held by the Rana of ]\Icwar, but was induced, (by the remonstrances of ]5ali:ulur against the impiety of molesting a Mussulman jirincc while engaged in war with infidels, or else by his own dihitory habits), to retard his march until the place was taken, and the besieger prepared to receive him in an intrenched camp at Mandesor, rendered formidable by artillery, commanded by a Constantinopolitau Turk, and partly served by Portuguese prisoners.* These advantages were however wholly neu- tralized by the enemy's success in cutting oft' the supplies, and thus making the position untenable, upon which Bahadur blew up his guns, and, leaving the army to disperse as the}' chose, fled by night almost unattended to the sea-port of Cam.bay, whither he was followed by Humaynn, who reached that town on the evening of the day on which the fugitive had departed for a more secure place ' In the Memoirs of Iliimai/iin, written by .Toiiher the owor-bearer, (a faithful servant who attended that monarch during his adversity, and was eventually re- warded by a treasurership in Lahore) and translated by Major Stewart, it is asserted that Bahadur had entered into a treaty with the Portuguese, (estab- lished at Surat some time before), and had by their assistance raised a force of G,000 Abyssinians or negroes. Price, on the authority of Abu Fazil, states, that Bahadur had sent a deputation to Diu to solicit the aid of tlie Portuguese viceroy, or captain- general of the possessions of that nation on the western side of India, requesting his assistance in waging war against the liousc ot Tinnir. The Por- tuguese commander accordingly assembled at Diu a considerable body of troops, and a powerful naval armament, in readiness to meet Bahadur, en whose arrival, it is said, some cause of suspicion, not satis- factorily explained, induced the European chief, in- stead of coming to meet his ally, to remain on board ship on pretence of illness. Bahadur, with a degree of conlidence which seems to indicate the whole aflair to have originated, not in a misunderstanding, but in systematic treachery on the part of the Por- tuguese, put himself on board a galley to visit the alleged invalid ; but had no sooner reached the admiral's vessel, than, perceiving the deceit practised upon him, he endeavoured to return to the shore. The Portuguese liad however resolved on first ob- taining from him the cession of certain ports at Guzerat, and endeavoured to detain him by fair N of refuge at Diu, in the remotest part of the peninsula of (iuzcrat. "While the pur- suers were encamped at Cambay, a night attack was made; by the Coolis, a forest-tribe, still famous for similar cxjiloits in this j)art of India, with such silence and wariness, that the royal tent itself was plundered, and the baggage and books carried off — among the latter was a copy of the Hhlory of Timur, illustrated with jjaintings. llumayun, in un- just retaliation for the conduct of these mountaineers, gave up the town to plunder, and then (piitting the peninsula, proceeded to occuiiy the settled part of Guzerat. The hill fort of Champancir, he surprised by a stratagem, having, with 300 chosen men, scaled the walls in the night by means of iron s])ikcs, fixed iu an almost perpendicular rock ; the daring besiegers, including the king, ascending separately during an attack made on one of the gates by the army.f Shortly after this success, and before suf- ficient time could elapse for the consolidation of his new conquests, llumayun was re- called to Agra by intelligence of the pro- ceedings of Sheer Khan, who had made himself master of Beliar, including the strong fortress of Rolitas, J and v.as successfully pro- secuting the invasion of Bengal. The mea- sures of this usurper had been laid with much skill and circumspection, his hope being, by the union of the Afghans, to words, entreating a moment's delay while they brought a present in token of profound respect; but Bahadur desired that the present might be sent after him and persisted in making for the ship's side. The Portuguese Cazi (probably the fiscal) non- interposed and forbade his departure, upon which the Sultan in a paroxysm of indignation drew his scimitar, elovc him in twain, and succeeded in gain- ing his own galley, which was speedily hemmed in by the enemy's fleet. .■\n unequal conflict ensued, and liahadur, perceiving the inevitable result, sprang into the sea, and is generally supposed to have been drowned. The date of this event, a.d. 1o.37, is pre- served in the Persian characters comprised in the sentence, " Feringuian Bahadur Kosh," — Fortuguete butchers of the hero. — (Price, vol iii. p. 751). t After its capture the stronghold was vainlv searched for the treasure it was believed to contain j one officer alone knew the secret, which it was pro- posed to draw from him by torture, but to this llum.ayun refused to consent, and directed that wine and good cheer should be tried instead. The ex- pedient proved successful, and the officer willingly revealed the existence of a large amount of gold and silver at the bottom of the reservoir, which was at once apparent on the water being drawn off. J Rohtas was taken by treachery from a Hindoo rajah. Sheer Khan, having besought an asylum for his family, introduced two armed soldiers in each of the covered litters supposed to contain women, and then easily overcame the unsuspecting garrison. 86 SHEER KHAN AND AFGHANS ATTEMPT TO EXPEL MOGULS. drive the Moguls out of the country, and re-establish a Patau dynasty.* To retard the advance of Humayun he had strongly garrisoned the famous fortress of Chunar, which stands on a rock close to the Ganges, on what may be termed a detached portion of the Vindya mountains. As Humayun marched along the river, and conveyed his guns and stores by its waters, he was com- pelled to commence hostilities with the siege of this fort. By a cruel stratagemf infor- mation was acquired regarding the state of the defences, and attempts were made to mine the accessible portions of the walls on the land side, and by floating batteries to bear upon the face fronting the river. — These failed, but the garrison, after several months' resistance, were starved into surrender, and the light hands of all the gunners, to the number of 300, cut off, without the consent of Humayun, by his chief engineer Rumi Khan, who soon afterwards, through the malice of rival courtiers, perished by poison. At the defile of Sicragali, a detachment of the imperial army, sent to take possession, were attacked and repulsed with con- siderable loss by the son of Sheer Khan, who then rejoined his father in the hills, leaving the pass unobstructed, having fol- lowed out the well-devised policy of im- peding Humayun as far as possible without hazarding any decisive conflict. During the protracted siege of Chunar, Mahmood had been defeated and Gour reduced by Sheer Khan, who having removed the captured trea- sures to the before-mentioned fort of Rohtas, whither he had previously assembled his family, now left Gour undefended. Hu- mayun took possession, but gained little ad- vantage thereby, for the rains had attained their climax, the Delta of the Ganges was one vast sheet of water, and in the country beyond the reach of inundation every brook and channel had become an impassable flood. It was impossible to carry on operations in Bengal, and extremely difficult to commu- nicate witli upper Iiulia. Several months of forced inactivity elapsed, rendered doubly wearisome by the moist and sultry climate. The sickly season that followed the heavy rains thinned the ranks of the soldiers, and depressed their spirits so greatly that when ' According to Ferishla, the proper country of the Affjlians is called lloli, and extends along the Indus ; but, subsequent to the introduction of Islam, having settled at Patna on the Ganges, they gra- dually acquired the appellation of Patans. t Kunii Khan (originally a Turki slave named Soglirauk, but promoted for his ability, and thus the roads became again traversible they began to desert in numbers — Prince Hindal, who had been left in North Behar, setting the example. Meanwhile Sheer Khan issued from his retreat, seized Behar and Benares, recovered Chunar, laid siege to Juanpoor, and pushed his forces up the Ganges as far as Canouj. Humayun once more found his communication with the capital intercepted, and leaving a detachment which he could but ill spare to guard Gour, he reluctantly set out to return to Agra with the remainder of his diminished army, but was intercepted between Patna and Benares by Sheer, who had raised the siege of Juanpoor and ad- vanced by forced marches for this purpose. Instead of at once attacking the troops of his rival while suffering from fatigue, Hu- mayun suffered many valuable hours to elapse, and the next morning found Sheer (who had now assumed the title of Shah or king) so skilfully intrenched that he could neither be passed nor attacked with any prospect of success. Humayun therefore, in turn, fortified his position and began to col- lect boats, with a view of forming a bridge across the Ganges, and then pursuing his way along the opposite bank. Sheer Shah suffered this work to proceed for two months, but when it approached completion, he at- tacked Humayun about day-break in three colums, and completely surprised the camp. Humayitn attempted to rally his troops, but with little effect, and after recei\'ing a wound in the arm was prevailed on by three of his favourite officers to seek safety in flighty and plunge at once into the Ganges. J Here his career had nearly terminated, for before reaching the opposite bank his horse sunk from exhaustion, but the royal rider was saved by the exertions of a poor man opportunely crossing at the time with a leathern bag or water-skin inflated like a bladder. Thus rescued, Humayun, accompanied by a very small i-etinue, fled to Calpce, and thence to Agra, (a.d. 1539.) Almost the whole army had been slain or drowned, and the queen, who having been early surrouiided it had been the object of his last exertion to re- lease, remained in the hands of the enemy, but was treated with great delicacy and con- sideration. By some accounts. Sheer Shah entitled by the Guzerat princes), severely flogged a 7ie(jn> slave, and sent him to play the part of a deserter in the fort. The Afghans received him kindly, and suffered him to examine their works, which having done, he returned to his intriguing master. X The three olKcers returned to the battle and nobly perished in attempting to rescue the queen. WANDERINGS IN THE DESERT OF THE EXILED HUMAYUN. 87 is said to have (gained this important victory by treachery, haviiij^ l)roken au armistice, whicli from his cliaractcr is very probaljje — but hy otliers it is asserted that he never promised to suspend liostilities, but only contrived to dehidc liis adversary into so doing by delusive negotiations and other pretexts, which war is too generally supposed to justify and even necessitate. On reach- ing Agra, Ilumayua found Hindal in open rebellion, and Kaniran preparing to take a similar course, but his sudden arrival forced them to come to terms, and the three brothers, after spending eight or nine months in preparation, assemldcd a fresh army to attack Sheer Shah. Kamran remained to guard Agra while Humayun crossed the Ganges near Canouj by means of a bridge of boats, at the head of 9{),()()0 cavalry, with kettle-drums beating and trumpets sounding. A general action ensued (a.d. 1540), tlie imperial troops were again utterly routed and driven into the Ganges, and Humayun himself escaped with extreme difficulty. After exchanging his wounded liorse for an elephant, he crossed tlie stream, and was drawn up the steep bank by two fugitive soldiers, wlio having reached the shore in safety, twisted their turbans togetlier, and threw the ends to his assistance. After this discomfiture, Humayun, with Hindal and Askeri, took refuge in Laliore, where Kam- ran had previously retreated, but this prince, having made peace with the conqueror by the cession of the Punjaub, retired to C'abool, leaviiig his unfortunate brother to provide as best he could fur his own safety. The succeeding adventures of the royal wanderer would form a fitting pendant to those of the Englisli Stuarts, from the instnnces of un- wavering loyalty, connected with his hair- breadth escapes — while his character as a Mussulman, though far from faultless, will yet well bear comparison with that of the pro- fessedly Christian but licentious Charles, or even of the " bonnie Prince," for whom Scot- tish chivalry and misfortune have combined to win a place in the page of history, which would probably have been very differently filled had the Young Pretender been des- * These names, like almost all Eastern appellaticns, have each a distinct signification. Thus, Humayun, means nics/ncwiis ; Kamran, successful ; Hindal, In- dian, and .\skeri, borti in the camp. t At one time they .ire stated to have travelled twenty-seven liours without finding water, and at the expiration of that time, liaving at length come vpou a well and rivulet, Ifununun alighted, and alter prostrating himself hi gratitude to the Al- tined to become a crowned king instead of dying in exile. After the desertion of Kamran, which was followed by that of Hindal and Askeri, Humayun* sought tooljtaiu the recognition of his authority in Sindc, then ruled by Hussyn,thelicadof thcArghoonfamily — but alter a year and-a-half wasted in alternate negotiations and hostilities, he found his funds exhausted, and the adventurers who had rallied round his standard dispersed, just as Hussy u approached to venture a de- cisive conflict. During the [)revious inter- val, Humayun, then about tliree-aud-thirty years of age, had married a beautiful girl of fourteen, with whom he had become ena- moured at an entertainment prepared for him in the apartments of the mother of I'rinec Hindal. Carrying with him his young bride Hameida, he fled to Ouch, and thence proceeded to ask the protection of Maldeo, rajah of Marwar, but on reaching .loudpoor, after a toilsome journey over the desert, during which he lost many of his followers from thirst and fatigue.-f a uew disapijointment awaited him in the discovery of the unfriendly disposition of the rajah. The royal fugitive, again driven to seek com- parative safety amid the dreary sands, now led liis little band towards Amercot, a fort in the desert, not far from the Indus. In this route they experienced yet greater trials than during the one previously taken. Be- fore quitting the inhabited country, the vil- lagers repelled all approaches to their wells, which were to them precious possessions, and it was not without a conflict and blood- shed that the travellers were enabled to slake their burning thirst. After leaving btdiind the last traces of human culture, their obstacles and difficulties increased ten-fold until, one morning, when faint and weary with a long night march, Humayun, who had remained behind with the females and servants, while the few chiefs marched on at some distance in front, perceived the ap- proach of a considerable body of horse, under the command of the son of Jlaldeo, and pr(-pared to meet a fate similar to that of the Imaum Hussyu and his ill-fated com- mighty, ordered all the water-bags to be filled, and sent back on his own horses for the use of those who had fallen exhausted by the way, adding at the ' same time a melancholy but needful command, for the burial of " all the persons wlio had died from thirst." A very unpleasing anecdote is however re- lated by Jouher, of Humayun's having taken ad- vantage of the thirst of a Mogul merchant who had lent him money, to oblige him to cancel the debt. 88 REIGN OF SHEER SHAH THE AFGHAN— a.d. ]540 to 1544- panions.* The valour of Sheikh Ali Beg, 1 one of Humayun's bravest aud most faith- ful followers, appears to have warded off the imuiediate danger, and soon afterwards the Hiudoo leader, bearing in his hand a white flag, approached the party, and having re- presented that they had ^vilfuUy done wrong in killing kine in a Hindoo country, and likewise in entering his father's territory without leave, supplied them with water for their immediate relief, and then permitted them to proceed without further molestation. Several weary marches, with intense suflfer- iug from thirst, further diminished the small but faithful band, before Humayun with seven mounted hcrsemeu reached Amercot, where the llanaf (Pursaud) welcomed the dethroned monarch with most courteous and generous hospitality. The remainder of the fugitives found refuge within the walls of the fortress on the same daj^, and thankful indeed must Hameida have been to quit her horse, and find at length an interval of rest. Pursaud ofiered to assist Humayun in a fresh endeavour to establish himself in Siiide, placing at his service 2,000 horsemen of his own tribe (Rajpoots), and 5,000 cav- alry belonging to his allies. These auxili- aries, or a portion of them, were gladly accepted, and Humayun, accompanied by the Rana, with about 100 Moguls, whom he had himself succeeded in assembling, roarclied towards Tatta. Hameida remained at Amercot, and on the follov.ing day gave birth to the celebrated Akber (a.d. 15-12). The joyful intelligence was immediately for- warded to Humayun, who unable to practise the munificence customary in the East on these occasions, called for " a china plate," and breaking a pod of musk, distributed it among the chiefs who came to otfer their congratulations, saying — " this is all the present I can afford to make you on the birth of my son, whose fame will I trust be one day expanded all over the world, as the perfume of the musk now fills this apart- ment." Joon or Jiun (a place not marked on the maps, but supposed to have been situated on a branch of the Indus, half-way between Tatta and Amercot, was captured • Til the desprt of Kerbela, A.D. G80, Ilussyn, the son of Ali and J'alima, with seventy-three persons of his family, including his infant child, were cruelly massacred. Several heroic yoiiths, liis sons and ne- phews, perished singly in defending; the venerated person of the Imaum ; who after a protracted defence at length sunk, mutilated of an arm and covered with wounds, of which thirty-six were counted on his dead body, hcfore it was finally crushed by after an action with the officer in charge, and though harassed by the troops of the Arghoons, Humayun's party held their ground, and were strengthened by the neigh- bouring princes until they amounted to about 15,000 horse. Hameida and the in- fant prince (by this time about six weeks old) joined the camp, and all seemed pros- pering, when Rana Pursaud received an afi'ront from a jMogul, and was so dissatis- fied by Humayun's conduct in the matter, that he indignantly quitted Joon, with all his followers and friends. Humayun, thus rendered too weak to contest with Hussyu Arghoon, proceeded to Candahar, but was compelled by his turbulent brothers to escape to Seestan witli Hameida, and thence to seek refuge in Persia, the infant Akber falling into the hands of his uncle Mirza Askeri, who showed more kindness on the occasion than might have been expected. Afijhan tribe of Soor. — Sheer Shahf as- sumed, as has been shov/n, the title of king in 15-10, and took possession of all Humayun's territories. After commencing the famous fort of Rohtas on the Hydaspes, on which he expended an enormous sum of money, and named after that in Behar, he returned to Agra, and there found employment in sub- duing the revolt of his own governor of Bengal. He conquered Malwa in the course of the year 1543, and soon afterwards re- duced the fort of Raiseen, held by a Hindoo chief. The garrison surrendered on terms, but after they had left the fort, the capitula- tion was declared void on some quibbling legal pretext, and the Hindoos were attacked and cut to pieces after a brave resistance. Barbarous as the Mohammedans too often showed themselves in India, yet treachery such as this can hardly be paralleled, save in the career of Timur. In 1 5 14, Sheer marched into Marwar, which was desperately defended by rajah Maldeo, who, though able to collect only 50,000 men wherewith to oppose his adversary's powerful army, estimated at 80,000, aud probably well-provided with artillery, appears to have at first succeeded in overawing the invader, aided by the na- tural obstacles offered by the steriUty of his twenty horsemen, and then left to be devoured by wild beasts. Tlie unfortunate females were thrown across "lie backs of camels and afterwards stripped and jiublicly exposed — all these atrocities being com- mitted by Mohammedans. (I'ricc, vol. i. p. -IIO.) + The patronymic of the princes of Mewar. I His name was changed from Pureed, to Sheer Khan, or Lion-knlijlit, from his slaying a wild beast while hunting with the king of JBerar. SHEER SHAH KILLED, a.d. 1545— SELIM SHAH, a.d. 1553. 89 territory and the want of water in many parts oi' it. At length Sheer Shah, always a cmiuiuf; schemer, contrived to sow divi- sion in the liostiie camp by tlie common expedient of letters written on piir])()se to be intercepted. The rajah's suspicions were raised against some of liis chiefs, and he commenced a retreat. One of the suspected leaders, indignant at the imputation, deter- mined, in the true Rajpoot spirit, to give incontestable proof of its injustice, and (piit- ting the army at the head of his own tribe fell with sucli impct\iousity on the enemy, that Sheer Shah with difficulty and severe loss succeeded iu repelling the assailants. He was, however, eventually victor here, as also at Chittore; hut at Calinjer, to which he laid siege, a striking retribution awaited him. The rajah, warned by the breach of faith committed at Raisccn, refused to enter into any terms with his perfidious foe, and Sheer, while superintending the batteries, was so scorched by the explosion of a maga- zine struck by the rebound of a shell, that he expired in a few hours, but continued to direct the operations of the siege during his mortal agonies, his last words being an ex- clamation of pleasure at learning that the place was taken. This ambitious, cruel, and vindictive man, nevertheless evinced considerable ability in civil government, and, happily for the sub- jects of his usurped authority, seems to have recognised the promotion of their wel- fare as liis best means of security. He caused a high road to be constructed, ex- tending from Bengal to the western Kohtas, near the Indus, a distance of about 3,000 miles, with caravanserais at every stage, all furnished with provisions for the poor, and attendance of proper easts for Hindoos as well as Alussulmans. An Imaum (priest) and jMuezzin (crier to call to prayers) were placed at the numerous mosques erected on the route ; wells were dug at distances of a mile and-a-half, and the whole way planted with fruit-trees for refreshment and shade. Sheer Shah wasburied in a stately mausoleum still standing at Sahseram, placed in the centre of an artificial piece of water, a mile in eircumfereucc, which is faced by walls of cut stone, with flights of steps descending to the water. Previous to his death, his eldest son had been the recognised heir to the throne, hut being a prince of feeble charac- ter was supplanted by his brother, who reigned for nine years, under the title of Sclim Shah. On his decease, a.d. 1553, his son, a boy of twelve years old, was mur- dered by his uncle, who seized the throne > under the name of Mohammed Adili,* but was prevented from using the powers of a ruler by natural incapacity, increased by habits of the most odious debauchery. His extravagance speedily emptied the royal cof- fers, upon which he resumed the governments and jiighiresf of the nobles and bestowed them on the lowest of his creatures. The liroud Afghans, stung even more by the in- sulting bearing of their unworthy ruler than by the injuries they suffered at his hand, fled in numbers, and raised the standard of revolt at Chunar. LMeanwhile, the person of the king was protected and his authority upheld by the exertions of Hemu, his chief minis- ter, a Hindoo of mean appearance and low origin, who had formerly belonged to the very lowest class of small shopkeepers, as a retailer of salt, but who had been gradually raised to power by the late king, and now displayed a degree of zeal and ability, which would have honoured a better cause. From some weakness or physical defect Hemu was unable to sit on horseback, but he directed all military operations, and fought with unfailing intrepidity from his litter mounted on an elephant. Not the least extraordinary part of his history is the manner in which he succeeded in recon- ciling such of the haughty Afghans and un- ruly Moguls as still remained with Adili, to his authority ; this he appears to have done chiefly by the munificence with which he distributed whatever treasure or revenue came into his hands — for his objects and motives, though scarcely indicated in the contemptuous and calumnious mention made of "this swarthy upstart" by Mussulman historians, unquestionably soared far above the mere accumulation of wealth. Delhi and Agra were seized on by Ibrahim Soor, a member of the reigning family, who at- tempted to assume the supreme authority under the name of Ibrahim III., but was opposed by Hemu, and also by Seeander Soor, another relative of Adili's, who caused himself to be proclaimed king in the Pun- jaub. Ibrahim was defeated first by Seean- der and then by Hemu. The adventurous minister next marched towards Bengal, to • This wretch, known before his usurpation as Moobariz Khan, is alleged to have dragged the prince from his mother's ai'ms, that mother being his own sister and tried friend. {Fcrislita, vol. ii. p. 142.) t The revenues of certain lands granted by the king, sometimes in perpetuity but generally revo- cable at pleasure, and on military tenure. 90 HUMAYUN AND SHAH TAHMASP, KING OF PERSIA— a.d. 1545. oppose the goveruoi", Mohammed Soor, vrho had assumed the rank of an iadependeiit ruler. Hemu was asfaiu victorious, this new adversary being defeated and slain ; but struggles in other quarters still continued, and a more formidable foe than any yet dealt with, arose in the person of the de- throned Humayun, who had gradually re- established himself in the Punjaub, where Secander, who had occupied Agra and Delhi on the defeat of Ibrahim, now marched for his expulsion. Before narrating the success of Humayun and Akber, and the fate of Ibrahim and of Hemu and Adili, it is neces- sary to revert to previous events and sketch the chain of circumstances which ended in the restoration of the exiled monarch. House of Tinner restored. — Humayun en- tered Persia in much uncertainty regarding the reception he should receive from Shah Tahmasp, the son and successor of Shah Ismael, the first of the Safl'avi or Sophi kings. Though both were zealous Moham- medans, they belonged to distinct sects, characterised by a degree of mutual ani- mosity, for which the difference of opinion existing between them on doctrinal points far less than those which divide the churches of England and Rome, is quite insufficient to account. — (.See note to p. 6.2). Shah Tahmasp was a strenuous advocate of the Sheiah doctrine, which had been widely disseminated through Persia by the instru- mentality of his ancestors, dervises much famed for sanctity, while Humayun was a Sonnite, and this was doubtless one cause of the want of cordiality which marked the private intercourse of the two monarchs, whose connexion was really, on both sides, an interested one. At first Humayun seems to have been inclined to put in practice his cherished desire of ceasing, at least for a time, the weary struggle for power, in which he had been so long engaged, and proceeding on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but his faithful j followers urgently dissuaded him from this project, pleading the disastrous results it would have on the fortunes of Akber. The reception met with in Persia successfully seconded their arguments — the governors of each province received him with regal hon- ours, the people came out to bid him wel- come, and palaces were prepared for his " The cap which Humayun so reluctantly assumod was that called 'J'nji llyilcr, in honour of Hydcr, tlie father of Shah Ismael, by whom it was first adopted. It consisted of a tiara of crinison silk, richly or- namented with gold and jewels, of a high conical accommodation at Cazvin and elsewhere. But the splendour with which the Persian despot thought proper to gild the fallen majesty of his unfortunate compeer, was un- accompanied by a single ray of true sym- pathy ; for many months Humayun was not suffered to appear before the Shah, and his brave-hearted envoy, Beliram Beg, was harshly treated for refusing to wear the peculiar-shaped cap,* from which the Per- sians have acquired the title of Kuzilbash [Red-heads), in allusion to its colour, and which was expressly designed for a sectarian symbol. Behram urged that he was the servant of another prince, and not at liberty to act without orders. He persisted in de- clining to assume this badge, unawed by the displeasure of Tahmasp, who strove to intimidate the refractory ambassador, by the summary execution of some prisoners brought before him for the purpose. This incident was a sufficiently significant prelude to the long-delayed interview, during which Tahmasp afleeted to receive Humayun as his equal, but in reality took ungenerous advantage of his defenceless position, by compelling him, by means of threats affect- ing life itself, to assume the obnoxious cap. Nor even after this concession could Tahmasp resist taunting his guest with having, during his prosperity, when prac- tising the favourite Arabian form of divina- tion by arrows, to discover the destiny of reigning princes, placed the name of the king of Persia in a rank inferior to his own. Humayun frankly acknowledged that he had done so, and gently urged in justifica- tion his hereditary rank as Padshahf or Emperor of India, whereupon Tahmasp broke out into violent and unjust invective against the arrogance which had rendered him a fugitive, and thrown his female rela- tives and infant heir into the hands of his enemies. Notwithstanding the humiliations suffered in private from what he justly termed "the meanness of this Persian monarch," Hu- mayun continued to r(;ceive every outward mark of unbounded munificence in the fes- tivals prepared in his honour, especially the military diversion of great circular hunts, so famous in the annals of Tinmr. All the expenses thus incurred are however said to shu])e and divided into twelve segments, in honour of the twelve Imaunis, from whom tlie reigning family claimed descent. t This title was exclusively assumed by the dy- nasty of the Great Mogul. IIUMAYUN CONQUERS CABOOL AND CANDAHAR. 91 have been ropriid two-fold by tbc j^ift of ,i few ricli goms. which the cxiU'd iiion;irch liad brought with him from Uindoostaii. One of these was a diamond, which the jewnllcrs of Tahmasp declared to be above all price, it was perhaps that obtained at Agra, and there estimated in a somewhat indefinite manner as cqnal in value " to the purchase of a day's subsistence for one-half the in- habitants of the terrestrial globe." Behram Beg, the bearer of tliis costly offering, was dignified by the title of Khan, and another oHiccr with that of Sultan, but it was not ■without far heavier sacrifices that the as- sistance, from the first promised to their sovereign, was at length aflbrdcd. He was compelled to sign a paper, the contents of wbich, though not precisely stated, involved a pledge, in the event of success in regaining the sceptre of Baber, to cede to Persia the province or kingdom of Candahar, and like- wise to introduce among the Mussulmans of India the profession of the Sheiahs in oppo- sition to that of the Sonnites. Orders were then given for the assemblage of 14,000 horse in Scestan, under the command of Murad Mirza, the son of Tahmasp, and after some more bickering the monarchs parted, and ITumayun proceeded again to try his fortune in war, liis private forces amounting only to about 700 men. At this period (1545) Sheer Shah was still alive, Kamran swayed Cabool, and his younger brothers, after the settlement of their private quar- rels, received appointments under him ; Hindal being governor of Ghu/.nee, and Askeri of Candahar, which latter place was attacked by llumayuu and captured after a siege of five months. Askeri was taken and kept in close captivity for the next three years. The fort and treasures were made over to the Persians, on which the greater part of them returned home, leaving a gar- rison under ^lurad ]\Iirza. According to Abul Fazil^' the conduct of the Persians to the inhabitants was so cruelly oppressive as to justify Humayun, on the sudden death of Mm-ad, in treacherously seizing the fortress ; his troops obtaining entrance thereto on the * Abul Fazil, the famous minister of Akber, re- corded the leading events of the reigns of this Boveieign and his fatliev in an heroic poem com- prising 110,000 couplets, from which Ferishta has borrowed largely. AUhoufjh a man of extraordinary ability, he was, unfortunately for the students of his- tory, an accomplished courtier and professed rheto- rician, delighting in the cumbrous and inflated style still in vogue in India. His account of important events is therefore often unsatislaclory, and, unless plausible pretext of placing Askeri in charge of the Persian governor. Some of the gar- rison ofiercd resistance on discovering what was really intended, but their opposition was soon silenced in death, and the re- mainder were suffered to return to Persia. From Candahar, Humayun marched to Cabnol, of which he took jjossession without a struggle, for Kamran, finding himself de- serted by Hindal and many other chiefs who had gone over to the now successful brother, had sought refuge in Sinde. With Cabool, Humayun recovered Akber, then between two and three years of age, but both the city and the young prince were subsequently re-captured by Kamran, who long held his groimd against all attempts for his expulsion. Prisoners taken during this siege were slain in cold blood by the assailants, and treated with yet greater bar- barity by Kamran, who threatened, if the firing were not discontinued, to expose Akber on the walls. Eventually, being un- able to continue the contest, he escaped by night, and by the aid of the Uzbeks again made head against his brother for about eighteen months, but was, at the expira- tion of that time, compelled to surrender. Humayun behaved on this occasion very nobly, treated Kamran with great kindness, released Askeri, and, accompanied by Hindal, sat down with them at a feast. The four brothers having eaten saltf together, seemed for the time entirely reconciled, but during Humayun's subsequent absence in Trans- oxiana, the conquest of which he had resolved on attempting, Kamran once more rebelled, and after many vicissitudes, (during which Cabool and the young prince were again lost and won, and Hindal fell in the cause of Humayun,) was finally betrayed by the sultan of the Gukkurs, with whom he had taken refuge, into the hands of his much- injured brother. Some chiefs, whose wives and children had beeti savagely disgraced and mtu'dcrcd by order of Kamran during the siege of Cabool in 1 547, now loudly urged that his life should pay the forfeit of his crimes. This Humayun steadfastly refused, carefully weighed, misleading ; but, notwithstanding their defect*, his works (the Aider Kumoh and Ayecn Akhcry) afford information not to be ob- tained elsewhere. t In the east it is regarded as peculiarly infa- moiis for either the giver or receiver of the lowest description of hospitality, to practice hostility against one another. Thus, salt, which forms an ingredient of the most sumptuous or humble meal has become a type and pledge of good faith. 93 CHARACTER ATs^D DEATH OF HUMAYUN— a.d. 1555. but consented to allow him to be blinded, the barbarous method commonly resorted to in the East, to crush ambitious pretenders to that uneasy seat — the throne of a despot. The cruel operation was usually performed by means of a searing instrument, called a fire-pencil, held against the visual nerve until it was annihilated, or by means of an- timony ; but in this case, perhaps from the fact of several state prisoners condemned in late reigns to a similar fate having escaped its completion — a lancet ■vyas em- ployed, and after many wounds had been inflicted, without drawing a groan, lemon- juice and salt were at last squeezed into the sightless orbs of the wretched sufferer, who then exclaimed in uncontrollable agony — " O Lord my God ! whatever sins I have com- mitted have been amply punished in this world, have compassion on me in the next." Humayun shortly afterwards went to visit his unhappy brother, and wept long and bitterly while Kamran confessed the justice of his punishment, and asked leave to per- form a pilgrimage to Mecca. This he was suffered to do, and died in that place in 1557. Askeri, who had likewise returned to the course of rebellion after having repeat- edly abjured it, had been previously cap- tured, but was only punished by imprison- ment, from which he also was released, for the purpose of proceeding to Mecca, and died on his way thither. Thus delivered from the difficulties in which the turbulence and disunion of his brothers had involved him during so long a period, Humayun began to take advantage of the unsettled state in which the death of Selim Shah and the misgovernment of his successor had involved the territories conquered by Baber, which had gradually, as has been shown, been parted by various usurpations into five distinct states, whose rulers were at variance with one another. In January, 1555, he started from Cabool with 15,000 horse, obtained possession of Lahore, and sub- sequently engaged Secander, who being defeated fled to the mountains near the Himalaya, leaving Humayun to occupy Delhi and Agra. The portion of his original dominions thus at length regained, after sixteen years of strife and banishment, had been enjoyed by Humayun less than six months, when an accident occurred which produced fatal results. The monarch had ascended the terrace at the top of his library to enjoy the cool evening air, and give orders respecting the attendance of astronomers to note the rising of Venus, which was to be the signal for the announcement of a general promotion among the nobility and officers. While preparing to descend the steep and highly-polished stairs, protected only by an ornamental parapet a foot high, a muezzin or crier announced the hour of prayer from the minarets of the adjoining mosque, where the people being assembled had just offered the monarch the usual kornesh or saluta- tion. Humayun, intending to repeat the customary formula, attempted to seat him- self on the spot, but his foot becom.ing en- tangled in the folds of his robe, he fell head- long down the steps, receiving a contusion on the right temple, of which he died, aged somewhat less than forty-nine years. Historians agree in according him high rank as a benevolent, forgiving, and munifi- cent prince, intrepid in the hour of danger, patient in adversity, moderate in prosper- ity, and skilled in literature, mathematics, geography, astronomy, and the mechanical sciences. These varied gifts, united to a naturally easy temper, pleasing person, and courteous demeanour, rendered his society so delightful that Baber used often to de- clare Humayun to be without an equal as a companion. Procrastination and indecision were his characteristic failings ; these may be easily traced to the frequent and intoxicat- ing use of opium, a vice whose degrading influences were heightened by the peculiar defects of his religious creed. Perhaps no single character, when carefully weighed would afford an inquirer into the effects of Mohammedanism on individuals more strik- ing evidence than that of Humayun. His conduct repeatedly affords evidence of the want of a steady principle of action, direct- ing even the passing thoughts of the mind, and marking with a broad line the differ- ence between right and M'rong. Notwith- standing the false notions of expediency which led him to commit, or at least sanc- tion, crimes from which a naturally gentle and easy disjjosition must have revolted, col. Dow has said that " had he been a worse man he would have been a greater monarch." The remark sounds strangely, but it is to be hoped that young students of history will not forget that all Christendom concurs in invoking the same just, mer- ciful and omnipotent Ruler to give wisdom to senators and prosperity to nations — there- fore any description of greatness, inconsis- tent with the goodness inculcated in the Gospel, ought simply to excite abhorrence BAHMANI KINGDOM OF THE DECCAN— FOUNDED a.d. 1347. 98 and reprobation. Most assuredly the man wlio, in !ui uiiiij^litcous cause, has made mo- thers cliihiless, and vidowed hajipy wives, dc- sohited eultivatcd lands and spread famine and pcstilcnee in his train, has attained in the sight of his Creator a prc-cinincncc in crime little in accordance with the idea conmionly attached to the word greatness. Some ray of light, breaking through the dense clouds in which the teaching of tlie False Projjhct had involved the purposes and residts of war, beamed on the mind of Ilumayun, when not many days before his death he prayed, "Lord, ennoble me with the knowledge of thy truth;" and described himself as " sorely aillicted by the perplexities of a troubled mind." The faith of Islam and its innumeral)le obser- vances had thus utterly failed to enlighten or sustain even a follower, so diligent in their observance, that a sentiment of deep reverence had all his life long preserved him from so much as uttering the name of his Creator with unwashcn hands.* A new epoch is formed by the reign of Akber, since by liim India was consolidated into one formidable empire, by the absorp- tion of the various small kingdoms which had sprung up during the reign of Moham- med Toghlak, as also by the annexation of numerous Hindoo principalities, which Ak- ber obtained far less by force than by the favours and distinctions which he invariably bestowed on the native rulers so soon as they consented to recognize his supremacy, without regard to their religious opinions. Before proceeding further, the origin and condition of these states must be shown, as the reader may probably need this know- ledge for subsequent reference. The Bahmani kingdom of the Deccan was founded by an Afghan, born in the lowest condition at Delhi, and servant to a Brah- min astrologer, named Gungoo, much fa- voured by IMohammed Toghlak. In con- sideration of his good conduct, Gungoo gave Hussun a pair of oxen, and permitted him to till a piece of land for his own sustenance. Wliile ploughing, Hussun discovered a cop- per casket filled with ancient gold coins, which he carried to his master, who, in re- turn, used his utmost influence at court, and * Price, from Ahul Fazil, vol. iii., p. 944. t The Khoihah is the public prayer for the reign- ing king; Sicca the royal right of stamping coin. X By the Caniatic is here meant the country where the Canarese language prevails, south of a line drawn between Colapoor and Beder. It must be remem- bered that this tx-act continued, up to the lime of o succeeded in rewarding the lioneslyof Hus- sun by ol)taining for him an a|)pointment and jaghire in tlic Deccan, umkr the gov- ernor of Doulataljad. Some time after- wards, the ollicers of the Deccan, by refusing to surrender some fugitive chiefs from Guzcrat, incurred the displeasure of Mo- hammed Toghlak, and fearing to fall into the hands of this cruel des[)ot, broke into opeii rcljcllion. On the cstidjlishmcnt of their independence Ilussim was chosen as king, A.D. 1.'317, and the capital fixed at Cul- barga, whence it was subsequently removed to Beder or Bidr. Hussun, on assuming the regal honours of the mosque and mint,t took the name of Ala-oo-dcen, adding thereto Gungoo Bahmani (Brahmin), in honour of his early benefactor, whom he sent for and made treasurer ; and the suc- ceeding princes of the Deccan followed this example by generally committing to Brah- mins the charge of the revenues. Notwith- standing the close connection between the first Bahmani king and his Hindoo patron, his son and successor, Mohammed I., proved a sanguinary foe to that people. " It is computed," says Fcrishta, "that in his reigu [of seventeen years] nearly 500,000 unbelievers fell by the swords of Islam, by which the population of the Carnatic was so reduced that it did not recover for several ages. "J This destruction was accomplished by indiscriminate slaughter, without regard to sex or age, a proceeding at length stopped by the remonstrances of the Hindoo ambas- sadors, who urged that since the princes of the Deccan and of the Carnatic might long remain neighbours, it was advisable that a treaty shoidd be made, binding both parties to refrain from taking the life of the help- less and unarmed. From this time, it is asserted, that the conquered were no longer slain in cold blood during the hostilities carried on by the Bahmauis against the neighbouring states, and especially the new monarchy of Beejanuggur, throughout the whole period of their existence, excepting the reign of jMahmood Shah I., who, for nearly twenty years (a.d. 1378 to 1397), by rectitude and discretion, preserved his subjects alike from foreign and domestic strife. § Although in these conflicts many thousand Moham- the Mohammedan writer to be devastated by almost incessant wars. § The proceedings of Mahmood Shah I. occupy but a few pages in Ferishta's history, far less than are often given to the details of a single campaign, but quite enough is said to make the reader solicitous to learn more respecting this tiuly great and gifted mo- 94 MAHMOOD SHAH I. AND HAFIZ, THE POET OF SHIRAZ. medans, in the fantastic and fanatical lan- guage of their historians, " tasted the sher- bet of martyrdom,'^ they were on the whole gainers. In 1421, Ahmed Shall took per- manent possession of Warangol, and com- pelled the rajah of Teliugana to relinquish liis ancient capital. In 1471, Mohammed II. concluded a struggle of more than forty years' duration, in which much life and trea- sure had been wasted, by the partial con- quest of the Concan,* and in 1477 completed the subjugation of Rajahmundry and Masu- lipatara. Notwithstanding these successes, Mohammed was rendered infamous, even in the eyes of his fellovr-believers, by the slaughter of some Brahmins whom he found officiating in an idolatrous temple at Condapilli, and to this ungrateful outrage on the Order, by whom his ancestor had been first brought to notice, was popularly attributed the downfall of the Bahmaui dynasty. Soon after this, the king, while flushed with wine, was induced, by a forged letter, to sanction the immediate execution of his faithful minister, Mahmood Gawan, then in the seventy-eighth year of his age. narch. AVe are told that he was " naturally of a disposition wise, merciful, and just, and his judg- ment in all affairs of state was usually correct." • • * " During his reign no disturbances occurred in the kingdom, nor did any relaxation take place in the energy of the government." The praise is coldly given, but in the present day the character of a ruler in whom firmness and mildness were so ad- mirably balanced will be regarded in a very different light to that in v.'hich it was likely to be viewed by a Mohammedan,who regarded the title of Ghiizi (the holy warrior), bestowed _on the blood-thirsty Mo- hammed, as the most desirable of distinctions. In- deed the virtues of Mahmood Shah I. savouied little of the morality of the Koran. He had but one wife, wore plain white robes, and was equally simple and unpi-etending in all his habits. As a youth he is said to have delighted in gaudy attire, but on acceding to the throne he declared that he looked upon kings as only trustees of the state, and thenceforth ob- served in his personal expenses remarkable modera- tion. A famine occurring during his reign, he employed 10,000 bullocks, at his private expense, in going to and from Malwa and Guzerat for grain, which was distributed to the people at a cheap rate. He established orphan schools at the cities of Cul- barga, Bcder, Cand'har, Elikpoor, Uoulalabad, and in several other great towns, with ample foundations for their support, apportioned stijjends to the ex- pounders of the Scrijjlures, and gave monthly charity to the blind throughout his dominions. The fame of liis learning and munificence is said to have reached the ears of Hafiz, the poet of Shiraz, who resolved to visit the IX'ccan. An assurance of an honourable reception was sent by the king, accompanied by a present, which, according to Ferishta, the poet dis- tributed among his relations and creditors, and then J)ut himself on board one of tlie royal vessels whicli ind arrived at Ormus. but the anchor was scarcely By so doing, he sealed the fate of his house, whose power was speedily absorbed in the whirlpool of strife raised by the two factions into which the troops had become divided. The first consisted of Mogul converts, to whom were gradually added Persians and Turks, Georgians, Circassians, Calmucks, and other Tartars, who were for the most part of the Sheiah sect ; the second, or native troops, called Deccanies, were Sonnites, and were always joined by the Abyssinian mer- cenaries, who came in numbers by the sea- ports on the western coast. f The late minister was a Sonnite, and although just aitd kind to both sects, this circumstance afforded a pretext to Nizam- ul-Moolk Behri, the son of a converted Hindoo, and the leader of the opposite party, for gratifying his ambition. Having succeeded in procuring the death of Gawan, he obtained also his much-coveted office, through the fears of the king, who, on learn- ing the base plot by which he had been de- ceived, openly bewailed his rash credulity, but made no attempt to bring the con- spirators to justice. A low fever, brought weighed before a heavy gale arose, and the ship was compelled to return to port. Hafiz had suffered so much during the storm that he insisted on being put ashore, sending to Mahmood Shah a copy of verses, in which he trankly confessed the reason of his change of mind — " The glare of gems confused my sight, The ocean's roar I ne'er had heard." Unhappily, the line of.Bahmani presents an instance of a monarch exactly opposite to ^lahmood Shah I. Humayun the Cruel was one of those monsters, who seem possessed by a demoniac desire to cause and witness suffering. His own brother he ordered to be devoured by a tiger, before his eyes; and the tor- tures inflicted by his command, and in his presence, were often too shocking to be narrated. On one occasion, after an unsuccessful rebellion, 7,000 per- sons, including unoffending females and servants, ; perished by such agonizing deaths as hewing to pieces with hatchets, and fiaying in cauldrons of scalding oil or boiling water. After reigning three years this tyrant, during a fit of intoxication, was assassinated by his own servants. — Briggs' Ferishia. * The sufferings of the Moslems in the Concan are very graphically told by Ferishta, who describes their " wandering tln-ough gloomy defiles, where the very grass was tough and sharp as the I'angs of ser- pents, and the air fetid as the breath of dragons. Beath dwelt in the waters, poison impregnated the breeze." On one occasion, having halted at night, in a spot so rugged as to prevent two tents being pitched side by side, no less than 7,000 of the invaders were surprised and put to death by the Hindoos, the fierce gust* of wind rushing through the trees, preventing the cries of the first sufferers being heard by their companions. — Briggs' Fcriahta, vol. ii., p. 430. t The influx of Arabians a])pears to have been very small, but it is difficult to conjecture the reason. EXTINCTION OP BAHMANI KINGS OF THE DECCAN— a.d. 1549, 95 on by griof and romorso, was aggravated by intoxication, and ho expired in strong con- vulsions, crying out tliat (iawan was tearing liim to pieces. Tlic date of bis deatli, A.D. 1482, is recorded in tlie Persian cbarac- ters (applied niiraerically) whieli express "the ruiu of the Deecan." Mahniood Sliah II. next ascended the tlironc. IJoing Init twelve years old and of limited al)ility, he naturally became a mere pujjpet in the hands of the grasping uobles, who, though for a time disposed to co-operate for their own advan- tage, soon broke out into new hostilities. Behri, for some years, maintained his as- cendancy over the young king, and Ynsuf Adil Shah, the leader of the foreign party, ■withdrew to his government of Beejapoor, wliicli be formed into an independent state. Behri, when old and defenceless, was strangled at the instigation of the king, who then gave himself up to every species of excess, leaving tlie public afl'airs in the bauds of the leaders of the foreign party. The Deccanies and Abyssinians conspired for bis destruction, and having surprised the palace during one of the ordinary scenes of midnight revelry, would have succeeded in their object, but for the loyalty of some balf-dozea of liis body-guard, who, though unarmed, threw themselves between him and the assassins, and by the sacrifice of their own lives, enabled the king to escape to the terrace of the royal tower, where he was joined by the foreign troops. Mabmood, mounting bis throne at sunrise on the fol- lowing day, gave orders that the bouses of the Deccanies should be broken open, the inhabitants slain without distinction, and their property seized by the triumphant Moguls,* who gladly gave vent to the savage fury which they had nursed for years ; and all the horrors of a successful siege, height- ened by the envenomed bitterness of intes- tine broils, raged for three days through the stately city of Bcder. Strife and cruelty naturally brought licentiousness and dis- order in their train. " The people, follow- ing the example of their prince, attended to nothing but dissipation : reverend sages pawned their very garments at the wine- cellars, and holy teachers, quitting their colleges, retired to taverns and presided over the wine-flask. "t The governors of frostier provinces took advantage of this * This term must be here uiulcrstood in the loose sense in wliicli it was tlicn used, as synonymous with the wliole foreign or Slieiah party. t Briggs' Ferishta, vol. ii., p. 535. state of affairs, each one to claim as bis own the tcri'itories entrusted to iii:i cliarge. Ahmodnuggur, (ir)lfonda and Berar became distinct principabtics, mitil at length there remained to the nominal lung of the Decean no more than the province of Telingaiia and the districts adjacent to Beder. Even there he had no real sway, being wholly in the 1 lands of Kasim Barecd, wlio had assumed tlic reins of government after the failure of the Dcccani ])lot, and in revenge for Malimood's attempts to get rid of him, as he had previously done of Behri, by the hand of an assassin, ruled bim so tyranically, as to forbid him " even to satisfy bis thirst, without jiermission." On the death of Kasim, his son. Ameer Bareed,succecded bim in the oilice of Vakeel, J and after regaining the person of the king, who liad in vain endeavoured to assert his rights, confined him closely, until bis death, in 1518, terminated a nominal reign of tbii-ty-seven years. The two years' equally nominal sway of Ahmed, the son and successor of Mahmood, being ended by his decease. Ameer Barecd raised to the throne a prince entitled Ala-oo- dccn II., who, rejecting all allurements to the excesses by which the energies of his predecessors bad been destroyed, attempted to out-mana2uvre the wary minister, but having failed in an attempt to seize his per- son, was himself made prisoner and put to death. His successor, also a sou of Mab- mood Shah II., met with a similar fate ; for Ameer Bareed having conceived a passion for his wife, caused bim to be poisoned, married the queen, and bestowed the empty title of Shah on another Balimani prince, who, having subsequently incurred his dis- pleasure, by making a private and unsueees- ful appeal to Baber, the new emperor of India, then fully engaged in hostilities with the kings of Malwa and Guzerat, was so harshly treated, that, escaping from his palace-prison, he took refuge at Abmed- nuggur, and there resided till his death. Thus ended the Habmani line. Bareed Shah ascended the throne of Beder, and founded a dynasty, which reigned over the fifth of the kingdoms (Beejapoor, Ahmed- nuggur, Golconda, and Berar), formed from that called the Decean, but not with geo- graphical accuracy, since Hindoo states, in- dependent and even antagonistic, existed ia i ThcVakoil or llcpresentative was then the first person in the kingdom, liis business being to issue aU orders from the royai closet to the vizier and other executive officers. — (Dovi's Hindoostan, Yol. i.p. 202.) 96 ADIL SHAPI DYNASTY AT BEEJAPOOR— a.d. 1489. various parts of the territory commonly compreliended in that term. During the above period* of two centuries, relations of a domestic character had gradually arisen be- tween the Moslems and Hindoos. Feroze Shahj who began to reign in 1397, made it an article of a peace with the rajah of Leejanuggur, that he should give him his daughter in marriage. This stipulation perhaps contributed to the blending of the two people, though it originated in the ungoverned passions of a king, who re- ceived into his harem 300 females in one day, being convinced, by the reasoning of the Sheiahs, that this proceeding was in perfect accordance with the spirit of the Koran, against whose doctrines his sole offences are said to have been an addiction to wine and music. These foibles would weigh lightly enough in the judgment of a Mussulman against a king who earned the coveted name of Ghazi, by the unbounded zeal for Islam evinced during " four and twenty glorious campaigns, by the success of which he greatly enlarged his dominions." In reality, the religious feelings of both Moslems and Hindoos had deteriorated, and the conscientious scruples of the former people became frequently little better than a superstitious regard to certain forms. Thus the very men, who, for the sake of gain, entered the service of the rajah of Beejanuggui', to fight against their fellow- believers, cavilled at the idea of making the obeisance required as a pledge of fealty to an idolater, but gladly availed themselves of the miserable pretext of liaviug a Koran placed before the throne aud bending there- to, it being understood that the rajah would appropriate the homage as offered to his per- son, and in return, assign lands for the sup- port of his new auxiliaries, and build a mos- que at his capital for their encouragement. The early Bahmani kings lived in great pomp. Mohammed Shah I. had 3,000 elephants, a favourite evidence of regal splendour. t He obtained from the rajah of Telingana a throne six cubits long by two broad, of ebony, covered with plates of pure gold and inlaid with gems, to which ad- ditions were made in successive reigns, until the whole attained the value of a erore of * Fcrishta makes some remarkable statements re- spectiii},' the use of artillery in the Deceiiii. For in- stance, he assorts, that in 13'JS, (22 years after tluir alleged employment by ICdward III. at Cvc^sy) ;iOO f;un carrin'jcs were among the spoil captured from the Jtajah of IJeejanuggur; and the Moslems, by the aid of Turks and Kuropeans, are said to have used artil- hoons (£4,000,000 sterling), when it was broken up by Mahmood Shah II., who took it to pieces to make vases and goblets. Some terrible famines are recorded at inter- vals, occasioned, according to Ferishta, by the absence of the periodical rains, but more likely I}y the slaughter aud oppressive exactions of the Mohammedans. During one of these visitations, about a.d. 1474, no grain was sown in Telingana, Maharashtra, and throughout the Bahmani dominions for two years, and on the third, scarcely any farmers remained to cultivate the land, having for the most part perished or emi- grated to Malwa and Guzerat. Adil Shah dynasty at Beejapoor. — The first king of this line, Yusuf Adil Shah, reigned from A.D. 1489 to 1510. A romantic story is related of his royal descent. He is said to have been a son of the Ottoman emperor Amurath, at whose death he escaped destruc- tion by the contrivance of his mother, wlio had him conveyed to Persia, from whence, at the age of sixteen, he was compelled to fly, by the suspicions entertained regarding his birth, was captured, and sold at the Bahmani court as a Georgian slave. He rose, according to the course of Mameluk adventurers, until he became the governor of Beejapoor, and then, by one of the acts of flagrant disloyalty so common at the period, took the first opportunity of declaring him- self an irresponsible prince. From that time he was occupied in hostilities with Kasim Bareed of Beder, and other neighbouring chiefs, who were also endeavouring to form independent principalities; but his most formidable foe was the Hindoo rajah of Bee- januggur. With the new rulers of Ahmed- uuggur and Berar, Yusuf entered into a sort of partition treaty, by which he recog- nised them in their unlawful seizures, and they him in the possession of the country bouiuled by the Bccuia and Kishna rivers on the cast, the Tumbuddra river on the south, the sea from near Goa to near Bora- bay on the west, aiul perhaps the Nccra river on the north. Ibrahim Adil Siiah, the fourth king, a.d. 1535, formed an alliance with Bhoj Tirmul, (who had obtained the throne of Beejanuggur by the nuirdcr of its young occupant, his lery for the first time in the following campaign. There can be little doubt that guns were common in India before the arrival of the I'ortuguese in Hi)8. t The king in return signed a treaty pledging his successors to forbear further encroachment on the territory of the Telingana rajahs, which, as might bo expected, did not prevent its entire seizure. EXTINCTION OF HINDOO MONARCHY OP BEEJANUGGUR— a.d. 1565. 97 own nopliow), against IlivmaRajali, the rcpfcnt and biotlicr-iu-lavv of tlio lato sovereign. Ibraliim sent an army to the assistance of Bhoj Tirmul, who, in return, paid (k)wn fifty hicks of liobns* (£2,000,000 sterling), and promised to aeknowh'dgc liiinsclf tribu- tary. No sooner had the foreign troops quitted Becjapoor, than Rama Rajah, Ijreak- ing, it is alk'gc'd, a promise of aUegiance which had hecn extorted from him, surprised tlic city. Bhoj Tirmui, mad with rage and despair, shut himself up in the palaec, blinded all the royal clcpliants and horses, collected together, in one glittering heap, the diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other gems, amassed during many ages, and caused them to be crushed to powder be- tween mill-stones ; then, fixing a sword-blade into a pillar of his apartment, rushed upon it just as the jialace- gates \vcre opened to his enemies. Rama Rajah became the un- disputed master of Bccjanuggur, and Ibra- him, after having received from his prede- cessor so large a bribe to take the field against him, now stooped to the humiliation of soliciting, with a costly present, the aid of Rama against a brave chief, Scif Eiu- ool-Moolk, driven into rebellion by his own suspicious tyratmy. The required assistance was sent midcr the guidance of Vcnkatadri, the Rajah's brother. Ibrahim died soon after, of a complication of disorders brought on by the most abandoned conduct, having first caused several physicians to be be- headed or trodden to death by elephants for failing to cure him, upon which the rest fled for their lives, leaving him to pci'ish unheeded. His successor, Ali,t entered into a new alliance with Rama Rajah, and the two monarchs having, at the request of the former, united their forces, jointly in- vaded the territory of Nizam Shah, and, says Fcrishta, " laid it waste so thoroughly, that from Purenda to Jooncre, and from Ahmednuggur to Douhuabad, not a vestige of population was left." Ali at length be- came " scandalised by the behaviour of his Hindoo allies," and alarmed at the growing strength and haughtiness of Rama; there- fore, after receiving the full benefit of his power, while continuing every outward • The honn varies in value from 3j to 4 rupees — • eight sliiliings sterling may be taken as the average. \ This monarch (whose death by the hand of a eunuch shamefully insulted by him, has rendered his name infamous) greatly improved the capital by con- structing the city wall and the aqueducts which stili convey water through every street. Mention is made of his receiving tribute from several petty mark of fri(nidship, he made a secret league with his late enemy, Nizam Shah, and with the kings of Beder and Goleonda, " to crush the common enemy of Islam." A decisive battle took place on the Kishna, near Tali- cot, the Hindoos commencing the attack by vast flights of rockets and rapid discharges of artillery. A general engagement fol- lowed, in which, after great numbers had been slain on both sides, the Moslems were victorious, aided by the treachery of two Mohammedan chiefs in the pay of the rajah. Rama, although seventy years of age, gave orders from his elephant throughout, but was at last captured, and brought into the presence of Nizam Shah, by whose orders liis head was struck ofl" and stuck upon a pole. It is no small proof, either of the barbarity of the conquerors or the dread which tlieir victim must have inspired, that the head of the brave old man should have been annually exhibited at Ahmednuggur for more than two centuries and a half, covered with oil and red pigment, by the descendants of his executioners, while a sculp- tured representation of it was made to serve as the opening of one of the sewers of the citadel of Beejapoor. Thus ended the monarchy of Bccjanuggur, which at that time comprehended the greater part of the south of India. The city of that name was destroyed, and is now uninhabited; the country fell into the hands of the tri- butary chiefs and officers, since so ' well known as zemindars or poligars; but the confederate kings were prevented by their mutual jealousies from gaining any great addition of territory, the balance of power being pretty evenly maintained among them, until all were overwhelmed by Akber. Veu- katadri, the brother of the late rajah, re- moved his residence further cast, and finally settled at Chandragiri, seventy miles north- west of j\Iadras, at which last place his descendant first granted a settlement to the English, A.D. IGIO. The wars between the Adil Shah dynastj' and the Portuguese set- tlers are very slightly mentioned by the native historians; they state little more than that Goa was lost under Yusuf, retaken by that king, lost again under his son Ismael principalities, the government of which was heredi- tarily vested in females, who ruled with the title of Ranies, their husbands having no power in the state. Colonel Briggs remarks upon this statement of Fe- rishta, that " the gynecocracy of the Ranies of Mala- bar and C'anara socms to have suffered no alteration from the period alluded to, to the present day." — Note to Fcrishta, vol. iii. p. HO. 98 NIZAM SHAH DYNASTY AT AHMEDNUGGUR— POUNDED a.d. 1490, (alluding to tlie second capture by Albu- querquCj iu 1510), and attacked simulta- neously -with Choul, in 1570, by the kings of Beejapoor and Abmeduuggur, who were both repulsed. The reigns of the early Beejapoor kings were marked by fierce sectarian strife, for Yusuf had imbibed in Persia a strong at- tachment to the Sheiah doctrines and cere- monial, which he endeavom-ed to introduce in his dominions, but was compelled to re- nounce the attempt by the displeasure of his subjects and the combination formed against him by all the other Mohammedan sovereigns. The same division prevailed among the troops as that pre\'iously de- scribed as existing under the Bahmaui dynasty, and according to the opinion of the king or his chief ministers, the Dec- canies (including Hindoos), or the foreigners, were uppermost. After the extinction of their native rulers, the Hindoos formed the chief part of the infantry of most of the Moslem governments, and appear to have been well paid* and entirely relied upon. Yusuf is said to have given a command of 12,000 infantry to a Mahratta chief,t and Ismael raised " a vast number" of Mahratta cavalry, under the name of Bergies, who, for an annual subsidy, engaged to appear fully equipped whenever their services were required. Ibrahim, the fovirth king, caused the public accounts to be kept in the Mah- ratta language instead of the Persian, a very politic and almost necessary measure, since the village accountants and the revenue and finance oSicers were for the most part Hin- doos. Ibrahim II., who acceded to the throne of Beejapoor, a.d. 1579, was cotemporary with Akber, and will be again mentioned. Nizam Shah dynasty at Ahmedtmgyur. — Ahmed, the first of these kings, began to reign a.d. 1490, having, as before stated, on the assassination of his father, Nizam-ool- IMoolk Behri, assumed the title of Shah, and made Ahmednuggur his capital. Not only tolerance, but great favour was shown to the Hindoos by this monarch and his successor, Boorlian, who appointed a Brahmin, named Kawar Scin, Pcslnva or prime minister, and had every reason to rejoice in the selection. * Briggs gives a table (vol. ii. p. 504) Rhowing how much more liberally Indian lroo])S v-tre ]>aid by Mohanimetlan sovereigns in HVOthanby the Krilish in 1828 (the date at wliich he wrote). t Duff's Uistnry (if the Muhr<Utas,so\. i. p. 81 , X The chivalious Hajpoot probably intended to waive the perlornianoe oi' this gallinj^ act, for when Hussun entered his teiit, he rose and took liim by In. fact, these kings appear to have been proud of their Brahminical descent, and frequent wars took place between them and the Berar sovereigns, for the possession of the village of Patree, situate just within the Berar territory, where the ancestors of the Nizam Shah family had held the office of coolcurny or hereditary village accountant. It was, however, by the orders of Hussun, the third king of this dynasty, that Rama Rajah was beheaded, iu revenge for the humiliations previously suffered from his brave foe, to whom he had been compelled to sue for peace, by paying the Hindoo a visit, and receiving a pan (aromatic leaf) from his hand, which, thus given, implies the superiority of the donor, and is equivalent to the English custom of kissing hands ; but, when presented in a silver or gold box, or on a salvei'. denotes equality. J Hussun died shortly after, from the consequences of vmbounded dissipation. His successor, Murtczza, appears to have become insane, and growing suspicious of his son, Meeran Hussun, the heir apparent, endeavoured to destroy him, by setting fire to the couch on which he lay sleeping. Meeran escaped, suc- cessfully rebelled, and seized the person of liis father, who, although ill of a mortal disease, he confined in a bath-room, and suffocated with hot air. Eerishta, who was at the time on guard at the palace, relates this horrible tale, adding, as the reason of his life being spared during the general massacre of the few who remained faithful to the king, '■ the Prince fortunately knew me, and re- flecting that we had been school-fellows, and brought up together, ordered my life to be spared. "§ Meeran Hussun retained the throne less than a year, but during that period he inflicted great misery, frequently riding through the streets in fits of intoxication, ac- companied by a partj"^ of abandoned courtiers, and putting to death persons guilty of no crime. Fifteen princesof the royal family were massacred in oite day, in order to establish an authority obtained by parricide, at the instigation of the vizier, Mirza Khan, who, at length terrified by the menaces of the king during his drunken revels, deposed and slew him. A speedy retribution attended the hand, but the insolent Mussulman called for a basin and ewer as if polluted by the touch of ]{ama, who exclaimed in his own laufjuaije, " If he were not my guost, I would cut off his hands and hang them round liis neck." After this interview the rajah and las' troops arc accused of treating their Mohamme- dan foes and even friends with great indignity. § Briggs' Ferishta vol. iii. p. 269. CHAND BEEBY, HEROINE OF AHMfeDNUGGUR, MURDERED, a.d. 1599. 99 this wretcli, for in the stru^slc wiiich en- sued Ijctwcoii the Dccciinics and the Moguls, he was hewn to pieees hy tlic fbrnicr, and his liniljs affixed on diU'ereiit puldic buiidinp;s. In the space of seven days, nearly 1,000 foreigners were slain, and tiu'ir eflfects confiscated ; some few escaped with their lives, through the protection of Deccani or Abyssinian olliccrs, and these, among whom was li'erishta, for the most part, ob- tained service under the king of Bcejapoor. The remaining reigns of this line present no very striking features, excepting the gal- lant struggles made by Chand Beeby {thu Lady Chand) as regent on behalf of her infant nejihcw, after the death of lier bix)ther, Ibrahim, slain in battle with the king of Bcejapoor. An attempt was made to seize the throne in the name of a boy called Ahmed, under a shallow pretence of his being a son of the late king. Chand Beeby evinced equal valour and discretion during this trying period,* and her efforts were temporarily successful. Ahmed, the young pretender, was confessed to be not lineally descended from the royal family, and was provided with an estate by Ibrahim Adil Shah, at Bcejapoor, while Bahadur was pro- claimed king, his aunt continuing regent until the siege of Ahmednuggur by the son of Akber. Then, hopeless of offering a suc- cessful defence, in consequence of the fac- tions which divided the troops, she called a council of war, and proposed to negotiate, on favourable terms, the evacuation of the fort. The ungrateful Deccanies, to whom her sug- gestion had been purposely misrepresented by an intriguing eunuch, rushed into her apartments and put her to death. The place was shortly after taken by storm, and little or no quarter given. The unfortunate king was sent to Akber, who confined him in the fortress of Gwalior, a.d. 1591), but was pre- vented from gaining possession of his do- minions by the determination of an Abys- sinian officer, Malek Amber, (who founded the city afterwards called Auruugabad,) to • On one occasion when closely besieged, after having succeeded in destroying two out of iive mines carried under the bastions at -Vhmednuggur, by her- self labouring all night at tlie head of the garrison, a third was sprung at day-break, which killed many of the counter-miners, and threw down several yards of the waH. The principal orticcrs concluding ail now lost, prepared for flight, but Chand Beeby, clad in armour, with a veil on her face and a naked sword in her hand rushed to defend the breach, and while the Mogul storming-party waited the explosion of the other mines, found time to bring guns to bear retain the sovereignty on behalf of his ncwly- elcetcd nominal muster , and the Adil Shah dynasty was not extinguished until the time of .lehangccr. At its greatest extent the king- dom of Ahmednuggur comprehended all that is now called the Subah of Aurungabad, and the west of that of Bcrar, with a portion of the sea-coast of the Concan. It must have been a formidable power, for it appears that in one campaign ujjwards of (500 of its guns were seized by the rival state of Bcejapoor, including the cannon still preserved at the latter place, and famous as one of the largest pieces of brass ordnance in the world. t Duelling (an infrequent crime in Asia) was introduced in the reign of Ahmed, who, being himself an expert swords- man, encouraged the assemblage of young men at the palace for the purpose of dis- playing their skill, till at length a day sel- dom passed without one or two persons being killed. The king then endeavoured to discourage the practice, but it spread far and wide among the ^lohammcdans of the Dcccan. Even learned divines and philoso- phers shared the infatuation, and Ferishta records an instance which lie witnessed in the streets of Bcejapoor, of a dispute arising regarding some trifling matter, and terminating in a few minutes in the death or mortal injury of six persons of high standing, of whom five were grey-headed men. The spread of this destructive and contagious vice was, of course, fostered by the rancorous sectarian-spirit between the Sonnites and Sheiahs — the native and fo- reign factions. The Kootb Shah dynasty at Golr.onda was founded, about A.n. 1512, by a Turcoman soldier, named Kooli Kootb, who came from llamadan, in Persia, in quest of military service, entered the guards of the Bahmani king, was promoted, and, on the dissolution of the monarchy, held sway over Telin- gana, which he retained, making Golconda his capital. He was a zealous Sheiah, and introduced this profession into his dominions. upon it, so that on the enemy's advance they were re- ceived with repeated volleys, until, when compelled to renounce the attack by the darkness of night, " the ditch WMS nearly filled with dead carcases." Daring the succeeding hours Chand Beeby (on whom the name of Chand Sultana was now bestowed) super- intended unceasingly the repairs of the breach, wliich by the morning's dawn was built up to the height oi seven or eight feet. At length, reinforcsmentsbeing on their way, the siege was raised. ■ t Weighs 40 tons, is 4 ft. 8 in. in diameter at the muzzle, and only 15 ft. long. Calibre, 2 ft. 4 in. 100 KOOTB SHAH DYNASTY AT GOLCOND A— ESTABLISHED a.d. 1512. At the close of a long reign he left a terri- toiy extending from the Godavery river to beyond that of the Kishna, and from tlie sea (Bay of Bengal) to a line drawn west of Hyderabad, about 78° E. long. The chief part of his dominions were wrested from the Warangol family, and other Hindoo chiefs of Teliugaua, over whom, together with the Rajah of Orissa, he gained a great victory at Condapilli. . It has been stated in a previous page, on the authority of Ferishta, that the Bahmani line abided by the oath of Mohammed Shah I., not to slay prisoners or the un- armed in cold blood, but if this dynasty really redeemed its pledge, the rulers of the subsequent Deccani kingdoms reverted to the barbarities which tlieir predecessors had abjured, and were far more treacherous and sanguinary. Tims Sultan Kooli Kootb Shahhaving repeatedly, but in vain, attempted to storm the strong hill-fort of Nulgonda, at length sent a flag of truce to the com- mandant, liajah Hari Chandra, promising to withdraw the troops if lie would consent to become tributary to Golcouda, but threat- ening, in the event of refusal, to procure reinforcements, destroy the neighbouring towns, devastate the country, and thus reduce the place by cutting off its supplies, in which case he would not spare the life even of an infant in the garrison. Tiie Rajah having consented, the king.remarked that as Nulgonda was the only hill-fort which had successfully resisted him, he should like to see it, and therefore desired to be allowed to enter with a few attendants. The request being granted, Kooli, having instructed his body-guard, (whom, to disarm suspicion, he had left in the town below,) how to act ascended the hill with four chosen soldiers in complete armour. On entering the gate-way he drew his sword and cut down one sentinel, while his com- panions, attacking the others, held posses- sion until tlieir comrades came rushing to tlieir assistance, and the whole army soon poured into the fortt-css. " Neither man, woman, or child was spared on this occa- sion. The Rajah, on being made prisoner, was confined in an iron cage, and eventually put to death." Such are the words in which the Mohammedan historian concludes the account of this abominable transaction.* * Se", Brigejs' Appendix to Ilislory of Kings of Oolcondn, translated from the Persian of a contem- porary of Ferishla's, vol iii. p. 3"1. f Idem, p. 431. 1 1'lip Hindoos still call it Bhaguuggur. The author of it was eventually the victim of domestic treachery, being assassinated in his ninetieth year, a.d. 154.3, at the insti- gation of his sou, Jamsheed, who, hav- ing put out the eyes of his elder brother, the heir apparent, ascended the throne. Wars were carried on with their Moslem rivals in a spii'it less perfidious perhaps, but scarcely less ferocious. Thus it is recorded that Ibrahim Kootb Shah, when at war with All Adil Shah, detached a force of 4,000 horse and 10,000 foot to make nightly attacks on the enemy. " The Munewar infantry were eminently successful in all directions, and at all hours, bringing nightlj^ betv.'eeu 300 and 400 noses and ears from the enemy's lines; and they received for each nose a boon, and for each car a purtab [star pagoda.] ]\Ieanwhile, the king, by whose orders these atrocities were being committed, " had ordered pavilions to be pitched on the bastions [of Golcouda], and adorned them with rich brocades and silks from China, and with velvets of European manufacture, giving himself up to the grati- fication of listening to the enchanting vocal and instrumental music of heart-al- luring damsels and fairy-faced virgins."t Truly it is as reasonable to expect the shrill cry of human suflering to pierce " the dull cold ear of death," as to touch a heart turned into stone by sensuality. Mohammed Kooli, the fifth of the Kootb Shah kings, began to reign a.d. 1580. He removed the seat of government to a neigh- bouring site, where he built a magnificent city called Bhagnuggur, J in honour of Bhag- muttee, his favourite mistress, a public singer, for whom 1,000 cavalry were assigned as an escort. After her death the name was changed to Hyderabad. In this reign fierce struggles took place between the Deccanies and the Moguls, as the foreigners of what- ever denomination came to be called. The disorderly conduct of some of the latter caused tlie issuing of a proclamation com- manding all aliens, whether Patans, Per- sians, Arabs, Tartars or others, who had no fixed employment, to quit Hyderabad. The Deccanies construing this order into a per- mission to plunder their old foes at pleasure, deserted their occupations and hastened to rifle the warehouses of the wcalthymerchants, of whom many were killed in defending their property. The riots grew to an alarm- ing height, but the king was sleeping, and none of the servants dared disturb the royal slumbers, until one of the ministers had INDEPENDENT STATES OP BERAR, BEDER, AND GTJZERAT. 101 tlic coiira<?(; to hi'ciik opon tlin door, and liav- ing with f:;rcat dilliculty aroused tlio inonarcli, bade liiiii observe from tlic palacc-wiiidowa tlie state of the city. The measures ailopted were in tlie true spirit of oriental dcs])otism. The cutwal (eliicf magistrate) thrnui^li wliosc rc])reseiitations the seutcnec; of banislimeut liad been procured, was directed to put an immediate stop to the disturljanecs, on peril of beiuf^ trodden to dcatli by elephants. Many of the rioters were executed, " and by way of satisfying tlie minds of the people, several minor police-officers, who liad been most active, were beheaded or hanired, or flayed alive, while others were maimed by the loss of limbs, and exhibited throui^h the city in this mutilated state as examples."* The Imad Shah dynasty of Berar was founded about 1481, by the descendant of a Hindoo of Canara, captured when a child, and educated as a IMussuluian, by the gover- nor of Berar. This small kingdom extended from the Injadri hills to the Godavcry, and bordered Ahmcdnuggur and Candcish on the west. Very little is known of its his- tory, except from its wars with neighbouring states. Boorhan, the fourth and last of his line, ascended the throne while yet a child, about the year 15G0. Tlie regent, Tufal Khan, imprisoned the young king and seized the crown, relying upon the protec- tion of Murtezza Nizam Shah of Ahmcd- nuggur, who, false to both parties, having obtained possession of Boorhan and his rebellious minister, caused them to be put to death, and annexed Berar to his own dominions, a.d. 1573. The Barced Shah Dynasty at Beder, com- menced in 1198. The territories of these kings were small and ill-defined, and the period of their extinction uncertain. Ameer II. was reigning in 1609, when Ferishta closed that part of liis history. Having thus shown the fate of the five ^Mohammedan principalities formed from tlic ruins of the Bahmani kingdom, it becomes necessary to sketch the leading characteristics of the other states which succeeded in establishing their independence of Delhi during the feeble reign of ^Mahmood Toglilak, of which the chief were Guzerat, ^lalwa and Candeish. The kings of Guzerat ruled the territory still called by this name; bounded on the north and north-east by a hilly tract con- necting the Aravulli mountains with the Vindya chain, and on the south by the sea, which nearly surrounds a part of it, forming * Briggs' Ferishta, vol. iii., p. 47S. P a peninsula then termed Siirashtra, now Katiwar. The founder of the dynasty was Mozufler, the son of a Rajpoot, wlio liad embraced Islamism, and become conspi- cuous for his enmity to all who still held tiic creed which he had renounced. The king of Delhi having been informed that the existing governor of Guzerat was endea- vouring to establish himself as an indepen- dent ruler by gaining the affections of the Hindoos, sent Mozuffcr Khan to supersede him ; which, after some opposition on the part of the Hindoos, he succeeded in doing, and l)y the permission of the Delhi monarch assumed the white umbrella or canopy, and the scarlet pavilion, considered as exclusive appurtenances of royalty. When he took the title of Shah docs not appear, but his reign really commenced with his government, A.D. 1391. At first his sway extended over only a portion of the fertile [)huii, about sixty miles in depth, which stretches along the sea. On the north-west were the indepen- dent rajahs of Jhalor and Sirohi, from whom he occasionally levied tribute, as also from the llajpoot prince of Idur, in the western part of the hills, while the rugged forest tracts were generally rctaine(l by the mountain tribes of Bliecls and Coolies ; among whom some Rajpoot chiefs, mostly connected with 3Icwa)', had also founded petty principalities. The peninsula was in the hands of nine or ten Hindoo tribes, who probably paid tribute so long as a power existed capable of its enforcement. All the.se small states preserved their existence under the kings of Guzerat, the ]\[ognl emperors, aud during many j-ears of British ascen- dancy. Of the plain which formed the Guze- rat kingdom at the accession of Mozufter, the eastern portion belonged to an independent rajah, who resided in the hill-fort of Cham- paneer, and their dominions stretched along the sea to the south-east, so as to include the city of Surat, and some further country in the same direction. It would occupy space which could be ill- spared to narrate in detail the varying for- tunes of this dynasty in their wars with jMalwa, their Hindoo neighbours, and the Rajpoot kingdom of iMewar, from the acces- sion of ]\rozutlcr I. to that of the puppet set up by a faction under the title of Mo- zufter III., in A.D. loiJI, when the kingdom was partitioned among the conspirators. One striking characteristic in their incessant strife with the Hindoos, was the cruel bigotry which marked their conduct, far exceed- 102 MOSLEM KINGS OF GUZERAT— WARS WITH THE HINDOOS. ing tliat displayed by the Delhi usurpers. It may be perhaps that the proceedings of the latter sovereigns are purposely placed in the least unfavour.able light, but this scarcely accounts for the difference, since, in both cases, the annals are furnished solely by Mohammedan pens. Ferishta, although his history bears internal evidence of the honesty and ability of the writer, was yet compelled to depend in great measure on the compila- tions of his fellow-believers ; and his igno- rance of the language of the Hindoos would greatly hinder his obtaining information from whatever records they might possess, even if the inveterate prejudices of his creed had not taught him to shun with contempt and aversion the thought of gaining infor- mation from so defiled a source. In 1402 the port of Din was seized by Mozuffer I. from the Rajah of Idur, who had been driven from his capital, and forced to take refuge tliere. We are told that " it opened its gates without offering any resis- tance. The garrison was, however, nearly all cut to pieces, while the Ray, with the rest of the members of the court, were trod to death by elephants." The next king, Ahmed Shah, a.d. 1412, though a zealous • Bird's Gujarat, p. 191. t Signifying, in tlie Guzerat language, two forts. X According to Ferishta nearly 1,900 years had elapsed since this fortress had come into tlie pos- session of the rajali, who lield it when Mahmood first marched against it in 1469 ; and wliose title, Mandulik, here used by Ferishta for the first time, implies petty chieftain, a term originally applied to officers of some greater state, but often retained by rulers who had acquired or inherited an independent sway. A body of Kajpoots occupying an important defile were surprised by Mahmood. The troo])s tlien passed on unopposed, till on reaching the foot of the hill they were met by the rajah, who, being defeated and severely wounded, sooner than sustain a siege purchased a cessation of hostilities by the payment of a large amount in jewels ami in .specie. In the following year, " the king, who only wanted some excuse to invade Girnar a second time, urged as a complaint against the rajah, his habit of assuming the ensigns of royalty." On this ])lca, in itself a gross insult to the high-born Hindoo, forty thousand horse were sent to exact from him a heavy fine, which having obtained, Mahmood distributed in one night, amongst a set of female dancers ; and at the latter end of the same year appeared in person before Girnar. "The rajah declared his willingness to pay any sum of money he could produce, to protect his subjects from the oppression and horrors of war." Mahmood would enter into no terms, but sat down before the place, starved the garrison into sub- jection, and succeeded in acquiring possession. The expelled rajali, it is said, from conviction, but more probably to save his life, embraced IsUiniism, a faith against which the covetousness and fraud practisctl towards him by its professors were sufficient to liave Mussulman very diligent in destroying temples and building mosqaes, yet showed more favour to the natives than his prede- cessor had done, and Hindoo names appear among those of the government officers and nobility — an innov.ation which had long been opposed. Ahmed built the forti- fied town of Ahmednuggur, as a check on the Rajah of Idur (the successor of the prince slain by Mozuffer), and founded Ahmedabad, thenceforth his capital, and still one of the principal cities in India. This king introduced the practice of paying the soldiers one-half in money, and the other by a grant of land, with a view of inducing them to take an interest in the cultivation and protection of the province.* Mahmood Shah I. reigned for fifty-two years (1459 to loll), and warred alike with Moslems and with the Indian and European idolaters, the latter term being used to designate the Portuguese. He obtained the surname of Begarra,t by the reduction of Girnar or JunagharJ and of Champaneer — ■ two hill-forts, situated the one on the west, and the other on the east, of his dominions, and both until that time deemed impreg- nable. § His maritime exploits were re- inspired a deep-rooted prejudice. — (Briggs' J^ens/jto, vol. iv. p. 00.) § Champaneer was not captured till 1483. The rajah, Beni Ray, sent ambassadors cfi'erirg two ele- phant-loads of gold to procure the departure of .Mahmood, who had arrived at the head of a power- ful force; but, finding all endeavours at conciliation useless, he sallied forth, and after many attempts succeeded in compelling the invader to raise the siege, and then led his troops to attack him. In the sanguinary battle which followed, the fiower of the Hindoo force was slain, but a coinpact body of 12,000 men retreated in order to the fort. Jlahmood continued to construct trenches and mines, and caused a mosque to be built in the lines, in order to convince his troops of his determination not to be wearied out by the prolonged defence, but no de- cided advantage was gained until it was discovered that the Kajpoots left the place every morning through a sally-port to ])erlbrni their ablutions. Watching their opportunity, a chosen band waited close to the walls at day-break, and succeeded in rushing into the place, while another party, under Malek F.iaz, (the famous admiral who engaged the Portuguese Heet, off Choul,) escaladed the western wall, where a breach had been newly made, and got possession of the main gate. The Kajpoots finding the king rejected all terms of surrender, burned their wives and children on a funeral pile, together with their costliest efiects, and then, having bathed, perished on the swords of their cruel foes, who like- wise suffered severely. Beni Kay and his prime minister, crippled by wounds, were captured, and brought into the presence of Mahmood, who, on asking the former why he had held out so long against an overwhelming force, was reminded of the MAIIMOOD BEGARRA OF GTJZERAT— BAHADUR SHAH. 103 markablc. He took tlio islands of Jegat and Beet, tlicii, as now, ncsts of pirates ; dos- patchcd a soa and land force against IJombay ; and sent a large fleet of vessels, mounting guns, under Eiaz, to co-operate with the twelve ships equipped by the Manieluk Sultan of I'^gypt, for the purpose of attacking the Portuguese squadron in the harbour of Choul, south of Bombay. , In the first action the combined forces were successful, but were subsequently defeated near Diu, and the Manieluk portion annihilated. Fleets were, however, still despatched by the INFameluks to the Indian seas, and the Turks, after their conquest of Egypt, con- tinued the practice, with a view to ojjcn the navigation of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, but apparently without entertaining any idea of forming settlements in India. Mahmood Begarra attained an unenviable European celebrity by the luarvellous ac- counts of travellers, wiio described his per- sonal appearance as terrific; and declared his system to have been so impregnated with the mortal poisons, on which he habitually fed, that although he had by some means or other contrived to neutralize their effect on his own vital powers, he had only, after chewing betel, to breathe upon any courtier who had offended him, aiul death infallil)ly ensued. If a lly settled on him, it instantly dropped lifeless.* Bahadur Shah, a. d. 1526, (before men- tioned as the opponent of Humayun,) with the aid of Rana Rattan Sing, made war upon ]\Iahmood, king of Malwa, who had intrigued against them both. Mahmood was captured and put to death, and Malwa hereditary right by which the territory had been held, and tlie long line of noble ancestors through which his name with lionour had descended. Tliis fearless reply for the moment raised a feeling of ad- miration in the selfish victor, and he ordered Beni Ray and his faithful companion to be treated with respect and attention. On recovering from their wounds, they botli persisted in refusing to abjure tlieir religion, and were therefore confined scparatelv, and treated harshly, which, as might have been fore- seen, only served to coniirm their previous determi- nation. "At length the king, at the instigation of some holy men about his person, ordered them to be put to death." — (Hriggs' Ferishta, vol. iv., p. 70.) * Bartcma and ISurbosa (Uamusio, vol. i., pp. 117 — 296.) Mahmood Hegarra is the original of Butler's Prince of Cambaij, whose — " ■ ■ daily food Is asp, and basilisk and toad." t The king feared to storm the fort, knowing that in the seraglio were many Mohammedan females, who would, in the event of his success, be burnt aime.xed to Guzerat. Raiseen, a strong hill- fort, Bliilsa and other places in the west of Malwa together with Oojein, remained in tlie possession of Silhuddi; a Rajpoot who had risen under IMahmood to power, but whose son, Bopat Bai, was in the service of Bahadur, by whose invitation Silhuddi came to visit the royal camp. Tie was treacher- ously seized, aiul Oojein taken by surprise. Raiseen held out under his brother Lokmun, but was at length reduced, both Silhuddi and Lokmun being slain at its capture. f In his dealings with the Portuguese, Ba- hadur was less fortunate. Having entered into negotiations witii them for their aid, and among other things conceded in return permission for the erection of a factory at Surat, he found them surrounding the building with a wall and, in effect, render- ing it a strong fortification. This seems to have first roused suspicions, and treachery is alleged to have been meditated by both l)arties. The result has been already stated, J'lahadur perished in an afi'ray which arose ou his visiting the ship where Nuno de Cunha, the Portuguese viceroy, had allured him on the plea of sickness, a.d. 1537. J The fort of Surat is said l)y Ferishta to have been completed during the reign of Mahmood III. (1538 to 1553), but the Per- sian characters inserted over the old gate — " Against the bosom and lives, the ambition and rapacity of tiie Portuguese, be this fabric an effectual bulwark," when numerically viewed, give ISoO as the date of its erection. § This king was assassinated by his chaplain, named Boorhan, whose revenge he had excited, by sentencing him, for some offence not re- alive with their llajpoot companions, for whom, of course, as infidels, no compassion could possibly be entertained. Silhuddi consented to abjure his creed, and M'as sent to escort the females of his family from the fort, but on arriving there, his wife (the d.vjghter of Rana Sanga) bitterly reproached him and hia brother for their conduct, and, setting fire to a pile with which she had caused the apartments of the fi'males to be surrounded, sprang into the flames, and all, to the number of 700, perished. Silhuddi and Lokmun, with a hundred of their blood-relations, rushed out, and met death on the Moslem swords. X One account of this transaction has been given at p. 85. I have since read the Portuguese and Mussulman statements, collated by General Briggs {Ferishta, vol. iv., p. 132). in which each party endeavours to throw the blame ujjon the other, but j there is little difference in the leading facts of tJie case, except that Bahadur, after jumping, into the ' sea, is asserted to have been first stunned by a blow with an oar, and then dispatched with a halbert. § Price would place it six years earlier. — Jlnko- medan History, vol. iii., p. 726. 104 KINGS OF MALWA— A.D. 1401 to 1513. corded, to be built up in a mud wall with his head exposed, and left to starve. Life was nearly extinct when Mahmood passed the spot, and noticing the attempt of the wretched captive to bend his head in saluta- tion, inspired with compassion, had him released and attended by the royal phy- sician until he recovered. But soon after this Boorhau again fell into disgrace, and, fearing, pei'liaps, to be rc-immured, or stimu- lated by ambition to attempt to seize the throne, persuaded his nephew, Dowlut, to take the opportunity afforded by his office of fumigating the long hair of the king, to assassinate him while he slept. This being done, Boorhan, by the aid of a corps called, from their qualification for enlistment, " the tiger-killers," succeeded in destroying seve- ral of the leading nobility by sending for them separately, but was at length, when intoxi- cated with success, slain by the vengeful swords of the survivors. A supposititious child* was next set up by a party under the name of Ahmed II., but assassinated a.d. 15G1. The last and merely nominal king abdicated in favour of Akber, a.d. 1572. Kings of Mahva. — This state became iu- dependent in 1101, under Dilawur Ghori, whose successor founded the capital, Mandu, on a rich table-land, thirty-seven miles in circumference. Wars with IMohammedan kingdoms, especially the neighbouring one of Guzerat, with the Hindoo rajahs of Chit- tore or Mewar, and several minor principali- ties, together with the usual instances of treachery and intrigue in the court and camp, and besotted sensuality in the harem, form the staple of the history of this dynasty. Mohammed Ghori, the third king, was poi- soned at the instigation of his minister and brother-in-law, who ascended the throne in 1435, by the name of Sultan Mahmood Khilji. lie reigned thirty-sis years, of which scarcely one was suffered to pass without a campaign, " so that his tent be- came his home, and his resting-place the field of battle. "t A famous fort in Kum- ulnere was taken by storm after a severe struggle, and its defenders compelled to chew the calcined parts of a large marble idol,:j: representing, according to Ferishta, a ram (? a bull), as they were in the habit of doing ehunam or lime between betel leaves, • Muhmood left no lineal heir ; fearing to risk the chance of rebellious cliiltlren, of wliich fre([iieiit in- staiicea occur in Moliamnicdan liistory, he avoided the commission of infanticide by the perpetration of a yet more heinous crime. that they might be said to have eaten their gods. Many Rajpoots were slain, probably in consequence of their refusal to obey this command of their imperious conqueror. Some years after, IMahraood received a sig- nal defeat from Koorabho Sing, the rajah of Chittore, who erected, in commemoratiou of his vietorj', a superb column, still in ex- istence, which Tod states to have cost nearly a million sterling. § Mahmood unsuccess- fully besieged Delhi and Bedcr. His in- ternal administration would seem to have been more gentle than could have been ex- pected, for we are told that his subjects, Hindoos as well as Moslems, " were happy, and maintained a friendly intercourse with one another." He took vigorous measures for the suppression of robbery, and further promoted the safety of travellers, and indeed of the people generally, by obliging the STOveruors of the different districts to send out parties for the destruction of wild beasts, proclaiming that if after a period of two years a human being should be seized by them, he would hold the governor responsi- ble. For many years after his death wild beasts were scarce throughout the kingdom. Now the vicinity of the once famous city of Mandu, overgrown by forest trees, has again become the favourite haunt of tigers, who, in some instances, within the memory of the present generation, have been known to carry off troopers riding in the ranks of their regiments. The next king, Gheias-oo-deen Khilji, A.D. 1482, was only remarkable for the extent of his seraglio, which contained 15,000 women, including 500 Turki females who stood clad in men's clothes, with bows and arrows, on his right hand; while 500 Abyssinian females kept guard with fire-arms on his left. He reigned thirty-three years, and became at last idiotic ; his two sons meanwhile quarrelled about the succession, tmtil the elder gaining the ascendancy slew the younger with all his family, and having, it is alleged, accelerated his father's death by poison, mounted the vacant throtie a.d. 1500. This wretch died of a fever brought on by his own excesses, having first driven his sons into rebellion by suspicious and ty- rannical conduct. One of these, Mahmood Khilji II., established himself on the throne, A.D. 1512, mainly through the assistance t Ferishta, vol. iv., p. 234. % The temple was lilled with wood, and being set on fire, cohl water was thrown on the images, causing them to break. § Annals of Jlajasfhan, vol. ii., p. 7G2. MAHMOOD II. LAST KING OF MALWA, KILLED a.d. 1531— CANDEISII. 105 of Mcdni Riiy, a llaj[)oot cliief, :vli() joincil liim at thu coinincnccmcat of the stru'';'le witli a coi>si(lerablo body of his tril)c, and whose zealous and alilc services rendered liini so popidar with tlic king, as to excite the hatred and jealousy of the Mussulmans, ('onspiracics were formed, and after rc[)eatcd failures Mulnnood was at Icngtli insj)ircd with sufficient distrust to consent to dis- charj^c all the llajpoots liolding odiees at court, excepting only the obnoxious minister, and to declare that no Hindoo could be permitted to retain Moliammedan females in his seraglio. Mcdni llay pleaded ear- nestly the tried services of his countrymen, but the weak and ungrateful king, though soothed for the time, was subsequently in- duced to sanction an attcm])t on the part of his Moslem body-guard of 200 men to way- lay and murder ]\Icdui Ray, and a brave Rajpoot oilicer, called Salivahan, who had evinced much anger at the late unjust and humiliating proceedings. The latter was slain; the former, though covered with wounds, escaped to his own house, while a body of Rajpoots rushed to the palace, but being repulsed by the king in person, re- turned to the house of the minister, and entreated him to be their head. Mcdni Ray refused, persuaded them to disperse peaceably, ajul sent word to the king that if he thought his life necessary to the good of the state, he was ready to lose it, sooner than lead an army against his acknowledged sovereign. Mahmood was little affected by a degree of magnanimity quite beyond his comprehension, and fearing some treachery similar to that of which he had given the example, fled by night from the fort of ^[andu, accompanied by his favourite mis- tress and the master of the horse, and did not draw rein till he reached the frontier of Guzcrat. Though frequently at war with one another, the i\Ioslcm intruders were always read}' to coalesce against a Hindoo foe ; the king of Guzerat, therefore, sup- ported ]\Ialimood, and accompanied him at the head of a large army to ]\Iandu, which was taken by assault after a close siege of several months, and 19,000 Rajpoots slain. Medni Ray was, however, not among them, having previously joined liana Sanga at • General Briggs here takes occasion to note tlie contrast between the generosity usually evinced by the Hindoos to the Moslems, and " tlie sordid, cruel, and bigotted conduct of the latter. It seldom hap- pened that a Hindoo prince, taken in battle, was not instantly beheaded ; and life was never spared but nith the sacrifice of a daughter delivered up to a Cliittorc, from whence he retired to Chan- dcri, of which place he was probably here- ditary chief. Mahmood proceeded thither, and found that Rana Sanga had previously marched with his whole force to the support of jNIcdni Ray. In the conflict which ensued, ]\Iahmood was defeated, and after evincing, in an extraordinary manner, the physical daring that invarialjly distinguished him iu battle, contrasting strangely with his exces- sive moral cowardice in time of peace, was unhorsed and taken prisoner, weltering ia liis blood. Rana Sanga caused him to be brought to his own tent, dressed his wounds, attended on him personally, and, after his recovery, sent him back to IMandu with an escort of 1,000 horse* This chivalrous proceeding was returned by the most glar- ing ingratitude, for its object did not scruple to take advantage of the confusion which ensued on the death of his benefactor, to attack his son. Rattan Sing, the new ruler of Chittore. Rattan Sing ajiplicd for aid to Bahadur Shah, of Guzerat, who had also had reason to complain of the selfish rapacity of the king of Malwa. Mahmood, unable to withstand their combination, was defeated in his capital and captured by Bahadur Shah, who caused him to be coniincd in the fortress of Champanccr, where he was put to death, with his seven sons, and Malwa annexed to Guzerat, a.d. 1531. Khans of Cnndeish. — This small princi- pality, separated by forests from Guzerat, comprised merely the lower part of the valley of the Taptee, the upper being in- cluded in Berar. Its first ruler, jNIalek Rajah, tclaimed descent from the Caliph Omar, and died a.d. 1390. His son, IMalek Naseer, received from the king of Guzerat the title of khan, and founded the city of Boorhanpoor, near the strong hill-fort of Aseer,J which he had obtained by treachery from its rightful occupant, a Hindoo, of peaceable disposition, from whom he liad received many personal favours. He gained possession by the same artifice used in the capture of Rohtas, viz., by entreating the unsuspecting chief to receive and shelter the inmates of his harem during a war in. which he pretended to be about engaging, and then introducing soldiers iu the doolies sort of honourable prostitution, or by the pajTnentof vast sums of money and jewels." — (Vol. iv., p. 264.) t Why he was named R,-ijah does not appear. % This hill-fort, like many others in India, seems to bear witness to the pastoral pursuits of its early possessor, Aseer being considered to be a cc>':ruption of Asa .\hcer, or Asa the cow-herd. — {Idem, p. 286.) 106 RAJPOOT STATES, MEWAR, MARWAR, BIKANEER, JESSULMER, &c. 01' palanquins, who sprang out and mur- dered Asa, with his whole family. Numerous stone embankments for irriga- tion and other works now in ruins and buried in woods, indicate that Candeish mnst have once attained a high state of prosperity, but many of these are probably referrible to the previous period of Hiadoo independence. Aseer or Aseerghur was taken by Akber, and Candeish re-annexed to Delhi in 1599. The Rajpoot States. — Of these a very cursory notice must suffice, because our present information concerning them, al- though voluminous,* is too fragmentary to afford materials for the condensed chrono- logical summary which can be framed with comparative ease and satisfaction from the more precise statements of Mohammedan writers respecting their own kingdoms. At the time of the invasion of Mahmood of Ghuznee, the Rajpoots were in possession of all the governments of India, nor did they resign their power without long and fierce struggles ; indeed some have never been entirely subjugated, but up to the present time hold the position of feudatory chiefs (see pp. 7, 8). The table-land in the centre of Hindoostan, and the sandy tract stretch- ing west from it to the Indus, formed the nucleus of Rajpoot independence; and the more broken and inaccessible tiie country, the better was it suited for the partly feudal, partly clannish, mode of government and warfare, adopted by its sons, from whom, though subsidies might be exacted, and forts captured by the Delhi monarchy during strong and aggressive reigns, tribute would be refused and positions regained the first opportunity. Thus Rintumbor, Gwalior, and Calinjei-, were constantly changing hands ; while Ajmeer and Malwa were early captured and easily retained, from tlieir situation on the open part of the table-land, terminating in a slope of broken ground towards the Jumna. At the time of the accession of Akber the chief Rajpoot state was that of Mewar, held by the descendant of the brave Rana Sanga of Oudipoor, whose family and tribe are said to have been descended from Rama, and consequently to have derived their origin from Oudc, whence they removed to Guzerat, and ultimately settled at Chittorc, al)0ut the eighth century of our era. There they maintained themselves, notwithstand- ing the accessible nature of the country — a • Vide the late Colonel Tod's extensive and valu- able work on liajast'han. sure retreat being ever, in case of defeat, afforded by the Aravulli mountains and the hills and forests connected with them, which form the northern boundary of Guzerat. Marwar, the next state in importance, was possessed by that portion of the Rahtores, who at the taking of Canouj, a.d. 1194., had quitted the neigbourhood of the Ganges, and, under two grandsons of their last king, established themselves in the desert in- termingled with fertile tracts, between the table-land and the Indus. They soon be- came paramount over the old inhabitants of the race of Jats, and over some small Raj- poot tribes who had preceded them as colonists ; and farmed an extensive and powerful principality. A younger branch of the Canouj family founded the separate state of Bikaneer, on another part of the same desert, a.d. 1459, while the western portion was occupied by the Bhattees, under the rajah of Jessulmer. The rajalis of Amber or Jey~ poor were ancient feudatories of Ajmeer, and probably remained in submission to the Mohammedans after the conquest of that kingdom. The rajahs of the tribe of Hara, who give their name to Haraiiti, were, in some sort, feudatories of the ranas of Oudipoor, and shortly before the accession of Akber, captured the famous fort of Rin- j tumbor from the governor, who had held it for the Afghan kings. There were besides several petty states, such as the Chouhans of Parker, the Sodras of Amercot and others, situated in the extreme west of the desert, bejond the reach of Mussulman in- vaders ; and those of Sirohi, J/ialor, &e., which, lying in the fertile tract beneath the Aravulli mountains, and on one road from Ajmeer to Guzerat, were liable to constant exactions. On the eastern slope of the table-land, Merut, Gwalior, Narioar, Panna, Oorcha, Chuitderi, and other places in Bun- delcund, were mostly held by old Rajpoot families, tributary to Delhi at the time of the death of Humayun. Bengal was separated from Delhi, a.d. 1338, by the exertions of a soldier, who, having risen from the ranks, at length slew his master (the governor appointed by Mo- hammed Toghlak), and proclaimed himself au inde|)cudeut sovereign, l)ut was in less than tlnee years displaced by another usurper as ambitious as himself, who, within two years more, was in turn assassinated. Frequent changes of dynasty, with few im- portant events, occupy the remaining period to the accession of the last king, Daood ■KAJ ACCESSION OP AKBER— A.n. 1556. 107 (Dnvid), in ir»73; amoiijj llio most intorcst- iuf? is tlio f()r<'i!)!o occnjjiitioii of lliu tliroiin by llajiih Kaiis, a Hindoo zcmindarj* whose son and successor voluntarily embraced the Moliammedan I'aitli, declaring, however, his willin;;ncss to withdraw his ijrctcnsions in I'avour of iiis brother, if the chiefs desired it. At one time liengal seems to have conipre- liendcd North liehar. It included Sunder- gong (Dacca). Jugnuggur (Tiijperah) was tributary ; Assam occasionally plundered. Cuttack and the adjoining parts were cap- tured just before the extinction of the state. Bengal was then, as now, remarkable for the luxury of its inhabitants, whose wealthy citizens vied with one another in their dis- play of gold plate. Sheer Shah conquered Bengal in 1539 : after liis death it was seized by the Afghan successors of the gov- ernor appointed from Delhi. Juanpuor stretched along the Ganges from Canouj, on the north-west, to the frontier between Bengal and Soutli Behar on tiie south-east. Khaja Jchan, the vizier at the time of Mahmood Toghlak's acces- sion, occvipicd this government during the king's minority, and proclaimed its inde- pendence, A. D. 1394, which he and his suc- cessors maintained until its re-anncxation to Delhi, in 1476. It "was again separated after the death of Sheer Shab, and eventually conquered by Akbcr early in his reign. Siiide. — Little is known of the history of this principality beyond that vihich has been already incidentally mentioned (p. 58). The ruling Rajpoot family appear to have become converts to Islam about 13G5. They were displaced by the Arghoons, who held it at the period at which we have now arrived. Moullan revolted during the confusion ■wliieli followed the invasion of Timur, and was ruled by an Afghan dynasty named Langa, until the early part of the sixteenth century, when the Arghoons of Sinde gained possession ; but were, in their turn, expelled by Prince Kamrau, and Moultan was thence- forth attached to Delhi. The other pro- vinces which had become independent at the same time (with the exception of the Punjaub, to which Secander Soor maintained his claim), were all in the hands of adherents of the Afghan government. The petty states under the Himalaya Mountains, from Casli- * This term was oi'iginally applied to the heredi- tary Hindoo chiefs who had become more or less subject to Moslem rule — it was sometimes extended by the proud invaders to independent princes, like those of Oudipoor and Joudpoor, whom they affected to treat as subordinate to their government ; but it mere inclusive, to the Bay of Bengal, were independent under sovereigns of their own; there were besides many mountain and forest tribes throughout India whose almost inaccessible retreats had preserved them from subjugation to the Moslem yokc.f Rciyn of Al;ber. — When the death of Ilumayuu took place, Akbcr was absent in the Punjaub M'itli Behram Khan, and the fear of attempts being made to seize the throne before the heir apparent could have time to repair to the metropolis, in- duced such of the ministers as were on the spot, to conceal the fatal event from the public, by causing one of the ^Mullahs, or religious attendants of the court, to imper- sonate the deceased monarch, and receive from that part of the palace which over- looked the river Jumna, the salutations of the populace. At length, however, the truth transpired, but the consternation which en- sued was temporarily calmed by the exer- tions of the nobles, one of whom read the Kliotbah in the name of Akbcr — a )n'oceed- ing equivalent to proclaiming him king. Akber was little more than thirteen years of age, and by his own desire, as well as iu accordance with the wishes of his best ad- visers, Behram Khan continued to hold the same position to his now crowned pupil as that in which Ilumayuu had previously placed him — being dignified with the appel- lation of Khan Baba (the king's father), and invested with irresponsible sway. It was a critical epoch for the House of Timur. Se- veral eager competitors watched an oppor- tunity to snatch the sceptre from the youtliful descendant of the foreign usurper, but in vain, for the stern and skilful soldier who had helped the father to regain it remained to guard it for the son, and that son had repeatedly evinced a degree of discretion beyond bis years, and was learning to curb his own daring spirit and passion for glory, and to take large and statesmanlike views of the duties of civil government, which made some amends for his rapacity as a conqueror, and enabled him to consolidate by policy what he won by the sword. The first contest for supremacy was waged with Hemu, who headed an army in the name of Sultan Adili, for the double pur- is only in comparatively modern times that it has been used to denote persons holding assignments of the government revenue, as well as district and vil- lage oflicirs. t Elphinstone, vol. ii. pp. 166 — 251; Price's Mo- hammeduu Ilistory, vol. iii., p. 847. lOS BATTLE OF PANIPUT AND DEATH OF HEMU— a.d. 155G. pose of expelling the Moguls and reducing Secander Soor, who, though driven to take refuge in the viciuitj' of the northern moun- tains, still maintained his pretensions to be king of Delhi and the Punjaub, in which latter place Akber and Behram Khan re- mained after their late victory, occupied in arranging the new government. ]\Iean- vrhile, Hemu, having captured both Delhi and Agra, prepared to march to Lahore, where the tidings of his successes and ap- proach created so much alarm that the general opinion in the camp was in favour of a retreat to Cabool, but Behram Khan's determination prevailed over more timid counsels, and the rival forces met at Pani- put, where, after a desperate battle, the Mogvds triumphed. The elephants, on whose number Hemu placed great depend- ence, became ungovernable and threw their own ranks into confusion, but Hemu, from his howdah, at the head of 4,000 horse, continued the action, until an arrow pierced his eye, and he sank back for the moment in extreme agony. His troops believing the wound mortal, gave way, but raising himself again, and plucking out the barbed weapon, together with the eye itself, Hemu endeavoured to force a path through the enemy's i-anks, but was captured through the treachery of his elephant-driver, and brought before Akber, who was desired by Behram Khan to slay the infidel and thus earn the title of Ghazi.* Akber so far complied as to touch with his sword the head of his brave and almost expiring foe, and then burst into tears, upon which Behram Khan, in whose stern breast no sentiment akin to llajpoot chivalry ever found place, drew his own sabre and beheaded him with a stroke. With Hemu, Adili lost all liope of recover- ing his dominions, but he continued to reign * This epithet, variously translated as " Holy "War- rior," "Champion of the Faith," or "Victorious in a ]£oly War," is one of those expressions which can scarcely be faithfully rendered in another tongue to readers iin])erfectly acquainted witli the circum- stances of its origin and use. From it arose the •word Gazette — first employed to designate the official announcement in eastern Kurope of victory, in what the combatants called religious warfare; but since applied to governmental publications of all kinds. With regard to translations of Persian, Sanscrit or other terms, and their orthogra])hy, I would again deprecate the criticism of oriental scholars, and plead the difficulty of presenting them, with any chance of correct pronunciation, without adopting a system of accentuation, wliich might possibly deter readers of the very class, whose .sympatliies I am most de- firous of enlisting, the young and tlie unlearned. I have followed Tod, Dow, and others in avoiding some time longer until he ^as killed in a battle with a new pretender in Bengal. Akber took possession of Delhi and Agra; succeeded in effecting the pacification of the Punjaub ; acquired Ajmeer without a battle ; and early in the fourth year of his reign had driven the Afghans out of Lucknow and the country on tlie Ganges as far east as Juanpoor. Notwithstanding these tri- umphs, the happiness of the victor was em- bittered by the harsh and arbitrary conduct of the Khaii Baba, who attempted to en- force in a luxurious and refined court the same rigid discipline by which he had main- tained subordination in an army of adven- turers. The nobles were offended by his haughty and distrustful conduct, and even Akber had grave reasons for considering himself treated in a manner, which his position as king, together with his deep and lively interest in all state affairs, ren- dered unwarrantable. Thus, Behram took advantage of Akber's absence on a hawk- ing party, to put to death Tardi Beg, an old noble, who had been one of Baber's favourite companions, had accompanied Plumayun in all his wanderings, and had first read the Khotbah in the name of his successor. The ostensible reason,t was the hasty evacuation of Delhi, where Tardi Beg was governor, before the troops of Hemu ; an oftence that in the eyes of the warlike and inflexible minister, would have fully justified the sentence, which he might have desired to spare his young sovereign the pain of pronouncing. However this may have been, Behram is accusedj of hav- ing, on subsequent occasions, behaved very tyrannically to all who seemed inclined to seek power and influence, except through the channel of his fitvour. One nobleman of high standing, having incurred his dis- the wearisome repetition of the long titles assumed by Mohammedan sovereigns, by occasionally giving, in the event of oft-recumng mention, only tlie first word, thus — Ala-oo-deen (glory of the faith) is some- times adverted to as Ala only. An able and kindly critic, lieutenant-general Briggs, has pointed out the erroneous impression this practice may produce ; and it therefore seems hest to state at once the de- sire for brevity by which it was prompted. t Jealousjfof his influence was the supposed cause. I Tlie chief authority on this portion, and indeed regariling nearly the whole of Akber's reign, is Abul Fiizil, whose evident unfairness and prejudice in all matters involving the character of his royal master, (to whose revision all his writings were sub- ject), renders it difficult to form a satisfactory judg- ment of the circumstances wliich led to the rupture between Akber and Behram Khan, and the disgrace and death of tlie latter. 13EIIRAM KHAN ASSASSINATED.— MALWA CONQUERED— a.d. 15G0. J 09 pleasure, was put to dcatli on some slight charge, and Pcir Mohammed Khau, the king's private tutor, to whom he was much attached, narrowly cscapeil the same fate. Ak!)cr, hcf'ore he was eighteen, resolved to reign without control, and having concerted a plan with those about luui, took occasion, when on a hunting jiarty, to make an un- expected journey to Delhi, whence he issued a proclamation, forbidding obedience to any orders not sanctioned by his authority. IJehram scut two envoys of distinction, with assurances of subuussion, but Akbcr refused to sec tliem, and ordered their imprison- ment. After this, the disgraced minister seems to have had some intention of attempt- ing to establish an independent principality in Malwa, but subsequently set oil' for Gu- zcrat with the professed object of embarking from thence for Mecca. As he lingered long, a formal notice of dismissal arrived from Agra, commanding him to proceed on his pilgrimage forthwith. Having resigned his standards, kettle-drums, and other ensigns of authority, Behram continued his route in a private character, until, irritated by some further proceedings of Akber, he changed his mind, and attempted an invasion of the Punjaub. There, as elsewhere, the people were disposed to rally round the young king; Behram was defeated, and eventually driven to a surrender. Akber received him with much kindness, seated him on his right hand, and offered him the alternatives of an important government, a high position at court, or an honourable dismissal to Mecca. This last proposition seems to indicate that the foregoing ones were merely complimentary, and Behram pro- bably so understood them, since he chose the pilgrimage, for which he had previously • Amon<^ those was Asuf Khan, an olTicer who oh- tained ])L'rnussion IVom .\kbfr, A.D. lj(i.3, to invade a .small independent kingdom called Gurra Mundela, then under the government of a regent or queen-mother named Durgavati, equally celebrated for her beauty and good sense. On the approach of the Moham- medans she led her forces in person against them mounted on an elephant, but after a sharp contest being disabled by an arrow-wound in the eye, her troops disheartened, gave w.ay, upon which, fear- ing to fall into the hands of the victors, she snatched a dagger from the girdle of the elephant-driver and stabbed herself. The chief place was then taken by storm, and the infant rajah trodden to death in the confusion. One thousand elei)hants, 100 jars of gold coins, numerous jewels, and images of gold and silver were seized by Asuf Khan, who sent to Akber only a very small portion of the spoil, and then went Into rebellion, but was afterwards compelled to sue for pardon. The whole transaction was aggression, Q evinced little inclination, and proceeded to Guzcrat, where, while preparing for em- barkation, he was assassinated (a.d. 1501), by an Afghan, whose father he liad killed in battle during the reign of lliunayun. Akber, now left to his own resources, soon found that other oflicers were likely to prove less overbearing ])erhaps than his old governor, but more inclined to take advan- tage of his youth for their ownadvanccmcnt.^ Always abundantly self-reliant, he checked such attempts with a firm hand. Adam Khan, an Uzbek odicer, having defeated Baz ]5ahadur,t the Afghan ruler of jNIahva, showed some disposition to retain the pro- vince for himself, upon which Akbcr marched immediately to the camp, and conferred the government on his old tutor, Peir ilohain- med Khan, whose conduct in this position, went far to vindicate the previotis harshness displayed towards him by Behram. After massacring the inhabitants of two cities, of which he had obtained possession, he was at length defeated and drowned. Baz Bahadur recovered INIalwa, of which he was again deprived by the victorious !Mogul, whose service he subsequently entej'cd. The successive steps of Akber's career can only be briefly sketched. The seven years following the disgrace of Behram were mainly cmploj'cd in a severe struggle with the military aristocracy, and in repelling the pretensions advanced on behalf of the young prince Hakim, who, although an in- fant at the time of his father, Humaytui's death, had been left in the nominal govern- ment of Cabool ; but, being expelled thenec by his relation, Mirza Soliman, of Badak- sliau, attempted to invade the Punjaub, but was driven out (1566), and subsequently returned to Cabool, of which country he robbery, and murder from first to last, and the guilt rests as much on the head of Akber, who sanctioned tlie crime and shared the booty, as upon Asuf Khan, the actual ptrjjetrator. (liriggs'i-'em/iid.vol. ii.p. 128.) t The Hindoo mistress of Baz Bahadur, cele- brated equally for her beauty and poetic talent, fell into the hands of Adam Khan, and unable to strive against his importunity and threatened violence, ap- pointed an hour to receive him, and then arrayed in costly robes, fragrant with the sweetest perfumes, lay down on a conch covered with a mantle. On the Khan's approach her attendants strove to rouse her, but she iiad taken ;)oison and was already dead. (Khnji Khan, quoted by Elphinstone, vol. ii. p. 263.) Her persecutor did not long survive her, for having quarrelled with the vizier of Akbcr he stabbed him while at prayers, and was, by order of the king, (who was sleei)ing in an inner room, and rushed in, awakened by the uproar) immediately thrown from a lofty terrace-parapet, where he had sought refuge. no GUZERAT ANNEXED— A.D. 1572.— AKBER'S HINDOO MARRIAGES. long retained undisturbed possession. The MirzaSj (namely, the four sons and three nephews of Sultan IMirza, a prince of the house of Tamerlane, who had come to India with Baber, but rebelled against Humayun, who pardoned and gave him the govern- ment of Sambal) revolted, and were com- pelled to fly to Guzerat, where they endea- voured to take advantage of the disturbed state of affairs, but were strenuously opposed by Etimad Khan, the Hindoo minister, or rather master, of the pageant king, Mozuffer III. Sooner than suffer the sceptre to be seized by the Mirzas, Etimad prompted its formal surrender to Akber, a.d. 1572, vi^ho having personally received it, proceeded to besiege Surat, where these princes had taken refuge. Before the place could be invested they departed with a light detachment, in- tending to join their main body in the north of Guzerat. Akber ordered 1,000 men to follow him, and set out in pursuit with such rash haste, that he found himself in front of the enemy with a party which, after waiting to allow some stragglers to come up, numbered only 150 men. He nevertheless commenced the attack, but being repulsed, took shelter in a lane formed by strong hedges of cactus, where not more than three horsemen could advance abreast. Here he was hard pressed and separated from his men, but saved by the gallantry of Rajah Bhagwandas of Amber, and his ne- phew and adopted son. Rajah Maun Sing, both officers of high rank in the imperial army. Soorjun Ray, Rajah of Rintumbor, is also mentioned as having evinced great bravery; and the fact of the king's being immediately surrounded by Hindoo chiefs on such an occasion, sufficiently proves the degree to which he had conciliated, and the trust which he reposed in them. The Mirzas succeeded iu effecting the junction which Akber had risked so much to pre- vent, but were afterwards dispersed, and met with various adventures, terminating in violent deaths by the hands of Delhi officers. Though eager to put down any infringement of his own real or assumed rights, Akber utterly disregarded those of others ; the establishment of unquestioned supremacy over all India being the object which he pi'oposed from the ])cginning. With this view he never scrupled to fo- ment strife, watching craftily an opportu- nity of turning to his own advantage the dissensions which rendered weak and effete the various independent governments, both foreign and native. Under his banner, Hin- doo fought against Hindoo — Moslem against ]\Ioslem ; aud each against the other. Over the fiery Rajpoots his personal influence became unbounded. Skilfully availing him- self of their foibles, and studious needlessly to avoid clashing with their feudal obser- vances and associations, he won from them voluntary concessions which force had long failed to extort. As early as 1651 he had sent a strong force against Maldeo, Rajah of Marwar, actuated perhaps by the recollec- tion of the sufferings of his parents when refused protection shortly before his birth (p. 87), and captured the strong fortress of Meerta. Nagore was also taken; and both these strong-holds were conferred by Akber on the representative of the younger branch of the family, Ray Sing of Bika- neer. In 1569, Rao Maldeo succumbed to necessity ; and, in conformity with the times, sent his second son with gifts to Akber, then at Ajmeer, which had become an in- tegral part of the monarchy; but the dis- dainful bearing of " the desert king" so displeased Akber, that he presented Ray Sing with a firmdn (imperial mandate) for the possession of Joudpoor itself, and the old Rao had to stand a siege in his capital, and after brave but fruitless resistance, was compelled to yield homage. His son and successor, well known as Moota (the fat) Rajah, gave a pi'incess of his family in mar- riage to Akber (a great concession, not to say degradation, in the sight of a Rajpoot, even though the issue of this union would take equal rank with other princes of the imperial house) and, in return, re- ceived all the possessions previously wrested from Marwar, except Ajmeer, besides seve- ral rich districts in Malwa.* Rajah Bhar- mul, of Amber, likewise gave the king a daughter to wif'c,t and enrolled himself and his son, Bhagwandas, among the royal vas- sals, holding his country as a fief of the empire ; and he also received honours and emoluments, in the shape most agreeable to a Rajpoot — increase of territory. In fact, every chief who submitted to Akber, found his personal possessions increased in conse- quence. One state, however, still main- tained its independence, and could neither be flattered, bribed, or forced into alliance with the foreigner; it even dared to rc- • Tod says four provinces (Godwar, Oojein, De- balpoor, and Budnawar) yielding; £200,000 of annual revenue were given for the hand of Jod Bae. t Mother to Selim, Akber a successor. AKBER CONQUERS AND DESPOILS CHITTORE— a.d. 1568. ill nouiioc iiitcrmaiTiaf((! with every house by whicli sueh dispfracc had I)ccu sustained. Against Mewar, Akber therefore turned liis arms, so soon as the disalleetinn of the Usbck nobles and other rebelHons nearer Delhi had been put down. The liana, Oodi Sing, unlike his brave father, Sanga, was a man of feeble eharacter, quite unfit to head the f^allaiit chiefs who rallied round him. On learning the approach of his formidable foe, he retreated from (Miittorc to the hilly and woody country north of Guzerat, leav- ing a strong garrison midcr Jei Mai, a chief of great courage and ability. The place, though previously twice taken, was still regarded by the Rajpoots of Mcwar as a sort of sanctuary of their monarchy. The operations of the siege were conducted with great care, and seem to have closely resem- bled those adopted in modern Europe. Two mines were sunk, and fire set to the train ; one of them exploded, and the storming party crowded up the breach, but while so doing, the second explosion occurred, and destroyed man}'' of the assailants, upon which the rest fled in confusion. The pre- vious labours were re-commcuecd ; con- siderable advantage liad been gained, and the northern defences destroyed, when Ak- ber, one night, in visiting the trenches, per- ceived Jei Mai on the works, superintending some repairs by torch-light. Taking delibe- I'ate aim, he shot him through the head, and the garrison, appalled by the death of their able leader, abandoned the breaches, and withdrew to the interior of the fort. There they assumed the saffron-coloured robes, ate the last " beera" or pan together, and per- formed the other ceremonies incidental to their intended self-sacrifice. After witness- ing the terrible rite of the Johur, in which the women, gathering round the body of Jei Mai, found refuge in the flames from * Alcber's conduct on tliis occasion has also left an indelible stain on liis character as a patron of the arts, for the stately temples and [jalaces of Cliittore were defaced and des])oiled with the most ruthless barbarity. lie showed, however, his sense of the bravery of his fallen foes by erect inj^ at one of the chief sates of Delhi two sjreat elephants of stone, (described by Bernier in 1663), each with their rider, one rejjresentini^f Jei Jhil, the other Pntta. The latter, the youthful head of the .Tugawut clan, perished in the defence of the city, following the example of his widowed motlier, who, arming her son's young bride with a lanoe, with her descended the rock and both fell fighting side by side. The Z!;i((c«, (Brahmanical cords taken from the necks of the Uujpoots), are said to have amounted to seventy-four min's and a-half ; and still, in memory of this terrible destruction, the bankers of llajast'han mark this liollutioti or captivity; the men, to the num- l)('r of 8,000, ran to the ramparts, and were tliere slain by tin; Moslems wdio had mounted unopposed. " Akber entered Chittorc,when/' says Tod, " 'm,m() of its inhabitants be- came victims to the ambitious thirst of con- quest of this (juardian of mankind." * Notwithstanding the loss of his capital and many of his bravest warriors, the Rana remained independent in his fastnesses in the Aravulli; raised a small palace, around which edifices soon clustered, and formed the nucleus of the city of Oudipoor, which eventually became the capital of Mewar. He died shortly afterwards, a.d. 1572. Hi's successor, Pertap, was in all respects his opposite. Brave, persevering, and devoted to the cause of Rajpoot independence, the recovery of Cliittore was his watchword. Till this should be accomplished, he inter- flieted to himself and his successors every article of luxury — exchanged golden dishes for vessels made of leaves, and soft couches • for straw pallets; and, in sign of mourning, commanded all his followers to leave their beards unshaven.f Sueh an adversary was not likely to be undervalued by the politic Akber, who succeeded in arraying against the patriot his kindred in faith as well as in blood, including even his own brother, Sa- gurji, who received, as the price of his trea- chery, the ancient capital of his race. The odds against Pertap were fearful : drivea from his strongholds of Komulmecr and Gogunda, he nevertheless withstood, for more than a quarter of a century, the com- bined efforts of the empire, often flying from rock to rock, feeding his wife and family from the fruits of his native hills, and rearing, amid the haunts of savage beasts, his young son, Urara, the heir to his prowess and his struggles. J In 1576, a desperate battle occurred at the pass or tilde, or accursed number on their seals, thereby in- voking " the sin of the slaughter of Chittore" on nny one who sho.uld dare to violate this mysterious but re- vered safeguard. (Aniuih ofRajast'han, vol. i. p. 327. t The descendants of Pertap, though unfaithful to the spirit of this vow, still adhere to the letter, by placing leaves under their gold or silver plate, and straw beneath their couches, while their beards remain unshorn. {Idem, p. 333). X Colonel Tod's narrative of the life of this noble Kajpcot is full of incidents of thrilling interest. So hot was the pursuit of the Mogul myrmidons that " five meals have been prepared and aliandoned for want of the opportunity to eat them," ar.J his family were repeatedly on the eve of capture. On one of these occasions they were saved by the faithful Bheels of Cavah, who carried them in baskets and con- cealed them in the tin mines of Jawura, where they n2 WAH WITH PERTAP.— SETTLEMENT OF BENGAL— 1593. plain of Huldigliat, -where Pertap had taken up a strong position v.ith 22,000 Rajpoots, wliiie above, on tlie neighbouring cliffs and pinnacles, his trusty auxiliaries, the abori- ginal Bhecls, stood posted, armed with bows and arrows, and huge stones ready to roll upon the enemy. But all efforts proved vain against the overpowering Mogul force, headed by Selim, the heir of Akber, with its numerous field-artillery and a dromedary corps mouuting swivels. Of the stalwart Rajpoots who rallied round the royal in- signia,* ever seen in the hottest part of the action, 8,000 only survived it. Pertap him- self, after reccivmg several severe wounds, was saved with difficulty, by a noble act of self-devotion. One of his chiefs piarah), seizing the " golden sun," made his way to an intricate position, and thus drew upon him- self and his vassals the brunt of the battle, while his prince, forced from the field, lived to renew the struggle, and to honour the memory of his brave deliverer by conferring on his descendants distinctions whose value a Rajpoot alone could fully appreciate. f Another generous sacrifice eventually en- abled the i\Iewar prince, when almost driven into the abandonment of his native kingdom, to cope successfully with the Mogul force. Bliama Sah, his minister, whose ancestors had for ages held this office, placed at his dis- posal their accumulated resources ; and thus fui-nished with the sinews of wax-, Pertap renewed the contest. The chivalrous cle- mency which habitually distinguishes the Rajpoot was, for once, merged in a sense of the desperate nature of his position. Komul- meer and thirty-two posts were taken by surprise, and the troops slain without mercy. To use the words of the native annalist, " Pertap made a desert of Mewar ; he made an offering to the sword of whatever dwelt in the plains :"{ and in one campaign, re- covered his hereditary dominions, except Chittore, Ajmeer, and IMandelgurh. Akbcr, occupied by new fields of con- quest, suffered Pertap to retain his territory unmolested; but the mind of the Hindoo prince could know no rest while, from the summit of the pass to Oudipoor (where, in accordance with his vow, he inhabited a lowly hut) might be seen the stately battlc- guardod and fed them. Kolts and b.irs are still pre- servpil in the trees about Jawiira to which the cradles of the royal children cf Mtnvar were suspended. * The cjiri)if/i, or chief insignia of royalty in Mewar, is a sun of gold in the centere of a disc of bbck ostrich feathers or felt, about three feel in diameter. + Such as beai-ing the title of ]iaj (royal), the pri- ments of Chittore, whose re-capture, he felt, was not for him. A spirit ill at ease, accelerated the decay of a frame scarred by repeated wounds, and worn out with hard- ships and fatigue. His sun went down at noon ; but he died (a.d. 1597) as he had lived, an unflinching patriot, enjoining on Umra and his subjects to eschew luxury, and seek, first and last, the independence of Mewar. The manner in which this dying com- mand was fulfilled belongs to the succeedins reign. We now return to the proceedings of Akber, who, in 1575, headed an army for the subjugation of Bengal. The Afghan ruler, Daood Khan, a weak, dissipated prince, retired before the imperial forces from Behar to Bengal Proper, upon which Akber returned to Agra, leaving his lieute- nants to pursue the conquest, which proved a more difficult task than was expected. The chief commanders were Rajah Todar ]\Ial, the celebrated minister of finance, and Rajah Maun Sing, and their efforts were at length successful. Daood was defeated and slain ; and the mutinous attempts of various Mogul officers to seize the jaghircs of the conquered chiefs for their private benefit, were, after many struggles, put down. The last endeavour of any importance, on the part of the Afghans, to recover the pro- vince, terminated in defeat in 1592, and being followed up by concessions of terri- tory to the leading chiefs, the final settle- ment of Bengal was concluded, after fifteen years of strife and misery. While his gene- rals were thus engaged, Akbcr was himself occupied in renewed hostilities with Mirza Hakim, who, after having remained long undisturbed in Cabool, again invaded the Punjaub, and assaulted the governor, J\Iaun Sing, in Lahore. The king having raised the siege, drove his brother to the moun- tains and occupied Cabool ; but that gov- ernment was restored on the submission of the prince, who retained it until his death in 1585. Tiie vicinity of Abdullah, Khan of the Uzbeks, who had recently seized Badakshan from JNIirza Soliman, probably induced Akbcr, on learning the demise of Hakim, to proceed immcdiatclj' to the strong fort of Attock, which he had previously erected on the principal ferry of the Indus. vilegc of enjoying " the right band of the Mewat princes," &c., to which territorial advantages were also added by the grateful Pertap. f All bis loyal subjects had previously followed him to the mountains, destroying whatever property they could neither conceal nor carry away. (Annah oj linjusl'htin, vol. i. p. 1317.) CAPTURE OF CASHMERE, SINDE AND CANDAHAR— a'.d. 1586 to 1594. 113 AUlioii-^li Hadiiksliau li;ul been the iincieiit possession of liis family, Akber was far too politic to stir up a qiiai'rel \\ ith so fonnidaljle a foe as its present occupant, while, in an- other quarter, opportunity invited tlic exer- cise of more profitable and less dangerous, though utterly unprovoked aj;gression. Near at hand, nestled in the very centre of the Himalaya, al)ove the heated plains, below the snowy heights, lay tlic lovely valley of Cashmere, verdant with perpetvial spring. From the age of fable till the beginning of tiio fourtecntli century, this small kingdom had been ruled by a succession of Hindoo princes, interrupted, it wouhl appear, by a Tartar dynasty.* It thca fell into the hands of a Moliammedan adventurer, and was held by princes of that religion until I'lHG, when the distractions prevailing among the reigning family induced Akber to brave tiic dillicidt and dangerous passes by which alone this terrestrial paradise could be ap- proached, and send an army, under Shah llokli J\Iirza, son of JMirza Soliman (who had entered his service when driven out of Badakshan), and Uhagwandas, of Jcypoor, for its conquest. These chiefs, Avith ditli- culty, penetrated through the snow by an unguarded pass^ but their supplies being exhausted, were glad to enter into a treaty with the king, Yusuf Shah, by which the su- premacy of the enqieror was acknowledged, but his practical interference with the pro- vince forbidden. Yusuf, relying ou the good faith and generosity of Akber, accompanied the troops on their return to the court of that monarch, who, considering the pledge giveri on his behalf an inconvenient one, de- tained his guest, and dispatched a frcsli force for the occupation of Cashmere. Yacub, the son of the captive, assembled the troops, and prepared to defend the pass; but the prevailing dissensions had extended so widely among the soldiery, that part went over to the invaders, and the prince deemed it best to fall back with the rest on Scri- nuggur, where strife and rebellion were also at work. Driven thence to the hills, he con- tinued the struggle for two years, but was at last captured and sent to Delhi, where both he and his father were induced by * Professor 11. 11. AVilson considers it to have ex- isted either under the n.inie of Caspapyrus or Abi- sarus as early as the days of Herodotus and Alex- ander. — IHssdi/ on the liaj Tarimji, or Ilhuloo Jlis- '•^'y of Cashmere — Asiatic Jieseiirchcs, voh xv. p. 82. This work was executed by four different per- sons, the first of whom wrote in 1118, but frequent and precise references are made to earlier writers. Akber to enter his service, and accept large jaghircs in IJehar. From this time, (Cashmere became the favourite summer re- treat of the Mogul rulers. The imperial arms were no.vt directed against the Knsofzeis and other Afghan tribes inhabiting the liilly countries round the plain of Peshawcr, among whom a pow- erful party had been established by Bayczeed, a false prophet, who founded a sect, self- styled ]{oushcnia, or the enlightened, and declared his folloners justified in seizing on the lands and property of all who refused to believe in his divine mission. The im- postor was defeated and slain, but his sons bore about his bones in an ark, and the youngest, .Telala, became formidable from his energy and ambition, and succeeded in gaining repeated advantages over the Delhi troops, many of whom perished, including Rajah Beer Bal, one of Akber's favourite generals. In IGOO, .Telalu obtained posses- sion of the city of Ghu/.nee, but was even- tually expelled and slain. The religious war was continued by his successors during the two next reigns (those of Jehangcer and Shah Jehan) ; and when the errors of the Iloushcnias became exploded, the Eusofzeis, who had long renounced their doctrines, continued to maintain hostilities with the house of Timur, and afterwards with the kings of Persia and Cabool, preserving throughout their turbulent independence undiminished. Sinde was captured in 1593, its ruler, on submission, being, according to the policy of Akl}er, enrolled among the nobles of the empire ; and Candahar, which had been seized by Shah Tahmasp soon after the death of Ilumayun, was recovered without a blow, in 159 1, owing to the disorders which marked the early part of the reign of his successor. Shah Abbas. By this last acqui- sition, Akber completed the possession of his hereditary kingdom beyond the Indus (the war with the Afghans being confined to the mountains) at nearly the same period at which he concluded the conquest of Ilin- doostan Proper. Excepting only Oudipoor and its gallant rana, with his immediate re- tainers, the other Rajpoot states of any im- The facts and dates become consistent as they approach A.D. GOO, and from that period to the termination of the history, with the conquest of the kingdom by Alcber, the chronology is accurate. Much interest- ing matter occurs incidentally, regarding Buddhism and Brahminism, (the former having been very early introduced into Cashmere), and also respecting the ancient worsiiip of the Xagas or Snake Gods. 114 DECCAN INVADED— 1596.— CANDEISH AND AHMEDNUGGUR TAKEN. portance all acknowledged Mogul supre- ' macy, and their chiefs had become changed from jealous tributaries to active auxiliaries, i The Deccau now became the theatre for Akber's aggression, to -which its perturbed condition oflercd every facility. After two years spent there by his son Morad, and otiier generals, during which time Ahmed- nuggur being besieged was nobly defended by the Sultana Chand, Akber proceeded in person to the scene of action, where Berar had already been surrendered on behalf of the king of Ahmednuggur. The conquest of Candeish was completed by the reduction of the strong fortress of Aseergluir,* in 1599, and Prince Danial made viceroy of the new provinces, with ]\Iirza Khan (the son of Behram, who had received the title of Khan Khanan, formerly bestowed by Hu- mayun on his ill-fated father) as his confi- dential adviser. Prince Danial took to wife the daughter of Ibrahim II., of Beejapoor, who, like the neighbouring king of Gol- conda, had deprecated, by presents and embassies, the anger of the powerful Mogul for having sided against his generals in the contest with Ahmednuggur .f These endea- vours would probably have proved fruitless, as many similar ones had done, but for the hurried and compulsory return of Akber to Hindoostan, owing to the misconduct of his eldest son and acknowledged heir. Selim was now above thirty years of age, and not deficient in natural ability ; but his intellccb had been impaired and his heart depraved by the excessive use of wine and opium. Taking possession of Allahabad, he made himself master of Oude and Behar, seized npon treasure amounting to thirty lacs of rupees (£.300,000), and assumed the title of king. These pretensions were speedily withdrawn on the appearance of Ak- ber, who behaved with extreme moderation ; but his ungrateful son, while expressing sub- mission and fidelity, took an opportunity of revenging his own supposed injuries, and inflicting a severe blow on the feelings of his father, by instigating the assassination of Abul Fazil, whom he both feared and hated. Au ambuscade was laid near Gwalior by * Willi this fortress, ten years' provisions and count- less treasures fell into the hands of the conqueror, ■wlio was supposed lo have em])loyed magical arts. t Tlie chief of tiinde is said to have employed I'or- tuf^ueao officers in his defence against Akber, and to have had 200 natives dressed as Kuropeans, wlio were consequently the earliest se/wi/s. lie had also a fort defended by iin Arab (garrison, " tlie first in- stance," says Mr. Elphinslone, "in whioh 1 have Nursing Deo Rajah of Oorcha, and Abul Fazil, after a brave defence, was slain with most of his attendants, a.d. 1603. Akber was greatly distressed by the loss of his friend and counsellor. He spent two days without food or sleep, and sent a force against Nursing Deo, with orders to seize his innocent family, ravage his country, and exercise other un- warrantable severities; but the intended vic- tim succeeded in eluding pursuit, and wag subsequently raised to high honour on the accession of Selim to the throne. Akber would not publicly recognise his son's share in the crime; J but, on the con- trary, conferred on him the pri-\dlege of using the royal ornaments, and other marks of the highest distinction. But all in vain. Selim became daily more brutal and de- bauched, until at last, the public quarrels between him and his son, Khosru (himself a violent-tempered youth) grew to such a height, that Khosru's mother (the sister of Maun Sing), in a moment of grief and despair, swallowed poison ; after which, her husband became so cruel and irascible, that Akber thought it necessary to place him under temporary restraint. He was no sooner released than his jealousy of his son (who he believed, and probably not without reason, desired to supplant him in the suc- cession to the throne) occasioned new scenes of disorder. Meanwhile Khosru himself was, beyond measure, envious of his younger brother, Khoorum (Shah Jehan), wlio was equally a favourite with both his father and grandfather. "While affairs at home were in this unsatisfactory state intelligence ar- rived of the decease of prince Danial. Morad had died some years before; now this other son, Selim's only remaining brother, was taken from Akber, under circumstances calculated to embitter the bereavement. In- temperance had laid fast hold on its victim, and thou;;U so surrounded by the faithful servants of his father as to be imable openly to gratify its solicitations, he found means to have liquor secretly conveyed to him in the barrel of a fowling-piece, and by unre- strained indulgence soon terminated his existence at the age of thirty (April 1G05.) observed any mention of that description cf merce- naries afterwards so much esteemed." Vol. ii. p. 2!)7.) t Selim, in his Miimoirs, openly ackno\vledge.s the crime and vindicates it on the plea of Abul l''azirs having induced his father to disbelieve in the Koran. For tills reason, he says, " 1 employed the man who killed Aliul Fazil and brought his head to me; and for tills it was that 1 in':uvred my father's deep dis- pleasure." — Price's Metnuirs nf Juhniijwiir, p. a3. CHARACTER AND RELIGIOUS OPINIONS OF AKBER. 115 I Alas for Akl)cr ! he was now about sixty- tlu'ce, and had probably anticipatnd tliiit an old age of peace and honour niif^ht crown a youth of vifii.ssitudo and daring advcnturn, and a maidiood of brilliant success. His foes were cither silent in tlic grave, or had been won by politic liberality to a chcci'ful acknowledgment of his supremacy; and the able system of civil government framed by the aid of the gifted brothers, Abul Fazil and Feizi,* and founded on a careful con- sideration of the customs and opinions of the Hindoos, had won from the mass of the people a degree of cordial and grateful sup- * Their f'atlier, a learned man, named JItjbarik, was expelled from Iiis situation as collcfje-tiitor at Asrra for latitudinariun if not atheistical opinions, which his sons, though. professin<; Moslems, evidently shared. Feizi dilif|;ently ap])lied himself to the study of Sanscrit, as did several of the most distin- guished men of Akber's court, tlirougli which a taste for literature was widely dilfused. Feizi was pre- sented to Akber in tlie twell"th year of his reign, and introduced Abul Fazil six years later, and they jointly became the intimate friends and confidants of their sovereitjn, who survived them lioth. An ac- count of the death of Feizi has been recorded by a jersonal friend but a zealous Mussulman (Abdul Ivader), and therefore it may bo higljly coloured, but, according to him, tliis celebrated scholar died blaspheminj;, with distorted features and blackened lips, but of what malady does not appear. — (Elphin- stone, vol. ii., ]>. ^20.) t " The religion of Akber," says Mr. Elphinstone, (who, by the aid of a manuscript translation of the Akbcrnamch., has obtained information otherwise accessible only to oriental scholars,) " was pure deism. • • * His fundamental doctrine was, that there were no prophets ; his appeal on all occasions was to Iiuman reason." — (Vol. ii., p. 322.) This free-thinking did not however interfere with his alleged right as " head of the church, [? what church] to decide all disputes among its members," nor prevent him from introducing a new confession of faith, declaring that " there was no God but God, and Akber icas his cahpli." — (p. .'324.) The practices of spiritual instructors of diH'erent denominations he did not scruple to adopt, and Abul Fazil, who wrote under his immediate supervision, makes rc|)eated mention of the supernatural endowments which he habitually and publicly exercised, and of the " nu- merous miracles which he performed." Among the many superstitious modes used in seeking '• success in business, restoration of health, birth of a son," &c., a favourite method adopted "by men of all nations and ranks," was to "invocate his majesty," to whom, on the obtainment of th.eir wishes, thev brought the olferings which they bad vowed. "Not a day passes," says Abul Fazil, " but people bring cups of water to the palace, beseeching him to breathe upon them. He who is privy to the secret.s of heaven reads the decrees of ftite, and if tidings of hope are received, takes the water from the supjjli- cant, places it in the sun's rays, and then having bestowed upon it his auspicious breath, returns it. Also many, whose diseases are deemed incurable, intreat him to breathe upon them, and are thereb', restored to health." — {Ayeen Akbery, vol. i., p, 665.) port which none of the " Great Moguls" before or after Akber ever acquired or even strove for. A total disbeliever in revealed religion, t he had found no difficulty in sanc- tioning the free exercise of all creeds, and in humouring national vanity, or courting sectarian prejudice whenever it suited his object, and it was always his object to be popular. To the Brahmin, the Buddhist, the Parsce,J the Jew and the Roman catholic,§ the emperor listened with courteous defer euce; and his legislative ability, personal daring, and suavity of manner, won golden opinions from multitudes who cared not to Had Akber lived in the middle of the nineteenth century he would have taken a peculiar interest in mesmerism, spirit-rapi)ing, and table-turning. t To the customs of this sect Akber practically in- clined more tlian to any other, his stated times of worship being day -break, noon, and midnight. " His majesty," Abul Fazil adds, " has also a great venera- tion for fire in general, and for lamps, since they arc to bo accounted rays of the greater light." — Glad- win's Ai/vi-n Akhery, vol. i., p. IGO.) § Akber appears to have played u])on the credu- lity of the priests sent from Goa in a manner which they have described with much naivete, though no Protestant can read their account without pain and indignation at the thought of the pure and life- giving faith of tlie meek and lowly Redeemer being presented to the imperial sceptic, under a form so little likely to win res])ectful attention. He had expressed a wish to see their chapel, which they dressed up for the occasion with every kind of ornament tliey could borrow from the Hindoos or any other quarter, and Akber declared himself dazzled with the result, and exclaimed that " no other religion could produce such brilliant proofs of its divinity;" a speech which, considering the enormous wealth in gold and gems he must have heard of, if not witnessed, in tho idola- trous temples of Hindoostan, wovild seem little better than a cutting sarcasm. He had on a previous oc- casion prostrated himself before a representation of the crucifixion, " but his chief emotion was excited on viewing a finely-painted and ornamented image of the Virgin. He gazed on it long in admiration, and declared that she appeared indeed the Queen of Heaven seated on her throne." The friars began to entertain great hopes of his conversion, but soon found that he persisted in " holding himself forth as an object of worship ; and though exceedingly tolerant as to other modes of faith, never would admit of any encroachments on his own divinity." One of his courtiers suffered it to transpire that the sole aim of the monarch in listening to the mis- sionaries was " curiosity and amusement," and this was confirmed soon afterwards by Akber's gravely proposing to them, as a means of deciding between their assertions and tliose of the Mohammedans, that a famous Mullah should leap into a furnace with the Koran in his hand, followed by one of the friars bearing a Bible. He promised thai the Mullah should leap in first, hinting that he would not at all regret to see him fall a s.acrifice to his presumption ; but the friars refused the ordeal, and not feelinff " much at ease in the Mogul court, soon solicited and obtained permission to return to Goa.'' — (Mur- ray's Account of Discoveries, vol. ii., p. 92.) 116 DEATH OF THE EMPEROR AKBER— a.d. 1605. search out the selfishness which was tlie hidden main-spring of every project, wliethcr ostensibly for the promotion of external aggression or internal prosperity. But now the season for rest had arrived, and he might hope to enjoy the wide-spread dominion and almost incalculable wealth, which a clever head and a sharp sword had combined to viin. His strongly-built and handsome frame* had escaped almost unscathed from the dangers and fatigues of the battle-field, the toilsome march, the onslaught of wild beasts, and the weapon of the assassin. All had failed to dispirit or unnerve him, and the conduct of an intricate campaign, or the pressure of civil government (a far more dif- ficult undertaking for one who had to make laws as well as superintend their execution), never absorbed the time and energy neces- sary to the active part which he loved to bear in mental or bodilj^ exercises of all de- scriptions, from philosophical discussions to elephant and tiger hunts, animal fights, feats of jugglers, and other strangely varied diversions. Though in youth given to iu- ulgence in the luxuries of the table, in later life he became sober and abstemious, re- fraining from animal food on particular days, amounting altogether to nearly a quarter of the year. There is, however, reason to believe that, like his father and grandfather, he was addicted to the inordi- nate use of opium,t an insidious vice which would partially account for the criminal * "My father," says Jehangeer, "was tall in sta- ture, of a ruddy, or wheateii, or init-brown com- plexion ; his eyes and eyebrows dark, the latter running across into each other. Handsome in his e.\terior he had the strength of a lion, which was indicated by the extraordinary breadth of his chest and the length of his arms." A black mole on his nose was jjronounced by ])hysiognomists a sure prognostication of extraordinary good fortune. — (Price's Mumoirs of Julianrjucir, p. 40.) f Ferishta mentions that Akber was taken dan- gerously ill about 1582, " and as his majesty had ado]>ted the habit of eating o])ium as llumayun his father had done before him, people became appre- hensive on his account." — (Vol. li., p. 253.) I Abul Fazil states that to the Noroza, or ninth day of each month, .\kber gave the name of Kluis- roz, or day of diversion, and caused a female market or sort of royal fair, to be held and frequented by the ladies of the harem and others of distinction, going himself in disguise to learn the value of dif- ferent kinds of merchandize, and what was thought of the government and its executive odlcers. — {^Ayeen Akbertj, vol. i., p. 22R.) Tod attributes the presence of Akber to a dill'ercnt and most disgrace- ful motive, and says, that however incredible it may S'^eni, that so keen-sighted a statesman should have risked his power and popularity by introducing an immoral festival of Kcytliic origin, peculiarly oji- excesses in another respect attributed to him by Hindoo authorities,! and wliich, however notorious, would unquestionably have been passed over in silence by so ful- some a panegyrist and determined a partisan as Abtd Fazil. Regarding the cause of his death, Hindoo records likewise cast a dark cloud, § to which Mr. Elphinstone makes no allusion, but simply notes the total loss of appetite and prostration of strength which were the chief symptoms of the fatal disease. In truth, the disgraceful nature of his recent domestic afflictions, and the cabals and struggles respecting the succession, (which raged so fiercely that liis only son was with difficulty induced to attend his dying bed,) were alone sufficient to bring a proud and sensitive spirit with sorrow to the grave. Akber expired in October, 1605, hav- ing been for nearly the whole forty-nine years of his reign a cotemporary ruler with Elizabeth of England, whose enterprise liad prepared an embassy (sent by her successor) to solicit from him the promotion of the peaceful pursuits of commerce between their subjects. How little could these mighty ones of the earth have foreseen that the sceptre of Akber would eventually fall from the feeble grasp of his weak and vicious descendants, into the hands of the struggling community of traders, for whose protection an imperial firman was at first so humbly solicited. These marvellous changes teach great lessons. May we but profit by them. posed to the sensitive honour of the Rajpoots, " yet there is nevertheless not a shadow of doubt that many of the noblest of the race were dishonoured on the Noroza," and one of the highest in the court (Pirtlii Raj) was only preserved from being of the number by the courage and virtue of his wife, a princess of Mewar, who, having become separated from her companions, found herself alone with Akber, in return to whose solicitations she " drew a poinard from her corset, and held it to his breast, dictating and making him repeat, an oath of renun- ciation of such infamy to all her race." The wife of Ray Sing is said to have been less fortunate or less virtuous. — [Annuh of Itdjast'hun, vol. i., p. 345.) § "The Boondi records," says Tod, -'are well worthy of belief, as diaries of events were kept by her princes, who were of the first importance in this and the succeeding reigns." They expressly state that a desire to be rid of the gieatRiijah l\laun Sing of Joypoor, to whom he was so much indebted, and whom lie did not dare openly attack, induced Akber to prepare a miinJUit (intoxicating confection), part of which he poisoned — but presenting by mistake the innocuous portion to tlie Rajah, he took the other himself, and thus perished in his own snare. Maun Sing had excited the displeasm-c of both Akber and Selim, by seconding the pretensions of his nephew, Khosru to the throne. Old Kuronean writers at- tribute the death of Akber to a similar cause. fr= IMPROVED llEVENUE SYSTEM ADOPTED IJY AKP.KR. 117 At the period of Akbcr's death the em- pire was (livi(l(!(l into fifteen suhahs or pro- vinces, iianu'ly, Ailalialnid, Af^ra, Oude, Ajmccr, (iuzcrat, l$ch;ir, Benf^al, Delhi, Cabool, Lahore, Moultan, Malwa, Berar, Candcish, and Ahmednuf^gur. Each had its own viceroy [sepah sillar),* who exercised complete control, civil and niililary, snbjcct to the instructions of the king. Under him were the revcnnc fnnctionaries, and also the foiijilam, or military commanders, whose authority extended alike over the regular troops and local soldiery or militia within their districts. Justice was administered by a court composed of an officer named meer adel (lord justice) and a cazi. The ])oliee of considerable towns was under an ollieer called the cii/wa/ ; in smaller places, under the revenue olRccr ; and in villages, under the internal authorities. f The revenue system, by which Akbcr gained so much celebrity, had, in fact, been partially introduced during the brief reign of Sheer Shah. Its objects were — First, to obtain a correct measurement of the land, by the establishment of a uniform standard, to supersede the differing measures formerly employed even by public officers; and by the appointment of fit persons, provided with im])roved instruments of mensuration, to furnish accounts of all cultivable lands within the empire. Second, the land was divided into three classes, according to its fertility; the amount of each sort of produce that a begah| would yield was ascertained, the average of the three was assumed as the produce of a begah, and one-third of that produce foi'med the government demand. But any cultivator wlio thought the amount claimed too high might insist on an actual * This title wa.s subsequently c]ianged to siihah- ilar, and an additional financial oHicer introduced, named the ilcwaii, who was subordinate to the su- balidar, but appointed by the king. t The general tone of the instructions given to these functionaries appears as just and benevolent as could M-ell be expected under a desjiotisni ; the question is, how far they were carried out in the right spirit. There are, however, some enactments which reflect little credit on the law-giver, such as the following : " Let him (the cutwal) see that l)utchers, those who wash dead bodies, and others who perform unclean ofKces, have their dwelling separate from other men, who should avoid the society of such stony-hearted, dark-miuded wretches. ^Vhosoevcr drinketh out of the same cup with an executioner, let one of his hands be cut off; or if he ealetli out of his kettle, deprive him of one of his fingers." — Gladwin's Ayeen Akhery. X An Indian measure, much above half-an-acre. § The ancient riders of Ilindoostan, Abul Fazil admits, claimed but one-sixth. — -Vol. i., p. 278. K mea.surement and division of the crop. Tliird, the produce was to be converted into a money [jaynu'ut, taken on an average of the preceding nineteen years; but, as in the previous case, every husbandman was allowed to pay in kind if he thought the rate in specie fixed too high. All i)articu- lars respecting the classification and revenue of the land were annually recorded in the village registers; and as at the period of the introduetion of this system Akbcr abolished a vast number of vexatious taxes and fees to oflicers, the pressure on individuals is said to have been lightened, though the profit to the state was increased. It sliould, however, be remembered that Akbcr claimed one- third of the produce, and Sheer Shah had professed to take but one-fourth. § The farming of any branch of the revenue was not allowed, and the collectors were instructed to deal directly with individual cultivators, and not rely implicitly on the headman and accountant of the village. The chief agent in these reforms was llnjah Todar I\Iul, whose zealous observance of the fasts aud other requirements of the Brahrainical religion, doubtless angmrnted his influence among his own nation. Thus, whether in military proceedings or civil government, Akbcr always gladly availed himself of the abilities of the IIindoo.s, of wliose character he unquestionably formed a very high estimate, || and whose good will (notwithstanding the aggression on which his interference was grounded) he greatly conciliated by three important edicts, which involved concessions to human rights, of a description rarely made byoricntal despots, to whose notions of government by the sword all freedom is essentially opposed. lu loGl, ll .\bul Fazil, who may be taken as a fair expo- nent of the feelings of his royal master (in the for- tieth year of whose reign he wrote), thus e.xprcsses himself on this point : — " Summarily the Hindoos are religious, affable, courteous to strangers, cheer- ful, enamoured of knowledge, fond of inflicting austerities u])on themselves, lovers of justice, given to retirement, able in business, grateful, admirers of truth, and of unbounded fidelity in all their deal- ings. Their character shines brightest in adversity." He adds his conviction, from frequent discourses with learned Brahmins, that they " one and all be- lieve in the unity of the Godhead ; and although they hold images in high veneration, yet they are by no means idolaters," which latter assertion may be doubted as applied to the lower and less-informed professors of any religion which inculcates or suffers the "high veneration" of images. Lastly, he says, " they have no slaves among them," a remark to which we may have occasion to revert in a subse- quent section. — Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii., pp. 294-'5. .1 118 CAPITATION-TAX ON INFIDELS ABOLISHED BY AKBER. a prohibition was issued against the making slaves of pei'sons captured in war ; an infa- mous practice, whicli had gained such a height that not only the innocent wives and children of garrisons taken by storm were sold into slavery, but even the peaceable inhabitants of a hostile country were seized for the same purpose. In 1563, the jezia or capitation-tax on infidels was abolished ; and about the same time all taxes on pilgrims were removed, because, " although the tax fell on a vain superstition, yet, as all modes of worship were designed for one Great Being, it was wrong to throw an obstacle in the way of the devout, and to cut them off from their mode of intercourse with their Maker." [Akber Namah, MS. translation.) The condition of the royal slaves* was ameliorated by Akber ; but it does not ap- pear that he made any attempt to restore liberty even to those from whom it had been ravished by the glaring injustice above de- scribed. Nor would any effort of a purely just and benevolent tendency have been consistent with the character of one whose ambition filled the mountain fortresses of Hiudoostan with captives,t and who scru- pled not to form minarets of human heads,J or give orders for the complete extermina- tion of a flying foe.§ In the regidation of the ai-my great alterations were made : the troops, where- ever it was practicable, were paid in cash from the treasury, instead of by jaghires and assignments on the revenue ; and the tricks played at the musters by means of servants * The king (says Abul Fazil) disliking the word slave, desired that of chelah (signifying one who re- lies upon another) to be applied in its place. " Of these unfortunate men there are several kinds: 1st. Those who are considered as common slaves, being infidels taken in battle ; and they are bought and sold. 2nd. Those who of themselves submit to bon- dage. 3rd. The children born of slaves. 4th. A thief who becomes the slave of the owner of the stolen goods. 5th, He who is sold for the fjrice of blood. The daily pay of a chelah is from one dam to one rupee ; they are formed into divisions, and committed to the cave of skilful persons, to be instructed in various arts and occupations." — Glad- win's Aijccn Akhcrij, vol. i., p. 209. t Among the prisoners who perished by violence in the fort of Gwalior, was tlic only son of the un- happy Kamran. The reason docs not a])pear; but the execution is stated by Price, on the authority of Abul Fazil, as commanded by Akber some time after the death of K^iran ; and Ferishta (also apparently quoting the ytkhornamch) says that liehram Khan was accused of intending to intrigue with the un- fortunate prince; a very unlikely supposition, con- sidering the enmity wliich he had ever dis])laycd to- wards his father.- — Dow'a HindonsUin, vol. ii., p. 32-1. and camp-followers, motmted for the day on borrowed horses, prevented, by written de- scriptions of every man's person, and the marking of each horse. But the organiza- tion of the army was never very complete. The king named the munsubdars\\ or officers, as he thought fit, commanders of from 10 to 10,000 men; hut these numbers, in all but the lowest classes, were merely nominal, and only served to fix the rank and pay of the holders, whose actual force, often not a tenth of their figure on paper, when mustered, was paid from the treasury. Each munsub- dar was obliged to keep half as many infan- try as horsemen ; and of the infantry, one- fourth were required to be matchlockmen, the rest might be archers. There were also a distinct body of horsemen, called ahdis (single men), whose pay depended upon their merits, but was always much higher than that of the ordinary cavalry. Into every branch of the imperial arrangements, domes- tic as well as public, the most careful me- thod was introduced — the mint, treasury, and armoury — the harem, with its 5,000^ in- habitants — the kitchens,** baths, perfume offices, fruiteries, and flower-gardens, alike manifested the order-loving mind of their rtder. The department which he appears to have superintended with especial pleasure, was that comprising the various descriptions of animals, whether belonging to the class pecu- liarly adapted for the use and benefit of man, or to that of the savage beasts who played a leading part in the barbarous fights and shows which formed the chief popular \ Bird's Gujarat, p. 338. § " What with the examples made during the reign of my father," writes Jehangeer, "and subse- quently during my own, there is scarcely a province in the empire in which, cither in battle, or by the sword of the executioner, 500,000 or 600,000 human beings have not fallen victims to [what he terms] their fatal disposition to discontent and turbulence." — (p. 128.) Allowing the narrator to have had, as was doubtless the case, the larger share in this wholesale destruction, and supposing the numbers to be overstated, there yet remains ample evidence to indicate a terrible waste of human life on the part of both monarchs. II None but the king's sons were munsubdars of more than 5,000 ; and this latter class, according to the At/cen Akhcrij, comprised only thirty persons. *\ Kach of wliom had an apartment and a monthly stipend, " equal to her merit," of from two to 1,610 rupees, that is, from four shillings to £1()I. •* The emperor took but one meal a-day, for which there being no fixed time, tlie cooks were ordered to keep 100 dishes always in readiness to set on table at an hour's notice. " What is reqviired for the harem," adds Abul Fnzil witli sly sarcasm, " is goinif forward from morning till night." WEALTH OF AKBER AND OTHER GREAT MOGULS. 113 diversions of the age. The elephants,* dro- medaries, and camels; horses and mules; oxen, hun'alocs, rhinoocroscs, and tame deer; lions, tif^crs, and |)anthcrs; huntinr^-lcopards, hounds, and liawiis ; — received as much at- tention as it' their roj'al master liad been a vctcrinaiy surgeon : wliilc, in tlic matter of tame partridges and pigeons, no schoolboy could have been a greater adept than the mighty monarch, Akber Padshah. f Tiie town of Futtelipoor Silcri, near Agra, built and fortified by Akber, although now deserted, jircscnts ample evidence of having been a place, botli in magnificence and architectural beauty, adapted for the abode of one of the wealthiest sovereigns the world ever knew. Respecting tlie amount of the treasures seized from Moslem and Hindoo palaces and temples, we have no reliable in- formation.]: Jehangeer asserts, that of the paraphernalia and rcrpiisitcs for grandeur, accumulated by Akber, " whether in trea- sure ors[)lendid furniture of any description, the invincible Tiniur, who subdued the world, and from whom my father was eighth in descent, did not possess one-tenth." He adds, that Akber, desirous to ascertain the contents of the treasury at Agra, had 400 pairs of scales kept at work, day and night, weighing gold and jewels only. At the ex- piration oi Jive months the work was still far from being concluded ; the emperor, from some cause or other, not choosing to have it * According to Abul Fazil, Akber had between 5,000 and 6,(100 elcpbants, of wliom 101 were kept for liis own riding. He deliglited in the exercise; and, even when in their most excited state, would place his foot on the tusk of one of these enormous creatures, and mount in an instant ; or spring upon its back, IVcmi a wall, as it rushed furiously ]iast. A fine elephant cost a lac of rujiees (£10,000), had five men and a boy aUotted for its service, and a stated daily allowance of rice, sugar, milk, ghoe, &c., besides 300 sugar-canes per diem, during the season. Every ten eh-phaiits were su])crintended by an offi- cer, whose duty it was to rejjort daily to the emperor their exact condition — whether they ate less food than usual, or were in any way indisposed. t On a jo\irney or march, the court was never accompanied by less than 20,000 pigeons, with bear- ers carrying their houses. Of the quality of these birds, Abul Fazil remarks, his majesty had discovered " infallible criterions," such as twisting their feet, slitting their eyelids, or opening their nostrils. J In Mandelsloe's travels (Harris's J "oyni/es, vol. iii., p. 702), an inventory is given of the treasure in jewels, bullion, coin, and other property belonging to Akber at the time of his death, which that ti-a- veller states to have been furnished him by " very knowing and worthy persons," in the reign of Shah Jehan, whom he describes as possessing " eight large vaults filled with gold, silver, and precious stones, the value of which is inestimable." The items are continued, had the treasures safely secured, and was content to be the master of " un- told gold." In this astoimding statement there would seem to be cither some great mistake on the part of the eopyist,^ or gross exaggeration on that of the royal autobio- graplier. Tlie latter is jiroliably in faidt; for although he fretpicntly criminates him- self by confessing the commission of crimes which other writers would scarcely have ventured to attribute to him (the murder of Abul Fazil, for instance), yet his credulity and tendency to " high colouring," render much sifting necessary before receiving his assertions, and greatly enhance the value of coiToborative evidence. European tra- vellers go far to establish the probability of otlierwise incredible statements regarding the enormous wealth of the Great Moguls, by their descriptions of the magnificence of the court, and also of the steady influx of gold and silver still annually received in return for silk, cotton, spices, and various products, for which coin or bullion was the chief exchange, other commodities or manu- factures being taken only in comparatively small quantities. Reign of Jehangeer. — The bier of Akber was carried through the palace-gates of Agra by Selim and his three sons, Khosru, Khoorum, and Parvacz, and borne thence to its stately mausoleum II at Sceundra (three miles distant), by the princes and chief interesting — in certain sorts of money coined by the express order of Akber, in another description, called Akber rupees, and in " payses [pice], sixty whereof make a crown," — total value = 109,173,333 crowns, or about £50,000,000 sterling. In jewels, 30,026,026 crowns; " statues of gold, of divers crea- tures," 9,503,370 e. ; gold plate, dishes, cups, and household-stuff, 5,866,895 c. ; porcelain and other earthen vessels, 1,255,873 c. ; brocades — gold and silver stuffs, silks and muslins, 7,654,989 c. ; tents, hangings, and tapestries, 4,902,772 c. ; twenty-four thousand manuscripts, richly bound, 3,231,865 c. ; artillery and ammunition, 4,287,985 c; small arms, swords, bucklers, pikes,bows,arrows, &c., 3,777,752 c.; saddles, bridles, and other gold and silver accoutre- ments, 1,262,824 c.; coverings for elephants and horses, embroidered with gold, silver, and pearls, 2,500,000 c.; woollen cloths, 251,626 c.; brass and copper utensils, 25,612 c. ; making a total (coin in- cluded) of 274,113,793 c., or £68,528,448 sterling. § The Persian copy of Jehangeer's Metnoirs, trans- lated by M.ijor Price, was unfortunately imperfect; that from which Mr. Gladwin has borrowed largely, is considered less defective. II This superb structure, begun by Akber, was finished by his successor, who declared ttie total cost to have beeii about £1,800,000. The amiable mother of Akber, Hamcida, afterwards termed Miriam Me- kani, had been buried only two years before in IIu- mayun's tomb at Delhi. 120 ACCESSION OF THE EMPEROR JEHANGEER, a.d. 1605. nobles. Owing to the exertions made by the Late sovereign on his death-bed to pre- vent the threatened outbreak of domestic rivalry, and to the successful negotiations entered into with Rajah Maun Sing, and other leading persons, Selim was proclaimed emperor unopposed. With undisguised de- light he mounted the jewelled throne, on which such enormous sums had been lavished, and placed on his brows the twelve- pointed crown.* The chief ameers were summoned from the different provinces to attend the gorgeous and prolonged cere- monial; for forty days and nights the nukm-a, or great state-drum, sounded triumphantly ; odoriferous gums were kept burning in censers of rare workmanship, and immense candles of camphorated wax, in branches of gold and silver, illumined the hours of darkness. Considering " universal conquest the pe- culiar vocation of sovereign princes," the new emperor, in the coinage struck upon his accession, assumed the title of Jehan- geer (conqueror of the world), and ex- pressed a hope so to acquit himself as to justify the assumption of this high-sounding epithet. His early measuresf were of a more pacific and benevolent tendency than might have been expected either from this com- mencement, or his general character. He confirmed most of his father's old servants in their offices ; issued orders remitting some vexatious duties which existed, not- * The crown and throne, those favourite symbols of power, with which eastern kings have ever de- lighted to dazzle the eyes of their subjects, were of extraordinary magnificence and beauty. The for- mer — made by the order of Akber, in the fashion of that worn by the Persian kings — had twelve points, each surmounted by a diamond of the purest water, while the central point terminated in a single pearl of extraordinary size ; the whole (including many valuable rubies) being estimated at a cost equivalent to £2,070,000 sterling. The throne, so constructed as to be easily taken to pieces and put together again, was ascended by silver stejis, on the top of which four silver lions supported a canopy of jnire gold, the whole adorned with jewels, to an amount, which Price translates, as equal to £,'30,000,000 sterling. f One of these, most creditable to Jchangeer, in- volves a terrible revelation of existing evils. He ordered the governor of Bengal to take decided mea- sures for abolishing the infamous practice, long used in Silhet and other dcjicndencies of Bengal, of com- pelling the people to sell their children, or else emasculate and deliver them up to the governors of those province.s in satisfaction for their rents, — by which means some thousand eunuchs had been made yearly. — Gladwin's Jdiangccr, p. 101. X Sir Thomas Roe was occasionally admitted to the evening entertainments, when the Great Mogul, mated on a low throne, threw off all restraint, and, withstanding the recent reformatory mea- sures ; and desiring to give access to all classes of people who might choose to ap- peal to him personally, caused a gold chain to be hung between a stone pillar near the Jumna and the walls of the citadel of Agra, communicating with a string of little bells suspended in his private apartments ; so that the suitor, by following the chain, would be enabled to announce his presence to the emperor without anj' intermediary. For this invention, Jehangeer takes great credit, and also for the interdict placed by him on the use of wine, and the regulations for that of opium ; but as his own habits of nightly intoxication were notorious,]: the severe punishment with which he visited all other offenders against the laws of strict temperance, gives little evidence of the rigid justice so repeatedly put forward in his autobiography, § as his leading principle of action. Among his first proceedings, was the release of all prisoners throughout the empire. " From the fortress of Gwalior alone," he says, "there were set at liberty no less than 7,000 individuals, some of whom had been in confinement for forty years. Of the number discharged altogether on this occasion, some conception may be formed, when it is mentioned, that within the limits of Hindoostan there are not less than 2,400 fortresses, of name and strength, exclusive of those in the kingdom of Bengal, which surpass all reckoning." — {Memoirs, p. 10.) together with most of his companions, drank himself into a state of maudlin intoxication. A courtier once indiscreetly alluded, in public, to a debauch of the previous night, upon which Jehangeer affected surprise, inquired what other persons had shared in this breach of the law, and ordered those named to be so severely bastinadoed that one of them died. In his Memoirs, he makes no secret of his habitual excesses, but says his usual allowance once reached twenty cups of spirits a-day, and that if he was a single hour without his beverage, his hands began to shake, and he was unable to sit at rest. After coming to the throne, he took for some time but five cups (little more than a quart), diluted with wine, and only after niglit-fall. Of opium, his daily dose, at forty- six years of age, was eight ruttecs, orsixty-four grains. § This Autobiography resembles that of Timor in the manner in which the royal narrator boldly alleges good motives for his worst deeds, and after describing the torments and cruel deaths inflicted by him on thousands of unhappy beings, dwells, almost in the same page, on his own compassionate and loving nature, giving, as exanqilcs, tlie letting free of birds, deluded by tlie skilfid murmuring of the C'aslimcrians into captivity; his regret for tlie death, by drowning, of a little boy who used to guide his ek'iihant, and similar circumstances. In spite of its defects, the book is botli valualile and interest- ing, as throwing much light on the customs and HISTORY OF NOUR MAHAL, AFTERWARDS NOUR J KUAN. 121 Jcliangecr was not lonj^ permitted to en- joy in peace liis vast iiilicritancc.* The ])artial reconciliation between liiin and Prince Kliosru was little more tlian a t(;m- porary cessation of hostilities, marked by distrnst and tyranny on tlie one side — sul- Icniiess and disaHeetion on the other. At Icngtii, some four months after his accession, the emperor was aroused at midnif^ht with the tidings that his son had fled to Delhi, with a few attendants. A detachment was immediately sent in pui'snit, and .Jehan<^eer followed in the morninsi; with all the force he could collect; but notwithstandiuf^ these prompt measures, Khosru succeeded in as- sembling upwards of ](),()(K) men (who sub- sisted by plunder), and obtained possession of Lahore. He was, however, defeated in a contest with a detachment of the royal troops ; taken prisoner in a boat, which ran aground in the Hydaspcs; and in lessthan a month, the wliole rebellion was com- pletely quashed. When brought in chains of gold into the presence of his father, Khosru, in reply to the reproaches and questions addressed to him, refused to criminate his advisers or abettors, entreating tliat his life might be deemed a suificicnt penalty for the ollences he had instigated. Jehangccr, always ready to take advantage of any plausible pretext for the exercise of his barbarous and cruel disposition, spared his sou's lifc,t but wreaked an ample ven- geance, by compelling liim to witness the agonies of his friends ami adherents. Some were sewn up in raw hides and exposed to a burning sun, to die in lingering tortures of several days' duration ; others flayed alive ; while no less than 700 were impaled in a line leading from the gate of Lahore, and so long as any of these unfortunates eon- opinions of the age, and on the demonologv, alche- my, and various superstitions in which Jcliangecr was as firm a believer as his royal compeer, James I., of ]Cnf;'land, wliom lie resembled in another point, namely, strong dislike to tobacco (then newly in- troduced by the Portuguese), against which he also issued a " counterblast," in the shape of a decree, forbidding its use in Hindoostan, as Shah Abbas had jireviously done throughout Persia. • Besides the treasure accumulated by his father, I he received the property (amounting, in jewels alone, I to £4,500,000,) which Danial liad contrived to amass I in the Deccan, in great measure by open violence, or, as Jehangeer mildly phrases it, by compelling people to sell to him elephants and other ])voperty, and sometimes omitting to pay for tlicm. The ;iOO ladies of the prince's harem were likewise sent to the emperor; who, being somewhat puzzled how to dis- [ pose of so large an addition to his family, gave them to underitand that Uiey were, one and all, free to tinned to breathe, the prince was brought daily to the spot, in mock state, mounted on an elephant ami preceded by a mace- bearer, who called out to him to receive the salutations of his servants. Khosru passed three days and nights without tasting food, and long remained a prey to the deepest melanclioly. At the expiration of a year, Jehangeer seemed disposed to lighten his captivity by suffering his chains to be struck off, but a conspiracy for his release being subsequently detected (or invented by the partisans of Prince Khoorum), he was confined as closely as before. In 1(507, an army was despatched, tmder Mcdiabet Khan (son of Sagurji, the recreant brother of Pertap), against Umra, Rana of Oudipoor, and another under the Khan Kha- nan, into the Deccan ; l)ut both were unsuc- cessful, and the hitter especially received re- peated defeats from Malek Amber, who retook Alimedutiggur; and uniting to his talents for war no less ability for civil government, introduced a new revenue system into the Deccan, and obtained there equal celebrity to that acquired by Rajah Todar ]\Iul in Hindoostan. During these proceedings, Jehangeer was j)rivately oecujiicd in the criminal intrigues which resulted in his marriage with the celebrated Nour Jclian. This clever, but un- principled woman, was the daughter of a Persian adveuturcr.J who having succeeded in gaining admittance to the service of Akber, rose to a position of trust and honour. His wife frequently visited the royal harem with her young daughter, whose attractions speedily captivated the heir-apparent. Akber being made aware of what was passing, had Nonr Jehan bestowed in marriage on Sheer Afghan, a young bestow themselves and their dowries on any of the nobles who might desire them in marria.ge. t There is a passa^'o in tlie Memairs which indi- cates pretty clearly that Jehangeer would have felt little scruple in following " the distinguished exam- ])le" given by "the house of Othman, who, for the stability of their royal authority, of all their sons, preserve but one, considering it expedient to destroy all the rest." — (p. 60.) X Gheias was a man well born, hut reduced to poverty, and driven to seek subsistence by emigrating with his wife and children to India. Directly after reaching Candahar, Xour Jehan was born ; and, being worn down with fatigue and want, the miserable parents exposed the infant on a spot by which the caravan was to pass. Tlie expedient succeeded : a rich merchant saw and took compassion on the child, relieved the distress of its parents, and, perceiving the father and eldest son to be persons of education and ability, procured for them suitable employment. 123 NOUR MAHAL MADE EMPRESS, a.d. 1611. Persian, distinguished for his bravery, to Trhom he gave a jaghire in Bengal, wliither he proceeded, accompanied by his young bride. But the matter did not end here; for Jehangeer, about a year after liis ac- cession, took occasion to intimate to Kootb- oo-deen, the viceroy of Bengal (his foster- brother), hia desire to obtain possession of the cbject of his unhallowed passion. En- deavours were made to sound Sheer Afghan on the subject ; but tlie high-spirited chief, at the first intimation of the designs enter- tained .igainst his honour, threw up his com- mand, and left off wearing arms, as a sign that he was no longer in the king's service. After this, repeated attempts were made to assassinate him, until at length, at a com- pulsory interview with Kootb-oo-decn, per- ceiving himself entrapped, he resolved to sell his life dearly — slew the viceroy and several other officers, and at last fell him- self, covered with wounds. Nour Jehan was seized and sent to court, but, either from some temporary aversion on her part to the murderer of her husband, or (for the tale is differently told) from some equally short-lived compunction on bis, she was allowed to remain in the seraglio inmoticed for above four years. The passion of the emperor at length reviving, he made her his ■wife ; bestowed on her, by an imperial edict, the title of empress ; and styled her first, Nour ]\Iahal [tlie Ugld of the harem), and afterwards Nour Jehan [the light of the world.) Her influence became unbounded : beginning by a feminine desire for splendid jewels,* she soon manifested her capacity for coveting and exercising arbitrary do- minion, and eviuced as much energy and ambition, and as little principle as could be * Jt'hangeer states that he assigned for her dowry an amount equal to £7,200,000 sterling, " which sum she requested as indispensable for the purchase of jewels, and I granted it without a murmur." — (p. 271.) He also gave her a pearl necklace, com- prising forty beads, each one of great worth. These statements must, of course, be taken 'jiinnltim v.tleut, and are only cited to enable the reader to form some idea of the numerous and costly jewels worn at the period: the accumulation of which had been for ages the favourite employment of the Hindoo princes, from whom they had been plundered. In evidence of the excessive desire for splendid jewels, may be no- ticed the testimony of Sir Thomas Jloe's chaplain — that one of the cou)-tiers purchased from a merchant a large pear-sha])ed pearl, which he had brought with him from England, for the sum of £1,200. t 'J'he Itajpoots have been fortunate in having had Tod for a chronicler ; but they still need a Walter Scott to pop\darize their deeds of love and war in the eyes of thos,-; who care not to look on truth un- mixed with fiction. Yet Rajpoot annals, even in the paralleled in many (so called) "great men." Honours never before enjoyed by the consort of any Indian potentate were lavished upon her, even to the conjunction of her name on the coin with that of Jehangeer; her father, Jlirza Gheias, w-as made prime minis- ter ; her brother, Asuf Khan, placed in a high station ; and, on every affair in which she took an interest, her will was law. The legislative ability of Mirza Gheias produced beneficial effects in public affairs ; and his modest, yet manly bearing, con- ciliated the nobility, who soon learned to appreciate the value of the control wliich he exercised over the ill-regulated mind of the emperor. Nour Jehan found employment in superintending the construction of pub- lic edifices and gardens ; and by skilftil management, increased the magnificence of the court and lessened the expenditure. The mode of preparing the famous otto of roses is generally attributed, in India, cither to her or to her mother. Soon after this marriage, the disturbances in Bengal, which had prevailed throughout the previous years of Jehangeer's reign, were brought to a close a.d. 1612. Malek Amber's Mahratta-like mode of warfare proved increasingly successful in the Deccan, and the imperial forces were decidedly worsted ; but in Mewar, Prince Khoorum, at the head of 20,000 men, obtained the submission of Rana Urara Sing, who, after sustaining seventeen pitched battles, was at length compelled to bow to the jMoguls " the crimson banner" which, for more than 800 years, had waved in proud independence over the heads of the Gehlotes. Prince Khoorum (the son of a Rajpootni) evinced affectionate respect towards his brave foe;t sober page of the historian, are fraught with romance and chivalry. Take one instance. During the war with Jehangeer, an opportunity occurred to recover some frontier lands in the plains, and Unira, with all his chiefs, assembled for the purpose. Two rival cl.ms (whose feuds largely contributed to the ruin of Mewar) disputed the privilege of forming the hcrole or vanguard, and the sword would have decided the question but for the tact of the prince, who exclaimed, " The heroic to the clan that first enters Ontala." Ontala was a frontier fortress, about eighteen miles cast of Oudipoor, situated on rising ground, with a stream liowing beneath its massy walls, round towers at intervals, and but one gate. Some hours before day-break the clans moved off to the attack ; the Suk- tawuts ai-rived first, and made directly for the gate- way ; the Chondawuts, less skilled in topography, traversed a swamj), which retarded them ; but they brought ladders, and, on arriving, tlieir chief at once conmienced the escalade. A ball struck him l)ack lifeless among his vassals. Meanwhile, the Sukta- wuts were also checked; for the elephant on which SUBJUGATION OF OUDirOOR, a.d. ini I.— EMBASSY OF IlOii. 123 and JehatiRCcr himself, delighted at having obtained, by means of the valour of his favourite son, the iiomairc of a prince whose ancestors, intrenched iu tiicir mountain stronghoUls, "had never beheld a king of Ilindoostan, or made submission to any one," sent to the rana a friendly firman, with tlic " imjiress of his five lingers," and desired Klioorum, " liy any means by which it coukl be brought al)out, to treat this il- lustrious one according to his own heart's wishes."* The personal attendance of Umra at the !Mogul court was excused, and a simi- lar exemiition extended to the future reign- ing sovereigns of ]\Icwar, the heir-a])parcnt being received as their representative. Prince Kurrun, the son and successor of Urara, was most honourably welcomed by Jehangeer, who placed him on his right hand, above every other noble, and declared that ''his countenance carried the impression of his illustrious extraction. "t Nour Jehan like- wise loaded him witli gifts and dignities ; but the prince, feeling his newly-forged chains none the lighter for the flowers with which they were wreathed, still remained sad and humiliated, tliough courteous in his bearing. Umra was yet furtiier from being reconciled to become a fief-holder of the em- pire. To receive the imperial firman outside his capital was the only concession demanded from him, in return for which Klioorum oflered to withdraw every Moslem from Mewar. But he could not be brought to submit to the humiliation ; therefore, assem- bling the chiefs, he made the tecka (the their leader rode, and or. whose strength he depended to force the gate, was dctt?rred from approaching Ijy its projecting spikes. His men were falling thick about him, when a shout from the rival clan in- spired a des])eratc resolve. Springing to tlie ground, he covered the spikes with his own body, and baile the driver, on pain of instant death, propel the ele- phant against him. The gates gave way, and over the dead body of their chief the clan rushed on to the combat, and, fighting with resistless energy, slaughtered the Moguls, ami planted on the castle tlie standard of Mewar. liut the heroic was not for them j for the next in rank and kin, and heir to the Chonda- wut leader, had caught the lifeless body as it fell, and, true to his title (the mad chief of Deogurh), wrapped it in his scarf, slung it on his back, and, scaling the wall, cleared the way with his lance, until ho was able to tling his burden over the parapet, shouting — " the heroic to the Chondawuts ! we are first in !" * Colonel Tod mentions having seen the identical firman in the rana of Oudipoor's archives. The hand being immersed in a compost of sandal-wood, is applied to the paper, to which the impression of the palm and five fingers is thus clearly, and even lastingly allixed. — liiijast'han, vol. i., p. '3(52. t liajast'han, vol. i., p. 304. Tod had probably a ancient symbol of sovereignty) on his son'.s forehead, and forthwitii quitted the capital, and secluded himself in a neighbouring palace, on the borders of a lake. Tlic stately form of Umra, " the tallest and strongest of the princes of JMcwar," never again crossed the thresludd until it was borne, as dust and ashes, to be deposited in the se[)ulclirc of his fathers; but Prince Klioorum visited him, as a friend, in his retirement, and, in after years, had abundant reason to rejoice in the sympathy which he had manifested towards the Kaj|Kiot princes of Oudipoor. In 1G15, Sir Thomas Roe arrived at court, then held at Ajnieer, as ambassador from James I. Ilis journey from Surat, by Boor- hanpoor and Cliittore, lay through the Dec- can, where war was raging ; and the rana's country, where it had just ceased ; yet he met with no obstruction or cause for alarm, except from mountaineers, who took advan- tage of the disturbed state of the times to molest travellers. The emperor received him favourably, notwithstaiidiiig the oppo- sition and intrigues of the Portuguese Jesuits, and the contrast afforded by the unpretend- ing character of his prescntsj and retinue to the magnificent ceremonial which he daily witnessed, and in which he was per- mitted to take part without iierforraing the humiliating prostration which Jehangeer, like Akber, demanded from those who ap- proached him, despite the belief of all zea- lous ^lohammedans, that such homagp could be fitly ofl^ered to the Deity aloiiB. The greatest displays took place on the more perfect copy of Jehangccr's Jfciiioirs than that translated by Price, as he cites passages not to be found in the English version. J; The most acceptable of these seems to have been a eoacli, a mode of conveyance then newly used in Jvigland. Jehangeer had it taken to pieces by na- tive workmen, who, having built another with more costly materials, reconstructed the pattern-one, sub- stituting double-gilt silver nails for the originals of brass, and a lining of silver brocade in.stead of Chinese velvet. Some pictures, likewise, proved suitable gifts; and one of them was so accurately copied by native artists, that Iloe being shown the original and five copies by candle-light, could not, without some difficulty, distinguish that which he had brought from England. Once, being much pressed for some offering wherewith to gratify Jehan- geer's insatiable covetousness, he presented to him a book of maps {JItraitor's Cosmography), with which the emperor was at first excessively delighted ; but, on examination, finding the independent kingdoms there delineated somewhat too numerous to accord with his grandiloquent title, he returned the '-olume, saying that he should not like to deprive the ambas- sador of so great a treasure. — A Votjage to East India, by Sir Thomas Roe's Chaplain. London, 166d. 134 WAR WITH MALEK AMBER.— DEATH OF KHOSRU, 1621. emperor's birth-day, when there was a gene- ral fair and many processions and ceremo- nies, among which the most striking was the weighing of tlie royal person twelve times, in golden scales, against gold, silver, perfumes, and otlier substances, which were afterwards distributed among the spectators. The festivities lasted several days, during which time the king's usual place was in a sumptuous tent, shaded by rich awnings, while the ground, for the space of at least two acres, was spread with silken carpets and hangings, embroidered with gold, pearl, and precious stones. The nobility had simi- lar pavilions, where they received visits from each other, and sometimes from the sove- reign. But beneath the veil of splendour and outward decorum, all was hollow and unsound. The administration of the coun- try was rapidly declining ; the governments were farmed, and the governors exacting and tyrannical ; though, occasionally, an ap- peal from some injured person brought upon the oppressor the vengeance of the empe- ror, from which neither ability nor station could purchase immunity. The highest offi- cials were open to corruption ; and Roe, finding the treaty he was sent to negotiate remained unaccomplished after two years' tarry, deemed it expedient to bribe Asuf Khan with a valuable pearl, after which lie soon succeeded in procuring for tlie English a partial liberty of trade ; and then joy- fully took his leave. The military spirit of the Moslems had already evaporated in an atmosphere of sloth and sensuality ; and the Rajpoots, Patans, and Beloochees v/ere spoken of by cotemporary writers (Terry, Hawkins, R,oe) as the only brave soldiers to be found, The language of the court was Persian, but all classes spoke Hindoostani. In the royal family, the succession was a matter of jealous discussion : Khosru was considered to have forfeited his prior claim by rebellion ; and Parvaez, the next in age, * Jeliangeer established liimsclf at Ajmeer, in 1613, in readiness to support liis son in his opera- tions against the Rana of Oudipoor, and had held his court there ever since. He now iirocecded to take up his residence at Mandu, in Mahva, for the simiUir reason of being nearer [to the seat of war. Sir Thomas Roe was permitted to fallow in the suite of the court. He describes the royal progress as resembling a triumphal procession on a scale of extreme magnificence. Jehangcel' himself, before entering /(/s coach, showed himself to the people, literally laden with jewels — from his rich turban, with its plume of heron feathers, whence " on one side hung a I'ubie unset, as biggo as a walnut, on the other side a diamond as great, in the middle an being far inferior in ability to his younger brother, Khoorum, would, it was expected, be set aside to make way for the latter prince, who had married a niece of Nour Jehan, and was supported in his pretensions by her all-powerful influence. In 1616, a great expedition was sent to the Deccan, of which the command was given to Khoorum, together with the title by which he was thenceforth known, of Shah Jehan (king of the world) .* He suc- ceeded in regaining /Yhmeduuggur and other places, captured by Malek Amber, who was compelled to make submission on the part of his nominal sovereign, Nizam Shah; but, in 1621, renewed the war. Shah Jehan was again dispatched to the Deccan ; but, from some rising distrust, refused to march unless his unhappy brother. Prince Khosru (who, by the earnest mediation of Parvaez, had had his chains struck oft', and some measure of liberty allowed him) were entrusted to his custody. This desire was complied with, and Khoorum proceeded to attack INIalek Amber, whom he at length brought to risk a general action. The result was very favourable to the Moguls, who granted peace on condition of a further cession of land and a considerable sum of money. Soon after this success, Jehangeer was prostrated by a dangerous attack of asthma. At this critical juncture. Prince Khosru died suddenly, and his rival brother, to whose charge lie had been entrusted, was accused of having incited his assassina- tion. Hovrever caused, it is remarkable that this event, which seemed especially cal- culated to strengthen the pretensions of Shah Jehan to the succession, proved to be only the commencement of a long series of dangers and disasters. The emperor par- tially recovered, and ever after manifested distrust and aversion to his previously fa- vourite child. He evidently sliared the suspicions generally entertained regarding emerald like a heart, much bigger," down to his " em- l)roidered buskins with pearle, the toes sharpe and tin-ning up." Immediately after the king rode Nour Jehan, also in an Knglisii carriage. The Leskar, or imperial camp, was admiralily arranged, and occu- pied a circumtorence of at least twenty miles ; looking down from it from a height, it resembled a beautiful city of many-coloured tents; that of the emperor in the centre, with its gilded globes and pinnacles, forming a sort of castle, from wliciice diverged nu- merous streets, laid out wilhout tlie least disorder, since every one, whether noble or shop-keeper, knew the precise spot on which he must place himsell' by its distance from, and situation with regard to, the royal pavilion. — (Murray's Discoveries, vol. ii. p. 153.) SHAH JEHAN REBELS, 1623.— MOHABET SEIZES EMPEROR, 1G20. Khosru's fato ; besides wliicli, the empress having recently alliaiiecd licr (laupjlilcr* by Sheer Afgliaii, to Prince Sbchriar (.lehan- gccr's youngest son), attaclicd licrsclf to liis interests, foreseeing that, in the event of his accession to the tlirone, she miglit continue to exercise a degree of power, whicli, nndcr the sway of his more able and determined brother, was not to be expected. With a view of removing Shah .lehan from the scene of his power and triumphs, lie was directed to attempt the recovery of Candahar from the Persians, by whom it had been recently seized. The prince, per- ceiving the object of tliis command, delayed CompHance on one pretext or another, until discussions arose, whieli issued in liis break- ing out into open rebellion, a.d. 1023. The crisis was frauglit witli danger to all par- tics. The father of Nour Jehan, on whom both she and the emperor liad implicitly relied, was dead ; Asuf Khan, though he seemed to move like a puppet according to her will, naturally leant towards his son-in-law ; Parvaez, though a brave sol- dier, needed as a general an able coun- sellor by his side ; nor. does Shehriar seem to have been calculated to take the lead in this fierce and prolonged feud.f At length Nour Jchan cast her eyes on Mohabet Khan, the most rising general of the time, but, heretofore, the especial opponent of her brother, Asuf Khan. To him, jointly with Parvaez, was entrusted the conduct of hos- tilities against Shah Jehan, who retreated to Boorhanpoor, but was driven from thence to Bengal, of whicli province, together with Behai', he gained possession, but was expelled, and obliged to seek refuge in the Deccan, where he was welcomed and supported by his former foe, Malek Amber. At the ex- piration of two years he proffered his sub- mission, and surrendered to Jehangcer the forts of Rohtas in Behar, and Aseerghur in the Deccan, together with his two sons (Dara and Aurungzebe), but he himself took refuge with the Rajpoots of ]\Icwar.| Scarcely was this storm allayed, before a still more alarming one burst over the head of the emperor, provoked by his violent temper, and also by the domineering and suspicious conduct of Nour Jehan. The growing popularity of Mohabet Khan had, * DellaValle states, that Nour Jehan had previously desired to marry her daughter to Khosru, offering, on tliat condition, to obtain liis release ; but lie steadily refused, from strong aflection to the wife he hail already married, and who, after vainly urging him to comply with the proffered terms, continued as hcre- S it would a[)i)ear, excited jealousy, and he was summoned to answer, in person, various charges of oppression and embezzlement adduced against him (luring the time of his occupation of Bengal. He set out for court, attended by a body of r),000 Rajpoot.s, whom he had contrived to attach to his service. Before his arrival, Jehangcer, learning that he had ventured to betroth his daughter without the customary form of asking the royal sanction, sent for the Ijridc- grooni, a young nobleman named Berkhor- dar, caused him to be stripped naked, and beaten with thorns in his own presence ; seized on the dowry he had received from Mohabet, and sequestrated all his other property. On approaching the camp, ^Mo- habet was informed of what occurred, and also that the emperor would not see him; upon which he resolved, while the means reinained at his command, to make a bold stroke for life and liberty. Jehangcer was at this time preparing to cross the Ilydaspes, by a bridge of boats, on his way to (^"abool ; the troops had passed, and he intended to follow at leisure, when Mohabet, by a sudden attack, just before day-break, gained posses- sion of the bridge, and surprised the royal tent, where the emperor, scarcely recovered from the effects of the last night's debauch, was awakened by the rush of armed men. Mohabet pretended to have been driven to this extremity by the enemies who had poisoned the mind of his master against him, and Jehangcer, after the first burst of rage, thought it best to conciliate his captor by affecting to believe this statement, and agreed to accompany him, in public, under the guardianship of a body of Rajpoots. Nour Jehan, on learning that the emperor had been carried to tlie tents of Mohabet Khan, put on a disguise, and succeeded in reaching the royal camp on the opposite side of the river, where she set on foot im- mediate preparations for a forcible rescue. Jehangcer, afraid of what might happen to himself in the confusion, sent a messenger with his signet, to desire that no attack might be made ; but she treated the mes- sage as a trick of Mohabet Khan's, and, at the head of the army, began to ford the river, the bridge having been, in the interim, burned by the Rajpoots. Rockets, balls, tofore the patient companion of his long and sad captivity. — (London trcnstatwn (i/"1665, p. .'50.) t According to Gladwin, this war " so deluged the empire with blood, lliat tliere was liardly a family but shared in the calamity."— ifi/irfonsteH, vol. i. p. 45. \ Shah Jehan was warmly befriended in Oudi- 126 NOUR JEHAN RESTORES THE EMPEROR TO LIBERTY, 1627. and arrows were discharged upon the troops, as they strove to make good their passage over a dangerous shoal, full of pools, with deep water on either side ; and, on setting foot on the heach, they were fiercely opposed by the Rajpoots, who drove them back into the water, sword in hand. The ford became choked with horses and elephants, and a frightful sacrifice of life ensued. The em- press* was among those who succeeded in effecting a landing, and at once became the special object of attack. The elephant on which she rode was speedily surrounded, the guards cut to pieces, and, among the balls and arrows which fell thick round her howdah, one wounded the infant daughter of Shehriar, who was seated in her lap, and another killed her driver. The elephant having received a severe cut on the proboscis, dashed into the river, and was carried along by the current ; but, after several plunges, swam out, and safely reached the shore, where Nour Jehan was quickly surrounded by her attendants, who found her engaged in extracting the arrow, and binding up the wound of the terrified infant. The repulse was complete ; for, although a portion of the royalists, vmder an oflicer named Fedai Khan, had, during the confusion of the battle, entered the enemy's camp at an unsuspected point, and penetrated so far that their balls and arrows fell within the tent where Jehangeer was seated, they were compelled to retire by the general defeat, and Fedai Khan, having lost most of his men, and being himself wounded, imme- diately took refuge in the neighbouring fort of Rohtas, of which he was governor. Nour Jehan, peixeiving the hopelessness of attempting the forcible rescue of her husband, determined to join him in his captivity ; and her brother, with other leaders, were eventually obliged to surrender themselves to Mohabet Khan, who appeared to be eompleteh' triimiphant, but whose position, nevertheless, demanded great cir- cumspection, lie had from the first affected to treat Jehangeer with much ceremonious deference ; and the captive monarch, tutored by Nour Jehan, pretended to be completely reconciled to his position, and glad to be relieved from the thraldom of Asnf Khan. He even carried his duplicity so far as to poor, whoro a sumptuous edifice was raised for liis use, adorned witli a lofty dome crowied with a cre- scent; tlie interior richly decorated with mosaic in onyx, cornelian, jasper and apjates, rich Turkey car- pets, &c. ; and that nothing of state mij^ht be want- ing to the royal refugee, a throne was sculptured warn Mohabet of the ambition and discon- tent of the empress, and acted his part so cleverly, as completely to deceive his gaoler. Meanwhile the army advanced to Cabool, and the Afghans in the neighbourhood showed every disposition to take part with the emperor, while the dissensions among the troops gave full employment to their general. Nour Jehan was too able an intri- guante not to take advantage of such favour- able circumstances. She employed agents to enlist fit men in scattered points at a distance, whence some were to straggle into the camp, as if in quest of service; while others were to remain at their positions, and await further orders. Jehangeer next suggested a muster of the troops of all the jaghiredars, of wliora the empress formed an important member, holding large estates, and having been made a munsubdar of 30,000; commanders of that rank being, it will be remembered, only expected or even suffered to maintain a much smaller number. When summoned to produce her contingent, she expressed indignation at being placed on the level of an ordinary subject ; but, on pretence of desiring to produce a respectable muster, increased her previous force, by gradually receiving the recruits from the country. Mohabet Khan began to suspect some plot, but suftered himself to be persuaded by Jehangeer to avoid personal risk, by forbearing to accom- pany him to the muster of Nour Jehan's contingent. The emperor advanced alone to the review, and had no sooner got to the centre of the line, than the troops closed in on him, cut ofl" the Rajpoot horse, by whom he was guarded, and, being speedily joined by their confederates, placed his person beyond the reach of recapture. Mo- habet Khan, perceiving himself completely duped, withdrew to a distance with his troops, and, after some attempts at negotia- tion, came to an open rtiptnre, and entered into alliance with Shah Jehan. This prince had endeavoured to take advantage of his fa- ther's captivity to renew hostilities, by march- ing from the Deeean to Ajmeer at the head of little more than 1,000 men; but the death of his chief adherent. Rajah Kishen Sing, de- prived him of at least half his followers, and he was compelled to fly across the desert to from a single block of serpentine, su])ported by quadriform female caryatidse ; in the court a little chapel was erected to the Moslem-Saint, Madar. * Nour Jehan was a true Amazon : Jehangeer re- cords with much pride her having, on a hunting jiarty, killed four tigers with a matchlock from her elephant. CIIARACTEll AND DEATH OP JEHANGEEll, a.u. 1G27. 127 Sinde. Thence he purposed proceeding to Persia, but, hcnvj; dehiycd by sickness, re- luaincd there until afl'airs took a more pro- niisiiijj; turn. Parvucz died ut Boorliaupoor, according to the general aeeount, f)f'('pilc;])sy, i brought on by excessive drinking, thougii Tod asserts him to have been slain at the instigation of tShah Jehan, who proceeded to the Deccan, where he was joined by Mohabet Khan. Jehangeer, shortly after his restoration to liberty, quitted Cal)ool for his residence at Lahore, and from thence set oil' on his ainiual visit to " the blooming sali'ron meads" of Cashmere. ]3ut the autumn was unusually cold, aiul the clear pure air of the lovely valley proved too keen for the broken constitution of the emperor. A severe attack of asthma came on, and an attempt was made to carry him back to the warmer clinuite of Lahore. The motion and passage of the mountains increased the com- plaint, and before a third of the journey was accomplished he expired, in the sixty- sixth year of his age. His character was full of contradictions. Though cruel and rapacious, he yet, in many ways, evinced a sort of paternal interest in the welfare of his subjects, and a desire for the impartial administration of justice be- tween rich and poor — Moslem and Hindoo. He occasionally quitted the palace, and went abroad on nocturnal expeditions, mingling freely with the lower classes, without any fear of assassination, although his person, from his daily appearance in public, must have been well known. His easy and familiar manners rendered him popular, notwithstanding the frightful torments in- flicted on real or alleged criminals by his express orders. ]\Iany of his proceedings favour the idea that be had inherited from his mother a taint of madness, which his excesses in wine and opium sometimes brought into action. He was probably as complete a deist as his father, but super- stition had laid much heavier chains on bis weak and wayward mind ; and some of the tales gravely recorded by him might find a fit place in the Arabian Niffhii'. Un- fortunately, his autobiography ceases about the middle of his reign. Long before its conclusion, the whole tone and spirit changes; and instead of e.\ulting over his immense possessions, the royal writer dwells bitterly on the unceasing anxiety attendant on sovereign power, declaring that the jewels formerly coveted had become worthless in his sight, and that satiety had utterly ex- tinguished the delight he had once taken in contemplating the graces of youth and beauty. Like a far wiser monarch — even Solomon — he had discovered that all was vanity and vexation of spirit, but knew not, or cared not to search out the antidote. With Jehangeer all the schemes of Nour Jehan perished. On her attempting to as- sert the claims of the absent Shehriar, her own In-other, probablj' weary of the tyranny to which he had been so long subjected, placed her under restraint; but, on being ri'leascd, she was treated with respect, and allowed a yearly stipend of a quarter of a million sterling. Throughout her widow- hood she lived very quietly; abstained from all entertainments; wore no colour but white; and at lier death, in 164G, was buried in a tomb she had herself erected, close to that of tlie em|)eror, at Lahore. llvi(jn of Shah Jehan. — On the death of Jehangeer, Asuf Khan immediately sent a messenger to fetch his son-in-law, whose cause he had resolved to support, although (according to Dow), by the will of the late cmperoi-, the throne had been expressly be- queathed to Shehriar. Pending the arrival of Shah Jehan, the vizier, desirous to sanc- tion his oviu proceedings by the semblance of legal authority, released Prince Dawir, the son of Khosru, from prison, and pro- claimed him king. Shehriar, who had been at Lahore some weeks, on learning his father's death, seized the royal treasure, took command of the troops — whose favour he gaiued by extravagant largesses — and set free the two sons of Prince Dauial from the species of honourable captivity in which they had been detained by Jehangeer ever since their father's death, in accordance with the cruel policy of oriental despotism. The confederate princes were defeated and captured by Asuf Klian. ^Meanwhile, the Rajpoot allies of Siiah Jehan, delighted at the prospect of his rising fortunes, sent aa escort to Surat to accompany him thence to Oudipoor, and there, within the hospitable walls which had sheltered him in exile, the now triumphant prince was first formally hailed Emperor of Iliudoostau. Il;ina Kur- run did not live to witness the joyful re- turn of the wanderer ; he had died shortly before Jehangeer: his brother, llajah Bheem, with many noble chiefs, had fallen in the cause ; but their representative, Juggut Sing, received from the new emperor, on his de- parture, a ruby of inestimable value, the 128 ACCESSION OF STIAH JEHAN— DOOM OF HIS KINDRED, ad. 1G28. restoration of five alienated provinces, and a most welcome permission to reconstruct the fortifications of Cliittore. Other emotions besides those of gratitude were, however, at work within the breast of Shah Jehan. Re- solved, by any means, to grasp the imperial sceptre, he sent to Asuf Khan a mandate for the execution of the puppet he had placed upon the throne, also of his brother Sheh- riar, the two sons of Danial, and another prince, the son of Khosru. The tyrannical command was obeyed.* Shah Jehan was proclaimed king at Agra, January, 1G28, and not a male of the house of Timur re- mained to cause him present or future anxiety, save only his four sons, whose strife and rebellion were destined, by retributive justice, to scourge his crimes, to snatch the sceptre from his feeble hands, and immure him for long years the captive of a son, who, like himself, scrupled not to wade to a throne through the blood of near kindred. But this is anticipating events ; for Shah Jehau's reign lasted thirty years before its miserable termination. His first acts were evidently designed to obliterate from the public mind, and probably from his own, the means by vvhich he had endeavoui-ed to consolidate his authority. Following, to a limited extent, the example of his father, lie opened the doors of the fortress of Gwalior to all state- prisoners, some of whom had been in confinement during the whole of the preceding reign — a measure which did more to procure him popularitj^ than the magnifi- cence of his festivals or the costly structures which he delighted in erecting. From these pursuits he was soon diverted by local dis- turbances. • The Uzbeks invaded Cabool, but were driven out by Mohabet Khan. The Mogul arms were next directed against Narsing Deo, of Bundelcuud (the destroyer of Abul Fazil), and the rajah, after long resis- tance, was eventually brought to submission. As Shah Jehan considered it the bounden duty of every great prince to leave to his posterity a larger territorial sway than that which he had himself inherited,t it is not • According to Dow, all the five princes were murdered; but IClphinstone (on the authority of Olcarius, Amhussadors Trarch, ]). 100) states that Dawir found means to escape to Persia, where he was seen by the Holsteiii ambassadors, in 1G8S. The conduct of Sliah Jelian on this occasion strongly favours the general belief of Iiis hnving instigated the assassination of his brother, Khosru, (see p. 124.) Mr. Elphinstone jjarlially defends him, by remark- ing, " that we ought not readily to believe tliat a li(e not sullied by any other crinu^ could be stained by one of so deep a dye'' (vol. ii. p. .'!C8.) liut, in a surprising that abundant reason was soon ' ' found for invading the Deccan. At this period, the three remaining governments held by INIoslems — Ahmeduuggur, Beeja- poor, and Golconda, liad nearly recovered their ancient limits. Khan Jehan Lodi, an Afghan officer of rank, being left with undi- vided authority over the Moguls after the death of Prince Parvaez, had deemed it necessary or expedient, during the troubled state of afl'airs occasioned by the disputes regarding the succession, and the proceed- ings of IMohabet Khan, to surrender the re- maining portion of Shah Jehan's conquests in the Deccan to the son of JNIalek Amber, who had succeeded his father in the Nizam Shahi government : but the fort of Alimcd- nuggur was still held by a Mogul garrison, who refused to obey Khan Jehan Lodi's command. When Shah Jehan set out to ascend the throne. Khan Jehan refused to join him. On learning the defeat and death of Shehriar and Dawir, he profl'ered allegiance, and was confirmed in his gov- ernment by the new emperor, but soon re- moved thence to Malwa, Mohabet Khan taking his place in the Deccan. Having co- operated in the reduction of Narsing Deo, Khan Jehan was invited to court, whitlicr he proceeded with his tvvo sons, relying for safety both on the assurances given to him individually, and on the edict of indemnity proclaimed to all who had opposed the accession of the reigning sovereign. The usher of the court evinced a marked dis- respect towards him — or so at least the proud Afghan considered — but the cere- monies of presentation were passed without any positive disturbance. His son, Azmut, a lad of sixteen, with all his father's high spirit and less discretion, was next in- troduced ; and he, considering that he had been kept too long prostrate, sprang up before the signal was given. The usher struck him on the head with his rod ; tlic youth aimed a blow in return ; upon which a general confusion ensued, and Kiian Jehan, with his sons, rushed from the palace subsequent page, he expressly states, that Shehriar " was afterwards put to deatli with the sons of Danial, by order of Shah Jehan " (vol. ii. p. 3SS.) He does not adopt Dow's statement of the bequeath- ing of the throne by Jehangeer to Shehriar; and, consequently, regards that prince and his nepliews as having forfeited their lives by rebellion against the lawful authority of Shah Jehan, the eldest sur- viving son. By Moliammedan law, the children of Danial were cut oft' from the succession by the death of tlieir fallier, before their grandfather. f Dow's Ilistoty (if JlimluosUui, vol. iii. ]>. 107. KUAN JEIIAN LODI— HIS HISTORY AND FATE, a.i,. 1G30. 129 to tlicir own lioiisc, iuul tlicrc shut thcra- sclvcs up witliin the stroiij? stone walls, with about 300 (lcj)ciulcnts. The emperor, not caring to order a siege so near his own abode, endeavoured to entice tlie rofraetory jioble 1)3' fair words ; but, not venturing to put faith in them, Khan .Ichan asseinldcd his troops by night, and marched out of Agra, >vith his kettle-drums beating.* "Within two hours a strong detachment was sent in pursuit, and came up with the fugi- tives at the river Chunibul. A desperate encounter took place, especially between the Afghans and a body of Rajpoots, who dismounted and charged with lances, accord- ing to their national custom. Azmut was slain, after first killing with an arrow the Mogul usher, who had struck him at court; and Khan Jchan, being wounded in an encounter with Rajah Pirthi Sing, ))lungcd into the stream, and succeeded in gaining the opposite bank, from ivhenee, though hotly pursued by a nnu'h superior force, he made his way through Bundelcund into the wild and woody country of Gondwana, where he opened a friendlv communication with the king of Ahmcdnuggur. Towards the close of 1020, Shah Jehan marched to Roorhanpoor, at the head of a powerful armament, and sent on three de- tachments (estimated by Khali Khan at 50,000 men each), to march into Ahmcd- nuggur. Khan Jehan and his friends could make no head against this overwhelming force. The kings of Golconda and Beeja- poor, as long as possible, kept aloof from the coiiilict, and Mortczza Nizam Shah, of Aliniednuggur, was himself obliged to seek protection in his forts. Khan Jehan was at length driven from the Deccan, and hunted from place to place. Being overtaken in Bundelcund, he made a desperate stand, and when defeated endeavoured to force his way into the hill-fort of Caliiijer, but was rei)ulsed with the loss of his last remaining son, and * The account given by lC!])lunstone and Dow, on the authority of native writers, differs greatly. Ac- cording to the former. Khan Jeliau was accompanied in his flight by his women on elephants, and by twelve of his sons. Dow alleges a fearful tragedy to have been previously enacted. Thinking it hope- less to attempt carrying away the inmates of liis harem, and dishonourable to abandon them to the lust of his foes, Klian Jehan knew not what to do ; when the women, learning his perplexity, took the desperate resolve of destroying themselves, and thus removing all im))cdiments to his escape. They did so, and their shrieks and groans reached the ears of Khan Jehan, who, after hastily jjcrforming the rites of sepulture, assembled his foUoners in the finally overtaken at a pool, where he had stopped from exhaustion. The few brave adherents who still followed him, he en- treated to seek safety in (light, but they (to the number of about thirty) refused to for- sake tlieir brave leader, and were, with him, cut to pieces after a desperate struggle with the Rajpoots. The head of the uidiappy chief was fi.xed on a ])ikc, and carried in triumph, as a most acceptable gift, to Shall Jehan, a.d. 1030. The hostilities against Ahmcdnuggur did not end with the life of the iierson whose conduct had formed the pretext for them, but were prosecuted in the ferocious spirit befitting an invader, who declared war to be an evil which compassion contributed to render permanent. t Time passed on; fire and the sword were freely used to ravage the country and dishearten its defenders ; drought, famine, and pestilence, to a fright- ftil extent, lent their aid, but still, in 103o, repeated murderous campaigns were found to have left the Deecan as far as ever from being subdued to the imperial yoke. J At one time, indeed, affairs had seemed more promising, owing to the internal feuds which wasted the strength of Ahmednuggur. ^lortezza Nizam Shah (the king set up by Malek Amber) being, on the death of the vizier, inclined to act for himself, threw the eldest son of his patron, Futteh Khan, into prison ; but, being pressed by foes without, and faction within, was soon glad to release him and place him in his father's position. jMohammed Adil Shah of Beejapoor, who had looked on from neutral ground, and left the neighbouring kingdom to maintain single-handed the contest with the iloguls, became alarmed at the probable consequence of the ruin of a monarchy, which, though at all times a rival, and often an inimical state, had nevertheless long formed a valu- able bulwark against iuvasion from Hin- doostan. lie now, therefore, declared war court-yard, threw open the gates and rushed out, maddened by rage and despair. — (Vol. iii., p. 133.) • t Dow's Histiiri/ iif Himloijslan, vol. iii., p. 168. J Azuf Klian " trod down tlie scanty harvest in the Deccan, and ravaged with fire and sword the king- dom of Beejapoor." — (Dow, vol. iii., p. 151.) The Hindoos, in desp.air, abandoned all attempts at culti- vation, and prostrated tliemselves in crowds before the shrine of their gods, upon wliich, Shah Jehan issued an edict for breaking down their idols, and demo- lishing the temples. Many Brahmins were mas- sacred; but the resistance offered was so determined, that the emperor was compelled to relinquish this species of persecution, and to adopt more gentle means of inducing them to till the ground. 130 SHAH JEHAN SUBJUGATES AHMEDNUGGUK a.d. 1637. against Shah Jehan; but tlie effect of the divcrsioa intended to be created by this step, in favour of Mortezza Nizam Shah, failed in its eflect, through the machina- tions of Futteh Khan, who, treacherously employing the power newly entrusted to him, to the ruin, instead of the protection of his royal master, caused him to be put to death, with his chief adherents. He then took the government into his own hands, and sent Ji large contribution, or rather bribe, to the Moguls, with ofl'ers of submission, and an open profession that the infant he had placed on the throne would hold his dignity in subordination to the emperor. Shah Jehan doubtless considered it as necessary, in the contingencies of war, to overlook perfidy and uphold its perpetrators, as to set aside the pleadings of compassion ; and this is not to be wondered at ; for jus- tice and mercy, rightly understood — " Ai'e twin-born sisters ; and so mix theii' eyes, As if )ou sever one, the otlier dies." Futteh Khan's proposals were immediately accepted ; but having no intention of ful- filling his promise to any further extent than that which his own nari'ow views of expediency might dictate, he no sooner saw the whole jNIogul force directed against Beejapoor, than he violated his engage- ments, and being consequently attacked by the Moguls, ouce more made common cause with the king of Beejapoor. Shah Jehan returned to Agra iu 1632, after having ineftectualiy besieged Mo- hammed Adil Shah in liis capital, leaving Mohabet Khan in command. The opera- tions under that general led to Futteh Khan's being shut up in the fort of Uou- latabad, where he was besieged, and at length forced or induced to surrender. Not- withstanding all his treachery, he was re- ceived into the Mogul army,* while the un- happy child, whom he had styled king, was sent to languish in the lately emptied fort of Gwalior. Ahmednuggur was, however, not yet conquered. Shahjce Bhonslay, an officer who hud played a conspicuous pari in the recent war, and whose family were afterwards the founders of the Mahratta power, asserted the rights of a new claimant * lie afterwards became mad, and died from the effects of an old wound in the Iiead. t In 103-i and Ki.'JG, a portion of the troops on tlie eastern frontier completed the settlement of Little Thibet; another detachment was defeated, and almost destroyed, in an attemjit to conquer Srinaj;ar in 1G3-1 ; and u third, after subduing the petty sUitc of Cutch 13ehar from Bengal, in 1637, was compelled to the throne, and gradually conquered all the districts of that kingdom, from the sea to the capital. The king of Beejapoor, after the capture of Doulatabad, made overtures of negotia- tion, but these being unfavourably received, continued to defend himself bravely, until Mohabet Khan, having vainly invested Pu- rinda, was compelled to fall back upon Boor- hanpoor, and to desist from aggressive opera- tions. On learning the ill success of his deputies, Shah Jehan resolved to take the field in person, and dividing his troops as before, sent them first into Ahmednug- gur to attack Sahjee: having driven him from the open country, they proceeded to assault Beejapoor. Adil Shah was, however, a bold and determined prince ; he laid waste the country for twenty miles around, destroyed every particle of food or forage, choked the wells, drained the reservoirs, and rendered it impossible for any army to invest the city. Peace was at length granted, the king of Beejapoor agreeing to pay £200,000 a-year to Shah Jehan, who conferred upon him, in return, a share of the Nizam Shahi dominions. Shahjee held out for some time longer, but at length submitted, gave up the person of the pretended king, and entered into the service of Adil Shah, by the permission of the emperor. The king of Golconda had not ventured to contest Shah Jehan's claim to supremacy and tri- bute, which he had recognised at the com- mencement of this expedition, and the em- peror returned in triumph, the kingdom of Ahmednuggur being now extinguished. "While these prolonged hostilities were carried on in the Deccan, coittests of less magnitude Avere taking place in Little Thibet, Hooghly, Cutch Behar, and else- where. t During his rebellion. Shah Jehan had applied to the Portuguese at Hooghly for aid, and had received a refusal (couched, it is alleged, in terras of reproach for his undutiful conduct), which he only waited a convenient opportunity to revenge. His late wife, J jMuintaz i\Iahal, daughter to Asuf Kliau, had also conceived an especial dis- like to "the European idolaters," on account of the images before which they worshipped. to retire by the unhealthiness of the climate. — (lilphinstone, vol. ii., ]). 401.) J This lady died in 1G31. She had been married twenty years, and had borne nearly as many children. Shah Jehan erected to her memory a structure of extraordinary beauty and magnificence (called, by a corruption of her name, Taj Mahal), which forms one of the most interesting monuments of Agra. CANDAIIAR FINALLY REGAINED BY PERSIA, a.o. ir,17. 131 Tliese circumstances lent weight to a repre- sentation which arrived from the f^ovcrnor of Benf^al, comi)lainiiig of the insolent and aggressive conduct of the Portngncse,* and he received from the emperor tiic laconic command — " expel these idolaters from my dominions." 1 looghly was carried b_v storm, after a siege of three months and a-lialf, in- volving a terrible destruction of life on the side of the Portuguese, whose (leet (including sixty-four large vessels) was almost entirely destroyed. The principal ship, in which about 2,000 men, women, and children had taken refuge, with all tlicir treasure,was blown up by its captain, sooner than yield to the jMoguls; and the example was followed in many other vessels. From the prisoners, 500 young per- sons, of both sexes, were selected, with some of the priests, and sent to Agra; the girls were distributed among the harems of the emperor and chief nobles, and the boys circumcised. The Jesuits and other friars were vainly threatened with severe punish- ment if they persisted in rejecting the Koran ; but, after some months' confine- ment, were liberated and sent to Goa. The pictures and images, which had excited the displeasure of the queen, were all destroyed, and Iloogldy became the roval port of Ben- gal, a.d. 'l033. In 1(!37, the Persian governor of Can- dahar, incited by the tyranny of his sove- reign, surrendered this important frontier post to Shah Jehan, who appointed him to various high positions (including, at diftei-- ent times, the governments of Cashmere and Cabool), and made him leader of several important expeditions, the iJrst of which was the invasion of Balkh and Badakshan, in 1614'. The pretext for hostilities was Shall Jehan's desire to assert the dormant rights of his family ; the inducement, the revolt of the son of the reigning Uzbek sove- reign, Nazir INEohammed, and the conse- quent unfitness of the state to resist foreign invasion. After a large expenditure of blood and treasure, and the display of extra- ordinary valour on the part of a body of 14,000 Rajpoots, commanded by Ilajali Juggut Siugjt v.'ho encountered the hardships of the rigorous climate as unshrinkingly as the fierce onsets of the Uzbeks, Balkh was • Among other accusations, tlie governor asserted, that the Portuguese were in the habit of kidnapping or purchasing ch.ildren, and sending them as shivcs to other parts of India. — (Stewart's Jicnr/n!, p. 240.) t Elphinstone, vol. ii., p. 402. This chief would appear to have been the son of Mokund Sing, llajah of Kotah, a branch of the Oudipoor family. at length captured. In this war the princes IMorad and Auriingzebc were both em- l)loycd ; and Shah Jehan twice repaired to Cal)ool, to support their efforts. But all endeavours to restore order into the con- (juercd territory were rendered ineffectual by the marauding incursions of Uzbeks from tiie other side of tlie Oxns, hearled by Abdool Aziz, the i)rinee whose turbu- lence had stimnhited the Mogul invasion. Shah Jehan, despairing of being able to keep what it had cost so much to gain, re-instated Nazir ^rohammed on his throne, on condition of receiving a small annual tri- bute ; and after restoring the places of which he had got possession, left him to maintain the contest against his rebellious son as best he might. t In 1G17, Candahar was taken by Shah Abbas IL in person. In 1619 and 1002, it was invested by Aurungzebe; and, in 1G.J.3, by Dara Slieko, the acknowledged heir to tlie throne — Shah Jehan, on each occasion, accompanying the army as far as Cabool. Dara made a fierce and de- termined attack ; for the jealousy already springing up between the royal brothers, rciulcrcd him especially desirous to con- quer where Aiu-ungzcbe had been twice defeated. Besides natural means, he had rccoin'se to magicians and astrologers, who promised great things, but could not prevent the failure of his last desperate assault, in which, though the troops at one time gained the summit of the rampart, they were eventually repulsed, and Dara com])cllcd to raise the siege, after losing the flower of his army in its prosecution. No after-endeavour was made by the iloguls to recover Candahar, of which they had held but precarious possession since its first conquest by Baber. Two years of nearly undisturbed tran- quillity followed, during which. Shah Jehan liaving completed a revenue survey of his Deccani dominions, gave orders for the adoption of the systetn of assessment and collection, introduced by Todar jMuI, iu Bengal. This period is likewise memorable for the death of Saad Ullali Khan, who had succeeded Asuf Khan§ as vizier. In him Shah Jehan lost a wise and upright minister, X Upon this war, according to Dow, i:ix million were exjiended out of the im])erial treasury, besides estates granted to the value of one million more. I § Asuf Khan died in 1641, leaving several chil- | dren ; but as the emperor loved money, and might ' possibly avail himself of the law which constituted . the sovereign heir to all his officers, the prudent vizier i 132 WAR WITH BEEJAPOOR AND GOLCONDA, a.d. 1655—1657. whose ability had made amends for the de- creasing energy consequent on the criminal excesses in which the emperor liad indulged after the death of his favourite wife. Towards the close of 1655, a pretext was found for renewing the war in the Deccan. Abdullah Kootb Shah, of Golconda, had taken for his chief minister, Meer Jumla, originally a Persian adventurer; who had gradually acquired great wealth as a diamond merchant. During the absence of this officer, in command of an army in the eastern part of the kingdom, his son, Mo- hammed Ameen, a dissolute and violent young man, seated himself on the musnud, in a fit of intoxication; for which offence he was severely reprimanded, and forbidden to ap- pear in the presence of the sultan. iSIeer Jumla, either from distrust of his sovereign, or, as is more probable, from some pre- vious understanding with Aurungzebe, to whom he was personally known, took oc- casion to solicit the assistance of that pi'ince. Such conduct was inexcusably dis- loyal ; for it does not appear that either the life or liberty of the oft'ender were in danger ; and Abdullah, by the regular payment of the stipidated tribute since the last pacifica- tion, had left no plea for INIogul interference. Nevertheless, Shah Jehan was induced to send to the sultan a peremptory order for the discharge of both father and son, for whom the same envoy bore commissions in the imperial service as munsubdars, respectively of 5,000 and 2,000 horse. Before the ar- rival of the ambassador, Abdullah having learned his approach and mission, threw Mohammed Ameen into prison, and confis- cated the property of his father. Shah Jehan then authorised Aurungzebe to carry his command into effect by force of arms, which the wily prince proceeded to do after his own treacherous and manoeuvring fashion, by despatching a chosen force, under pretence of escorting his son, Sultan Mohammed, to Bengal,* there to espouse his cousin, the daughter of Prince Shuja, the viceroy of that province. Abdullah Shah was preparing an entertainment for the reception of the supposed bridegroom, when he suddenly advanced as an enemy, and took the sultan so entirely by surprise, that he had only time to fly to the neigh- thought it best to distribute <a certain portion of his wealth, amounting to £375,000, amontj his chil- dren and servants, leaving the remainder (nearly £4,000,000 stg.) to his grandson, Dara bheko. J lis landed estates, of course, reverted to the crown. bouring hill- fort of Golconda, while Hydera- bad fell into the hanrls of the ]\Ioguls, and was plundered andhalf-burued before the sol- diery could be brought into order. Abdullah Shah released i\Iohammcd Ameen, restored the confiscated property, and did all in his power to enter into an accommodation on reasonable terms, but Aurungzebe persisted in investing Golconda, and Meer Jumla drew near with re-inforcemeuts, in readiness to turn his unfortunate master's troops against himself. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain aid from Beejapoor, and to raise the siege by force, Abdullah Shah was com- pelled to submit to the severe terms im- posed upon him of giving his daughter in marriage to Sultan ^Mohammed, with a large dowry in land and money, and paying a crore of rupees (£1,000,000 sterling) as the first instalment of a yearly tribute ; in which, however, a considerable remission was afterwards made by Shah Jehan. When these matters were settled, the king- dom of Beej apoor was invaded by Aurungzebe on a plea as hollow as that used for the attack on Golconda. Mohammed Adil Shah died in November, 1656, and was succeeded by his son Ali, a youth of nineteen. A large portion of the Beejapoor army was employed at a distance, in wars with the petty Hindoo princes of the Carnatic; and Aurungzebe, having obtained his father's approval of his nefarious project, asserted the right of the emperor to decide upon the succession, denied that the minor was the real issue of the late sovereign, advanced upon the capital, and by sudden and treacherousf pro- ceedings, left the new king no resource but to sue for peace on any terms. Even this overture was rejected by Aurungzebe, who would probably have speedily obtained com- plete possession of the kingdom, had not his attention been suddenly diverted by the startling intelligence, that his father's dis- graceful indulgences had brought on an attack of paralysis and strangury, which threatened to terminate fatally. At this time, the children of Shah Jehan, by Mumtaz Mahal, were six in number. Dara Shcko, the eldest, then in his forty-second year, was a high-spirited prince, dignified iu his manners, and generous to his adherents, * In the road from Aurungahad to Bengal, a cir- cuit is made to avoid the forests of Gondwana, and thus the jirince was enabled to come within a short distance of Hyderabad, without creating suspicion. t He succeeded in corrupting All's prime minister. CHARACTERS OF THE CHILDREN OF SHAH JEHAN. J 33 but obstinate in the extreme, and impatient of lulvico, even from counsellors on whose judgment and ability he niiglit bo expected to phiee most reliance. Slnija was brave, and not devoid of capacitj*, tjut given up to wine and pleasure. Auruii<^zebc, the third biothcr, was a man of extraoi'dinary ability. His talents for war and intrigue bad been repeatedly manifested, and Dara appears to have fully appreciated the depth of am- bitious resolve', whieli lay liidden beneath the veil of extreme humility of deportment and an affected indifference to all worldly distinction.* Zeal for the religion of Mohammed was the ostensible motive of Aurungzebe's con- duct through life ; how far felt or how far feigned, can scarcely be decided, owing to the profound and habitual dissimulation which marked his whole career. A creed to be unceasingly promulgated by any and every means, was, in cither case, a con- venient political weapon ; and Anrungzebe used it skilfully and without scruple. Frugal and abstemious almost to asceticism, he seemed resolved to follow in the steps of the early cabphs, and drew the attention of the more zealous Moslems, by bis studious ful- filment of every ordinance, until he became looked up to as the champion of Islam, in contradistinction to Dara, who openly pro- fessed many of the tenets of Akber, and had written a book to reconcile the Hindoo and Mohammedan doctrines. Shuja, the viceroy of Bengal, was unpopular with the orthodox party, ou account of his attach- ment to the Persian sect of the Sheiabs. Morad, the youngest prince, the governor of Guzerat, was brave and generous, but presumptuous and self-willed, with little intellect, and addicted to sensual gratifica- tions. Padshah Uegum, the elder of the two daughters, was richly endowed with beauty and talent. She exercised un- bounded influence over her father, and was a great support to her favourite brother Dara. Roushcnara, the younger princess, though less gifted with personal or mental attrac- tions, possessed considerable aptitude for in- trigue ; and having made common cause with Aurungzebe, served him materially, by for- warding reliable information respecting the state of affairs at court at critical periods. • Ont' of our best authorities for this period is Bernier, an intelligent French traveller, who having been reduced to a state of penury "by various ad- ventures -with robbers, and by ihc heavy expenses incurred on a journey of nenr seven weeks from T Dara endeavoured to keep the illness of the empeior a profoutul secret until tlie crisis shoidd be past, by intercepting eor- respondence and detaining liavellers lilccly to spread the news throughout the pro- vinces; but all in vain : the absent i)riiiees soon learned wliat had occurred, and at once ]irepared to struggle for life and em- ])ire. Shuja assembled the troops of Bengal, and marched forthwith into Bchar, on his way to the capital. Morad seized tlie money in the district treasuries of Guzerat, and laid siege to Surat, where there was a governor independent of his authority. Aiuungzebc ])reparcd his forces, but made no open declaration of war, until orders came from Dara, in the name of the em- peror, directing !Meer Junila and other commanders to quit liis standard. This injunction carried considerable weight in the case of the above-named general. On joining the Mogids, he had been appointed to the highest ofiices at court, but through the solicitations of Dara, was sent back to the Deccau. His family remained at Agra : he therefore feared the consequences of disobeying the imperial mandate. The subtlety of Aurungzebe soon suggested an expedient. j\Iccr Jumla was seized with pretended violence, and i)bieed in the fort of Dotdatabad, while his chief officers con- tinued secretly to obey his commands. Dara and Shuja, Aurungzebe knew, might be safely left to fight out their own quarrel; in !Morad, he calculated, with reason, upon finding a useful tool, as well as an easy dupe. He addressed him a letter in the most adulatory strain, proffering his zealous co-operation against the infidel Dara, and de- claring, that after aiding his worthy brother to mount the throne, he should renounce the world, and devote his life to praying fijr his welfare in the holy retirement of Mecca, ^lorad, completely deceived, joyftdly ac- cepted the offer, aiul Aurungzebe marched to join him in Mahva, whither Eajab Jes- wtuit Sing had been already scut to onpose them ; but he, from sheer fool-h;u-(lincss, is alleged to have permitted the junction of the princes. ^Meanwhile, Shah Jehan had sufliciently recovered to resume the general control of the government. The tender solici- tude of Dara, during his illness, had rendered Surat to Agra and Delhi," was glad to accept a salary from Shah Jehan in the capacity of physician, and also from Banechmur.d Khan, a distinguished noble of the Mogul court to which Bernier was at- tached for eight vears. 134. FIERCE STRUGGLE FOR EMPIRE BETWEEN THE FOUR PRINCES. this son more dear to him than ever, and he resented with energy the misconduct of the other princes. To Shuja he wrote, com- manding him in imperative terms to return iiiimediately to his government; but instead of obeying, the pi'ince affected to consider the order dictated by Dara, and continued his progress until he encountered Solimau Sheko, the son of Dara, in the neighbour- liood of Benares, by vphom he was defeated and compelled to retreat into Bengal. This battle occurred at the close of 1657 : in the spring of the following year, a fierce conflict took place between the forces of the con- federate princes and Rajah Jeswunt Sing, who had encamped on the river Sipra, near Oojein. The Rajpoots fought bravely, but were ill-supported, for most of the Moguls deserted to the enemy. The rajah retired in disorder to his own country, and Morad, whose gallantry had been very conspicuous throughout the sanguinary conflict, which had lasted from morning to sunset, was hailed as sole victor, Aurungzebe still acting in conformity with the solemn oath of fidehty and allegiance he had voluntarily taken at tlieir first meeting. Shah Jehan now determined to take the field in person agaiust his turbulent sons. Had he per- severed in this resolve, much bloodshed would probably have been spared, as the soldiers of the rebel camp were known to be well-disposed towards him personally, and would doubtless have rallied round his standard. But Dara did not comprehend the extent of the danger ; regard for his father's infirm state, united perhaps to a more selfish desire of keeping the authority in his own hands, rendered him averse to this proposition, and Shah Jehan reluctantly gave way. Confident in his superior num- bers, Dara refused even to wait for Soliman, then on his victorious march from Benares with the flower of the troops, and proceeded single-handed to meet the advancing foe.* The hostile armies came in sight of each other at Samaghar, one march from Agra, in the beginning of June, 1658. The battle which ensued was long and bloody, the three brothers fighting with desperation. Morad was attacked by 3,000 Uzbek archers, who showered their arrows upon his howdah until they resembled the bristling quills of a porcupine, and the frightened elephant would have rushed from the field, • Khafi Khan states the imperial force at above 70,000 horse, with inimmorablo elephants and f;iins. (Elphinstone, vol. ii., p. 4Si.) Bernier, at 100,000 had he not ordered its feet to be chained, thus (although wounded in several places) cutting off his own power of retreat. Aurungzebe saw his brother's danger, but was fully occupied in opposing Dara, who having, by a third fierce charge of cavalry, broken through the guns chained together in front of the enemy's line, now carried all before him, and, though again cheeked, would probably have eventually prevailed, had not a rocket struck the elephant on which he rode, whUe pressing forward and cheering on his troops by voice and action. The terrified animal became perfectly un- governable. Dara threw himself from its l)ack and sprang upon a horse ; but an at- tendant, while fastening on his quiver, was killed by a shot. The momentary con- fusion which occurred among those imme- diately around him, added to the eft'cct of his previous disappearance from the view of the more distant troops, occasioned a gene- ral panic. With him the sole object of the war was supposed to have perished ; and the confederate princes perceiving their advan- tage, pressed forward and drove the now disordered foe, including Dara himself, be- fore them, in irremediable disorder. Rajah Chutter-sal, of Boondi, with his vassals, formed the vanguard of the unfortunate prince, and made a devoted but unavailing eftbrt to stem the torrent. The rajah, himself, clad in saffron robes, with a ehaplet of pearls on his head, was true to these ensigns of victory or death. Leaping from the back of his wounded elephant, which he could not restrain from joining in the general flight, he mounted his horse, and forming his men in a dense mass, led them to attack Morad, against whom he was about hurling his lance, when a cannon-ball laid him dead at his feet. The brave band were soon hemmed in, and the heads of every Ilara clan, including six princes of the blood-royal of Boondi, perished, maintain- ing inviolate their oath of allegiance to Shah Jehan When the issue of the day was evident, Aurungzebe fell on his knees and retttrned thanks for the victory granted to Morad, whom he saluted, and afl'ectiug lively emotion at the sight of his wounds, wiped the blood from his face, and warmly congratulated him on the accjuisition of a kingdom. Wliile this hypocritical scene was being enacted, the uuhappy Dara pur- horse, 20,000 foot, and SO ])ieces of cannon. He reckons ihe opposing; army as not exceeding " 40,000 men of all arm:!." — (lirock's Trdnslctiun, yol.i., p. 50.) DEPOSITION OF SHAH JEHAN— CHARACTER OF HIS REIGN. i3r, sued his flight to Agra, with about 2,000 men, most of tliom wouudcd ; and fueling ashamed to present liiniself before the in- dulgont fiitlicr, whose counsels ho had dis- ' regarded, proceeded to Delhi, <ieeompanicd by liis wife and two children, and was sub- seciiu'iitly joined by 5, ()()() liorsc, sent by Sliah Jelian to his assistance. Three days after the battle, Aurungzebe encamped be- fore the walls of Agra, took immediate pos- session of the city, but did not attempt to enter by force tlic royaL residence, content- ing himself for some days longer by sending messages to his father, pleading the neces- sity of the case, and rc(pu;sting to be for- gi\'cn and adniiUed to his presence. It is probable that he really desired to conciliate the aged monarch, and would have pre- ferred carrying on the government in his name, at least until all rivalry should be completely crushed ; but Shah Jehan re- sented his protestations of filial affection as an additional insult, and did not swerve from his attachment to Dara. Aurungzebe, therefoi'e, sent his son, Mohammed Sultan* to take possession of the citadel, and pre- vent all communication between the em- peror and every one beyond its walls. This appears to have been done without ditliculty; for there is no record of a single cifort being made to assert the rights of the monarch, who remained in a sort of honourable cap- tivity, until his death, seven years after, aged seventy-four. During the long reign thus abruptly closed, the internal administration of ati'airs had been conducted with more rectitude and ability than, perhaps, under * The cireumstanccs connected with this intcrest- inf; period nre diti'erenlly tohl. Accnnliiir; to ]icr- nicr (whose account Dow appears to have followed), Sliah Jehan was tempted to encounter Aurung2el)e with his own weapon?, and hopin-j to secure his per- son, consented to listen to his excuses. The wily prince affected extreme deh'glit at tliis concession, but alleged, that allhounh lie liad perfect confidence in his father's good I'aitli, lie dreaded the intrigues of his elder sister, and dared not trust tlie garrison, unless ho were permitted to introduce, for his protection, some troops under his son, Mohammed Sultan. Shah Jehan, desirous to get him within reach at all hazards, consented, relying for aid on his daughter, who posted some strong Tartar women belonging to the harem in readiness to seize the prince. Moliammed was suffered to take possession of the citadel in anticipatio!i of the arrival of Au- rungzebe, when intelligence came that he had sud- denly ordered his cavalcade to cliange their course, and was gone to offer up his prayers at the tomb of Akber. Shah Jehan, enraged beyond measure, asked Mohammed what he had come for, if not to guard his father. The curt reply was, " to take charge of the citadel.'' The insulted monarch pointed any other Mogul ruler. Kliah Khan (the best historian of those times) asserts, that although Akber was pre-eminent as a con- queror and a law-giver, yet, in territorial and financial arrangements, he could bear no comjiarison with his grandson. Although a staunch Mussulman, Shah Jehan was warmly attached to the Iliiuloos, who, as we have seen, had spent their best blood freely in his behalf, and his foreign wars did not interrupt the tranquillity which pre- vailed, almost without interruption, through- out his dominions. Wealth, both public and private, increased in a remarkable de- gree, and the annual revenue is supposed to have exceeded thirty-two million sterling. A new city was built at Delhi, t on a regular plan, far surpassing the old one in magnifi- cence ; and the imjierial establishments, re- ! tinuc, and appurtenances^ all exceeded in pomp those of previous reigns. Yet, not- withstanding the costly wars in which he engaged, the maintenance of a large regu- lar army (including 200,000 horse), and the erection of many splendid structures, Shah Jehan left a treasure estimated at twenty-four million sterling, besides vast ac- cumulations in wrought gold and silver, and in jewels. After deposing his father, the next step of Aurungzebe was to get rid of Morad, whom he continued to delude, by submissive behaviour and unremitting attentions, till they had marched from Agra in pursuit of Dara. 'J'aking advantage of Morad's ad- diction to pleasure, Aurungzebe invited him to supper, and, waving his own scruples (if to the imperial crown which was suspended above | his bead, and taking tlic Koran in his hand, swore that if Jlohammed would release him, he would make him emperor, to the exclusion of all his own sons. The prince, from policy or principle, refused the offer, and quitted the presence of his grandfather — little dreaming how soon a stronger temptation would lead liini to take the course from which he now turned. — (Hernier, vol. i., p. 72.) Khafi Khan, wliose father was an actor in the turbulent scenes of this period, makes no nient'on of this plot and coun- ter-plot. — (Eii)liinstone, vol. ii., p. 427.) t Tarcrin'cr's Travels in various parts of the em- pire ; Mandelsloe's in Guzerat ; Graaf and Bruton's (Miirrai/s Asiatic Discoi-eries) in Bengal, Behar and Orissa ; afford forcible evidence of the gran- deur of the Indian cities of this period, including those situated in remote provinces; and also to the richly-cultivated state of the surrounding country. \ The famous throne, of which the chief orna- ' nient was a peacock, with its tail spread, represented in its natural colours by various gems, was con- structed for Shah Jehan : and a vine was commenced, with haves and fruit of precious stones, whose rays were reflected from mirrors set in large pearls. i 136 AURUNGZEBE PROCLAIMED EMPEROR, AUGUST, 1658. he really had any), induced him, by the two-fold temptation of wine and feminine seductions, to separate himself from his companions, some of whom appear to have warned him against placing such implicit trust in his brother's professions. While stretched on a couch, sleeping off the stupor of intoxication, Morad was seized, fettered, and sent off, before day-break, on an elephant, to Selimghui', a portion of the citadel of Delhi, while three other elephants were dis- patched with similar escorts, in different directions, to mislead people as to the actual place of confinement, which was afterwards changed to Gwalior, the Bastille of Hindoo- stan. The frankness and bravery of the imfortunate prince had rendered him popu- lar with the army, but the suddenness of his seizure seems to have paralysed every effort on his behalf. His chief adherents were brought into the presence of Aurungzebe, who, after receiving their oaths of allegiance, proceeded to Delhi, where he caused him- self to be proclaimed emperor, and assumed the title of Alumgeer (the Conqueror of the Universe), by which he is designated in local histories and documents. The Beiffii of Aurunc/zebe had lasted a twelvemonth before his name was stamped on the coin, or the ceremonial of coronation performed. More pressing affairs claimed his whole attention during the interim. At the time of the fatal battle, Soliman, a brave prince of five-aud-twenty, was marching to the aid of his father, llajah Jey Sing, of Amber, wlio, like most of the Rajpoot lead- ers, had taken part with the lawful heir, was associated with the prince in the com- mand ; but the promises of the usurper, under whom he had served in Balkh, tempted him to abandon Solimau on a very flimsy pretext, as did also another general, named Dileer Khan. Deprived of the strength of his army, and scarcely able to retain any authority over the remainder, the prince endeavoured to avoid an encounter with the troops of Aurungzebe by taking the road under the mountains to join Dara ; but being intercepted near Ilurdwai', his soldiers lost lieart, and all, except 500 horse, deserted. "With this remnant Soliman proceeded to Sireemiggur, near Kumaon, where anew trial awaited him. The rajah refused to admit liim, unless lie would first distniss his faith- ful followers; and to this proposition he was ultimatelj' compelled to submit, after making an unavailing attempt to return to the fort of Allahabad, in which more than luilf of his little band perished. On entering the fort of Sireenuggur, with five or six attendants, he was courteouslj' received, but soon found himself, in effect, a prisoner. Meanwhile, Aurungzebe continued, in person, to pursue Dara. Having, during the early part of his flight, procured some troops at Delhi, the prince marched thence to Lahore, and finding a large sum of money in the royal treasury, began to raise an army. Shah Jehan had written urgently in his favour to the^viceroy of Cabool, Mo- habet Khan (son of the great general), and Dara, had he proceeded thither, would pro- bably have found valuable auxiliaries in the troops of the province, or, in case of need, a ready refuge among the Afghan tribes, and an easy exit to the territories of the Uzbeks or the Persians. These views, even if entertained, were disconcerted by the prompt measures of Aurungzebe ; and Dara, unable to resist the force by which he was threatened, left Lahore with three or four thousand men, on his way to Sinde. The emperor followed him nearly to Moultan; but before reaching that city he learned that Shuja was marching in force from Bengal ; therefore, sending a detachment to follow Dara, he hastened to Delhi, and from thence set out to arrest the progress of the advancing army, comprising 25,000 horse and a numerous train of artillery. The bi'o- thers met at Cujwa, thirty miles north of Allahabad, and drew up their forces, neither caring to begin the conflict. On this occa- sion, Aurungzebe was nearly worsted by arts similar to those he himself delighted to employ. Rajah Jeswunt Sing, after his im- suceessful efforts in favour of Dara, had received a message from the victor, with assurances of pardon, and a command to join the army then forming against Shuja. He feigned obedience, but it would appeal only for the sake of watching an opportunity to serve the cause of the rightful heir, and his angry feelings were increased by the withholding of the rank to which he con- sidered himself entitled. Having commu- nicated his intentions to Shuja, Jeswunt Sing, one morning before day-break, attacked the rear-ward of the imperial camp with his Rahtore cavaliers; and, during the onset made shortly afterwards by the prince's army in front, the rajah deliberately loaded his camels with plunder, and marched ofl' to Agra, leaving the brothers to a con- test which he heartily wished might involve the destruction of both. Notwithstanding DEFEAT AND FLIGHT OF DARA SIIEKO— a.d. 1059. 187 this inauspicious commencement, the self- possession and valour of Aurungzcbc f^ained the day. The battle began l)y a cannonade, followed by a close action, in which he was repeatedly in imminent danger; but the centre of Shuja's troops was at length broken, and they fled, leaving 1 I I ]neees of cannon and many elephants on the field. Mohammed Sultan and Meer .Tumla (whoso mock imprisonment had ceased so soon as liis family were set free by the flight of Dara) were sent with a strong force to Bengal, while the emperor proceeded to Agra. The governor of this city, Shaista Khan, had just been relieved from great alarm; for the triumphant ajiproaeh of .Ics- wunt Sing, added to discouraging reports from the field of battle, and various signs of popular feeling in favour of Shah Jehan, had so perplexed him that he woidd have swallowed poison, but for the tinuiy inter- position of his wife. Had Jeswunt at once attacked the citadel, the garrison would probably have surrendered, and the aged monarch been set at liberty ; but the attempt was fraught with hazard; for besides the danger of shutting up his troops within the precincts of the capital, it would prevent his forming a junction with Dara, whom he had instructed to hasten to the scene of action. Aurungzebe, on returning to Agra, had consequently the satisfaction of learning that Jcsw\uit had departed to his own territories in Marwar, whither he sent 10,000 men to seize his person aiul reclaim the spoils now safely housed within the castle of Joda. Eut this open hostility was soon changed for a policy more congenial to the character of the wily monarch. The aSairs of Dara had taken an unlooked-for turn, — after being compelled, by the desertion of his fol- lowers and the death of his carriage-eattle, to relincpiish his designs upon Sindc, the fugitive had, through the loyalty of the governor of (luzerat (Shah Nawaz Khan, father-in-law to both Aurungzebe and Morad), obtained possession of the whole province, including Surat and Baroaeh. The territories of Jeswunt Sing extended from Guzerat to Ajmeer: to prevent his forming the projected coalition with Dara, was, therefore, of the highest importance to * On the fourth day, Dara was met by Bernier, who was on his way to Delhi, unconscious of passing CTcnts. The suhana had been wounded, and tliere was no physician among the little band. The pro- fession of the traveller being discovered, he was obliged to join Dara, and would have been taken on to Sinde, but that neither threats nor entreaties Aurungzebe, who, laying aside his plans of vengeance for a more convenient season, instead of soldiers and musketry, sent the rajah a letter in his own hand-writing, full of (lattery and blandishments, conceding the rank and oiliee, the withholding of which liMil previously been a cause of irritation. This i)olitie couduet, added to the delay of Dara, made Jeswunt falter in his resolve, and by the mediation of Jey Sing, Aurung- zebe succeeded in jiersuading him to rely on his good faith, and keep aloof from a cause which could only end in the' ruin of its object and all connected with him. Dara, disappointed of the expected co-opera- tion, fortified a commanding position on the hills near Ajmeer, and there awaited the approach of his brother. Three days' can- nonading was followed by a general assault, in which, after the lat)sc of manj' liours, Sli-ih Nawaz fell just as a party of tlic im- perial troo))s mounted the ramparts. The prince fled precipitately, attended by the females of his family and a small body of horse, and reached the neighbourhood of Ahmedabad, after eight days* aiul nights of almost incessant marching, rendered nearly intolerable by the heat and dust of a scorch- ing season, to which were latterly added the merciless attacks of the hill Coolies, who stripped or massacred every man separated from his companions. When within a march of Ahmedabad, Dara was informed that the gates were shut against him, and lie must seek shelter elsewhere. Amid tears and lamentations the weary cavalcade resumed its toilsome progress ; and after much loss of life in tlie desert, through hunger, thirst, and fatigue, at length reached the small territory of Joon, on the eastern frontier of Sinde. The chief of Joon,t apparently an Afghan, had been twice condemned to death for murder and treason, but saved from the vengeance of Shah Jehan by the interces- sion of Dara, who now relied tipon his gra- titude, notwitlistanding the warnings and entreaties of his adherents. Dara's wife (the daughter of Prince Parvaez), who liad been wounded in <^he late battle, and was fast sinking under suffering and fatigue, im- plored him to leave her, and prosecute with- out delay his journey to Persia. But the could procure a single horse, ox, or camel for his use. Having beheld the hapless prince and his family depart, Bernier, after a week's detention, suc- ceeded in persuading the Coolies, " bya grand displav of professional skill," to attach a bullock to his car- riage and conduct him to -Vhniedabad. (Vol. i. p. 106.) t Called Jilion Khan in Brock's Bernier. 138 FATE OF DARA— REBELLION OF MOHAMMED SULTAN, 16G0. prince could not be prevailed upon to for- sake his faithful companion in the trying hour of death, and after she had expired in his arms, he sent a portion of his small force, with two confidential servants, to at- tend her remains to Lahoi'e. When the pei'iod of mourning permitted, he set out towards the Indus, accompanied by a bro- ther of the chief of Joon and a body of troops, under pretence of escorting him to the frontier ; but suddenly, the signal being given, J)ara and his son, Seper Sheko, were seized and carried prisoners to Aurungzebe, who was then engaged in celebrating the anniversary of his accession. Loaded with chains, habited in coarse and dirty raiment, and mounted on a sorry elephant without housings, the royal captives were conducted through the most populous streets of the capital, amid the tears and groans of the people. No attempt at a rescue was made ; but the next day the chief of Joon being recognised on his way to court, was nearly torn to pieces by the populace.* The leader of the tumult was executed ; and shortly after, a mock consultation having been held by the chief counsellors and lawyers, Dara was pronounced worthy of death as an apostate Mohammedan. Aurungzebe gave his consent with affected reluctance, and selected a personal enemy of his brother's to carry the sentence into effect. When the assassins entered the prison, Dara and his son were occupied in preparing some lentils, the only food they would touch for fear of poison. Seizing a small kitchen knife, the sole weapon in his possession, Dara defended himself to the last; but being overwhelmed by numbers, was thrown down and decapitated. His body was ex- hibited to the populace on an elephant, and his head carried to Aurungzebe, who, having satisfied himself of its identity by washing the blood from the distorted features, af^- fected to weep, and directed its interment in the tomb of Humayuu. Seper Sheko was sent to the dreary fortress of Gwalior, * Wlien returning to his own country, ladon with the price of blood, he was waylaid and assassinated. t J)ow asserts (hut without giving his authority, who is evidently neither IChafi Khan nor I3crnier) that Aurungzelje wrote a letter to his son, as if in answer to an a])poal for forgiveness, and caused it to fall into the hands of Shuja, who, tlicreupon, dis- missed his son-in-law and daughter from the camp, not crediting their protestations of innocence. I ISernier, vol. i., ]>. 124. Accordnig to Dow, Shuja and his son, after bravely defending the moun- tain passes while endeavouring to make good their retreat to Pegu, were overpowered by means of whose gates soon afterwards opened to re- ceive no less a person than Mohammed Sultan, the eldest son and acknowledged heir of Aurungzebe. This prince had been betrothed to his cousin, the daughter of Shuja, but the mar- riage was broken oft" by the outburst of civil war. Seeing the critical position of her father, the princess addressed a com- munication to Mohammed, reminding him of their engagement; this appeal, added to his restless disposition and jealousy of Meer Jumla, who was associated with him in the command of the army, induced him to go over to his uncle, a step which he probably thought would be followed by the majority of the imperial army. Any such movement was prevented by the zeal and influence of Meer Jumla, and hostilities were recom- menced at the conclusion of the rainy sea- son. Shuja received his nephew with honour, and gave him his daughter in marriage ; but either from the machinations of Aurung- zebe,! or some other cause not satisfactorily explained, distrust sprang up between them, aiul the prince again deserted his party, and threw himself upon the mercy of his father, who immediately sent him to Gwalior. After a series of unsuccessful struggles, Shuja retreated to Dacca, and being hotly pursued I by Meer Jumla, fled, with a few attendants, to Arracan. The remainder of his history is very imperfectly known. A difterence is said to have arisen between him and the rajah, whose avarice was rotised by the sight of the wealth of the prince, and, on one pretext or another, he was prevented from hiring vessels in which to proceed to ]\Iokha, en route for Mecca. Shuja, irritated by this treatment, entered into a plot with the ]\Iussulmans of the country to overturn the existing government ; but, being detected, was seized by the rajah's emissaries, and put to death. Of his wife and family, no certain particulars were ever made public in Ilindoostan ; but it is probable they all perished by violence about the same time. J stones hurled upon them from the adjoining rocks. Shuja was drowned (the doom of royal ''riminals in Arracan) in sight of his wife and daughters, who, in despair, liung themselves headlong into tiie river, but were rescued and carried to the palace. Of tliese four \inhappy ladies, three perished by their own hands ; the fourth was married to the rajuh, but did not long survive her sufferings and disgrace. The elder son of Shuja and his infant hrolhor were both put to dealli. Sliah .Ichan, on learning the ni'.dancholy iiUelligenco, exclaimed, ".Mas! could not tlie rajali of Arracan leave one son to Shuja to ri'venge his grandfather ?" — ( Uindoostan, vol. iii. p. 3i)().) MURDER OF MORAD AND HIS SON, SOLIMAN, AND SEPER SlIEKO. 1.39 At the conimencement of IGGl, Auruug- zoho obtained possession of the person of Dara's eldest son, Soliman; the Rajah of Sirc'Cinif;},nif, after prolonged negotiations, liaviiig l)ecn at length persuaded, by the arguments of Jcy Sing, to deliver up the prinee to the imperial ollicers. lie was paraded through the city on an elephant, and then brought into tiie presence of his uncle in golden fetters. Bernier, who was present, describes his manly bearing as hav- ing afl'ected many of the courtiers to tears ; and when he implored that his life might be taken at once, rather than that his strength and reason should bo undermined by the hateful opium draught* (which he evidently believed to be the common fate of captive princes), even Aurungzebe seemed touched with compassion, and assured him of safety and good treatment. It is not likely that this pledge was re- deemed ; for Soliman, together with his bro- ther, Seper Shcko, and the young souof Mo- rad, all died in Gwalior within a short space of time, while the emperor's own sou, Mo- hammed, lived several years, and was even- tually restored to comparative freedom. The doom of IMorad was less easily decided ; for it was necessary to Aurungzebe's views that liis death should be well known; and the convenient method of poisoning him in prison might leave a doubt regarding his fate on the public mind, which, iu the event of a political crisis, would be eagerly seized by agitators or pretenders. The prince was popular, despite (or probably on account of) his misfortunes : he had endeavoured to es- cape by means of a rope let down from the battlements ;t and Aurungzebe felt that there was no time to lose in compassing his destruction. The son of a man who had been arbitrarily put to death by the prince, while viceroy of Guzerat, was incited to complain against him as a murderer; and, after the formality of a trial and sentence, the List act of this family tragedy closed with the execution of Prince Morad, in prison. The three brothers of Aurungzebe and their brave sons had now all fallen vic- tims to his ambition and their own, goaded on by the hateful policy which too often leaves to eastern princes little choice beyond a throne or a grave. Their aged parent, by a terrible rc- * Bcniier calls it pousta, and says it was simply a sti'onn; iiirusiou of ])op]iy-ht'ails, wliicli the iiilendcil victims were compelled to drink daily until tliey be- came torpid and senseless, and so died. t Khafi Khan, quoted by F.lphinslonc, vol. il., p. 451. It is to be regretted that no complete tribution, sickened with horror as the tidings of one catastrophe after another slowly readied him within tlie walls of his jjalace- l)rison. He execrated the name of the son whose crimes had thus cast liis own into the shade, and would not sudor his presence. Aurungzebe made repeated overtures of reconciliation by affecting to seek his advice on various affairs of state, and ventured to ])rolfer two requests — the first on behalf of his third son, Prince Akber, for the hand of the daughter of Dara, then under the pro- tection of her aunt Jehanara ; the second, for some of the jewels retained by Shah .Tehan, for the decoration of the throne. The deposed monarch indignantly rejected both demands, declaring that his grand- daughter should never, with his consent, be thus degraded; and the maiden, on her part, avowed her puri)osc of self-destruction, should force be attempted to ally her with the son of her father's murderer. With regard to the jewels, Shah Jehan sterulv bade his son make wisdom and equity the ornaments of his throne, and use no impor- tunity to obtain the coveted gems, since the hammers were iu readiness which should, iu tiuit case, crush them to powder. Aurungzebe prudently gave way, and his father, gratified l)y this submission, and by the ample pi-o- vision made for his expenditure, afterwards sent him various articles more especially eonueeted with the insignia of royalty. The early measures of the new emperor were well calculated to obliterate from the minds of his subjects the monstrous iniqui- ties above detailed. In the Deccan he had gained a high character for justice as well as austerity ; and on grasping the reins of government, he evinced a determination to make the welfare of the people his leading object. In marching to battle against Dara, Aurungzebe had streiuiously restrained his soldiers from plundering the countries through which they passed, and had evcu given compensation for the damage unavoid- ably occasioned. During a terrible famine which prevailed over different parts of India, resulting from the combined effects of drought and civil war, he made great exertions for the relief of the wretched suf- ferers, by remitting the taxes, and spending large sums from the treasury in the pur- translation has been made of the works of this author, whose real name was Mohammed Hashcra Khan. He was brought up in the service of Aurunj^- zebe, by whom both he and his father (al<o an his- torian) were employed iu various important military and diplomatic positions. 140 DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF AURUNGZEBE, 1663. chase and conveyance of grain, from Bengal and the Punjaub, to the chief seats of dis- tress. This calamity having passed over, the emperor found leism'e to plan the exten- sion of his dominions, resting the justifica- tion, alike of past and future aggression, on the duty of propagating the Koran by all and every means. One quality, essential to the character of a statesman, or even a suc- cessful general, he wanted — namely, confi- dence in his fellow-men. It was the fitting curse of this arch-hypocrite, that suspicion should lie like the canker-worm at the root of his best-laid plans, occasioning the haras- sing distrust, or at least the want of cordial support to which the reverses of his generals may be for the most part attributed. Towards the end of 1601, a successful ex- pedition was despatched against the Rajah of Bikanccr ; and early in the following year, Meer Jumla, whose talents were at once the dread and admiration of his distrustful mas- ter, was sent to attempt the subjugation of Assam. Having obtained possession of the capital, the victor boastfully declared his intention of pursuing his conquests, and opening the way to China. The rainy sea- son brought with it a change of affairs. The rich plains on either side the Burram- pootra were flooded ; the cavalry could not march or even forage ; and when the floods subsided, a pestilence broke out among the troops, so^ that Meer Jumla was glad to make terms with the rajah, renounce his magnificent projects, and withdraw his army. Before reaching Dacca he expired (January 7, 1063), stung by disappoint- ment, and worn down l)y the fatigues which, despite the burden of advanced age, he had shared in common with the humblest sol- dier. His son, Mohammed Ameen, was im- mediately raised to the rank enjoyed by the deceased. Aurungzebe himself had recently received a forcible warning of the precarious tenure by which emperors and peasants alike hold, not merely worldly possessions, but life itself. A dangerous attack of fever completely prostrated him, and his tongue became so palsied as to deprive him almost entirely of the power of speech. Intrigues regarding the succession arose immediately; but Aurungzebe clung to ))olitical even more tenaciously than to jdiysical existence, and during the crisis of his disorder, caused him- self to be carried into the diurnal asscmlily of the nobles. Some days after, wlicn scarcely recovered from a swoon (so long and deep sent for Rajah Jey Sing, and two or three other chief omrahs, to convince them that he lived ; and in their presence, being still unable to articulate, wrote an order for the great seal, which had been ])laced in the charge of the Princess Roushenara, enclosed in a bag, and impressed with the signet which had remained fastened to his arm. These manifestations of a strong will triumphing over bodily weakness, inspired fear and ad- miration in the beholders, and had the de- sired efl^ect of preventing any plots for the rescue of Shah Jehan, or conspiracies for less worthy ends. When convalescent, Aurungzebe sought repose and change of scene in Cashmere, little thinking of the fierce and prolonged strife about to burst forth in the Decean, mainly in consequence of his own insidious policy. By gradually undermining the strength of the two re- maining Mohammedan kingdoms of the south, he had anticipated their reduction to a state of enfceblcment and disorganisation, which must render them an easy conquest so soon as he should find leisure to take the field in person at the head of an extensive and powerful army. Meanwhile, he cared not to trust Jey Sing, Jeswunt Sing, Di- leer Khan, or any other general, much less his own son, Mauzim, with a sufficient force for the reduction of these kingdoms, lest he should furnish weapons against him- self: the troops placed under their com- mand were, therefore, skilfully calculated as sufficient to maintain a distressing and desul- tory warfare, but nothing more. The im- perial schemer had not a suspicion that in thus, as it were, drawing the claws of the Moslem rulers of Beejapoor and Golconda, he could possibly be serving the interest of a third party, as intriguing and hardly less bigottcd than himself, though in a precisely opposite direction. Rise of JSlahratta poiuer. — It will be re- membered, that in sketching the ancient condition of India, the Mahrattas have been mentioned as inhabiting the territory lying between the range of mountains which stretches along the south of the Nerbndda, parallel to the Vindya chain; and a line drawn from Goa, on the sea-coast, through Bcdcr to Chanda on the Wurda ; that river being the eastern, and the sea the western boundary. This singular country will be described in a subsequent section, as also its inhabitants, of whom it is liere only neces- sary to remark, that the soldiery were small that his death was generally reported), he sturdy men, active and persevering, posses RISE OF THE MAHRATTA POWER.— BIRTH OP SEVAJEE, 1G27. 141 siiifj notliiii;; of tlio diivalrous sentiments or dif^nilied heiiriiiRof the Jiaj[)0()ts, l)ut a f^reat deal more worklly -vvisdoni. The cliiefs, in the time of tlic Cireat I^To^nls, were tlic representatives of families who liad for {gene- rations filled the old Hindoo ollices of heads of villap;es, or functionaries of districts, under tlie names of patels, desmookhs, &c., and had often been employed as partisans under tlie governments of Alimednii;ji;er and Beejapoor. They were nearly all Soodras, of the same caste with their people, but some claimed to have Rajpoot blood in their veins. Though our present knowledge does not sliow that the Mahrattas formed at any time an united conimonwcalth, their strongly marked eharacteristics indieate a broad line of demarcation between tlicm and the people of Carnara and Telingana, and also between the lower orders of Iliudoostau ; although the difference in this latter case is less striking. Mussulman writers, proverbially slow to recognise dili'ercnces among infidels, scarcely notice the Mahrattas by this dis- tinctive appellation until the beginning of the seventeenth century ; although the sur- names of chiefs, uieutioued at earlier periods, prove their having belonged to that race. In the time of Malck Amber they first emerge into notice ; and, under his govern- ment, the noblest of them, Lookjce* Jadu Rao, held a jaghire for the support of 10,000 men. Among his dependants was ^lalojee Bhoslay, a man of inferior rank, who, by a singular chain of circumstauces,t obtained Jeejee Bye, the daughter of Jadu, in mar- riage for his son Shahjee, a.d. 1G04 ; aud the issue of this union was two chiklren, of whom the younger was the famous Sevajee. Shahjee has i)ceu mentioned as an important actor in the concluding events of the Ahraed- nuggur state. He was subsequently em- ployed by the king of Beejapoor on con- quests to the southward, <iud obtained a considerable jaghire in the INIysore country, including the towns of Sera and Bangalore, in addition to that he had previously pos- sessed, of which the chief place was Poona. • Jee is the Mahratta adjunct of res])ect, equiva- lent to our Mr. Bijc, signiiies lady. — (Grant Uuff 's History of the Jliiln-alfas, vol. i., p. 121.) t When Shalijce was about five years old, ho was taken by ■ bis father to the house of Jadu Ilao, wbere a large number of Hindoos of all castes had assembled to celebrate a relie^ious festival. Pleased willi the boy's bearing, Jadu merrily asked his daughter, a pretty child of three years' old, whether slie would lake her play-fellow for a husband ; and the little maiden, by throwing at him some of the V Tlirce years after the birth of Sevajee (in lf)27), a disagreement arose between his parents, on account of a second marriage i)eing contracted by Shahjee, who took his elder son with him to the Mysore, leaving the younger with his mother at Poona. As all Mahratta chiefs were wholly illite- rate, they usually retained a number of Brahmins in their service, styled Carcoons, or clerks, who were necessarily entrusted with their most private affairs. One of this class, Dadajee Koncdco, a man of talent and integrity, was left by Shahjee in charge of the Poona jaghire ; and from him and his mother, Sevajee imbibed a deep and bitter hatred against the Mohammedans. The ex- ploits of the heroes of the Ramayana and iSIa- habarat,with other wild and fantastic legends, were the boy's delight ; he performed with earnest zeal the numerous observiinces en- joined by his creed, and anxiously waited the time when he should be old enough and strong enough to assert the rights and dignity of the insulted gods of his country. These feelings, in part, supplied the want of a more enlightened and exalted patriotism ; and they afforded to Sevajee an object and a rallying point, of which, in after years, he learned the value. Like the mail-clad barons of old England, Shahjee deemed all book-learning undignified, if not degrading drudgery ; and his son could never So much as write his name. In horsemanship, and the use of warlike weapons, he was unrivalled. Poona is situated at the junction of the hilly country with the plains ; hence Sevajee, in the hunting parties and military exercises, which formed his chief occupations, con- stantly associated with the soldiery in his father's service, and the plundering high- landers of the neighbouring Ghauts. The B heels and Coolies, to the north of Poona — the llamoosees to the south — viewed with admiration the young chief, to whom every glen and defile of their mountain recesses were well known; but his earliest adherents were the i\Iahrattas, called Mawulecs, from the appellation of the valleys which they red colour at hand, in accordance with the usages of the festival, seemed to express assent. To the astonislmient of all present, Malojce instantly started up, and desired the company to bear witness that Jeejee Bye and Shahjee were affianced. Jadu was exceedingly indignant at the advantage t-iken of him ; but Malojee persisted in his claim, and being an active partisan, rose gradually in the service of the state of Ahmednuggur, and by the intercession of the king himself, eventually obtained the fulfil- ment of his long-cherished desii-e. 142 EARLY PROCEEDINGS AND PROGRESS OF SEVAJEE. inhabited immediately to the west of Poona. Before he was sixteen, Sevajee began to talii of becoming an independent poligar, to the serious alarm of Dadajee, who endea- voured to wean him from his lawless asso- ciates by confiding much of the affairs of the jaghire to his superiutendencej and tried earnestly to convince him that a much more brilliant destiny might be expected to await him, as a steady adherent of the Ahmed- imggur government, than as a rebel. But the twig was already bent, and would grow onlj' in one direction ; and, in spite of the popularity gained by the courteous and winning manner of Sevajee among the respectable Mahrattas in the neighbour- hood, it was whispered that he was a sharer iu the profits of several extensive gang-rob- beries committed in the Concan. The hill-forts possessed by Beejapoor, like most others under Moslem rule, were much neglected. Being remote and unhealthy, they were sometimes occupied by a single foreign commander, with a small garrison of ill-paid local troops ; or, in other cases, left in charge of the nearest desmookh, or other revenue-officer. Our adventurer saw the opportunity afforded by this state of things for his plans of gradual and insidious aggres- sion ; and by some means, not precisely known, succeeded in getting possession of Torna, a hill-fortress, twenty miles S.W. of Poona, A.D. 1646. lie immediately sent ambassadors to Beejapoor, representing his conduct in the most favourable light, and, by dint of arguments and bribery, was suffered to retain possession unmolested for several years, until it became known that he had built a stronghold on a neighbouring hill, by the aid of a golden treasure supposed to have been miraculously discovered to him, among some ruins at Torna, by the goddess Bhavani. A serious remonstrance was ad- dressed to Shalijee, who wrote in strong terms to Dadajee and his son, reminding them of the danger to which he was exjiosed by their encroachments, and bidding them desist from all such attempts. Dadajee once more essayed to change the settled purpose of his young master; but soon after- wards, when about to expire, worn out with age and anxiety, he bestowed on him a part- ing benediction ; and instead of further dis- suasion, bade him protect Brahmins, kinc and cultivators, preserve the temples of the Hindoos from violation, and — follow the for- tune which lay before him. These injunctions were obeyed to the letter. Under pretence of the poverty of the country and its increasing expenditure, Sevajee withheld the revenue from his father, and proceeded step by step, by manoeuvring and bribery, to gain fort after fort ; until at length, as before stated (p. 130), he had gained possession of the whole tract between the Ckakuu and the Neera, without blood- shed or any disturbance. " The manner in which he established himself," says Grant Duff, "watching and crouching like the wily tiger of his own mountain valleys, until he had stolen into a situation from whence he could at once spring upon his prey, accounts both for the difficulty found iu tracing his early rise, and the astonishing rapidity with which he extended his power when his progress had attracted notice, and longer concealment was impossible." In 1648, Sevajee thought fit to throw down the gauntlet of open rebellion, by attacking and pillaging a convoy of royal treasure on the road to Calliau ; and the news had scarcely reached Beejapoor, before it was followed by tidings, that five of the principal hill- forts in the Ghauts, and subsequently Callian, and the whole of the northern Concan, were in the occupation, of the same insidious foe. Shahjee was seized and brought before Mohammed Adil Shah, who, heedless of his assurances that his son was acting in his defiance, as much as in that of their mutual sovereign, imprisoned him iu a stone dungeon, of which he caused the door to be walled up, declaring, that if the insurrection continued beyond a certain time, the remaining aperture should be likewise closed. Sevajee was extremely alarmed by this menace, and is alleged to have been only dissuaded from submission by the arguments of his wife, who urged that his father's liberty might more pro- bably be wrung by necessity from the king of Beejapoor, than obtained by blind re- liance on the promises of a power so noto- riously treacherous. He therefore main- tained his position, and made overtures to Shah Jehan, who received his application the more favourably, as the wily Mahratta, anxious to leave himself a resource in the event of being hard pressed by his own government, had carefully avoided inroads on ]\Iogul territory. It was ])robably by the intercession of the emperor that Shahjee was released from his dungeon ; i)ut four years elapsed before he was permitted to leave Beejapoor : at the expiration of which ASSASSINATION OF AFZOOL KUAN BY SEVA.TEE— a.d. ICr,'.). 143 time his presence in the Carnatic became necessary to the interests of the govern- mctit, on account of an extensive insurrec- tion, in which his clclcst son had l)cen slain. The restoration of Slialijce to his ja^jliirc was th(! si^^Mial for the renewal of S(^vajce's phms of ajLiiirandiscrarnt. Durinj; the pre- vious interval, ho had delayed (Miti'i-iu}; the imperial service, by preferring an hcrcxlitary claim to certain dues on land in the Jooncre and Ahniednuggur districts, which he aftceted to desire to sec settled before ]n*oeccding to Delhi. Ills first step, on resuming open hostilities against the .I5ecjapoor state, was to seize the hilly country south of Poona, whose rajah, having refused to co-operate with him, he had allowed to be removed by assassination. The arrival of Aurungzebe in the Deccan, in 1655, somewhat discon- certed Sevajee, who at first addressed the prince as his suzerain; but, on seeing him engaged in war with (iolconda, thought to prolit by the general confusion, and, for the first time, invaded the Mogul dominious. He surprised and plundered the town of Jooncre; but a similar attempt upon Ahmed- nugger proved less successful : and, alarmed by the rapid conquests of the imperial troops, Sevajee sought, by excuses and pro- mises, to obtain forgiveness for his recent proceedings. At this crisis the illness of Shah Jehan suddenly called off Aurung- zebe to Delhi ; and the Mahratta chief, taking advantage of his departure, imme- diately renewed his attacks on Becjapoor, where the king had been succeeded by his son, a minor. A lai'ge army was despatched, (a.d. 105!)), under the command of a noble, named Afzool Khan, who, at his public audience of leave, boastfully declared that he would bring back the insigviificant rebel, and cast him in chains under the footstool of the throne. Sevajee was informed of the vaunt of his opponent, with whose character he was acquainted, and concerted his mea- sures accordingly. On the approach of the hostile force, he took up his residence in the hill-fort of Pcrtabghur, and sent offers of submission, couched in the humblest terms, to Afzool Khan, who deputed a Brahmin, high in his confidence, to complete the negotiation. This man, Sevajee, during a private interview by night, contrived to win over to his cause, which he affirmed to be that of the Hindoos and the Hindoo faith. By their joint artifice, the haughty Moslem was persuaded that Sevajee's excessive alarm could only be overcome by his personal assurances of mediation at the court of Becjapoor, and he readily consented to leave the army and advance to meet the repentant rebel. In compliance with the suggcstioa of the treacherous Brahmin, the 1,500 men, who had escorted their general to within a few hundred yards of the fort, were forbidden to proceed furtiier, for fear of exciting the apprehensions of Sevajee. Accompanied by a single armed attendant, Afzool Khan ad- vanced to the appointed place of meeting, and, descending from his palanquin, entered the open bungalow ])rcpar('d for liis recep- tion, where, clad in thin white robes, with a straight sword in his hand, he impatiently awaited the arrival of Sevajee, whose figure (unju-ctending, from its diminutive size, and rendered ungainly by the extreme length of the arms) was seen descending the heights with slow and hesitating steps. His only follower carried two swords in his waist- band, a common circumstance among the i\Iahrattas ; but Sevajee himself was seem- ingly unprovided with any offensive or de- fensive weapon, although secretly prepared for deadly strife. The convenient axiom for evil-doers — that the end justifies the means — had induced the Mahratta chief to proceed on this occasion as if about to at- tempt an act of heroic self-devotion, instead of a treacherous assassination. After per- forming, with earnest solemnity, his morning devotions, he laid his head at the feet of his mother (Jeejee Bye), and having received her blessing, arose and equipped himself in a suit of chain armour, over which he placed his turban and a cotton tunic. His right sleeve concealed a crooked dagger, named from its form a " beeehwa," or scorpion, and his Icft-haiul held a small steel instrument, called a " wagnuck," or tiger-claw, on ac- count of its three crooked blades, which are easily hidden by half-closed fingers. Thus ]n'ovided, Sevajee apjiroaehcd the khan, and, at the moment of the embrace, struck the wagnuck into his body ; then, instantly fol- lowing up the blow, dispatched him with his dagger. The attendant of Afzool refused quarter, and fell vainly endeavouring to avenge his ill-fated master. The blast of a horn and the firing of five guns announced the unhallowed triumph of Sevajee to the jMawulees. They rushed from the diflcrent wooded recesses, where they had been posted, upon the Becjapoor troops, who, suddenly roused from fancied securitv, were slaujrh- tered or dispersed almost without resistance. Numbers were driven bv hunger into a sur- 144 EXPLOITS OP SE\' A JEE— PLUNDER OF SURAT— a.d. 1664. render, after long wandering in the neigh- bouring wilds, and all were humanely re- ceived by Sevajee, who, throughout his s remarkable for gentle whole career, treatment of prisoners, always excepting such as were suspected of concealing trea- sure, in which case, like the Great Moguls, he resorted to torture without stint or scruple. By this violent deed, Sevajee gained pos- session of the whole train of equipment which had been sent against him, and many of the Mahrattas were induced to enlist in his service ; but the most distinguished captive of that nation having steadily refused to renounce his allegiance, was honourably dismissed with costly presents. From tlris period, up to the close of 1662, Sevajee was engaged in hostilities with the king of Beejapoor, who took the field against him in person ; but, after recovering much terri- tory, was compelled to turn his chief atten- tion to a revolt in the Carnatic, upon which the Mahratta chief regained his former con- quests, with usury, and succeeded, through Shahjee's mediation, in obtaining a peace, by which he was recognised as master of the whole coast-line of the Concan for 250 miles (between Goa and Callian). and ex- tending above the Ghauts for more than 150 miles from the north of Poena to the south of Merieh on the Kistna. The ex- treme breadth of this territory did not exceed 100 miles. The hardiness and pre- datory habits of his soldiery, enabled Sevajee to support an army of 7,000 horse and 50,000 foot (a much larger force than the size of his country would seem to warrant), and he soon prepared to take advantage of his truce with Beejapoor, by extending his dominion at the expense of the Moguls. To put an end to these aggressions, Shaista Khan (viceroy of the Deccan, and the empe- ror's maternal uncle) marched from Aurun- gabad, drove the marauding force from the field, captured Poena and Chakun, and took up his position at the former place, within twelve miles of Singhur, the hill-fort to which Sevajee had retired. The house occupied by the viceroy had been originally built by Dadajce for .Tec-jec Bye, and her son resolved to take advantage of his perfect acquaintance with its every iidct and outlet, by surprising the intruder, notwithstand- ing his well-planned precautions. Leaving Singhur one evening after dark, and posting small bodies of infantry on the road to sup- port him, Scvajcc, attended by twenty -five Mawulees, proceeded to the town, into which he gained admission by joining a marriagt: procession, planned for the purpose. By the aid of a few pickaxes, the party suc- ceeded in entermg the mansion, but not without awakening some of the women of the family, who gave the alarm. Shaista Khan escaped from the window of his bed- chambei', having first received a sword- cut, which severed two of his fingers, while letting himself down into the court below. His son, and most of his attendants, were cut to pieces in a moment, after which Sevajee retreated with all speed, and as- cended Singhur amid a blaze of torches, in full view of the INIogul camp. On the following morning, a body of the enemy's horse came galloping towards the fort, but were driven off in confusion ; and on this occasion the Mahrattas, for the first time, pursued the IMogul cavalry. Shaista Khan, blinded by grief and mortification, instead of taking active measures against Sevajee, accused Jeswunt Sing (who had not long before arrived with re-inforcements) of treachery ; and the dissensions of the leaders crippled the movements of the army, until Aurungzebe removed Shaista Khan to Bengal, and sent Prince jNIauzim to com- mand in conjunction with the rajah. After a feeble attempt to invest Singhur, Jeswunt retired to Aurungabad ; and Seva- jee, glad to be released from the necessity of standing on the defensive, having spread several false reports of his intentions, set off with 4,000 horse, surprised the rich and defenceless city of Surat, and, after six days of systematic plunder, leisurely proceeded to Raighur, a newly-erected fort in the Con- can, which became thenceforth the seat of his government. The booty acquired at Surat was very considerable, and would have been greater, but for the determined defence made at the English and Dutch factories, where some of the native chiefs had taken refuge. The English, especially, gained much favour with Aurungzebe, who granted them a perpetual exemption from a portion of the customs exacted from the traders of other nations at Surat.* At Raighur, Sevajee learned the death of Shahjee, who, although of a great age, con- * It soomod necessary to notice this circumstance here ; l)ut the jirogress of I'hiropean power, vmtil the chise of the reign of Aurnngzelie, so little affected the general state of India, that I have thought it best, for the sake of clearness, to reserve an account of it for a brief separate sketch. SEVAJEE ENTRAPPED BY AURUNGZEBE-ESCAPES IN A BASKET. 14j tinned to pursue liis fiivouritc diversion of hunting, until lie was killed by a fall from his liorsc, a.d. KiflL lie liad restored his jagliire to perfect order, and extended his dominions to the southward, with the tacit permission of the kinii; of Jk'cjapoor, until tliey comprehended the country near !Ma- dras, and the princii)ality of Tanjore. Scva- jce now assumed the title of rajah, struck coins in his own name, and carried on hos- tilities alternately against the Beejapoor and imperial authorities. He collected a fleet, took many Mogul ships, and exacted ran- soms from all the rich pilgrims proceeding therein towards !Meeca. On one occasion he embarked with a force of 1,000 men, in eighty-seven vessels, and made an unex- pected descent on the wealthy town of Barcclore, about 130 miles below Goa, plun- dered all the adjacent territory, and returned in triumph to liis mountain capital. Ills homeward voyage was, however, prolonged for many days by adverse winds, which, with several other unfavourable circumstances, were interpreted as indications of the displea- sure of the goddess Bhavani, at this the only naval enterprise in which Sevajee ever in per- son engaged. Alarming intelligence awaited his return. Aiu'ungzelje at length resolved to punish the sacrilegious conduct of "the mountain rat," as he eontem[)tuously styled the Mahratta chief; had sent a powerful force against him under Jey Sing and Dileer Khan, with orders, after hissidijugation, to proceed against Beejapoor. Sevajee, for once taken by surprise (in consequence of the neglect or treachery of one of his own commanders), held out for some time, and then opened a negotiation with Jey Sing, who assured him, " on the honour of a Rajpoot," of safety, and even favour, on the part of the em- peror, in return for entire submission and co-operation. This guarantee, even Sevajee decnu^l sullieient ; and he proceeded, with a few attendants, to the IMogul eamp, aiul agreed to deliver up twenty of tlic forts which he possessed, together with the terri- tories attached thereto. Raighur and eleven others, with the dependent country, he was to hold as a jaghirc from Aurungzebe, in whose service his son, Sumbajce — a boy, seven years old — was to receive the rank of a munsubdar of 5,000; and, probably in lieu of the alleged hereditary claims which he had so pertinaciously asserted, Sevajee stipulated for certain assignments (Chout and Surdeshmooki) on the revenue of eiuh district under Beejapoor; an arrangement which laid the foundation of the ill-defmcd claims of the IVIahraltas in after-times. No mention is made of this condition in the letter written ])y Aurungzebe to Sevajee, in which he distinctly confirmed every other article of the treaty ; nor in the .subsequent communications, in which lie highly com- mended the conduct of Sevajee and his 10,000 followers during the invasion of Beejapoor by Jey Sing, and invited him to court, with a promise of returning at plea- sure to the Dcecan. The wily Mahratta was, in this instance, dujied by the equally wily ]\Iogul, and, at tiie termination of the campaign, set off for Delhi, accompanied by his son, and escorted by 1,500 men. Aurungzebe thought his foe secure within his grasp ; and instead of act- ing as Akber would have done, by surpassing in courtesy and generosity the expectations he had raised, and binding to him the now suijmissive chief by the ties of self-interest, at least, if not of gratitude, — he broke every pledge, received him with marked disre- spect, and caused him to be placed among the commanders of the third rank, in the very position promised to his child. Overpowered by rage and mortification, Sevajee sank to the ground in a swoon, and, on recovering his senses, bitterly reproached Ram Sing with the breach of his father Jey Sing's plighted faith ; and then, declaring that life was valueless to him without honour, abruptly quitted the imperial presence. Aurun<;;zel)e, astounded by this unex- pected display of vehemence, refused again to receive the Mahratta, who requested per- mission to return to the Deccan, but, not obtaining it, affected to be quite east down, and begged that his followers at least might be suffered to depart, as the air and water of Delhi injured their health. This solicita- tion was gladly complied with, and Sevajee seemed completely at the mercy of his foes. But Ram Sing, feeling his father's honour compromised by the conduct of Aurungzebe, connived at the escape of the captive, who, having taken to his bed on pretence of sick- ness, caused himself and his son to be con- veyed by night out of the house ayd city in two large hampers, which the guards suf- fered to pass without examination, having been purposely accustomed to see similar baskets sent to and fro, filled with sweet- meats, flowers, &c., as presents to the Brah- mins and physicians. His couch was occupied by a servant, and his flight remained undis- covered till a late hour on the following 146 SEVAJEE FIRST LEVIES "CHOUT," 1670— HIS CIVIL POLICY. day. In the meantime, Sevajee repaired to an obscure spot, where a swift liorse had been posted in readiness, and rode off with his son behind him. At Muttra he shaved off his hair and whiskers, assumed the dis- guise of a Gosacn, or Hindoo religious men- dicant, and leaving Sumbajee under the charge of a Brahmin, pursued his journey by the most obscure and circuitous roads, arriving at Raighur in December, 1GG6, after an absence of nine months. Tidings of his recovered liberty reached the Deeean long before his arrival ; and the English factors at Carwar, in the Concan, wrote, September 29th — " If it be true that Sevajee has es- caped, Aurungzebe will quickly hear of him to his sorrow." Shah Jehan died about this time, and his favourite child, Padshah Begum, or Jeha- nara, was formally reconciled to her brother, whose fortunes were then in the zenith of prosperity. Tranquillity prevailed through- out his territories, the limits of which had been extended by the acquisition of Little Thibet, to the north, and Chittagong, on the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal. Some questions of etiquette had arisen with Shah Abbas II., of Persia, which threatened to involve a war with India, and preparations were being made, but set aside in conse- quence of the death of the Shah. The sole drawback on the general success of the empire was the ill-fortune of its army at Beejapoor, where the king had resorted to the old plan of defence, by reducing the surrounding country to a desert. JeySing, after investing the capital, was compelled to withdraw with loss to Aurungabad. Being soon after recalled, he died on the road to Delhi, having (according to Tod) been poi- soned by his second son, at the instigation of Aurungzebe, who promised that he should succeed to the raj (or kingdom) of Mewar, to the prejudice of his elder brother. Ram Sing ; but, when the crime was committed, withheld the promised reward, giving the parricide only the district of Kaniali,* and offering no opposition to the claims of the rightful heir. Jeswunt Sing was now asso- ciated in command of the troops with Prince jMauzim and Dilccr Khan — an arrangement which proved very advantageous to Sevajee ; for Jeswunt exercised great asccndancv over the mind of tlie prince, and was secretly better disposed towards the Hindoos than to the gcjvcrntncnt he served. J5y his mediation a treaty w.as concluded, a. d. I()G7, • Jnnals 11/ liajasi'/iun, vol. ii., p. 356. on highly favourable terms for Sevajee, to whom a considerable portion of territory was restored, a new jaghire granted in Berar, and his title of rajah recognised. Aurungzebe confirmed these extraordinary concessions in the hope of deluding Sevajee again into his power : with this view the Mogul leaders were enjoined to keep up a constant intercourse with him, and even directed to feign disaffection to their own government, and a disposition to enter into a separate alliance with the Mahrattas. The emperor long patiently waited the result of his scheme ; but at length discovering or suspecting the truth — namely, that his in- tended victim had turned his weapons against himself, by conciliating both the prince and rajah by bribes and gifts — he renewed hostilities by giving orders for an open attempt to seize his person, a.d. 1670. During the preceding prolonged truce, Se- vajee, after obtaining from Beejapoor and Golconda the promise of an annual tribute, had laid aside his sword, and diligently employed himself in giving a regular form to his government. His great and varied talents were never displayed in a more forcible light than when exerted in domestic administration ; and his rules were rigo- rously enforced, whether framed to check oppression of the cultivatorsfor fraud against the government. In the arrangement of the army, the most careful attention to method and economy was manifest. Both troops and officers received high pay, but were obliged to give up their plunder of every description to the state, or to retain it at a fixed price. The trump of war again sounded in the cars of the miserable inhabitants of the Dcccan. Sevajee recovered Singhur near Poona, plundered Surat anew, carried his ravages over Candeish, and levied the famous "chout," which, Hke the black mail of Scot- tish border warfare, exempted from plunder tlie districts in which it was regularly paid. He equipped a powerful fleet, and resumed his attacks on the Abyssinians of Jinjecra, which induced them to seek the protection of the IMoguls. Tliese successes were, in great measure, attributable to the inadequacy of the opposing force. Aurungzebe at length convinced of tliis, sent 40,000 men, under Mohabct Khan, to the scene of action, but quite independent of the authority of Prince t Sevajee's assessments were made 011 the actual state of the crop, of which he is aHcocd to have taken two-fifths.— (Dufi's Muhratlas, vol. i., p. 'J31.) AFGHAN WAR.— HINDOO INSURRECTION.— INFIDEL TAX REVIVED. 147 Mauzim, wliosc fidelity lie doubted, and willi whom he left Dilcc'i- Kliaii, but recalled .7(^s\vuiit Siiij;. 'J'lie CDiisccjiU'iico of this divided coiniiiand was the total d(;f<;ac of I 20,()0{) Mounds, A.I). 1072, in a field-action with the Maiirattas. IMan/.im and iMoha- l)(;t wore recalled, and Khan .lelian liahadur, the viceroy of (iuzerat, sent to take their place ; but active hostilities were soon dropped by mutual consent, the energies of botli Auruiii;zebe ami Sevajec* being fully employed in other quarters. The emperor's attention was drawn ofF by the inereasin'^ importance of a war which had been goiuji on for some time with the north-eastern Afi;hans, iueliulini^ the I'^usof- zies. In 1G70, an array under Amcen Khan, the governor of ('abool, had been totally destroyed ; and, about the same time, a king- was set up by the Afghans, who is repre- sented by European writers as an impostor, assuming to be the murdered Prince Shuja; but is desciibivj, by Indian authorities, as an Afghan chief. In 1()7.3, the emperor proceeded to direct, in person, the military operations of "iis troops, accompanied by his son, Mohammed Sultan, who was now re- leased from prison ; but, at the close of two years of unsatisfactory eifort, he returned to Delhi, and a very imperfect settlement was afterwards arranged with the Afghans. In 1676, an insurrection of an extr.a- ordinary character broke out near the capital, originating in the disorderly con- duct of some soldiers of the police, who liad mobbed and beaten a Hindoo devotee of the sect of (piietists, called Sadhs or Satna- niis, in consccpience of a quarrel between liim and one of their comrades. The Sat- namis came to the rescue, several lives were lost, and the afl'ray increased until the numbers of both pailies became conside- rable. The devotees took possession of the town of Naruol, and maintained it, defeating two separate detachments sent against them from Delhi. The idea gained ground that theyw'ere endowed with supernatural powers; that swords woidd not cut, nor bullets pierce tlicm, while their weapons de.alt death at every blow. From standing on the defen- sive, they took an aggressive part, and were joined by several of the neighbouring zemin- • Sevajee is said to have given a large sum of money to Khan Jehan, ]iart iirivatcly, and part pub- licly; the Mogul styled the hitter, tribute; but the Hindoo called it " oil-cake given to his milch cow." ■f The three eldest sons of Jeswunt Sing had perished : two, it is alleged, in consequence of the inclement climate of C'abool. The third, a youth of dars. The growinf^ belief in their invinci- bility seemed likely to justify its assertion; for no troops could be induced to face tlutrri; and, on learning tlieir ap])roach to Delhi, Aurungzebe found it necessary to order his tents to be prepared to take the field, and, with his own hand, wrote extracts from the Koran, to be fastened to tiie standards as a protection against enchantment. The royal force made a stand, and the insurgents were defeated and dispersed with great loss. But the previous success had tempted many of the Hindoo inhabitants of Ajraeer and Agra to take up arms, and it was with (lidlculty that order coidd be restored in these provinces. Instead of the conciliatory measures which were imperatively needed, Aurungzebe, chafed by recent occurrences, took the only step necessary for the com- plete alienation of the minds of his Hindoo subjects, by reviving the jezia (capitation tax on infidels) abolished by Akbcr. In vain the populace assembled in crowds round the palace ; no notice was taken of their tears and complaints. Determined that their appeal should be no longer ignored, they intercepted the emperor on his way in pro- cession to the mosque ; but the stern com- mand was given to force a path, and many of the suppliants were trampled under the feet of the horses and elephants. The tax was submitted to without further demur, but the good-w^ill of the Hindoos was gone for ever : in the Deecan every one of them became at heart a partisan of the Mahrattas ; and the little fanning needed to blow into a flame the long-smouldering discontent of the Rajpoots was given within a few mouths of the imposition of the hated jezia. Rajah Jeswunt Sing died at Cabool, and his widow immediately set out for India, without waiting the permission of Aurung- zebe, who made this insubordination a pre- text for endeavouring to seize her two infant sons.f By the ingenuity of Durga Das, the Hindoo leader, the rani and her chil- dren were enabled to escape to Marwar, over which principality the elder of the boys, Ajeet Sing, lived to enjoy a long reign, and became a formidable enemy to the Great Mogul. J Ram Sing, of Jeypoor or Amber, remained faithful to the master who had so great premise, expired suddenly at Delhi in extreme torture, owing to a jioisoned robe of honour bestowed on him by the perfidious emperor. — (Sajast'kan.) * .-Vnother female and i^o infants were captured by Aurungzebe, the Rajpoots sacrificing their lives freely, as if the supposititious family had been really the widow and orphans of the deceased rajah. 148 DEATH OF SEVAJEE, 1G80— HIS LATEST ACQUISITIONS. little deserved such loyalty ; but Raj Sing,* the rana of Oudipoor, entered heartily into the cause of tlie children of Jeswunt Sing, and refused to agree to the jezia. A long and tedious contest commenced with the year 1679, and was carried on by Aurung- zebe in a spirit of the most barbarous intolerance. His orders to the two princes, Mauzim and Akber, were " to make the enemy feel all the evils of war in their utmost severity ;"t and the Rajpoots, having at length caught something of the intolerant spirit of their foes, plundered the mosques, burned the Koran, and insulted the ^looUahs. A strange turn was given to affairs by the conduct of Prince Akber, then only twenty- three, who was induced to join the Rajpoots, on condition of being proclaimed emperor, in lieu of his father. This rebellious attempt proved unsuccessful; and after being deserted by every Mohammedan follower, Akber resolved to take refuge with the Mahrat- tas, and, under the escort of Durga Das and 500 Rajpoots, arrived safely in tlie Con- can, A.D. 1G81. Great changes had taken place in the affairs of the Deccan since the withdrawal of the flower of the Mogul troops to the north-eastern frontier, in 1672. Se- vajee ha^dng turned his arms against Beeja- poor, had, in the course of the year 1673, become master of the whole of the southern Concan (excepting the points held by the English, Abyssinians, and Portuguese), and of a tract above the Ghauts, extending to the east beyond the upper course of the Kistna. In 1675 lie crossed the Nerbudda, and began to invade the Mogul territory. In the next four years he formed separate alliances with the kings of Golconda and Beejapoor against the Moguls, now under the command of Dileer Khan ; and, in return for his co-operation, received valuable ces- sions of territory, including the jaghire in Mysore, which had been suffered to de- scend to his half-brother, Yenkajee. ' About this time Aurungzebe had .sent a body of 2,000 horse to escort to his court a princess of lloopnagurh, a younger branch of the Marwar house, whom he demanded in marriage. The maiden, indignant at the thought of wedding tlie enemy of her race, sent a message to Raj Sing by her ])receptor (the family priest), entreating him to come to her rescue. " Is the swan," she asked, " to be the mate of the stork ; a llajpootni, pure in l)lood, to be wife to the monkey-faced barbarian ?" 'J"hc rana accepted the challenge, appeared suddenly be- fore lloopnagurh, cut o(f the imperial guard, and carried away the princess in triumph to Oudipoor. t Klphinstono, vol. ii., p. 498. Tlie same para- graph slate.s, " their orders were to em])loy part of One singular feature in this period of the history of Sevajee, is the flight of Sumba- jee, the elder of his two sons, who had been imprisoned in a hill-fort for. attempting to violate the wife of a Brahmin. This young man, of his father's better qualities, seems to have only inherited personal daring. He succeeded in making his escape, and took refuge with Dileer Khan, who welcomed him gladly, but on learning that Aurung- zebe was treacherously disposed, connived at his quitting the imperial camp. Sumbajee then threw himself upon the mercy of his father, who sent him back to the fort of Panalla. From thence he was speedily re- leased by an unexpected event. Sevajee, shortly after dictating a letter to Venkajce, in which he bade him " arouse and be doing," for the present was the time for great deeds, was seized with a painful swell- ing in the knee-joint, which threw him into a fever, and in a few days cut short his extraordinary career, in the fifty-third year of his age, a.d. 1680. The emperor expected, that deprived of their leader, the Mahrattas would sink into insignificance. But he was mistaken. Se- vajee well knew the character of his coun- trymen, and had carefully used that know- ledge in laying down rules for their govern- ment. The Brahminieal creed could not be used as a weapon of persecution, but its mingled tolerance and exclusiveness made it a powerful instrument for concen- trating the religious feelings of the Hindoos, and directing their full force against the cruel and bigotted oppression commanded by the Koran, and practised by Aurungzebe. Sevajee made it his mainstay, scarcely less when the boy-chief of a band of half-naked and superstitious mountaineers, than when these had become the nucleus of a powerful army, and he the crowned king of a state (under Providence) of his own creation, with yearly-increasing territory and revenue. It is their troops to cut off all supplies from the fugitives in the hills ; and with the rest to lay waste the country, burn and destroy the villages, cut down the fruit- trees, and carry njf the women ami children" of course as slaves, or for the services of the harem and its degraded eunuch guards. This barbarity contrasts with the practice of the Hindoos, whether Itajpoot or Mahratta. Sevajee himself decreed, that " cows, cultivators, and women were never to be molested ; nor were any but rich Mohammedans, or Hindoos in their service, who could pay a ransom, to be made prisoners" (IJiiff, vol. i., p. 2:50) ; and El- ])hinstone remarks, that " his enemies bear witness to his anxiety to mitigate the evils of it [war] by humane regulations, which were strictly enforced." CHARACTER OF SEVAJEE. AURUNGZEBE MARCHES TO THE DECCAN. 149 not wonderful that the nicmory of the man wliosc wcll-fligcstcd plans "raised the desjiiscd Iliiuloos to sovereignty, and brouj;ht about their own aceomplislnncnt, when tlic hand that had framed them was low in the dust," shouhl be grate- fully rcmeml)cred by his eountrymcn ; but it allbrds melaneiioly evidence of the dark- ness of heathenism to be told, that the murder of Afzool Khan is spoken of as a " commendable exploit," and its perpetrator " as an incarnation of the Ucity setting an example of wisdom, fortitude, and piety."* Impartial judges admit that Sevajee pos- sessed qualities whicli, in an unenlightened Hindoo, may be termed admirable. Pre- pared for every emergency, peril eould not daunt, nor success intoxicate him. Frugal even to parsimony in his habits, courteous and endearing in manner though passionate in disposition, he continued to the last to move freely about among the people, inspiring them with his own spirit of determined op- position to tlie Mohammedans. Intent on following every turn and winding of Aurung- zebe's snake-like polic}^, he also practised treacherous wiles ; but the use of tliese un- worthy weapons did not detract from his personal courage. To have seen him charge, was the favourite boast of the troops en- gaged in the Deccani wars ; and his famous sword (a Genoa blade of the finest temper, named after his tutelary goddess, Bhavani) was preserved and regarded with nothing short of idolatrous veneration. On the death of Sevajee, one of his sur- viving widows burned herself with his body. The other, Soyera Bye, endeavoured to place her son. Rajah Ram, a boy of ten years old, on the throue, to the exclusion of Sumbajce, whose mother had died during his infancy. The attempt failed, and Sumbajce was pro- claimed king. He caused Soyera Bye to be put to a painful and lingering death ; imprisoned her son; threw the leading Brahmin ministers into irons ; and slew such of his other enemies <is were not pro- tected by the sanctity of their caste. Prince • Hidory of the. Mahratlas, vol. i., p. 297. The above account of Sevajee is almost exclusively de- rived from the able and interesting narrative of Grant Uuflf, whose labour of love has rendered him as eminently the historian of the Mahrattas, as Colo- nel Tod of the Rajpoots. t Bileer Khan died in this year. He was, perhaps, the ablest oflicer in the service of Aurun^jzcbe, whose battles he fought for six-and-twenty years ; but he, like Jey Sing and Jcswunt Sing, found, in the sus- picion and neglect of his crafty master, fit punish- Akber reached the Dcccau in June, IG8], and was honourably received by Sumiiajee, wlio acknowledged him as empeior, but showed no intention of sup|)orling his pre- tensions; devoting such time as he could spare from diinkiug and debauehery to mak- ing war Ujjon the Abyssiuians of Jinjcera and the Portuguese. The vast treasure accumulated by his father was soon dis- sipated ; the people were harassed by op- pressive taxes; and the troops, being left in arrears of pay, began to apjjropriate the plunder taken on exi)cditions for their own use, and to degenerate from comparatively regular bands into hordes of rapacious aud destructive freebooters. Such was the state of things when Au- rungzebe, in 1083, arrived at the head of the whole force of the emi)irc. Sumbajce awoke from his stupor; and ably seconded by his father's trained troops, cut off the greater part of the army sent under Prince Mau- zim to overrun the Concan, in lG81;f and, in the following year, retaliated this inva- sion by taking advantage of the march of the emperor against Ahmednuggur, to sack and burn the great city of Boorhan- poor. In Kj'Sti, the IMoguls being again drawn off to the south, Sumbajce made another bold inroad into the territory in their rear, and plundered Baroaeh with the adjacent part of Guzerat. About this time he entered into a defensive alliance with the king of Goleonda, which Aurungzebe resenting, sent an army against that state, then weakened by internal dissension. Its sovereign, Abool Hussun, though indolent and voluptuous, was popular, and his go- vernment and finances were ably managed by Maduna Pnnt, an active and upright Brahmin, in whom he placed full con- fidence, thereby exciting the discontent of the Mussulmans, especially of Ibrahim Khan, the commander-in-chief, who, on the approach of the imperial force, under Prince iSIauzim, deserted to him with the greater part of the army. The obnoxious minister was murdered; the king fled to mcnt for treachery to the brave and unfortunate ])ara. The emperor confiscated the property of the deceased, and being disappointed in its value, vainly strove to extort, by torture, from his secretary, a confession of the manner in which the supposed sur- plus had been employed. The relatives of Bileer Khan were not, however, more unfortunate than those of Khan Jehan Bahadur, foster-brother to the emperor, who visited his death-bed, but appropriated his property, giving the usual order to seek for hid- den deposits, and recover all out-standing debts. .1 150 BEEJAPOOR AND GOLCONDA ANNEXED TO THE EMPIRE— 1686-'7. the hill-fort of Golcouda ; and Hyderabad was captured and plundered for three days by the Mogul soldiery, notwithstanding the efforts of the prince to check this breach of discipline, which his suspicious father attri- buted to his connivance, as a means of em- bezzlement for ambitious purposes. By a large pecuniary payment, Abool Hussun purchased a brief respite from Aurungzebe, who then moved in person against Beejapoor. The army of this mo- narchy had been so reduced by prolonged warfare, that the city, although surrounded by walls six miles in circumference, was soon completely invested. The Patau gar- rison seemed determined to perish sword in hand, and were therefore suffered to capitu- late after a practicable breach had been made, through which Aurungzebe entered the place on a portable throne. The state was extinguished, a.d. 1686; and Beeja- poor, after attaining a grandeur quite dis- proportioned to the extent of the kingdom of which it formed the capital, sunk rapidly iuto the deserted condition in which it now stands. The young king, after three years' close imprisonment in the ^logul camp, perished suddenly, it is said by violence, the fears of his imperial gaoler harving been raised by a popular commotion in his favour. Golconda, the last independent Moham- medan state, was next destroyed, after a duration of 175 years. Abool Hussun strove by costly gifts to deprecate the ambition of Aurungzebe, who, while receiving these offerings, was secretly occupied in in- trigues with the ministers and troops of the unhappy king; and at length, his plans being matured, denounced him as a pro- tector of infidels, and laid siege to Gol- conda. Roused by this treachery, Abool Hussun, though deserted on all sides, de- fended the fort for seven months, but was eventually betrayed into the hands of his merciless foe, by whom he was sent to end his days in the fortress of Doulatabad. His fate and treatment awakened the com- passion of Prince ^lauzim, whose media- tion he solicited; and the prince, touched by the dignity and resignation with which the monarch bore his misfortunes, or rather injuries, made an earnest appeal in his favour. The result was his own imprison- • In all tlie«e countries Aurungzebe acquired little more than s military oroupition. " The districts were farmed tn the Dejinookh nnd other zemindnn, and were governed by military leaders, who received twenty-five per cent for the expense of collecting; ment for nearly seven years, after which he 1 was released and sent as governor to CabooL All the territories which had been acquired by Beejapoor and Golconda were annexed to the empire, as well as many of Sevajee's conquests; Yenkajee was deprived of the Mysore jaghire, and confined to Tanjore; and Surabajee seemed to have sunk into a state of inertia, and become heedless of passing events. Prince Akber, dreading to fall into his father's hands, fled to Persia, where he remained till his death, about eighteen years afterwards. Aurungzebe had now reached the culmi- nating point of success; neither humanity nor policy had stayed his covetous grasp: he stood alone, the sole Moslem ruler in India — the despotic master of an unwieldy empire, over which the seeds of disorgani- sation and dissolution were sown broadcast. In Hindoostan, the finest provinces were, for the most part, entrusted to the care of in- competent and needy governors, chosen purposely from the lower ranks of the co- bility. These men oppressed the peopiC and neglected the troops — evils which Aurungzebe preferred to the risk of being supplanted by more able and influential officers. His policy in the Deccan was equally selfish and short-sighted. In the governments of Beejapoor and Golconda, he might have found valuable auxiliaries in keeping under the power of the !Mahrattas ; but, by their destruction, he threw down the chief barrier to lawless incursions, set- ting aside constituted authorities without supplying any eSicient substitute.* Of the disbanded armies, the Patans and foreign mercenaries probably obtained service under the emperor ; the remainder joined Sumba- jee, or plundered on their own account; and amid the general anarchy and distress, the new-bom feeling of religious opposition rapidly gained ground. Notwithstanding the inefficiency of their rajah, the ^lah- ratta chiefs exerted themselves individually against the invader, and their energies were rather stimulated than enfeebled by the un- expected capture of Sumbajee, with his mi- nister and favourite companion, a Brahmin named Kaloosha, who were surprised by a body of Moguls during a revel at a favourite pleasure-house in the Concan. It was sug- anJ sent up the balance, after paying their troops, to the emperor; unless, as often hap[>ened, assignments were made for n period of year.'! on fixed districts for the paj-ment of other chiefs." — (Elphinstone's Hii- tory of India, vol. iL, p. 6'J2.) SUMBAJEE EXECUTED, 1689.— MOGUL AND MAHRAri'A TROOPS. 151 gestcd, tliut Sutiibajcc iiii;^lit liu used as a, tool to oljtaia possession of the Maliratta 8troiij;liol(ls ; and witli this view, he was ofl'cred hfc on condition of beconiin}; a Mussulman, ihit misfortune had awakened in liim a sense of degradation, and the only reply was a sarcastic messaf^c to Aurun^zehe, and an invective on the False Prophet, for which (jfl'cnce a cruel punishment was de- creed. Ilis eyes were destroyed by a red- hot iron, his tongue cut out, and he was at last beheaded in the camp bazaar, together with Kaloosha, A.D. 1689. Sumbajee had neither deserved nor ob- tained the confidence of his subjects; but they were deeply mortified by his ignominious fate. The chiefs assembled at Raighur, acknowledged the infant son of the deceased as his successor, and nominated his uncle, Rajah Ram, regent. Raighur was invested by a Mogul force, and taken in 1690, after a siege of several months, through the treachery of a Mawulee leader. The young rajah and his mother fell into the hands of Aurungzcbe, who treated them with un- usual kindness.* Rajah Ram remaining at liberty, proceeded to the distant fortress of Jinjee, in the Carnatie, and assumed the sovereignty. He did not attempt more than the general direction of aft'aiis, sending two able leaders to create a diversion in his own country, and leaving independent com- manders to carry on desultory operations against the Moguls, with whom a tedious and harassing struggle commenced, in which the advantage lay on the side of the ap- parently weaker party. Yet Aurungzebe was indefatigable. Al- though far advanced in years, he superin- tended every hostile operation, and besieged in person the chief places. t His immense armies were marshalled forth in splendid array. The nobles went to battle in quilted cotton tunics, covered with chain or plate armour, and rode on chargers, whose huge • Befjuni Sahib, the emperor's daughter, evinced unremiltinj; kindness to both mother and child during their h)ng cajjtivity. The boy, being miicli with her, attracted the notice of Aurungzebe, who jestingly applied to him the nick-name of Sahoo or Shao, a word signifying the opposite of thief, robber, and similar terms, by which he habitually designated Sumbajee and Sevajee. — (Duff's Mahrattas, vol. i.) t The traveller, Gemelli Carreri, who saw Aurung- zebe at Beejapoor, in 1695, describes him as slender and of low stature, with a smiling aspect, bright eyes, a long nose, and a beard whose silvery white- ness contrasted with an olive-coloured skin. His I dress was of plain white muslin, with one large I emerald in the turban. Ue stood amid his omrahs saddles, housings of cloth or velvet, satin streamers, bells, cliains, and other ornaments of gold and silver, with the frequent ad- dition of pairs of the bushy ox-tails of Tibet iianging down on either side, were better adapted for a triumphal procession, than for warfare with mountaineers in tiicir own country. The common soldiers imitated tiicir superiors in their cumijcrsome attire, and likewise in sloth and efl'euiiuaey : the result was a total relaxation of discipline. The Mahrattas, on the contrary, were mounted on horses, small, strong, and active as themselves, with a pad for a saddle, and a black blanket folded over it for nightly covering during their expeditions, when each man sle|)t on the ground, with his spear stuck by him, and his bridle tied to his arm, ready for any emergency. A led horse, with bags to contain the expected plunder, formed the remainder of their camp ccjuipage. Their common food was a cake of millet, with jierhajis an onion ; their dress, a small turban, a fold of which was frequently passed under tlic chin, J a quilted cotton tunic, tight drawers descending to the knee, and a scarf or sash rolled round the waist. Some carried a sword and shield; a certain proportion were armed with match- locks, or bow and arrows ; but the prevailing weapon was a bamboo spear, thirteen or fourteen feet long, which they wielded with extraordinary skill. Thus armed and habited, they wisely adhered to the desultory war- fare which could alone be successfully waged against the heavily-attired legions of the Mogul. § Then, as now, their only name for a victory was, " to plunder tlie enemy," this being, in their eyes, the chief object as well as sole irrefragable evidence and measure of conquest. Fort after fort was captured by the im- perial army ; but the ISIahrattas meanwhile issued from their lurking-places and over- spread the newly-acquired territories, as leaning on a stafi' or crozier (like those used by the fakeers); received petitions, read them without spec- tacles, and endorsed them with his own hand. In youth, savs Manouchi, he was pale even to ghastliness. \ Tlie Mahratia description of a very fierce-look- ing person, includes a turban tied beneath the chin, and mustachios "as thick as my arm." Their national flag, swallow-tailed and of a deep orange colour, is emblematic of the followers of Mahdeo. § The Mawulees weie famous for sword-in-hand combat; the Hetkurees (Concan mountaineers) used a species of firelock, and excelled as marks- men : both parties could, with case, scale rocks and mount precipices, wliieh the Moguls would have found certain dcstructioa in attempting. 152 DISTRESS AND HUMILIATION OF MOGUL ARMY— 1700 to 1707. well as Berar, Candelsh, and Malwa. De- tachments were sent against them in various directions, but to little avail ; for, on per- ceiving their approach, the wily mountai- neers dispersed at once, without attempting to stand a charge ; and after leading the Moguls a weary, and generally fruitless chase, were themselves ready to follow the retreating track of their disheartened pursuers, and take advantage of any opening or confusion in the ranks, occasioned by accident or exhaustion. Fighting such foes was like beating the air, and even worse ; for while their number and power were rapidlj' in- creasing by the alliance of the zemindars of the countries which they overran, the troops of Aurungzebe, thinned by long and sanguinary sieges, required frequent recruit- ment from Hindoostan, whence also supplies of money had to be drawn. Rajah Ram died a.d. 1700, and was suc- ceeded by his infant son, Sivajee, under the regency of Tara Bye, mother of the young rajah. This change had little effect on the war. Aurungzebe went on taking forts, until, by the close of the next five years, all the principal Mahratta strongholds had fallen before him ; but then the tide turned, and the rapidly-multiplying foe themselves became besiegers, and regained many for- tresses, at the same time intercepting sevei-al convoys, and thus depriving the emperor of the means of paying his army.* No writer has delineated the condition of the agricul- tural population of the Deccan ; but their sufferings from these prolonged and deso- lating wars must have been frightful. From them the circle of distress spread gradually but surely, until scarcity of food began to be felt even in the imperial camp, and was aggra- vated by the devastating effects of heavy rains. On one occasion, a sudden flood of the Beema inundated the imperial canton- ment during the night, and caused the de- struction of 12,000 persons, with horses, cattle, and stores beyond calculation. The contempt with which the Moguls once regarded the Mahrattas had long given place to dread ; while the Mahrattas, on their part, began to see the emptiness of tlie pomp which surrounded the Great Mogul, and mocked the Mussulmans, by pretending to ejaculate devout aspirations for the prolonged life of their best patron, • Among the many letters extant, written by Au- rungzebe, are 8C'V<'ral addressed to ZiilfiUar Klian, desiring hirn to search for hidden treasures, and hunt out any that may have fallen into the hands Aurungzebe. The news from Ilindoostau was of an increasingly-disheartening cha- racter; the Rajpoots were, for the most part, in open hostility, and their example had been followed by the Jats (a Hindoo people of the Soodra class), near Agra : against these, as also against a body of Sikhs at Muttra, it had been necessary to send a force under a prince of the blood. Zulfikar Khan, the chief Mogul general, being treated with irritating distrust by his sovereign, seems to have grown dilatory and indifferent, if, in- deed, the dark clouds which were gathering over the political horizon did not induce him, like other nobles, designedly to tem- porize with the foe. The princes — now fa- voured, now disgraced — turned pale when summoned to the presence of their father ;t while he, remembering the fate of Shah Jehan, trembled yet more at the semblance of overstrained humility than at open insu- bordination. At length overtures of peace were made to the Mahrattas, and Aurungzebe was brought to consent to the liberation of Shao, the son of Sumbajee, and to the pay- ment of ten per cent, of the whole revenues of the six soubahs of the Deccan (as Sur- deshmooki), on condition of the maintenance of a body of horse to keep order; but the negotiation was broken otf by the exorbi- tant demands and overbearing conduct of the Mahrattas. Disgusted and unhappy, with dispirited troops and exhausted cattle, the aged emperor retreated from Beejapoor to Ahmeduuggur, harassed all the way by the enemy, who succeeded in dispersing and destroying a portion of the grand army; and, had they chosen to hazard a general attack, would probably have captured the person of their inveterate foe. That no such attempt was made is a subject of fer- vent exultation with Mussulman writers. Aurungzebe gained Ahmednugger in safety; and, when pitching his camp on the same spot whence it had marched in so much pomp and power twenty years before, he sorrowfully remarked, that his campaigns were ended — his last earthly journey com- pleted. He had now entered the fiftieth year of his reign, and the eighty-ninth of his age; but the extreme temperance and regu- larity which characterised his physical ex- istence, had ijreserved his faculties in an of individuals, that means may be afforded to silence " the infernal foot-sohliers," who were crouk- inj; like the tenants of an invaded rookery. t Khafi Khan. — ( Vide Elphinstone,vol. ii. p.S-Jl.) DEATH OF AURUNGZEBE, 1707— STATE OF THE EMPIRE. 158 extraordinary (legrco of perfection.* Yet to hitn, freedom from the imbecility frequently attendant on extreme a^^c was rather a curse than a blessing. The few sands still remaining in his measure of life would, he feared, be rudely shaken by the ambition of his heirs, and, to avoid this danger, he made a last exertion of power by sending away his favourite son, Kaumbuksh, to J5cejapoor, and preventing Mauzim (then in Cabool) or Azlm (in Guzerat) from coming to Alimcd- nuggur. His own children could not be trusted to minister to their aged father, although, in this awful period, he seems to have had a newly-awakened yearning for human sympathy. Death was fast ap- proaching ; and what provision had he made for the stability of the empire, the welfare of the people, the salvation of his own soul ? After his decease, which took place in Feb- ruary, 1707, a willf was found beneath his pillow, decreeing the division of the empire among his sons : but he probably foresaw the little attention which would be paid to it, and might reasonably have adopted the saying of another crooked politician, "Aprcs * Xhafi Khnn says, " none of his five senses were nt all impaired, except his hearing in a small degree ; b>it not so that others could perceive it." Auruiig- zebe possessed, in perfection, what Lytton Buhver, following a French proverb, calls the twin secrets for wearing well — '• a bad heai't and a good digestion." ■f A previous will contained directions for his funeral, the expense of which was to be defrayed by a sum, equal to ten shillings, saved from the price of caps which he had made and sold : 805 rupees, gained by copying the Koran, were to be distributed among the poor. (Elphinstone's India, \o\. ii., p..551.) + These remarkable and well-authenticated letters contain many characteristic and interesting pas- sages : for instance, " the camp and followers, help- less and alarmed, are like myself — full of affliction, restless as the quicksilver. The complaints of the unpaid troojjs are as before. • • • 'phe fever has left me; but nothing of me remains but skin and bone. My back is bent with weakness ; my feet have lost the power of motion. • • • xhe Begum [his daughter] appears afflicted ; but God is the only judge of hearts." To Kaumbuksh he says, " Odiporee, your mother, was a partner in my ill- ness, and wishes to accompany me in death; but everything has its appointed time."— (Scott's History of the iJeccan, vol. i., pp. S and 9.) According to Tod, this lady was a princess, not of Oudipoor, but of Kishenghur, a minor division of Joudpoor. § As in the Deccan, so also throughout Hindoos- tan, we can only form an idea of the condition of the tnais of the people by an incidental remark, scattered here and there, amid many weary pages filled with details of invasion and slaughter, pomp and intrigue. The Mussulman writers were usually pensioners of the monarch, whose deeds they chronicled; the Hin- doo annalists were the bards of the leading families, of which they formed important and cherished mem. b»ra. Neither the one nor the other could be ex- moi Ic di'liif/e." His subjects — at least the Mussulinun portion — lie commends to the care of his sons, in his farewell letters, as a charge committed to them by CJod himself; and then ])roceeds to give vent, in discon- nected sentences, to tlie terrible ap|)rehcn- sions before which his spirit shrank in dis- may. " Wherever I h)ok," writes the dying emperor, " I see nothing but the Deity. I know nothing of myself — what I am — and for what 1 am destined. The instant which passed in power hath left only sorrow be- hind it. I have not been the guardian and protector of the empire," he adds, in the same tone of remorse rather than repentance. * * * "I have committed many crimes ; and know not with what punishments I may be seized. The agonies of death come upon me fast. Farewell ! farewell ! farewell \"X It has been shown that, during the latter part of the reign of Aurungzebe, the empire was manifestly losing its coherent power. After his death, strife, luxury, and corrup- tion in the court ; disorganization in the camp, and discontent among the people j§ pected to rise above the class of mere annalists. To have given a true and lively picture of the actual state of the Indian population under Moslem rule, would have tasked to the utmost the intellect of a philosopher, the zeal of a philanthropist, the courage of a martyr. And to whom should an historian, thus tichly gifted, have addressed himself? Would either the degraded Hindoo or the sensual Moham- medan have cared to trace " the practical operation of a despotic government, and rigorous and san- guinary laws, or the effect, upon the great body of the nation, of these injurious influences and agen- cies." — (Preface to Elliot's Biblioyniphiciil Index of Ilistoriiins of Mohammedan India.) No; for to Christianity alone belongs the high prerogative of teaching men to appreciate justly their rights, duties, and responsibilities. Even with her teaching, the lesson is one which nations are slow to learn. Con- cerning the reign of Aurungzebe, we know less than of many of his predecessors ; because he not only left no autobiography behind him, but even, for a considerable number of years, forbade the ordinary chronicling of events. Of the wretchedness pre- vailing among the people, and the indignation with which the imposition of the jezia was generally re- garded, a forcible representation is given in a letter, addressed by Raj Sing of Oudi|)oor (wrongly attributed by Orme to Jeswunl Sing of Marwar) to .\urungzebe, in which he reminds him of the prosperity atten- dant on the mild conduct of .Vkber, Jehangeer, and Shah Jchan towards the Hindoos, and points out the opposite results of the present harsh measures, in the alienation of much territory, and the devasta- tion and rapine which universally prevailed. " Your subjects," he says, " are trampled under foot, and every province of your empire is impoverished; de- population spreads, and difiiculties accumulate. • • • The soldiery are murmuring ; the merchants com- plaining ; the Mohammedans discontented ; the Hin- 151. CONTESTED SUCCESSION— REIGN OP BAHADUR SHAH, 1707. fostered by the imposition of the jezia and excessive imposts upou land, grew apace, aud the power of the great Moguls crumbled into ruins, its decay being hastened by the rapid increase of the Mahratta nation; the struggles of the Rajpoots for independence ; the irrup- tion of the Sikhs ; and the desolating inva- sion of the Persian monarch. Nadir Shah. The career of the successors of Aurungzebe need be but briefly narrated, since their reigns are not of suflicieut interest to occupy space which can be ill-spared from more important matters ; beside which, the leading events of the eighteenth century will again come into notice in sketching the marvellous rise of the English from humble traders to lords paramount of India. Bahadur Shah* — Prince ^lauzim, the rightful heir to the throne, on receiving tidings of his father's decease, assumed the crown at Cabool with the title of Bahadur Shah, and offered to confirm to his brothers the territorial possessions bequeathed to them by Aurungzebe: viz., to Azim — Agra, with all the country to the south aud south-west ; to Kaumbuksh — Beejapoorand Golconda. The generous and upright character of Bahadur Shah warranted belief in his good faith ; but Azim, who, on the death of the emperor, had hastened to the camp, from which he was not far distant, and caused himself to be proclaimed sovereign of the whole empire, could not be prevailed upou to retract this unwarrantable pretension. Despite the exhausted state of the king- dom, very large armies were assembled on both sides, and a sanguinary contest took place to the south of Agra, in which Prince Azim and his two grown-up sons were slain. The third, a child, was taken by the soldier who decapitated his father, as he lay sense- less in his howdah, and carried into the presence of the emperor, together with the bloody trophy of victory, the head of Azim. Bahadur Shah burst into tears, and strove doos destitute ; and multitudes of people, wretched even to the want of their nightly meal, are beating their heads throughout the day in want and destitu- tion. How can the dignity of the sovereign be pre- served who employs his power in exacting tribute from a ])eo|>!e thus miserably reduced P" — (Ornie's Jlistoricid Frui/ments rtf l/ia Jiliu/iil F.iiiplre, ]). 252.) Aurungzebe's persecution of his Hindoo subjects consisted in pecuniary exactions and systematic dis- couragement: they were exchulod from office, llieir fairs and festivals forbidden, anil even some of their temples destroyed; but bodily suffering was rarely, if ever, inflicted from mere bigotry; and capital punish- ments, for any offence whatever, were infrequent. to pacify the weeping boy with caresses, promising to treat him as one of his own children, a pledge he faithfully redeemed, in spite of the jealous insinuations of his own sons. In this important battle the valour and ability of Monaim Khan, who had been Bahadur Shah's chief officer in Cabool, were very conspicuous. Concealing his own dan- gerous aud painful wounds, he remained on the field till late at night to restore order aud prevent plunder; and then, perfectly exhausted, was lifted from his elephant, and carried into the presence of the emperor, by whom he was appointed vizier. Zulfikar Khan and his father, Assud Khan, who had at first taken part with Prince Azim, quitted his camp, disgusted by his arrogance, before the late engagement, of which they had remained spectators. On presenting them- selves with fettered hands before the emperor, they were gladly welcomed, and appointed to high positions. Prince Kaumbuksh, a vain and flighty young man, persisted in refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of his elder brother, who, after rejjeated attempts at negotiation, which were rejected with scorn and defiance, marched against him to the Deccan, and was again victor in a battle near Hyderabad. Kaum- buksh died of his wounds the same day ; his children fell into the hands of their uncle, by whom they were treated as kindly as their orphan cousin. t The next important event was a truce with the Mahrattas, among whom internal dissensions had arisen, owing to the release of Shao (by Priuce Azim, immediately after his father's death), and the disputed succession between him aud the son of Tara Bye, whose claims, although an idiot, were actively upheld by his ambitious mother. The ascendancy of Shao was recognised by the Mogul government, aud the chout, or fourth, of the revenues of tlie Deccan conceded to him. The Rajpoots were likewise permitted to make peace on very favourable terms. The territory cap- * Sometimes entitled Alum Shah Bahadur. I Eradut Khan, one of the many i-ebellious nobles, who, after the defeat of Azim, were freely jjardoned, says, that the sons of the fallen princes were always permitted to appear fully armed before the em- peror, to accompany him dailv in the chase, and share in all his diversions. Seventeen princes — his sons, grandsons, and nephews, sat round his throne : the royal captives of lieejapoor and Gol- conda were likewise suffered to take their place im- mediately behind the royal princes ; and a crowd of the high nol)iIity daily thronged " tlie platform between the silver rails." — (Scott's Deccan, vol. ii., p. 49.) ORIGIN OF THE SIKHS— BAHADUR SHAH DIES, a.d. 1712. turcd from the raiia of Oudi])oor was restored, and he became af^aiii indoiiendcnt in all l)nt name. Ajeet Sing, the rajah of Marwar, and Jey S'm^, of Jeypoor, appear to have obtained nearly siniilai' advantajics, but rather from necessity tiiaii {^ood-will, since the em- peror was aljoiit to advance ai^'ainst thcni, when his jittcntion was diverted by intelli- gence of the capture of Sirhind by the Sikhs. These people, from an inoffensive, religious sect, founded about the end of the fifteenth century by a Hindoo named Nannk,* had been changed by iiorsccntinii into fanatical vi'arriors. When driven from the neighbourhood of Lahore, whicli had been tlicir original scat, they took refuge in the northern mountains, a.d. ]GO(J, and there remained for nearly seventy years, until the accession of Guru Govind, the tenth spiritual chief from Nanuk. This leader conceived the idea of forming the Sikhs into a religions and military common- wealth. To increase their numbers, he abolished all distinction of caste, and all prohibitions i-egarding food or drink, except the slaughter of kine, which was strictly forbidden. Hindoo idols and Brahmins were to be respected, but the usual forms of worship were set aside. All converts were admitted to a perfect equality, and were expected to take a vow to fight for the cause, always to carry steel in some part of the person, to wear blue clothes, allow the head and beard to grow, and neither clip nor remove the hair on any part of the body. The Sikhs fought desperately, but were too few in number to accomplish the plans of resistance and revenge planned by Guru Govind, who, after beholding his strong- holds taken, his mother and children mas- sacred, his followers slain, mutilated, or dispersed, was himself assassinated by a private enemy. To his spiritual authority, as Guru, no successor was appointed. The temporal command of the infuriated Sikhs was assumed by a Hindoo ascetic, named Bandu, under whose leadership they overran the east of the Punjaub, and, true to their • The beauty of Nanuk, \Yhcn a mere boy, attracted the attention of a learned and wealthy Seyed, who caused him to be educated and instructed in tlie doctrines of Islam. As he grew up, Nanuk extended his rs'adins. collected maxims alike from the Koran and the Yedas, and endeavoured to unite Moham- medan anil Hindoo doctrines on the basis of the unity of God. Converts flocked around him, takin;:; the name of Sikhs {the insfnirtcd), and giving to their preceptor the name and authority of Guru (spiriltial cAiV/'.) The doctrines of the sect were vengeful motto of unceasing enmity to the Mohammedans, not only destroyed the mosques and slaughtered the moollahs, but massacred the population of whole towns, sparing neither age nor sex, and even dis- interring the i)o(lies of the dead, and ex- posing them as food for carrion. The chief scat of these atrocities was Sirhind, which they occupied after defeating the governor in a pitched battle : they subsequently retired to the country on the upper course of the Sutlej, whence they made marauding in- cursions, extending to the neighbourhood of Lahore on the one side, and of Delhi on the other. Bahadur Shah marched against them in 1711, and soon obliged them to take refuge in the hills, where they long continued to struggle against the imperial force. Bandu was at last shut up in a fort, which was strictly blockaded ; but the Sikhs continued the defence until large numbers perished of hunger, and then made a desperate sally, upon which the enemy took possession of the fort without further resistance ; but Bandu escaped through the self-devotion of one of his followers, hy whom he was personated. t After this success, the emperor took his departure ; but the Sikhs had received onlv a temporary cheek ; and their power was again in the ascendant, when Bahadur Shah expired suddenly at Lahore (not without suspicion of poison), in the seventy-first (lunar) year of his age, and the fifth of his reign, a.d. 1712. Jehandar Shah. — On the death of the emperor, a deadly conflict commenced be- tween his four sons, in which three perished — the eldest ascending the throne, notwith- standing his well-known incapacity, by the aid of Zulfikar Khan, who had taken part with him from atnbitious motives, hoping to govern absolutely under the name of vizier. All the princes of the blood, whose persons were within reach, were slain, to secure the authority of the new ruler. But this iniquity only servedto heighten the hatred and disgust gradually embodied in sacred volumes called GnuUlis, and the Sikhs silently increased ; until, in 1606, the Moslem government took offence at their leading tenet — that the form of worship otTered to the Deity was immaterial — and put to death their existing cliicf, whereupon the Sikhs took up arms under his .son, H>u- Govind. — (II. T. Prinsep's 1SV/./1 I'mcer.) t Though struck by the generosity of the impostor, Bahadur is said to h.ive nevertheless sent him pri- soner, in an iron cage, to Delhi, an net singularly at v.iriancc with his compassionate nature. 156 SEYED BEOTHERS DEPOSE AND SLAY JEIIANDAR SHAH, a.d. 1713. excited by tlie pride and tyranny of Zulfikar Khan, and the vices and follies of his impe- rial froUgi, who lavished honours upon his favourite mistress (originally a public dancer), and promoted her relations, although, like herself, of a most discreditable class, to the highest dignities in the state. Dissatisfac- tion prevailed throughout the court, when tidings arrived that Feroksheer (the son of one of the fallen princes whom Jehandar had vainly striven to get into his power) had prevailed upon two Seyed* brothers, the governors of Behar and Allahabad, to espouse his cause ; and having, by their aid, assembled an army, was now marching to- wards Agra. Jehandar and Zulfikar met the invaders, at the head of 70,000 men ; but, being defeated, the emperor fled in disguise to Delhi, and took refuge in the house of Assud Khan. The treacherous old man made him a prisoner, and persuaded Zulfikar (who arrived soon after, with the remaining troops) to make terms with the conqueror, by the surrender of their unfortunate master. The father and son then presented them- selves to Feroksheer, with fettered hands, as they had done to his grandfather, Bahadur Shah, some six years before, but with a very different result. Zulfikar and Jehandar were strangled with a leathern thong, after which their bodies were fastened to an ele- phant, and dragged through the leading thoroughfares of Delhi, followed by the wretched Assud Khan, and all the female members of his family, in covered carriages. Thus ended the nine months' sway of Je- handar Shah, A.D. 1713. Feroksheer' s first act of sovereignty was to appoint the Seyed brothers to the highest offices in the empire — the elder, Abdullah Khan, being made vizier ; the younger, Hussein Ali, ameer ool omra, or com- mander-in-chief. He next proceeded to remove from his path, by the bow-string, such of the old nobility as might be disposed to combine against him ; and the same in- • Lineal descendants of Mohammed. t Tlio mother of Feroksheer had taken a leading port in persuading the Seyed brotliers, for the sake of her husband who liad befriended them, to uphold her son ; and had sworn u])on the Koran, that if they would do so, no ph)t should ever be formed against them, of wlijch slio, if cognizant, would not give them immediate information. Tliis pledge was conscien- tiously redeemed, and her timely warning more than once preserved their lives. — Vide Col. 15riggs' revised translation of the Siyar-nl-MiiUikheria — (Manners of the Moderns), a work comprising the history of the greater jjan of the eighteentli century, written in a very clear and interesting manner, by Mir Gholam strument was freely used among the remain- ing members of the royal family, including even his own infant brothers. These cruel- ties were sure indications of a suspicious and cowardly nature ; and, as might be ex- pected, his distrust was soon excited against the very persons by whom he had been raised to the throne. The consequence was, that his whole reign was a continued, though long-disguised struggle with the two Seyeds, whose watchfulness and confidence in each other rendered them eventually victorious. t Feroksheer endeavoured to weaken, by dividing them ; and, for this end, sent Hussein against Ajeet Sing, of Marwar, to whom a private intimation was for- warded, that the emperor would be well- pleased by the defeat and death of his own general. The plot failed ; for the parties immediately concerned wisely consulted their mutual interest, by making a speedy peace, and Hussein returned to court, bear- ing with him the daughter of the rajah, to be the bride of his ungrateful sovereign. The nuptials were celebrated on a scale of extraordinary magnificence ; but were no sooner terminated, than Hussein Ali was sent to the Deccan, ostensibly to prosecute hostilities agaiust the Mahrattas. Daud Khan Panni, an Afghan commander, re- nowned for reckless courage, received orders to join Hussein, and, under pretence of co-operation, to take the first opportunity of eflecting his destruction. But the agent selected to carry this nefarious scheme into execution was ill-chosen. Daud Khan, though well-disposed to revenge the death of his old patron, Zulfikar Khan, J would not stoop to stab in the dark ; he therefore set the Seyed at defiance, engaged him as an open enemy, and, by the impetuosity of his charge, had nearly triumphed, when a ball pierced his brain, and at once changed the fortune of the day. Hussein Ali pro- ceeded to execute his commission against the Mahrattas, without openly attributing Hussein, a Delhi noble. Mr. St. George Tucker, late chairman of the East India Company, who met him repeatedly at Gya Behar, in 1786-'7, alludes to him as " the finest specimen of a nobleman I had ever seen." — (Tuclicr's lAfe and Correspondence, edited by J. W. Kaye, vol. i., p. 40.) \ Zulfikar Khan, on receiving the appointment of viceroy of the Deccan, had been permitted to reside at court, leaving ])aud Khan as his representative, or, as it was then termed, naik stihtili-ihir, deputy viceroj'. He was himself succeeded, in 1713, by Cheen Kilich Khan (afterwards well-Unown under the titles of Nizam-ool-Moolk and Asuf Jah), who was in turn removed by Hussein Ali. DEFEAT OF SIKIIS— MASSACRE OF PRISONERS, a.d. 1715. 157 to the omporor the opposition which he had encountered, and sent a strong detachment against a chief named Dahuri, who had established a line of fortified villages in Candeish, and by his depredations on ciira- vans, shut up tlie great road from llindoo- stan and the Dcecan to Surat. While one portion of the imperial troops was thus employed, another was dispatched against the Sikhs, who had renewed tb.cir ravages with increased fury. Bandu was defeated, captured, and put to death in a most barba- rous manner, and a largo number of his followers were slaughtered in cold blood.* Tliose who remained at large were hunted down like wild beasts, and a considerable time elapsed before they became again for- midable. In the Deccan the Moguls were less successful : the Mahrattas practised their usual tactics of evacuating assaulted positions, and leading their foes, by the oft- repeated expedient of a pretended flight, among hilly and broken ground, where they were easily separated and defeated in de- tail, many being cut to pieces, and others stripped of their horses, arms, and even clothes. This inauspicious campaign was at length brought to a discreditable con- clusion ; for Hussein Ali, determined at any cost to rejoin bis brother at Delhi, made a treaty with llajali Shao, acknow- ledging his claim to the whole of the tcrri- torj" possessed by Sevajee, with the addition of later conquests, and authorising not only the levy of the chout, or fourth, over the whole of the Deccan, but also of surdesh- mooki,t or one-tenth of the remaining re- venue. In return, Shao was to pay a tribute of ten lacs of rupees; to furnish a coutiu- • The majority were executed on the field of battle J but 7-10 were sent to Delhi, and after being paraded through llie streets on camels, were be- headed on seven successive days, having firmly re- jected the offer of life, on condition of belying their religious opinions. liandu was exhibited in an iron cage, clad in a robe of eloth-of-gold and a scarlet turban : annmd him were tlie heads of his followers, fixed on pikes ; and even a dead cat was st\ick up to indicate the extirpation of everything belonging to him. On his refusal to stab his own infant, the child was slaughtered before his eyes, and its lieart forced into liis mouth. The wretched father was then torn to pieces witli hot irons, and died defying his persecutors, and exulting in the belief that he had been raised up to scourge the iniquity and oppres- sion of the age. — (Scott's Tlistur;/ of the lieccini.) t The Desmookh, literally chiff of the district, was an hereditary officer under tlio llindoo government, who received a portion of the revenue in money or in kind ; " and," says General Briggs, " in the local or modern appellations of Dessavi, Kat Gour, Na- gent of 10,000 horse; to preserve the tran- (|uillity of the country; and to be answerable for any loss occasioned by depredations, from whatever quarter. As Shao was at this time engaged in civil war, it was manifest that he could but very imperfectly perform his part of this extraordinary agreement, since a consider- able portion of the country recognised as his, was really in possession of the hostile party. Feroksheer refused to ratify the treaty ; but Hussein Ali gained his point, by returning to Delhi, wliere his presence was much needed by his brother, Abdullah Khan. This noble, though a man of talent, was indolent, atid devoted to the jileasnres of the seraglio; he therefore delegated the business of the vizierat almost wholly to his deputy, a Hindoo named Iluttun Chand, whose strict measures, arbitrary temper, and zeal for the Brahminical faith, aggravated the jealous feelings with which his adminis- tration was regarded by the Mussulman nobility. Of this state of affairs Feroksheer endeavoured to take advantage, by forming a combination of the chief persons to whom the vizier was known to have given offence. Among these were Jey Sing, of Jeypoor,J Checn Kilieh Khan, and others of impor- tance, who entered warmly into the matter; but the irresolution and timidity of the emperor, together with the continued pre- ference which he evinced, even at this critical period, for incapable and profligate advisers, disgusted and disheartened the nobles who were inclined to take part with hiiB, and all except Jey Sing deserted his cause, § and made their peace with the vizier, from whom Cheen Kilieh Khan re- tumkur, Naidu, Dessye, Desmookh, and Zemindar, we recognise the same person, from Ceylon to Cash- mere, to the present day." — (Note to Siyar-ut-Mutak- herin, p. H6.) It was as compensation for an hereditary claim of this description, purchased by Shahjee, that his son Sevajee sti])ulated with Au- rungzcbe for certain assignments on the Beejapoor revenue as early as KJGG, — (Grant Dufl",vol. i., p. 497.) I This cliiertain had been employed against the Jats, wliom, after a long course of operations, he had succeeded in reducing to extremities; when the vizier opened a direct negotiation with them, in a manner considered very derogatory to the honour of the Kajpoot general. The cause of offence to Cheen Kilieh Khan was his removal from the vice- royalty of the Deccan to the petty government of Moradubad. — (Elphinstone's InJiii, vol. ii., p. oSO.) § 111 marching through Amber, Hussein Ali, to punish the fidelity of Jey Sing to the emperor, gave full scope to the rap,icity of the soldiery, who ravaged tlie land and carried away many persons, of both sexes, into captivity. — {Siijar-ul-Mutahherin.) 158 SEYEDS MURDER FEROKSHEER AND CROWN MOHAMMED SHAH. ccivcd large promises of increased rank and influence, in return for co-operation against Ferolfsheer, whose doom was now sealed by the arrival of Hussein AH, at the head of an army devoted to him, and strengthened by 10,000 Mahrattas. Hussein immediately demanded the dismissal of Jey Sing to his own principality. Feroksheer complied, and strove to deprecate the vengeance of his enemies by the most abject submission, giving no encouragement to the few nobles who were still inclined to take part with him. All was gloom and uncertainty, when the townspeople suddenly rose against the Mahrattas, upon which the Seyeds, taking advantage of the disturbance, marched into the city, forcibly occupied the palace, and wrung by torture, from the women of the seraglio, a knowledge of the hiding-place of the unhappy emperor, who was seized, flung into a dark closet, and soon afterwards put to death in a cruel and insulting manner. The body was then buried in that general receptacle for the murdered princes of the house of Timur — the sepulchre of Hu- mayun : but the people evinced an un- looked-for degree of grief; and of the needy multitude who followed the funeral proces- sion, no one could be induced to accept the money brought for distribution, or partake of the victuals prepared in conformity to custom. Three days afterwards a number of poor persons assembled at the place where the corpse had been washed and perfumed, according to Mussulman rites, and having distributed a large quantity of food, sent for several readers of the Koran, with whom they passed the whole night in tears and lamentations, separating in the morning in an orderly manner. " Oh, wonderful God ! •" exclaims Khafi Khan, in concluding the above narration, " how did thy Divine justice manifest itself in the several events of this revolu- tion ! Feroksheer, in his days of power, had strangled his own brothers, yet in their tender years : he had murdered numbers of innocent persons, and blinded others ; and he was, therefore, destined to sufl'er all these cruelties before he was permitted to die : he was doomed to experience, from the • Vide Sitjar-ul-Muliihliirin, vol. i., p. 193. From usiiijj; sucli laiifjiiiigc i-('S])ecling two Seyeds, Khali Khan was evidently a .Soiinite or iSiinni (sec note to p. 0'2) ; and disputes between this sect and the Sheiahs had risen to an alarmini; lieif,'ht dnring the late reign, a violent att'ray having taken place be- tween them in the capital. In Ahnredabad, a still jnoie serious contest, in which many lives were lost, hands of strangers, all those agonies which others had sufi'ered at his. Nor did the two brothers escape the day of retribution, or go themselves unpunished : in a little time they met with that same usage which they had inflicted on others."* During their remaining tenure of pros- perity, the Seyeds exercised unlimited power. Upon the deposition of Feroksheer, a sickly prince of the blood-royal was brought forth from the seraglio, and crowned under the name of Rafi-ed-derjut. He died of con- sumption in little more than three months, and his younger brother, Rufi-ed-dowlah, being set up in his stead, fell a victim to the same disease in a still shorter period. Mohammed Shah was the title bestowed by "the king-makers" on Roshen-akhter, grandson to Bahadur Shah, whom they raised to the throne on the death of Rafi-ed- dowlah. This prince, now in his eighteenth year, had been educated, like his predeces- sors, in enervating seclusion ; but he pos- sessed an able counsellor in his mother, who enjoined the most unhesitating acquiescence with the will of his imperious protectors, until the time should arrive when he might safely defy their anger. The desired oppor- tunity was not long in presenting itself. The decease of the two pageant emperors so soon after the murder of Feroksheer (although really not the interest of the Seyeds, but the reverse), had served to deepen the distrust and dislike with which they were generally regarded ;t and in Alla- habad, Boondi, and the Punjaub, eflxirts were made to take advantage of a govern- ment which was daily becoming weaker. In Cashmere, a furious contest took place between the Hindoos and Mussidmaus, pro- voked by the persecuting and insulting con- duct of the latter, in which some thousand lives and much property were destroyed before the authorities could restore tran- quillity. But the most important event of this period was the revolt of Cheen Kilich Khan, the governor of ^Talwa. This chief, whose descendants were the famous NizamsJ - of the Deccan, is better known by his titles of Nizam-ool-I\loolk or Asuf Jah, by which he will henceforth be indiscriminately had occurred between the Hindoos and the Mussul- mans, in which tlie governor (Daud Khan Panni) took part witli the former. t Jtiiji-cil-derjut was said to have been poisoned for attempting to contravene the will of the Seyeds. I Niaam-ool-Moolk, signifies rei/iilntor of'tlie state , " tile Nizam," though scarcely a correct expression, is commonly used by European writers to this day. MOHAMMED SIIAII TRIUMPHS OVER THE SEYKDS. KjD termed. His fiitlier, a Turk, had been a favourite olficcr witli Auruw^'/.vhc, under whom ho h;i(l himself served witli distinc- tion. TiiC waywardness oi' Feroksheer had induced him to take part with the Seycds, from whom he received the government of Mahva; but tlieir evident weakness tempted his ambition, and induced him to levy troops, and attempt the cstabhshment of an independent power in tlic Dcccan. March- ing to the Ncrbuchla, he obtained possession of tlie fortress of Asecrgliur, by the simple C.'cpedicnt of furnishing tlie garrison their two years' arrears of pay ; the citadel of Boor- hanpoor was acquired in a somewhat similar manner; and many Dcecani ofiRcers, both Mussulman and IVIahratta, joined the in- vader. Two armies were dispatched against him from ]\Ialwa and Aurungabad; but Asuf Jah, knowing the impetuous character of one of the commanders (Dilawur Khan), drew him into an engagement before he could be supported by his colleague. Alum All (a nephew of the two Seycds) ; and both forces were separately engaged and defeated, with the loss of their respective leaders. Much alarm was created at Delhi by the tidings of these disasters ; and a violent earthquake, which occurred about this time, deepened the gloom of the political horizon. The usurping brothers shared the general feeling; and the young emperor, though closely watched, began to form plans of de- liverance from his wearisome tutelage, being aided in this perilous enterprise by a noble- man, named Mohammed Ameen Khan, with whom he conversed in Turki, a lan- guage unknown to the Indian Seyeds. A party was secretly formed, in which the second place was occupied by Sadut Khan, originally a merchant of Khorasan, who had risen to a military position, and eventually became the progenitor of the kings of Oude. These combinations wei-e not unsuspected by the brothers, between whom it was at length resolved that the younger, Hussein AJi, should march against Asuf Jah, carry- ing with him the emperor and certain no- bles, leaving Abdullah at Delhi to watch over their joint interests. Shortly after • He appears to have been poisoned; but popu- lar belief assi<;necl a diflercnt cause for his death. An impostor, named Nemud, had established himself at iJelhi, and promulgated a new scripture, written in a language of his own invention, framed from those spoken in ancient Persia, and had founded a sect, of wiiidi tlie teachers were called Bekooks, and tlie disciples, I'eraboods. TIk' iiilluence of tlie new pretender increased. His proceedings induced their separation, Hussein Ali was stabbed in Ids ]);danqiiin while reading a petition presenter! to him hyllic assassin (a (.'iilrnuek of rank), who imincdiately i'l.ll under the daggers of the attendants, a.d. 1720. Ab- dullah, on learning his brother's death, set up a new emperor, and hastily assembling a large but ill-disciplined force, marched against Mohammcil Shah, who had now assumed the reins of govcrtiment. Chora- man, chief or rajah of the .Tats (whose num- ber and influence had thriven amid the general disorganisation), joined the vizier, while Jey Sing sent l^OOO men to reinforce Mohammed, who was further strengthened by some chiefs of the Rohilla Afghang, a tribe now rapidly rising into importance. The armies met between Delhi and Agra, a cruel signal being given for the commence- ment of the conflict. Ruttun ('hand hav- ing been seized immediately after the murder of Hussein Ali, was severely beaten and kept in chains until the day dawned on which the decisive encounter w.as to take place. Then, when " the trumpets sounded and the heralds had published three times, as usual, that courage in war is safer than cowardice," the prisoner was decapitated, and his body fastened to the elephant on which Ma- hommed Shah sat, in the centre of his troops, throughout the whole of the ensuing day and night, which the contest occupied. Abdullah Khan was at length defeated and made prisoner, having received several se- vere wounds, of which he died in the course of a few months. Mohammed Shah entered Delhi in triumph : the empress-mother re- ceived him at the entrance of the baram, bearing a basin filled with gems and new coins, which she poui*ed over his head, as a " wavc-ofl'cring" of joy and thanksgiving. The puppet-prince, crowned by Abdullah Khan, was sent back to bis former seclusion, happy in thus escaping punishment for the part which he had been made to bear in the late events. Mohammed Ameen Khan be- came vizier, but had scarcely entered upon the duties of his office, before he was taken ill, and died, after a few hours of extreme agony.* Asuf Jah was appointed as his An-.een to issue orders for his apprehension ; but he- fore they could be executed, the vizier was taken ill, and his alarmed family, believinf; the wrath of Xemud to be the cause of this sudden attack, en- deavoured, by gifts and entreaties, to avert his ven- geance ; but could obtain no other answer than — that the arrow being shot, could not be recalled. He was, nevertheless, left undisturbed, and died about three years after. — (Sniur-ul-MtUakhcrin.) 160 ASUF JAH (OR THE NIZAM) ESTABLISHED AT HYDERABAD, 1724. successor,* it being hoped that his abilities might prop up the falling monarchy. He did not, however, choose to leave the Dec- can until his arrangements with the Mah- rattas should be placed on a satisfactory footing. Meanwhile Mohammed was left to make his own terms with Ajeet Sing, whom he had offended by breaking his secret pledge, that as the reward of the rajah's neutrality, with regard to the Seyeds, he should receive the government of Ajmeer, in addition to that of Guzerat, which he already possessed. But the hour of peril having passed, its engagements were forgot- ten ; not only was Ajmeer withheld, but Ajeet Sing was removed from Guzerat, upon which, assembling a birge army of Rajpoots, he occupied Ajmeer, plundered Narnol, and marched within fifty miles of Delhi, the emperor being at length glad to compromise the matter by confirming him in the posses- sion of Ajmeer. Tliis happened at the close of 1721 : in the beginning of the following year, Asuf Jah arrived in Delhi, and beheld with dismay the shameless dissipation which prevailed tliere. Corruption and intrigue were venial sins, if not necessary expedients, in the sight of a diplomatist brouglit up at the court of Aiirungzebe; but indolence and sensuality were vices of a class which Asuf Jah held in well-merited abhorrence. It would seem as if the emperor had by this time cast off the salutary influence of his mother, since, among the circumstances that excited the stern reprobation of the vizier, was that of the roval signet beinar entrusted to the care of a favourite mistress, who accumulated a large fortune by means of the petitions she was suffered to carry within the seraglio. The dissolute com- panions of the young monarch cordially reciprocated the dislike of the minister, and, from mimicking the antiquated dress and formal manners of "the old Deccani ba- boon," as they insolently termed him, soon began to form serious conspiracies, which, he perceiving, quitted Delhi on pretence of a hunting excursion, and then sent in his resignation of the vizierat. Returning to the Deccan, he assumed the full powers of an independent ruler ; still, however, afi'ect- ing to recognise the supremacy of Moham- med Shall, who, with equal duplicity, re- turned this empty comiilinient, by conferring on him tlic highest titles that could be held by a subject; but, at the same time, sent * AsiifJdh signiDes " in place and rank, as Asuf," who is Bupijosed to have been Solomon's vizier. secret orders to !Mubariz Khan, the local governor of Hyderabad, to endeavour to dispossess Asuf Jah, and assume tlie vice- royalty of the Deccan. INIubariz perished in the attempt ; and Asuf Jah, not to be out- done in dissimulation, sent his head to the emperor, with presents and congratulations on the suppression of the rebellion. Then, fixing his abode at Hyderabad, he strove to secure himself against the aggression of the Mahrattas, by various manoeuvres, alter- nately endeavouring to direct their efforts against the Delhi court, or fomenting their own internal divisions. Considerable changes had taken place since the reigu of Bahadur Shah. The idiot son of Tara Bye died iu 1712, and a party set up the claims of Sumba, a child of the younger widow of Rajah Ram. In the struggle between the cousins, Shao acquired the superiority by the favour of the Moguls, and maintained it through the abilities of his minister, Balajee Wiswanath (the founder of the Brahmin dynasty of Peishwas), who, shortly before his death, iu 1720, obtained from Mohammed Shah a ratification of the treaty made with Hussein Ali Khan in 1717. Chout and surdeshmooki being thus made legal claims, Balajee demanded, on account of the former, one-fourth of the standard assessment fixed by Todar Mul and Malek Amber ; but, as of this only a small portion could now be realised from the exhausted country, the best that could be done was to secure at least 25 per cent, of the actual receipts. The latter claim, styled the rajah's wutun, or inheritance, it suited both the foreign and domestic policy of the Mahrattas to keep undefined; " but," says Grant Duff, " one system in practice — that of exacting as much as they could, was as simple as it was invariable."t The revenue thus acquired was parcelled out by Balajee in assignments on various districts, and distributed among different chiefs, in such a manner as to give each an interest in the increase of the general stock, while to none was allotted a compact pro- perty calculated to tempt its holder into forming plans of independence. This was the general rule ; but some Mahrattas were already landed proprietors, and others were occasionally permitted to become so. The complicated state of afl'aii's which natu- rally resulted from the above arrangements, rendered the illiterate chiefs more than ever dependent on their carcoons, or Brahmin + Jlislori/ of the Mahraltas, vol. i., p. 454. BAJEE RAO (PEISIIWA) AND ASUP JAH (NIZAM-OOL-MOOLK.) 161 clerks.* The power of tlie poislnvas grow willi tluat of their euste ; and fVoin Ijeiii^ s(;r()iult in the eounsels of th<^ rajah, they beeanie paramount even over thcnr nominal master, to which result, the talents and cncrfty of 15a- jcc Rao, the son and successor of JJalajec, greatly contributed. This remarkable man imitcd to the enterprise and vif^our of a Mahratta chiefj the polished manners and address which frequently distinguish the Brahmins of the Conean. lie saw clearly that the predatory hordes, so useful in an enemy's country, would prove ungovernable at home; and, therefore, urged their imme- diate employment in invading the northern provinces. Shao hesitated : brought up in a Mussulman seraglio, he had retained little of the restless spirit of his countrymen ; but when Bajce Rao pointed out the weakness of the Mogul empire, adding, "now is our time to drive strangers from the land of the Hindoos — let us strike at the trunk of the withering tree, the branches must fall of themselves," the rajah, roused to enthu- siasm by the prophecy that his standard should fly from the Kistua to the Attock, exclaimed — " You shall plant it on the Himalaya, noble son of a worthy father. "§ These ambitious projects were materially forwarded by the disputes between the emperor and Asuf Jah. The latter, while vizier, had obtained possession of the go- vernment of Guzerat; but was deprived of it, as also of INIalwa, after his return to the * " Bajee Rao," says Grant Duff, " had not leisure to attend to detail or arrangement; the minute divisions which were made of the revenues ceded by tlie Moguls, served to provide hundreds of Brahmin careoons with bread ; and every one interpreted tlie amount of liis own or his master's claims to Surdesh- mooki, Baptee, Mokassa, iS:c. ; rather according to his power to enforce his demands, than his ability to prove their justice." — (Vol. i., p. 5()S.) t The prithee nidkee, or representative of the rajah, took rank above the eight ministers or purd- ha»s, of whom the ])[>ishwa was the chief; and Hajee Rao long found a troublesome rival in Sreejiut Rao, the prithee nidhee, whose influence with tlie rajah frequently obliged the jieishwa to return to Sattara while engaged in distant expeditions, lest his power should be undermined through prolonged absence. J During his first campaign against Bajee Rao, the nizam, desiring to form an idea of the person of his opponent, desired a famous painter in his service to proceed to the hostile army, and take the likeness of its leader, in whatever attitude he might be first seen. The result was a sketch of the hand- some figure of the peishwa, mounted, with the head and heel-ropes of his horse in its feeding-bag, his spear resting on his shoulder, and both hands em- ployed in rubbing some ears of ripening grain (the common ./()OH'n)-ee), which he ate as he rode. § DufTs Muhratias, vol. i., p. 486. neccan. In Guzerat, Hamecd Khan (Asuf's uncle and dc|)uty) resisted the occupation of the newly-appointed governor, .Sirbuhmd Khan, and ciilled in the aid of the Mah- rattas (,\.i). \72'>), giving, in return, the cliout and surdeshmooki of the country under him, which grant, Sirbuland Khan, though victorious over Hamecd, was evcn- tiuiUy obliged to confirm. || Bajee Rao, about the same time, made incursions into Malwa, entrusting the chief commands to tlu! afterwards famous leaders, Puar, Holcar, and Siudia.^[ The nizam (Asuf Jah), beheld with alarm the growing power of the peishwa, which he strove to undermine in various ways. But secret ])lots and ojicn hostility alike failed ;** and fearing that the emjieror might be disposed to revenge his insubordi- nation, by transferring the viccroyalty to his powerful foe, he changed his policy, and made overtures to Bajee Rao, which pro- duced the mutual good understanding neces- sary to the immediate plans of both parties. The presence of the peishwa was now needed for the support of the Mahratta interest in Guzerat, the court of Delhi having refused to ratify the grant made by Sirbuland Khan, who had been dismissed from the government, and forcibly expelled by his successor, Abhi Sing, rajah of Joud- poor, the unnatural son of the brave Ajeet Sing. ft Pilajce Guicowar (the ancestor of the family still ruling iu Guzerat) repre- II In 1729, he granted deeds, ceding ten per cent. (surdeshmuoki) of the whole revenue, both on the land and customs, with the exception of the port of Surat and the district around it; together with one- fourth (c/io»<) of the whole collections on the land and customs, excepting Surat; and five per cent, on the revenues of the city of Ahmedabad. — (Grant Duff's Ilisturi/ of the Miihratttts, vol. i., p. 51-1.) ^ Udajee Puar was a chief before his connection with the ])eishwa. Mulhar Rao Holcar was a shep- herd on the Neera, south of Voona ; and Sindia, though of a respectable family, near Sattara, had acted as a menial servant to Bajee Rao. *• The nizam first affected to doubt whether the money due from his revenues was to he paid to Shao or Sumba ; but this question was decided by the treaty which the latter was compelled to sign, ac- cepting, in lieu of all other claims, a tract of country round Kolapoor, hounded on the west by the sea. Asuf Jah next allied himself with a powerful leader, named Dhabari (the hereditary ecnaputee, or com- mander-in-chief), who had mainly assisted in the esta- blishment of Mahratta power in Guzerat, and viewed with envy the paramount sway of Bajee Rao. ])habari assembled an armv of 35,000 men, and marched against the peishwa, by whom he was de- feated and slain, a.d. 1731. tt Ajeet Sing refusing to sanction the nefarious schemes of the two Seyeds, they sent for bis son, and 162 MAHRATTAS ADVANCE TO THE GATES OF DELHI -a.d. 1736. sented the rights or claims of the INIahrattas ! in that district; and Abhi Sing, finding him j a formidable adversary, procured his removal by assassination. This crime roused the in- dignation of the countrymen of the deceased: his sou and brotiier appeared in great force ; the hill tribes of Bheels and Coolies flocked round their standard ; and, beside throwing the whole province into confusion, made a sudden irruption into the hereditary domi- nions of the Rajpoot governor, wlio, leaving a very inefficient deputy in Guzerat, with- drew to defend his own principality. In Malwa, the fortune of the Moguls was equally on the decline : Bajee Rao invaded it in person in 173.2, and, taking advantage of the hostility between Mohammed Khan Bungush, the viceroy of Jlalwa and Allaha- bad,* and the rajah of Bundelcund, whose territory lay between those two provinces, made common cause with the latter, and succeeded in expelling the imperial governor. The Bundelcund rajah, in return for this co-operation, ceded tlic territory' of Jansi, on the Jumna, to the peishwa, and, at his death, bequeathed to him certain rights in Bundelcund, which paved the way to the occupation of the whole of that country by the Mahrattas. Rajah Jey Sing II., of Amber, was now made viceroy of Malwa. This prince, so celebrated for munificence, learning, and love of science,t does not seem to have inherited the Rajpoot passion for war. He considered it hopeless to oppose the partition of the empire, and, therefore, surrendered the province to the peishwa (a.d. 1734), with the tacit con- currence of Mohammed Shah, on whose behalf it was still to be held. By this conduct, Jey Sing is said, by his own coun- trymen, " to have given the key of Hin- doostan to the Southron ;" but it is certain that he strove to curb the excesses of the Mahrattas, whose power and influence con- tinued to increase during the two following informed liim that the deposilion and death of his father were the only means of averting the desttruc- tion of Marwar. ]?y the offer of the independent sovereignty of NiiL.ire, Abhi Sing prevailed on liis younger brotiier, Hukht Sing, to murder their father, who was stabbed while sleeping. The mother of these parricidal sons burnt herself with lier hus- band's body ; and no less than eighty-four ])crsons shared her fate ; for, says Tod, " so much was Ajeet beloved, that even men devoted themselves on his pyre." — {TinjdKl'litni, vol. i., p. 715.) • Mohnnimrd Khan threw himself into a fort, and was alnioHt driven to surrender at discretion, when his wife sent her veil (the strongest ;ippeiil to Af'ghiiu honour) to licr countrymen in lluhileund; and liy years, at the expiration of which Bajee Rao, after a short interval spent in arranging the internal affairs of the Deccan, again took up the negotiation, and demanded, as the price of peace, a jaghire, comprising no- thing less than the whole province of Malwa, and all the country soutli of the Chumbul, together with the holy cities of Muttra, Allahabad, and Benares. As the Mah- rattas, like many other diplomatists, inva- riably began by demanding much more than they expected to obtain, the emperor tried to pacify them by minor concessions, in- cluding atithority to levy tribute on the Rajpoots, and to increase that already legalised on the territories of Asnf Jah. This permission had the doubtless desired cflect oil the mind of the nizam. Be- coming seriously alarmed by the rapid pro- gress of his allies, he thought he had carried his policy of weakening the Moguls too far, and listened gladly to the solicitations of Mohammed Shah, who, overlooking his rebelliotis conduct, now earnestly desired his assistance. The courtiers, likewise, chang- ing their tone, began to reckon upon the advice of the nizam as that of " an old wolf who had seen much bad weather." Asuf Jah was yet deliberating how to act, when Bajee Rao marched towards the capital, sending a detachment of light troops, under Holcar, to ravage the country beyond the Jumna. Sadut Khan, the governor of Oude, advanced to the defence of the ad- joining province ; and the check given by this spirited proceeding was magnified into a decided victory, the report of which occa- sioned excessive rejoicing at Delhi, and so galled Bajee Rao, that avoiding the army sent out to meet him, he advanced at the rate of forty miles daily, being resolved, as he said, to prove to the emperor that he had not been expelled from Hindoostan by showing him flames and Mahrattas at the gates of the capital. J As his object was, means of the volunteers thus assembled, her husband was rescued and escorted to Allj|iabad. (Scott, vol.ii.) t This prince occupied the gadi, or cushion of Amber, for forty-four years. When dismissed by Fcroksheer [nee p. 158), he retired to his hereditary dominions, devoting himself to the study of astronomy and history. He built tlie city of Jeypoor ; erected obsi-rvatories, furnished with instruments of his own invention, at Delhi, Jeypoor. Oojein, ]ienares, and Mat'hura, \\\nm a .scale of Asiatic grandeur; and caused luirlid'n E/ciiieiits, the Trcclisrs im P!nin and Sjihcriciil Tiiijniiiimidri/, and Xnjiirr tin the Oyiisir-uc- liiiH and L'su of J.nijurilliins, to he translated into Sanscrit. — {RajasCluw, vol. ii., p. 308.) ] Duil't. Mohmllu.i. vol. i., u. 532. TAHMASP NADIR KOOLI, AFTERWARDS NADIR SHAH. 163 liowever, to intimidate rather than pro- voke, he exerted every effort to prevent the devastation of the suburbs by bis troops, and, for this purpose, drew oft' to some distance from the city. This movement bein^ attributed to fear, induced tlie Moguls to make a sally ; but they were driven back with heavy loss. The approach of the im- perial forces, and also of Sadut Khan, warned Bajee Rao of the necessity of making good his retreat to the Deccan, which the uizam quitted some months later for Delhi, tempted by the jiromise not only of the vizierat, but also of the viccroyalty of Malwa and Guzerat, provided he could expel the Mahrattas. With an army of about 3 1',()00 men under his personal command, supported by a fine train of artillery aiul a reserve, the nizam advanced to Seronje against his formidable foes, while Bajee Rao crossed theNerbudda at the head of a nominally-superior force. This circumstance, added perhaps to reliance on his artillery, led Asuf Jah, with character- istic caution, to establish himself in a strong position close to the fort of Bhopal, and there await the enemy. But he ought to have been better acquainted with Mahratta tactics. Seldom formidable in pitched bat- tles, they gladly avoided a decisive encounter, and resorted to their usual plans of laying waste the surrounding eountiy, intercepting all communication, and attacking every de- tachment that ventured beyond the lines. Dispirited by watching aiul privation, many of the nizam's troops were inclined to desert ; but Bajee Rao gave them no encouragement, well knowing, that so long as the blockade could be secured, the greater the numbers the greater their straits. After the lapse of a month or six weeks, Asuf Jah, straitened for supplies, and completely cut off from the reserve force, attempted a retreat northward, under cover of his powerful artillery, but was so harassed by the ]\Iahrattas as to be compelled to come to terms, and agree, on condition of being suffered to pursue his humiliating march unmolested, to give up Malwa, with the complete sovereignty of all the couuti-y from the Nerbudda to the Chum- bul, solemnly engaging to use his best en- * " I tried hai-d," says Bajee Rao, in a letter to liis brother, " to get something from the nabob him- self; but this I scarcely expected. I recollected his unwillingness to part with money when I entered on an agreement to assist him ;" alluding to their com- pact six yeai-3 before. — (Duff, vol. i., p. 542.) t The Wonderful being used as a title of the Divinity. The fa'ther of Nadir Kooli belonged to the Turki ti-ibe of Afshar, and earned his livelihood dcavours to procure from the emperor a confirmation of this cession, together with a payment of fifty lacs of rupcfcs (.C500,00f)), to defray the pcishwa's expenses.* Ba- jee Rao proceeded to occupy the territory tiuis ac(iuired ; but before the decision of the emperor could be pronounced, an event oc- curred whieb, for the time, threw into the shade the internal dissension that mainly contributed to bring upon unhappy Hiu- doostan so terrible a visitation. Invasion of Nadir Sliah. — The last men- tion made of Persia was the circumstance of the intended hostilities between Shah Abbas II. and Aurungzebe being broken off by the death of the former monarch in 1666. Since then, great changes had occurred. The Saffavi, or Sophi dynasty, after a dura- tion of two centuries, had fallen into a state of weakness and decay ; and Shah Hussein, the last independent sovereign of that race, was defeated and deposed by Mahmood, the leader of the Afghan tribe of Ghiljcis, who usurped the throne of Persia, a.d. 1722. Two years (spent in the unsparing destruc- tion of the wretched Persians, whose nume- rical superiority was their worst crime in the eyes of their barbarous conquerors) ter- minated the career of Mahmood : he died raving mad, and was succeeded by his nephew, Ashruf. The new king resisted successfully the assaults of the Russians and Turks, who entered into a confederacy for dismembering Persia, the western pro- vinces of which were to be a[)propriated by the Porte; the northern, as far as the Araxes, by Peter the Great. The death of the czar relieved Ashruf from these difBeulties ; but a more formidable foe arose in the person of Prince Tahmasp, the fugitive son of Shah Hussein, whose claims were supported by a frccbooting chief, already widely celebrated as a daring and successful loader, under the name of Nadir Kooli, slave to the Won- derful.\ On entering the service of the prince, this designation was exchanged for that of Tahmasp Kooli Khan, the lord who is slave to Talimasp ; but when, after some severe struggles, the Afghans had been cx- pclled,J this nominally-devoted adherent, by making coats and caps of sheep-skins : his famous son was born in Khorasan, in 1688. An uncle of Nadir Kooli's, who appears to h.->Te been at the head of a small branch of the Afshars, was governor of the fort of Kelat; but, having qu.arrelled with his turbulent nephew, fell a victim to his resentment. Nadir Kooli slaying him with liis own hand. X .Vshruf was murdered by a Beloochee chief, be- tween Kermau and Candahar, in 1729. 164 PERSIANS, UNDER NADIR SHAH, INVADE INDIA— a.d. 1738. finding his master disposed to exercise the prerogatives of roj-alty.fouud means to depose him, and place his infant sou on the throne, usurping the sole authority under the name of regent. Repeated victories over the Turks, ending in a treaty of peace with both Turkey and Russia, rendered this soldier of fortune so popular in Persia, that he felt the time jiad arrived to give free rein to ambition. The boy-king died opportunely at Ispahan ; and Nadir, assembling the army and the leading persons in the empire, to the num- ber of 100,000, in the spacious plain of Mogham, bade them choose a ruler. They named him unanimously ; upon which he, after a hypocritical declaration that he looked upon the voice of the people as the voice of God, and would therefore abide by their decision, although it contravened his own intention in calling them together, accepted the crown, on condition of the general renunciation of the Sheiah doc- trine and the establishment of that of the Sunnis, or Sonnites, throughout Persia. This proviso was evidently designed for the purpose of eradicating any lingering regret from the public mind regarding the Saffavis, who had ever been the champions of the Sheiah sect : but it proved unsuc- cessful ; for the people secretly adhered to their former belief, and its prohibition, to- gether with the strangling of the refractory chief moollah, or high-priest, only served to alienate them from their new ruler, who, on mounting the throne (a.d. 1736), as- sumed the title of Nadir Shah, the Won- derful King. Hostilities with the Ghiljeis, from whom Candahar was captured after a close blockade of nearly a twelvemonth, brought Nadir Shah to the frontiers of the ]\Iogul empire. He could not be ignorant of its weakness ; and the prospect thus aiforded of lucrative and congenial employment for the warlike tribes who owned his sway, offered tempta- tions not to be resisted. In such cases, pretexts are seldom wanting ; nor were they now. While besieging Candahar, Nadir Shah had applied to the court of Delhi for the seizure or expulsion of some Afghans who had fled into the country near Ghuznce ; a demand to which the indolent and effete • Klian Dowran, and his supportors, treated the account of tlie iiilrrccptt'd embassy from Cabool as a report originated l)y Nizam-ool-Moolk and the 'I'urani party at court, and jccringly declared, that the houses of Delhi had very lofty roofs, from which the citizens might see Nadir Shah and his troopers from afar whenever they chose. — tiiyar-ul-Mutakherin, p. 411. government, after a long interval, returned an ambiguous answer, being, it would ap- pear, at once unable to comply with the request, and disinclined to acknowledge the title of the Persian sovereign. Nadir Shah advanced on Ghuznee and Cabool, and, from the latter place, which he captured with little difficulty, sent another messenger to Delhi, who failed in fulfilling his embassy, being cut off, with his escort, by the Afghans at Jellalabad.* This circumstance was set forth as warranting the invasion of India; and after spending some months in settling the affairs of the country round Cabool, Nadir marched to the eastward in October, 1738.f Even these proceedings failed to rouse the supine authorities at Delhi, or teach the necessity of merging internal strife in defensive operations against a com- mon foe. They knew that Cabool was taken, but believed, or tried to believe, that the mountain tribes and guarded passes between that city and Pcshawer would check the further advance of the invading force, althotigh, in fact, even this barrier had been cast down by the peculation or misplaced economy of Khan Dowran, the ameer-ul- omra, who, by withholding the sum of twelve lacs of rupees, formerly sent every year for the payment of guards, had caused the break- ing up of garrisons, until roads and defiles being all unwatched, marauding Afghans or invading Persians alike passed without ob- struction. Its commencement being unop- posed, the march of Nadir Shah was speedy and terrible. Having sacked Jellalabad, he passed through Pcshawer, crossed the Attock in boats, and entered Moultan. The governor of Lahoremade some show of opposition, over which Nadir triumphed with little difficulty ; and, in fact, met with no serious opposition until, on approaching the Jumna, within 100 miles of Delhi, he found himself in the neighbourhood of the whole Indian army. Mohammed Shah, at length thoroughly roused to a sense of the impending calamity, strove to meet the danger it was now too late to avert ; and, being joined by Asuf Jab, moved to Kurnaul, wiiere he occupied a fortified camp. Sadut Khan, the viceroy of Oude, arrived to join his sovereign ; and Nadir Shah, by attempting to intercept t The number of his force is nowhere satisfac- torily stated. ]'"rascr, in one place (Historij itf Nadir Shall, p. 15.5), gives the total, including armed fol- lowers, at 100, 000 J but, in a previous page, a more distinct enumeration, made by a Persian news-writer at the camp at Jellalaliad, only shows 64,500 fight- ing-men and 4,000 followers. DELHI MASSACRE BY NADIR SHAH AND THE PERSIANS. 1G5 him, commenced hostilities, which issued in a general engagement. In tliis battle it would ajjpcar, that few (if any) lliijpoot princes took part, no longer earing to shed their hlood for a foreign dynasty, whose ingratitude they hated, and whose weakness they despised. Even in this emergency, disunion prevailed in the Indian camp. Asuf Jail, from some real or pretended mis- conception, took no part in the action. Khan Dowran, the eonimaiuler-in-chief, was killed; Sadut Khan taken prisoner; and Mo- hammed Shah, seeing his troops completely routed, had no resource but to send Asuf Jah to oflcr his submission, and repair him- self, with a few attendants, to the Persian camp. Nadir Shah, considering the allinity between himself, as of Turcoman race, (though the son of a cap-maker), and the defeated monarch (a lineal descendant of the liouse of Timur), received his unwil- ling visitor with every demonstration of respect, and would probably have accepted a ransom, and spared Delhi, but for the selfish intrigues of Sadut Khan and the nizam. The accounts recorded of this period differ materially;* but it is certain, that after some time spent in apparently fruitless negotiations. Nadir Shah marched into Delhi, cstaljlishcd himself in the palace, distributed his troops throughout the city, and stationed detachments in different places for the protection of the inhabitants. During the first day strict discipline was maintained, aTid all was quiet, though, probably, the usurpers could as ill-disguise their exulta- tion as the Ir.dians their hatred and disgust; but on the second, a rumour spread of the death of Nadir Shali,t and the citizens im- mediately rising, slew all the Persians within reach, to the number of 700, includiu2; some of those who had been stationed for the protection of private dwellings. The tumult continued during the whole night : at day- * According to the Si)/iir-u!-]fri(/a!;?iertn, Nadir Shah, at an interviajv with Asuf Jali (procured by the diplomacy of the captive, Sadut Khan), consented to conclude a peace, and return to his own domi- nions, on condition of receiving two crores of rupees (£2,000,000 sterling), a piece of intelligence which so delighted Mohammed Shah, that he instantly conferred the ofiice of ameer-ul-omra on the suc- cessful mediator. Sadut Khan, enraged by the suc- cess of his rival, told Nadir Shah, that the ransom he had consented to receive was absurdly insuffi- cient— that he himself could afford to pay it from his private fortune ; and, by these treacherous repre- sentations, induced the invader to violate his pledge, enter the city, and pillage it without mercy. t This rumour is said to have been spread by the break, Nadir Shah mounted his horse and sallied forth, believing that his presence would at once restore order by proving tlie falsity of the current report. Flights of stones, arrows, and (ire-arms from the houses, soon undeceived him ; and one of his chiefs, being killed at his side by a shot aimed at himself, he ordered his troops to retaliate, and not leave a soul alive wherever they should discover the corpse of a Persian. This command, which, of course, warranted nothing less than a general massacre, was eagerly obeyed : the soldiery entered the houses, and gave free loose to those hateful jiassions — eovctousness, lust, revenge; the true "dogs of war." The streets of Delhi streamed with blood ; many thoroughfares became blocked up with carcasses ; flames burst forth in various places, where the wretched citizens, distracted by the thought of beholding their wives and children in the hands of the foe, had preferred sharing with them a fiery death ; the shrieks and groans of the dying and the dishonoured pierced the air, overpowering at moments the fear- ful imprecations, or yet more fiendish scof- fing of their persecutors ; and from sunrise to broad noon these horrid sights and sounds continued unabated. Nadir Shah, it is said, after issuing the murderous order, went into the little mosque in the Great Bazaar, near the centre of the city, and there re- mained in gloomy silence until he was aroused by the entrance of Alobammed Shah, whose deep distress (for though weak and sensual, he was compassionate and gentle) obtained a command for the termi- nation of the massacre. The prompt obe- dience of the troops, is quoted by histo- rians as a remarkable proof of discipline ; but these tigers in human form must have been weary of a slaughter, in which, ac- cording to the lowest trustworthy statement, 30,000 human beings were put to the sword, j proprietors of certain granaries, which nad been forcibly opened, and the wheat sold at a low price. I jS'ailir-tKiiiieh, translated from Persian into French, by Sir W. Jones ( Works, vol. v.) Scott st.ites the number at 8,000; but Mr. Elphinstone naturally remarks, that it is incredible so small a re- sult should have been produced by a detachment of 20,000 men, employed for many hours in unresisted butchery (vol. ii.,p. 630.) Fra'ser,who among much valuable authority, quotes the journal of a native Indian, secretary' to Sirbuland Khan, writes— " of the citizens (great and small), 120,000 were slaugh- tered: others computed them at loO.OOO ;" adding, in a note, "about 10,000 women threw themselves into wells, some of whom were taken out alive, after being there two or tluree days." — (cp. 185-187.) J 1G6 IMMENSE SUMS EXTORTED FROM PEOPLE OF DELHI— 1739. The wretclied survivors seem to have wanted energy even to perform the funeral obsequies of the dead. " In several of the Hindoo houses,'' says Fraser, " where one of a family survived, he used to pile thirty or forty car- casses a-top of one another, and burn them : and so they did in the streets ; notwithstand- ing which, there still remained so many, that for a considerable time, there was no such thing as passing any of those ways." After some days, the stench arising from the mul- titudes of unburied dead becoming intole- rable, the bodies were dragged into the river, thrown into pits, or else collected to- gether in heaps, without distinction of Mus- sulmaa or Hindoo, and burned with the rubbish of the ruined houses, until all were disposed of. The sufFeriugs of the wretched people of Delhi were not yet complete ; the rapacity of Nadir afforded fresh cause for bloodshed- ding, aggravated by cruel tortures. The usurper sat on the imperial throne, receiv- ing costly offerings from the humiliated monarch and his degraded courtiers. He now demanded, under the name of peishcush (« gift), a sum stated at from twenty-five to thirty million sterling,* exclusive of the jewels, gold-plate set with gems, and other articles already appropriated. How to pro- vide this enormous ransom was a new diffi- culty ; for Mohammed Shah was far from inheriting the wealth of his ancestors. The prolonged wars of Aurungzebe, and the con- tinued struggles of his successors, had well nigh emptied the treasury ; and the present emperor had neither striven to replenish it by legitimate methods, nor, to his credit, be it recorded, by injustice or oppression. The jezia had been formally abolished at the commencement of his reign ; and he alone, of all the Great Moguls, had steadily re- fused to confiscate the property of deceased * Siyar-ul-3IutaMieym ; on the authority of Haz- veen, an eye-witness; and &coii's, Deccan,\-o\.\i., p.208. t Dow's account of this period, though very in- teresting, is not deemed reliable; the rumours in circulation at the period, being too often suffered to usurp the place of carefully-sifted facts. This want of judgment is aggravated by the infrcquency with which he gives authorities for particular stafements. He describes Nadir Shah as having been invited to Hindoostan by Asuf Jab and Sadut Khan, and after- wards represents him as reproaching them for the treachery, by which he had gained the battle of Kur- naul, and sjiitting upon their beards. The nizani, see- ing the fury of Sadut at tliis jiublic disgrace, proposed that they should end their lives by poison, which being agreed to, they returned to their respective homes. Sadut, doubting the sincerity of liis wily colleague, sent a messenger to his house to discover nobles, leaving, not a small portion, as a matter of favour, for the maintenance of their families, but suffering the appropria- tion of the whole as a matter of right. The result was, that Mohammed Shah had com- paratively little to lose : even the famous peacock-throne, now seized by Nadir, had been deprived of its most costly ornaments ; and other portions of the imperial regalia were proportionately diminished in value. During the administration of the Seyeds, large sums had been abstracted from the treasury ; and even the gold and silver rails of the hall of audience had been coined into money. A large quantity of gold, silver, and jewels was found in vaults, sealed up long ago (probably by Shah Jehan), and immense sums were levied from the nobles. Neither the crafty nizam nor his treacherous rival, Sadut Khan, were exempted from furnishing their quota, the former being compelled to disgorge treasure exceeding in value a million and a-half sterling ; the latter, above a million ; while both were treated by the conqueror with un- disguised contempt and distrust. Sadut Khan died suddenly, whether from the effects of disease, anger, or poison, is an open question : the old nizam lived on, waiting for the turn of the wheel des- tined to restore to him that political power which was the sole end and aim of his existence. t The means of exacting the required tribute grew severe in proportion to the difficulty of its obtainment. The property of the nobles, merchants — even of the smallest tradesmen — was subjected to an arbitrary assessment, which, being frequently much above the actual value, impelled num- bers of all ranks to commit suicide, as a means of avoiding the disgrace and torture likely to follow their inability to furnish tlie amount required ;J while others perished whether the oath had been carried into effect. Being made aware of the pre.'ience of the spy, the nizam swallowed an inno.\ious draught, and pretended to fail down dead. The trick succeeded ; Sadut Khan took poison, and died, leaving his rival to exult over his wicked device. — (Hindoostan, vol. ii., p. 425.) I The vakeel from Bengal, being ordered to send for seven crore of rupees, said, " so much would fill a string of waggons from Bengal to Delhi ; for which, beingroughlyused,he went home, and murdered him- self and family." (Fraser, p. 200.) The rough usage here alluded to was probably a severe bastinadoing ; since that punishment was frequently inflicted on men of station and cliaracter, by the orders and in the presence of Nadir Shah, whose partiality for this species of discipline is strange enough, since, if the authorities quoted by Fra.^er may be relied on, he had been himself, in early youth, bastinadoed by the DErAIlTURE OY NADIR SIIAII FROM DELHI— APRIL, 1739. ir,7 under tliC tortures inflicted by the merce- nary wrctclies to whom tlic power of extort- in"^ the tribute was farmed, and who made tlicir own ])ro(it, or wreaked tlieir private revenue nnciicckcd, amid universal misery and desolation. " It was before a general massacre, but now the murder of individuals. In every chamljcr and house was heard the cry of afliietion. Sleep and rest forsook the city." The pangs of hunger and sickness were not long absent ; and " iio morning passed that whole crowds, in every street and lane, did not die." * The citizens vainly strove to escape these multiplied calamities by flight ; the roads were blocked up ; and all such attempts punished by mutilation of the ears or nose ; until at length — the dignity of human nature subdued by terror — tlie wretched sufferers slunk away into holes and corners, and cowered down before their oppressors like the frightened animals of the desert. The Persian horsemen sallied forth in dilTcrcnt directions, seeking provisions and plunder; ravaging the fields, and killing all who offered resistance ; but were occasion- ally attacked by the .Tats, who had taken up arms. Intelligence of what was passing at Delhi had reached the Deecan : it was even reported that 100,000 Persians were advanc- ing to the southward. Eajec Rao, undis- mayed, prepared to meet them, declaring, that domestic quarrels and the war with the Portuguese were to him as nought — there was now but one enemy in Ilindoostan. " Hindoos and Mussulmans," he said, " the whole power of the Deccau must assemble ; and I sliall spread our ]\Ialirattas from the Nerbudda to the Chumbul." Nadir, how- ever, does not appear to have had any inten- tion of risking his rich booty by exposing it to the chances of Mahratta ■warfare. He contented himself with inveighing bitterly against the insolence of the infidel " wretches of Deecan," in venturing to demand tribute from the dominions of a Mussulman emperor, and the weakness of the government by which it had been conceded ; and then, having drained to the uttermost those very re- sources on which the means of resisting order of Shah Hussein, " until his toe-nails dropt off." However, it is doubtless true, that in forming an opinion regarding the use of the rod, it makes all the ditferenee which end falls to our share. * Scott's History iif the Deccau, vol. ii., p. 210. This description is quoted from a journal kept by an eye-witness, durin" this terrible epocii. The work somewhat resembles Ue Foe's masterpiece — the I'lague of London ; thougli the misery which it re- cords is of a far more varied character. similar extortion depended, he prepared to quit the desolated city. IJefore departing, he caused a marriage to be celebrated be- tween his sou and a princess of the house of Timur, with a degree of regal magnifi- cence sadly at variance with the gloom and desolation which prevailed throughout the once stately capital. Seating Jlohammcd Shah anew on his dishonoured throne (after severing from the Mogul em[)ire the whole of Sinde and Cabool, together with some districts that had always been set apart for the pay -of the garrisons of the latter pro- vince), he jilaccd the crown upon his head, and bade him keep strict watch over the intrigues and corruption of his courtiers — especially of Asiif Jah, who was too cunning and ambitious for a subject. To this advice he added an assurance, that in the event of any cabals, an appeal from ^Mohammed Shah would bring him to his assistance, from Candahar, in forty days; and although this speech would, at first sight, appear only an additional insult, yet it is just possible, that it was dictated by a sort of compas- sionate feeling, which the misfortunes of the delicately-nurtured, indolent, and easy- tcmpcrcd monarch had awakened in the breast of his victorious foe, whose mental characteristics contrasted no less forcibly than the extraordinary physical powers of his stalwart frame,t with the handsome but effeminate person and bearing of his victim. To the principal Hindoo leaders, including Jey Sing, Abhi Sing, Shao, and Bajce Rao, Nadir Shah issued circular-letters, bidding them " walk in the path of submission and obedience to our dear brother ;" and threat- ening, in the event of their rebellion, to return and " blot them out of the pages of the book of creation."} On the 14th of April, 1 739, the invader quitted Delhi, after a residence of fifty-eight days, bearing with him plunder in coin, bullion, gold and silver plate, brocades, and jewels (of which he was inordinately fond) to an incalculable extent. The money alone probably ex- ceeded thirty million. § Numerous elephants and camels were likewise carried away, as t Frasci's description of a weather-beaten man, of fifty-five — above six foot high, very robust, with large bhick eyes and eyebrows — exactly coincides with the full-length picture of Nadir Shah preserved in the India-house. His voice was so strong, that he could, without straining it, give orders to the troops at above 100 yards' distance. — (Fraser, p. 227.) I Scott's Deecan, vol. ii., p. 215. § Scott, Fraser, and Hanway. The Nadir-nameh states it at only 15 million : but this is not probable. 1G8 REIGN OF MOHAMMED SHAH RESUMED. also many hundreds of skilful workmen and artificers. Exactions were levied in the towns and villages through which the re- treating army marched, until they reached Cabool, where the mountaineers threatened to attack them ; and Nadir, considering that the soldiers had sufi'ered much from the intense heat, and were heavily laden with booty, thought it best to purchase forbear- ance, and reached Herat in safety, where he proudly displayed the spoils of Hindoostan.* Iteign of Mohammed Shah resumed. — The Persian invasion had plunged the court and people of Delhi into a " slough of despond," from which it was long before they sum- moned sufficient resolution to attempt extri- cating themselves. The state of public affairs held forth uo promise that future prosperity might make amends for past suf- fering ; and the worst of all indications of the decadence of the empire, was the readi- ness with which the courtiers relapsed into the habits of sensuality and intrigue, that had rendered them imjiotent to resist the power of a foreign foe ; while the lower classcE, imitating their apathy, grew to re- gard the brutal excesses of the Persian soldiery, rather as a subject of coarse mer- riment than deep humiliation; and, in mimicking their dress and manners, gave vent to feelings no less different from what may be termed the natural dignity of un- civilised man, than from the magnanimous forgiveness of injuries, which is the very crown of Christian virtue. The influence of Asuf Jah was now su- preme at Delhi. He was supported by the vizier, Kamer-oo-deeu, with wliom he was connected by intermarriage, and by a few leading famiUes, who being, like himself, of Turki descent, were called the Turani no- bles. He was secretly opposed by a large number of malcontents, among whom the emperor was thought to be included; and thus the counsels of government were again weak and divided at a time when there was most need of energy and union. On the depar- ture of Nadir Shah, Bajee Rao sent a letter • A portable tent was cnnstructed from tho spoils ; the outside covered with scarlet broad cloth, and the inside with violet-satin, on which birds and beasts, trees and flowers, were depicted in i)recious stones. On either side the peacock-throne a screen extended, adorned with the tif,'nres of two anjjels, also repre- sented in various-coloured fjeins. Kven tho tent- poles were adorned with jewels, and the pins were of massy gold. The wliole formed a load for seven elephants. This gorgeous trophy was broken up by Nadir Shah's nephew and successor, Adil Shah. — to the emperor, expressive of submission and obedience, together with a nuzur, or oSering of 101 gold mohurs, and received in return a splendid khillut,-\ accompanied by assurances of general good-will, but not by the expected sunnud, or grant of the go- vernment of Malwa, an omission which the peishwa naturally attributed to a breach of faith on the part of the nizam. Had Bajee Rao, on this, as on previous occasions, chosen to advance to the gates of the capi- tal, and there insist on the confirmation of the agreement, he might have probably done so with impunity, so far as the Moguls were concerned; for Nadir Shah had ravaged the only provinces which the Mah- rattas had left intact ; the imperial army was broken up, and the treasury completely empty. But Bajee Rao was himself in a critical position ; hostilities abroad, intrigue at home, crippled his ambitious plans, and surrounded him with debt and difficulty. His foreign foes were the Abyssinians of Jinjeera, and the turbulent sons of Kauhojee Angria, of Kolabah, a powerful chief, whose piracies (which he called levying chout on the sea) had rendered him a formidable enemy to the Portuguese and English. After the death of Kauhojee, in 1728, a contest ensued between his sons. Bajee Rao took part with one of them, named Mannajee, whom the Portuguese also at first assisted ; but, being disappointed of the expected reward, changed sides, and ap- peared in arms against him. For this in- constancy they paid dearly by the loss of their possessions in Salsette, Bassein, and the neighijouriug parts of the Concan ; and hostilities were still being carried on, when the tacit refusal of the Delhi government to recognise his claims, induced the peishwa to direct his chief attention to his old an- tagonist, the nizam. Before recommencing hostilities in this quarter, it was necessary to provide against the coalition of the prithee nidhee with other domestic foes (of whom the chief was Rugojee Bhonslay, of Be- rar,"]: and the next in importance, Dummajee (Memoirs of Khojeh Ahdiilkurreem, a Cashmcrian of distinction, in the service of Nadir Shah. Gladwin's translation, Calcutta, 178S, p. 28.) f A lihiUut comprises a complete dress, or sir-pa (head to foot), with the addition of jewels, horse, elephant, and arms. } I'arsojec, the founder of the Bhonslay family, from whom sprang the rajahs of Bcrar, being one of the first to tender allegiance to Shao on his release at the death of Aurungzebe, was promoted from the rank of a private horseman to high position. Not- DEATH OF THE PEISIIWA, BAJEE RAO- 1710. 109 Guicowar, of Guzcrat), who, envying his power, were plotting its overthrow, under pretence of emancipating tlieir mutual sove- reign. This (lidiculty IJajce llao met by engaging the lliionslay chief in a remote expedition into the Carnatic ; but another, of a different character, remained Ijchiiid. The vast army he had kept up, and the necessity of giving high rates of pay, in order to outbid the uizam, and secure the best of the Dcecan soldiery, had iiuluccd him to incur an expenditure whicli he had no means of meeting.* The troops were in arrears, and, consequently, clamorous and inclined to mutiny. His financial arrange- ments would apjiear to have been far inferior to those of Sevajce ; and, as a nation, the Mahrattas, from various causes, no longer found war a profitable employment. Still, Bajee Rao persisted in endeavouring to carry out his ambitious designs, and taking advantage of the absence of the nizam, sur- rounded the camp of liis second son, Nasir Jung, who had been left in charge of the viceroyalty. The defence was carried on with such unlooked-for vigour, that after some months of active hostility, the peishwa became convinced that his means were in- adequate to the task he had undertaken, and entered into an accommodation with his young and energetic opponent. The prudence of the general triumphed over the rash valour of the soldier; yet it was a moment when many in his position would have been inclined to struggle on ; for it would appear, that his retreat to court was cut ofl' by the machinations which lie had sought to circumvent by procuring the ab- sence of llugojec Ehonslay. Addressing his mahapooroosh, or spiritual adviser, he withstanding the coincidence of his surname with that of the rajah, they do not appear to have been related. • The soucars, or bankers, to whom he ah'eady owed a personal dc))t of many lacs of rupees, refused to make any further advances; and he forcibly de- scribes his embarrassments, by declaring — " 1 have fallen into that hell of being beset by creditors ; and to pacify soucars and sillidars (military commanders), 1 am falling at their feet till I have rubbed the skin from my forehead" — a figurative expression, used in allusion to the Hindoo custom of placing the fore- head at the threshold of the temple, or at the feet of the idol, in humble supplication. I Ilistury of the Mtihriittas, vol. i,, p. 559. The manner of his death does not apjiear. I Bajee llao left three sons — Balajee Bajee Rao, Rugonat Kao, or Kagoba (who was at one time mucli connected with the English), and Shimislieer Bahadur.to whom, though the illegitimate otfspringof a Mohammedan woman, and brought up in that creed, he bequeathed all his claims and possessions in Bun- writes — "I am involved in difFicultics, in debt, and in disa])pointmcnts, and like a man ready to swallow poison : near the rajah arc my enemies ; and should I at this time go to Sattara, they will put their feet on my breast. I should be thankful if I could meet deatli."t After such an avowal, there is something strange and startling in the fact that J5ajcc Uao set ofl' suddenly, with his army, towards Hindoostan, with what object is not known, but only lived to reach the Nerbudda, on whose banks he expired in April, 1740. J Rugojec ]51ionslay, although al)out be- sieging Trichinopoly when he heard of the death of his rival, instantly hastened to Sattara ; but being obliged to leave the greater part of his army behind him, had no sufficient force to cope with Ralajee Bajee Rao, who asserted his hereditary claim to succeed to the office of his father; neither was Dummajee Guicowar ready to take the field. In this conjuncture, llugojce proposed that Bappoojee Naik,^ a connec- tion, but bitter foe (because a disappointed creditor of the late peishwa's), should be ap- pointed to the vacant position ; and very large sums were offered to Shao, on condi- tion of his seconding the arrangement. These attempts failed ; and Balajee Bajee Rao was formally appointed by the rajah. Being answerable for his father's debts, he was iiumediately assailed by Bappoojee Naik with the harassing pertinacity fre- quently exercised by Mahratta creditors. || From this persecution, his own efforts, ably seconded by the influence and credit of his dewan (treasurer, or high steward), relieved him; and, after more than a year spent in internal arrangements, he prepared to resist delcund. The names of the peishwas (first Balajee, then Bajee, and now Balajee Bajee, combined) will, it is to be feared, confuse the reader; but the allite- ration is unavoidable. § Brahmin soucars and money-changers assume the appellation of Naik. II A species of dunning, called tuquazu, is practised as a trade. Several men, hire"d for the purpose, fol- low the debtor wherever he goes, and establish themselves at the door of his house, subsisting all the while upon the food with which the invariable custom of the country obliges him to supply them. If humble petitions and insolent demands alike fail, the creditor himself sometimes resorts to the last expedient (as Bappoojee Naik did in the present instance), by the practice of cllitirna — that is, by taking up his position in person, as a dun, and ob- serving a rigid fast, in which his unfortunate debtor is compelled by that powerful agent, public opinion, to imitate him, even at the hazard of starvationt until he can induce him to raise the siege. 170 ALI VERDI KHAN, OF BENGAL— WAR WITH MAHRATTAS, 1745. the encroachments of inimical Mahratta chiefs, and to demand the government of Malwa from the Delhi court. In the interim, no endeavour had been made by the Mogul party in the Deccan to take advantage of the dissensions in the Mahratta state. The active viceroy, the successful opponent of Bajee Rao, had been fully occupied in rebellion against his ovra father, the nizam, who, in 1741, marched into the Deccan to oppose his refractory represen- tative, and received, during his progress, a personal visit from the new peishwa, together with the assistance of a body of troops. Rugojee Bhonslay, upon the failure of his political schemes at Sattara, returned to the Carnatic, and after the successful termination of the campaign, by the surrender of Trichi- nopoly and the capture of Chunda Sahib, tlie soubahdar (or, according to the English phrase, the nabob), he sent a force into Bengal under his Brahmin minister, Bhaskur Punt. At this period, the viceroyalty of Bengal was possessed by Ali Verdi Khan (some- times called Mohabet Jung.) This celebrated individual was of Turki descent, and had been promoted by Shuja Khan, the late viceroy, to the subordinate government of Behar. After his death, Ali Verdi turned his arms against Serferaz Khan, the son and successor of his late patron, slew him in battle, and usurped the government, for which he obtained an imperial firman by dint of large bribes and hypocritical as- surances of devoted submission. He made a determined resistance to Bhaskur Punt ;* but, alarmed by the advance of Rugojee in person, he besought the emperor to assist him in the defence of the province j and this • All Verdi Khan was encamped at Midnapore, when he heard of the approacli of' Bhaskur Punt, at the head of 40,000 horse. He marched to Burdvvan, and there strove to bring on a general engagement, which the Mahrattas of course avoided, and ravaged the environs with fire and sword, offering, however, to evacuate the country on payment of ten lacs of rupees. This Ali Verdi refused ; and resolving to force his way to Moorshedabad, issued orders that the heavy baggage and camp-followers should remain at Burdwan. Instead of obeying, the peo])le, terrified at the idea of being left to the mercy of the enemy, persisted in accompanying the retreating army ; and the result was, that on the first day's march, the Mahrattas surrounded the line, and cap- tured the chief part of the stores, artillery, and tents. The sura ])n!viously demanded as the ]irice of peace was offered, but rejected ; lihasUur Punt would now accept nothing less than a crore of rujiees (a million sterling), with the surrender of all the elephants. Ali Verdi refused tliese degrading terms, and con- tinued his retreat, for three days, through a flat request resulted in an appeal for aid to the peishwa, seconded by the long-withheld grant of the viceroyalty of Malwa. Such an invitation would have been at all times welcome ; for the Mahrattas were in- variably solicitous to find excuses for inter- fering in the affairs of the various provinces still more or less subject to Mogul rule, and were ever labouring silently to increase their influence. In the present instance, Balajee Bajee was especially glad to be called in to act as an auxiliary against his private foe, and immediately marching by Allahabad and Behar, he reached Moorshedabad in time to protect it from Rugojee, who was approaching from the south-west. After receiving from Ali Verdi the payment of an assignment granted to him by the court of Delhi on the arrears of the revenue of Bengal, the peishwa marched against the invader, who retired before him, but was overtaken, and suffered a rout and the loss of his baggage befoj-e he was completely driven out of the province, a.d. 1743. The reprieve thus purchased for Bengal only lasted about two years; for the peishwa, who, in the name of his sovereign, Rajah Shao, wielded the power of the head of a confederacy of chiefs, rather than that of a despotic ruler, found it necessary to come to terms with Rugojee, by ceding to him the right of levying tribute in all Bengal and Behar, if not also in Allahabad and Oude. Bhaskur Punt was again sent to invade Bengal (1745), and proceeded with success, imtil he suffered himself to be inveigled into an interview with Ali Verdi Khan, by whom he was treacherously murdered. Of twenty-two principal ofBcers, only one (Ru- country, amid heavy rains, constantly harassed by the enemy, and greatly distressed for food and shelter. On the fourth morning he reached Cutwa ; and al- though the foe had been beforehand with him, by setting on fiie the magazines of grain, enough remained to afford means of subsistence to the famishing soldiery until further supplies could be procured. Yusuf Ali Khan, one of Ali Verdi's generals, states, that the first day of the march, he and seven nobles shared between them about one pound's-weight of kichery (boiled rice, mixed with pulse) ; the next, they had a few pieces of a sweet con- fection ; the third, a small quantity of carrion, which, while it was cooking, was eagerly watched by others, who could not be refused a single mouthful. The common soldiers strove to maintain life on the bark of trees, leaves, grass, and ants. — (See Sii/ar-ul- Mutakhcrit), done into English by a Frenchman, in .'i vols. 4to.) This translation, though full of gallicisms, is of great value to inquirers on Indian history ; since the able labours of General Briggs, as yet, extend only over the first part of the first volume. DISSENSIONS AND INTRIGUES OF THE DELHI COURT, ]7il to 1715. J 71 gojcc Guicowar) cscai)C(l, havirif; been left in cliargo of tlic nanip, and by bini tbc army was conducted back to I'.crar. No loni^ time elapsed before an opportunity to revenge this perfidious massacre arose, as a direct consequence of the crime itself; for Mustapha Klian, the leader of a Ijody of Aff^Iians who had borne the chief part in it, (luarrclled with Ali Verdi for witliholdiiif; the promised reward — namely, the 5,'ovcrnm('nt of Beliar. Both parties were well aware that assassina- tion was an expedient likely enough to be attempted, and soon came to open hostilities, in which the Afghans supported their coun- trymen, llugojee IMionslay took advantage of this state of affairs to invade Orissa, where he obtained possession of several districts, and named 30,000,000 rupees as the sum for which he would spare the remainder, and quit the country. Before narrating the result of these proceedings, which occupied several years, it is necessary, for the sake of the chronological succession of events, to return to the court of Delhi. On tlie departure of Asuf Jah for the Deecan, a.d. 1711, his place at court was taken by his son, Ghazi-oo- dcen, the son-in-law of the vizier, Kamer- oo-deen. These two nobles, being closely united by political and by domestic ties, re- sisted successfully many intrigues and com- binations; but they fought with the same unholy weapons that were employed against them. Treacherous and sanguinary deeds became frequent, offering unmistakable evi- dence of the weakness as well as wickedness of those who bore sway, and indicating to all accustomed to watch the decline of national power, its rapidly-approaching dis- solution. The only person who appears to have profited by the bitter medicine of adversity, was the emperor ; he became a wiser and a better man : but long-continued habits of case and indolence arc not to be lightly broken ; and he gladly sought refuge in the devotion of the closet, from the cares, vexation, and intrigue which beset the council-chamber. Nevertheless, " while he lived, the royal name was respectable, and his prudence sustained the tottering fabric of the state from falling into total ruin ; but he could not repair the unwieldy fabric."* Of the various communities whose separate existence was more or less fostered at the expense of the empire, the only one against which Mohammed Shah took the field in person, after the dopartuvc of the Persians, was that founded by the Rohillas, an Afghan • Scott's History of the Deecan, vol. ii, p. 223. colony, composed chiefly of Eusofzeis and other north-east(;rn tribes, who had acquired possession of the country cast of the Gan;;cs, from Oudc to the mountains, and, under a chief named Ali Mohammed, liad attained to so much importance, as to be with diffi- culty reduced to even temporary submission. Turbulent and rebellious as subjects, they were yet more dangerous as neighbours; and* scarcely had tranquillity been partially re- stored in the territory above designated, before a formidable combination of Afghans, in their own dominions, threatened India with another desolating irruption. The chief cause was an event which, above all others, would have been least expected to contribute to such a result — namely, the assassination of Nadir Shah, the spoiler of Ilindoostan, whose leading share in the expulsion of the hated Afghan dynasty and victories over the Turks, had gained him a degree of renown which, despite his crimes, made him the boast of his subjects. On returning to Per- sia, he was received with the utmost enthu- siasm ; and the troops whom he had trained and led to conquest, gloried in the renown of their successful leader. At first, it appeared as if he were disposed to use his ill-gotten wealth for the relief and improvement of his kingdom ; but it soon became evident, that the hardening influence of rapine and slaughter had extinguished every better impulse, fostered his evil passions, and rendered the once enterprising adventurer nothing better than a cruel and capricious coward. Even his ability and energy in war seemed to fail ; and his latest proceedings against the Turks evinced little of his early- skill. When this contest was terminated by a treaty. Nadir Shah, no longer occupied by external hostilities, gave free vent to his fierce, savage, and dastardly nature, and instead of the boast, became the terror and execration of his country. All around him trembled for fear of becoming the object of suspicions which their slavish submission served only to increase. Among other atrocities, he accused his eldest son of having incited an attempt to kill him by a shot, which slightly wounded him while traversing a forest in one of his campaigns ; and, although there appeared no reason to thiuk that the assassin was not one of the enemy, the unhappy prince was blinded at the com- mand of his still more unhappy father, who, in a paroxysm of gloom and remorse, subse- quently caused no less than fifty of his chief nobles to be put to death, because they had 172 NADIR SHAH MURDERED— KINGDOM OF CANDAHAR FOUNDED, 1747. witnessed the execution of his wicked sen- tence without one prayer for mercy* Covet- ousness was one of the distinguishing vices of his advancing age; and, instead of pursuing his avowed intention of relieving the Per- sians from the pressure of taxation by means of his enormous private wealth, he became extortionate and oppressive, as if ravaging a conquered territory. Disaffection and re- volts ensued, and aSbrded pretexts for fresh cruelties. Whole cities were depopu- lated; towers of heads raised to commemorate their ruin : eyes were torn out ; tortures in- flicted; and no man could count for a moment on his exemption from death in torments.f The mad fury of Nadir was aggravated by his knowledge of the angry feelings excited, at the time of his accession, by the prohibition of the Shciah doctrines, and the confiscation of the lands and stipends of the priests, and his conviction that, after all, the people generally, maintained the for- bidden opinions. At length, he came to regard every Persian as his enemy, and entertained for his protection a band of Uzbeg mercenaries, placing his entire confi- dence on them and the Afghans, taidng a delight in aggrandising these, his former enemies, at the expense of his own country- men. To such a height had his madness attained, that he actually ordered the Afghan chiefs to rise suddenly upon the Persian guard, and seize the persons of the chief nobles ; but the project being discovered, the intended victims conspired in turn ; and a body of them, including the captain of Nadir's guard, and the chief of his own tribe of Afshar, entered his tent at midnight, and after a moment's involuntary pause — when challenged by the deep voice at which they had so often trembled — rushed upon the king, who, being brought to the ground by a sabre-stroke, begged for life, and attempted • Elphinstone's India, vol. ii., p. 652. t The sole exception is that afforded by his desire to encourage commerce ; but even this was, for the most part, only another incentive to despotic and harsli measures. To foreign traders lie, however, extended protection ; and Jonas Ilanway, the eminent mer- chant, who visited his camp at a time when all Persia was devastated by his exactions, obtained an order that the property of which he had been plundt-red, during a rebellion at Asterabad, should be restored, or compensation given instead. J Elphinstone, vol. ii., p. G53, on the authority of Pire Bazin, a Jesuit, who acted as jihysician to Nadir Shah during tlie last years of his life. Malcolm states, that being suddenly aroused from sleej), the king started u]), and had shiin two of the meaner assassins before a blow from Salah Beg, the captain of hiB guards, deprived him of life. to rise, but soon expired beneath the repeated blows of the conspirators. J With the morning light, the rumour Oi this sanguinary deed spread alarm and amazement throughout the army. The Afglians, under the command of a young chief, named Ahmed Khan, the head of the Abdalli tribe, were joined by the Uzbegs in an effort made in the hope of being still in time to rescue Nadir Shah ; but being re- pulsed, and finding that the Shah was really dead, they marched to Candahar, obtained possession of that city, and captured a large convoy of treasure on its way from Cabool and Sinde to the Persian treasury. Ali, the nephew of the murdered monarch, was placed on the vacant throne under the name of Adil Shah,§ and, during his short and inglorious reign, had probably neither the ability nor inclination to interfere with the proceedings of Ahmed Khan, who, having rapidly extended his influence over the neighbouring tribes and countries, including Balkh, Sinde, Cashmere, and other pre- viously-conquered provinces, was, in the course of a few mouths, formally declared king of Candahar. In the plains and cities he established absolute authority ; but the Afghan tribes retained their internal govern- ment : Beloochistan, Seestan, and some other places remained under their native chiefs, but owned allegiance and military service. Without, however, waiting the settlement of all the above-named countries, Ahmed Shah directed his attention to India as a means of employing his army and increasing his pecuniary resources. The coronation fes- tivities were scarcely concluded before he marched to the eastward, and, having rapidly subjugated all the territory as far as the Indus, proceeded to invade the Punjaub. The viceroy being in revolt, could claim no aid from the Delhi government ; and Ahmed, § To assuage the fears of the guilty chiefs by whom he was raised to the throne, Adil Shah pub- licly but falsely declared, that he had himself incited the deed by which Persia had been relieved from the curse of a despot, who delighted in blood. This character was equally applicable to himself ; for he slew the unfortunate blind prince, Reza Kooli, and thirteen of Nadir's sons and grandsons, sparing only Shah Kokh, a lad of fourteen, who was afterwards ])rotected in his residence at Meshhed, by Ahmed Shah, who possessed dependencies immediately to the east of that city. All the assassins of Nadir did not escape with impunity ; for the Afshar leader, having incurred the displeasure of Adil Shah, was delivered over to the vengeance of the female rela- tives of the murdered monarch, by whom he was cut to pieces. — (Malcolm's History of Persia, vol. ii., p. 56.) ABDALLI OR DOORANI INVADERS DEFEATED AT SIRIIIND, 1748. 173 with little difficult}', triumphed over the feeble opposition ofl'ered to liis usurpations, and oceupied Ijiiliorc and other towns on the road to the Sutlej. News of his approach had reached the court, and Prince Ahmed, the heir-apparent, with Kamcr-oo-deen, the vizier, at tlie head of the Mo;;ul army, were sent to arrest his progress.* Tliey had taken possession of the fords of tlie Sutlej ; but the Candahar king, despite the iid'erior number of his troops, resolved to force a passage ; and having succeeded in crossing at an unguarded, because unfordablc part, left the enemy in his rear, and advancing against Sirhind, captured that place, together with the baggage, stores, and guns deposited therein. The Moguls, intimidated by tlie rapidity of these movements, intrenched tlieir camp, soon after which the vizier was shot bj' a cannon-ball ; but the army continued to repel the assaults of the Dooranis (as the Abdallis were now termed), f and on the tenth day succeeded in effecting their com- plete defeat, obliging them to march oft' homeward during the ensuing night. Mohammed Shah expired within a month of this victory (a.d. 1718), and his only son, Ahmed, ascended the throne. For the first time from the commencement of the Indian annals of the house of Timur — in the be- ginning of the loth centun' — the succession was uncontested.! In truth, it was a woe- ful heritage — little to be coveted by the most ambitious pretender. Ee'ign of Ahmed Shah. — The events of the next eighteen years can scarcely be woven into a connected narrative. The Great Mogul is no longer the chief feature in the picture ; his proceedings have ceased to form the centre around which all other inci- dents could be easily and naturally grouped ; tlie governors of provinces, from simple ser- vants of the crown, having become indepen- dent powers, whose assistance their nominal sovereign was glad to purchase, at any cost, to ward ofl' a foreign foe. After the battle of Sirhind, the victor sent a governor to the Punjaub, believing that * Elphinstonc states his force at 12,000 men; Elliot's //((/?; lichmet at 15,000; but the Siijar-ul- Mutakfierin at G7,000 horse. f Uy the advice of a dervish, who had predicted his future greatness, Ahmed assumed the title of Donr-dmnan (the pearl of the age); and the Abdalli [ tribe took the name of Dooraui. I X The accession of Jehangeer can scarcely be ! deemed an exception, since opposition was attempted before the death of Akber ; and by Prince Ivhoorum ; within four months after. I 9 . I important province secured to the empire by the reti'cat of the Afghan monarch ; but this latter, on learning that the prince had been recalled to Delhi, by the illness of his father, turned back before he had reached the Indus, and forced from the newly-appointed viceroy an engagement to pay a permanent tribufo. Aiimcd Shah, anxious to form connections which should enable him to provide against the incursions of his turbu- lent ncighi)our, offered the " iidc-staiul of the vizierat"§ to Asuf Jah, who had become reconciled to his son, Nasir Jung, and wa^ employed in consolidating his own power over the territories in the Deccan, conquered with so much dilliculty by the most powerful of the house of Timur, and so easily snatched from their feeble descendants. 'I'he nizam declined the proffered office, on account of his great age, and died, shortly after, at Eoorhanpoor, in his ninety-sixth year.|| Nasir Jung assumed his father's govern- ment, and Sufdur Jung (sou and successor of Sadut Khan) became vizier, on condition of retaining likewise the vieeroyalty of Oude. In the northern part of that pro- vince, the Rohillas had again become for- midable, and the efforts of the imperial force were directed to their suppression. Sufdur Jung acted in this matter with shameless ingratitude,^ and his ill-dis- ciplined troops sacked their own town of Eara (famous for being peopled by Seyeds), and massacred such of the inhabi- tants as attempted resistance. The Ro- hillas, though greatly inferior in number, gained a complete victory; wounded the vizier, set the imperial power at defiance, and penetrated to Allahabad. In this emer- gency, the common error was committed of avoiding one danger by incurring another involving greater, though less immediate hazard. INIulhar Rao Holear, and Jciapa Sindia, had been recently sent to ]\Ialwa by the pcishwa : to them Sufdur Jung now applied for aid; as also to Suraj ]Mul, rajah of the Jats. AYith these auxiliaries, lie de- feated the Rohillas, in a pitched battle ; § An ornamented ink-stand, or rather ink-horn, is the insignia of office worn by viziers. li Or 104 lunar years, according to the Moham- medan mode of computation ; their years consisting of l.'i months — of 28 days 6 hours each. % He induced Kaium Khan Bungush, the Afghan governor of Furruekabad, to conduct the war against his own countrymen. Kaium was slain in battle, and his employer strove to dispossess the widow of the chief part of her legitimate possessions, but with no avail; for the people rose upon his representative, 174. ROHILLA AFGHANS SUBDUED, 1751.— MAHRATTA AFFAIRS. drove them into the lower hrauches of the Himalaya, about the Kumaon range, which forms their north-eastera boundary, and by authorising the Mahrattas to levy the pro- mised subsidy on the conquered territory, soon recViced his foes to such straits for sub- sistence, that they submitted on the sole condition of receiving the assignment of a fcT? villages for their chiefs. In the Deccan many important changes had occurred since 1745, when Rugojee Bhouslay, taking advantage of the rebellion of Mustapha Khan, had invaded Orissa. The defeat of the Afghans, and the fall of their leader, in an attempt to obtain possession of Behar,relieved Ali Verdi from one dangerous foe, and enabled him to direct his efforts to the expulsion of the Mahrattas. In this un- dertaking he was less successful ; driven off at one point, they attacked another, fighting ever in true Cossack* style, until Ali Verdi, in 1751, weary of beholding his fertile plains desolated by their incursions, and possibly influenced by the craving for quiet, natural to the old age of even men of war, bought off the invaders by the cession of C attack (the southern division of Orissa), and an en- gagement for the annual payment of twelve lacs of rupees, as the chout of Bengal and Behar. This very inadequate sum, Rugo- jee was doubtless induced to accept by the necessity of returning to the Deccan, where the renewal of internal strife among the Mahrattas, and the quarrels and intrigues of the sons of Asuf Jah, together with the am- bitious projects of M. Bussy, the French leader, warned every wandering chief to guard his home interests. The death of Shao, in 1750, gave the expected signal for a struggle between the peishwa and his rivals. The rajah was childless, and had not complied with the Hindoo custom of adopting an heir. His wife, Sawatri Bye, an intriguing and ambi- tious woman, had strongly urged the claims of the nearest relative, the rajah of Kola- poor ; but Shao, who, after remaining for some years in a state of imbecility, had shortly before his death recovered his senses, rejected this candidate, because he also was without offspring, and declared that he had received a private intimation and called in the Rohillas, against whom the vizier took the tiold in person. — ^(Scott, vol. ii., p. 225.) • The Malirattas have bonowed this term from the Moguls, finding it perfectly applicable to their favourite mode of warfare. t Of the annual revenue, estimated at about of the existence of a posthumous son of Sevajee II., who had been concealed by Tara Bye. The story sounded sufficiently improbable : but the peishwa and Tara Bye agreed in asserting its truth ; and the former procured from the rajah an instrument, transferring to him all the powers of the government, on condition of his maintaiuing the royal dignity in the house of Sevajee, through its newly-discovered representative and his descendants. Whether this docu- ment was authentic or not, the peishwa acted as if it had been so, by placing the alleged grandson of Tara Bye on the throne, with the title of Ram Raja, and by removing all obstacles to his own supremacy either by force, fraud, or bribery. The prithee nidhee was seized and thrown into prison, and Sawatri Bye goaded into performing suttee, in accordance with her own declaration, made before her husband's death, to dis- guise her real designs. Rugojee Bhonslay, who was anxious to prosecute his annual incursions into Bengal — not having then come to the above-mentioned agreement with Ali Verdi — formally acknowledged the succession of Ram Raja, receiving, in return, a portion of the confiscated lands of the prithee nidhee, and other concessions ; while the good-will of Holcar and Sindia was secured by assignments of almost the entire revenue of Malwa.f Believing his path now clear, Balajee Bajee left the rajah at Sattai'a, under the control of Tara Bye, and starting from Poona, to which place he had before transferred his residence, and which may be henceforth considered as the Mahratta capital, proceeded to take part in the civil war that had broken out between the sons of the late nizam. He was speedily recalled to Delhi by the machinations of Tara Bye, who, having vainly endeavoured to induce her weak and timid grandchild to assert his independence, and set aside the dominant influence of the peishwa, vehe- mently declared, that she believed he was, after all, no true descendant of Sevajee, but a base-born Gonedulee,J having been changed, at nurse, by the cottagers to whose chvrge he had been confided ; then throwing him into a damp, stoue duugcon, with the coarsest grain doled out as food, £1,500,000, £750,000 was allotted to Holcar; £050,000 to Sindia; and £100,000 to Puar and other chiefs. — (Duffs Mahriittas, vol. ii., p. 40.) t The Gonoduleea are a low cast of musicians, in the house of one of whcm Kajah Hani (according to the statement of Tai-a Bye) had been first concealed. THE EMPEROR, AHMED SHAH, BLINDED AND DEPOSED— J 751. 175 the old virago assurncd the government in her own name, and ealled in the assistanec of Dummajoc (Juicowar, who had jjrcviously refused to acknowledge the sueccssion of Ram Rajali. Duniniajce was troaelieronsly captuvcd by tlio poi.shwa at a jji'ctended friendly interview, and his army com])lctcly dis[)erscd. Tara Bye proved a moi'e trouble- some opponent, being regarded by the people as the rightfnl regent ; besides which, popular superstition attributed to her the possession of supernatural power ; but whether she was a deo or a dijt — that is, a good or an evil spirit — was a disputed point, though one on which most persons, acquainted with her character and history, would scarcely enter- tain much doubt. At Delhi, another revolution was impend- ing. During the absence of the vizier in Rohilcuud, the Doorani king had extorted from the emperor the cession of the Runjaub ; and this arrangement, though it would seem to have been almost inevitable, the vizier made the pretext for insult and reproach; and soon after, vented his jealous spleen by the assassination of Jaweed, a eunuch much favoured by the emperor and his mother, at a banquet to which the victim had been purposely invited. Exasperated by this out- rage, Aluned Shah turned to the amecr- ool-omra for aid against the vizier. This young man, named Shaab-00-decn,* was grandson to Asuf Jah, and had inherited too much of his ancestor's unprincipled am- bition to hesitate taking any part that pro- mised to gratify his dominant passion; he, therefore, gladly sided with the emperor against the very man whose patronage had placed him in an influential position. -A civil war ensued, determined not by one great battle, but carried on for six months in daily combats in the streets, during which time the vizier being a Slieiah, and his oppo- nent a Sunni, the war-cry of their respective adherents was the test-word of either sect. Becoming wearied of this vmprofitable con- test, the rival ministers came to terras ; and the unhappy monarch, betrayed by both, made an effort to assert his independence ; but being captured by the ^Mahratta auxili- aries of his treacherous servants, under Mulhar Rao, was delivered over into the hands of the ameer-ool-omra, by whom he was deposed and blinded, together with the qneen his mother, a.d. 1754. * \\a ;ilso bove his father's and grandfather's title of Ghazi-00-deen ; but to avoid confusion, I have adlicred to his original appellation. yllumi/eer //.—Under this name a prince of the blood was placed on the vacant throne by Shaab-oo-dcen, who, upon the death of the vizier, which liappcned about this time (at Lueknow, the cajjital of Oude), took upon himself the vacant olliee, and soon afti-rwards marched towards Lahore, secretly hoping to take advantage of the state of affairs in the Punjaub. Upon the death of the Mogul governor, whom Ahmed Shah had continued in his ofKee after the cession, his infant son had been appointed to the vieeroyalty under the tutelage of his mother. It so happened, that Shaab-00-dccn had been allianced to the daughter of the late viceroy, and he now approached on pretence of claim- ing his bride. The marriage festivities were in course of celebration, when a sudden attack was made upon the town, and the governess captured in her bed. While being conveyed to the camp, she vehemently denounced the treachery which had been practised, declar- ing, that the vengeance of Ahmed Shah would be swift and terrible. Her prediction was verified: the Doorani king marched rai)idly from Candahar, passed through the I'unjanb without opposition, and advanced upon Delhi to enforce his demand of pecu- niary compensation. The culprit escaped through the intercession of his mother-in- law, whom he had contrived to conciliate; but the devoted city was again given over to pillage and slaughter, Ahmed Shah, if willing, being quite unable to restrain the excesses of his soldiery. A detachment was sent into Bengal to levy a contribution, and Ahmed proceeded in person to Agra, against the Jats, with a similar object. The troops enforced his exactions by the most barbarous methods, and found, in bigotry, an excuse and incentive for the indulgence of their natural ferocity. The ancient and vener.ated city of Muttra was surprised dur- ing the celebration of a religious festival, and the defenceless worshippers massacred with- out distinction of sex or age. Happily, the career of these destroyers was stopped by the excessive heat, which occasioned an alarming mortality among them, and compelled Ahmed Shah to re- nounce the siege of the citadel of Agra, which was defended by a !Mogul governor, and be content with the money already levied. Before returning to liis own terri- tories, he married a princess of the house of Timur, and afhanccd another to his son, afterwards Timur Shah. He also caused an able and enterprising Rohilla chief, named 176 ALUMGEER II. ASSASSINATED— NOVEMBER, 1759. Nujeeb-oo-dowla, to be appointed ameer- ool-omra at the especial request of the emperor, who hoped to find in him a coun- terpoise against his intriguing vizier. Tliis scheme failed ; for Sliaab-oo-deen called in the assistance of the IMahrattas, under Ragoba (brother to the peishwa), who had recently acquired notoriety by his proceed- ings in Guzerat, and in levying contributions on the Rajpoot states. Thus aided, the vizier forcibly re-established his paramount influence in Delhi, the prince, afterwards Shah Alum, having first escaped to a place of safety, and Nujeeb to his own country about Seharunpoor, to the north of Delhi. The ascendancy of his ally being se- cured, Ragoba next turned his attention to the Puujaub, where a turbulent chief, named Adina Reg, whose whole career had been a series of intrigues, was plotting the over- throw of Ahmed Shah's sway by means of the Sikhs, who, during the late disorders, had again become considerable. Ragoba, seeing in this disorganisation the promise of an easy conquest, marched to Lahore (May, 1758), and took possession of the whole of the Punjaub, the Dooranis retiring across the Indus without hazarding a battle. The death of Adiua Beg threw the power wholly into the hands of the Mahrattas, who now began to talk unreservedly of their plans for the obtainment of unques- tioned supremac}'' over the whole of Hin- doostan. These pretensions, though little likely to be vigorously contested by the no- minal emperor, were opposed to the interests of various individuals, especially of Shuja- oo-dowla, who had succeeded his father, Sufdur Jung, in the government of Oude, and who now joined his hereditary foes, Nujeeb-oo-dowla and the Rohillas, against the common enemy. Tlie first result of this alliance was the invasion of Rohilcuiid by the Mahrattas, and the destruction of 1,300 villages in little more than a month : but Shnja marched fiom Luckuow to the relief of his allies, and drove the invaders, with heavy loss, across the Ganges, obliging their leader, Duttajee Siudia, to conclude a peace, which he did the more readily on account of the reported approach of Ahmed Shah from Cabool. Tlie retaliation of tlie Afghan ruler for the expulsion of his son from the Punjaub, had been retarded by the attempt of Nadir Khan, chief of the IJelooehees, to establish his entire independence ; but this question was no sooucr settled than Ahmed, for the fourth time, invaded India (September, 1759), ad- vancing by the southern road of Shikarpoor to the Indus, and marching along its banks to Peshawer, where he crossed the river and entered the Punjaub. The IMahrattas oSered no obstacle ; and he continued his progress towards Delhi, avoiding the swollen rivers, keeping near the northern hills until he passed the Jumna, opposite Seherunpoor. The approach of the Afghans greatly alarmed the vizier, who, conscious of the friendly feeling existing between Ahmed Shall and the emperor, thought to remove an obstacle from his path, and ensure a safe tool, by causing the assassination of Alum- geer II., and hurrying from the palace-prison of Selimghur to the throne, another ill- fated descendant of Aurungzebe. Extinction of Mogul jioioer. — The title of the prince brought forward by Shaab-oo- deen was never recognised ; and the heir- apparent (Shah Alum) being, happily for himself, beyond the reach of his father's murderer, the strange confederacy of Mo- guls, Mahrattas, and Jats, against Doorani and Rohilla Afghans, had no crowned leader whose uncontested supremacy could afford a bond of union to all concerned. At this crisis, the question naturally arises — where were the Rajpoots, and how occu- pied, at an epoch so favourable for the assertion of national independence and in- dividual aggrandisement? Their eloquent historian. Colonel Tod, candidly admits, that, absorbed in civil strife, enfeebled by luxury, degraded by intrigue — their position, in no small degree, resembled that of the once powerful dynasty, whose most distinguished members they had opposed so bravely, or served so loyally. Yet, even had Mewar possessed a rana able and energetic as Pertap or Umra — Marwar, a rajah like Jeswunt or Ajeet; or Amber (Jcypoor), like Maun or Jey Sing, it is still not probable that Rajast'hau would have become the nucleus of a Hindoo empire. The characteristics of feudal confederacies arc, under any circum- stances, scarcely consistent with compre- hensive and enlightened patriotism ; and the temporary allianecs between Rajpoot states, formed in an hour of mutual peril, were thrown aside as soon as their immediate cause was removed. The spirit of clanship, unrestrained by higher and holier princi- ples, prompted in proud and ardent breasts many deeds which, at the first glance, seem grand and heroic, but when tried by the standard of Christian law, severe in its sim- MAHRATTA POWER AT ITS ZENITH— a.d. 1759. 177 plicity, arc found to be fair-sccming fruit rotten at the core. To raise tlie honour of a chin — to liunililc a rival — to avcuf^o an iiflVont — these wore olijccts to he gained at any cost of hkjod or treasure, and without regard to the ciiaiacter and true interest of the state. It was hy taking advantage of the opportunities thus offered, and hy becoming partisans in disputed successions, tliat tlic Mahrattas, as mucli by stratagem as by force, were enahk'd to levy cliout over all Rajast'han. The Mahratta power was now at its zenith. The whoh; territory, from the Indus and Himalaya, on the north, to nearly the extremity of the Peninsula, was either sub- jugated or tributary. The authority of the pcishwa had become absolute, Tara l?ye having, though ungraciously enoiigh, been compelled to cuter into terms of (>eaec. She still, however, persisted in retaining the un- fortunate Rajah Ram in rigorous confine- ment, a measure which entirely coincided with the views of the wily Brahmin, who ensured its continuance by perpetually so- liciting its revocation. The army, no longer composed of predatory bands, now included a large body of well-paid and well-mounted cavalry, 10,000 infantry, and a train of artil- lery. Nor were external signs of increasing wealth and dominion wanting. The pomp which had characterised the palmy days of the Delhi court, together with much of the cere- monial of Rajpoot states, was now observed at Poena; and the pcishwa and inferior ministers, possessing the comely forms and courteous manners common among Conean Erahmins, bore their ncw-tlcdged honours with natural dignity. The case was very different with the field-officers, who, by ex- changing the rude but picturescpie garb and homely manners of former days, for the cumbersome attire and wearisome conven- tionalities, in which they rather caricatured than copied the INIoguls, not only rendered themselves ridiculous, but really lost much eflieiency in vain attempts to assume a stateliness of demeanour in correspondence with the cloth-of-gold uniforms in which their short, sturdy, active, little bodies were now encased. Their love of plunder had, however, undergone no change : they even seemed to have become more extortionate • The Bhow, or brother, is a term commonly ap- plu'd by the Malirattas to cousins German. t Hagoba romained in the Doccan, havlnp; given oiri-nce l)v his improvidence in previous campaigns. 4 The Jats (who, according to Tod, are " assuredly in proportion to their growing passion for ostentatious display. Their conduct, at this epoch, brought its own punisliment; for, although there were 30,000 Mahratta horse in the licld, in two bodies, ;it some distance from each other, when the Dooranis crossed the Jumna, the coimtry people, exasperated by their depredations, kept them in com- plete ignorance of the movements of the enemy. Ahmed Shah was consequently CTuablcd to prevent their junction ; and, coming suddenly on the body under l)ut- tajee Siiidia, slew that chief and two-thirds of his force, while the other division was overtaken and almost destroyed by a de- tachment which had made an extraordinary march for that purpose. The news of this inauspicious commencement of the war, enraged init did not dispirit the ^lahrattas, wiio prepared for a desperate and decisive encounter. The command of the assembled force was given to the peishwa's cousin, Sewdasheo Rao Bhow, commonly called the Bhow,* a brave soldier, but too violetit and headstrong for a safe general, lie was ac- companied by Wiswas Rao, the youthful son and heir-apparent of the peishwa, and by almost all the leading ^lahratta chiefs. t The pressing necessity of uniting to repel the common foe of the Hin- doos, seems to have aroused even the Raj- poots from their apathy, and induced them to lay aside their private quarrels; for seve- ral Rajpoot detachments were sent to join the Mahratta force on its march from the Dcccau, and Suraj IMul came to meet them with 30,000 Jats. This experienced old chief beheld with dismay the gorgeous ap- pearance of the advancing cavalcade, and earnestly entreated the Bhow to leave his heavy baggage, infautrj', and guns, under the protection of the strong forts in the Jat territory, and practise the same tactics which had so often proved successful; urging, that if the war could only be pro- tracted, the Dooranis, who had been already many months in India, would probably be constrained by the climate to withdraw to their native mountains. This judicious counsel, though seconded by the Mahratta chiefs, was haughtily rejected by their com- mander, who atlccted to despise the Jats; J treated Suraj !Mul as a petty zemindar, a mixture of the R.ijpoot and Yuti, Jit, or Jete races") formed the chief part of tlie agricultural popula- tion of Agra in the reign of Aiurungzebe, by whose persecutions they were driven to rebel and elect Choramun for their leader and rajah. 178 FINAL STRUGGLE BET\\T;EN THE MAHRATTAS AND AFGHANS. incapable of judging of politics on a large scale ; and marched on, in defiance of all counsel, with his whole force to Delhi, which was held by a small garrison of Doorauis and their partisans, Ghazi-oo-deen having sought refuge in the Jat country. The citadel yielded after a feeble defence. The Bhow triumphantly entered the ill-fated capital; defaced the palaces, tombs, and shrines, for the sake of the rich ornaments which had been spared by the Persians and Afghans ; tore down the silver ceiling of the hall of audience (which was coined into seventeen lacs of rupees) ; seized the throne, and all other royal ornaments ; and even talked of proclaiming AYiswas Rao emperor of India. Disgusted and alarmed by these rash and grasping proceedings, Suraj Mul returned to his own territory, and the Rajpoots like- wise withdrew from the confederacy. Ahmed Shah passed the rainy season on the fron- tier of Oude, and during that time suc- ceeded in procuring the co-operation of Shuja-oo-dowla. He then marched rapidly towards Delhi, and on reaching Cunjpoora, on the Jumna, learned that the Doorani garrison stationed there had been captured by the enemy, and put to the sword. In a paroxysm of rage, the Shah, thirsting for revenge, crossed the river between fording and swimming ; and this impetuous act, by which many lives were sacrificed, so asto- nished the Mahrattas, that they retired to Paniput, and intrenched their camp. The force of Ahmed Shah was computed at less than 100,000 men ; that of his oppo- nent at 300,000, including followers.* This disparity prevented the invader from ven- turing an attack, and induced him to en- camp, and fortify his position. For three montlis the hostile armies remained face to face, without coming to any decisive en- gagement. During that time the state of affairs uuderwent a material change. The Mahrattas at first endeavoured to provoke an attack, by cutting off the supplies of the Doorani camp; and with this object a chief, named Govind Rao Bondela, was ordered to collect troops on the lower course of the Jumna, and spread over the country in the * The IShow's force consisted of 5.3,000 cavah'y, in regular pay, with at least 1.5,000 predatory Mahratta horse, and lo,000 infantry ; of whom, 9,000 were disciplined sepoys, under Ibraliim IClum CJardi, a Mussulman deserter from the French service. He had 200 Runs, witli numerous wall-jjieces, and a great supply of rockets, which is a favourite weapon with the Mahrattas. These troops, with their immediate followers, made the numbers within his lines amount Mahratta fashion. Govind Rao obeyed, and levied 10,000, or 12,000 men, who proved very successful plunderers, until their leader was stirprised in a mango-grove and cut off, with about a thousand followers, by a body of horse, who had come upon them, after performing a march of sixty miles. Other disasters followed ; and, at length, all means of forage being cut off, Ahmed Shah suc- ceeded in establisliing a rigid blockade ; and the resources of the towu of Paniput, which was within the lines, being quite exhausted, the pressure of want began to be severely felt ; and, from clamouring for arrears of pay, the Mahrattas now began to lack daily food. Cooped up amidst the stench of a besieged camp, among dead and dying animals, sur- rounded by famished followers, the once mighty host grew weaker daily ; and, to the dispiriting influences of physical evils, the knowledge of the dissensions between the Bhow, Holcar, and minor chiefs, added greatly. The position of Ahmed Shah was one of considerable difficulty; but he rejected the overtures of peace made through the intervention of Shuja-oo-dowla, judging, by the impatience and weariness of his own troops, of the condition of the foe, and feel- ing convinced that they would soon be driven into quitting their intrenchments, as the only alternative from starvation. Mean- wliile he kept a vigilant guard, visiting his posts, reconnoitring the enemy, and riding fifty to sixty miles a-day. Among the last efforts of the besieged, was the dispatch of a party, with innumerable camp-followers, on a midnight foraging expedition. The at- tempt was discovered by the watchful picket stationed by Ahmed Shah, and the defence- less crowd were surrounded and slaughtered in prodigious numbers. On this, the chiefs and soldiers called upon the Bhow to put an end to their sufferings and suspense, by leading them to the attack. Tlie necessary orders were given ; the last grain in store distributed among the famishing troops ; and, an hour before day-break, the Mah- rattas quitted their intrenchments, marching forth with the ends of their turbans loosened, and their hands aud faces dyed with turmeric; to .lOOjOOO men. Ahmed Shah had about 4,000 Afghans and Persians, 13,000 Indian horse, and a force of Indian infantry, estimated at 38,000, of which the part consisting of Kohilla Afghans would l;e very elHcient ; but the great majority, the usual rabble of Indian foot-soldiers. He had, also, about thirty jjieces of cannon of difi'erent calibres, chiefly be- loujjing to the Indian allies, and a number of longi wall- pieces. (Elphinstone, vol. ii., p. G7!).) TERMINATION OF MOHAMMEDAN POWER IN INDIA. 170 tlicir gait and expressions bcspcakin;^ vic- tims jji'epared for sacrifice, rather than war- riors hopin;;; for contpicst. The sight of the foe revived llicir courage; a fierce onsiaught was made on tliC centre of tlie Alolianiniedaii army; and a general encounter followed, which lasted in nnabatcd violence until noon — the field of action being one mass of dust and confusion, the combatants fighting hand to hand, and the shrieks and groans of the dying drowned by the incessant "Allah!" and "Dceu !" of the iMolianimedans, and the "Hur! liur! Mahdeo!" of the Mahrattas. Up to this period, victory seemed to incline to the latter party ; but a reserve, sent for- ward by Ahmed Shah, who, from his little red tent, had eagerly w'atched the engage- ment, decided the fortune of the day. The Bhow and Wiswaswerc slain.* Ilolcar and Dummajee Guieowar quitted the field; and " all at once, as if by enchantment, the whole Mahratta army turned their backs, and fled at full speed." t 'I'hc victors pur- sued them with the utmost fury, giving no quarter, and slaying without mercy all who fell into their hands. Men, women, and children crowded into the town of Panipiit, where they were blockaded for the night, and the next morning divided into allot- ments by their barbarous captors, the women and children being taken for slaves, tlic men ranged in lines, and prevented from fainting by a few grains of parched corn, and a little water poured into the palms of their hands preparatory to their decapitation ; after which, their heads were piled around the doors of the tents, J as fitting trophies of what men call "a glorious victory." These atrocities Ahmed Shah made no effort to restrain : but, on the contrary, sanctioned by example the cold- blooded massacre of the most distinguished prisoners, among whom was Jaueojee Siudia, * Tlie body of Wiswas Rao was brought to the tent of the Shah, where the whole camp assembled to look upon it, and admire the extraordinary beauty which, strange to say, a violent death had not marred. Yet the Afghans, untouched by pity, looked upon the pale corpse only as an evidence of victory ; and were, with difficulty, induced by Shuja-oo-dowla to renounce the idea of having " it dried and stuffed, to carry to Cabool.'' Concerning the fate of the Bhow considerable uncertainty prevailed, although a headless trunk was said to be recognised as his by a scar on the back — certain marks in the hands and feet, which seemed to bear evidence of the 1,400 prostra- tions he made daily before the sun, and what the astrologers term the Fiiddum Mutch, or fortunate lines in his foot. I- See narrative of Casi Rai, an officer in the ser- vice of SSuja-oo-dowla. {Asiatic Jiesearches,y ol.iu.) a youth about the age of Wiswaa Rao. Ibrahim Khan was cruelly treated; and it was even reported that his death had been caused by the poison put into his wounds. 'J'his great overthrow was a blow from which the asi)iring Mahrattas never wholly recovered. In the course of the cam- paign, 200,000 of them are alleged to have [lerished, including nearly all their leading chiefs. The disastrous intelligence reached the Deccan through the medium of a letter addressed to the soucars or bankers, who generally contrive to obtain the earliest tidings of all affairs affecting the money- market. The letter-carrier was intercepted by the peishwa while about to cross the Nerbudda, on his way to Ilindoostan, and its brief contents — " two pearls have been dissolved ; twenty-seven gold niohurs have been lost ; and, of the silver and copper, the total cannot be east up" — revealed to him the fate of his beloved son and cousin, of the officers and army. The shock proved fatal to a mind worn down with intrigue, and a frame enfeebled by indolence and sen- suality ; and the peishwa, retiring towards Poena, died in a temple which he had erected near that city. Notwithstanding the personal faults of Balajce Bajee Rao, his political sagacity, polished manners, and great ad- dress, together with the honoured names he bore, had rendered him popular, and his death increased the gloom which overhung the country. § "\A'ith the battle of Paniput|| the Moham- medan portion of the history of India natu- rally closes. Ahmed Shah quitted Hindoo- stan without attempting to profit by the fruits of his victory; and Alum Shah, after endur- ing many vicissitudes of fortune, ended his days as a pensioner of the powerful company whose proceedings will occupy the chief por- tion of the following section. I The Dooranis said, that " when they left their own country, their mothers, wives, and sisters de- sired, that whenever they should defeat the un- believers, they would kill a few of them on their account, that they also might possess a merit in the sight of God."— (Cas! Sai.) § Tara Rye did not long survive her old adversary, the peishwa. She died, aged eighty-six, full of exultation at the misfortunes which had overtaken her foes. The rajah was then taken out of prison, and suffered to reside at large in Sattara ; his origi- n.-illy weak intellect, still further broken down by- persecution, rendering such a procedure free from any danger to the interests of Madhu Rao, the youtliful son and successor of the late minister. II I'aniput is in 29° 22' N., 76= 51' E. ; the town, about four miles in circumference, was formerly sur- rounded by a brick wall, of which a part still remains. 180 INDO-MOHAMMEDAN DYNASTIES, FROM 1001 to 1760, a.d. 3Iohmnmedan Conquerors and Rulers of Tlindoostan. House or Dynasty. House of Ghuznce— Subuktugecn dynasty, Ghor dynasty Slave Kings House of Khiljii. House of Toghlak. Lodi. The Seyeds, or Soids. House of Lodi. Mogul dynasty. Afghan dynasty. Mosul dynasty. Name or Title. Mahmood Mohammed . Masaud . . .\hmed . . Modood . . Abul Hussun .\bul Raschid Toghral . . Farokshad Ibrahim . . Masaud II. . Arslan . . Behram , . . Khosni . . . Khosru Malik . Shahab-oo-deen Kootb-oo-deen . Aram .... Altamsh Ruku-oo-deen Ilezia (Sultana) . . . . Behram [Moiz-oo (h-cii). . Masaud (Ala-on-decii) . . Mahmood (Nastr-oo-dccn) . Bulhun, or Balin .... Kei Kobad Jelal-oo-decn Ala-oo-dccn Mcibarik Gheias-oo-deen . . . . Mohammed {Juna) . . . Feroze Gheias-oo-deen Abubekir Nasir-oo-deen Humayun Mahmood Toghlak . . . IJoulat Khan Lodi . . . {Scyed Khizer Khan , . Moiz-oo-deen, or Seyed \ Mobarik J Seyed Mohammed) . . S 'wd Al-oi) decn .... fBhtilol Lodi . . . . < Sccander Lodi [ Ibrahim LoJi ... JBaber I Humayun . . ... Sheer Shah Soor .... Selim Shah Soor .... Feroze Soor Mohammed Shah Soor Adili Ibrahim III Secander Soor /Ilumayuu Akber Jehanpeor Shah Jehan Aurungzebe (AUimgeer) . Bahadur Shah Jehandar Shah .... Ferokshere Mohammed Shah .... Ahmed Shah ....'. Alumgecr II \Alum Shah Date. 1001 1030 1030 1010 1011 1019 1051 10o2 10.52 10.58 10S9 nil HIS 1160 1167 1186 1200 1210 1211 1236 1236 1230 1241 1246 1266 1286 1288 1295 1317 1.321 1325 1.351 1388 1389 1.390 1390 1394 1412 1414 1421 1436 1444 14.50 1488 1517 1526 1530 1542 1545 1552 1.552 1.554 15.54 1555 15.56 1605 1627 16.58 1707 1712 1713 1719 1748 1754 1760 Capital. Ghuznee . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto Ditto . . . Do. and Lahore Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . /Ghor, Ghuz-I I nee, & Delhi / Delhi . . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . .. Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto Ditto . . Ditto Ditto Ditto . . /Deoghiri, or 1 i^ Doulatabad ./ Delhi . . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto . . Successor. Death or Depositiou. Delhi & Gwalior Gwalior . . . Chunar . . . Delhi .... Agra .... Delhi .... :> Delhi & Agra ■! ^Delhi .... Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Son Brother . . Nephew Son . . Brother . Uncle .... No Relation . . Prince of the Blood Brother .... Son Son . . Brother . Son .... Son Conqueror . . His slave & general Son .... Brother-in-law Son .... Sister . . . Brother . . , Son of Rxikn , Grandson of Altamsh His A^izier . . . Son of Baldiara . A Khilji Chief. . Nephew .... Son Vizier . Son . , Nephew .... Grandson . . . Ditto of Feroze . Son of Feroze . . Son Brother, a Minor . No Relative No Relative Eldest Son . . Son. . Son ... . . Conqueror . , . Son Son Conqueror . . . Son Usurper . Youngest Son , . Son Uncle .... fDi'.ision of Domi-"! \ nion / Humayun . . . Son Son Son Fourth Son . Son . . Eldest Son . . . Son of Azim-u-Shan Nephew . . Son . . . . Prince of the Blood Son No successor . . Natural death. 1030. Deposed and blinded. Deposed and murdered. Murdered. Natural death. Deposed. Murdered. Assassinated. ' Assassinated.' Natural death. Natural death. Murdered. Natural death. Natural death. Imprisoned and murdered. Assassinated. Natural death. Natur.al death. Natural death. Deposed after 7 mths. reign. Imprisoned and murdered. Imprisoned and 'murdered. Imprisoned and murdered. Natural death. Natural death. Assassinated. Assassinated. Poisoned. Murdered. Killed, supposed by his son. Natural death. Natural death. Deposed and murdered. Deposed. Natural death. Natural death. Driven from Delhi by Tiir.ur Expelled. Natural death. Murdered in a Mosque. Natural death. Abdicated. Natural death. Natural death. Slain in battle at Paniput. Natural death. Driven into Persia. Killed at a siege. Natural death. Assassinated in 3 days. Expelled and slain. Imprisoned and .slain. Defeated in battle, and Hed Killed by a full. Natural death. Natural death. Deposed. Natural death.. Natural death. Murdered Deposed and slain. Natural death. Deposed and eyes put out. Murdered. Natural death. Note. — Of the above 65 conciuerors and rulers, 24 were assassinated or poisoned ; 11 were deposed, driven from the throne, or abdicated ; two were .slain in battle ; one killed by a fall ; and 27 were said to have died a natural death. Fifteen princes of the Ghnznivcdc dynasty had an aver.ago duration of reign of 11 years ; 10 Slave kings of eight years ; three KJiiljii of 10 years; eight Toijldak of 11 years; four Sei/eds of nine years; three Lodi of 25 years; two Mogul of eight years; six Afyhan of two years; ami 12 Mogul of 17 years each. If the reign of Akber, which lasted for 49 years, and that of Aurungzebe, for 49 = 98, be deducted, the average duration of the remaining 10 princes' reigns was only lOi years- The period of 751 years gives an average reign, to each prince, of exactly 11 years. These state- ments must, however, be rei^'iirdcd rather as affording a general view of the Indo-Mohammodan Dynasties, than as assertions of opinions on various disputed jioints respecting the death and exact date of accession of several potentates ; for arcotmts of the minor Moliammcdan kingdoms see pp. 93 to 107. The Great Moguls alone assumed the title of Padsha, or Emperor. SECTION II. EUnOPKAN INTERCOURSE— KISE AND GROWTH OK HJtnTSII I'OWI'R. iSoMH light is thrown on the communication between the eastern and western hemis- pheres by the scriptural account of the fre- (picnt supplies of spices and other oriental products obtained l)y Solomon from the sou- thern parts of Asia, n.c. 1000. The PIke- iiieians were even then supposed to have lonn- been the chief carriers iTi the Indian trade, by way of the lied Sea and the Per- sian Gulf; but an overland intercourse ap- pears to liavc been simultaneously main- tained through Persia and Arabia. Of the Asiatics themselves, and of their territories, little was known in Europe until the inva- sion of the Indian frontier by Alexander the Great, b.c. 331. For nearly three centuries after his death, the Indian traffic was chiclly conducted by Egyptian and Arabian mer- chants, by way of the Red Sea, the Nile, and the Mediterranean ; the marts being Berenice, Coptos, and Alexandria. There were, besides, two other and far less fre- fjucnted routes : the first lay through Persia and the upper part of Arabia to the Syrian cities, and stretched over a long and dreary dcsei't tract, in which the only halting-place was the famous Tadmor or Palmyra — the city of palms — whose independence and growing jirospcrity exciting the jealousy of imperial Home, proved tlie occasion of its destruction, notwithstanding the determined cflbrts of its brave queen, Zenobia. AVith Palmyra the overland traffic of the desert, which had existed since the time of Abra- ham, terminated ; but the other route, across the rocky passes of the Hindoo Koosh, is still in existence, and l)y this means an inland trade is maintained between India, Persia, and Russia {vid Bokhara.) In the middle of the first century of the Christian era a discovery was made by a Greek, named Ilipp.alus, the commander of an Egyptian East-Indiaman, of the steady course of the monsoon, at fixed periods, in a certain direction. The result of his observa- tion and daring adventure was to reduce a tedious voyage, of two months' duration, witiiin the compass of a few days ; mariners thenceforth steering from the mouth of the Red Sea directly across the ocean to Nelcunda (the site of which Dr. Vincent traces in the modern Nclisurani), instead of following the circuitous line of tlic Arabian and Persian coasts. Here ])cppcr in great atjuiidancc, cot- ton cloths, and exquisitely fine muslins, silk, ivory, spikenard, pearls, (liamouds,amcthysts, witii other [)rccious stones, and tortoiscshell, awaited the arrival of the merchants, and were largely exported, as also from Tyndis and Musiris (Barceloro and Mangalore), and other emporia on the 1 ndian coast, in exchange for gold and silver, (in vessels and specie,) clotli, coral, incense, glass, and a little wine. The weakness and distraction of the Ro- man empire checked this prolital)lc traffic, and tlu; rise of ^lohammedan power subse- quently cut oft' all direct communication between Europe and India. The Arabians then formed settlements on the eastern coasts of the Deccau, and by their vessels, or by iidand caravans, the rich productions of India were sold to the Venetians or Genoese on the shores of the ^Mediterranean or of the Euxine. These merchant-princes, though characterised by maritime enterprise, were naturally little desirous of prosecuting dis- coveries calculated to break up their mono- poly, and transfer to other hands at least a large proportion of the Indian trade. The leading European states, engrossed by na- tional or internal strife, were slow to recog- nise the superiority of an extended commerce as a means of even political greatness, over the sanguinary warfare into which whole kingdoms were repeatedly plunged to gratify the ambition or malignity of a few persons — often of a single individual. The short-lived triumphs of the sword only paved the way for new contests, envenomed by bitter recol- lections ; and it followed inevitably, that all peaceful interests — arts and sciences, me- chanics, and agriculture — were neglected ia the paramount necessity of finding means to meet the heavy drain of blood and treasure so wantonly incurred. The true principle of trade — the greatest good of the greatest number — was quite overlooked: the citizens of a leading emporium forgot, in triumphing over a defeated rival, that they were exulting in the destruction of one of their own mar- kets ; and were far from understanding the more remote connexion which, in the absence 182 FIRST EUROPEAN VOYAGE TO INDIA, 1498— VASCO DE GAMA. of a holier principle of union, binds nation to nation, forming of the whole a body-cor- porate, through which the blood circulates more or less freely according to the healthy or diseased action of each and every member. Portuguese Discovery and Dominion.* — A new epoch commenced for Europe, dating from the time when John I. and Prince Henry — worthy representatives of the royal house of Portugal — struck out for themselves and their country a path to power and renown, by becoming the patrons of maritime discovery. Portugal was tlien, as now, of limited extent and fertility : her previous history afforded little scope for boastful recollection, either while under the sway of the Romans, as the province of Lusitauia, or when, in the middle ages, she lay crushed beneath the iron yoke of the Moors, who, after having overrun nearly the whole Peninsula, erected Portugal into a kingdom, under the name of Algarve. But the fiery furnace of adversity developed mar- vellously the latent energies of the Portu- guese. Religious zeal became the inspiring theme with them, as it had formerly been with their conquerors ; and, after a struggle of many hundred years' duration, they, like their Spanish neigtibours, succeeded in ex- pelling from their shores the numerous, war- like, and fanatical hordes united under the banner of the crescent. Acting on the false principle of their late persecutors, — that hostilities against infidels were meritorious in the sight of God, — the Portuguese pursued the INIoors into Africa, retaliating by every possible means the long * The authorities for the Portuguese proceedings are Lopez de Castanheda; Stevens' translation of Faria y Sousa ; and the accounts given in Harris's Voi/affes,thc World displaijed ; Murray's Discoveries ; and other collections of travels by land and sea, in which Juan de Barros and Osorio are largely quoted. t Pp. 92 to 106. X Page 41. § The origin of the zamorins, or Tamuri rajahs, is discussed by Buchanan (vol. ii., p. 474) and Sousa (vol. ii., p. 22.5.) In accordance with the custom of the country, tho name of the individual then reigning was withheld from tho Portuguese ; but their inter- preter, a Moor of Tunis (long resident at Calicut), described him " as a very good man, and of an hon- ourable disposition." lie proved to be a person of majestic presence and advanced age : dressed in fine white calico, adorned with branches and flowers of beaten gold, and rare gems(willnvhicl\ latter his whole person was bedecked), he reclined on cushions of white silk, wrought with gold, under a magnificent canopy. A golden fountain of water stood beside him, and a gold basin filled with betel and areca: the hall of audience was richly carpeted, and hung with tapestry of silk and gold. Dc Gama found some difliculty series of outrage and thraldom to which they had been subjected. The peculiar situation of Portugal, and its long range of coast- line, bordered l)y the yet unmeasured ex- panse of the Atlantic, favoured maritime enterprise ; and the exploration of the shores of western, southern, and eastern Africa was followed by the expedition of Vasco de Gama, who, after crossing the Indian Ocean (by the aid of a Hindoo pilot, obtained at Melinda), succeeded in gaining the Malabar coast, and landed at Calicut in May, 14y8. The general condition of India at this period has been shown in previous pages. ■): Secander Soor sat on the throne of Delhi : in the Deccan, the Mohammedan rulers were Mohammed II., of the Bahmani dynasty ; Yusuf Adil Shah, of Beejapoor ; and Ahmed Nizam Shah, of Ahmednuggur, The country visited by the Portuguese had anciently formed the southern division of the kingdom of Kerala; J but in the course of the ninth century had revolted from its prince (who had become a Mohammedan), and been formed into many petty Hindoo principalities. Of these, the chief was that now governed by a ruler styled the zamorin, or Tamuri rajah,^ to whom several lesser rajalis seem to have been feudatory ; his capital, called Calicut, had attained wealth and celebrity as a commercial emporium. By this prince the adventurers were well received ; and notwithstanding some awk- ward blunders, occasioned by their igno- rance of the language, customs, and religion of the country, II all went on favourably until their proceedings excited the jealousy of the Mohammedan traders, whom they from the want of the costly presents with which all diplomatic intercourse in the east begins and ends. The zamorin desired an image of Mary, in gold, of which he had heard : this was refused, on the plea that it was only wood, gilt, but valuable " because it had preserved them at sea" — an answer calculated to confirm the assertion of the Moors, that these Euro- peans, unlike the native Christians, were idolaters. jl The Portuguese, acquainted by the accou nts of Marco Polo and other travellers with the existence of a Christian community en this coast, looked for the signs of Christian or rather Romish worship; and, filled with this idea, actually entered a splendid ]iagoda with lofiy pillars of brass, and prostrated themselves before an assemblage of strange and grotesque forms, which they took for the Indian ideal of the Madonna and saints. The strings of beads worn by the ])riests, the water wii,h which the company were sprinkled, the jiowdered sandal-wood, and the peal of bells, could not, however, quell the suspicions excited by the numerous arms and singular accompaniments of many of the figures; and one of the Portuguese started to his feet, ex- claiming, " If these be devils, it is God I worship." rOKTUGUESE EXPEDITION UNDER ALVAREZ CABRAL-a.d. 1500. 183 termed the Moors,* settled in Calicut. These merchants having:, through their factors, received intelligence of the contests wliicii had taken place, (hirinii the voyage, Ijctwccn Vasco (Ic Gama and tint people of Mozam- bique, Monibaa, Mclinda, and other places on the coast of Africa, informed the zamorin of the outrages that had been committed on this and previous occasions, urging, with sufficient reason, that people who, on frivolous pretences, fired upon and destroyed towns, carried off the inhabitants as slaves, and scrupled not to extort information by the most liarbarous tortures, w'crc more pro- bably pirates than aml)assadors,t especially as they came unprovided with any offer- ing from their sovereign. Notwithstanding these representations, the Portuguese were suflered to make an advantageous disposition of their cargo (of scarlet cloth^ brass, coral, &c.) at Calicut; but a dispute subsequently arising, the factor and secretary were made prisoners. De Gama dissembled his alarm, and continued to communicate with the Indians as if nothing had occurred, until he had succeeded in entrapping on board his vessel a party, comprising six nairsj and fifteen other persons of distinction. He then demanded the release of his officers as their ransom ; but when this condition was complied with, forfeited his pledge by re- taining possession of several of his captives. Enraged by this dishonourable and insulting conduct, the zamorin dispatched a squadron of boats against the Portuguese, and suc- ceeded in procuring the co-operation of neighbouring powers; so that in a short time every bay, creek, and river was filled with boats, ready, at a given signal, to attack the intruders. Such at least was the intelligence, wrung by tortures of the most cruel and disgusting description, from a spy who came out from Goa. Dc Gama, by the aid of favourable winds avoided the encounter, steered homewards, and reached * This designation seems frequently applied to Arabian and African Mohammedans, in contradis- tinction to Moguls and Patans. Sousa speaks of them as "inhabiting from Choul to Cape Comorin." t Prince Henry's characteristic motto, " Talent de bien faire," was sadly misapi)licd by the Portuguese commanders, who, almost without exception, treated the natives of ncwly-discovcrcd territories with such shameless cruelty, that their skill and courage fails to disguise the fact, that they were little else than pirates and robbers on an extensive scale ; — worse than all, they were stealers of men; and thereby guilty of a crime which could not and did not fail to bring a curse upon their nation. In vain they strove to strengthen themselves with forts and can- thc Tagus in August, 1191), after an absence of two years and two months; oid)' fifty-five of tlie H)0|| men who liad accompanied him on his perilous enccrprise, surviving to share the honours of liis triumphant entry into lisbon ; but of these, every individual re- ceived rewards, together with tiie personal commendation of King limanuel. An armament, comprising thirteen ships and 1,200 men, was immediately fitted out and dis|)atchcd to take advantage of the new discovery. The command was entrusted to Alvarez Cabral, Dc Gama being excluded on the plea of being spared the liazard, but probably either on account of an opposite interest having begun to prevail at court, or because even his own report of his Indian proceedings may have borne evidence that the beneficial results of the skill and courage which had enabled him to triumph over the perils of uidinowu seas, were likely to be neutralized Ijy his indiscreet and aggressive conduct on shore. Cabral reached Calicut in September, 1500, having, on his way, discovered the coast of IJrazil, and lost four of his ships in the frightful storms encoun- tered in rounding the Cape of Good Hope, Bartholomew Diaz being one of those who perished in the seas he had first laid open to European adventure. The captives car- ried oft" by De Gama were restored by Cabral, - and their representations of the honourable treatment they had received in Portugal, together with costly presents of vessels of gold and silver of delicate workmanship, and cloths ingeniously wrought, obtained for the admiral a gracious reception, and permission to establish a factory at Calicut. Cabral endeavoured to ingratiate himself still further by intercepting and driving into the harbour or roadstead of Calicut a large vessel, then passing from the neighbouring jiort of Cochin, laden with a rich cargo, in- cluding seven elephants, one of which the zamorin had vainly endeavoured to pm-- non — spreading the terror of their name over the whole African sea-coast : their power has dwindled away like a snow-ball in the sun ; and now only enough remains to bear witness of lost dominion. Five-and-twenly years ago, when serving in the navy, I visited the great fortress of Mozambique, where we landed the marines of our frigate to pre- vent the governor-general (then newly-arrived Irom I Lisbon) being massacred by a horde of savages. At j Delagoa, Inhamban, Sofala, and other places, the | Portuguese governor and officers were unwilling to venture beyond the reach of the rusty cannon on ^ the walls of their dilapidated forts. I Military class of Malabai-, of the Soodra cast. II According to Sousa. Castanheda says, 108. chase ; but this unscrupulous use of power gave alarm rather than satisfaction, and added weight to the arguments of the Moors, regarding the danger of encouraging sucli oflicious interlopers. The result was, that the Portuguese, unable to effect any pur- chases from the native merchants, in their impatience construed a hasty expression, dropped by the zamorin when wearied by their solicitatious and complaints, into per- mission to seize a Moorish cargo of rich spices, on condition of the payment of an equitable price. This outrage provoked the resentment of both the Moors and the Hin- doo inhabitants of Calicut. The newly- erected factory was broken open, and out of its seventy occupants, fifty-one were killed, the remainder escaping only by leaping into the sea, and swimming to their boats. Cabral retaliated by the capture and destruction of ten Moorish ships, seizing the cargoes, and detaining the crews as prisoners. Then, bringing his squadron as close as possible to the sliore, he opened a furious discharge of artillery upon the city, and having set it on fire in several places, sailed southward to Cochin, whose ruler, having rebelled against the zamorin, gladly embraced the offer of foreign commerce and alliance. Here an abundant supply of pepper, the commodity chiefly desired by the Europeans, was ob- tained, and Cabral returned to Lisbon, taking the opportunity of a favoui'able wind to avoid a fleet of sixty sail, sent agaiust him from Calicut. It was now manifest that the aggressive policy of the Portuguese could succeed oidy if powerfully supported ; and Emanuel being desirous, in tlie words of Faria y Sousa, " to carry out what the apostle St. Thomas had begun," during liis alleged visit to India, resolved, at all hazards, to avail himself of the papal grant to Portugal of all the eastern regions discovered by her fleets, and tenanted by infidels. He assembled a larger armament than had yet been scut into the eastern seas, and assuming the title of " Lord of tlic navigation, conquest, and commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia and India," dis- patched Yasco de Gama to enforce his authority. Tiie conduct of the envoy was marked by the most savage cruelty' On the coast of Arabia he met and captured a large Moorish shij), seized its stores, shut up the crew in the hold, and set it on fire. Appearing before Calicut, he collected fifty Indians from several captured vessels, and in consequence of some delay which oc- curred during a negotiation, opened by his demand of compensation for the destruction of the factory and its occupants, he took up an hour-glass, and declared, that unless the matter were settled before the sand had passed througli, the prisoners should all be massacred. This savage threat he fulfilled to the letter, flinging on shore the lieads, hands, and feet of the wretched victims. After poui'iug a destructive fire on the city, he proceeded to Cochin and Cananore, cemented the Portuguese alliance with the rulers of these territories, aud then returned to Lisbon, leaving a squadron of five vessels under his uncle, Yineente Sodre, to blockade the Red Sea, exclude the hostile Moors from any communication with the coast of Malabar, and do what he could to protect the allies of Portugal against the auger of their liege lord, the zamorin. Instead of following these iuj unctions, Sodre engaged in piratical pursuits, and at length perished in a violent storm. Triumpara, rajah of Cochin, was left to make his own defence, aud being driven from his capital, took refuge in the isle of Yaipeen, whose natural strength and sacred character would probably not have sufficed to ensure him a safe asylum but for the succour tliat arrived from Por- tugal, one detacliment being sent under the afterwards famous Alphouso Albuquerque, another under his brother Francisco, and a third under Antonio Saldauha. With their assistance, Triumpara was replaced on his throne, and peace concluded with Calicut, but soon broken by the outrageous conduct of the Portuguese. The Albuquerqucs, after endeavouring to intimidate the zamorin into a renewal of the violated treaty, set sail for Europe,* leaving Duarte Pacheco witli four vessels and a few hundred men to assist in guarding their ally, the rajah of Cochin. Tlie -struggle that ensued aflbrdcd the first notable instance of the superiority of a small force, strengtliened by European strategy and discipline, over an unwicldly Indian host, and may be said to have laid the foundation of Portuguese power in India. Pacheco was skilful and resolute : Trium- para confided to him the sole direction of the defence to be made against the advanc- ing naval and military armament of the zamorin ; aud the well-directed fire of his little squadron enabled him to obtain a com- plete triumph, which was greatly facilitated • Alphonso reached Europe safely. Francisco, wiUi tlie ships under his conirnand, is supposed to have perished in a storm near Melinda, in Africa. ALMRIDA VICEROY— WAR WITH EGYPT AND GUZERAT— 1508, 185 by a destructive sickness that broke out anioiif; tbe ciiciiiy, and compelled tlieir re- treat to Calicut.* raclieco was, jiorliaps, the ablest as well as the most humane and dis- interested of the commanders of his nation in India; for no other, not even Albuquer- que, obtained such uniform success with such inadequate means. It would have been f^ood policy to have left him in the ])Osi- tion he had so well idled ; instead of which, ho was superseded by Lope Soarez. On re- turning to Portugal, he was treated by I'hiianncl with well-merited distinction; and his disregard of his own interests, and zeal for the public service, were rewarded by the ap- pointment of governor of I'^l Mina, the chief settlement ou the African coast ; but a violent faction being there raised against him, he was sent home in chains^ impri- soned for years, and although at length honourably acquitted, sufl'crcd to die in poverty and neglect. In 1505, Francisco de Almeida arrived off Malabar, attended by a powerful fleet, and dignified with the new and pompous title of viceroy of India. A more formidable opposition tlian any heretofore encountered now awaited the Portuguese, in the combi- nation formed against them by ]\Iahmood Bcgarra, of Guzerat, with the JVFamcluk sultan of Cairo, and the angry and disap- pointed Venetians. The sultan, incensed by the diminution of his revenues, by the shame- ful piracies committed on his vessels, and by the barbarous massacre of pilgrims ou their way to Mecca (whose cause every zealous ]\Tobammcdan identifies with his own), equipped twelve large ships in the Red Sea,t and placed them xuidcr an olficcr named Alecr Ilocem, with orders for the extirpation of the infidel invaders from the whole face of the eastern seas. Malek Eiaz, the viceroy of Diu, was sent by Mahmood to join the !Mamcluks, with an assemblage of vessels, inferior in size, but greater in number ; and the combined force fell upon the Portuguese squadron anchored ofl' Choul with such cfl'ect, that the young commander, Lorenzo, the only son of Al- meida, seeing no prospect of successful re- sistance, and his chief officers, like himself, being wounded, resolved to take advantage * Both floors and Hindoos were provided with cannon before the arrival of tlie Portuguese, though they do not appear to have been skilful in its use. t The Venetians sent the timber from the forests of Dahnatia, by way of Alexandria and the Nik-. Venetian carpenters built the fleet, which was of a favourable tide and proceed out to sea. The movement was commenced at midniglit, and went on favourably until the ship in which Lorenzo sailed ran foul of some fish- ing stakes. The enemy having discovered the manoeuvre, pressed on in [jiirsuit, while ' ineflectual attempts were made to free the intercepted vessel. Lorenzo was entreated j to enter a boat and escape to the fleet ; but j he refused to forsake his companions, and ] drawing them up in fighting order, resolved I to hold out, if possible, until the advancing tide should float them out to sea. Hostile I ships, bristling with cannon, bore down on I the devoted band, and destroyed tlieir last hope by opening upon them a tremendous fire. A ball in the thigh incapacitated Lorenzo for movement; but he caused him- self to be lashed to the mast, whence he continued to direct and cheer his men till another shot struck him on the breast, and terminated at once his struggles and his life.;]; The crew, though reduced from one hundred to twenty men, and all wounded, were still disposed to resist the boarding of their vessel ; but Malek Eiaz. by gentleness and promises of good treatment, prevailed on them to surrender ; and by his aftcr- eonduct, amply redeemed his pledge. In truth, Eiaz appears to be almost the only ]\Iohammcdan commander of his age and country, who in any degree inherited the chivalry which romance and even history have associated with Saracen leaders in the time of the Crusades. He addressed Al- meida in terms of the most delicate con- dolence, expressing earnest admiration of the valour of his lost son; but the veteran sternly replied, that he considered excel- lence more to be desired than long life, and saw no cause for lamentation in the glorious death of one who was doubtless now enjoy- ing the reward of his good conduct. This semblance of resignation imposed no re- straint upon the burning impatience with which he prepared for vengeance. When about to depart at the head of a fleet of nineteen ships, an unexpected event de- ranged his plans, and inflicted a blow which he bore with far less dignity than he had done his late bereavement. This was no- thing less than his recall and superecssion I Sousa says, his countrymen lost 140 men in this engagement, and the enemy COO. Unfortunately, we cannot check the Portuguese accounts by those of their foes, because the Mohammedan historians of the Decean have rarely thought fit to narrate their contests with these " foreign idolaters," whom they aft'ected to treat with contemptuous indifference. 186 STORMING OF DIU— PORTUGUESE DEFEATED AT CALICUT— 1510. by Alplionso Albuquerque, who arrived in 1506, bearing a commission as governor- general of India.* Almeida positively re- fused to resign his command until he should have avenged his son's death by the de- struction of the hostile fleet. Being sup- ported in his disobedience to the royal man- date by several leading officers, he refused to allovr Albuquerque even to take part in the intended expedition, and sailed oft' to attack Dabul, a leading emporium, which had zealously embraced the Egyptian cause. The troops disembarked at Din, notwithstand- ing the discharge of powerful batteries ; for these, having rather a high range, passed over the soldiers heads as they landed in boats, without inflicting any injury. Once on shore, a deadly conflict commenced with the bodies of armed citizens who blocked up the narrow passages to the town : these were at length overpowered ; and by the orders of the merciless victor, an indiscriminate slaughter ensued. The streets streamed with blood, and the distracted multitudes fled to the caves of the neighbouring moun- tains, finding that even buildings consecrated to the service of the One Universal Lord afforded no refuge from the lust and fury of the savage men who dared to cast dis- honour on the great name of the Redeemer, by styling themselves disciples and propa- gators of a faith whose very essence is peace and love. This disgraceful scene had a suit- able conclusion; for Almeida, unable to with- draw his troops from their horrible employ- ment, resorted to a violent method of re- storing some degree of discipline, by causing the town to be set on fire. The flames ex- tended rapidly over the light timber roofs, and after reducing the stately city to a pile of smoking wood and ashes, reached the harbour. The native shipping was de- stroyed ; the Portuguese vessels with diffi- culty escaped, and proceeded to the Gulf of Cambay. Here Almeida attacked the combined fleet, and gained a great but costly victory. The Mameluk portion was completely destroyed, and Malek Eiaz com- pelled to sue for peace. Almeida stipulated for the surrender of Mcer Hocem ; but Eiaz indignantly refused to betray his ally, and would offer no further concession as the price of peace than the freedom of all European captives. Having no power of enforcing other terms, Almeida was com- • The oflico of viceroy and governor-general Mas the same, though the title differed. t Vide liritish Possessions in Africa, vol. iii., p. 4. pelled to accept these ; but unsoftened by the kindness which the surviving compa- nions of his son had received from their brave captor, the Portuguese admiral filled the measure of his barbarities by causing his prisoners to be shut up in the prize vessels and burnt with them. " Many," says Faria y Sousa, "judged the indiappy end of the viceroy and other gentlemen to be a just punishment of that crime." If so, it was not long delayed. On the return of Almeida to Cochin, a contest seemed alDout to commence with Albuquerque for the possession of the supreme authority. At this crisis, Ferdinand Coutinho, a noble- man of high character, arrived in command of fifteen ships and a large body of troops, having been opportunely dispatched by Ema- nuel, with powers to act in the very pro- bable conjuncture which had actually arisen. By his mediation, Almeida was induced to resign the viceroyalty, and set sail for his native country, which he never lived to reach, — he, who had brought so many to an untimely end, himself suffering a vio- lent death at the hands of some Hottentots at the Cape of Good Hope, of whose cattle the Portuguese had attempted to take for- cible possession. t Albuquerque was now left to carry out unchecked his ambitious schemes. He com- menced by the assault of Calicut (January, 1510), in conjunction with Coutinho, who, being about to return to Portugal, vehe- mently urged his claim to be allowed to take the lead on this occasion. As the city could only be approached through narrow avenues, amidst thick woods, in which the whole army had not room to act, it was arranged that the two commanders should advance, at day-break on the following morning, in sepa- rate divisions. That of Albuquerque took the lead, and obtained possession of a fortified palace (previously fixed upon as the first object of assault) before the rival party reached the spot. Coutinho, greatly annoyed at being thus anticipated, reproached Albu- querque with a breach of faith, and declaring that he would not be again forestalled, made his way through the streets of Calicut to the chief palace, which lay on the other side of the city, and formed a little town, enclosed by a wall. Being the only regular fortifica- tion in the place, it was defended by the main strength of the army ; but Coutinho succeeded in forcing open the gates, and ac- (luircd possession of the whole enclosure. Flushed with victory, he gave his men full ALBUQUERQUE CAPTURES GOA, 1510— MALACCA, 1511— ORMUZ, 1515. 187 license to plunder, and withdrew, to seek rest and refreshment in the state apartments. This ovcr-confidencn aflbrded the Hindoos time to recover from their consternation ; and a cry, nttcrcd by one of the cliief nairs, passed from mouth to mouth, to tlie distance of several miles, until .'J(),()00 armed men had assembled, and in turn, surprised the invaders. Albuquerque, who occupied the city, vainly strove to maintain the commu- nication with the fleet : he was hemmed in with his troops in the narrow lanes and avenues, and exposed to a continued shower of arrows and stones, one of which felled him to the ground. The soldiers set fire to the adjacent buildings, and escaped to the ships, bearing away their commander in a . state of unconseiousness. Coutinho was less fortunate. ^Vhen, after neglecting repeated warnings, at last routed by the clash of arms to the actual state of the case, lie sprang to the liead of his troops, and fought with the fury of desperation, striving not to retain possession of the place — for that was mani- festly impossible — but only to cut a path to the shore. In this the majority of the com- mon soldiers succeeded ; but Coutinho, with Vasco Sylviera, and other nobles of distinc- tion, were left dead on the field. Out of 1,600 Portuguese (according to Dc Barros), eighty were killed, and 300 wounded. This disastrous commencement, so far from ehecking, only served to increase the desire of All)uqucrque for territorial dominion, in opposition to the policy previously pursued by Almeida, who had considered that fac- tories, guarded by a powerful fleet, would better suit the purposes of commerce, and be less likely to excite enmity. Disappointed in the hope of gaining pos- session of the capital of the zamorin, he looked round for some other city which might form the nucleus of a new empire ; for as yet, notwithstanding their high- sounding titles, the Portuguese had but a precarious tenure, even of the land on which their few forts and factories were erected. A useful, though not creditable ally, Timojee, a Hindoo pirate, directed his at- tention to Goa, then comprehended in the kingdom of Bccjapoor. The city was taken by surprise in the early \)avt of 1510; re- captured a few months later by Yusuf Adil Shah, in person ; and finally conquered by * Portuguese Asia, vol. i., p. 172. t After making large allowance for t'ne barbarities common to liis age and nation, Albuquerque seeras to have been more than usually cruel in Iris punisli- Albuquerque, at tiie close of the same year. The contest was prolonged and sanguinary; and the after-slaughter must have been ter- rific, — since, according to Sousa, " not cue ^l(jor was left alive in the island."* Tlie Hindoos were treated very did'erently ; for Albuquerque, with a politic view to the con- solidation of his newly-acquired power, con- firmed them in their possessions, and pro- moted the intermarriage of their women with the Portuguese by handsome dowries, at the same time proving his confidence in his new subjects, by employing them iu both civil and military capacities. A large quantit}' of cannon and military stores were captured in Goa, and probably assisted in furnishing the fortifications raised by him in that city ; and also in fitting out an arma- i mcnt, comprising 800 Portuguese and GOO Indians, with which Albuquerque proceeded to attack Malacca. This kingdom was then of great importance, being what Singapore is now — namely, the chief mart of the com- I merce carried on between Hindoostan, China, ' and the eastern islands. The inhabitants made a vigorous resistance with cannon and floats of wild-fire, and defended their streets by mining with gunpowder; but they were overpowered by the Portuguese, who gained complete possession of the city, and im- mediately began to erect a strong fort from the ruins of the shattered palaces, and take other measures for the permanent establish- ment of their supremacj'. Negotiations were opened with Siam, Java, and Sumatra; and friendly embassies are even asserted to have been dispatched from these countries in return. The restless sword of Albu- querque next found employment in the de- fence of Goa, where tranquillity was no sooner restored, than he resumed liis plans of distant conquest; and after two unsuc- cessful attempts upon Aden, assembled 1,500 European and 600 Asiatic troops, in pursuit of the darling object of his am- biti<m — the conquest of Ormuz, the famous emporium of the Persian Gulf. This he ap- pears to have accomplished with little ditli- culty, by working upon the fears and weak- ness of the sovereign, who folt quite in- capable of combating a formidable force, led by a commander whose ability was more than equalled by his ruthless severity ;-|- and Ormuz, notwithstanding the counter- mcnts. Among many instances, may be cited that of his sending Portuguese renegades back to their country with their ears, noses, right-hands, and lliumbs of the left hand cut off. His passions were 188 ALBUQUERQUE'S RECALL AND DEATH— PORTUGUESE POWER— 1515. intrigues of the Persiun ambassador, fell an easy prize into the hands of the Portuguese. Albuquerque, delighted with his success, prepared to return to Goa, there to super- intend the consolidation of the dominion he had gained, and at the same time recruit his own strength, after toils calculated to increase the burden of advancing years. These anticipations were suddenly dashed to the ground by tidings which reached him while sailing along the coast of Cambay. He who had superseded Almeida, was now himself to be ignominiously displaced by a new governor — Lope Soarcz, who, to make the blow more galling, was his personal and bitter foe. There was no letter, nor any mark of respect or sympathy from the king, and no reason assigned for his removal ; probably none existed beyond the malice of his foes, in suggesting that the powerful viceroy might not long continue a subject. New officers were nominated to the chief vessels and forts, selected from the party known to be hostile to his interests ; and even men whom he had sent home prisoners for heinous crimes, returned with high appoint- ments. The adherents of Albuquerque rallied round him, and strove to induce him to follow the example of many Asiatic governors, by asserting his independence; but lie rejected the temptation, declaring that the only course now left him consistent with bis honour, which through life had been his first care, was to die. Then giving way to profound melancholy, and refusing food or medicine, he soon found the death he ardently desired, expiring upon the bar of Goa (which he had called his land of pro- mise) in December, 1515, in the sixty-third year of his age. While writhing under the torment of a wounded spirit, he was pre- vailed upon to address a few proud and pathetic lines of farewell to his sovereign, commending to his favour the son whom he had left in Portugal. " As for the affairs of India," he added, "they will speak for themselves and me." This was no empty boast ; for in five years, Albuquerque had raised the maritime power of his nation in the East, to a point which, in spite of many unrestrained, after liis nephew, Antonio de Noronlia, was slain in action; tliis youtli having, accordiiig to Faria y Sousa, exercised a very salutary influence over his tem])or through his afl'eclions. • When on liis way to supersede Almeida, he at- tacked Ormuz, and there committed great cruelties, such as cutting off the hands, ears, and noses of ])er- sons carrying provisions into the city. Being com- pelled to raise the singe by the valour of Khojeh changes and conflicts, it never far surpassed. The prize thus acquired was little less than the monopoly of commerce between Europe and India, which was maintained for upwards of a centurj'. Faria y Sousa, indeed, boasts that the empire of his countrymen stretched from the Cape of Good Hope to the frontier of China, and comprehended a coast 12,000 miles in ex- tent ; but this simply signifies, that upon this immense sea-line, they alone, of the nations of Europe, had established factories. Of these there were, in all, about thirty — in some cases 1,000 miles apart ; and of the surrounding country they rarely possessed anything beyond that which their walls en- circled. In India, Goa was the great seat of their influence : they there obtained pos- session of an area, extending, at a subse- quent period, over above 1,000 square miles. The town of Cochin may be said to have been under their control, and probably also that of Cananore ; but Ijoth these small states continued to retain their native rajaha. Peace had been concluded with Calient in 1513, and a fortified factory erected there : they possibly, also, established a few insigni- ficant trading depots on other parts of the coast. Had the management of aflairs continued to be entrusted to such men as Albuquerque, it is probable that the strug- gle, already commenced with the Moham- medans by the seizure of Goa, would have continued until the Portuguese had really acquired extensive territorial sovereignty ; but as it was, the high-sounding title of the viceroy or governor-general of India, was quite inconsistent with his actual position as ruler of a few scattered settle- ments, held at all times on a very precarious tenure. Lope Soarez, the new governor, presented a strong contrast to his predecessor. Albu- querque was a man of middle stature, with a long white beard, which, for a character- istic reason, had been suflcred to grow until it reached his girdle, where he wore it knotted.* When not clouded by fierce and too frequent paroxysms of passion, his countenance was pleasing, and his manner Atar, the governor or regent for the young king, the enraged Albuquerque swore, that his beard should nevur be cut, until he should sit, for that purpose, on the back of his adversary. The oppor- tunity never apjicars to have arrived (for the name of Khojeh Alar is not even mentioned in the account of the eventual seizure of Goa) ; and Albu(iuerque carried to his grave a mortifying n:emorial of the folly of rash vows. — (Faria y klnusa, vol. i., p. 178.) VASCO DE GAMA DIES VICEROY OP INDIA— a.d. 1521 189 iViuik and courteous : to tlic native ])i-iiiees espeeially lie maintained a respeetfid dv- nicaiiour, wliicli rendered liim popular even witli those wlio had little real cause for rc- ■Jtardini; liiin with a friendly eye. Soarcz, aeeordinji; to Faria y Sousa, " was a comely man, with very red hair," and a haugiity and repul.sive bearing. His covetous and j^raspin;;; conduct set an example which was sjieedily followed; and the whole l)ody of the military bc{;;au to trade, or rather plun- der, each one on his own account, with an utter disro^^ard for tlie pul)lic service. The main-sprinj; of the mischief was in Portuijal, where, instead of sclectin;^' men of tried ability and rectitiule, birth or patronage be- came the first rc(piisitc for an office, in which the formula of installation required from the successful candidate a solemn as- severation, that he had made no interest to procure that employment. " How needless the question \" exclaims Faria y Sousa, " how false the oath I" Even if a good governor were appointed by a happy acci- dent, or in a mom<mt of urgent necessity, lie could hope to effect little permanent re- form ; for in the event of ^ his sending home officers charged with the most outrageous offences, they, if men of 'wealth, however acquired, were sure of a favourable hearing at court, and their representations would probably succeed even in procuring the downfall of their more righteous accuser. It is quite unnecessary to follow in detail the hostilities in which the Portuguese be- came involved with the natives of every place where they had established them- selves, being, in some cases, completely expelled; in others, barely tolerated : thus fulfilling the prophecy of one of the despised Hindoos, — that " whatever they gained as courageous soldiers, they would lose as covetous merchants ;"* and it might with truth have been added, as persecuting bigots: for the injunctions given to the eight Franciscan friars attached to (."abral's expedition, to " carry fire and the sword into every country wliicii should refuse to listen to their preachlng,"t 'were not neg- lected by their successors. The administration of Soarez, though generally disastrous,^ was distinguished by * Sousa adds, " Wlio was most Iwrbuvous — he tliat said this, or they who did what he said ?" t JDe Harms and luiriii tj Smtsc, vol. i. p. 53. X The wrath excited by tiie piratical seizure of two ships, caused the expulsion cl the I'oitugue.se from lieuftal, where they wislied to establish factories. § Surat (according to Sousa), when attacked in 1530, 2c the erection of a fort and factory in the territory of the king of Columbo, in Ceylon (a.d. 1."j17), from whom, thoiigli he had from the first traded amicably with them, the Portuguese now exacted a yearly tribute of l,'i()0 (juintals of cinnamon, twelve rings of rubies and sapphires, and six elephants. It is probable this payment could not be enforced, as the fort itself was abandoned, in l.")21', as not worth the keeping, by Vasco do Gama, who was sent out as viceroy in that year. His tenure of office lasted but three months, being terminated by death on Christmas Jive. Sousa describes De Gama as a man of " middle size, somewhat gn^ss, and of a ruddy comj)lexion ;" of a dauntless dis- position; capable of enduring extraordinary fatigue; prompt and resolute in the execu- tion of justice. Even during his mortal sickness the veteran discoverer zealously exerted himself to put down piracy by sea and peculation by land, preparatory to the execution of greater designs; but the tem- porary check given to long-permitted mal- practices was soon over-stejiped; and the dis- scnsious arising from the unbridled lust and avarice of the Portuguese reached such a height, that had the natives combined to- gether against them, their total expulsion would scera to have been very practicable. The zamoiin succeeded in driving them from Calicut, which they quitted after per- forming the humiliating task of destroying their own fortifications. Nuno da Cuuha was sent out in 1529. He was then forty-two years of age, tall, and wcll-propoitioiicd, with a fair com- plexion and black beard, but disfigured by the loss of an eye. His rc[)Utation for jus- tice and moderation, though probably de- served, so far as his countrymen were con- cerned, ill accords with the character of his foreign policy ; for during his administra- tion a scries of unprovoked outrages of the most disgraceful character were committed on the territories of neighbouring rulers. Tlie coast of Guzcrat was ravaged in 1530; towns and villages, including Surat,§ Da- maun, and others of note, were plundered and burned ; the adjacent land bereft of every semblance of cultivation; and the wretched inhabitants carried oft' as slaves. || contained "ten tliousand families, mostly handicrafts, and all of no courage :" it was taken almost with- out resistance, ■' and nothing left in it that had life, or was of value. Then the city, and some ships that lay in the arsenal, were burnt." II The result of a single incursion on the coast of Diu was " the obtainment cf 4,000 slaves and an 190 PORTUGUESE DEFEND DIU AGAINST SOLYMAN PASHA— 1538. la the two following years an expedition was carried out, which, though unsuccessful in its main ohject — the taking of Din — re- sulted in the capture of the strong island of Beth, seven leagues distant : the whole of the towns on the Maharashtra coast, from Chicklee Tarapoor to Bassein, were burned, and contributions levied from Tanua and Bombay. The contest between Baliadur Shall and the i\Ioguls, drove the former into a compromise with his European foes, whose assistance against the emperor, Humayun, he purchased by granting the long-desired permission to build a fort at Din,* and by the cession of Bassein in perpetuity, with authority to levy duties on the trade with the Bed Sea. The circumstances connected with the assassination of Bahadur by the Portuguese have been already repeatedly mentioned. f The immediate consequence was their occupation of Diu, where they ob- tained some treasure and an extraordinary amount of cannon and military stores. In September, 153S, a determined at- tempt to I'ecover Diu was made by a force levied in Guzerat, through the exertions of a Moorish chief, named Kliojeh Zofar, and supported by a squadron dispatched by the Grand Seignior, under the command of Soly- man Pasha, the governor of Cairo. The small and sickly garrison of the fort de- fended themselves with desperate valour; and the women, incited by the enthusiasm of Donna Isabella de Vega (the wife of the governor), and others, bore their part in the danger and fatigue, by taking upon them- selves the task of repairing the works shattered by the incessant fire of the batteries. Attempts to carry the fortress bj' storm were continued during two months, and the besieged were well nigh exhausted, only forty men remaining fit for duty, when, to their joyful surprise, want of union in the camp of the enemy, added probably to ignorance of the straits to which they were reduced, led Solymau to abandon the enter- prise on the very eve of success. During his way to Egypt he committed great cruelties on the Portuguese whom he found at diffcr- infinile booty." The fleet, as reviewed in 1531, con- sisted of " above four hundred sail, many large, more indifi'erent, and the greatest number small ; several of Ihem were only sutlers, fitted out by the natives for private gain," and manned by 3,G00 soldiers, 1,450 Portuguese .seamen, 2,000 Malabars and Cana- rese, 8,000 slaves, and 5,000 seamen.- — (Sousa, vol. i. p. 347.) Nuno is also deseril)ed as employing as sailors " 1,000 Lascarincs of the country." * Sousa relates a feat, performed on this occasion by a Portuguese, named JJotcUo, who, hoping to cut Arabian ports, putting 1-10 of tliem to death, and causing their heads, ears, and noses to be salted, and so preserved for the gratification of the Grand Turk. This at least is the story told by Sousa, who de- parts from his usual moderation in describing this formidable foe to his nation, represent- ing him as ill-favoured, short and corpulent — " more like a beast than a man." Al- though eighty years of age, and unable to rise without the assistance of four servants, he obtained the command of the recent expedition, by reason of the enormous wealth gathered by oppression, which en- abled him to furnish the shipping at his own cost. At length a career of crime was terminated by suicide, committed in a paroxysm of envy and wounded pride. The reason of succour not having been dispatched from Goa to Diu, was the unset- tled state of affairs occasioned by the recall of Nuno da Cuuha, whose ten years' ad- ministration was brought to a close as ab- rupt and liumiliating as that of Albuquerque. His aggressive policy is quite unjustifiable; but as King John III. was little disposed to be critical on that account, the perfect dis- interestedness and energy of the governor had merited honour rather than disgrace. Like many other of the world's great men, who have thought to serve their coun- try at the expense of duty to God and the common rights of mankind, Nitno discovered his error too late : he fell sick, and died on the voyage to Portugal, the body being com- mitted to the deep, in compliance with the command of the disappointed statesman, that his ungrateful country should not have his bones. The next memorable epoch in Indo-Por- tugucse annals, is formed by the adminis- tration of Martin Alonzo de Sousa, which commenced in 1512, and lasted about three years, during which brief period, his fierce, bigotted, and grasping conduct completely neutralised the beneficial elfcct of the efforts of his immediate predecessor, Stephen de Gama.;]: War again commenced with the neighbouring .rulers : cities were destroyed, regam the favour of King John by being the first to eomnumieate the welcome news, set out from India with five Europeans and some slaves, in a barque, Ifi feet long, 9 broad, and 4i deep. The slaves mutinied, and were all slain ; the Kuropeans held on their course without sailors or ])il()t, and after enduring great luirdships, arrived at Lisbon. t I'iile iireceding section, pp. .So — 103. j Tlie son of Vasco held sway during two years. In evidence of bis disinterestedness, it is said that he left India 40,000 crowns poorer than ho entered it. PORTUGUESE WARFARE IN INDIA UNDER DE CASTBO— 1545. 191 toiicther with every living thing they con- tained;* temples were despoiled, and cruelty and corruption reiijned undisguised. Fran- cois Xavier, one of tlie cariiesfc Jesuits, had come to India with I)e Sousa. lie exerted himself strenuously in representing the im- policy of the course pursued, which, if not cheeked, threatened to cause the downfall of Portuguese power throughout Asia; hut liis arguments appear to have l)een unheeded. Ti)e king of (jnzerat, forced into a I'cuewal of hostilities, co-operated with his old ally Kliojeh Zofar, who again hesieged the fort of Diu, A.i). 151-5. The hlocUade lasted eight months, and was carried on after the death of Khojeh Zofiir (whose head and hand were carried away by a cannon-hall) by his son, entitled Rumi Khan. Provi- sions became so scarce, that nauseous vermin were used for food ; while " a crow taken upon the dead bodies was a dainty for the siek, and sold for five crowns." The am- munition was almost spent, and the soldiers exhausted vith fatigue. The women dis- played the same determination as on a pre- vious occasion, and the ibrt was maintained until the new governor, Don Juan de Castro, arrived to its relief. On his way he cap- tured several ships in the vicinity of Damaun, and "cutting the ]\Ioors that were in them in pieces, threw them into the mouths of the rivers, that the tide carrying them up, they might strike a terror in all that coast." Ansote and other towns were destroyed, and '■' the iincst women of the Brahmins and Ea- nians slaughtered." In fact, these butchers spared neither youth nor beauty, age nor infirmity; the sanctity of east, nor the in- nocence of childhood. After raising the siege of the fort, the city of Diu became the scene of a fierce conflict, in which, when the Portuguese wavered, the favourite ex])e- dieut was resorted to of holding up a cruci- fix as an incitement to renewed exertion. The sword was a favourite means of con- version with Romish missionaries ; priestly robes and warlike weapons Mcre quite compa- tible ; and, on the present occasion, one Fra Ai\tonio played a leading part. The result is best told in the words of the historian above quoted, and may serve to illustrate the manner in which liostilitics were conducted by his countrymen, under tlie personal • The rani, or queen of a small raj or kingdom, situated on the Canarcsc coast, having refused to pay tribute to the I'ortuguuso, was punished by the de- struction of her capital, Batccala. "The city," says Faria y Sousa, "ran witl) the blood of all living leadership of a governor whose administra- tion is generally considered one of pecu- liar [H'ospcn-ity M\d honour. An arm of the desecrated symljol was shattered in the con- test, upon whieii " the priest, calling upon the men to revenge that sacrilege, they fell on with such fury, that having done incre- dible execution, they drove the enemy to tiie city, who still gave way, facing us. The first that entered tlie city with them was Dun Juan, then Don Alvaro and Don I'jiiianuel de Lima, and the governor, all several w;iys, making the streets and houses run with blood. The women esea|)ed not the fate of the men, and children were slain at their mothers' breasts, one stroke taking away two lives. The first part of the booty was precious stones, pearls, gold and silver; other things, though of value, were slighted as cumbersome. * * * Of the Portuguese, 100 were killed ; others say only thirty-four : of the enemy, 5,000 [including Rumi Khan and others of note.] Free plunder was allowed. * * * There were taken many colours, forty pieces of cannon of an extra- ordinary bigness, which, with the lesser, made up '200, and avast quantity of ammunition. "f After this "glorious victory," thirty ships were sent to devastate the Cambay coast : the people fled in alarm from the burning towns and villages, and took refuge in the mountain eaves. The inhabitants of a city, called Goga, while sleeping in imagined security, a league distant from their ruined homes, were surprised at night, and all put to the sword. The cattle in the fields were either killed or ham-strung. In the various vessels captured along the coast of Bai'oach, the same system of general massacre was carried out; and the groves of palm-trees, which afford, in many places, the sole article of subsistence, were systematically destroyed. The governor returned in triumph to Goa, crowned with laurel, preceded by Fra Antonio and his crucifix, and followed bj' ()00 prisoners in chains, the royal stan- dard of Cambay sweeping the ground. The streets were hung and carpeted with silk, scat- tered over with gold and silver leaves. The ladies threw flowers at the feet of the con- queror, and sprinkled sweet-scented waters as he passed their windows. This ovation, whether designed to gratify' individual vanity, creatures before it was burnt ; then the country was laid waste, and ail the woods cut down." — (Vol ii., p. 74.) Other small ]Iindoo states are mentioned by Sousa as personally defended by female sovereigns, t Fitria y Sousa, vol. ii., pp. 110 to 113. 192 PORTUGUESE PROCEEDINGS IN INDIA— 1546 to 1571. or with the idea of making an impression on the natives, was rendered tlie more un- seemly by the faet, that Don Fernando, the son of the governor, liad perislied during the siege of Diu. Tlie sway of. De Castro Lasted only from 1515 to 1548. Notwith- standing his sanguinary proceedings, he appears to have been solicitous for the inter- ests of commerce, and perfectly disinterested; for, instead of having amassed wealth, like many other governors of equally short stand- ing, he was so poor, that in his last illness provision was made for him out of the public revenue.* The cause of his death, at forty- seven years of age, is said by Taria y Sousa to liave been " grief for the miserable estate to which India was reduced" — a statement reconcilable with other accounts of this period, only by supposing that amid seeming prosperitjf, De Castro foresaw the end of an oppressive and corrupt system. The invasion of Sinde, in 155G, under the administration of Francisco Barreto, is al- leged to have been provoked by the fickleness of its ruler, who first solicited and then re- fused Portuguese co-operation, thus afford- ing a prete.\t for his intended auxiliaries to pillage his capital (Tatta), kill 8,000 persons, and destroy by fire " to the value of above two millions of gold," after loading their vessels with one of the richest booties they had ever taken in India. Eight days were spent in ravaging the country on both sides of the Indus, after which the fleet returned, having, it would appear, scarcely lost a man. The next exploit was the burning of Dabul and the neisjhbouring villages, in reveuge for the hostility of the king of Beejapoor. Religious persecution, which seems to have slumbered for a time, awoke with renewed ferocity, and was directed rather against what the Romish priests chose to call heresy, than absolute paganism. An account of the alleged mission of St. Thomas the apostle, and of the Christian church spoken of by Cosraas,t in the sixth century, properly belongs to the section on the religious condition of India. In this place it is sullicicnt to say, that both on the Malabar coast and in the kingdom of Ethiopia — including the state whose ruler attained such cxlruordinary celebrity under the name of Prcster John — the Portuguese found Christian communities who steadily • lie died in tlie arms of Francois Xavier. " In hi.i private cabinet was fonnd a bloody discipline (? a KcourjTf) and three royals, which was all his Irea- siiro." — { Fnrifi ;/ Snttsa, vol. ii., ]i. 120.) refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the pope ; rejected the use of images, to- gether with all dogmas regarding transub- stantiation, extreme unction, celibacy of priests, &c., and asked for blessings, whe- ther temporal or eternal, only in the name of the one mediator, Jesus Christ. These " ancient Christians," says Sousa, " dis- turbed such as were converted from pa- ganism " by Zavier and his fellow-labourers : the Jews also proved a stumbling-block. In 1544, Jerome Diaz, a Portuguese phy- sician of Jewish extraction, was burnt for heresy ; and probably many others of less note shared his fate. In 1560, the first archbishop of Goa was sent from Lisbon, accompanied by the first inquisitors, for the suppression of Jews and heretics. Through- out the existence of this horrible tribunal, crimes of the most fearful character were perpetrated ; and in the minds alike of the denounced schismatics and of pagans, a deep loathing was excited against their per- secutors. The overthrow of the Hindoo kingdom of Beejanuggur, in 1564, by the combined efforts of the four Mohammedan Deccani states, left these latter at liberty to turn their attention more fully towards their European foes; and in 1571, a league was formed against the Portuguese by the kings of Beejapoor and Ahmednuggur. The za- morin of Calicut likewise joined them ; but from some distrust in his own mind, long withheld his personal co-operation. Ali Adil Shah besieged Goa, sustained great loss, and after ten months was compelled to withdraw without having accomplished anything. Mortczza Nizam Shah sus- tained a mortifying defeat at Choul, and was glad to'make peace with the triumphant Portuguese. The zamorin, though hist in the field, had the best success, obtaining the surrender of the fort Chale (a few miles from Calicut) from Don George de Castro, who, although eighty years of age, was beheaded at Goa by orders from Portugal, on the ground of having surrendered his charge without sufficient reason. A change was made in 1571 in the duties of the governor, by the division of a\ithoriiy over Portuguese affairs in Asia into three parts : the first, that of India, being made to comprise their possessions situated be- tween Cape Guardafui and Ceylon ;J the t Siu'named Iiidicophuxte.s, or the Indian voyager. j The pi'ocoedhifjs of the I'ortu^iirse in Ceylon arc jjiii-poscly oniiUcd here : they will be narrated in the liislory of that island. THE "HOLY INQUISITION" IN INDIA, FROM inCO to IHIO. Jy3 second, styled Monomotapa, cxtciidiii^' (Vom Cape Corric'iitcs to Guardafui; the tliird, or Malacca, from I'cjfu to Cliiiia. The sway of l*oi'tuf;al was now, liowcvcr, nearly ended ; she had misused tlu^ trust eoinmittcd to her eare, an<l was punished by tlie suspension of her indcpcndenee, after niaintainiiij; it 500 years. King Sebastian fell in Afriea, in 1578, and about two years later, Philip II. of Spain proeured the reannexation of Por- tugal, to whieh he laid claim in right of his mother, Isabella. In India, the change was only froui bad to worse : the furnace of per- secution was heated seven times hotter than before. 'J'he Syrian Chiistians of JMalabar were cruelly persecuted, their bishop seized j and sent to Lisbon, and their churches pil- laged ; their books, including ancient copies of the Scriptures, bui'ued, while Archbishop ]\Tenczes marched, singing a hymn, round the llarnes (15!)!).) The Intjuisitiou increased in power; and, perhaps, among all the impious and hateful sacrifices oH'ered up by men given over to dark delusions, never yet did idolatrous pagan, or professed devil-worship- per, pollute this fair earth by any crime of so deep a dye as the hideous Auto da Fc, usually celebrated on the first Sundays in Advent.* Dellon, a French physician, who languished two years in the dungeons of (loa, has given a life-like picture of the horrible ceremonials of which he was an eye-witness; and describes his "extreme joy" at learning that his sentence was not to be burnt, but to he a galley-slave for five years. t He speaks of himself as having heard every morning, for many weeks, the shrieks of unfortunate vietiuis inidergoing the qiicg- iion ; and he judged that the number of pri- soners must be very large, because the pro- found silence which reigned within the walls of the building, enabled him to count the nundjcr of doors opened at the hours of meals. At the appointed time, the captives were assembled by their black-robed jailor.s, and clothed in the san bcnilo, a garb of yellow cloth, with the cross of St. Andrew before and behind. The relapsed heretics were dressed in the samarra, a grey robe, with the portrait of the doomed wearer painted u])on it, surrounded by burning torches, flames, and demons ; and on their heads were placed sugar-loaf-shaped caps, called carrochas, on which devils and flames were also depicted. The bell of the cathedral began to ring a little before' sunrise, and the gloomy procession conunenccd — men and women iudiserimiuately mixed, walking with bleeding feet over the sharp stones, and eagerly gazed on by innumerable crowds assembled from all parts of India to behold this " act of faith" of a ICuropean nation. Sentence was pronounced before tlie altar in the church of St. Francis, the grand impiisitor and his counsellors sitting on one side, the viceroy and his court on the other; and each victim received the final intimation of his doom by a slight blow upon the breast from the alcaide. Then followed their immolation, the viceroy and court still looking on while the prisoners were hound to the stake in the midst of the faggots, and hearing, as a periodical occurrence, the shrieks antl groans of these unha])py creatures. The vengeance of the Inquisition ceased not even here : the day after the execution, the portraits of the murdered men werc carried to the church of the Dominicans, and there kept in memory of their fate; and the bones of such as had died in prison, were likewise preserved in small chests painted over with flames and demons. J These are dark deeds which none aspiring to the pure and holy name of Christian can record without a feeling of deep humiliation ; but they may not be shrouded in oblivion, since thc_v furnish abundant reason why the mutilated gospel preached by Romi:<h priests made so little permanent impression in India; and, moreover, atl'ord enduring en- dence that England, and every other pro- testing nation, had solid grounds for seve- rance from the polluted and rotten branch which produced such fruit as " the holy In- quisition." In Europe, as in Asia, a light had been thrown on the true nature of the iron yoke, with which an ambitious priest- hood had dared to fetter nations in the name of the Divine Master, whose precepts their deeds of pride and cruelty so flagrantly belied. The Reformation, faulty as were some of the instruments concerned in its es- tablishment, had yet taught men to look to the written gospel for those laws of liberty and love which nations and individuals are • The portion of the p;ospel read on that daymen- ' disparagingly of the adoration of image,<!. He had tions the last judsment ; and tlie Inquisition pre- also grievously offended by calling the inquisitors tended, by the ceremony, to exhibit an emblem of fallible men, and tlie " holy office" n fearful tribunal that awful event. — Wallace's,1/timoiV.<(;/'/H(/i'u,p.394. which France had acted wisely in rejecting. ■j- Dellon was accused of heresy for having spoken ' % Hough's Christimtity in India, vol. i., chap, iv 194 DECLINE OP PORTUGUESE POWER— ENIJ OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY. alike bound to observe. Unhappily, this great lesson was but imperfectly learned ; for although withheld rights have ever formed a popular theme, the responsibilities those rights involve cannot be expected to commend themselves, save to conscien- tious and enlightened minds. Thus it proved easier to renounce the dogmas of popery, than to root out the vices it had fostered or permitted ; and the very people who had most cause for gratitude in being delivered from the oppressive and arrogant dominion of Spain, became themselves examples of an equally selfish and short-sighted policy. At this period there were many signs in the commercial horizon, that neither papal bulls, nor the more reasonable respect paid to the claims of discovery and preoccupation, could any longer preserve the monopoly of the Indian trade to Spain and Portugal. Several causes combined for its destruction. The conquest and settlement of America afforded full employment for the ambition and ferocity of Philip II.; and his Asiatic territories were left in the hands of rulers, who, for the most part, thought of nothing but the gratification of their own passions, and the accumulation of wealth; — which latter, by pillage of every description, and by the shameless sale of all offices and posi- tions, they usually contrived to do in the period of two to three years,* which formed the average duration of their tenure of office. It may be readily imagined that the measures of his predecessor were rarely carried out by any governor; but all seem to have agreed in conniving at the most notorious infraction of the general rule which forbade any Portuguese to traffic on his own account, as an unpardonable infringement on the exclusive rights of his sovereign. Corrup- tion, mismanagement, and the growing aversion of the natives, gradually diminished the trade, until the average annual arrival in Lisbon of ships from India was reduced I from five to about three ; and the annual value of the cargoes decreased in proportion to about a million crowns. Thus, notwith- • From the nrrival of Almeida in 1 50.5, to 1 filO (the period at vv}iicli Soiisa terminates his history), there were some fifty viceroys or governors, of wliom a very large proportion (about op.e-thiril) died in India or on their voyage home. t Tlie possessions of Spain and Portugal, at this time, were the forts of Dinl (on the Indus) and of ])iu; a fortified factory at Damaun; the town and castle of C'huul ; a factory at ])alnil; tlic city of Uassein ; the island of North Salsette, and the town ofTannaj the island of Bombay; the city and fort standing the royal monopoly *)f spices, Philip soon found that the expejise of main- taining the various Indian governmentsf exceeded the commercial profits : he there- fore made over the exclusive privilege of trading to India, in the year 1587, to a com- pany of Portuguese merchants, on conside- ration of a certain annual payment ; reserv- ing, however, the appointment of governors, the command of the army, and every de- scription of territorial revenue and power. This change in the state of affairs created great excitement and dissatisfaction at Goa. It was evident that the company, if able and willing to enforce the rights bestowed upon them, would reduce the profits of the variotis officials to their legitimate bounds ; and the very thought was intolerable to a community who, " from the viceroy to the private soldier, were all illicit traders, and occasionally pirates. "J The general disorga- nisation was increased,in 1594, by the arrival of a papal bull and royal command for the forcible conversion of infidels ; which was in efl'eet, free leave and license to everj^ member of the Romish communion to torture and destroy all who diflered from them on doctrinal points, and to pillage pa- godas or churches, public or private dwel- lings, at pleasure. Such a course of pro- ceeding could scarcely fail to bring about its own termination ; and the strong grasp of tyranny and persecution, though more fierce, was yet rapidly growing weaker, and would probably have been shaken off by the natives themselves, even in the absence of the European rivals who now appeared on the scene. England, under the fostering care of Elizabeth, had already manifested something of the energy which, under the Divine blessing, was to secure to her the supremacy of the ocean ; to extend her sway over ancient and populous nations ; and to lay the foundation of the greatest colonial empire the world ever saw. This puissance was still in the embryo, and Eng- land a little kingdom with a limited trade, when her soldiers and merchants began the of Goa; and factories at Onorc, Barcelore, Mangalore, Cananorc, Calicut, Cranganore, and Quiloa ; sta- tions at Negapatam and St. Thomas, or Alcliapoor, (on the Coromandel coast) ; and several commercial ])osts in Bengal. They had also the port of Cochin ; factories, or liberty to trade at I'cgn, Martaban, and Junkseylon; held the strongly-fortified town of iNIa- lacca, and had, moreover, established themselves at several commanding points in the island of Ceylon. (Bruce's Annals of Juist India Company, vol. i. p. 24.) X Macpherson's Commerce with India, p. 32. I'lRST DUTCH VOYAGE TO TI[E INDIAN SEAS— 1595-'G. 103 striif;ii;]c with the comliiiiod forces of Spain and l'ortnj;aI, in iilliuncc with a people wliose iicwly-ae(iuii'e(l iiKlepeiulence had originated in tlic reaction caused hy the corruption and cruelty of the S[)anish government, reprc- Kontcd by such men ns the Duke of Alva, aud the bigotry of Rome, represented by sucli institutions as the Inquisition.* UisE OF IX'TCH Powisa. — It was only in the year ]i'>7'.) that the Netherlanders ventured to defy the power of I'liilij), and formed themselves into a separate govern- ment, whicli they did not establish witliout a desperate and prolonged conflict, aided zea- lously by Elizabeth. Their after-progress was marvellous ; and before neighbouring countries had well learned to recognise their new position, the " poor distressed people of Holland" had changed that designation for the "High and ilighty States, the United Provinces." The course that materially aided their rapid advancement was forced upon them by the arbitrary policy of Philip. Having very little land, they had ever mainly dei)cndcd for subsistence on fisheries, trade, and navigation. While Portugal was a sepa- rate kingdom they resorted thither for East India produce, of which they became the carriers to all the northern nations of Europe ; aud after the annexation of that kingdom to Spain, their ships continued to sail to Lisbon under neutral colours, at which the Portuguese gladly connived. But Philip, hoping to lay the axe to the root of the mercantile prosperity which enabled his former subjects to sustain a costly and sanguinary contest with his mighty armies, compelled the Portuguese to renounce this profitable intercourse, — * Before the people rose against tlieir oppressors, 100,000 of them were judicially slavightered — the men by fire and sword, and tlie women by being buried alive. — (Grutii ^Lninil. Bclfj. pp. 15 — 17.) t Along the shores of Norway, Kussia, and Tar- tary, to Cliina, and thence into the Indian Ocean. { The manner in wliich he acquired this know- ledge is variously related : — by Savary, as obtained in the Portuguese service; hy other authorities, during a long imprisonment at Lisbon ; liaynal says for debt ; Sallengre, in eonse(iuence of the suspicions excited by his inquiries on commercial subjects. His free- dom was procured by payment of a heavy fine, sub- scribed on his behalf by Dutch merchants. (St-e dilferent accounts, commrnted on in Maepherson's Murapmn Commerce, icilh hidin, note to p. 45.) § Two of the vessels were 400 tons burthen, car- rying each eighty-four men, six large brass cannon, fourteen lesser guns, four great " patereroes" and eight little ones, with " muskers" and small guns in proportion ; the third, of 200 tons, had fifty-nine laid ati embargo on all Dutch ship.s, seized the cargoes, imprisoned the merchants and slii[)-masters, or delivered them over as heretics ti) the temler mercies of the In- fpiisitioii, and even forced tlie mariners and others into his hated service. Tlie Dutch, driven to desperation by an enemy from whom they had all to fear and nothing to hope, incited by the able counsel of Prince iNIaurice, resolved to attcni])t procuring the iu;eessary supplies of spi(.'cs direct from Asia. With the double inducement of avoiding the fleets which guarded the approach to the Indian seas, and of finding a much shorter route, the Dutch (following the example of various English navigators) strove to discover a north-ca.stcrn passage to India,t and in the years 1.5!)l',-'5, and 'G, sent three expeditions for this purpose. All failed, and the last adventurers were com- pelled to winter on the dreary shores of Nova Zembla. In the meantime some Dutch merchants, not caring to wait the doubtful issue of these attempts, formed themselves into a company, and resolved to brave the o])position of Philip, by com- mencing a private trade with India vid the Cape of Good Hope. Four ships were dispatched for this purpose, under the direc- tion of Cornelius Houtman,J a Dutch mer- chant or navigator, well acquainted with the nature and conduct of the existing Indian traffic; and the coast of Bantam (Java) was reached without hindrance, save from the elements. § Having obtained cargoes, jjartly by purchase from the natives, but chiefly by plunder from the Portuguese, lloutman returned to the Texel, where, notwithstanding the loss of one of the vessels — a very frequent occurrence in those days, || — the safe arrival of men, six large cannon, with lesser ones in proportion ; the fourth, of thirty tons, with twenty-four men and cannon: tlie whole carrying 219 mariners. The fleet sailed from the Texel the 2nd of .\pril, 1.595 ; reached Teneriffe on tlie 19th; St. Jago on the 26th ; crossed the equator on the 14th of June; on the 2nd of August doubled the Cape of Good Hope (seamen in great distress with scurvy), and remained some days on the coast : in September, October, and Xo- vember, the ships were at different part-s of Mada- gascar, and sailed thence on the 1st of December towards Java, which was reached in the middle of January, 1590; thus terminating the first Dutch voy- age to the Indian seas. — (See Collection of Voyages undertahcn hi/ Dutch East India Company. London translation, 1808.) II Linschoten says, th.it almost every year one or two Portuguese East-Indiamen were lust. Faria y Sousa gives an account of 95G vessels, which sailed iVom Portugal for India, from 1412 (when Prince Henry first attempted the discovery of a passage by 196 UNION OP DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANIES— 1602. the remainder was welcomed as an auspicious commencement of the undertaking. Several new companies were formed ; — the number of ships annually increased,* and succeeded in obtaining cargoes, notwithstanding the opposition of the Portuguese, who strove, but for the most part ineft'ectually, to prejudice the natives against their rivals ; their own proceedings having been so outrageous, that any prospect of a check or counteraction seemed rather to be courted than avoided. In 1600, not five years after the first ex- pedition under Houtman, forty vessels, of from 400 to 600 tons, were fitted out by the Dutch. Hitherto the Spanish monarch had made no effort to intercept their fleet; but in the following year he dispatched an armament of thirty ships of war, by which eight outward-bound vessels, under the command of Spilbergen, were attacked near the Cape Verd Islands. The skill and bravery of the defendants enabled them to offer effectual resistance, and they suc- ceeded in making their way to India without any serious loss. Philip did not again at- tempt a naval contest, but made military force the basis of his subsequent efforts for their subjugation; prohibiting them, under pain of corporal punishment, from trading with the Spanish possessions, either in the East or West Indies. These threats proved only an incitement to more determined efforts ; and it being evident that the com- bination of the several Dutch companies would tend to strengthen them against the common foe, they were united, in 1602, by the States-General, and received a charter bestowing on them, for a term of twenty- one years, the exclusive right of trade with India, together with authority to commission all functionaries, civil and military, to form what establishments they pleased, and make war or peace in all countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope. From regard to the claims of the proprietors of the minor associations, the new company was divided into six chambers or boards of management, of which Amsterdam and ]\Tid(llel)urg wore the chief, their share in the funds subscribed being proportiunably represented by twenty- sea) to 1640: of these, 150 were lost, ,incl with them he estimates not less than 100,000 ])ersons — a not improbable number, consicleiinjf tlie <;reat size of many of the vessels, which carried 800 or 000 men. * In 1598, two flccU, consisting of cir;ht vessels, were sent by tlie Amsterdam mercliaots from the Texel, and five from Kotterdam, which were followed up by successive fleets in subsequent years, as the five and twelve directors ; the remaining chambers of Delft, Rotterdam, Hoorn, and Eukhuysen having each seven directors : making a total of sixty-five persons, with a capital of 6,410,200 guilders, or (taking the guilder at Is. 8d.) about £536,600. The project was popular, and brought both money and a valuable class of emigrants into Holland, many opulent merchants of the Spanish provinces in the Netherlands, and of other places, removing with their effects into the Dutch territory. No time was lost in fitting out a fleet of fourteen large ships, well manned, and furnished with soldiers and the necessary military and other stores requisite for the carrying out of the aggressive policy henceforth to be adopted against the national enemies, whom the Dutch had previously shunned rather than courted encountering in their foreign pos- sessions. t The same power, whose co-opera- tion had so materially contributed to the success of their European struggles, now came equally opportunely to their assistance in Asia; for in this same year (1602) the first ships of the first English East IndiaCom- pany appeared in the Indian seas. It may be useful to pause here, and briefly review the circumstances that led to the formation of a bod}', which, after long years of trial and vicissitude, attained such unexampled and strangely-constituted greatness. Rise of English Power. — Before the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope, England, like other northern European nations, had been supplied from the Adriatic with Eastern products. A ship of great bulk usually arrived every year from Venice, laden with spice (chiefly pepper) and some other Asiatic commodi- ties, which the ti'aders necessarily sold at high prices, owing to the circuitous route they were compelled to traverse. This state of things terminated with the close of the fifteentli century, by reason of the successful voyage of Vasco de Gama, which gave to Portugal the monopoly of the Asiatic trade. At that very time, the English, stimulated by a strong desire for the extension of eom- trade gave twenty to seventy-five per cent, of profit on the adventures. — ( Voi/tu/fs tif Dutch Ciiiiipaiii/.) t The Dutch at first resorted to Sumatra and Java, wdiere the Portuguese do not appear to have liad any considerable establishments. lloutman formed a fiictory at Bantam in l.j!»j. The spice trade was opened witli Amboyna, Ternate, and llie Handas, in lj!)8 ; witli Sumatra and China, in 15'JU; with Ceylon, in IGOO. TRADE UNDER HENRY VII. and VIII., and EDWARD VI. 197 mcrce, and likewise by curiosity r('j;;ir(Vui;^ tlio far-fiuiiod ('oiiiitry, then c;iiic(l C'utiiay ((Miiiiii), «'oro tliciiiselvcs attcniptiiiif the dis- covery of a sca-jjassa^o to India; and in ^Fay, 1497, two months before the departure of Viisco, from Lisbon, an expedition com- prising two ships fitted out by IFcury VII. and some vessels frcij;htcd by tlie merchants of Bristol, lei't I'^niiland, under the f;nidancc of an cnterprisinf; Venetian navi<;ator, named (Jiovanni (iavotta, (ukjUci', John Cabot. On rcaehinf:; (17° 150' N. lat., Cal)ot was eoni|)ellcd, by the mutinous conduct of his crew, to stand to the southward ; and in the course of the homeward voyage he fell in with Newfound- land and the continent of North America. Notwithstanding the dissensions which cha- racterised the concluding portion of the reign of Henry VII., and that of his son and suc- cessor Henry Vlll., several commissions of discovery were issued by them,* but were attended with no important results. The commerce with the Levant appears to have commenced about the year VSW ;t in 1513, a consul was stationed at Scio for its pro- tection ; and in process of time, the Levant or Turkey merchants came to be looked upon as the true I'ast India traders. Fac- tories were established by them at Alex- andria, Aleppo, Damascus, and the different • Kohei't Thome, anEnp;lisli merchant, havinp; dur- ing a long residence at Seville acquired considerable knowledge of the benefits derived by Portugal from the Indian trade, memorialised llunry VIII. on tlie subject, urging the advantages which England might attain from the same source, and suggesting three courses to be pursued ; — either by the north-east, whicli he imagined would lead them to " the regions of all the 'I'artarians that extend toward the mid- day," and thence " to the land nf the Cliinas and the land of Cathaio Orientall ;" from which, if they con- tinued their navigation, they might " fall in with Malacca" and return to England by the Cape of Good Ho])e. The second course, to the north-west, would lead them, he said, " by the back of the New- found-land, whicli of late was discovered by your grace's subjects," and piirsuing which they might re- turn through the Straits of Magellan (discovered six years before.) The tliird course lay over tlie Xorth I'ole, after passing which he suggested that they should " goe right toward the Pole Antarctike, and then decline towards the lands and islands situated be- tween the tropikes and \inder the equinoctiall ;" and " without doubt they shall find there the richest lands and islands of the world of gold, precious stones, balmes, spices, and other things that we here esteem most." — (llakluyt, vol. i., p. 23>j.) The con- sequence of this memorial was the sending of two vessels by private merchants in 1527, which re- turned very shortly without success (llakluyt, iii-, 167), and two by the king in the same year, of which one was lost oif the north coast of Newfound- land, and the other effected nothing. — (Purchas' I'ilgrims, iii,, 809.) 2 D pf)rts of Egypt and the Turkish doruinioiiM. Tiieir growing importance did not however extinguish, hut ratiier increased the general desire for more direct communication with India and China; and in 15 1-9, Sebastian Cabot, the son of .John Cabot, who had ac- com])anied his fatlier in the expedition of 1 197, and had since attempted the discovery of the much-desired line of route, persuaded a inunber of fjondon merchants to raise a ca[)ital of ,1'(),0()() in shares of .t25 each, for the ])rosccution of a new voyage of dis- covery and trading adventure. The young king Edward VL, to whose notice Sebastian had been previously introduced by the pro- tector Somerset, had bestowed on him an annual pension of .C1G(>, and made him grand pilot of England. He now gave every encouragement to the infant association. No time was lost in fitting out three vessels, which were dispatched tinder the command of Sir Hugh Willoughby, in May, 1553, and furnished with " Letters Missive" from King Edward to the sovereigns of northern Europe, bcs])caking their protection for liis subjects in their peaceful but ])erilous enter- prise. J The court, then ;it (irecuwich, as- sembled to witness the departure of the little squadron : vast crowds of people lined the shore ; and the roar of cannon, and the t llakluyt states, that between 1511 and 15.34, " divers tall ships of London, Southampton, and Bristol had an ordinary and usual trade " to Sicilv, Candia, Chios, and somewhiles to Cyprus; as also to Tripoli and Beyrout, in Syria. The exports, as proved by the ledgers of Locke, Bowyer, Gresham and other merchants, were " fine kersies of divers colours, coarse kersies, &c. ;" the imports, silks, camlets, rhubarb, malmsey, muscatel, &c. Foreign as well as iMiglish vessels were employed, "namely, Candiots, Kaguseans, Genouezes, Venetian galliascs, Spanish and Portugal! ships." (ii., 207.) J The religious spirit in which the project was conceived is forcibly evidenced bv the instructions drawn up by Cabot, for what Fuller truly remarks '• may be termed the first reformed fleet which had English prayers and preaching therein." ( ll'ort/iies of Enijland, Derhi/shiic, of which county AViUoughby was a native.) Swearing and gambling were made lumishable offences, and " morning and evening I)raypr, with other common services appointed by the king's majesty and laws of this realm to be read and said in every ship daily by the minister in the Admiral [Hag-ship], and the merchant, or some other person learned in other ships; and the Bible or paraphrases to be read devoutly and Christianly to God's honour, and for his grace to be obtained, and had by humble and hearty prayer of the navigants accordingly." — (Hakluyt, i., 254.) This daily prayer on board ship was long an acknowledged duty; and in 15S0, in the directions of the Russian company, the mariners are enjoined, as a matter of course, " to observe good order in your daily service and pray unto God ; so shall you prosper the better." 198 EASTERN TRADE IN THE REIGNS OF MARY & ELIZABETH. shouts of the mariners, filled the air : yet the cereraouy seemed inauspicious ; for the youthful monarch, on whom the eyes of Protestant Ciiristendora waited hopefall_y, and who felt so deep an interest in the whole proceeding, lay prostrate in an ad- vanced stage of that insidious disease, which then as now, yearly robbed England of many of her noblest sons and fairest daughters. Sir Hugh, and the whole ship's company of the Buona Ventura, were frozen to death near Lapland ;* Captain Chaneelor, the second iu command, reached a Russian port (where Archangel was afterwards built), and proceeded thence to Moscovy. The czar, Ivau Vasilivich, received him with great kindness, and furnished him with letters to Edward YL, beariug proposals for the establishment of commercial relations be- tween the two countries. These were gladly accepted by Mary, who had in the inte- rim ascended the throne ; and a ratification of the charter promised by Edward to the company was granted by the queen and her ill-chosen consort, in 1554.t Chaneelor was again sent out in the following year with agents and factors, and on his return, an ambassador accompanied him to England, in saving whose life in a storm off the Scottish coast, Chaneelor lost his own. J This is an exceptional instance of encourage- ment given by the Crown to commercial enterprise during this short and sanguinary reign ; nor, indeed, could Mary, as tlie wife of the bigotted Philip of Spain, herself a stanch and unscrupulous adherent of the Romish creed, be expected to patronize * When the extreme cold ceased, the peasants of the country found the body of Sir Hugh in his cabin, seated as if in the act of writing his journal, which, with his will, lay before him, and testified his having been alive in January, 15.3-t. t The Russian company, probably the first char- tered joint-stock association on record, exists to the present day — at least in name. J The llussian ambassador, Osep Najjea, returned to his own country in the last year of Mary's reign, and was accompanied by Antliony .Tenkinson, who represented the eomjiany, and was instructed to at- tempt the extension of their trade through Russia to Persia and liactria. By permission of tlie czar, Jen- kinson quitted Moscow in April, 1558, and pro- ceeded by Novogorod and the Volga river to Astra- can, on the north of the Caspian : he then crossed that sea, and on its southern shores joined a caravan of Tartars, with wliich he travelled along the banks of the Oxus to Hokliara, and having there ob- tained much valiiable information for liis employers, returned to Kngland (by Moscow) in lofiO. In tlie following year. Queen Klizabeth dispatched him with letters to the Suffavi or iSoplii, king of Persia (Shah .\bbas I.), requesting his sanction for her sub- any adventure likely to trench upon tlie monopoly whicli the pope had assumed to himself the power of bestowing on her husband : the only cause for surprise is, that her signature should ever have been obtained to the charter of the Russian company, though probably it was a con- cession granted to the leading Protestant nobles, whose support she had secured at a critical moment by her promise (soon shamelessly broken) of making no attempt for the re-establishment of a dominant priesthood in England. It was reserved for her sister and succes- sor Elizabeth, alike free from the trammels of Rome and the alliance of Spain, to en- courage and aid her subjects in that course of maritime and commercial enterprise, whose importance she so justly appreciated. The early part of her reign abounded with political and social difficulties; — foes abroad, rebellion in Ireland, discord at home, gave full and arduous employment to the ministers, whose energy and ability best evidenced the wisdom of the mistress who selected and retained such servants. The finances of the nation did not warrant any large expenditure which should neces- sitate the imposition of increased taxation for an uncertain result : it was therefore from private persons, either individually or in societies, that commercial adventures were to be expected. The Russian com- pany renewed their efforts for the discovery of a north-east passage, and records of seve- ral voyages undertaken under their auspices are still extant ; but it does not appear that ject.s to open a trade in his dominions for the sale of their goods, and the purchase of raw silk and other commodities. The jealousy and intrigues of some Turkish agents, who were then engaged in concluding a treaty with the Shah at the fortified city of Casvin (where the Persian court then was), frustrated the mission of the English envoy, and even endangered his life ; so that he was glad to make his escape through the friendly interposition of the king of Hyrcania, who furnished him with credentials granting various commercial privileges to such English as might desire to traffic in, or traverse his dominions on the southern shore of the Caspian. In loGO, another agent, named Arthur Edwards, was sent to Persia, and succeeded in ob- taining from the czar permission for Englishmen to trade in his dominions with immunity from tolls or customs on their merchandise, and protection for their persons and property. In the same year the Russian comjjany obtained from Elizabeth a cliarter wilii additional privileges, in reward for their e.x- plorationa in the Caspiait Sea, Armenia, Media, ilyreania (Astrabad), and Persia, which it was hoped might lead to the ultimate discovery of " the country of Cathaia."— (Ilakluyt, i., 414— -JIO.) PIEST ENGLISH EXPEDITION TO INDIA— 1577 to 1596. 190 eitlicv queen or people cared to dcf\' the I fleets of Spjiin 1)}' sailiiif; round tlic Cape of Good Hope, until Sir I'^aiuHs Dialic, in} 1577, liaviiij; (ittcd out five sliips at Iiis own expense, left lOuijland and sailed tliroufjh i the straits of Magellan, into the south seas,* , where lie acquired immense booty from the Spaniards. The news rcaeliing l"]urope, a stronji^ force was scut to intercept him, but information of the dan<rer eiuibled him to avoid it by chan<;ing his route, and after , visiting Ternate (one of the ^lolueeas), [ forming a treaty with the king, and takiTig part iu some hostilities between the natives and the Portuguese, Drake shipped a large quantity of cloves, ami proceeded round the Cape to England, where he arrived at the close of ] 580, with a single shattered vessel, having been the first of his nation to cir- cnmuavigate the globe. The Turkey Company, established by charter in 1581, sent four representatives to India, through Syria, Bagdad, and Ormuz, whence they carried some cloths, tin, and other goods to Goa, and proceeded to visit Lahore, Agra, Bengal, Pegu, and ]\Ialaeca, meeting everywhere with kindness from the natives, and opposition from the Portuguese. Of the envoys. Fitch alone returned to England (in 1591);t Newberry died in the Punjaub; Leades, a jeweller by profession, entered the service of the Emperor Akbar; and Storey became a moidc at Goa. In 158G, Captain Cavendish commenced his voyage round the globe, and on the way, scrupled not to seize and plunder whenever he had the opportunity, cither by sea or land. He returned home in less than two years flushed with success, and some years after attempted a similar privateering expedition (for it was little better), from which he never returned, but died at .sea, worn out by a succession of disasters. The voyages of Drake and Cavendish had brought mat- ters to a crisis : the Spanish government complained of the infringement of their exclusive rights of navigating the Indian seas ;J to which Elizabeth replied — " It is as lawful for my subjects to do this as the Spaniards, since the sea aud air are common * He anchored in a bay (supposed to be that now called Port San Francisco) on the coast of Califor- nia, and binding, took ])ossession of the country in the name of Qiiccn Kliziiliutli, calling it " Nova Albion." t Fitch pui)lislicd a narrative of liis adventures, which greatly stiniuhitcd public curiosity on the subj(>ct ; and this feeling was increased by the ac- counts sent from India by an Englishn.an, named Stevens, who had proceeded thither in a Portuguese to all men." The defeat of the Bo-callcd Invincible Armada, in 1588, rendered the J'^nglish atul their brave (pieeu more than ever unwilling to give place to the arrogant pretensions of their foes; and in 1591, some Loudon nierehants dispatched three vessels to India by the Cajie of Good Hope, under the command of Cajitains Raymond and Lancaster. A contest with some Portu- guese shi])S, though successful, eventnall}' ruined the expedition by the delay it occa- sioned ; one of the vessels was compelled to put back in consequence of the sickness of the crew and the dilKculties encountered iu weathering the " Cape of Storms ;" — the second, under llaymoiul, is supposed to have perished ; — the third, under Lancaster, reached Sumatra and Ceylon, and obtained a cargo of pepper and other spiecrics, but was subsequently lost in a storm at Mona, one of the West India isles. The cajjtain and the survivors of the ship's company were rescued by a French vessel bound to San Domingo, and reached Englaml iu May, 15'J4. In the meanwhile, mercantile enter- prise had received a fresh stimtdus by the capture of a Portuguese earrack, prol'anely called Madre dc Bios, of 1,600 tons burden, with thirty-six brass cannons mounted. This vessel, the largest yet seen in Eng- land, was taken by Sir John Burroughs, after an obstinate contest near the Azores, and brought into Dartmouth. The cargo, consisting of spices, calicoes, silks, gold, pearls, drugs, china-ware, &c., was valued by the lowest estimate at £150,000. This display of oriental wealth incited Sir Robert Dudley and some other gentlemen to fit out three ships, which sailed for China in 1596, bearing royal credentials addressed to the sovereign of that country, vouching for the ]U'obity of the adventurers, and ottering the fullest protection to such Chinese subjects as might be disposed to open a trade in any English port. This expedition proved even more disastrous thau the preceding one. After capturing three Portuguese vessels, the English crews became so fearfully re- duced by disease, that out of three ships' companies, oidy foiu' men remained alive. vessel from Lisbon. According to Camden, a Por- tuguese earrack, captured by Drake off the Azores in 1587, and brought to England, contained various documents regarding the nature and value of the India trade, which first inspired English merchants wilh a desire to prosecute it on their own account. X By the union of Spain and Portugal, the papal grants of eastern and western discoveries centied in one crown. 200 ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY INCORPORATED— 1600. These unfortunates were cast on shore on a small island near Puerto llicOj where three of them were murdered by a party of Spa- niards, for the sake of the treasure they h.ad with tliem, and only one survived to divulge the crime to the Spanish officers of justice, soon after which he was poisoned by the same robbers who had murdered his ship- mates. The public enthusiasm was some- what damped by the dense cloud which long shrouded the calamitous issue of this expe- dition ; but the successful adventures of the Dutch {see p. 19G), and their grasping policy in raising the price of pepper from three to six and eight shillings per lb. (the cost in India being two to three pence), induced the merchants of London — headed by the lord mayor and aldermen — to hold a meeting at Fouuders'-hall, on the 22nd of September, 1599,* which resulted in the formation of a company, for the purpose of setting on foot a voyage to the East Indies.t The stock embarked, then considered a large one, of £30,133 6s. 8d., was divided into 101 shares or adventures, the subscriptions of indi- viduals varying from .€100 to £3,000. The queen was ever zealous in promoting similar projects^ but in this instance there was need of deliberation. Elizabeth well knew the value of peace to a trading nation, and de- layed granting the chai-ter of incorporation solicited by the company, until it should be proved how far their interests could be pru- dently consulted in the course of the friendly negotiations newly opened by Spain through the mediation of France. The treaty how- ever soon fell to the ground, in Consequence of a disputed question of precedency between the English and Spanish commissioners at Boulogne. The discussion of the East India question was eagerly resumed both in the city and at court ; and oil the last clay of the IGth century, Elizabeth signed a charter on behalf of about 220 gentlemen, mer- chants, and other individuals of repute, con- stituting them "one bodie-corporate and politique indeed," by the name of " The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies. "J A petition was addressed to the Privy Council for their sanction that "the voyage might be proceeded upon without any hin- drance, notwithstanding the treaty:" but they " declined granting such a warrant, as deeming it more beneficial for the general state of merchandise to entertain a peace, than that the same should be hindered by standing with the Spanish commissioners for the main- tenance of this trade, and thereby forego the opportunity of concluding the peace."§ It was a fitting conclusion for a century of extraordinary progress, and also for a reign, characterised throughout by measures of unrivalled political sagacity. The ablest sovereign (perhaps excepting Alfred) the realm had ever known, was soon to be taken away under very melancholy circumstances. The death of Lord Burleigh, and the rebel- lion of Essex, were trials which the failing strength and over-taxed energies of the queen could ill withstand ; and she died in November, 1G03, a powerful and beloved • At the commencement of this year a merchant, named John Mildenhall, was dispatched (by way of Constantinople) to the Great Mogul, to solicit, iu the name of his sovereign, certain trading privileges for his countrymen. Jle did not reach Agra till I Uie year 1C03, and was there long delayed and put to great expense by the machinations of the Jesuits then I'csiding at the court of the Great Mogul, aided by two Italian (probably Venetian) merchants ; but he eventually succeeded in obtaining from Je- hangeer the desired grant in 1006. •}■ At a subsequent meeting, a committee of fifteen persons was a))pointed to present a petition to the lords of the Privy Council, setting fortli that, " stimu- lated by tiie success which has attended the voyage to the East Indies by tlie ])utch, and finding the Dutch are i)rojecting another vojage, lor which they have bought ships in England, llie merchants hav- ing the same regard to the welfare of this iiingdom, that the Dutcli have to tlieir commonwealth, luive resolved upon making a voyage of adventure, and for this purpose entreat lier Majesty will grant ■them letters patent of incorporation, succession, iJcc, for that the trade being so far remote from hence, can- not be managed but by a joint and united stock." JTliomas tJinith, alderman of London, andan active member of the Turkey company, was declared first governor. Among the other names mentioned in the charter are those of George, Earl of Cumberland ; Sirs — John Ilart, John Sjjencer, Edward Michel- borne, Kichard Staper, and ten other citizens and aldermen of London, and two hundred and six in- dividuals of repute, who petitioned for the " royal assent and license to be granted unto them, that they, at their own adventures, costs, and charges, as well as for the honour of this our realm of Eng- land, as for the increase of our navigation and ad- vancement of trade of merchandise within our said realms and the dominions of the same, might set forth one or more voyages, with convenient number of shi])s and pinnaces, by way of tralllc and merchan- dise to the East Indies and countries of Asia and Africa, and to as many of the islands, ports and cities, towns and places lliereabouts, as where trade and trallic may by all likeliliood be discovered, es- tablished or had, divers of which countries and many of the islands, cities, and ports tliereof have long since been discovered by others of (uir sub- jects, all)eitnot frequented in trade of mercliandise." ■ — (vScc quarto vol. of Couriers ijrtintcd to the Eaii India Cinnpuny from lOOl, &.Q., jjp. 4, 5.) % Milburn's OrienUd Vunniwicc, vol. i, p. 4. MARITIME L'OSITION Oi'' ENGLAND IN IGOO. 201 ruler, but a broken-hearted woman. As yet tlie coninu'rcial and colonial entcri)ri(ses, commenced under ber aiispiceK, liad ])ru- duced no tangible results, so far as terri- torial ag^'randisemeiit was eoncerned. I'-nj,'- lisli mereliants bad, it is true, even tbcu be- come " the lionoiirablc of the earth ;" and Enp;Iish sbijjS bad compassed the world, bearing their part manfully in the perilous voyages of the age, in tbe iey straits of Greenland and Labrador, uplifting the national Hag on the sliores of Virginia and Newfoundland,* amid tbe isles of the "West Indies, t and the coasts of J?razil, Guiana, and Peru. The straits of IMagellan, the broad expanse of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, bad mirrored that standard on their waves ; and for a brief season it Inul floated upon tbe Caspian Sea, and been carried along tbe banks of the Oxus. In tbe ports and marts of the Adriatic, tbe Archipelago, the Levant, and the southern coasts of the Medi- terranean, it became a familiar visitant, as it bad long been to the traffickers of tbe Canary Isles, and dwellers on the shores of Guinea and 15cnin ■,% and lastly, pursuing its way to tbe isles and continents of the East, it floated hopefully past the Soutlieru Cajie of Africa.^ The initiatory measures arc evertbose which most severely task the weakness and sel- fishness of human nature : energy, fore- thought, patience — all these qualities, and many more, are essential ingredients in the characters of those who aspire to lay the foundation of an edifice, which future gene- rations must be left to bring to perfection. In tbe history of the world, sucb " master builders" are comparatively few : more com- monly, we find men carrying on the struc- ture of national progress with scarcely a thought beyond their individual interests, each one labouring for himself, like the coral insects, who live and die miconseions of the mighty results of their puny labours. Nor is this blindness on the ])art of the majority • No7-th American Possessions, vol. i., pp. 292-3. t West Indian Possessions, vol. iv. (div. viii.), p. 15. The Rev. James Anderson, in enumerating tlie exploratory proceedings of England, truly remarks, that " the foundations of her future greatness were laid in the very efforts wliich had appeared so fruitless." — {Ilistiinj of the Colonial C/nirvli, vol. i., p. 123.) i Repeated efforts were made for the extension of commerce with Africa. In 1572, a treaty between England and Portugal provided for the better ad- justment of the intercourse of their respective sub- jects with the western sliores of Africa ; in lo8o, tlie queen granted a jiatent to Robert, Earl of Leicester, for the management of the trade with Barbary and Morocco : and in 1 JSS, and 1002, some merchants to be regretted, while the minority — those on whom tbe steering of t)ie vessel of tbe state iTiore or less evidently devolves — afford .such constant illustrations of tbe fallible and unsati.-sfactory ebaraeter of human policy. Thus,evcuinattributingto]';iizabcth tbe pre- eminence in i)atriotism and statesmansliip, in zeal for religious truth and liberty ; — tbe excellence ascribed i.s at best oidy compara- tive, since her administration was deeply stained by the besetting sin of civilised gov- ernments — " clever diplomacy," or, in plain words, that constant readiness to take advantage of the weakness or ignorance of other nations, which, among individuals, would be stigmatised as grasping, overreach- ing, and unjust, even by those who do not profess to judge actions by any loftier standard than the ordinary customs and opinions of society. This admixture of un^ worthy inotivcs is probably often the cause of the failure of many wcU-deviscd schemes : it may account, to some minds, for the career of Elizabeth terminating when the projects she had chciishcd were on the eve of deve- lopment; when Englanil was about to enter on a course of annually increasing territo- rial, commercial, and maritime prosperity, often, however, cheeked rather than encou- raged, by tbe weakness, selfishness, or pre- judice of her rulers. The original charter bestowed on the East India Company manifested a prudent regard for the prevention of disputes with other European powers, or with previously incor- porated English companies, and reserved to the Crown tbe power of accommodating tbe Indian trade to the contingencies of foreign politics, or of tbe trade carried on by its subjects with neighbouring countries. The charter was granted for fifteen years ; but if the exclusive privileges thereby conferred should be found disadvantageous to tbe general interests of the country, it might be revoked upon two years' notice : if, on the of Exeter and Taunton were empowered to traffic with Sierra Leone and tlic Gold Coast. In 1597, we find the [indefatigable Elizabeth seeking commercial privileges from " the most invincible and puissant king of the Abassens (Abyssinians), the mightie emperor of Ethiojiia, the higher and the lower." § The Russian company desired, by an overland trade, to connect the im])orts from Persia with those from the Baltic ; the Levant company, which traded with the Mediterranean ports, brought thence, among its assortments, a proportion of Indian produce, the value of which might be affected by the imports brought into England or for the European market, by the direct intercourse, though circuitous routes, of the company. — (Bruce's Annals of E. I. Cy.) 202 E. I. COMPANY'S FIRST FLEET SAILS FROM TORE AY— 1601. contrary, the result should prove of public benefit, new letters patent were to be granted at the expiration of the first period, for other, fifteen years.* With these needful limita- tions, great encouragement was given to the association ; notwitlistanding which, the delay occasioned by the Spanish negotiation had so far damped the enterprise of some of the individual adventui'ers, that they refused to pay their proffered subscriptions; and the directors, acting under the charter (in which no amount of capital was prescribed, as in the case of modern documents of a similar character), appear to have wanted power to compel them to do so, or else to have deemed its exercise imprudent. The conse- quence was, the formation of a subordinate association, eudued with authority to adven- ture on their own account, providing the funds, and either bearing tlie whole loss, or reaping the whole profit of the voyage. A new body of speculators was thus admitted, ' Under the charter, the plan which they had already adopted for the management of their affairs, by a committee of twenty-four and a chairman, both to be chosen annually, was confirmed and rendered obligatory. The chief permissive clauses were as follow : — the company were eni])Owered to make bye-laws for the regulation of their business, and of the people in their employment, whose offences they might punish by imprisonment or fine ; — to export goods for four voyages duty free, and duties after- wards paid on goods lost at sea to be deducted from dues payable on next shipment ; — six months' credit to be allowed on custom dues of half imports, and twelve months for the remainder, with free exporta- tion for thirteen months (by English merchants in English vessels) ; — liberty to transport Spanish and other foreign silver coin and bullion to the value of £30,000, of which £6,000 was to be coined at the Tower, and the same sum in any subsequent voyage during fifteen years, or the continuance of their privileges, provided that within six months after every voyage except the first, gold and silver equal in value to the exported silver should be duly im- ported, and entered at the ports of London, Dart- mouth and Plymouth, where alone the bullion was to be shipped. The monopoly of the company was confirmed by a clause enacting, that interlopers in the East India trade should be subject to the for- feiture of their ships and cargoes, one-half to go to the Crown, the other to the company, and to suffer imprisonment and such other punishment as might be decreed by the Crown, until they should have signed a bond engaging, under a penalty of £1,000 at the least, " not to sail or traffic into any of the said East Indies" without special license from the company. Another clause affords evidence of the condition of the state by guaranteeing, that " in anv time of restraint," six good ships and as many pin- naces, well-armed and manned with 500 English sailors, should be permitted to depart " without any stay or contradiction," unless tlie urgent necessities of the kingdom, in the event of war, should require their detention, in which case three months' notice by whom £68,373 were subscribed, and five vesselsf equipped, manned by 500 men, pro- visioned for twenty months, at a cost of £0,600, and furnished with bullion and various staples and manufactures wherewith to try the Indian market. The command was entrusted to Captain James Lancaster, who received from the queen general letters of introduction addressed to the rulers of the ports to which he might resort. The fleet sailed from Torbay on April 22, 1601, and proceeded direct to Acheen,J which they reached on June 5, 1602 ; a voyage now usually accomplished in ninety days. Captain Lancaster, on his arrival, delivered the queen's letter to the king or chief of Acheen, who received him with much pomp and courtesy, and accorded permission to establish a factory, with free exports and imports, protection to trade, power of be- queathing property by will, and other privi- leges of an independent community. But would be given to the company. — (Charters of East India Cunipani/, p. 21.) i" The Z)rai/i>i>, Hcdnr, Axcension, Saxan, and Gticst, of 600, 300, 2G0, 240, and 100 tons re- spectively, the smallest serving as a victualler; the others are described by Sir William Monson as " four of the best merchant ships in the kingdom." According to the same authority, there were not in England, at this period, more than four vessels of 400 tons each. In 1580, the total number of ves- sels in the navy was 150, of which only forty be- longed to the Crown : a like number was employed in trade with different countries, the average bur- den being 150 tons. At the beginning of the six- teenth century, it appears that wars with Spain, and losses by ca])ture, had reduced both shi])])ing and sea- men one-third. The small English squadron seemed insufficient to enter on a traffic in which the Por- tuguese had long been in the habit of employing vessels of 1,200 to 1,500 tons burden : in its equipment £30,771 were expended, the cargoes were estimated at £28,742 in bullion, and £6,860 in various goods, including iron and tin wrought and unwrought, lead, eighty pieces of broad-cloth of all colours, eighty pieces of Devonshire kersies, 100 pieces of Norwich stuffs, with various smaller articles, including glass, quicksilver, Muscovy hides, and other things intended as presents for different local functionaries. Factors and supercargoes were nomi- nated, and divided into four classes: all gave secu- rity for fidelity and abstinence from ]irivate trade in proportionate sums of £500 downwards. Three of the ])rincipal factors were allowed £100 each as equip- ment, and £200 for an " adventure ;" and four of each of the other classes smaller sums. The salary of each commander was £100, and £200 on credit for an adventure. If th.e profits of the voyage yielded two for one, they were to be allowed £500 ; if three for one, £1,000; if four for one, £1,500; and if five for one, £2,000. — (Bruce's Annals, vol. i., p. 12!).) I Situate on the N.W. extremity of the large island of Sumatra, in 5' 3G' N. lat., 95' 26' E. long. RESULT OP E. I. COMPANY'S FIRST EXPEDITION— 1G03. 203 the croi) of pppper having failed in the pre- ceding season, a snflieient qnantity couhl not lie obtained in that port; and Lancaster, impressed with a conviction of the influence the |)eeuniary results of the first voyage would have ui)oii the future prosecution of the trade, concerted measures with the com- nmuder of a Dutch shij), tiien at Aehccn, for hostilities against their joint foe, the Portuguese* A earraek of !)()() tons was captured, and her cargo, consisting of cali- coes and other Indian manufactures, having been divided between the conquering ves- sels, the Portuguese crew were left in pos- session of their rilled ship, and the Dutch and English commanders went their way. Lan- caster proceeded to Bantam, in Java, where, after delivering his credentials and presents, he completed his lading with spices, and leaving tlie remaining portion of his mer- chandise for sale in charge of some agents, sailed homewards, arriving off the Downs in September, 1003. The company awaited his return with ex- treme anxiety, ihey delayed making pre- parations for a fresh voyage until the result of the first venture should appear, and per- sisted in this resolve, notwithstanding the representations of the privy council, and even of the queen, who considered their delay an infraction of the terms on which the charter had been granted, and reminded them of the energy and patriotism of the Dutch, who annually formed tiieir equipments and extended their commerce by unceas- ing exertion. The safe return of the fleet, * What authority Captain Lancaster possessed for this proceeding does not appear, but it is probable that he acted according to permission granted for a similar conjuncture; because the queen, Ijeinf' unable to retaliate the attack of the Armada on her own behalf, by reason of the condition of the treasury, permitted private adventurers to fit out expeditions against the national foe both by sea and land. Such was the sq\iadron of about 10() vessels, l.'jOO sailors, and 11,000 soldiers, under Sir l'\ DraUe and Sir John Norris, in 1589, which ravaged and ])lundered the coasts of Spain and Portugal ; and that of several shi|)S under the personal connnand of George Clif- ford, Earl of Cumberland, in the same year, to the Azores or Western Isles, where much booty was obtained. Frora this period may be dated English " privateering," which soon degenerated into " buc- caneering •" and which James I. deserves much praise for his endeavours to check. t Elizabeth was dead, and London aillicted with the plague ; everybody who could leave it, had taken refuge in the country ; and in the general disorder it was next to impossible to raise money either by borrowing or bv sales of merchandise. \ In loot. King James granted a license to Sir Edward .Michelborne and others to trade with China though at an inopi)ortune moment.t put an end to all incertitude regarding the fi'asi- bility of the projcctecl trade ; and notwith- standing the dillienltics occasioned by the encouragement given by the king to the at- tempts of ju'ivate adventurers, in violation of the fifteen years' monopoly promised by the charter,J and the enmity of the I'ortu- gnese, — to which the tacit and afterwards open ojjpositioii of the Dutch was sooa added, — the company continued to fit out separate expeditions on the same terras as the first, until the year 1C14, when the twelfth was undertaken by a single sliip, chiefly for the purpose of carrying out Sir Robert Shirley, who had been sent as am> bassador to the English sovereign by Shah Abbas of Persia. The total capital expended in these voyages was .t; lfj4-,281. ; of which <£2G!3j216 had been invested in shipiiing and stores, .£138,L27 in bullion, and .£;G2,111 ill merchandise. Notwithstanding losses (including a disastrous expedition in 1G07, in which both vessels perished), the general result was prosperous, the total profit reach- ing 138 per cent. ; but it must be remem- bered that a period of six or seven years and upwards elapsed before the proceeds of a voyage could be finally adjusted, and that the receipts included the profits of a ship- builder and purveyor, or " ship's husband," as well as of a merchant. In 1G13, it was deemed advisable to re- nounce all separate adventures, and continue the trade on a joint-stock account ; this, however, being itself an experiment, was and various East Indian ports. The undertaking was little better than a series of petty piracies, com- mitted upon Chinese junks and small Indian ves- sels encountered in cruising among the Asiatic islands ; but is memorable as marking the appear- ance of the interlopers or priratc traders, whose dis- putes with the company afterwards ran so high. This very Michelborne had been recommended by the lord-treasurer for employment to the company; but although then petitioning for a charter, the directors rejected the ajiplication, and requested that they might "be allowed to sort their business with men of their own qualitye, lest the susjjicion of the employment of gentlemen being taken hold of by the generalitie, do dryve a great number of the ad- venturers to withdraw'their contributions." — (Bruce's Aiiiiah iif the Juast India Cumpam/. vol. i., p. 128.) The same determined spirit was evinced on the pre- sent occasion ; and they succeeded in obtaining an- other charter in lOOi), in which, departing froni the cautious policy of his predecessor, the king confirmed the exclusive privileges of the company, not for a limited term of years, but for ever, jjrovided how- ever that the trade should prove beneficial to the realm, otherwise the charter was to be annulled, oil giving three years' notice. — (Idem, p. 157.) 204 PROGRESS OP THE EAST INDIAN TRADE— 1613. fixed for the term of ouly four years ; during which time, the stipulated capital of £429,000 was to be paid up in equal annual propor- tions. This union was generally beneficial in its effects, by preventing the international competition resulting from the clashing in- terests of parties coucerued in the different voyages, whether in the Indian market or in England, where the imports were either sold by public auction, or divided among the adventurers in kind, as was best suited to the interests of the leading persons in the separate concerns ; and it often happened that private accommodation was studied at the expense of the general good. Besides these inconveniences, it was necessary that some specific line of policy should be adopted, for the general direction of the trade and the control and guidance of individual com- manders; since it was evident that the interested and impolitic conduct of one ex- pedition might seriously imjiede the success of subsequent voyages. The proceedings of Sir Henry Middleton will illus-tratc this. Up to 1G09, the inter- course of the Entrlish had been exclusively with Sumatra, Java, and Amboyna; an at- tempt was then made to open a trade with woollens, metals, and other British com- modities, in barter for spices and drugs, in the ports of the Red Sea, Cambay, and Surat. At Aden and Mocha, they were opposed by the Turks, and Middleton with seventy men made prisoners. They suc- ceeded in effecting their escape, and pro- ceeded to Surat, where a forcible lauding was effected, in defiance of the Portuguese, who, however, induced the Moguls to prc- • The company, finding themselves unable to charter vessels of sufficient burden either in England or elsewhere, formed a dockyard at Deptford ; and in 1G09 launched, in the words of Sir William Mon- son, "the goodliest and greatest ship [1,100 tons] that was ever framed in this kingdom." King James, with liis son (afterwards Charles I.), presided at the launch, named the vessel tlie Trade's Increase, and partook of a sumptuous banquet served on China- ware, then considered a rare mark of eastern mag- nificence. From this period may be dated the in- crease of large ships; for the king about tliis time caused a man-of-war to be constructed of ],400 tons burden, carrying sixty-four gun.s, called the I'rince. From IGOO to 1010 tiie company continued to ex- ercise the now separate vocations of ship-builders, purveyors, &c. In their yards at ])e])tford and Blackwall, not only w^ere vessels constructed of 700, 800, 900, and in' one instance (the Rdijal James) of 1,200 tons burden, but their masts, yards, an- chors, sails, cordage, and entire outfit were ])rei)ared ; the bread was l)aked, the meat salted and cashed, and the various dei)ar'„mcnts which, by the ])resent improved system, arc subdivided into many distinct vent their attempts at commerce. About this time, the envoy (Hawkins) dispatched by the company to seek the imperial con- firmation of the trading privileges promised to Mildenhall, threw up his suit in despair, and quitted Agra, after a residence of more than two years. Middleton retui-ned to the Red Sea, and there seized upon several ]\Iogul ships (including one of 1,500 tons, fitted out by the mother of Jehangeer for the use of pilgrims), and obliged them to pay a ransom equivalent to his estimate of the loss occasioned by the frustration of his voyage. After lading two of his vessels with pepper at Bantam, he prepared to return homewards ; but his chief ship, the newly-built Trade's Increase* over- set in Bantam roads, and was totally des- troyed ; which so affected her commander, that he soon after died of vexation : the voyap;e, nevertheless, afforded £121 percent, profit on the capital employed. The un- warrantable aggression committed in the Red Sea had roused the indignation and alarm of the emperor; but the discre- tion of Captain Bestf was successfully exerted in obtaining permission to trade, through the intervention of the governor of Ahmedabad, whose concessions were ra- tified by an imperial firman, which arrived in January, 161^, authorising the esta- blishment of English factories at Surat, Ahmedabad, Cambay, and Goga, with pro- tection for life and property, on condition of the payment of a custom duty of three-and- a-half per cent. The Portuguese did not quietly witness the progress of this arrange- ment, but attacked the two vessels of Cap- branches of labour, were then brought to a con- siderable degree of perfection by the combined efforts of skill and capital possessed by the East India Company. As trade increased, ship-building became a distinct and profitable business; and in 1640 and subsequent years, the company were enabled to hire vessels at £20 to £2o ])er ton freight, whereas their own cost £31 per ton : thence- forth the commerce was carried on partly by their own and partly by hired ships ; and evcr.tually the dockyards were sold for private enterprise. t Captain Best visited Acheen in Kilo, and as the bearer of a royal letter, formed a new treaty with its ruler, and obtained permission to establish a factory at Tikoo or Ticoo (in Sumatra), on condition of ]iaying seven per cent, import and export duty. The monarch, who is represented as very fierce and sanguinary, replied to the communication of tlie Euglisli sovereign with a request, that he would send him one of his countrywomen for a wife, pro- mising to make her eldest son " king of all the |)ep])er countries." No English lady ajipears to have taken advantage .if this offer; ami whether from disappointment or avarice, the king of Acheen FRENCH AND DANISH EAST INDIA ASSOCIATIONS— 1601-1612. 205 tain l?est, fit Swally, near Surat, with a sinisulroii of four galleons, atul a miinher of siiialler vessels without eauiiou, ititcii(l(;(l to assist in boanlin;^', for whieh, however, they fouiiil no opportunity, bein;^ driven oil' witli considerable loss, after a struggle of more than a month's duration.* The chief events whieh marked tlio four years' existence of the first joint-stock com- pany, was the embassy of Sir Thomas Hoc,t who suececded in obtaining from Jehan- geer liberty of trade for his countrymen throughout the empire; J tlic formation of a treaty with the zaraoriu for the expulsion of the Portuguese from Cochin, whieh when conquered was to be ceded to tlic English ; and lastly, liostilities with the Dutch, which entailed losses and expense, whereby the total jH'ofits of the four voyages were reduced to eighty-seven per cent. This decreased dividend did not, however, prevent a new subscription being favourably received by impeded the trade of the Kiiropcans by exactions ; find at length, in Ki'il, expelled both the Dutch and English factors ; but the intercourse was subse- quently resumed and carried on at intervals. * From 22nd of October to the 27th Xovcmber, 1812.— (AVilson's note on Mill's Iiiflin, vol. i., p. 29.) + The mission of Sir Thomas Iloe to Jehangeer has been already narrated (p. 123.) The incidents of his journey from Surat to Ajmeer evidence a com- parative state of order in the country traversed: whereas, the adventures which befel Withington, one of the conijiany's agents, who set out from Ah- medabad to Laribunda, the port of Sinde, where three English ships had arrived, afford a far less favourable picture of the condition of the portion of India through which his route of about oOO miles lay. The caravan with which he travelled was attacked in the night of the third stage, and " the next day he met tlie Mogul's otiicer returning ".vith 250 heads of the Coolies," whom Mr. Ormesneep- ingly terms, "a nation of robliers;" and who in the opinion of Jeliangeer seem to have merited nothing less than extermination. Many days were spent in crossing the desert, but no molestation occurred un- til the peopled country was reached, and the cara- van separated ; after which, Withington and his sixteen companions (foiu' servants, two merchants with tive servants, and five drivers to their ten camels) hired an escort for tlie march to Gundaiwa, which saved them from a band of robbers. Twice afterwards they were attacked, and compelled to purchase immunity from plunder by a small pre- sent. They next reached the residence of a Haj- poot chief, who had recently escaped from the hau<ls of the Moguls, by whom he had been blinded. His son agreed to escort Withington to Tatta, a distance of only thirty miles, but fraught with danger ; and it wotdd appear, from mere covetousness, acted in a manner quite contrary to the usual fidelity of a Hindoo, and especially of a Kajpoot guide, by trea- cherously delivering over the travellers to a party of marauders, who strangled the two Hindoo mer- chants and their five servants ; and binding Withing- ton and his attendants, marched them forty miles to 2 E the public: dukes, carls, and knights, judges and privy counsellors, countesses and ladies, " widows and virgins," doctors of divinity ami ])hysic, merchants and tradesmen, are all classified in the list of the 1)51. indivi- duids, by wliom a sum of no less than .€1,629,01.0 (averaging £1,700 for each person) was furnished in 1616 for a new scries of ventures, comprising three distinct voyages, to be undertaken in the four fol- lowing years. Surat and Bantam were to be the chief seats of trade, with factories at Ceylon, Siam, Japan, Maceassar, and Banda. A proposition had previously been made l)y the Dutch for a union of trade with the English, that common cause might be made against the Spanish-Portuguese, and a monopoly secured to the combined com- panies. Tliis offer was repeated in 1G17, ou the plea of the rivalry about to arise from the formation of an East India association in France§, and likewise in Denmark ;|| but a mountain stronghold, whence they were sent to Parker, and thence on to Kadenpore : their clothes were stolen from them on the way, and they sub- sisted by begging, until their wants were relieved by the charity of a Banian, whom Withington had known at Ahmedabad, wliich place he reached, " after a distressful absence of 111 days." — (Orme's Origin of the Eiu/lish l-2stahlishmen(, mid of the Comj>ant/'s trade at Surat and Broach, p. 334.) X Vide pp. 123-4. § The French are said to have made an unsuccess- ful endeavour to double the Cape of Good Hope as early as 1503; in IGOl a small commercial associa- tion was formed in Bretagne. Two vessels were fitted out and dispatched to the East Indies : both were wrecked amid the Maldive Arcliipelago near Cey- lon ; and the commander, Pyrard de Laval, did not return home for ten years. In Kilo, "The Molucca Company" was formed, with exclusive privileges to trade for twelve years. This new .source of compe- tition alarmed the Dutch, and their constant hosti- lity, together witli the alleged exactions of the king of .'\cheen, obliged the French company to relin- quish their enterprise. In 1610- "20, a French ship was burnt at Bantam with a cargo valued at 500,000 crowns, " ajiparently by the Dutch." — (Macpherson's Commerce, p. 25G.) Merchants of St. Malo and Diejipe sent vessels to India at various times in 1622, and the former had an agent settled at Bantam. II -V Danisli company was formed at Copenhagen in 1612, and six vessels (three belonging to the king. Christian IV., and three to the company) were sent out under a commander named Boschower, who had formerly been in the service of the Dutch in Ceylon, and had come to Europe with an appeal from the natives against the cruelties of the Spanish- Portuguese. Boschower first applied to the Dutch, and conceiving himself neglected, proceeded to Denmark, where he obtained ihe desired assistance, and sailed for Ceylon, but died on the voyage. His second in command became involved in disputes with the rajah he came to befriend, and sailed f -r Tanjore, where, bv means of presents and the pr.) mise of a yearly tribute of £700, he obtained fro:n 206 PROGRESS OF THE DUTCH IN THE EAST INDIES. agaiu rejected.* To guard against the an- tagonism of the Dutch, and likewise to defeat the attempts of English interlopers, who had taken both to trading and priva- teering on their own account, it was deemed necessary to send out a fleet of nine ships, of which six were of considerable size, under the command of Sir Thomas Dale, who was commissioned by the king, and empowered to seize the ships of illicit traders, and to declare martial law in case of necessity. Hostilities were seldom long intermitted : even while the nations at home were in alliance, their subjects in the Indies were more or less openly at strife, unless indeed their joint influence was needed against the Portuguese, whose powers of aggression and even defence were now, however, almost neu- tralised by their disorganised condition. The Lisbon company to whom the exclu- sive claims of the Spanish crown had been made over, was unable to furnish the stipu- lated payments ; and the king, finding him- self impoverished instead of enriched by his Indian possessions, sent an order to Azevedo, the viceroy, to make the government sup- port itself, by selling every ofiice to the highest bidder. This had already been done to a great extent ; but the royal order for so disgraceful a proceeding annihilated the few remaining relics of a better system ; and the Moors and Hindoos, instead of humbly suing these former lords of the Indian seas for a passport (which, even when obtained, often failed to secure their vessels against the rapacity of Portuguese cruisers), now in turn became the assailants, thus materially aiding the aggressive policy of the Dutch. The English did not often come in con- tact with the Portuguese, their head-quarters the rajah a cession of territory, on which the settle- ment of Tranquebar and the fortress of Dansburg were established. By justice and kindness the Danes acquired the goodwill cf the natives : their trade extended to the Moluccas and China j they had fac- tories at Bantam and on the Malabar coast; gained possession of the Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal (of which they could make nothing); and built a neat town called Serampore, fifteen miles above Calcutta, on the llooghly river. All these stations were under the direction of Tanjorc ; and matters went on favourably until the rajah became involved in a long and sanguinary war, which pre- venti'dtheDanesfromprocuringcargoes with any cer- tainty, and proved an obstacle to their commerce which all their economy and perseverance never enabled them to surmount. — (Anderson's Coinmcrce.) ' An attempt was likewise made for tlie establish- ment of a Scottish Kast India Com])any, and a royal patent granted in 1G18 to Sir James Cunningham, but withdrawn in consequence of the interference of the being at Surat; but about the time of their establishment in that place, the Dutch at- tempted to trade with the Malabar coasts, and in 1603, made an ineft'ectual endeavour to dislodge the Portuguese from Mozambique and Goa ; opened a communication with Ceylon ; succeeded in expelling them from the islands of Amboyna and Tidore, and by degrees engrossed the whole trade of the Spice Islands; their large equipments and considerable proportion of military force, under able commanders, enabling them to conquer the Moluccas and Bandas.f The reinforcements of the Portuguese grew scanty and insufficient ; their Spanish ruler finding full employment for his forces in maintaining the struggle in the Low Coun- tries, and, at the same time, guarding his dominions in the West Indies and South America; the Dutch were therefore enabled by degrees to fix factories at Pulicat, Masu- lipatam, and Negapatam, on the Coroman- del coast ; in Ceylon ; at Cranganore, Cana- nore, and Cochin, in Malabar; and thence pushed their commercial agencies to Bussora and the shores of the Persian Gulf. The Amsterdam company also formed establish- ments in Sumatra and Java. The twelve years' truce, entered tipon be- tween Spain and Holland in 1609, checked open hostility in the Indies; but the Dutch covertly continued their opposition ; and in 1611, succeeded in opening a trade with the islands of Japan, despite the exclusive pre- tensions of the Spanish-Portuguese. The growing naval strength of England justly gave them more uneasiness than the decay- ing power of a nation whose yoke they had thrown off'; and they already found the English, competitors for the spice trade, of London company, who made compensation for the expenses incurred. The king, in return for this con- cession, and with a view of sustaining the Russian company, which had long been in a precarious state, prevailed on the East India Company to unite with them in carrying on a joint trade, each party advanc- ing £30,000 per annum during the continuance of their respective charters ; but the experiment failing after a trial of two seasons, the connexion was dis- solved at the termination of the year 1G19 ; the loss of the East India Company being estimated at £40,000 — (Milburn's Oriental Commerce, p. 10.) t Their traffic seems from the first to have been always lucrative, though fluctuating. The dividends to the sliareholders in each year, from KJOI to 1613 inclusive, were at the rate of 125, 5j, 75, 40, 20, 25, 50, and 37 per cent. Numerous strong squa- drons were equipped: in H)13-'14, no less than twenty-seven s'riips were dispatched to India. — ( I'ot/nr/cs undertaken !>;/ Dutch East India Company : published in London, 1703.) TREATY BETWEEN DUTCH AND ENGLISH COMPANIES— a.d. 1010. 207 which a complete monopoly was their especial desire. The islands of I'olaroon and Rosen- gin* were fortified hy the Enj^lish, with the ])ormission of the natives, ahout the year 1017. This the Dutch resented, on the gronnd that they were already possessed of authority over the whole of tiu; Handas hy reason of their occupation of the more im- portant islands in the f^roup. They attacked Pohiroon and were driven off, but seized two English ships, and declared their intention of retaining them until the liluglish should consent to surrender all rights and claims on Polaroon and the Spice Islands. Consi- dering the general, though unjust, ideas then entertained regarding the rights ob- tained in newly-discovered countries by priority of occupancy, without regard to the will of the natives, the Dutch had some plausible pretext for maintaining their claims to the exclusive advantage of trade witii the IMoluccas, as obtained by conquest from the Spanish-Portuguese ; but with regard to the settlement in Java, they could not urge that plea, since they had at first welcomed the arrival and alliance of the English, and made no opposition to their establishment in that island, now sanctioned by time. Their own notions of the case are set forth in a memo- rial addressed to King James in 1G18, complaining of the encroachments of his subjects, and praying him to restrain their further aggressions : the London company, on their part, vindicated their conduct, and enumerated a long series of losses and injuries entailed upon them by the jealous enmity of the Dutch. The governments of the respective companies resolved to make an arrangement for the regulation of the East India trade ; and after repeated confer- ences, a treaty was signed in London, in 1619, by which amnesty for all past excesses was decreed, and a mutual restitution of ships and property. The pepper trade at Java was to be equally divided. The Eng- lish were to have a free trade at Pulieat on the Coromandel coast, on paying half the expenses of the garrison, and one-third of the trade of the Moluccas and Pandas, bearing an equal proportion of the garrison expenses ; joint exertions to be made for the reduction of the customs and duties claimed * Two small islands in the Banda archipelago, chiefly prodvicint; nutmegs and oilier spices. t Btiniam, which attracted so much attention in the early periods of European intercourse with the East, is situated near the north-west point of Java (lat. S" 52' J long. 106' 2), at the bottom of a large by the native governments at different ports; the trade of both the contracting ])arties to be free to the extent of the speci- fied fmuls respectively employed ; each com- ])any to furnish ten ships, not to be used in the European trade, but only for mutual defence, and in carrying goods from one port of India to another. Finally, a Council of Defence, composed of four members on either side, who were to preside each alternate mouth, was established for the local super- inteiulence of the treaty, which was to re- main in force twenty years. Some months before these arrangements were conchuled, the fleet under Sir Tiiomas Dale combined with tlie king of Bantamf for the expulsion of the Dutch from Jaceatra ; which being accomplished, tlic place was left in the possession of its native owners ; but shortly afterwards again seized from the Javanese by their former conquerors, who thereupon laid the foundation of a regidar fortified city, on which was bestowed the an- cient name of Holland, "Batavia," and which became, and still remains, the seat of their government and the centre of their trade. The scheme of making the two companies politically equal, and commercially unequal, was soon found to be impracticable ; and before the Council of Defence had been well established in Jaceatra, the domineering conduct of the Dutch clearly proved their determination to take an unjust advantage of their superior capital and fleet. Consi- derable exertions were, however, made by the English company, and ten large ships sent out, with £G2,490 in money, .and £28,508 in goods. Nine of these vessels were detained in the East Indies ; but one returned home freighted with a cargo which realised £108,887 ; and had the Dutch acted up to the spirit or letter of their agreement, the returns would have been immense. Instead of this, they gradually laid aside the flimsy veil which they had at first cast over their intentions, and at length ceased to at- tempt disguising their continued determina- tion to monopolise the spicc-tradc. In fram- ing the treaty, no distinction had been made between past and future expenses : the Eng- lish intended only to bind themselves for the future; the Dutch demanded from them a bay, between the branches of a shallow river. A factory, it will be remembered, had been formed there by the English, under Captain Lancaster, ia IGU'2, and this had been burned by the Dutch, who had also attacked the palace of the king of Bantam, with whom they were constantly at variance. 208 ENGLISH AND PERSIANS EXPEL PORTUGUESE FROM ORMUZ— 1622. share of the past, and carried themselves in ' so overbearing a mauner, that the English commissioners soon reported the worse than uselessness of maintaining a connexion which involved the company in a heavy outlay, without adequate remuneration. In the circle of which the ancient city of Surat* was the centre, affairs were proceeding more prosperously. A treaty of trade and friend- ship had been concluded with Persia, in 1620, on very advantageous terms for the English, to whom permission had been ac- corded to build a fort at Jask ; but an expedition sent there in the following year found the port blockaded by a Portuguese fleet, consisting of five large and fifteen small vessels. The English having but two ships, did not attempt to cope with so dis- proportionate a force, but sailed back to Surat, where, being joined by two other vessels, they returned to Jask, and suc- ceeded in forcing an entrance into the harbour. The Portuguese retired to Ormuz,t and after refitting, made a desperate attack upon the English, who gained a decisive victory over a much superior force. This event produced a deep impression on the minds of the Persians, who urged the victors to unite with them for the expulsion of the Portuguese from the island of Ormuz ; and, although it was against the royal instruc- * Surat, already repeatedly mentioned in connec- tion witli the Moguls, Portuguese, and Mahrattas, is the present capital of Guzerat, situated on the bank of the Taptee river, about twenty miles above its junction with the sea, in 21' 11' N. lat., 73' 7' E. long. On the establishment of European intercourse with India, different nations resorted thither, as it had long been a commercial emporium, and was deemed " one of the gates of Mecca," from the num- ber of pilgrims who embarked there on their way to visit tiie tomb of Mohammed. The Dutch did not visit Surat until 1617, and then only by accident, being shipwrecked off the coast, and kindly treated by tlie English, who aided thum in disposing of their car- goes at Surat, by which means they learned the im- portance of this ancient emporium, of which they were not slow to take advantage. t Ormuz, six miles long by four miles broad, is situated at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, in 2~r 12' N., witliin seven miles of the main land. AVhen first visited by the Portuguese, under Albuquerque, ir. 150S, it was a place of considerable trade; there were then 30,000 men on the island, and in the harbour 400 vessels, sixty of them of large size, and having 2,.'i00 men on board. The place was caj)- tured by the Portuguese in loH, and it remained in their possession for 120 years, during which time the fortifications were increased, noble mansions built, and the town advanced in wealth and splen- dour, until it grew to be regarded as the richest spot in the world. Tlie share of the customs granted to the English at Gombroon, soon resulted in the trans- tions to attack the subjects of the king of Spain, the previous provocation and the urgent solicitation of the Shah was supposed to justify a further breach of the peace. A joint assault was made, and the town and castle captured in 1G22, the English having the chief conduct of affairs, and receiving in return a proportion of the plunder, and a grant of the moiety of the customs at the port of Gombroon, j which was regularly paid till about 1680, when the company, being unable to keep the gulf free from pirates, the Persian monarch withheld their dues. Notwithstanding the favourable result of this enterprise, the four representatives of the English East India Company at Jaccatra, who bore the title of " President and Council," blamed the co-operation with the Persians as a rash and ill-advised measure, because the pepper§ investment had been lost, from the company's vessels not arriving at Acheen as expected; beside which the general interest had suffered, from the shipping intended for the Java and Sumatra trade being detained by the factors at Sumatra. || Probably the English members of the Council of De- fence felt the necessity for the concentration of their force as a guard against the Dutch ; but for this the whole was far too little. The expiration of the truce between Spain and Holland, in 1621, gave the signal for the fer of the trade to that port ; and in the hands of the Persians, Ormuz degenerated into a heap of ruins. J Gombroon lies nearly opposite to Oi'muz, in 27" 10' N. lat, 54° 45' E! long., on the mainland of Persia. The English were ])crmitted to establish a factory here in 1G13, and the Dutch in 1620. After the expulsion of the Portuguese from Ormuz, many Persian merchants removed to Gombroon, which was then strongly fortified, and adorned with fine structures. When the interests of the E. I. Cy. be- came concentrated on the continent of India, their distant factories were neglected. The French seized Gombroon in 1759 : it was reoccupied by the English, but eventually abandoned from its unhealthiness. § The stress laid on pepper and other sjiices, as primary articles in the East India trade, can only be explained by remembering, that in those days (while homcEopathy was unknown) both cordials and viands were flavoured to a degree which, when the cost of spices diminished, proved itself a fashion rather than a want, by falling into comjiarative disuse. II A share of the prize-money taken at Ormuz and elsewhere was demanded by the king, in right of the Crown, and by the Duke of Buckingham, as Lord High .\ilmiral. The company admitted tlie former, but denied the latter claim, upon which the duke stopped at Tilbury the seven out-going ships for the season, lS23-'4, and obtained £10,000 as a compro- mise. The same sum was required by the king, but there is no direct evidence tliat ho ever received it. The total jiriKe-money was stated at 240,000 rials, or £100,000.— (liruce's Annals vol. i., p. 212.) CRUELTIES OF THE DUTCH AT AMBOYNA— a.d. 1G23. 'M'.) renewal of luulisguiscd liostility on the jkiiI; of the Dutch towards the settknnetits of the S[)aiiish-Portu<;ucsc ; and the hii'f^e arma- iiionts their hicrative trade cnabh'd them to e<iui|), rfudcrcd thorn strong; enough to brave the vengeance l)()tli of their ancient foes and of their allies the J'^n'^lish. Upon the plea that there had been a prior ayireement with the natives of the Bandas, who had placed themselves under the sovereignty of the States- General, the Dutch governor. Van Coens, proceeded to the islands of I'olaroon, Rosengin, and Lantorc, and took possession of the factories, treating the few Englishmen he found there with the most barbarous cruelty, and executing great numbers of the natives on pretence of a conspiracy. The successor of Van Coens, Peter Carpenticr, o|)enly asserted the right of sovereignty over the countries in which the Dutch trade was situated, and declared that the English had oidy a title by the treaty as subordinate traders. The English factory at Bantam had been removed to Batavia on the faith of the Dutch performance of their treaty ; but they soou found their mistake, and de- sired to return to ]5antain, where, by favour of the king, their old ally, they doubted not that ten ships of 800 tons might be annually filled with pepper, provided the Javanese were allowed to bring it in without obstruc- tion;* but to this measure the Dutch would not consent, lest the progress of their newly- erected and neighbouring sovereignty at Batavia should be thereby impeded. The English had uo force wherewith to oppose the tyranny of their pretended coadjutors, * A frequent complaint urged against the Dutch, in tlie AiDKils of the E. I. Cij. is, that they sought '• to bear down the mcrcliaiits of every other country by raising the price, so as to render the trade un- productive to all olher nations." — (Bruce, vol. i., p. 2-'U.) But if the Uutcli company, by good manage- ment of their funds, could afford to purchase pepper from the natives at so high a pi-ice as tc " bear down" all competition, the means employed would seem perfectly h'gitimate. t Amboyna, to the south of Ceram, is the largest of the Clove Islands : Fort Victoria, the capital, lies in ;i'42' S. hit., 128' 11' E. long. The Portuguese discovered this island in 1511, and occupied it in 1564, in consequence of its valuable spices ; but were driven out by the Dutch in 1GU7, who, as also the English, formed factories here ; and by the treaty of 1619, lioth nations were to occupy Am- boyna in common. X The factories at Siam and Potani,i were with- drawn about the same time, also those in Japan, upon which island the Dutch had been driven during a storm in lliOO: and through the influence subse- quently acquired by their English ])ilot, " old Wil- liam Adams," over the mind of the emperor, had but real foes ; and at length tired of remon- strance, urged the company to use every exertion to procure from the king the annul- ment of a treaty, whose ambiguity enabled the stronger party at will to opjircss the weaker. The commercial efforts of the factors stationed at Aniboynaf liad ])rovcd equally unsatisfactory j they were therefore ordered by the English president and coun- cil to leave the station with their property and come to Batavia. J It was at this crisis that those barbarous proceedings were insti- tuted which rendered the conduct of the Dutch at Amboyna a synonymc for cruelty. The local government, on the plea of the formation of a plot for its expulsion, seized ten Javanese about the middle of February, 1()23, and by subjecting them to excessive and repeated torture, extorted a declaration that they had been parties in a conspiracy which the English agent (Captain Towerson), with thirteen of his countrymen and one Portuguese sailor, had formed to seize on the castle of Amboyna, and exter- minate the Dutch. That such a conspiracy should have been formed against an over- powering force, by a few trading agents who had no ambitious motives to prompt so daring an attempt, is highly improbable ;§ but the savage persecution of the Dutch governor can hardly be accounted for, except by sup- posing that he and his associates were hur- ried on by a desire to revenge a supposed wrong; or else, that having resolved to be rid of their troublesome competitors, they first brought forward an accusation invented for the purpose, and then wrung from them, obtained, in 1609, permission to send two ships annually to the port of Firando. Adams, on learn- ing the establishment of his countrymen at Bantam (which the Dutch strove to conceal from him), sent a letter to advise their opening intercourse with Japan. In June, Kil.'j, the Clove, Captain Saris, with a letter from King James I., and presents in charge of a superintendent or factor, arrived. The king or governor of Firando sent Captain Saris to Jedo, the capital, where he was well received; a friendly answer returned to the royal letter, and a very liberal charter of privileges granted to the E. I. Cy. The Dutch soon instituted hostilities against the factory ; ]ilundcred the ships, wounded and killed several of tlie English, and compelled the rest to liee for their lives, which would probably have been sacri- ficed as at Amboyna, but for the interference of the Japanese, who, for several years after their departure, guarded the deserted factories from plunder, in con- stant expectation of their return. § There were four strong forts, garrisoned by about 200 Dutchmen, with some 300 or 400 native troops ; the English, in all, numbered about twenty men, in- cluding a surgeon and tailor, who were among the sufferers. 210 EXECUTION OF CAPT. TOWERSON AND ENGLISH FACTORS— 1 623. by intolerable anguisli, a confession of guilt, tbe falsity of which none knew better than those who extorted it. The motives remain a mj'stery — as thoseof great public criraesoften do ; the cause assigned being insufficient to account for the fiend-like cruelty with which Captain Towerson and his miserable com- panions were by turn subjected (as the na- tives had previously been) to the agonies which, by the aid of those two powerful agents, fire and water, the wicked invention and pitiless will of man can inflict upon his ' fellow.* By the Dutch code, as by the codes of all the other continental nations of Europe, evidence obtained by torture afforded suf- ficient ground for legal condemnation : the ] English, it was alleged, were living under Dutch sovereignty, established before their arrival in the island ; and on these grounds, the whole of the accused were condemned to death, and with four exceptions, beheaded on the 27th of the same month in which they were first seized — all of them pro- testing, with their latest breath, their entire innocence of the crime with which they were charged. t Besides the above-named persons who were reprieved, four others remained in Amboyna, whose absence at the time of the alleged conspiracy had procured their safety. The survivors were sent for by the English president and council to Batavia, so soon as the terrible end of their companions was known there, and gladly made their escape, leaving their oppressors to seize the factories and stores, and to commit all manner of cruelties on the wretched Javanese, who were shipped off in large numbers, as slaves, to different islands. The English sufferers were dispatched to London, where they ar- rived in August, 1G24'. Their representations of the horrible outrage committed in Am- boyna, seconded by the protestations of in- nocence, written in a Bible and other books belonging to their unhappy countrymen, were sedulously circulated, and the efl'ect heightened by the exhibition of a picture, in which the victims were represented upon the rack, writhing in agony. The press teemed with publications, enlarging upon the same subject; and the tide of po|)ular feeling rose 80 high, that in default of ability to reach the true criminals, it liad well nigh found • These proceedinjjs nre narrated at lenfjth in Hall's C'nicUien nf the Dutch in the East Indies, 8vo., London, 1712: they were continued during several days, incliidinfj a Sunday, and are too hor- rible for quotation : it must, therefore, sudice to say, that each victim was placed on the rack, and com- pelled to inhale water at every attempt to draw vent on the heads of the unoflFending Dutch residents in London, who urgently ap- ' pealed to the Privy Council for protection, and complained of the conduct of the East India directors, whose proceedings, though probably not uninfluenced by views of mis- called policy, would yet be very excusable, when viewed on the ground of indignation at the unjust and cruel sufferings inflicted on their servants. A commission of inquiry was instituted by the king; application made to the Dutch government for signal reparation ; and an order issued for intercepting and detaining the Dutch East India fleets, till an accom- modation should be arranged. The evasive answer of the States was evidently framed with a view of gaining time to let the fierce but short-lived tumult of popular rage pass away, before coming to any definite arrange- ment. The only concession offered, deemed worth accepting, was permission for the English to retire from the Dutch settlements without paying any duties; and even this was accompanied by an unqualified assump- tion of the sovereign and exclusive rights of the Dutch over the Moluccas, Bandas, and Amboyna, — the very point so long contested. King James manifested considerable energy on this occasion ; but his foreign and domestic policy had acquired a reputa- tion for weakness and vacillation, which probably militated against the success of the measures instituted in the last few months of his reign, which terminated in March, 1625. His ill-fated son succeeded to a regal inheritance heavily burdened with debt, war, and faction ; which required, at least humanly speaking, the governance of one gifted with a powerful and unprejudiced intellect, and judgment wherewith to guide the helm of state — -by that best rudder, the power of distinguishing the cry of faction from the desire of a nation. Had Charles I. been thus endowed, even a turbulent par- liament could not liave driven him to alienate the affections of his subjects by the expedients (irregular loans and ship-money) to which he had recourse. As it was, the failing power of the Crown diminished the hope of redress entertained by the company, and subjected them to danger from the breath, until his body became inflated and he swooned, was recovered, and the same horrible pro- cess repeated. The fire was applied by means of lighted candles, held to the elbows and other sensi- tive parts of the body, and relit wlien extinguished by the heavy sweat of a};ony. — (Pp. 18 to 32.) t This fact rests on Dutch authority. ENGLISH DRIVEN BY DUTCH FROM SPICE ISLANDS TO INDIA. 211 fccliiip; afjainst monopolies, which was evi- dently gaining fjrotmd in the House of ("orn- mons, stimulated by the couiplaiiits of tlie ])rivato traders, or interlopers, who pleaded the severities exercised af^ainst them iu the Indian seas. Tlie charter of the company was the };ift of the Crown, from whicli they had recently received a new and important prerogative ; namely— authority to punish their subjects abroad by common and martial law :* nor does the sanction of par- liament appear to have been deemed neces- sary for the delegation of so important a trust. But a change was rapidly taking | place; and the company, alarmed for the continuance of their monopoly, paid homage to the rising sun, by presenting a memorial to the Commons, in which they represented j the national importanco of a traffic employ- ing shipping of 10,000 tons burden, and 2,. 500 men ; and urged that the Dutch should be pressed to make compensation for past injuries, and discontinue their op- pressive conduct in monopolising the spice- trade, which was felt the more sensibly by the English from the diiliculty they ex- perienced iu opening a trade for woven goods on the coast of Coromandel. The precise condition of their finances at this period is not recorded ; but it was certainly far from being a prosperous one :t nor could they foresee the issue of the efforts which their expulsion from the Indian islands compelled them to direct to the for- mation of settlements on the great peninsula itself. In the interim, many difficulties were to be encountered. The company's Persian trade languished under the caprice and extortions of local magistrates. Their agents, soou after the catastrophe at Am- • Captain Hamilton asserts, tliat before tliis time (1624), the servants of the company, liaving no power to inflict capital punishment by the legal mode of hanging, except for piracy, had recourse to wliipping or starvation for the same end. It is very possible, tliat in the general license and disorder attendant on the formation, whether of factories or colonies, by men suddenly removed beyond the pale of conventional propriety, and unguided by a deeply-rooted principle of duty, that many violent deeds were committed in the profaned name of jus- tice. Nevertheless, so serious and sweeping a charge as the above, requires some stronger confirmation than any adduced by Mr. Hamilton, who did not enter India until si.xty years after the period of which he writes so freely, and who, by his own admission, lias recorded much hearsay information, through the medium of wliat he describes as " a weak and treacherous memory." The date of the facts are in some measure a criterion how far they may be relied on. His description of scenes, in which boyna, had quitted Java and retired to Lagundy, in the Straits of Sunda. In less than a year, the extreme unliealthiness of the island rendered them anxious to abandon it; but of 2,">0 men, l.'JO were sick, and they had not a crew sufficient to navigate a ship to any of the English factories. In this emergency the Dutch assisted them, by aiding their return to Hatavia; and through the steady friendship of the Faiu/rmi, or king of Bantam, they obtained the re-estab- lishment of their factory there, in 1629, without opposition on the part of the Dutch, who were then actively employed iu de- fending Batavia against the Materam, or emperor of Java, who unsuccessfully be- sieged it with 80,000 men. In lG28-'9, the station at Armcgaun, on the Coromandel coast (established on a piece of ground purchased from the Naiff, or local chief, shortly before) was fortified ; twelve pieces of cannon being mounted round tlie factory, with a guard of twenty- three factors and soldiers. The centre of the company's trade was the presidency of Surat, wiiere, however, they had to sustain the commercial rivalry of the Dutch, whose larger capital, and, according to Mill, 'more economical management,! enabled them to outbid the English, both iu purchase and sale. The Spanish-Portuguese made an effort to retain their vanishing power ; and in 1630, the viceroy of Goa having received a reinforcement from Europe of uiue ships and 2,000 soldiers, projected the recovery of Ormuz, and made unsuccessful overtures to the Mogul governor of Surat to obtain the exclusive trade. He then attacked five English vessels as they entered the port of Swally; but after a short, though indecisive he had been an actor, bear the stamp of truthfulness : though, so far as tlie company is concerned, thev are often tinctured with prejudice; for the writer was himself an "interloper." — (Vide Keic Account of the J^aat IiiJies, or " Observations and Remarks of Cap- tain Hamilton, made from the year 1GS8 to 1723.") + In 1027, Sir Robert Shirley, before mentioned as Persian ambassador, and one of the two brothers who so strangely ingratiated themselves with Shah Abbas, applied to the king and council to order the E. I. Cy. to pay him £2,000 as compensation for his exertions and services in procuring them a trade with Persia. The directors denied the alleged ser- vice, and moreover stated, that having " been obliged to contract so large a debt as £200,000, their para- mount duty was, in the first instance, to liquidate this debt, that they might raise the price of the stock, which had sunk so low as eighty per cent. — (Bruce, vol. i., p. 272.) I Mill's History of British India, edited by Pro- fessor Horace Hayman Wilson, vol, i,, p. 64. 212 COMIMENCEMENT OF TRADE WITH BENGAL— a.d. 1634. action, followed by several ininor skirmishes, and one great effort to destroy their fleet by fire, the English gained the victory, and succeeded in landing their cargoes. In lG31-'2, a subscription, amounting to i6l20,700, was opened for a third joint- stock fund. Its results have not been very accurately chronicled ;* neither if they had would they afford matter of sufficient interest to occupy space already so limited, that the author is frequently compelled to ci'owd into a note that which he would otherwise have gladly woven into the text. The Dutch were now the paramount maritime power in India : tliey annually sent from Holland thirty-four to forty-one ships, receiving in return from twenty-five to thirty-four rich cargoes ;t and the oc- casional squadrons still dispatched by the Spanish-Portuguese, opposed their formidable enemy with even less success than did the brave sailors who manned the " ventures" of English, French, and Danish companies. The revolution in Portugal, in 1640, by which, in less than a week, that kingdom regained its independence, had not its ex- pected effect in restoring the national in- fluence in India. The Dutch continued their conquering course ; and having pre- viously expelled the Portuguese from the Spice Islands, and Formosa in the China Seas, drove them from Malacca in 1640, Japan in 1641, and terminated a long and • The effect of the company's proceedings had been for several years a subject of parliamentary discussion; and some valuable statistics regarding their early condition have come down to us in the form of documents laid before the House. It appears that from 1600 to 1G21 inclusive, 86 ships were sent to India, of which 36 returned with cargoes, 9 were lost, 3 worn out in trading from port to port, 11 captured by the Dutch, and 25 accounted for as engaged in India or on their voyage home. During this time, the exports had amounted to £613,681 in bullion, and £319,211 in woollens, lead, iron, tin, and other wares, making a total of £932,892, or about £45,000 per annum : the imports realised £2,004,600, the cost of lading having been £375,288. Another paper, drawn up by order of the Commons in 1625, states, that between March, 1G20, and March, 1623, 20 ships were equijiped, and furnished with bullion to the amount of £205,710, and goods worth £58,806; total, £264,516. The imports during the same time, including raw silk from China and I'ersia, and a sum of £80,000 paid by the Dutch in accordance with the treaty of 1619, realised £1,255,444, or on an average, £313,861 per annum, and would have been much gi-eatcr but for the hostilities with the Dutch. The principal objec- tions urged on public grounds against the company were, that the exportation of specie impoverished the realm, and that the navigation of the southern seas was dcsti'uctive both to the mariners. and vessels severe struggle by expelling them from Ceylon in 1656. The fortified stations on the Malabar coast — Cochin, Cananore, Cran- ganore, Coulan, and others of minor im- portance, likewise changed hands ;| but the Portuguese, on their side, had wherewith to balance, at 1' ast in part, the success of their opponents in the East Indies, by their own acquisitions in South America (the Brazils) ; and in 1661, a treaty was formed between Portugal and Holland, on the basis of the Uti posseditis — each party agreeing to be content with their reciprocal losses and advantages. The English company, meanwhile, found it difficult to- maintain even a feeble and interrupted trade ; and the more so from the unfaithful conduct of their own agents at Surat.^-^ In 1634, permission was granted by the emperor for trade with the province of Bengal, with the restriction that the English ships were to resort only to the port of Piplee, in Orissa ; and in the fol- lowing year, a friendly convention was entered into with the Portuguese. This latter arrangement becoming known in Eng- land, excited hopes of extraordinary profit, and induced a nuiuber of gentlemen, headed by Sir William Courten, to form a new association for trade with India. By the intervention of Endymion Porter, a gentle- man of the bed-chamber, Charles I. was prevailed upon to sanction, and even to employed. In reply to these charges it was urged, that the company exported not English, but foreign coin ; and that the quantity had always fallen far short of the sum authorised by the charter, and was expected to decrease yearly : with regard to the in- jurious results alleged to be produced on the English marine by the East India trade, the best answer was its greatly increased inefficiency. — (Monson's Karal Tracts in Churchill's Voi/atjcs — Bruce and Maepher- son.) The pro's and con's of the question .as urged by the political economists of that day are very curious. What would have been their surprise, could they have been forewarned of the wealth England was to receive from India ; or been told that the country whose currency could, they considered, ill bear a yearlv drain of specie to the amount of £30,000, would, in 1853, be found capable of ex- porting £30,000,000. t Macpherson's Commerce tvith India, p. 49. } " When will you return to India?" said a Dutch to a Portuguese officer, who was cm!)arking for Europe after the surrender of a fortress to his .an- tagonist. — " When your crimes are greater than ours," was the instructive rcjily. — (Memoirs of India, by H. G. Wallace: London, 1824, p. 198.) § Instead of attending to the company's affairs, the jH'esident and council carried on a private trade, until, quarrelling among themselves, they betrayed one another, and were obliged to solicit the leniency of their far-distant employers. — (Bruce, i., 325.) FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT FORMED AT MADRAS— a.d. 1640. 213 accept a sliaro in the proposed arlvcnturc. Tlic preamble to the license, whieli was {granted (or a teiiu of live jcars, alicf;es that the lOast India Coni|)any had ne;;h'ctcd to establish fortified factories or scats of trade, to which the kinj^'s sulyects could re- sort with safety ; tliat tlicy luvj broken tlie conditions on which their, charter had been granted ; and had generally accomplished uothinj; for the good of the; nation, in pro- portion to the great ])rivileL;('s they had enjoyed, or even to the I'linds of which they had disposed. Tlicse allegations, were they true, could not jnstify the breach of faith now committed : had the monopoly been clearly proved injurious to the nation, nothing beyond the stipulated three years' notice .was necessary to its legal abrogation. Tlic company remonstrated and jietitj^ncd with- out success : and one Ca|)tain Weddel, who had been previously engaged in their ser- vice, proceeded to the East Indies with six ships, and there occasioned the agents of liis former employers great inconvenience, both by interfering with their trade, and by drawing n])on them the hostility of the natives, who naturally suspected actual col- lusion, hid beneath the apparent rivalry of men of the same nation. In l()3~-'8, several of Courten's ships returned with cargoes, which produced an ample profit to the association ; and a new license was con- ceded, continuing their privileges for five years. The old company, who had never ceased complaining and petitioning against the Dutch, had now a second source of anxiety, to which a third was soon added ; for the king, in his distress for funds where- with to carry on the Scottish war, compelled them to make over to him, on credit, the whole of the pep|)er they had in store, and then disposed of it at a reduced price for ready money.* Lord Cottingtou and others bc- * The kinp: boii<rlit 607,522 bags of pppper, at 2s. Irf. per lb.=£f),'i.28;i lis. 6d. : and sold it at Is. 8f/. = £50,C2G ITs. U/.— (Bnice, vol. i., p. 371.) t Tlie affairs of the third joint-stock were wound up in l(i-iO, and the ori^'inal capital divided, with a profit, in eleven years, of only tliirty-five per cent- — little more than tliree |)er cent, per annum. In tlie following year, £()7.5()() were subscrilied for a single voyage; and in IC-llj, about £1(15,000 were raised for a i'ourlh joint-slock. The attempts made, witli this small sum, were very unfortunate : one ship, valued at £.'35,(lOO, was wrecked; and another, with a cargo wortli i'L'O.OOO, was carried into Bristol by her commander (Captain Macknel), and delivered over for the king's use, during the civil war in whicli the nation was then involved. The company bor- rowed money botli at home and abroad ; aiid, in 1040, their debts, in England, amounted to £122,000. came sureties for tlie king, who, when they were pressed for its reijaynient, exerted him- self for their relief and tlic liipiidation of the debt ; but his jjower soon ceased; and what (if any) portion of their claim the com- pany eventually recovered, is not known. It was while matters were in their worst state of distress and embarrassment at home, that the hrst English stations des- tined to prove of permanent importance in India were formed. f The position of Armegaun had been found inconvenient for providing the " piece-goods "J wiiich con- stituted the principal item of exportation from the Cororaandel coast; the permission of Sree Ranga Raya, the rajah of Chand- ragiri,§ granted in 1610, for the establish- ment of a settlement at Madras (sixty-six miles south of Armegaun) was therefore eag(M-ly embraced, and the erection of Fort St. George immediately commenced by the chief local agent, Mr. Day. The court, or executive committee in London, deemed the enterprise hazardous, and inclined to its abandonment ; but by the advice of the president and council of Surat, the de- fences were continued, though on a very limited scale. Madras remained subordi- nate to the distant station of Bantam until 1633 ; but was then raised to a presidency. Lest its importance should be over-rated, it may be well to add, that the garrison of the fort at this latter jieriod amounted (>nly to twenty-six English soldiers, and, in 1634— '5, was ordered to be diminished to a guard of ten, and the civil establishment to two factors. The settlement of a trading post at Hooghly forms another early and impor- tant link in the chain of circumstances, that from slender beginnings, under a policy of the most irregular and uncertain cha- racter, has terminated in the formation of that extraordinary power, called by some Their effects are stated a.s follows : — " Quick stock at Surat, £83,600; at Bantam, £60,731 ; in shipping and stores, £31,180; and customs at Gombroon, estimated at £5,000: forming a total of £180,511." — (Milburn's Orientul Comineice, vol. i., p. 27.) J The general term applied to the muslins and wove-goods of India and China. § A descendant of Venkatadri, brother of the famous Kama llajah, the last sovereign of Beeja- nuggur (sue p. 97.) In compliment to the naik, or local governor, who first invited the English to change their settlement, the new station was named after liis father, Chenna-patam, and is still so called by the natives, though Europeans use an abbreviation of its previous designation — Madras-jiatani. The territory granted extended five miles along-shore and one mile inland. — (Hamilton's Gazetteer, and Orme's Historical Fraiinuuts of the Mogul Empire, p. 229.) 214 BOUGHTON OBTAINS TRADING PRIVILEGES FROM THE MOGUL. an empire of chance, but really an empire of Providence. Jehanara, the favourite daughter of Shah Jehan, in retiring one night from the imperial presence to her own apartments, set her dress on fire in passing one of the lamps which lit the corridor, and fearful of calling for assis- tance while the male guards of the palace were within hearing, rushed into the harem all on fire, and was fearfully burned before the flames could be extinguished. The most famous physicians were summoned from dif- ferent parts of the empire, and the surgeons of the Euglish East-Indiamen having ob- tained considerable repute for cures per- formed on some Mogul nobles, an express was sent to Surat for one of them. Mr. Gabriel Boughton was selected for the important office, and having been instru- mental in aiding the recovery of the princess, was desired by Shah Jehan to name his reward. With rare disinterested- ness, Boughton asked exclusively for bene- fits to the company he served ; and in return for this and subsequent attendance on the household of the emperor and Prince Shuja, the governor of Bengal, he obtained a licence for unlimited trade throughout the empire, with freedom from custom-dues in all places except Surat, and permission to erect fac- tories, which was availed of by their es- tablishment at several places, especially Hooghly, from whence the Portuguese had been expelled in 1633.* Authorities agree with regard to the leading facts of the above occurrences, with one important ex- ception — the date, which is variously stated as lG36,t 1610,t and lG51-'2. Bruce, the careful annalist of the E. I. Cy., fixes the latter period for the formation of the Hooghly factory, but his notice of Bough- ton is scanty and unsatisfactory, probably from the character of the data on which it was founded ; for the " cautious mercantile silcnec"§ observed by the company extended to their records; and while striving to make the most of their claims upon the country at large, and to represent at its highest value the " dead stock" acquired in India, in the shape of trading licences, forts, fac- tories, &c., they were naturally by no means • They had settled there subsequent to the termi- nation of Faria y Snusa's history, in 1640: for an account of thuir cxpulsinn by Shah .Jehan, see p. 131. t Malcolm's I'dlilinul India, vol. i., p. 18. \ Stewart states that iiouf;ht<in was sent to the ini])erial camp, in the Deccan, in 10^)0 ; and that fac- tories were established at Balasore and II()()f,'hly, in 1G40. — {^History of Benyal, p. 2J2.) Dow mentions anxious to set forth the easy terms on which some of their most important privileges had been obtained. During the concluding years of the reign of Charles I., they main- tained a struggling and fitful commerce. In 164'7-'8, when the king was a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, and the power of the parliament supreme, a new subscription was set on foot, and strenuovts endeavours made to induce members of the legislature to sub- scribe, in the hope that the English, like the Dutch company, might ensure the pro- tection of the state, through the influence of its chief counsellors. This project seems to have failed; and in 1649-'50, attempts to form another joint-stock were renewed, and carried out by means of a junction with Courten's association, now designated the " Assada Merchants," in consequence of their having formed a settlement on an island called by that name, near Madagascar. The establishment of the Commonwealth changed the direction, but not the character of the solicitations of the company. They now appealed to Cromwell and his Council for redress from the Dutch, and the renewal of their charter. The first claim met with immediate attention, and formed a leading feature in the national grievances urged against Holland. The famotis Navigation Act, prohibiting the importation of any foreign commodities, except in English vessels, or those of the countries wherein they were produced, though, under the pe- culiar circumstances of the time, absolutely requisite for the encouragement of the Bri- tish navy, was felt bj' the Dutch as a measure peculiarly levelled against the carrying trade, so important to their national prosperity; and ambassadors were sent to Cromwell to solicit its repeal. The war which followed his refusal, involved the feeble settlements of the English in India in great danger, and almost suspended their coasting-trade ; but the success of their countrymen in Europe, soon delivered them from this peril. Crom- well reduced the Dutch to the necessity of accepting peace on terms of his dictation ; and a treaty was concluded at Westminster, in 1654, in wliich a clause was inserted for the appointment of a commission, composed the accident of the princess as occurring in 1643, but does not name Boughton. — (Hiniinostan, vol. iii., p. 190.) It apjicars that no hrnian was issued, but only a " nishan," or order from I'rinee Shuja, with warrants from the local governors; l)ut, in 1080, Aurungzehe confirmed the grant of Sluih Jehan. § Wxacv'f. Axnah of E. I. C!/.,fr<i>n IfiOO to Union of London ami English Cos., in 1 707-'8, i., 420. CROMWELL COMPELS COMPENSATION FROM DUTCH E.l.Cv.— 1G5L 215 of four Dutch and four Eu^lisli members, to examine into and dceido upon the claims of their respective nations, and to award punishment to all survivors concerned in the perpetration of the cruelties at Am- boyna, in l(i23.* Li the event of the eom- niissioners heini; unai)le to come to a de- cision, within a specified time, their differ- cnees of oi)inion were to be submitted to the arbitration of the Protestant Swiss cantons. The claims of both parties, as might be ex- pected from the circumstances of the case, bear evident marks of exaj;i;eration, thou><h to what dcfrrce it would be diilicult to jud^'c. The English company estimated their da- mages, as ascertained bv a series of accounts from 1 Gil to 1052, at .£2,095,991) 15*.; the Dutch, at £2,919,801 13*. Gd. The award of the commissioners set aside the balance claimed by the latter, and allotted to the English the sum of .L85,0O(), and £3,015 to the heirs or executors of those who had suffered at Amboyna. Polaroon was like- wise to be ceded by the Dutch ; but they long endeavoured to evade compliance with this stipulation ; and when, after the lapse of many years, the island was at length sur- rendered, f the nutmeg plantations, wliieh had constituted its chief value, were found to have been all purposely destroyed. The English company were not well pleased with the amount adjudged to them, and their dissatisfaction was greatly increased by Cromwell's proposition to borrow the £85,000 in question, until its distribution should be arranged. The directors asserted that the dili'crent stocks were £50,000 in debt, and many of the proprietors in diffi- cult circumstances;]; hut that they would consent to spare £50,000, to be repaid by instalments in eighteen months, provided the remaining £35,000 were immediately assigned them to relieve their more pressing • It does not appear tliat this latter part of the agreement was ever fulfilled. + In 1065: 1)amni,an island near Banda, was occu- pied by the Knglisli in the same year; but they were driven out by a IJutch force, on the plea of a prior right. The war between England and Holland gave the Dutch an opportunity for regaining I'olaroon ; and by the pacification of Breda in 1G67, the British government tacitly surrendered both I'olaroon and Damm, in consideration of more important objects gained by that treaty. X " At the same time," says Mill, " it is matter of curious uncertainty who these directors were, wliom they represented, by what set or sets of pro- prietors they were chosen, or to whom they were responsible." — (Vol. i., p. 861.) liabilities, and make a dividend to the share- holders. The ap[)lication of the company for a confirmation, under the republic, of the ex- clusive privileges granted under the mo- narchy, was not cfjually successful. It ia not necessary to enter into the question of whether the well-grounded aversion enter- tained by the public towards the monopolies of soap, wine, leather, salt, &c., bestowed by the Crown on individuals, extended to the charters granted for special purposes to large associated bodies ; the fact remains, that so far from obtaining a confirmation of their jirivileges, the li. L (Jy., in 1054, beheld with dismay their virtual abrogation in the licences granted by Cromwell to sepa- rate undertakings. The rivalry of discon- nected traders was unimportant in compari- son with that of the so-called ^Merchant Ad- venturers, who were proprietors of the united stock formed in 1019, and who now took their chance, in common with other speculators. By their exertions, four ships were equipped for the Indian trade, under the management of a committee. The news of these events created great excitement in Holland ; and instead of rejoicing over the downfall of an old rival, the Dutch company appear to have been filled with consternation, either fearing that the example miglit lead to the destruc- tion of their monopoly, or else that it would open the door to more dangerous competi- tion from the English at large. The experi- ment of open trade with India was, however, of too brief continuance to afford conclusive evidence regarding the permanent effects it was calculated to produce on British eoramerec;§ for in 1057, the Protector and Council of State decided upon the manage- ment of a corporate body vested with exclu- sive privileges, as the most efficacious method of carrying on the Indian traffic. A new charter was accorded, and a coalition effected § Numerous pamphlets, published during the paper war which raged towards the latter part of the seven- teenth century, are still extant. On one side, it was argued, that the chea|)nes8 and abundance of Indian products (especially indigo and calico), which re- sulted from the open trade, attested its beneficial influence on the nation ; but the advocates of the company, in reply, asserted that this was merely a temporary excitement, sure to produce a reaction. With regard to the adventurers themselves, it has been alleged, that they were eminently successful ; but Anderson remarks, " it is generally said that even the interlopers, or separate traders, were losers in the end;" and he adds, "so difficult i.s it to come at the real truth where interest is nearly concerned on botli sides." — (Vol. ii., p. 444.) 216 BOMBAY CEDED BY PORTUGAL TO ENGLAND— a.d. 1661. between the E. I. Cy. and the Merchant Adventurers. By their united efforts a sub- scription was raised, amounting to j£786,000, and arrangements, ah'eady too long delayed, entered into with the owners of the pre- ceding funds ; all the forts, privileges, and immunities obtained in India and Persia being made over to the new association, in full right, for the sum of £20,000, and the ships or merchandise similarly transferred at a valuation. Thus the directors had hencefortii a single fund to manage, and a single interest to pursue ; but, unfortunately for them, the joint-stock was not as yet a definite and invariable sum placed beyond the power of resumption, the sharps only transferable by purchase and sale in the market. On the contrary, their capital was variable and fluctuating, — formed by the sums which, on the occasion of each voyage, the individuals who were free of the com- pany chose to pay into their hands, receiv- ing credit for the amount in the company's books, and proportional dividends on the profits of the voyage. Of this stock, £500 entitled a proprietor to a vote in tlie general courts ; and tlie shares were transferable even to such as were not free of the com- pany, on payment of an admission-fee of £o. A defective system, and inadequate resources, together with the hostility of the Dutch, and the disturbed state of the Deccan during the long reign of Aurungzebe, com- bined to render the operations of the com- pany in India languid and inconsiderable. Yet, during this period of depression, several events occurred which had an important bearing on their after-history : in the words of Robert Grant, " amidst the storms under ■which it was bending, — if we may not rather say from the very efl'ects of them, — the British authority silently struck some deep roots into the eastern continent."* The death of Cromwell, and the restora- tion of monarchy under Charles II., proved fortunate events to the corporation ; for the Protector, notwithstanding his decision in their favour, had shown a continued inclina- • S!ie(ch of the History nf the E. I. Cy., \,a^e 20. t Shortly bcl'ore his deatli, Cromwell liceiiRcd a Mr. ]{olt to export three mortars and 20,000 slielh, to be disposed of to A\irun','7.cbe, then engaged in rebellion against his father. The company directed the Surat presidency to seize on these articles as illicit; and the more efl'cctually to frustrate the speculation, sent large quantities of ordnance, mor- tars, shells, &c., desiring the dilferent presidencies to dispose of them at the best price to eitlier of the four rival princes who should first apply for them, pre- serving meanwhile a strict neutrality. — (Bruce, i., ii'J.) tion to sanction private adventure, at least in exceptional cases ;t while the king evinced no desire to question or infringe their exclu- sive claims, but confirmed them in the fullest manner in April, 1G61, and empow- ered them to make peace or war with any prince or people not Christians ; and to seize unlicensed persons within their limits, and send them to England. These two privileges, added to the administration of justice, consigned almost the wliole powers of government over "all plantations, forts, fortifications, factories, or colonies" already or hereafter to be acquired by the company, to the discretion of the directors and their servants — not for a stated term, but in per- petuitv, with, however, the usual condition of termination after three year.s' notice, if found injurious to the sovereign or the public. J Two mouths after the renewal of the charter, Charles married the Infanta Catherine, and received, as a portion of her dowry, a grant of the island of Bombay from the crown of Portugal. The Earl of Marlborough, with 500 troops, commanded by Sir Abraham Shipman, were dispatched to India on the king's behalf, to demand possession of the island and its dependen- cies (Salsette and Tanna.)§ The Portuguese governor took advantage of the indefinite wording of the treaty, and refused to deliver over any territory beyond Bombay itself; and even that he delayed to surrender till further instructions, on the pretext that the letters or patetit produced did not accord with the usages of Portugal. The troops were dying day by day, in consequence of long confinement on board ship, and their commander requested the president of Surat (Sir George Oxenden), to make arrange- ments for their reception, but was refused, on the ground that such a proceeding might excite the anger of the Mogul go- vernment. In this emergency, the Earl of Marlborough returned to England, and Sir Abraham Shipman proceeded to the little island of Anjediva, twelve leagues distant from Goa, where, being cooped up in an I A clause in this charter confirmed to the com- pany the possession of St. Helena, which they had taken possession of in 1051, as a convfnient station for the refreshment of homeward-bound vessels, the Dutch having previously abandoned it for the Cape of Good Hope. Here, as in liombay, they were em- powered to frame and execute laws " as near as might be" conformable to the constitution of England; a direction not sulliciciitly observed. § He urged that the cession of these isles could not have been intended, since it would lay the im- portant station of liussein ojjcn to the English. BOMBAY TRANSFERRED FROM THE CROWN TO E. I. Cy.— 1GG8. 217 unhealthy position, and distressed for pro- visions, lie oH'cred to cede the rights of the Euj^lisli Crown to the rnprcscntativcs of the conipany at Siirat. 'J'lic proposition was rejected, for the two-fohl reason that it was unautii()ns(>d, and that the presidency had not a sulhcient force to ooeujiy and main- tain the island. At length, after Sir Abra- ham and the majority of the soldiers had perished, the survivors, about 100 in num- ber, were suffered to take possession of Bombay, in Decem!)pr, \(]('>l,* on terms prcscriljcd by the i'ortuguese. The govcrn- mental expenses being found to exceed the revenue of the island, it was transferred to the E. I. Cy. in lGG8;t " to be held of the king in free and eomnion socage, as of the manor of East Greenwich, on the jjayracnt of the annual rent of ten pounds in gold," and with the place itself was conveyed authority to exercise all jiolitical powers necessary to its defence and government. | Bombay, from its insular position, proved a very important acquisition, especially to the presidency of Surat, from which it was situated within a sail of 200 miles, — a very practicable distance considered with respect to the extensive range of the Indo-British establishments. The fortifications were dili- gently enlarged and strengthened ; and in about six years the ordnance of the garrison, • Til is date is memorable for the first importation of tea into Kngland by tlic E. I. Cy., a small quan- tity beinjr brouglit as a present for the king. No public order was i^iven for its purchase until 1667 ; when the ardent at Bantam was desired "to send home by these ships 100 lbs. wcis;lit of the best tey that you can gett." — (Bruce, ii., 211.) This article became the chief item in the trade with China, to be described imder the head of Jlmiii-Koiti/. + Probably it was intended thereby to recom- pense the company for the annulment of their claims to Pohiroon and Damm, mentioned in a previous note; and also for the cession of their possessions on the coast of Africa (obtained throuf;li their junction with the Assada merchants), to the com]>any formed by the Duke of York, for the hateful slave-trade. J The question of the proprietorship of the land at Bombay is nowhere very definitely stated as re- gards tlie native owners. The Jesuits claimed con- siderable portions, as a])pertainiii<; to their college at Bundera, and vainly strove to establish their pre- tensions by force. — (.-/«««/,■;, ii.. 214.) Authority was subsequently given for the purchase of lands in the vicinity of the fort to the extent of £l,oOO. A subse- quent record states that the inhabitants had paid the Kingof Portugal one-fourth of the jirofit of their lands as a quit-rent, wliich President .^ungier commuted for an annual sum of 20,000 xera]>hiiis, reserving to the company the right of military service. — (iii., 105.) § The sobriety and regularity of the German re- cruits are particularly praised in the communications of lG7G-'7, and a request made, that a proportion should be annually embarked to supply the frequent which, at tlic time of the cession, consisted of twenty-one pieces of cannon, was aug- mented to 100. J'lvery encouragement was iiehl out, both to Euro|)ean and native settlers. A remission of customs was pro- claimed for five years, looms were provided, bouses built, and a system of administration framed with especial regard to liic opinions and customs of tlie motley population, com- prising English and Germaus,§ Hindoos, Mobammedtms, and Parsecs. In I()7i5-'G, the revenues were nearly doubled, liaving increased from .tG,l!)0 (7."j,000 xcraphins) to £12,037 sterling.— (Grant's Skelc/i, p. 87.) Letters-patent were granted by Charles II., in 1G7G, for the esttdjlisbment of a mint at Bombay for the coinage of rupees and pice,|| to pass current in all the de]iendencies of the company. A system was adopted, about the same time, for the general regulation of the service on tlic principle of seniority ever after maintained ; the gradations of ap- prentices, writers, factors, merchants, and senior merchants being then established. The position of the company at this period was a very critical one : in England, not- withstanding the decided patronage of the Crown, their severe treatment of interlopers produced fierce altercations between the two houses of parliament,^ and their pecuniary involvements induced them to direct their vacancies caused by the climate. A militia was formed, and in l()72-'3, on an alarm from the Dutch, the assistance of oOO K.ajpoots was requested. II The rupee was then valued at about three shil- lings : a pice, at a halfpenny. — (liruce's Annals.) ^ A memorable in.stance of this strife occurred in tlie case of a merchant, named Skinner, who applied to go^•ernment for redress against tlie K. I. Cy., for having seized his ship and merchandise in India, in 16oS. Ilis complaint was referred by the king to the Privy Council, and thence to the House of Peers, by whom the directors were ordered to answer at the bar the charge brought against them. They refused to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Peers, and appealed to the Commons against this infraction of their chartered privileges. The Lords decreed judgment, by awarding £5,000 damages to Skinner, upon which the Commons pa.ssed some condemna- tory resolutions regarding the Upper House, and seizing the successful petitioner, sent him to the Tower. The Lords, in reprisal for Skinner's incarce- ration, ordered Sir Samuel Barnadiston and three other leading members of the contumacious com- pany into confinement, and declared their memorial false and scandalous: while the Lower House in" turn, resolved, that whoever should execute the sen- tence of the Lords in favour of Skinner, would prove himself a betrayer of the rights and liberties of the Commons of England. To such a height did these contentions proceed, that the king prorogued parlia- ment seven limes on this account : and at length, in , 1670, wlien, after some intermission, the controversy again revived, he sent for the members of both 218 COLBERT FORMS FRENCH E. I. Or.— 1664.— PONDICHERRY. servants in India to borrow the money necessary for procuring investments or car- goes for Europe, " without being limited either in the amount, or the rate of inter- est."* In the year 1673-'4, the president of Surat stated that the Indian debts amounted to £100,000, exclusive of the rapid accumu- lation of them by the payment of high in- terest ;t and for the liquidation of these sums, the only source as yet available was the balance of trade. Nor was it always practicable to raise loans on any terms ; for the native bankers and dealers, called Shroffs and Banians, who look off the imports of Eui-opean traders in large quantities, and advanced money when the supply sent out was insufficient to provide cargoes for the expected shipping, were themselves con- stantly exposed to the arbitrary exactions of their own government, which they strove to escape by calling in their capital, and bury- ing it till better times enabled them to em- ploy it with impunity. These difficulties induced the president and council to urge that money should be borrowed in England at four per cent., rather than taken up in India at double the cost, or, as frequently happened, no funds being available to provide invest- ments, the ships kept waiting for return cargoes until the arrival of a fresh supply of bullion. Territorial revenue began to be looked to as the remedy for these evils, and houses to Whitehall, and by personal persuasion, induced them to erase from "their journals all their voles, resolutions, and other acts relatinp; to the subject. The company came off victors; for Skin- ner, it would appear, never got any portion of the compensation adjudged to him. — (Anderson, ii., 461.) * Bruce's. -Inmils of E. I. C'l/., ii., 202. f If''^'", 3t2. J The ministers of Louis XIV., Cardinal llichelieu and the great Colbert, had directed their attention to the commercial and naval interests of France. Colbert, especially, laboured in this cause with extra- ordinary zeal and success. In 1642, a settlement was made in Madagascar, preparatory to the exten- sion of French power in the Eastern seas ; but the adventurers, through their wanton cruelty, became involved in contests witli the brave natives (Mala- gash), and notwitlistanding re])eated attempts, were unable to secure a footing in this rich island. In 1664, Colbert formed an E. I. Cy. on the model of that of Holland, with a very privileged charter for fifty years, and a stock of i;(i2.5,flOO, partly raised by loan. I'"our ships were sent to Madagascar; and in 1608 a factory was commenced at Surat, tlieu the general resort of iMirnpean nations. Hut the French Boon looked to ]]oliticaI rather tlian to commercial prospects; and under the direction of an experienced man, named C'aron (who, disgusted with the ill- treatment received from the Dutch after long and valuable service, had quitted their employ), sur- veyed the coasts of India for an eli^;ible site whereon to lay the foundation of French power. The political influence courted as a means of commercial prosperity. There was no esta- blished power under whose protection foreign traders could place themselves, and to whose legitimate authority they coidd offer, in re- turn, hearty and undivided allegiance. Their earliest territorial suzerain, the rajah of Chandragiri, had been overpowered by Meer Jumla, the general of the King of Golconda, about the year 1656, and Moham- medan rule extended over the territory in which INIadras was situated. The English suffered no inconvenience from the change; but were, on the contrary, especially favoured by the usurping sovereign, who suffered their money to pass current, and conferred ujjon them several valuable privileges. They con- tinued to pay him an annual quit-rent of 1,200 pagodas, until about 1687-'8, when his power being considerably weakened by the aggressions of Aurungzebe, they appear to have taken advantage of some flimsy pretext to withhold their tribute. By the Great Mogul the English were likewise well treated ; and had he possessed unquestioited supremacy over the places in which their trade was situated, their policy would have been comparatively plain and easy, and their difficulties would have consisted almost ex- clusively in the rivalry of the Portuguese, Dutch, and Danes, to which list the FreuchJ had been recently added. But the rise of fine harbour of Trincomalee, in Ceylon, was judi- ciously selected, and taken possession of by a French squadron, under La Haye : hostilities ensued between the French and Dutch E. I. Companies ; but the former losing many men by sicknciss, were soon ex- pelled, and proceeded to the coast of Coromandel, where tliey captured St. Thomas, or Meliapoor. The Dutch co-operated with the King of Golconda, and the French garrison being reduced to the extremity of famine, were com])elled to surrender. Tlie sur- vivors, under the guidance of a Mr. ISIartin, who, like Caron, had previously been in the service of the Dutcli com])any, ])urchased from tlie King of Beeja- poor, a village upon the coast called I'ondicherry, with a small adjacent territory, and there formed the settlement eventually of so much importance. By his prudent measures the place became rapidly ))opulous, and being desirous to put it in a state of defence during the disturbed state of the country, he obtained permission for the erection of fortifica- tions, notwithstanding the ojiposition of the Dutch, who endeavoured to brilie the King of Beejajjoor to withdraw his protection, and jjerniit them to ex- )iel the new settlers; but the firm reply was, " The French have fairly purchased the place j I shall not be so unjust as to take it from th(>m." — (Macphcr- son's Comnicrce tcitli India, p. 2(!().) The Beejapoor monarchy was overthrown by Aurungzebe in 1686. The Dutch overpowered the French garrison, and drove them out in 16!):) ; then, desirous to secure their conquest, immediately improved and strengthened the ENGLISH DEFEND SURAT AGAINST SEVAJEE— IGGl and 1C70. 219 thcMalirattas, under Scvajcc — a native power )iii(!cr a native leader — jjreatly clianj^ed the stale of all'airs. At first, the J'hii^lish were disposed to follow the example of their im- perial patron, and treat the new leader as a mere marauder — a eaptaiu of l)anditti — wliosc attempts at friendly communieation were to be evaded, without however, unne- cessarily provoking a foe whose anger and alliajicc were both to be avoided. When Scvajee advanced against Surat in IGGI', the terror of his name had already taken sueh deep root, that the governor shut himself up in the castle, and the in- haliitants fled from the city. The Dutch and J'higlish remained in their factories ; and the latter, calling in the ships' crews to their aid, by courage and determination succeeded in preserving their own property, and that of their immediate neighbours, from pillage. Aurungzcbe rewarded this service by a firmauu, conceding one per cent, out of his three per cent, custom duties, and a total exemption from all transit charges. In 1G70, the place was again approached by Sevajee. The French, who had established a factory there, preserved it by paying a contribution :* the Dutch station being without the town, was not attacked : the English, having transported the greater part of their goods on board ship to Swally, prepared to guard the remainder at all hazards. The factory -was assailed, but suc- cessfully defended by the English, though several lives were lost, as well as some property in detached warehouses. The Mahrattas then threatened to set the factory on fire ; but Sevajee was unwilling to pro- ceed to extremities, being desirous to induce them to return as traders to Ilajapoor, ■which they had qiiittcd on account of his exactions. A eoni|)limentary ju-esent offered to Sevajee, was very gratifying to him. He extended his hand to the English deputies, with an assurance that he would do them no wrong ; and on several subsequent occasions negotiations were set on foot, which, how- ever, the English endeavoured to evade bringing to any definite conclusion, by demanding compensation for the injuries re- works : but their labour proved ill-bestoired ; for the place was rostored to its rightful owners by the treaty of Kyswick, in 1697. — (Ivavnal's E. nml II'. Iiirlicx.) I • Wilson's note on Mill, vol. i., p. 99. Grant Duff says, " the French purchased an iunominious neu- tiality, by pcrmiitin}; tlic Mahrattas to pass through I their factory to attack an unfortunate Tartar prince ' wild was on his return IVom a pilgrimage to Mecca, i and wliose property [including a vast treasure in j ccived from the Mahrattas at Surat and elsewhere. This stipidation was conceded in in~t, and a treaty formed, by which ]0,()()() jjagodas were promised to the aggrieved jjarty, and the long-maintained right deemed iidicrcnt in the sovereign over all wrecks on the shores of his territory, re- linquished in favour of English vessels. The entlironement of Sevajee took place at this time, and the envoy beheld with amazement a portion of the magnificent ceremonial, with its costly and eharaeteristic feature, — the weighing of the person of the new sovereign against gold coin to be distributed among the Brahmins, as an act of reverence to their order, aecom])anied by the per- formance of many munificent acts of charity. t The Mogul government watched with jealous distrust this growing intercotirse, and the J'Jnglish found great dillicidty in maintaining a neutral position. In lG77-'8, the direc- tors of the E. I. Cy., or, as they were then termed, the Court of Committees, " recom- mended temporising ex])cdients to their ser- vants as the rule of their jiroceedings with the Mogul, with Sevajee, and with the petty rajahs," as the means of obtaining com- pliance with the various firmauns and grants already acquired ; and desired them to en- deavour, by their conduct, to impress the natives witli an opinion of their commercial probity. " At the same time," says Bruce, " they gave to President Aungier and his council [at Surat] discretionary powers to employ armed vessels to enforce the obser- vance of treaties and grants : in this way the court shifted from themselves the re- sponsibility of commencing hostilities, that they might be able, in any qnestioTis which might arise between the king and the com- pany, to refer such hostilities to the errors of their servants."^ This writer is too inti- mately acquainted with the company's pro- ceedings, and too decidedly their champion, to be accused of putting an unfair construc- tion on any of their directions. It was evidently necessary that considerable lati- tude shoidd be given by masters so far re- moved from the scene of action ; but subse- quent events indicate that plans of tern- gold, silver, and plate, a gold bed and other rich furniture], became part of Sevajee's boasted spoils on this occasion." — (Hifton/ of Mahrattaf:, i., 217.) t Dr. Fryer mentions that he weighed about 10,000 pagodas, equal to about ten stone. The titles assumed by Sevajee were. — the hcntl nrnament of the Cshatn'i/a nice, his mii/estt/, the rajah Seca, j)0''sessor or lord of the roi/al umbrella. % Bruce's Annals of E. I. fi/., ii., -lOG-'". 220 ENGLISH SOLDIERS MUTINY AT BOMBAY— a.d. 1683-'4. torial aggrandisement, to be carried out by force of arms, were already entertained. The governmental expenses of Bombay (civil and military) were found to be very heavy ; and as a means of meeting them, taxes were raised and salaries diminished ; that of the deputy-governor, the second in rank in the service, being reduced to £120 per annum. Great dissatisfaction was created by these changes, especially by the diminu- tion of the garrison; soon after which the trade of the place was menaced by two sterile isles in the neighbourhood (Henery and Kenery) being taken possession of re- spectively by Sevajee and his opponent, the Siddee, or Abyssinian leader, wlio held the position of admiral of the Mogul fleet.* The English were obliged to conclude a humiliating truce with both parties, and thus purchase freedom from interruption to their trade, until the abandonment of these barren rocks relieved them from alarm on that score. The death of Sevajee, in 1680 ; the ap- pointment of Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Child as president of Surat, with a council of eight members, in 1681 ; the erection of an independent agency in Bengal, in 1682; and the expulsion, in the same year, of the English from Bantam, f were rapidly fol- lowed by other importaut events. The system of injudicious retrenchment attempted at Madras and Surat, and persevered in at Bombay, J ended in producing a revolt in that island. Captain Keigwin, the com- mander of the garrison, which comprised 150 English soldiers and 200 topasses (natives), seized the deputy-governor, with such of the council as adhered to him, as- sembled the militia and inhabitants, and being by them appointed governor of the island, issued a proclamation declaring the authority of the company to be annulled in Bombay, and that of the Crown substituted * Siddee, or Seedee, is a corruption of an Arabic term, signifying a lord ; but in the common language of the Decean, it came to be applied indiscriniiiiately to all natives of Africa. The Siddees of Jiiijeera took their name from a small fortified island in the Concan, where a colony had been formed on a jug- hire, granted, it ajjpears, in the first instance, to an Abyssitiian oflicer, by the king of Ahmednuggur, on condition of tiiv maintenance of a marine for the protection of trade, and tlie conveyance of pilgrims to the lU'd iSea. The hostility of Sevajee induced the Siddee, or chief, to seek favour with Aurungzebe, by whom he was made admiral of the Mogul fleet, with an annual salary of four lacs of rupees (£40,0(10) for convoying pilgrims to Judda and Mocha. The emperor himself sent an annual donation to Mecca of three lacs. — (Duff's 3Iahrattas, Bruce, and Orme.) in its place. President Child had no force wherewith to compel the submission of the insurgents ; and his attempts at negotiation were decidedly rejected, on the plea that the measures which had led to the rebellion, had originated solely in the selfish policy of himself and his brother. Sir Josiah Child, the chairman of the Court of Committees. The king was appealed to by both parties ; and in November, 1684, the island was de- livered up by Keigwin to Sir Thomas Gran- tham, as the representative of the Crown, oa condition of a free pardon for himself and all concerned. To prevent the recurrence of a similar disturbance, the seat of government was removed from Surat to Bombay ; and for the suppression of the interlopers, who were believed to have been intimately concerned in the late revolt, admiralty jurisdiction was established in India, by virtue of letters- patent granted by James II., in 1686. Sir John Child was appointed captain-general and admiral of the forces of the E. I. Cy., both by sea and land, in the northern parts of India, from Cape Comorin to the Gulf of Persia, and he was likewise entrusted with supreme authority over all the settlements. The weapons thus furnished were used with au unhesitating determination, which has ren- dered the conduct of the plenary representa- tive of the powers delegated to the company a subject of unqualified panegyric, and of equally exaggerated blame. The truth pro- bably lies between these extremes. The bro- thers Child were men of considerable ability, and deeply interested in the fortunes of the company, whose afi'airs devolved chiefly on their management. They were led, by a very natural process, to contrast the flourish- ing state of the Dutch trade with their own depressed condition, and to seek for the cause of the comparative, if not complete exemption of the rival company from the unlicensed competition of their countrymou, t In 1(577, the principal agents at Bantam were assassinated by some of the natives, on wliat ground, or by what (if any) instigation, does not appear. The company persevered, nevertheless, in endeavouring to maintain commercial intercourse ; and friendly embassies, accompanied by presents of tea on the part of the King of Bantam, and of gun])owder on the part of the Knglish sovereign, were cuiitinually disjfatched, until a civil war. instigated by the Dutch, terminated in the deposal of the old king by his son, who, in oliedicnce to his domineering allies, expelled the iMiglish from their factory in 1()82, and never permitted their re-estahlishnient in liis territories. I In l()82-'3, the Kuro]iean garrison, reduced to at least 100 men, "were daily nuuinuring at the price of provisions, which their i)ay could not afford." — (Urucc's Annals (.•)' E. I. Cij., ii., 489.) E. I. Cy. commence hostilities against AURUNGZEBE-1G8G. 221 and from the dnlinqucncy of their servants. Whether they cxaniiiicd and compared tlic coinmereial (Ictails of the two assoeiations does not ajipcar, nor whctlier tlioy made duo allowanec for tlic lieavy drain occasioned l)y tlic large sid)sidics, or, as the anti-monopo- lists called them, hrihes, furnished to ("harles II. and James II., not, liowever, for the jiri- vate use of these nionarehs, since the monies iu qiiestion are said to have hccn jiaid into the cxelicquer for the publie service.* He this as it may, the remedj^ for cxistinf;^ evils constantly pnt forth by the company during the administration of Sir .Tosiah (]hild, was a close imitation of the policy of the success- ful and unscrupulous Dutch, whose ag- gressive conduct towards the natives had its counterpart in the sanguinary decree for the infliction of capital punishment on all interlopers and deserters. Sir .losiali Cliild certainly undei'stood the mind of the Eng- lish publie at the -close of the seventeenth century far too well to press the adoption of such a law, -nhatever his own wishes on the subject might have been. lie contented himself with urging the suppression of pri- vate trade by more gentle means, at the same time advocating the attainment of in- dependent pow'cr in India, by the enlarge- ment and strenuous assertion of the authority of the company over ]5ritish subjects within the limits of their charter ; and, secondly, of retaliativc, if not aggressive hostilities against the Indian jirinces. The admiuis- tration of Shaista Khan, as " Nabob,"! or governor of Bengal, was alleged to have been vexatious and oppressive in the ex- treme; and amicable negotiations having failed in procuring redress, it was thought practicable to obtain better terms by force of arms. Accordingly, the largest military armamcntj ever yet assembled bj- the com- pany, was dispatched to India, with orders to gain possession of the city and territory • Grant's SlefrJi of History of E. I. 0/.,pp. 105-'G. t An En<;lish corruption of the Arabic word Naib or tlic Persian Kmrnh (meaning deputy), applied to the imperial soubahdars or governors. t Ten armed vessels, from twelve to seventy guns, and six companies of infantry, without captains, whose ])laccs were to be sup])lied by tlic members of council, in Bengal. In addition to this force, appli- cation was made to the king for an entire company of regular infantry, with their officers. § Bruce, vol. ii., ]i. oSO. It was stated in 169t-'2, that £100,000 had been spent in fortifying and im- proving liombay, including the harbour, docks, &c. i| The aldermen were to be justices of the peace, and to wear thin scarlet gowns, and the burgesses black silk gowns: a town-clerk and recorder were to 2 G of Chittagong as a place of future scctirity, and thence retali.atc upon the Nabob, and even n[)on the Mogul himself, the injuries and losses which had already been sustained. ]$ombay was elevated to the rank of a regency, after the example of the JJuteii at Bataviaand (Jolumbo ; and orders were given to increase the fortifications, and render the island " as strong as art and money could make it."§ Madras was formed into a cor- poration, to consist of a mayor and ten aldermen (of whom three were to be the company's servants and seven natives), with 120 burgesses. II An offer was made by the garrison of Fort St. George (Madras), to aid the King of Golconda against the Dutch, with wiiom he was then at war; and in return, a firmaun was to be solicited to coin rupees, together with the grant of St. I'homas as an English possession. Thus the company were desirous of attaining po- litical influence in all directions; and their A'iews were seconded with much energy by Sir John Child, who, following the spirit of the instructions cited in a previous page, resolved to commence hostilities against Anrungzebc, as if on his own responsibility ; so that in the event of an unfavourable issue to the expedition, an opportunity might he provided of negotiating for the restoration of former privileges and trade, upon the same basis as they had stood previously to his apparently unsanctioned proceedings. By some casualty the whole force did not arrive in the Ganges at the same time ; and an insignificant quarrel between three Eng- lish soldiers and the " peons," or native police of the Nabob, brought on the contest in an unexpected manner, in October, 1G86. Hooghly was cannonaded by the fleet under Captain Nicholson, and 500 houses were burnt, upon which the foujdar, or military governor, made overtures for peace; but the demands of the English were so exces- be appointed ; a sword and mace to be carried before the mayor, and a silver oar before the judge-advo- cates — ceremonieswhich musthave been very puzzling to the native aldermen. Some difficulty occurred in carrying this project into execution ; for although the inh.ibitants soon recognised tlie beneficial effect of the new measure, the mixed description of persons considered projier for the court of aldermen could not he obtained. No Armenian could be induced to act; the Jews left the place; the Portuguese feared their countrymen and the Inquisition too much to accept office ; and the local authorities considered it unsafe to " confide in the Moors or Mussulmen." — (Bruce's Annals of the E. I. Ci/.. ii., 593 ; 659 : iii., lU; 156.) With regard to tlie Hindoos, no objection appears to have been raised either by or against them. 222 ENGLISH COMPELLED TO SUE FOR PEACE WITH MOGUL— 1688. sive, amounting to above sixty-six lacs of rupees, or nearly £700,000, that they could scarcely have expected compliance. On the side of Surat considerable advantage was at first gained by the capture of a num- ber of Moorish vessels, richly freighted ;* and also in Bengal, through the determined conduct of Job Charnock, the company's agent, by whom the Nabob's forces were repulsed in repeated assaults, the fort of Tanna stormed, the island of Injellee seized and fortified, and the town of Balasore par- : tially burned, with forty sail of the Mogul fleet : the factories, however, at Patna and Cossimbazar were taken and plundered by the enemy, and the agents placed in irons. At this period, Muchtar Khan was appointed governor of Surat, and with him a sort of provisional convention was entered into, which was to be the basis of a treaty with the Mogul. The court in London, over- joyed at the prospect of such favourable terms, voted Sir John Child a present of 1,000 guineas, — a very large sum ia propor- tion to the moderate salaries then appor- tioned to Anglo-Indian functionaries.f The negotiation fell to the ground. Ac- cording to the account given in the oflBcial records, INluchtar Khan never intended to carry it out, and only affected to entertain the proposition as a means of gaining time until the results of the contest of Aurungzebe with Beejapoor and Golconda, and also with Sumbajee, should be fully manifest. This seems contradicted by the fact, that after these two kingdoms fell into the power of the Mogul, the English authorities of ISIadras solicited and received from the conqueror a confirmation of the privileges accorded to them by the deposed monarch. In fact, they followed the example of a neighbour- ing Hindoo governor, who quietly remarked, that " as the world turned round like a wheel, he had beaten his drums and fired his guns, for the victory of the mighty Aurung- zebe over his old master." J Sir John Child severely reprimanded the Madras agency for "their conduct, as implying a doubt of the ultimate issue of the struggle of their country- men with the Mogul ; but since he had him- self evinced pretty clearly a similar feeling, by afl'cctiug to act on his private authority, without the knowledge of his employers, it is hard to censure the Madras agents for * According to the writers of that day in the interloping interest, the adv;intnge in question was purchased at the expense of ;i llagrant breach of faith ; but this allegation the company denied. taking measures against their otherwise cer- tain destruction or captivity. The annals of this period are very confused : even Bruce, more than once, alludes to their defective- ness; but it appears, that in October, 1688, Sir John Child, suspecting duplicity on the part of the ]\Iogul governor, embarked at Bombay, and appeared off Surat with a fleet of seven ships, his intention being to deter Muchtar Khan from any breach of the pro- visional agreement. In this same month, Captain Heath reached Bengal, in command of a large armed ship, the Defence, attended by a frigate, and bearing instructions from the Court of Committees for the active prose- cution of hostilities. His proceedings are thus related by Bruce : — "Captain Heath, on the 29th of November (contrary to the opi- nion of the agent and council, and notwith- standing a perwannah \ordei'] for peace with the English had been received by the gover- nor from the Nabob), attacked and took a bat- teiy of thirty guns, and plundered the town of Balasore. The English factory, on this occasion, was burned by the governor ; and the company's agents, who had been pre- viously taken prisoners, were carried up the country, where all subsequent efforts for their release were unavailing." Under these circumstances, it would seem unjust to accuse the Moguls of breaking the armistice, since it was not till the 26th of December that Muchtar Khan seized and imprisoned Mn Harris and Mr. Gladraan, ordered the company's goods in Surat to be sold, de- manded a contribution of five lacks of rupees, and offered a large reward for the person of Sir John Child — alive or dead. The island of Bombay was attacked by the Siddee, the greater part of it occupied by the enemy, and the governor besieged in the town and castle. Aurungzebe issued orders to expel the English from his dominions. The factory at Masulipa- tam was seized, as also that at Vizagapatam, where the agent and four factors were slain. The unequal contest could not, it was evident, be prolonged without occasioning the destruction of those by whose ambi- tion and imprudence it had been provoked. Solicitations for peace were presented, in December, 1688, and received with a show of indifference — rather afl'cctcd than real ; for the imperial treasury, drained by con- stant warfare, could ill bear the sub- t Harris, the succeseor of Child as president of Surat and governor of Jiombay, had only £300 a-year. The regency scheme was abandoned. I Ormc's Historical Fragments of Mogul Emjiirc. TERRITORIAL VIEWS OF E. I. Cy. EXPRESSED IN 1689. 223 traction of any source of income. The application of the Enf;lisli for tlie restora- ] tion of commercial privileges, was cloiil)tlpss the more wolcomo, for hciiii^ j)res(;utc(l iiiuler circumstances wliicli eiialjlcd Aunuig/.ebc to carry out the policy cviclciieed in his dealings with the I'ortnguesc, of reducing the pretensions of European maritime powers trading to the Indies to a complete depen- dence on his authority ; thus keeping down attempts at politital influence while desirous of promoting mercantile intercourse. lu February, 1(589, a new firmaun was issued, which declared tiiat "the English having made a most humble and submissive petition that the crimes they have done may be pardoned ;" and having promised " to restore the merchants' goods they had taken away to the owners thereof, and walk by the ancient customs of the port, and behave themselves for the future no more in such a shamcfid manner; therefore his majesty, according to his daily favour to all the people of the world, hath pardoned their faults, and mercifully forgiven them." Out of his princely conde- scension, the Great Mogul further agreed to permit a present of 150,000 rupees to be placed in the treasury of Surat. The firmaun concludes with an express stipulation " that Mr. Child, who did the disgrace, be turned out and expelled." The translation of this document is apparently faulty; but it suffices to convey an idea of its tone anil tenor, and fully bears out the declaration of Bruce, that the result of all the projects of the company to become an independent power in India, was to reduce their agents to a more abject position than any in which they had been |)laced since the first establishment of an English factory iu India.* Sir John Child, who had provided in his ! own person a scape-goat for the wrath of the emperor, died at Bombay during the progress of the negotiation, and the office of president devolved on ]\Ir. Harris, then a prisoner at Surat. On payment of the flue [ and restoration of goods decreed in the ' * Bruce, ii., G39-'10 ; GIO— 653. The firmaun con- tains no reference to the privilege of coining money, which liad h>iig lieen a point in dispute. f " Dispatch from tlie Court of Committees in Ann. Comp., l(iSU-''JO: written, there seems good reason for helieving, by Cliild."— (Granfs S/iefc/i, p. 101.) X In tlie instructions for the establishment of this new settlement, s|)ecial encouragement is directed to be given to Armenians, as also in Vizagapatam and Madras. In the latter place, one quarter of the town was to be allotted to them, with permission "to build a church at their own cost," a duty sadly neglected by the company. These Armenians were firmaun, Mr. Harris and other English pri- soners were immediately released from their long confinement in irons; l>ut it was not until the ;^2nd of June, 1090, that the Siddee, by order of Aurungzebe, vacated his different posts at Bombay (Mazagon, Mahim, and Sion), after about a twelvemonth's occupa- tion. On the same day, the accession of William and Mary to the throne of Eng- land was proclaimed in this island, as it had been at Madras eight months before. Igno- rant of the disasters attending their ambi- tious projects, the court, in the instructions addressed to their servants in 1G89, declare — " The increase of our revenue is the sub- ject of our care, as much as our trade : 'tis that must maintain our force when twenty accidents may interrupt our trade ; 'tis that must make us a nation in India ; without that we are but as a great number of inter- lopers, united only by his Majesty's royal charter, fit only to trade where nobody of power thinks it their interest to prevent us ; and upon this account it is, that the wise Dutch, iu all their general advices which we have seen, write ten paragrajihs concerning their government, their civil and military policy, warfare, and the increase of our revenue, for one paragraph they write con- cerning trade. "t Being chiefly concerned in monopolising the spice -islands, the Dutch appear to have followed their policy of terri- torial aggrandisement far less strenuously on the continent of India than at Ceylon, Java, and throughout the Eastern Archi- pelago, at Formosa (China), at the Cape of Good Hope, at New York, Guyana, and other widely-spread localities. The disastrous issue of the recent expedi- tion, compelled the English to adopt a more deferential manner towards the native pow- ers, but made no change in their ultimate intentions. Shortly after the conclusion of peace, the town andliarbourotTegnapatam,J on the Coromandcl coast, a little to the south of the French settlement of Pondicherry, was obtained by purchase from Rajah Ram, a Christian sect formed during the power of the successors of Constantine. AVhen the countries they inhabited were over-run by the Mohammedan arms, they were forcibly transplanted by Shah Abl)as, and other belligerent monarchs, into Persia, and dis- persed anion" the stirrounding countries, where they earned a livelihood as merchants and brokers. Some of them made their way into India, and obtained a character for successf;il trading, which rendered the company desirous to employ them in vending English woollens, and procuring fine muslins and other goods. The project seems to have failed, the Armenians being pre-engaged in the service of the Levant company. 224 ENGLISH SETTLEMENT & FORT ESTABLISHED AT CALCUTTA— 1696. the Mahratta sovereign, and the sanction of the Mogul authorities of the Carnatic ob- tained for its occupation. It was strength- ened by a wall and bulwarks, and named Fort St. David.* About the same time a more important acquisition was made in Bengal. During the late hostilities, the agent and council at Hooghly, fearing to continue in so exposed a position, removed to Chuttanuttee, a village about twenty-four miles lower down the river, where they hoped to remain in security under the protection of their ships. The Nabob ordered them to return to Hooghly, and forbade their building, with either stone or brick, at Chuttanuttee ; but, on the paci- fication with the court of Delhi, permission was obtained for the establishment of a factory there. Kepeated attempts were made to obtain leave to fortify the new position, and for a grant of jurisdiction over its in- habitants, as also over those of the adjoining villages of Calcutta and Govindpoor. Si- milar applications were made by the Dutch at Chiusura (about a mile southward of Hooghly), and by the French at Chauderna- gore (two miles lower down the river), but without success ; for Aurungzebe never per- mitted any foreigner to erect a single bastion on Mogul territory, though he tolerated the continuance (at Madras for instance) of such European fortresses as his conquests over Mohammedan or Hindoo princes drew within the borders of the empire. At length, one of those intestine divisions which have so often placed India at the feet of strangers, procured for the agencies before-named the privilege long vainly solicited. Soobah Sing, a petty Hindoo chief, being dissatisfied with Rajah Kisheu Rama, of Bui-dwan (who must have been either tributary to, or in the service of, Aurungzebe), united with Rehim Khan, an Afghan, then considered the head of that clan remaining in Orissa, in an attempt to overturn the government, in 1695-'6. The three European settlements hired a number of native soldiery to guard their property : the Dutch and French pro- fessed themselves staunch aUies of the * The precise period of the introduction of the Dutch into liungal is not recorded ; but the French established themselves about lG7(i, and the Danes in the same year at Seranipore. — (Slewait's liciigal, p. 34G.) t Tanna, ten miles west of Calcutta, on the opposite side of the river, was defended by an English frigate, Bent at the request of the foujdar of Hooghly to support the fort against the rebels, (/'alcutta, ac- cording to Stewart (properly called Calicotta), takes Mogul : the English endeavoured to pre- serve a semblance of neutrality, but united in requesting permission to fortify their fac- tories against the attacks of the insurrec- tionists. The Nabob directed them, in general terms, to defend themselves, and they, taking for granted what was not absolutely for- bidden, laboured day and night in raising walls with bastions round their stations. A pitched battle between the insurgents and Kishen Rama, terminated in the defeat and death of the latter, and the capture of his family. His beautiful daughter was among the prisoners : Soobah Sing strove to dishonour her ; but the attempt cost him his life ; for the hapless girl, aware of his intention, had concealed a sharp knife in the folds of her dress; and when he strove to seize her, she iuflieted upon him a mortal wound, and then, with mis- taken heroism, stabbed herself to the heart. By this catastrophe, the rebel army fell under the sole control of the Afghan chief, who became master of Hooghly, Moor- shedabad, and Rajmahal: the Dutch and English factories, at the latter place, were pillaged of considerable property. Chutta- nuttee and the fort of Tannaf were unsuc- cessfully attacked. But the general progress of the rebels was almost unchecked ; and in December, 1G9G, their force comprised 1:::,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry: the revenue of the country in their possession was estimated at sixty lacs of rupees per annum ; and Rehim Shah assumed the style and dignity of a prince. The remissness of the Nabob being deemed the chief cause of the rapid spread of the insurrection. Prince Azim (second son of Prince Mauzim)J was sent at the head of theMogul army for its sup- pression, and was at the same time appointed to the government of the three provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. The death of Rehim Shah iu battle, in 1G98, and the submission of the Afghans, was followed by a general amnesty. The Europeans were suffered to continue their lortitications ; and iu 1098, the English, by the payment of a considerable sum of money, obtained per- its name from a temple dedicated to Caly, the Hindoo goddess of Time. The territory purchased from the zemindars in 1098, extended about three miles along the Iluoijidij (or lihuijaiutlee), and one mile inland. I It was a part of the policy of the wily Aurung- zebe, to bring forward his grandsons and place them in positions of honour and emolument ; so that they might be disposed, in any emergency, to side with him rather than with their own fathers. E. I. Cy. confound private trade with piracy— a.d. 1092. 225 mission to purchase Chuttanuttee and the adjoining villaj,'cs, witli authority to exercise i'jstieiary ])o\vcr over tlic iuliahitaiits. The designation of Calcutta came to be applied to the whole, and the name of Fort William was given to the defences in honour of the English monarch. Notwithstanding these clicering indica- tions of progress in IJcngal, the general condition of the E. I. Cy. at this period was one of extreme political and financial depression ; their diilieulties from private trade and piracy being aggravated by the national hostility of the French, and the domestic rivalry. of a new association. The death of Sir John Child made no change in the policy pursued by his brother in England : at his instigation, the Court of Committees continued to wield, to the fullest extent, the somewhat questionable authority conveyed by their charters, which, although intended to confer the privilege of exclusive trade, left loopholes sufficient to encourage unauthorised ventures on the part of speculators inclined to balance ultimate risk, against the present safety and prospect of gain afforded by the M'ant of any power on the part of the com- pany to seize vessels at the outset or on the voyage, however evident the intention of the equipment. The consequence was, that although the court might occasionally bring offenders before the King's Bench, and did, at one time (1685-'6), threaten to prosecute as many as forty-seven of the principal in- terlopers, yet the brunt of the battle fell to the share of their servants in India; and they, if the evidence of Captain Hamilton* may be trusted, shrank from the responsi- • According to this writer, Mr. Vaux, the governor of Bombay, who had obtained that position by favour of Sir Josiali Child, in answering a communication on the subject of interlopers, took occasion, while thanking his patron for past benefits, to assert his resolution to abide by the laws of his country. Sir Josiah, in reply, " wrote roundly to Mr. Vau.\, that he expected his orders to be his rules, and not the laws of England, which were a heap of nonsense compiled by a few ignorant country gentlemen, who hardly knew how to make laws for the good govern- ment of their own families, much less for the regu- lating of companies and foreign commerce. I am the more particular," adds Hamilton, " on this ac- count, because I saw and copied both those letters in anno, 1696, while Mr. Vaux and I were prisoners at Sural, on account of Captain Evory's [.'Vvery] rob- bing the Mogul's great ship, the Oiiiisiray" [Guj Suwaee] — £<;»< Iiitlies, i., 233.) Considering the pre- ponderance of country gentlemen in parliament at this period, the satire is not without point; and Hamil- ton's assertion regarding the letter is so clear and posi- tive, that it can hardly be set aside without unwarrant- able disparagement to the character of an intelligent bility of carrying out tlie stringent orders forwarded on this head, declaring that the laws of ICngland were contrary to the mea- sures proposed. Apart from the testimony of any unfavourable witness, there arc indi- cations, in the selected Annals of the E. I. Cy., of a tendency to confound private and unlicensed trade with piracy, t which pro- bably conduced to the increase of the latter disgraceful crime, while it aggravated the hostility of the interloiiers, who must have possessed considerable influence if they were, as described in an official des[)ateh, " mal- contents, quondam committee-men, and adventurers, who have sold their stocks at high rates, and want to buy in again at low. "J The change in the government of England paved the way for discussions re- garding the validity of rights proceeding from a grant of the Crown simply, or rights proceeding from a grant founded on an act of the legislature. The strong desire of the nation for extended commerce with India was manifested in the eagerness with which one large class of persons recommended an o[)cn trade ; while another united for the formation of a new joint-stock association. Petitions and remonstrances were on all sides presented both to parliament and the king ; and whde parliament passed repeated resolutions in favour of the new company, the king as often granted charters to the old. The letters-patent of 1G93 confirmed the monopoly of the latter, but only for a period of twenty-one years ; terminated the " permission trade," by prohibiting the grant of licences to private ships ; decreed the annual exportation of British manu- though prejudiced writer. Such vague statements as the following may be reasonably viewed with more suspicion : — " The power of executing pirates is so strangely sketched, that if any private trader is in- jured by the tricks of a governor, and can find no redress, if the injured person is so bold as to talk of Ifx tulionis, he is infallibly declared a pirate." — p. 362. t An illustration of this tendency may be found in the records of 1691-'2. '• The court continued to act towards their opponents (the interlopers) in the same manner as they had done in the latter years of the two preceding reigns, and granted commis- sions to all their captains proceeding this season to India, to seize the interlopers of every description, and bring them to trial before the admiralty court of Bombay, explaining that as they attributed all the differences between the company and the Indian powers to the interlopers, if they continued their depredations on the subjects of the Mogul or King of Persia, they were to be tried for tlieir lives as pirates, and sentence of death passed, but execution stayed till the king's pleasure should be known." — (Aunals of E. I. Cy., vol. iii., p. 103.) I Idem, p. 112. 226 BRIBERY PRACTISED BYE. I. Cy.— DUKE OF LEEDS IMPEACHED, 1695. factures, to the value of £100,000 ; and ' directed the dividends to be paid, for the future, exchisively in money. In defiance of this charter, a vote of the House of Com- mons declared it to be " the right of all Englishmen to trade to the East Indies or any part of the world, unless prohibited by act of parliament."* This state of strife and confusion reached its climax in 1695, when it became known that a system of direct bribery had been pursued towards men in power. The Lower House, though some of its leading members were deeply implicated, came forward actively iu the matter, and ordered the books of the com- pany to be examined, from whence it ap- peared, that previous to the Revolution the annual expenditure iu " secret services" had scarcely ever exceeded =61,200; but that since that epoch it had gradually increased, and iu the year 1693, whilst Sir Thomas Cooke was governor, had amounted to up- wards of .€80,000. Many persons of eminence were involved in these nefarious transac- tions with the most unprincipled schemers : the Duke of Leeds, then lord president of the council, vehemently defended the com- pany, and was himself impeached by the Commons, on the charge of having received a bribe of £5,000; but the principal wit- ness against him was sent out of the way ; and it was not till nine days' after it had been demanded by the Lords, that a pro- clamation was issued to stop the fugitive. The inquiry, at first urged on with all the violence of party-spirit, soon languished ; the rank and influence of a large number of the persons directly or indirectly concerned, opposed an insurmountable barrier to its prosecution, and by the prorogation of par- liament, though nominally only suspended, it was actually abandoned. Sir Thomas Cooke had been committed to the Tower for re- * Brace's Annals of E. I. Ci/., iii., p. 142. t Anderson's Origin nf Commerce, ii., 608. Tys- sen, the deputy-governor, and other persons shared the imprisonment of the governor, and probably also received proportionate gratuities. Among them was the notorious Sir Basil Firebrass, or Firebraco, wlio had been recently bought off from the interloping interest, and who played a leading part in 1701 in the arrangements for the union of the two E. I. Com- panies, and demanded in return a per centage equal in value to £30,000, on a ])ortion of the joint stock. \ The French East India trade appears to have been from the first a losing concern. Notwithstanding the pecuniary and political support of the government, Colbert's company (according to the Abbe Haynal), had often to subscribe for the payment of losses, while their I'^uropcan rivals were dividing thirty per cent, on mercantile ventures ; and in 1684, their ac- fusing to disclose the names of the indi- viduals v/ho had received bribes : his tempo- rary confinement was compensated by a present of .€12,000, bestowed upon him by the Court of Committees " some years after the bustle was over."t The result of these proceedings was greatly to degrade the company; nor could it be otherwise, while any sense of honesty existed in the public mind. Yet the weight of blame rests unquestionably less heavily on those who ofl'ered the bribes than on the sworn guardians of the national interests, who, by accepting them, showed themselves tainted by that unholy covetousness which, under a despotism, is the chief source of the per- version of justice; and, among a free people, must tend to destroy the very basis of aU sound principle and impartial legislation. In a pecuniary sense, these disbursements were unwarrantable, being made at a time when the funds of the association barely sufficed to meet the necessary and legitimate expenditure called for by the occupation of new settlements, and the heavy losses entailed by the hostility of the French, after the declaration of war against that people by England and Holland, in 1689. For the next eight years sharp conflicts occurred between the fleets of the rival nations, which were happily terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, 1697. In a commercial point of view, the French inflicted more injury upon themselves by their lavish and ill-directed expenditure, than upon their old-established opponents; J but the improvement in the condition of their marine, through the ex- ertions of the ministers of Louis XIA'^., rendered their enmity peculiarly disastrous to the mercantile shipping of their foes. During the war, no less than 4,200 British merchant-vessels were captured, including manyEast-Indiamen, which were intercepted counts being examined by commissioners appointed by the king, it appeared that their sales, in twenty years, amounted to no more than 9,100,000 livres, and that three-quarters of their capital-stock were totally lost. Assistance from the state again prop))ed up the association, and a slight gleam of prosperity followed; for in the years 1687 and 1001, two divi- dends, each of fifteen j)er cent., were for the first time paid from ])rofits. The war with England and Holland was not beneficial in its general results; for although the French Cy. made extensive captures, their very success heljied to encourage the swarms of privateers, which covered the seas and carried into the ports of France a great number of English and Dutch prizes with rich cargoes, to be sold at any ])rice they would fetch. This proceeding caused a glut in the market, and obliged the company to sell their goods at unremunerative prices, or not at all. EUROPJiANS GUARANTEE AU11UNGZEJ3E AGAINST PIllACY— 1G98. 227 both on the Indian seas and on the middle passage; an(l,o(rtlie coastof'Guhvay,in ]{>'.)'), all tlio four liomcward-bouiul vessels of tiie company were taken by a Ercneh fleet.* In India, the wrath of the eni])eror had been excited by the frequent piraeics coni- niitted on the shipping of Mogul incrc!iants,t and especially by the plunder of his own vessel the Guj-Suwaee, while engaged in conveying pilgrims to Mecca, in 1G95. Aurnngzebe himself could not detest these sacrilegious sea-robbers more heartily than did the whole body of European traders ; but they being at war with one another, could make no united efl'ort for the sup- pression of the common foe. The tide of popular feeling among the Mohammedans rose against the English agencies at Surat and Swally with so much violence, that the Mogul governor plaee<l the factors and others, to the number of sixty-three persons, in irons — not from any voluntary harshness on his part, but as a necessary measure to preserve their lives amid the tumult. Large rewards were held out, both by the government of England and by the E. I. Cy., for the apprehension of the leading offenders. A sum of .£1,000 was offered for the person of Captain Avery ; but he escaped, having proceeded to the Bahamas, where his ship was sold and the crew dis- • Although the merchantmen of the E. I. Cy., at this iieriod, proved unable to cope with Freneli ships-ol-thc-hne, and were even captured by tlie desperate hardiliood of privateering adventure, they were, nevertheless, by no means ill-provided with the appliances of war. To encourage the building of ships of above 550 tons burden, and capable of defence against the pirates of Algiers, then termed the "Turk- ish Rovers,' it was enacted by parliament, soon after the restoration of Charles II., that for a certain num- ber of years, whoever should build ships with three decks, or with two decks and a-half, and a forecastle, with a space of five feet between each deck, and mounted with at least thirty cannon, should for tlie first two voyages receive one-tenth part of all the customs that were payable on their export and import lading. — (Milburn's Oriental Commerce, i., Introduction, XXXV.) A VhiiUcdtion of the E. I. Cy., generally attributed to Sir Josiah Child, and published in 1677, states that they employed from thirty to thirty- five ships of from 3()t) to GOO tons burden, carrying from forty to seventy guns, which must of course have been very light. — (Macpherson's Commerce tvith Intlia, \Xi.) In an oflicial statement of their afl'airs, published in 1C89, the company assert, that in seven years tlioy had built sixteen ships of from 900 to 1,300 tons, and had in India or on the homeward voyage eleven of their own, and four "permision ships" (('. r., licensed by them) with cargoes worth above £:ili(),00O, besides a fleet comprising four- teen of their own and six. permission ships bound for India, China, &:c., with cargoes worth £070,000. persed ; several of them were, however, seized and executed. Tlie English found means of e.\trieating themselves from their diflieultics, and prevailed upon Aurungzebe to confide to them the task of convoying pil- grim ves.scls to Mocha,! at a charge of 10,(X}0 ru[)ecs for a large, and ;iO,00() for a small vessel. The good understanding thus re- stored was soon destroyed by the daring piraeics committed by a Captain Kidd and others off Surat. § The emperor could no longer be appeased with assurances that sueii and such culprits had been executed in dill'cront British colonies, or hung in chains at Tilbury; and he declared, that since all other means had failed to check these dis- graceful proceedings, he would put an end to European commerce with his subjects, unless the English, French, and Dutch would consent to sign a bond, engaging to make good any future depredations com- mitted by pirates on the Indian Seas — an arrangement to which the European agents were most reluctantly compelled to assent. The list of difficulties which environed the E. I. Cy., at this period, is still incom- plete. While weighed down by pecuniary involvements, and unable, for years together, to pay a dividend, the project for a new Scottish company was again brought for- ward, and a very advantageous charter t One of the negotiations between Aurungzebe and the English factors, regarding piratical seizures, is recorded by Khafi Khan, an author frequently (|Uoted in the previous section on the Mohammedaii portion of Indian history. He makes no mention of the war which had previously taken place ; but says, that in the year 1693, a shiji bound to Mecca, carrying eighty guns and furnished with 100 muskets, was attacked by an English vessel of small size. A gun having burst in the Mogul ship, the enemy boarded, and " although the Christians have no courage at the sword, yet by bad management the vessel was taken." Khafi Khan was sent by the viceroy of Guzerat to demand redress at Bombay. He de- scribes his reception as being conducted with great dignity and good order, and with a con.siderable dis- play of military power. He negotiated with elderly gentlemen in rich clothes ; and .although they some- times laughed more heartily than l)ecame so grave an occasion, yet he seems to have been favourably impressed with their sense and intelligence. The English alleged that the king's ships had been captured by pirate.*!, for whom tliey were not answer- able, and explained their coining money in the n.ime of their own sovereign (which was another complaint .against them), by stating that they had to purchase investments at ])laces where the money of the em- peror woiild not pass. No definite result appears to have attended this interview. — (Elphinstone, ii., 556.) X Mocha and Judda are the seaports of Mecca. § Captain Kidd and several of his associates, bein" eventually captured, were executed at Tilb'iry Fort. 228 HOSTILITY OF RIVAL ENGLISH E. I. COMPANIES— 1699. granted to these adventurers, in 1698, with authority to trade to the East as well as West Indies, Africa, and America. This enterprise — which issued iu the formation of the ill-fated Daricn settlement — was soon succeeded by another more directly hostile to the E. I. Cy., and which was, in fact, a complete triumph on the part of the inter- loping interest. On the termination of the French war, the government of England looked around eagerly for means to liqui- date the heavy expenses therebv incurred. The E. I. Cy. offered a loan of .€700,000, at four per cent, interest, provided their charter should be confirmed, and the monopoly of the Indian trade secui-ed to them by act of parliament. Their opponents tried a similar expedient, with more success, by proposing to raise a sura of .€2,000,000 sterling, at eight per cent., on condition of being invested with exclusive privileges, and un- fettered by any obligation to trade on a joint-stock, except as they themselves might afterwards desire. After much discussion, a bill was passed by the legislature, by which it was enacted that a loan of £2,000,000 should be raised, by subscription, for the service of government. Natives and fo- reigners, bodies politic and corporate, were alike at liberty to contribute their quota towards the total sum, which was to bear an interest of eight per cent, per annum. In return for this accommodation, letters-patent were issued, incorporating an association, called the General Society trading to the East Indies.* The members were autho- rised to adventure severally, to the amount of their subscriptions : or, if they so desired, might be formed into a joint-stock com- pany. This new monopoly was to last until 1711 ; after that time, it was to terminate •whenever the government chose, upon three years' notice, the original capital of two million having been iirst refunded to the subscribers. The old company were treated very summarily; the proviso of three years' noticcf was, in their case, just so far regarded as to ensure them leave to trade with India • Mill, i., 141. Bruce says, the old association were oblifred to assume the name of the Lonihn compomj, in contradistinction to tlie new corporation, wliich bore the more jxipular because national name of the Eiu/U^h company (iii. 250); but these terms, used only for a few years, wovild but confuse the reader if interwoven in the tc.\t. t 13ruce, iii. 207. The old company declare*! their rivals " invaders of their rights, and authorised interlopers only." The new association were yet more violent in tlicir invectives; and "the charge of piracy," says Mill, " became a general calumny witli till 1701. With regard to both associations, it was decreed that the private fortunes of the adventurers should i)e responsible for the liquidation of liabilities incurred in their public capacity ; and if further divi- dends were made by the old company before the payment of their debts, the members who accepted them were to be held responsible for the sums thus unduly received. This measure, like all others based on injustice, produced much evil and little good to any party. The conduct of the government, in expecting a trading body to traffic largely and profitably, after the ab- straction of its entire capital, under the name of a loan, was in itself as glaring an absurdity as to have opened the veins of a man in full health, and then, after leaving him just blood enough to prolong a feeble existence, to expect from his emaciated frame vigorous and healthy action. As for the old company, they determined to persevere under all circumstances. The trade was too long- established, and too valuable, to be re- linquished easily ; and they vn'ote out to their servants in India, that they had re- solved to bear up against ill-fortune with "a true Roman courage." Taking advantage of the clause which permitted corporations to hold stock in the new company, they resolved to trade separately and in their own name, after their three years of char- tered privileges should have expired, and de- voted the sum of £315,000 to this purpose ; at the same time avowing their belief "that a civil battle was to be fought" between them and their adversaries; for that "two E. I. Companies in England could no more subsist without destroying each other, than two kings at the same time regnant in the same kingdom ; " adding, that " being veterans, if their servants abroad would do their duty, they did not doubt of the vic- tory : that if the world laughed at the pains the two companies took to ruin each other, they could not help it, as they were on good ground, and had a charter." The world — at least the Indian portion of it which all the different parties in India endeavoured to blacken their competitors" (i. i:SO.) Sir Nicholas Waite openly denounced the London company to the Mogul as " tliieves and confederates with jiirates" (Bruce, iii. .3.'J7) ; and even applied to the governor of Surat to have llicir servants put in irons for an insult wliich, he asserted, had been offered to the ambassador of the King of England. Unfortunately, a great deal of personal ill-feeling existed between the representatives of the two societies, to which much of the impolitic harshness of their measures must be atlj'ibuted. AURUNGZEBE PERPLEXED BY RIVAL ENGLISH C0MPANIJiS-17Gl. 229 (lid not laugh, but was simply atnazpd by tlic hostilities of two powerful tradiiif; bodies, each jjiofessiii^' to act under the direct p;itroii- nf;c of their iiiutual sovercij^ii. A\iruii;;zel)o listened ineredidonsly to the reprcscntutions of Sir William Noi'ris, who was dis|)!itclicd to the Mogul court at the cost of the now eomijany, but in the character of royal ambassador. Norris is accused of having conducted himself with unjustifiable vio- lence towards the rival odicials ; and the same conijilaint is ur^cd still more stroiif;ly against Sir Nicholas Waitc, who had fornieily acted as agent to the old company, but had been dismissed their employ. The new cor- poration in this, as in several other cases, were glad to avail themselves of the local knowledge possessed by the discarded ser- vants of their opponents; and Waite was appointed their rc|)rescntativc at Surat, with the title of president ; to which that of con- sul was superaddcnl by the king, as also to the chief of the three projected pre- sidencies at Ilooghly in Bengal, Masulipatani on the Coromandel coast, and in the island of Borneo. Each party maligned the other to the ]\Iogul government, and lavished large sums of money for the purpose of gaining exclusive privileges. Prince Azira, the governor of Bengal, received presents from both sides — lfi,000 rupees from the old company, and 1-1,000 from the new;* but without understanding their ground of diflercncc. The emperor, equally puzzled by these proceedings, wrote privately to Seyed Scdula, "an holy priest at Surat,"t desiring him to search out which of the two parties was really authorised by the Eng- lish nation. The reply of the Seyed is not * Stewart's Jliatniy of Jloif/al, 342. t Bruce's Annnh of the E. I. Ct/., in., 4G6. J Uernier, while serving Daneclmniiul Khan in the capacity of physician, hcaid from the lips of this nobleman the particulars of a singular interview which he had just returned from witnessing between Aurunezehc and his former tutor. The latter had enjoyed for many years a jaghirc, bestowed upon him by Shah Jehan. Upon the triumph of the schemes of his ambitious jiiipil, the old man pre- sented himself as a candidate tor ofiicc. Auningzcbe, wearied by his imp/ortunity, dismissed him. declaring that he owed him no gratitude for his ill-directed labours and erroneous instruction. " You taught me," he exclaimed, " that the whole of Frangistan (Europe) was no more than some inconsiderable island, of which the most powerful monarch was for- merly the King of Portugal, then the King of Hol- land, and afterwards the King of England. In re- gard to the other sovereigns of Frangistan (such as the King of France, and the King of Andalusia), you told me they resembled our petty rajahs ; and that tlie potentates of Ilindoostan eclipsed the glorv of all 2h recorded ; probably it was indefinite and tinimportant : but had the same (juestiori been addressed to a I'^uropcaii versed in the polities of the day, the answer might have involved a revelation of (piitc a new order of things to the mind of the despotic but philosophical monarch. if What a text full of strange doctrines would have been con- tained in the fact jjlainly stated, that both companies represented the will of different sections of a free though monarchical nation ; — that, iiulccd, " the whole of this contest was only one division of the great battle that agitated the state between the tories aiul the whigs, of .whom the former favoured the old company, and the latter the ncw."§ The fierce contention and excessive com- petition of the rival associations, proved almost ecjually injurious to both. The new company, upon the first depression of their stock in the market, had manifested an in- clination to unite with the old body ; but the latter held off, hoping to drive the enemy outof the field; and they sticcecded in obtain- ing an act of parliament continuing them as a distinct corporation. The struggle, how- ever, cost them dearly ; and their stock, in these times of fluctuation and anxiety, varied in value between 300 and 37 per cent.|| The market was overladen, there being at one time as many as sixty ships abroad in India and returning, (jreat quantities of Lulian- wrought silks, stuffs, and c.ilicoes were imported, and from their low price, worn by all classes. The silk-weavers of London became extremely tumultuous ; and in 1C97, attcm])ted to seize the treasure at the East India-house.^ Order was restored other kings." A profound and comprehensive know- i ledge of the history of mankind ; familiarity with the I origin of states, their progress and decline ; the events, accidents, or errors, owing to which such great changes and mighty revolutions have been effected; — these were subjects which Aurungzebe pro- nounced to be of more importance to a prince than the ])ossession "of great skill in grammar, and such knowledge as belongs to a doctor of the law," or even juoficiency in the difficult Arabic language, I which no one could hope to attain without " tin or , twelve years of close application." This mighty prince is certainly not the first who has lamented the waste of the precious hours of youth " in the dry, unprofitable, and never-ending task of learning words :" yet. considering the im])ortance attached by | Mussulmans to the power of reading the Koran in I the original tongue, it seems strange that so zea- i lous a believer should have expreseed himself thus forcibl von that point.— (Brock's -B(rni>r,ii.,165-'(>-'7.) § Grant's Skelrh nf History of E. I. Cij., 119. II Anderson's Oritjin of Commerce, ii., ]). 43. f Idem, C33. I 230 UNION OF RIVAL ENGLISH E. I. COMPANIES— 1708. for the time ; but the discontents were ! renewed by the augmented imports of the years 1688-'9; and the loud complaints from Spitalfields, Norwich, Canterbury, Co- ventry, &c., of the detrimental effect on the nation, occasioned by the numerous manu- facturers thrown out of employ, and likewise of the largely increased exportation of sil- ver,* succeeded in procuring the enactment of a law prohibiting the use in England or sale, except for re-exportation, of silks wrought, or calicoes printed in Persia, China, or the East Indies, either for apparel j or furniture, under a penalty of j6200, after Michaelmas, 1701 ; and a duty of fifteen per cent, was soon afterwards imposed upon muslins. These regulations materially re- duced the value of the Eastern trade; and probably helped to accelerate the union of the I two associations, — a measure strenuously ! urged by King William, but not carried out till after the accession of Anne. An in- denture tripartite was entered into by the ■ queen and the rival companies in 1702, by j which it was agreed that a full and com- ' plete union should take place at the termi- : nation of the ensuing seven years, the in- termediate time to be occupied in winding up the separate concerns of each party. The coalition took place before the lapse of the stated interval, being hastened by the alarm occasioned by the demand of go^rn- ment for the subscription of a new loan of £1,200,000, without interest. The com- panies, knowing from the experience of the past, the danger of the present crisis, dreaded the formation of a fresh body of adven- turers, or renewed discussions on the sub- ject of open trade with India. They forth- • From 1698 to 1703 inchisive, the silver ex- ported from England to the East Indies amounted to £3,171,405; the gold to £128,229: total, £3,299,634, or, on an average, £549,939 per ann. The East India goods re-exported from England from 1698 to 1702 inclusive, were estimated at the value of £2.638,934, or, on an average, £507,787 per ann.— (Macpherson's Commerce, i.. Introduction, p. xii.) f To equalise the shares of the two companies, it ■was agreed that the old, or London company, should purchase at ])ar as much of the capital of the new or English company lent to government, as, added to the £315,000 which they had already subscribed, should equalise their respective portions. The dead stock of the London ciimi)any was estimated at £330,000; that of the English company at £70,000: therefore, the latter ])aid the former £130,000 to place the shares of this part of the common estate on the same basis. The assets or effects of the Lon- don company, in India, fell short of their debts ; and Lord Godolphin decreed that they should pay by instalments to the United company the sum of with laid aside all separate views, and agreed to furnish jointly the amount re- quired. Their differences were submitted to the arbitration of Sidney, Earl of Go- dolphin, then lord high treasurer of England; and an act was passed, in 1708, consti- tuting them one corporate body, under the name of the United Company of Mer- chants trading to the East Indies, with continuance only until the year 1726, and then " to cease and determine, on three years' notice and repayment by government of their capital stock of £3,200,000."t While this matter was in progress of arrangement, the long-expected death of the aged emperor took place, and was imme- diately followed by the fierce war of suc- cession, with equal anxiety anticipated by the native and European inhabitants of Hindoostan. When the news reached Surat, the English president (Sir John Gayer), anxious to transmit the intelligence to the company, yet fearful of plainly stating cir- cumstances which, in a pohtical crisis, might either by their truth or falsehood expose the promulgator to danger, took a middle course, by stating in an allegory easy to be understood, " that the sun of this hemis- phere had set, and that the star of the second magnitude being under his meridian, had taken his place ; but that it was feared the star of the first magnitude, though under a remoter meridian, would struggle to exalt itself "I The victory of Prince Mauzim (the star of the first magnitude) over his brothers, Azim and Kaumbuksh, and his elevation to the throne, have been already related (see p. 154) ; as also the rapid decay of the once £96,615 : the English company, having their balance on the right side of the account, were to receive from the same fund the sum of £66,005. The debts of both companies in Britain were ordained to be discharged before March, 1709 ; and as those of the London body amounted to nearly £400,000, the directors were empowered to call upon their pro- prietors, by three several instalments, for the means of liquidation. The £1,200,000 now advanced to government, without interest, being added to the previous sum of £2,000,000, constituted a loan of £3,200,000, yielding interest at the rate of five per cent, on the whole. — (Bruce, iii., 635 — 639 ; 667 — 679.) To assist them in raising the required loan, the comjiany were cmjiowcred to borrow, on bonds, to the extent of £1,500,000 on their common seal, over and above what they were legally authorised to do before, and also to make calls of money from their proprietors.— (CAarios of E. I. Ci/., pp. 243 — 367 j .■\nderson, iii., 29.) — The company continued to beai' the title now assumed until the year 1833. J Bruce's Annals nf E. I. Ci/., iii., 616. El'l-'liCT OF EUllOPEAN INTERCOURSE ON INDIAN CHARACTER. 231 mighty fabric of Mogul power, which had iiiiuli! pcrccptihie progress even before the dcutli of Aurmigzcbe. J?(!f()rc jjrocccdiiig to describe the growth of J'liiglish ascciid.ancy, it may be need- ful, for the sake of readers not conversant with the sources from wliich the narrative of European intercourse with India lias been derived, to notice the grievous dearth of native history, which has largely contributed to render many ])ond("rous tomes publislied on Anglo-Indian all'airs, almost as un- readable as a Bluc-l?ook, or the ledger of a commercial firm. The valuable work of Bruce is professedly compiled from the records of the E. I. Cy. ; but as he has very judiciously thought lit to give an able, though brief sketch of the general state of European polities in sucoessive reigns, it would have been no less pertinent to the subject to have selected from the voluminous despatches of the Indian presidencies, various interest- ing illustrations of the condition and charac- ter both of the Hindoo and Mohammedan I population. Sucli knowledge is useful even in a purely commercial point of view ; and there is the greater cause for surprise that it should have been neglected by this writer, because in almost the only instance in which he deviates from his general rule by relating an affray with the Hindoos, occasioned by an act of wanton aggression on the part of the crews of two of the company's vessels, he introduces it as " one of those untoward • These vessels had gone from Surat to Carwar to bring off the pepper, See. The crew of one of them stole a cow and killed it, thus offending both the rights and prejudices of the Hindoos ; being re- sisted, tliey fired at and killed two native children of rank. The factory was in danger of destruction, and the agents of imprisonment ; but proceedings were suspended by reason of tlie impending battle between the Mahratta rajah Sunibajee, and Aurung- zebe. Bruce adds, tliat the Malabar trade received a severe check ; which would be the natural result of such an aggression, as the produce was chiefly procui'ed througli native merchants. — (ii., 545.) t Aiitials, iii., 658-'9. Hamilton asserts, that a ter- rible catastrophe occurred at liatecala about the year 1()70, in consequence of a bull-dog belonging to the English factory having killed a cow consecrated to a pagoda or temple. The iMiragcd priests, believing the injury to have been intentional, raised a mob and killed the whole of the English (eighteen iu number) while engaged in a hunting party. — (i. 280.) The same writer describes the neighbouring king- dom of Canara as being generally governed by a female sovereign; and lie adds, "the subjects of this country observe the laws so well, that robbery or murder arc hardly heard of among them ; and a stranger may pass through the country without being asked where he is going, or what business he has."- — {Kcw Account of East Indies, i. 279.) events which strongly mark the necessity of attention to the rights, as well as to the prejudices of the natives."* Nearly at the dose of his third and last quarto volume, he quotes the humiliating observation of President Pitt (the grandfather of Lord Chatham), that " when the Europeans first settled in India, they were mightily admired by the natives, believing they were as in- nocent as themselves; but since, by their example, they are grown very crafty and cautious ; and no people better uiider.stand their own interest : so that it was easier to effect that in one year which you sha'nt do now in a century; and the more obliging your management, the more jealous thcv are of you."t This evidence of the effect of communica- tion between nominally Christian nations and a people still unenlightened by the teaching of the Gospel, is unhappily confirmed by the common testimony borne by impartial wit- nesses regarding the state of various native populations after their intercourse with Eu- ropeans. The bigotry of liomish commu- nities, and the indifference (masked under the name of toleration) of Protestants, had rendered the profession of Christianity in. the mouth of the former a pretext for cruel persecution, and in that of the latter little better than an unmeaning sound; the shameless immorality of Europeans in gene- ral, giving cause for the Indians to doubt whether they had really any religion at all.} J The Dutch, from the first commencement of their intercourse with the East Indies, made strenu- ous efforts for the conversion of the natives of Java, Formosa, Ceylon, and the Spice Islands generally, by the establishment of missions and schools, and the translation of the Scriptures ; but on the con- tinent of India their stations were small and tem- porary, and their spiritual labours partook of the same character. The good and zealous minister, Baldseus, visited the Dutch possessions of Tuticorin and Negapatam on the Coromandel coast, in 1660, and extended his visitation along the southern coast of the continent as far as Coulan (Quilon.) He describes the state of the I'arawar, or cast of fisher- men ecmverted by Fiancis Xavier and other Romish missionaries, as little else than a peculiar phase of | idolatry, their religion consisting in the mere out- ward acts of worshipping images, counting beads, i and crossing themselves. The Danes, afterwards so justly celebrated for their earnest and well-directed labours in the missionary field, made no efforts of this description until they had been eighty years in India — that is, until ITOii-'/. Before that time the impression they had endeavoured to make upon the natives by the scrupulous integrity of their commer- cial dealings, was greatly impaired by their irreligion and immorality. — (Hough, iii., 181.) With regard to the English, the description given by Ferishta, at the commencement of the 17th century, was pro- 232 FIRST ENGLISH CHURCH ERECTED IN INDIA, BY MASTERS— 1680. The E. I. Cy. followed the example too generally shown by the government of Eng- land throughout the seventeentli century, excepting, perhaps, during the Protectorate. They contented themselves with sending out a few chaplains, not always well selected ; and made no provision for the establishment of places of worship, consecrated to the decent celebration of the observances of their common faith. The first English church in India was erected iu 1680, in Fort St. George, Madras, for the use of the factory, by the governor, Streynsham Masters. This good and earnest man com- pleted the building " without any aid or countenance of the company in order thereto."* Iu fact, the missionary spirit intimately connected with the earliest colo- nial aud commercial enterprises of the nation had been swallowed up (at least for a time) in the thirst for gain ; and this cir- cumstance is in itself a sufficient reason for the disastrous condition to which the E. I. Cy. found themselves reduced. No body of men, either in a private or public capacity, ever yet (in popular phraseology) " made their ledger their Bible" with im- punity; and the punishment of an erring community is usually more perceptible thau that of an individual, for the evident reason that the one has only a present existence, ■while for the other there is a judgment to come. We are all inclined to pass too lightly over such facts as these : we do not care to trace the workings of a superin- tending Providence, checking by adversity, or encouraging by prosperity, the every-day concerns of a mercantile company ; never- theless, the pith of the matter — -the true phi- losophy of history — is in all cases the same. The flagrant blunders made by men noted for shrewdness and intrigue — the total failure of their most cunningly-devised schemes, bear daily witness amongst us of the fallibility of human judgment: — would that they taught bably regarded by his countrymen as a correct account of the protcstant creed at its close ; so little effort had been made to set forth, in its truth and purity, the doctrines of the reformed faith. The Portuguese Jesuits, who were long in attendance on the court of Akber, were very likely to have accused their rivals of participation in the Nestorian heresy (which they had made the pretext for perse- cuting the Syrian Cliristians on the Malabar coast) ; otherwise it would be dilhcult to account for some of the assertions of Ferishta. "The jiersuasion of this nation," he writes, " is different I'roni that of otlier Kurojjeans, particularly tlie Portuguese, with whom they are in a state of constant wari'are. They OBsert that Jesus was a mortal, and the prophet of us also the wisdom of implicit reliance on re- vealed truth, and of constant obedience to its pure and consistent dictates ! The century did not, however, close without some promise of better things, at least on the part of the English government ; for the letters-patent of 1698 contain a special proviso, binding the general company to provide a chaplain on board every ship, and for every garrison and superior factory, in each of which a decent and convenient place was to be set apart for divine service only. These ministers were to learn Portu- guese, and likewise the native language of the country where they should reside, " the better to enable them to instruct the Gentoos that shall be servants or slaves of the said company, or of their agents in the Protestant religion. "t These provisions were, it is evident, intended for the exclusive benefit of British subjects. The duty of spreading the Gospel among Indian populations was one which England was slow to recognise. Portugal, Spain, and France, Holland aud Denmark, all took precedence of her iu this great field; and it was not until after a long and arduous struggle, that the advo- cates of missionary exertion iu our land succeeded in obtaining the sanction of go- vernment for their attempts to place before the people of India those divinely-revealed truths, which must be either entirely disbe- lieved, or else accepted as the only solid basis whereon to establish that " public virtue" which is as necessary to the true greatness of a nation, as integrity to the character of an individual. The progress of Christianity in India belongs, however, to a distinct section of this work ; and its history, so far as England is concerned, is far subsequent to the present period, of which the chief interest lies in the succession of events im- mediately preceding the struggle between the French and English for political ascen- dancy in Hiudoostau. God ; that there is only one God, and that he is with- out equal, and has no wife nor child, — according to the belief of the Portuguese. The English have a separate king, independent of the King of Portugal, to whom they owe no allegiance ; but, on the con- trary, these two people put each other to death wheresoever they meet. At present, in consequence of the interference of Jeluingeer Padshali, they are at jieace with one another, though God only knows how long they will consent to have factories in the same town, and to live on terms of amity and friend- ship with one another." — (lirigg's Firishln, iv., 541.) • Hough's Chrisiidnilij in India, iii., ;i7T. f Cluirtcrs, Treaties, and Giiiiits of E. I. Cy. (English and Indian), from 1601 to 1772. INDIAN SETTLEMENTS OP THE DUTCH IN 1707. 233 iNDO-EunoPEAN Settlements in the EioirrKHNTii Ckntuiiy. — The death of Au- ruiij^zi'lje iiiui tlio junction of tlic two coin- panii's, mark the coniincneorncnt of a new C[)ocli ; before cntcrin;^ upon which it may be useful to sketch the posit icni of the various European nations whoso settlements and fac- tories dotted the coast-line of the continent of India. On the western side of the great peninsula, the Portuguese still retained pos- session of the city of (Joa; the fortresses of Dainaun, Basscin, and Clioul ; and of J)iu ill (luzerat;* but the prestige of their power was gone for ever : by land, the Dutch, the Mogul, the Mahrattas, and their old foe the zamorin of Calicut, plundered them without mercy ; and from the seaward they were liarasscd by the restless and vengeful hostility of the jMuseat Arabs,t until the once haughty invaders were so completely humbled, that the Englisli presi- dent and council at Surat, during their worst season of depression, could find no stronger terms in which to describe their own degradation, than by declaring that they had become " as despicable as the Portuguese in India, or the Jews in Spain. "| The possessions of the Dutch were, for the most part, conquests from thePortuguese. Ou the Coromandel coast their chief settle- ment was tliat of Negapatam : in Bengal, * Gemelli, quoted by Anderson, ii., 644. — He adds, that they had " the islands of Timor, Solor, and Macao subject to China; and in Africa, An- gola, Sena, Sofala, Mozambique, andMombas — many in number, but of no great value." f The Arabs e.xpcllcd the Portuguese from Muscat about tlie middle of the 17th century, and main- tained almost incessant warfare against tliem for the next fifty years, but did not molest other European traders till nearly the expiration of that period. In 1697, the Portuguese joined the King of Persia against the Arabs, whereupon these latter divided tlieir fleet into two squadrons ; sent one of them to burn the Portuguese settlement at Mombas, and employed the other in destroying the factory at Mangalore. The Persian monarch oft'ered the English the same privileges conceded to them at Gombroon for co-operation in the eajiture of Ormuz, if they would now assist him in attacking Muscat. The company's troops and shipping were not in a condition to comply with this request, as they were otherwise inclined to do, and an evasive answer was returned. The suspicions of the Arabs were pro- bably aroused by the negotiation ; for they shortly afterwards commenced hostilities against the Knglish, which their improvement in naval tactics rendered increasingly disastrous; until, in the year 170-l-'5, we lind the court of the London company expressing their determination, so soon as the war in Europe should terminate, " to equip armed vessels to clear the seas and to root out that nest of pirates, the Muscat Arabs." — Annals, iii., 557. X Brace's Annals of E. I. Cy., iii., 307. they had posts or factories at Chinsura, Ilooghly, Cossimbazar, Dacca, Patna, and other places : in (iiizural, a station at Surat of consi(kra!)le importance in a commercial point of view; and (Icpendcnt posts at .\hme- dai)ad,§ Agra,|| and J5aroach. Cochin, Craa- ganore, (.oulan (Quilon), and Cananorc, oa the Malabar coast, were clogged with heavy military expenses, which greatly outweiglied tlie [)rofits of the trade connected with them. As many as a thousand soldiers were, for some years, maintained hcre,1f chiefly with the object of overawing the Hindoo princes, wlio, though frequently con- quered, had never been completely sub- jugated cither by the Portuguese or the Dutch; but on the contrary, were always ready to take advantage of any symptom of weakness on the part of their o|)pressors, to put forth an unexpected amount of armed hostility. The jMalabar pepper is considered the finest in India ; and the Dutch, although obliged to pay double the price for which they could obtain abundant suiiplies in liantam and Jambcc, made strong eflbrts to monopolise the market, but without effect. They stigmatised the sale of ])cppcr to other nations as a contraband trade, and endea- voured to blockade the ports of Malabar ; but with so little efleet, that they could not even prevent the natives from maintaining an open § Founded in 1G20, and abandoned in 171G. II Founded in 1618, and abandoned in 1744. ^ A great trade was at this period carried on at Surat by Moorish, Armenian, and Arabian mer- chants, with Persia, Mocha, Acheen, and elsewhere. The English, Dutch, and Ficnch had establishments here, under the protection of tlie Moliammedan go- vernment. Excellent ships, costly but extremely durable, were built of teak; and one of the resident mercliants (a wealthy and enterprising Moor) is said to have possessed as many as fifteen or sixteen sail, of from 100 to 500 tons burthen.— ('^ecoMH< of Trade of India ; by Charles Lockyer : London, 1711.) The Dutch factory here proved the most advantageous of any formed by them in India, and continued ex- tremely lucrative until Bombay usurped the place of Surat, and the dominancy of' the English became established. .Vdmiral Stavorinus writes from official documents, that the Dutch company, in the ten years ending 1608, gained, upon an average, a sum of about £46,315 sterling, or about 850 per cent, upon the liner spices; and on their other goods a profit of £23,266, although only in the proportion of about 59 per cent, on the prime cost. Valentyn, an excellent authority, states the gain of the Dutch at Surat, on various articles, as follows : — Upon cloves, 665 ; nutmegs, 1,453 ; mace, 718; copper in bars, 128; ditto in plates, 31 ; ben- zoin, 40; gumlac, 34; quicksilver, 27; and Vermil- lion, 19 : and he adds, that the clear profit of the head factory amounted yearly to between six and seven tons of gold, or from £55,000 to £64,000 ster- ling. (Quoted in Stavorinus' Voyages, iii., 112 — 114.) 234 POSITION OF DANES, FEENCH, AND ENGLISH IN INDIA— 1707. traffic with the notorious pirate Kidd. The Dutch governor, writing in 1698, remarks " that it is to be regretted the company carried so much sail here in the beginning, that they are now desirous of striking them, in order to avoid being overset."* The Dutch committed the common error of putting forth pretensions unjust in them- selves, and maintainable only by force. The attempt failed, and the means employed produced disastrous consequences. The re- duction of the land establishments, and the breaking up of the fleet heretofore sta- tioned on the coast, accompanied by the avowed determination of no longer obstruct- ing the navigation, were tokens of weakness which the native princes were not likely to view in the light of voluntary concessions. In 1701, war broke out with the zamorin, or Tamuri rajah, the existing represen- tative of a dynasty which had for two cen- turies formed a bulwark to India against the inroads of European powers in this direction ; and hostilities were carried on at the epoch at which we are now arrived. f The efforts of the Danes, based on a very slender commercial capital, had not prospered. In 1689, Tranquebar, their only settlement of importance, was nearly wrested from them by their territorial sovereign, the rajah of Taujore, in consequence of the in- trigues of the Dutch ; and was preserved to its rightful owners solely by the armed in- terference of an English detachment sent to their relief from Madras, after the siege had lasted six months. The French, as traders, were equally un- fortunate with the Danes. The home manu- facturers had become discontented on per- ceiving the increasing use of gold and silver brocades, and painted cottons. Like their fellow-traders in England, they suc- ceeded in procuring an edict (in 1687) for • Stavorinus' Voyages, iii., 238. t The Dutch had governments or factories in i-'eylon, in Java (wliere stood tlie fine city of Batavia, called by its owners the Queen of the Ea^t), in Ma- lacca, Amboyna, lianda, Teniate, Bantam, Siam, Macassar, Tonquin, Japan, Gombroon (in the Per- sian Gulf), with chiefships at Ispahan and Bussora. .\t Arracan, they ])urchased rice and slaves ; and they liad also many temporary stations in different parts of Asia, which it would li; needless to enumerate. t Milburn's Commerce, i., 384. § The I'RKsiDKNCY or BOMBAY held command over the factories of Surat, Swally, and Baroach, of ,\hmedabad, Agra, and Lucknow (from wliich three last places the factors had been temporarily with- ilrawn) : on the Malahar coast, they had tlie forts of (Jarwar, Tellichcrry (established by permission of the Hindoo rajah, about 1695), Anjcngo (with the the immediate prohibition of this branch of commerce ; and it was with considerable difficulty that the company obtained per- mission to dispose of their imports on hand, or expected by the next ships. The sale of piece-goods even to foreigners was forbidden, on the supposition that those of France would be purchased instead ; and a high duty was laid on raw silk, then imported in consider- able quantities. Under these discouraging circumstances the trade languished ; and in 1693, received a fresh blow from the cap- ture of Pondicherry (the chief French settle- ment) by the Dutch. New walls were raised, and the fortifications strengthened by the victors ; but their labours proved ill- directed ; for, upon the conclusion of the peace in 1697, the place was decreed to be restored to its former owners, with all its additional defences, on payment of £5,000 to the Dutch government, for the expendi- ture thus incurred. The French company received orders from the king to take measures to prevent the recapture of Pon- dicherry, and frequent reinforcements were sent there. The national treasury must have furnished the funds ; for the finances of the association were exhausted, and in 1708 they became absolutely bankrupt; but Louis XIV., fearing that the trade to India might otherwise entirely cease, staid all prosecutions at law against them for debt, and granted them permission to lease out their privileges, upon the best terms they could, to any private person who should be able to adventure the necessary capital. Arrangements were actually formed on this basis with a M. Croizat, and afterwards with some merchants of St. !Malo.J The possessions of the English are clearly set forth in the enumeration of "dead stock," made by the two companies at the time of their union. § The central points sanction of the ranee or queen of Attinga, accorded at the same time, jjrobably in both cases with a view of procuring the aid of the Knglish against the aggressions of the Dutch), and the factory of Calicut. On the Coromandel coast, the company had establishments at Jinjee and Orissa ; the fac- tories depending on the Madras Phksidkncy, the city, and Fort St. George, Fort St. David, Cudda- lore, Porto Novo, Pettipolee, Masulipatam, Mada- poUam, and Vizagapatam. The factories dependent on the Presidency of Calcutta, or Fort Wil- liam, were — Balasore, Cossimbazar, Dacca, Hooghly, Malda, Rnjmahal, and Patna. The above forts and factories, with their stores and ammunition, together with the rents and customs arising therefrom, and the firmauns by right of whicli they were en- joyed, constituted the " dead stock" of the old or London company on the Indian continent. Some MADRAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 235 were then, as now, formed by tlie tliree prcsidctunc's of noiiih.iy, Madras, and C"al- cutta, the last of which was created in 1707. They had at this time no dependence upon one another; each was absohitc within its own limits, and responsible only to the company in England. The presidents were respec- tively eommanders-in-ehief of the mili- tary force maintained within the limits of their jurisdiction. The numbers com- prised in the several garrisons is not stated : but they were composed partly of recruits sent out from Euf;land ; partly of deserters from pther European settlements in India; and also (at least at Bombay and Sural) of Topasses — a name applied to the offspring of Portuguese and Indian parents, and also given, though with little reason, to Hindoo converts to the Romish church. Natives of purely Indian descent — Rajpoots for in- stance — were already, as has been noticed, employed by the company in military ser- vice, under the name of Sepoijft, a corrup- tion of Sipahi (soldier.) As yet little de- sire had been shown to discipline them after the European custom. They used the musket, but in other respects remained armed and clothed according to the country usage, with sword and target, turban, cabay or vest, and long drawers. Otliccrs of their own people held command over them, but were eventually superseded by Englishmen. Fort St. George (Madras), is described by a contemporary writer as " a port of the greatest consequence to the E. I. Cy., for its strength, wealth, and great returns made yearly in calicoes and muslins."* The citadel or inner fort had four large bastions with curtains, on which were mounted fifty-six guns and a mortar ; the western, or main guard, was kept by about thirty soldiers ; the east by a corporal's guard of six. The Eng- lisli town, or outer fort, was furnished with " batteries, half-moons, and flankers, at proper distances, whereon are about 150 of these posts had probably proved sources of ex- penditure rather than gain ; Masulipatam, Pettipo- lee, and Madapollam, for instance, are stated by Bruce, in 169o-'6, to have involved a dead loss of above £100,000.— (.-Imha/s of E. I. Cy., iii., 184.) The London company's further ])ossessions were — ■ the island of St. Helena : in Persia, a factory at Gombroon, with the yearly rent of about £3,333, still paid by the Persian monarch (see p. 208) ; and trading posts at Shiraz and Ispahan. On the island of Sumatra they had the settlements at York Fort, Bencoolen, Indrapore, Priaman, Sillehar, Bencoolen with dependent stations ; and also a factory at Ton- quin. The dead stock of the new, or English com- pany, for which they were to be allowed £70,000 in guns and three mortars, mounted for de- fence, Ijesidesthirty-twogunsmoreon the out- works, with eigiit field-pieces." The garrison comprised 250 Europeans, each paid at the rate of ninety-one fanams, or.Cl 2s. 9rf. per month ; and 200 tojjasses, at fifty or fifty- two fanams a-month; with some twenty ex- perienced European gunners, at 100 fanams a-raontli. The captains received fourteen, ensigns ten, Serjeants five pagodasf monthly ; and corporals received the same salary as the artillerymen. The chief gunner of the inner fort had fourteen, and of the outer works twelve pagodas. About 200 peons, or native police, were constantly re- tained ; and the Portuguese portion of the population were obliged to furnish a com- pany or two of trained bands at their own charge, on any disturbance. The Black City — that is, tlie native town, situated outside the fort to the northward — was encompassed with a thick, high brick wall, and fortified after the modern fashion. JIaqua Town, where the MussulahJ boatmen live, lay to the southward. The sway of the company extended beyond these limits ; for they owned several villages two or three miles further in the country, such as Egmore, New Town, and Old Garden, which they rented out to merchants or farmers for 1,100 pagodas per annum. The " singular de- corum observed by the free merchants, fac- tors, servants, and other inhabitants," is especially noticed by Lockyer, who adds, that the excellent arrangements of ^ladras, together with " good fortifications, plenty of guns, and much ammunition, render it a bugbear to the Moors, and a sanctuary to the fortunate people living in it."§ By this account, it is evident that a blessing had attended the Christian labours of Strcynsham Masters, llis church, as yet the only building in India consecrated by Englishmen to divine worship, is described as a large and stately pile, adorned with the united funds, consisted of factories at Surat, in the Bay of Bengal, at Masulipatam, Madapollam, on the island of Borneo, and on the island of Pulo Condore, (coast of Cochin China), with the stores and ammuni- tion belonging to each. — Vide the " Quinque Partite Indenture," in charters of E. I. Cij., pp. 316 — 344. * Account of the Trade of India, by Charles Lockyer, pp. 3-'4 ; London, 1711. t A gold coin varying in value at different times from about nine to ten shillings. \ Tlie planks of the large and flat-bottomed Mas- suluh boats are sewn together with twine, which pre- vents their starting even under the most violent shocks. Their hire was then eighteen-pence a trip. § Account of Trade, p. 15. 236 PROTESTANT ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENT AT MADRAS. curious carved worlc, with very large -vvin- dows, and furnislied with a fine altar, organ, and other appurtenances usual to the most complete edifices of its kind, with the ex- ception of bells, which had perhaps been purposely omitted, on account of their in- timate connexion with the superstitions of the Braluniuical creed. Two ministers were attaclied to the church, in which services were performed twice a-day. On Sunday, the customary rites were "most strictly observed," and " country Protestants were examined in the catechism." A school, " held in a large room under the library," was open to all children free of charge. According to Lockyer, the ecclesiastical establishment was altogether well conducted, and deserved the high character it bore among the people. Pious persons gave or bequeathed considerable sums to " the church," for cliaritable purposes ; and dying parents chose its representatives as trustees for their children,* a course of proceeding calculated, it is true, to place dangerous weapons of oppression in the hands of a dominant priesthood; but which, in the isolated and unpatronised condition of the religious establishments at JMadras, can hardly be viewed in any other light than as evidence of the respect inspired by devout and upright conduct. The project for the formation of a municipal body had • The church stock of unemployed money was lent out at seven per cent, per ann. — (Lockyer, p. 18.) t Lockyer mentions a Seagate custom of £5 per cent., yielding 150,000 pagodas per ann. ; and a choultry, or land custom of two-and-a-half per cent. on cloth, provisions, and other goods brouglit in from the country, yielding 4,000 pagodas. Anchor- age and permit dues, licences for fishing, arrack and wine, tobacco and beetle-nut farms, mintage, c&c, furnished various sums ; but the total must have fallen far short of the expectations expressed by the company in lG91-'2 of drawing as much from Ma- dras as the Dutch did from Batavia; namely, a yearly income of £260,000.— (Bruce, iii., 110.) % The governor had £200 a-year, with a gratuity of £100: of the six councillors', the chief had £10() per ann. ; the others in proportion, — £70, £50, and £40 per ann. : six senior mercliants liad annual salaries of £40; two junior merchants, £30: five factors, £15: ten writers, £5: two chaplains, £100; one surgeon, £30: two "essay masters," £120: one judge, £100: andtlie attorney-general, fifty pagodas. Married men received from five to ten pagodas per month, as diet money, according to their quality; inferior .servants, dining at the general table liad no other allowance beyond thiir salaries than a very trifling sum for washing, and oil for lam])s. — (Lock- yer's Trade of India, p. 14.) The liigliest appoint- ment at Bombay did not exceed £300 per ann. § Tlie condition of several of tlie minor English settlements at this period is well sketched by been carried out, and a mayor and six alder- men held a court twice a-week. The total amount of revenue derived from Madras does not appear tf the scale of salaries was extremely nioderate,J and pro- bably affords a fair specimen of that laid down for the presidencies of Bombay and Calcutta, to which Lockyer's interesting sketches unfortunately do not extend. § Dis- appointment and reverses liad by this time greatly modified the ambitious views enter- tained by the managers of the East India trade. The belligerent and costly policy introduced by Sir Josiah Child and his brother, was succeeded by a directly oppo- site system — to conciliate rather than to defy and overawe the native princes, was the order of the day; and to this end the Indian officials were directed to carry on their business " without the affectation of pomp and grandeur, as merchants ouglit to do." II The large sums spent by the rival companies in outvying and thwarting each other, constituted a departure from the gene- ral rule — at least in the case of the older body; btit upon their union, this unsatis- factory expenditure ceased, and the leading members of the new concern, who now, under the name of the Court of Directors, took the place of the Court of Committees,^ enjoined upon their agents the most rigid frugality, which they continued to enforce Lockyer: — TeffnajMtain, or Fort St. David, he de- scribes as " a port of great profit, as well for the rents and income arising immediately thereon, as for the great quantities of calicoes and muslins that are brought thence for Europe. Mctchtepatam IJifasulijtafnm'], Vizii/apatain, and Madapollam, are factories continued for the sake of red-wood and the cotton-manufactures, which are here in the greatest perfection." — (p. 13.) The factory at Carwar, on the Malabar coast, was provided with eight or nine guns and twenty-six topasscs, " to defend it against the insults of the country peo])le." — (p. 269.) The native chief, or rajah, received custom dues of one and-a-half per cent, on all goods imported by the English. At Tcllichcrry, a small fort with a slight guard was maintained to protect the trade in pepper and cardamums, coir, cowries, and chanks from the Maldives. At An/etu/n, the company possessed a small fort with guns, and a garrison of forty " mon> grel Portuguese," to protect the traffic (cliiefly pep- ])er), and the " go-downs," or wareliouses. Business was carried on by a cliief agent, assisted hy three or four counsellors, and a surgeon was included in the establishment. At Calinit, whovK there was con- siderable trade, the r.nglisli factory was a large old house without fortifications or guns, which the zamo- rin, like the Mogul, would i)rob,>hly not have suffered any foreigners to maintain within liis dominions. II Brucc's Annals of E. I. C'l/., iii., 4o2. ^ Conimittecs ; — in the sense of persons to whom something is committed. SYSTEM OF E. I. Cy. IN THE EARLY PART OF ISth CENTURY. 237 so strictly, tluit in 1 72 !•, the outlay of about .£l(K) in tlic purcliase of a chaise ami pair of horses for the president at Calcutta, was rcprohenilcd as an niuvarrantahlc procecd- iui^. The (lircetora ordered the amount to be refunded, remarking, that if their ser- vants desired "such superduities" they must pay for them.* It is certain that the regular salaries given even to the highest functionaries could have barely covered the necessary expenses of Euro- peans living in a tr()[)ieal climate. But they had other sources of emolument more or less legitimate. ]']ach einployi' was suf- fered to prosecute an indepeudi-nt trallie, which he had the best opportunity of doing, as the coasting-trade and likewise the inter- course with all eastern ports north of the equator, except Toncpiin and Formosa, had recentlyt been relinquished by the company to their servants, or to Englishmen licensed to reside in India as free merchants, by which latter arrangement an independent community was gradually formed. Tlie plan of allowing officials to prosecute business in two distinct capacities, was fraught with evils for which the attendant saving in the item of salaries could make but poor amends. Convenience of situation * Tliornton's Bn'lixh Einpii-e in India, i., 73. f The commerce liad formerly been circuitous : the E. I. Cy's ships went lirst to Sural and other northern ports, and disposed of part of their English cargoes in exehnnge for piece-goods and other commodities, with which they sailed for the southern ports, wliere these articles were in demand ; and procured instead pepper, cloves, nutmegs, and various articles for the European market. This tedious and expensive mode of tralUc was abandoned towards the close of the 17th century; direct intercourse was established be- tween London and the Indian ports, and the " coun- try," or coasting-trade, disi)osed of as above related. The mode of conducting the inland traffic had like- wise undergone considerable change. " The sale of the commodities imported from Europe," says Mill, " was transacted in the simplest and easiest of all possible ways; namely, by auction^the mode in which they disposed of Indian goods in England. At the beginning of this traflic, the English, as well as other European adventurers, used to carry their commodities to the inferior towns and markets, transporting them in the hackeries [cars] of the country ; and established factories and warehouses where the goods were exposed to sale."^(iii., p. 12.) During the confusion, however, which prevailed while the em|)ire of the Moguls was in progress of dis- solution, an order was issued forbidding persons in the E. I. Cy.'s service, or under their jurisdiction, to proceed far into the country without special permis- sion ; and the care of distributing the goods inland, and of introducing them to the consumers, was left to native and other independent dealers. The col- lection and custody of the goods which constituted a European " investment," was a more complicated 2 I for the affairs of each individual was the first object to be desired, and as all power of appointment (saving where the rule of seniority applied) was lodged in the pre- sident ami council jointly, they naturally distributed among their own body the most advantageous offices. The employment and consequent absence of a member of council as chief of an important factory, did not disqualify him for retaining liis position in the government j but it could scarcely fail to detract from his efficiency, since few men have sufficient energy, and fewer still sufficient integrity, to perform at one time the arduous duties of a judge, legislator, and politician, and of the head of an extensive commercial establishment in conjunction with the business of a private merchant. No doubt, in most cases, the last-named interest would absorb the others, ami neglect of the affairs of government would neces- sarily follow : to this single cause many of the defects observable in the management of affairs in India, may probably be attributed. Upon the union of the two companies, a manifest preference was evinced to the agents of the elder body, and especially to Mr. Tliomas Pitt, J the president of Madras before mentioned, whose ability and discre- business, especially the purchase of the produce of the loom. The extreme indigence of the weaving class, and the consequent necessity of at all times furnishing them with the materials of their work, or the means of purchasing them, involved consider- able advances of ca])ital and a large amount of superintendence, compelling the employment of seve- ral distinct sets of agents (banyans, gomashtahs dullals, and pycars), who made their profit at the expense both of the company and the weaver; the latter, as the weaker party, being naturally the most open to opi)ression. When the piece of calico or muslin was finished, the gomashtiih, or broker, holds a " kattah," — examined the work, fixed its price, and [laid the workman, who, it is said, was often obliged to accept fifteen or twenty, and often thirty or forty per cent, less than the result of his labour would have fetclicd in the market. — (Mill, iii., 15.) J Another individual of the same family figures in the history of East Indian affairs : first, as " Pitt the interloper", then as "president and consul Pitt" in the service of the new or English association ; and lastly, as one of the highest othcials in the employ of the united company, in which position he died in 1703, leaving behind him heavy personal debts and a very questionable reputation as regarded his public dealings. The oidy doubtful point which I have met with regarding the character of his cousin, Mr. Thomas Pitt, relates to the manner in which the famous diamond, bearing his name, came into his possession. Captain Hamilton avers, that the gem was procured tlirough the intervention of a person named Glover, who, seeing it at Arcot, prevailed upon the proprietor to offer it for sale to the English at Fort St. George, and he placed in his hands 238 MR. PITT, GRANDFATHER OP LORD CHATHAM.— PITT DIAMOND. tion had been evinced iu the late season of disaster and embarrassment. When the coa- lition of their employers iu England rendered it of the first consequence that their repre- sentatives in India should lay aside their contentions, and, if possible, subdue the ill-feeling raised by systematic hostility, Mr. Pitt set a good example, by addressing a communication to the English company, in which he applied to himself " the great saying of King William of blessed memory, to the French king's plenipotentiary at Ryswick, on concluding the peace, — 'twas my fate, and not my choice, that made me your enemy ; and since you and my masters are united, it shall be my utmost endeavour to purchase your good opinion, and deserve your friendship."* The treaty of Utrecht happily terminated the long war with France, and England enjoyed a season of commercial prosperit}', of which the rapid growth of Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham afford re- markable evidence. t The company like- wise prospered, and their imports rose in value from £493,257 in 1708, to .€1,059,759 in 1730. The export branch of their trade was far from exhibiting so favourable a result;! but the rate of profit steadily increased up to 1723; the dividends aug- menting from five per cent, per annum to the proprietors, upon £3,163,200 of capital, until they reached ten per cent. ; they then declined to eight per cent., at which annual rate they continued until 1732, when they were reduced to seven per cent., and re- mained there until 1744, in which year they returned to eight per cent. The in- 3,000 pagodas of his own as a guarantee that no compulsion should be used to oblige him to sell unless he were so inclined. The pledge was broken by Mr. Pitt, and the money forfeited by Glover. — (New Account of Euat Indies, i., 3G6.) The tale is not very clearly told ; the seller, if a native, was pro- bably rot the legitimate possessor of the diamond, i because all stones, above a certain weight, found in the mines, were claimed by the emperor. Tliis, however, is no excuse for the conduct of Mr. Pitt, if Hamilton's accusation be correct. The traffic in jewels was, it should be stated, considered of much importance, and had been alternately monopolised by the company, and conceded to their servants as an especial privilege. • Annals of E. I. Cy., year 1702-'.3. t Liverpool, which was not formed into a separate parish till 16'J0, increased so rapidly, that in 1713, a new parish with a church was erecti'd ; and its e.\tent was doubled between Hi'JO and 1720. Man- chester grew with equal rapidity, and was comptited, in 1727, to contain no less than 50,(100 inhabitants; and at tlie same period, the metal manufactories of Birmingham, which thirty years before was little terval between 1708 and 1745 is marked by but few important events. In England the company were employed at various times in procuring decrees against interlopers,§ and obtaining extensions of their exclusive pri- vileges. The opposition of the free trade party was very violent in 1730; and the East India association obtained a renewal of their charter only on condition of the pay- ment of a premium of ,£200,000, and the reduction of the interest of their capital lent to government from five to four per cent. The term now fixed was to terminate upon three years' notice from March, 1766. In India the servants of the company watched ^with alarm the successive contests for the throne, which took place between the death of Aurungzebe and the accession of his great-grandson, Feroksheer, in 1713. i\Ioorshed Kooli Khan (sometimes called Jaffier Khan), who had previously filled the office of dewan, or comptroller of the revenues in Bengal, was appointed subahdar, or viceroy of that province, and subsequently obtaiued a grant of Bahar and Orissa. The English found his rule arbitrary and extortionate ; and, in the hope of obtaining from the em- peror a decree for especial protection and con- cessions, persuaded the directors at home to allow them to send an embassy to the Mogul court. Two factors, selected for their intel- ligence, were dispatched from Calcutta to Delhi, with an Armenian merchant for their interpreter ; and the report of the costly pre- sents of which they were the bearers having preceded them, the governors of the pro- vinces through which their road lay were ordered to show them every respect. || They more than a village, are represented as giving main- tenance to upwards of 30,000 individuals. — (Ander- son's Oriijin of Commerce, iii., 143-'4.) To London several new parishes had been added in a short period. And from the year 1708 to 1730, the im- ports of Great Britairt, according to the valuation of the custom-house, had risen from £4,G98,(jG3 to £7,780,019; and the e.\ports from £0,909,089, to £11,974,135. — (Sir Charles Whitworth's Tables, part i., p. 78.— Mill, iii., 25.) j The exportation of 1708 was exceedingly small compared with years immediately following : that of 1709, was £168,357; tliat of 1730, only £135,484. § In 1718, the company were authorised, by act of parliament, to seize all Uritish subjects found trading within their limits, under the commission of a foreign government, and to send tlicm to England, subject to a penalty of £500 for each offence. II They seem to have especially dreaded passing through the country of the Jats, near Agra : in communicating their ])rogress to the authorities at Calcutta, the depiitalion relate having accomplished this partof their journey, — "not meeting with much trouble, except that once in the night, rogues canio MR. HAMILTON CURES THE EMPEROR FEROKSHEER— a.d. 1716. 239 reached tlio napital iiftor iouriieyiiiK tliiro months : but tlie iiilhionce of ,\[ooi'sluul Kooli Kiiaii, throufjli liis party, in tlic divided coun- sels of the state, prevailed; and, notwitii- standinff their oll'erin^s of f^old coin, a taljh;- clock set with precious stones, a unicorn's horn, a gold cscrutoirc, a map of the world, japan, lacquered, earthen and cutlery ware, with lookiiii^-glasses and red and yellow broad elotli in abundauee, the ncsi^otiation languished;* and FeroUsheer, engaged in pre- paring for his nuptials with the daughter of the IMarwar rajah, Ajcet Sing, would pro- bably have paid no attention to their solici- tations, had not the medical skill of one of the party (a surgeon iu the company's ser- vice) been offered at an opportune moment for the cure o^ a malady from which he had been long suffering. Under the treatment of j\Ir. Hamilton the emperor recovered; and the marriage, which had been delayed on account of his illness, was forthwith consummated. Fcrok- sheer, of whom it has been said that " his only quality was an ill-placed liberality ,"f presented his physician with a magnificent kidlltd {see p. IGS), .'),000 rupees in coin, and models of all his surgical instruments on our camp, hut being repulsed tliree limes, they left us." — (Auher's liisc and I'rvr/rcss of British Power in IitJia, i., 16.) • Tlie value of the presents was about £30,000, but Khojch Serliaud, the Armenian employed, had given out their v.nhie at more tlian three times that amount — a deception which could not fail to jjroduce disappointment. t Scott's History of the Deccaii, ii., 13o. J The case of Broughton has been related. Ac- cording to Orme, the medical skill engaged in the service of the company was likewise instrumental in gaining favour with Aurungzebe, about the time of the first occupation of Calcutta — an English physician being serviceable in administering relief to tiie em- ])eror, when "sorely tormented with carbuncles," which his own medical attendants rould not cure. — (^Historical Frntjmnds of 3Iii(/nl Jiiii/)irc, p. 2iS4.) § The company lost no o])portunity of strengthen- ing and enforcing their authority over their country- men in India. Independent traders, licensed or unlicensed, were alike on sufferance; and in ad- dressing their presidencies, the directors expressly desire that care should bo taken to let even the uncovenanted merchants know " that by the laws, no subject of his majesty can stay in India without our leave ; and therefore, as they are there only during good behaviour, so you will let them continue no longer than tliey deserve it." — Letter to Jiciujal, 1722. 'I According to European and Hindoo writers, the sway of Moorshed Kooli Khan was marked by a degree of barbarous and fiend-like cruelty, which certainly formed no jjart of the character of .'Vurung- zebe, who, though he never scrupled to make away with the life of a human being if it suited his policy, was nevertheless, as a ruler, decidedly opposed to j ' in pure gold ; at the same time assuring him I that any favour he might solicit should be granted. .Again, the disinterestedness of a medical ollieer of the company jjroved equal to his skill,! and Hamilton requested the emperor to concede to the embassy the important privileges they had come to ask ; namely: — 1st. " That a ' dustuck,' or pass- port, signed by the president of Calcutta, should excmi)t the goods it specified from being stopjjcd or examined by the Mogul government, under any pretence: 2ndly. That the olliccrs of the mint at Moorshe- dabud should at all times, when required, allow three days in the week for the coinage of the East India Company's money : 3rdly. That all ])ersons, ichether Europeans or nuiives,^ who might be indebted or account- able to the company, should be delivered up to the presidency at Calcutta on the first demand : 4thly. That the English might purchase the lordshij) of thirty-eight towns, with the same immunities as Prince Azim Ooshan had permitted them to buy with Calcutta, Chuttanuttce, and Govindjioor." The petition was granted, notwithstanding the representations of the friends of Moor- shed Kooli Khan, the viceroy of Bengal, II who capital punishment or the infliction of tortures. Tlie viceroy of Bengal, on the contrary, seems to have used by preference such means of enforcing his authority as were best calculated to strike terror into the minds of all beneath his sway. He never placed confidence in any man, but examined the state of his exchequer daily. Any zemindar found reniisis in payment, was put under arrest, guards were placed to prevent liis eating and drinking till the deficiency was supjilied, and spies watched over the guards to inform if they were bribed, or negligent in their duty. ^Vhen a district was in arrear, the delinquent zemindar was tormented by every species of cruelty, such as hanging up by the feet, bastin.idoing, ex- posure to the sun in summer, and in winter frequent sprinklings of the bare flesh with cold water. The deputy dewan of the province, Seyed Rezah Khan, whohadmarried the grand-daughterof the Nabob.'Mu order to enforce payment of the revenues, ordered a pond to be dug, which was filled with everything disgusting, and the stench of which was so offensive, as nearly to suflbcate whoever approached it" — to this place the dewan, in derision of the Hindoos, gave the designation of Bickoont (a term which signifies their Paradise)—" and after the zemindars had undergone the usual punishments, if their rent was not forthcoming, he caused them to be drawn by a rope tied under the arms through this infernal pond. By such cruel and horrid methods, he ex- torted from the unhappy zemindars everything they possessed, and made them weary of their lives." ^\'herever a robbery was committed, the foujedar was compelled to find out the thief, or to recover the property ; and the robber, when caught, w,is impaled olive, or the body split in two, and hung upon trees on the high road. The Mussulnian writers speak of 240 IMPORTANT FIRMAUN GRANTED TO ENGLISH BY FEROKSHEER. seems to have been constantly on the watch to repress everj' indication of increasing power on the part of either Europeans or Hindoos. This lesson he had doubtless learned from his early patron, Aurungzebe ; and in practising it, together with other maxims derived from the same school, he earned the cordial detestation of the classes whose views he steadily opposed, and the unbounded admiration of Moguls and Mus- sulmans as the champion of their political supremacy and religious creed. The firmaun (comprising thirty-four patents),* issued at the intercession of Hamilton, f was impera- tive, but the viceroy contrived to impede the operation of its most important clauses. The thirty-eight villages which the company had obtained leave to purchase, would have given them a district extending ten miles from Calcutta on each side of the river Hooghly, where a number of weavers, subject to their own jurisdiction, might have been established. This arrangement Moorshed Kooli Khan circumvented by using his iuflueuce to deter the holders of the land from consenting to its sale. The privilege of granting dustucks or passports, was at first exercised by the president of Calcutta unchallenged, but the extension of immunity from duties from the goods of the company to those of their ser- vants, soon had the effect of exempting not only articles of foreign commerce, but also the produce of the province itself, in its passage by land from one district to another. This the viceroy declared it his determination to prevent, as a practice equally destructive to his revenue and ruinous to the native traders, on whom heavy duties were imposed ; and Le commanded that the English dustucks Moorshed Kooli Khan as severe in the extreme, but equally impartial, showing favour to no one, and always rewarding merit wherever he found it. His jurisdiction certainly afforded room for praise as well as cei;sure, were it only for his earnest efforts to ward off the terrible calamity of famine, and prevent the monopoly of grain. In private life, he was learned, temperate, and self-denying; refrained wholly from 6])irituous liquors and intoxicating drugs ; despised all the refinements of luxvu'y, whether in dress or food; always kept constant to one lawful wife, and would not suffer any strange women or eunuchs to enter the apartments of liis seraglio. Kvery year he Bent Korans of his own writing to Mecca, Medina, and other holy places; and during the period of twelve days, which include the anniversaries of the birth and death of Mohammed, he feasted people of all conditions, and caused a road tliree miles in length to be illuminated with lamps, representing verses of the Koran, mosques, trees, and other figures. He also kept, with great state, another favourite Moslem festival, in which the chief feature is the Belting afloat of boats made of bamboo and should be respected solely in the case of goods imported by sea, or purchased for ex- portation. The company remonstrated, but in vain ; and their servants, checked in their endeavours to grasp the inland trade, directed their ardour to the maritime branch ; and their superior skill soon induced the mer- chants of the province. Moors, Armenians, and Hindoos, to freight most of their exports in English vessels. Within ten years from the period of the embassy, the shipping of the port of Calcutta increased to 10,000 tons. The non-acquirement of the thirty-eight villages apparently occasioned no great dis- appointment to the company, who had ah-eady adopted the wary and reluctant tone they ever afterwards maintained regard- ing the increase of their territory. When aware of the sanction obtained by their representatives, they bade them purchase only so much of the lands in question as were immediately contiguous to Calcutta, remarking, that "when Jaffier Khan [Moor- shed Kooli Khan] or any other governor, finds you desire only half of what you might insist on, he or they may be the easier to give their consent, and not pick future quar- rels ; for as our business is trade, it is not political for us to be encumbered with much territory." In a subsequent paragraph, the directors speak of the benefit derivable from the possession of a good dock ; and add, " if ever we should be forced to the necessity of it, our settlement there would enable us to command the river; but this is not to be so much as publicly hinted at, lest it alarm the government." Again, in the same month (Feb., 1 721) , they write to Bengal, "remember we are not fond of much territory, especially paper, ornamented with flags, lamps, &c., as a re- ligious offering. — (Stewart's BciH/dl, pp. 378 — 411; and 'SketcJie/i of Bei)</til — anonymous.) As a climax to his oppressions in the eyes of the Hindoos, and laudable zenl in those* of his fellow-believers, the viceroy, in his old age, caused all the Brahminical temples in Moorsbedabad to be pulled down to furnish materials for his tomb. * Other privileges of less im])nrtance than those cited in the previous JJage, were comprised in these patents, which long constituted the great charter of the Knglish in India. Among them was a de- cree tliat the annual payment of a fixed sum to the goverrnnent of Sural should free the ICnglish trade at that port from all duties and exactions; that three villages contiguous to Madras, formerly granted and afterwards resumed by the government of Arcot, should be restored to tlic com])any ; and the island of I)iu, or Divi, near Masulipatam, conceded to them on payment of a fixed rent. — (Grant's S/;ilcli. |). I'lH.) t Mr. Hamilton died in Calcutta, in 1717. His tombstone was discovered about sixty years after, in digging for the foundations of a new church. PROCEEDINGS OF THE OSTEND E. I. Cv.— 171G to 172G. 241 if it lies at a distance from yon, or is not near tlic watci'-sidc; nor, in(l(;c'(l,ofaii\', unless you liavc a moral assurance it Mill eontiiliute directly or in consequence to our benefit."* In Indian afl'airs, as in tlie ordinary course of all collective or individual enter- prise, successes and rcvcrsest came at the same period from dilTerent but equally unexpected quarters. About the date of tlic successful embassy, a new and ])o\verful rival appeared ou trie stafje. In the year 1716, tlie fjovenior of tlie French settle- ment at I'oudieherry, announced to the British at Fort St. David, that there were oft" the Malabar coast two 40-gun vessels under the imperial colours. These ships belonged to tlie Ostend East India Com- pany, who were just eommeueing their operations, but did not gain a regular char- ter from their sovereign, the Emperor of Austria, till four years afterwards. Dutch, French, and English, immediately made common cause against the intruders, who had now to combiit the opposition every nation had encountered from its j)redeccs- sors in the field of Indian commerce since the Portuguese first iutcrruiited the navi- gation of the Arabs and Moors. In the present case it was argued, that the con- cession of a charter by the emperor to the Ostend company, was a breach of faith to- wards tlie English and Dutch, inasmuch as all eoneem in the undertaking on the se- verest penalties, — even, it is said, ou ])ain of death. France and I'^nglaml ado()tcd the same sellish policy, though tiiey did not carry it out with ccpial asperity. Louis XV. published a declaration denouncing various forfeitures, and in nome cases, imprisonment and exile on any of his pco])le wlio should enter into the service of the Ostend associa- tion, or hold shares in their stock. Similar punishmc'tits were held forth by George I. and his iiarlianient, to deter Bi'itish sut)jects from taking part in the new adventure; and one instance, at least, occurred of an Ostend ship, homeward-bound and richly freighted, being captured by a British privateer. All this persecution did not deter the Nether- landers from their object : it was to them as a breathing time from ojijircssion ; and they struggled with dctcrmiuation, and in a com- mercial point of view, with success, against their foes. Their charter was granted in 1723; in less than twenty-four hours their subscription-books were filled up; and within a month the shares were sold at a premium of fifteen per cent. At a meeting of pro- prietors in 172(), the remaining instalment on the subscriptions, equal to a dividend of thirty-three and one-third per cent., was paid np from the gains of the trade. Thus far, the emperor had persevered in uphold- ing the company, and in granting them it was by their united prowess that the ten ; commissions of reprisal, in which course provinces of the Kcthcrlands, which re- : he had been confirmed by an article in the maiued in allegiance to Spain during the , treaty of Vienna in 1725, by which Spain war of independence, were transferred from guaranteed the continuance of the assoeia- that kingdom to the crown of Austria. The tion. But this alliance was of brief dura- Dutch insisted upon the continuance of the i tion, and only served to rouse the jealousy restriction forcibly imposed by them on the of, other Eurojiean powers. It was i'ollowed trade of these provinces while they consti- by a combination which resulted in the tutcd a ])ortiou of the Spanish dominions ;' treaty of Hanover, between France, Eng- and asserted that this prohibition was im- j land, Holland, and Denmark, by which plied in the very terms of the barrier-treaty from which the emperor derived his autho rity. They seconded their arguments by active hostile measures : seized the vessels of the Ostend company, with their cargoes ; and forbade the subjects of the states from • Auber's liise and Pror/rcss, vol. i., 25. + During the first half of the 18th century the Eiijllish Kast India trade experienced some severe checks in China and the eastern islands. It seemed as if, iwlcus-viilois, they were to be driven to ex- pend all their energies on the Indian peninsula. Their factors were compelled, with great loss of goods and stores, to quit Chusan, where they had commenced a settlement, and a worse residt attended their endeavours to establish themselves on Pulo Condore, an island subject to the Cochin Chinese, und at Banjar Massin, in Borneo. The British at among other provisions, the coTitracting par- ties mutually guaranteed their respective commercial claims to the exclusion of the Ostend company. J The emperor, deserted by his only ally the King of Spain, could not oppose this formidable confederacy with- Pulo Condore were barbarously massacred by the soldiery, in 1705, and nearly two years afterwards the same fate overtook those at Banjar Massin, only a few escaping with life. In Sumatra (at Bencoolen), a severe and prolonged struggle took place: the natives compelled the British to evacuate Fort Marlborough, in 1718; but fearing to fall into the hands of the Dutch, suffered the English to return and resettle their factories, in 1721. — (Grant's Sketc/i.) J The Ostend company, tliough not expresslv named, are plainly alluded to in this treaty, to whicli Prussia and Sweden were likewise parties. 242 FORMATION OF THE SWEDISH E. I. Cy.— 1731. out endangering the object he had most at heart — namely, to secure the transmission of liis crown to his daughter and only child, Maria Theresa ; and he was reluctantly com- pelled to sign a treaty, in 1727, by which the Ostend company was suspended for seven years; and before the expiration of that term, he, by the treaty of Seville, pledged himself to its complete dissolution. The whole of these transactions, while affording strong evidence of the value at- tached to the Asiatic trade, certainly ex- hibit the exclusive companies of the most powerful European states of the period in a very unpleasing light, as concurring, in the open face of day, to crush the at- tempt of a persecuted people to regain their lost prosperity, and draw from the deep fountain of foreign commerce their portion of the invigorating streams by which other countries had been long fertilised.* At this time the commerce of Sweden had recovered from the depression caused by the wars of Charles XII. Brilliant victories cannot neutralise the disastrous and exhaust- iug effect of war on the energies of a people ; and many Swedish citizens forsook their native land for countries in which they could hope to sow the seed and reap the harvest of their labours unmolested. The restora- tion of tranquillity gave the signal for the return of those wanderers, who brought with them in some cases comparative wealth, and for the most part a spirit of enterprise yet more beneficial to the state. An opulent merchantof Stockholm, named * The ten provinces, it will be remembered, which remained under the possession of Spriin, were be- stowed by Philip on his daughter and her husband, the Archduke of Austria, with a stipulation in the deed of conveyance prohibiting their subjects from sailing to America or the I'3ast Indies. Vainly the Netherlanders presented petition after petition to the court of Madrid : they could olitain no redress. The wealth and industry of the country took refuge in Protestant lands, — in the congenial atmosphere of civil and religious freedom. Cities, once the hives of indus- try, were deserted ; and even Antwerp, lately the commercial cajjital and emporium of Europe, was reduced almost toa solitude; — its harbour abandoned by shipping — its exchange by merchants. U])on the death of Isabella, in 1098, the sovereignty reverted to Spain; and the king was ))ersuaded to grant to the Netherlands the liberty of trading to those ])arts of the Indies settled by Portugal, then under his sway. The revolt of the Portuguese in 1 0-10 was attended with the resumption of such of their Indian posses- sions as had not fallen into the power of the Dutch ; and the hopes of the Netherlanders were again dis- appointed. In in!)8, Carlos II., the last of the Aus- trian kings of Spain, granted them permission to trade with such parts of India and the coast of Guinea as Koning, observed the temper of his country- men, and connecting with it the number of men possessed of capital and of commercial and nautical knowledge turned adrift by the destruction of the Ostend company, con- sidered that a favourable opportunity had arrived for the establishmeut of an East India trade in Sweden. A company was formed, and a royal charter granted in 1731, empowering them to trade to all countries between the Cape of Good Hope and Japan, provided they refrained from entering havens occupied by any European power without permission. Gottenberg was to be the sole port of outfit and arrival, and for the dis- posal of the imports, wliich might be done only by public sale. In all points regarding duties the regulations were extremely liberal. The direction was to be entrusted to native or naturalised subjects of Sweden, and to Protestants only. The Dutch opposed the new association at the onset ; and the chief of their two first vessels, f the Frederick, was seized in the Straits of Sunda, and carried into Batavia ; but the representations of the Swedish minister procured its liberation, and bothtlie States-General aud the company disavowed having given any order for its interception. The poverty and low com- mercial reputation of Sweden, probably yet more than the total absence of any pretext for qtiestioning her right of intercourse with other independent kingdoms, prevented any systematic opposition being set up by the leading European powers to this new candi- date for eastern trade. The Swedes, from were not preoccupied by Europeans ; but before they could take advantage of this charter, the death of their royal patron occurred, A.D. 1700, and was fol- lowed by the long and sanguinary war of succession which convulsed Europe for thirteen years. Atthe con- clusion of peace they fell under the dominion of the house of Austria; and the emperor, desirous of encou- raging the commerce of his new subjects, but fearful of provoking the enmity of the maritime powers (as Eiigland and Holland were then termed), he at first, as has been shown, could only be prevailed on to sanction separate voyages, the success of which in- cited the formation of a temporary association, which was soon followed by that of the chartered company, whose efforts were brought to an untimely ter- mination in 1727. Among the accusations made against the Ostend company was that of being most determined smugglers, es])ecially of tea, which they im|)orted largely iiito Great liritain. However, as one wrong, though it cannot justify, is usually held to palliate another (at least in the sight of human tribunals), the Ostenders might well plead that ex- cuse for their adoption of the sole means of retali- ation in their power. t The Fi-fderick and Ulncn ; named after the king and queen of Sweden. EVENTS IN INDIA— 1725 to 1739. 243 tlio licginning;, traded almost entirely with (Jliiiia,* and tea foniird at least fbur-fiflhs of their exports, of wliieh a very stiiali part was coiisiiiiied in Sweden, the remainder bcinf; sold for ready-money to forei^'ners, chielly for the purpose of lieing sniuf;f;led into Great Britain — a practice wliich the heavy duties levied upon this article greatly cneouraf^ed. 'i'o return to the business of the three presidencies. The death of the af;ed vice- roy of l}en<;al. in \7'2'>, seems to have occa- sioned fear and reijret, and the I'^iif^iish, after so long complaining of his cruelty and ex- tortion, now openly lamented his loss. Tiie truth was, that jMoorshcd Kooli Khan, in common with the Nizam Asuf Jali, and other statesmen of Auriuinzche's stamp, had ini- bil)ed from their imperial master habits of nnflagging and methodical ap])lication to the whole duties of their position, whether civil or military, which raised them in a remarkable manner above the sensual and sluggish condition into which the Moguls had sunk under the enfeebling induencc of an eastern climate and unchecked luxury. f Moreover, the English had other reasons for viewing any change of this kind with an.xiety; for the weakness of the present representa- tive of the house of Timur, rendered it doubt- ful whether the succession to the vieeroy- alty might not prove a question to be decided by force of arms. This fear was re- moved by the uncontested ap|)ointmcnt of Shuja Khan, the son-in-law of the deceased ; but upon his death, in 1739, a struggle ensued between his son, Serferaz Khan, and his ungrateful but able dependent, the famous AH Verdi Khan, who, after slaying the heir of his patron in battle, usurped the government, in which he contrived to estab- lish himself. The piracies of the sons of Kanhojee Angria,J a jMalabar chieftain, about this period, sensibly afl'ectcd the ad- vancement of the English trade, and injured yet more deeply the failing strength of the Portuguese. The invasion of Nadir Shah, in 1739, was a shock which was felt through the length and breadth of the Indian conti- nent : it announced in language not to be misunderstood the downfall of a on(;e mighty * The supercargo of the FreiJerick, a Mr. Colin Campbell, was invested with the character of ambas- sador to the emperor of China, and some otlier eastern princes.— ^(Macjjherson's CiDiiinirce, p. oOS.) t 'I'he directors of tlio E. I. Cy. continuid extremely desirous to prevent tlieir servants from acquiring habits of indulirence wliicli might impair their useful- ness; and in 1731 they addressed a serious remon- cmpire, and was as the tocsin of war in the ears of the gov('rnors of the various ])ro- vinees, who, though still maintaining a senihlancc of respect to their nominal master, were really anxious only about one another's intrigues, and the increasing power of the Mahrattas. The incursions of this nation into Bengal, and their demand of chout, or a fourth of the total revenues, was resolutely opposed by Ali ^'erdi Kiian; and, while stiengtheniiig his own defences, he granted permission to the English at Calcutta to form a trench round the city to the extent of seven miles (the company's bounds), still known as the Mahratta ditch. Meanwhile events were occurring in Eu- rope destined to produce very imjjortant coiise<iuenccs in India. On the death of the emperor, Charles \'\., in the year 17 10, a violent war, kindled by competition for the imperial dignity, and for a share in the spoils of Austria, commenced in Germany. In this contest France and England (the latter through her Hanoverian connexions) had both engaged, and, in the eiul, had become nearly, or rather altogether, principals. In 1711, the two governments exchanged decla- rations of war, and before long their most distant settlements experienced the devastat- ing consequences of international strife. No material changes had taken place in the position of the European settlements since the commencement of the century. A single deviation from the exclusive policy pursued by the sovereigns of Portugal oc- curred in 1731, when the king granted per- mission for a single ship to make a single voyage to Surat and the coast of Coromandel, and back to Portugal. A company was formed for the purpose, but the experiment being attended with little success, was not repeated. The Dutch continued to exercise a pro- fitable, though (as far as India was con- cerned) a diminishing trade. The war with the zamoriu commenced in 1701, — was ter- minated by a treaty of peace in 1710; but again renewed in 1715, when the zaraorin surprised the fort of Chittua, which had been constructed in order to keep him in check. This event was followed by the invasion of strance to their Bengal agents, in the style of one already quoted, on their extravagant way of living, desiring them especially to eschew the "foppery of having a .set of music at table, and a coach-and-six, with guards and running footmen, as we are informed is now practised, not only by the president, but by some of inferior rank." \ See page 1C8. 244 DUTCH PROPOSAL TO KIDNAP INDIAN PRINCES— 1739. his country by an array of fully 4,000 men (Europeans and natives) ; and, in 1717, a new treaty was concluded on terms, accord- ing to Stavorinus, by no means advantageous to tlie Dutch, "in comparison with what might and ought to have been insisted on."* The same authority states, that during the continuance of hostilities " the English, or rather their commandant at Tellicherry, had assisted the zamorin with money, ammuni- tion, and gunners." The evidence on which this assertion is made does not appear. Without any such auxiliary, the neighbour- ing rajahs were probably quite strong enough to compete with the Dutch, whose military proceedings increased in cost as they de- creased in efficiency. The " supreme gov- ernment," as it was termed, at Batavia, addressing the local authorities at Malabar, in 1721, express astonishment at the re- newed spirit of hostility towards the native powers manifested by them, and also at their extravagant expenditure. They added, that " in case the zamorin thought fit to attack the rajah of Cochin, who had so long enjoyed the ])rotection of the company, they should not take an active part in the quar- rel." This direction was nothing less than the ungrateful abandonment of a dynasty which, from the time of the hostilities pro- voked by the aggressions of the Portuguese under Alvarez Cabral, in 1501, had sided with the Europeans. The Cochin rajahs had, it would seem, been little more than tools in the hands of the Dutch, who now so ungenerously abandoned them to their incensed countrymen. The impolicy of this proceeding, in a worldly sense, equalled its injustice as a question of principle. The zamorin and the rajah of Travancore ex- tended their dominions by the diminution of those of the chiefs dependent on the Dutch ; until the Travancore prince, in 1739, by his repeated successes acquired a reputation which rendered him respected and feared throughout the Malabar coast. His attachment to the English was another argument against him with the Dutch offi- cials; and one of them, Van ImhofF, who came over from Ceylon, in 1739, to examine into the state of affairs, represented that a total reformation was absolutely necessary, and could be effected only in two ways. The first was, to follow the market price for pepper ; the second, to enforce the con- tracts into which the natives were said to have entered, of traffic with the Dutch only, by forcibly exacting penalties in case of their non-performance, " or by surprising and carrying off to Batavia one or other of those princes, who showed themselves the most refractory, which would create so much terror among them, that it would not be necessary to resort to the same expedient a second time." This latter method M. Van Imhoff concluded would be the best; nor does it appear that any exception was taken at the cruelty and injustice of the plan thus suggested. t Happily for the Malabar rajahs, and possibly still more happily for the Dutch, no opportunity occurred for carrying it into execution, and the Malabar officials were compelled to adopt a more open mode of warfare, which they did without even ask- ing orders from Batavia on the subject, though they were soon obliged to send there for assistance, against the consequences of an unprovoked attack made by them on the * Stavorinus' Voj/nffes, vol. iii., p. 239. t Other officials in the service of tlie Dutch E. I. Cy. appear to have posses.sed and acted upon prin- ciples of the same character displayed by M. Van Imhoff. A terrible catastrophe occurred in Batavia, in 1740. The identical accusation broujjlit forward against the En<;lish at Amboyna, was here ur^cd ajjainst the Chinese inhabitants, who, it was alleged, had conspired to extirpate the Dutch, and were able to muster 90,000 men. On this pretext a pitiless massacre of the Chinese commenced, and the quarter of the town occupied by them was burnt to ashes, being set on fire, as was said, by themselves in de- spair. The number of the Chinese slaughtered on this occasion is estimated at from 12,000 to 30,000; and the amount of ])lundcr taken from them was enormous. No clear account of the origin of tlie business ever api>can'd, to refute the statement of the cuffering party, — that the conspiracy had been on the sid(^ of the Dutch, who were heavily indebted to the persons they accused. The governor himself shipped property for Holland to an amount staled at half a million sterling. No public trial took place ; but the reason is evident from the fact, that two members of the council, and the fiscal, were deprived of their offices and put in prison, together with the gover- nor, who remained there till the day of his death. Although most anxious to hush up the matter, it was deemed necessary to send an embassy to the Em- peror of China, and explain away, as far as possible, or at least palliate the fearful crimes committed, by representing it as an act of justice, much fear being excited that, on the ])ersons of the Dutch at CaiUon, the cnijieror might find vent for tin- wrathful feelings likely to \)e roused by the slaughter of his people. The answer proved the Heedlessness of such anxiety; the ambassador being informed tliut this paternal sovereign " took no concern in the fate of unworthy subjects, who had abandoned their native country, and the tombs of their ancestors, to live under the domi- nion of foreigners for the greed of gain ;'' a very impolitic as well as unfeeling sentiment to proceed from the mouth of the ruler of so densely populous 1 an empire. — (Macphcrson's Commerce.) DANTSir AND FRENCH E. I. COMPANIES— 1 714 to 1732. 215 rajah of Travancore. The Dutch company could ill Ijcar this addition to the ijurthcii already imposed l)j' the war in Macassar, — a locality M'liich, as it had been the arena of some of their most cruel aggressions, in devastating the land, and carrying off the inhabitants in large numbers as slaves, so it became the scene of many of their greatest calamities and embarrassments.* The Danish East India Company had endeavoured to take advantage of the sup- pression of the Ostend society ; and their king, Frederick IV., lent a willing car to argu- ments similar to those which had been suc- cessfully urged by Koning upon the Swedish monarch, regarding the advantage of enlist- ing in the service of Denmark the capital and ability of the Ncthcrland merchants, prohibited from trading under their own flag. A charter was granted, in 1728, au- thorising the opening of an additional sub- scription-list for new members, and an India House was established at Altona, a Danish town adjacent to Hamburgh. The English and Dutch companies remonstrated warmly against this measure, as little less than tlie reproduction of the Ostend association under a fresh name. Their jealous opposition suc- ceeded in procuring the abandonment of the Hamburgh establishment ; but it raised, in the minds of the Danes, a strong feeling of the importance of the commerce so sharply watched by rival societies, and induced a large number of persons to take part in it. • Their fjeneral trade continued, notwithstanding these drawbacks, steadily lucrative. During the first twenty-one years of their existence — that is, from 1002 to IG'22 — the company divided thirty million florins ; being more than quadruple the ori- ginal stock. From llie year 1005 to 17l!8 the divi- dends amounted to about twenty-two per cent, per annum, sometimes paid in bank money, sometimes in cloves. Tims, on the origin.il capital of £050,000, eighteen million sterling were paid as dividends, be- sides the necessary accnnuilation of property in terri- tory, forts, ar.d ships. The price of the stock, between 1723 and ITGO, bore a ])remium varying from 320 to 650 per cent. The annual fleet dispatclied from Holland was very large. F'rom the year 1720 to 1729, inclusive, the number amounted to 372 ves- sels (giving an annual average of thirty-seven), with crews comprising nearly 70,000 men. The dividends, during the same period, averaged twenty-three per cent. Various renewals of their charter had been obtained, at different times, from the States-Gene- ral, notwithstanding considerable opposition on the part of the public, which was silenced, in the ears of government, by the payment of large sums of money on various occasions. In 1740, unusual difficulties appear to have been met with, and the company could only obtain a prolongation of their jirivileges for a single year; nor was it until 1748 that they succeeded in procuring the desired grant, which was A new and very favourable charter, granted to the company in 1732, for a term of forty years, contains among its clauses two which are interesting, even after the lapse of more than a centiu-y. One was a ])roviso, "that the strictest attention should be paid to the morals of the people sent out to India in the company's service" — a point which had been heretofore sadly disregarded ; the other threw a shield round the individual interests of the proprietors, by enacting that " no money should be lent or bor- rowed without the consent of a general meeting of the proprietors." t Tbe trade carried on after this period, though never very extensive, became decidedly prosperous, and continued so during the remainder of the eighteenth century. FuANCE had advanced far more perceptibly towards the close of the epoch now under consideration. In 171 1, the E. I. Cy. again applied for and obtained a renewal of their charter. Exhausted funds, and a debt amounting to 10,000,000 livres, seemed to afford little pi-ospect of remunerative trade during the ten years for which their exclu- sive privileges were continued; but before the expiration of that period, their separate existence was merged in the extraordinary association formed by the famous schemer, John Law. J In the year 1720, England and France exhibited to the world at large the disgraceful spectacle of the governments of two great nations struggling to shake off then conceded for a term of twenty-seven years. — (Milburn, JNIacpherson, and Stavorinus.) t Macpherson's Commerce with India, p. 239. X This remarkable man (the son of an Edinburgh goldsmith), persuaded the Duke of Orleans, regent of France, in 1716, to adopt liis plans of finance and commerce as a means of honourably relieving the government and nation from a debt of about £90,000,000 sterling, (mainly caused by the lavish expenditure of Louis XIV.,) in preference to the dis- graceful alternative actually propounded of disavow- ing the large quantity of depreciated paper-money, which had tieen issued from the Parisian treasury. The first step taken by Law was the formation of a public Bank, with a capital of six million livres, divided into 1,200 shares; its business to be confined to receiving money on deposit, and lending it at a moderate rate of interest on per- sonal or proprietory security. The project became immediately popular ; hoarded coin found its way to the coffers of the Bank, the notes of which became current throughout Europe : the West India Company furnished £3,937,500; and the increased circulating medium gave new energy to agricul- ture, commerce, and the arts. During the excitement which ensued. Law wielded unlimited power, and his personal health became a matter of intense anxiety and eager speculation. In 1617, he founded the Mississippi company, with which was sub.se- 246 PROJECTS OF LAW, THE SCOTTISH ADVENTUIIER~1720. the involvements caused by war and lavish expenditure, and to lessen their public debts by sanctioning schemes which, being mani- festly unjust in principle, could not fail to prove injurious to the multitudes who, un- accustomed, under any circumstances, to examine into the truth of plausible state- ments, would accept them without hesita- tion when made current by the approbation of the legislature, and thus cruelly misled, rush headlong into ruin. The conduct of the ministry and parliament of England, though deeply blamable in regard to the South Sea bubble, was far surpassed in dis- honesty and infatuation by the proceedings of the rulers of the French nation, in carry- ing out the complication of incongruous pro- jects called " Law's system." The " Royal Bank" constituted the leading and absorb- ing feature of the whole ; and of the nume- rous societies whom their own credulity or the manoeuvring of stock-jobbers had im- pelled within the vortex, the East India body alone appear to have survived the general wreck. This company arose strong in the " per- petual and irrevocable"* privileges in- herited from its defunct associates, and secured in its pecuniary welfare by the ar- bitrary measures enacted in 1721 for the diminution of its shares, which benefited the corporation by a method peculiar to despotic governments — of annihilating the property of their own subjects by a few strokes of the pen, without so much as a pretence of compensation. At the same time, the nomination of directors was claimed for the Crown, and likewise the right of appointing one, two, or even three commissioners, with considerable controlling powers over the directors, with whom they were constantly at variauce. Notwithstand- ing this great drawback, the company pur- sued their eastern trade with much energy. Their Indian debts — the accumulation of a long series of years — were paid off; and, on the appointment of the able and upright Orry as minister of finance, measures were adopted for the improvement and defence of the Indo-French settlements. Pondicherry, after its surrender by the Dutch, in 1697, had been restored to the superiutendence of M. Martin. By his prudence and integrity the basis of its prosperity was laid in the confidence of the natives, who gladly settled under his protection ; and in course of time the village grew into a large and regular city, containing 70,000 inhabitants, of whom the European proportion continued, of course, extremely small. The French had also factories or comptoirs at Maho, not far south from Tellicherry, on the Mala- bar coast; and at Chandernagore, on the Hooghly, in Bengal. Dumas, the governor- general appointed by Orry, increased the revenues of the company by obtaining per- mission from the Mogul, in 1734, to coin money in the fort of Pondicherry ; and the rupees struck there yielded a profit of nearly ,€20,000 per annum for several years. In quently incorporated the C'unada, Cliina, Senegal, St. Domingo, Guinea, and JEast India associations. The united body became generally known as the Compamj of the West — or sometimes of the Indies — and had a capital stock of one hundred million livres, it being the scheme of Mr. Law to pay the holders of government paper with the stock (or shares) of this company. All the nations of Europe became infected with the mania of suddenly growing rich by the issue of paper-money, and capitalists flocked by thousands to Paris from every metropolis : the shares bore a premium of 1,200 per cent., and the govern- ment granted to the company variousprivileges, — such as the sole vending of tobacco, the mint, and general farming of all the revenues, in consideration of a loan to the king of fifty million sterling towards the liquidation of the ])ublic debt. Capital was nomi- nally added by several expedients: gold was forbid- den in trade; and the coin successively diminished in value, until the peojile of France gladly brought their specie to the Bank, and converted tlieir stock in the public funds into shares of the company, by which proceeding the national debt would, it was'sup- posed, be paid oil'. 'I'he mania lasted about a twelve- month, and then the bubble burst, in sjiite of every endeavour to continue its inflation. A terrible panic ensued, and was followed by a long season of indi- vidual misery and general depression. Multitudes of all classes awoke from their dream of wealth to the realities of want, and the government reeled under the shock which attended the downfall of its splendid projects for re-establishing the public credit. The " Sieur Law," comptroller-general of the finances and inspector-general of the lloyal Bank, and all its associate societies, disappeared from France, and died in obscurity, without having acquired any thing very considerable for himself, altliongh he had it once in his power (so far as human judgment can decide) to have become the richest subject in Christendom. — (Anderson's Origin of Comnicree, years 1716 to 1720. Macpherson's European Com- merce with India, ]ip. 2(54 to 27G. .Tustamond's trans- lation of the Abbe lljiynal's European Settlements in the East and West Indies, vol. ii., pp. Gl to (i8.) * Macpherson's Commerce, ]>. 'li'i'J. It is a trite remark, but singularly apposite to the present case, that governments are never so ready to concede un- limited privileges as when their own authority stands on a tottering and precarious footing. In examining into all questions regarding the grant of exclusive privileges, and their biaring in a national point of viow.it is always important to understand clearly the condition of the acting |)rinco or government at the time of making such concessions. CHAllACTEll OF M. DE LA BOURDONNAIS— a.u. 1741. 247 1730 tlie French took fornible possession of Kcirical, on the Coroniancicl coiist, wliicli was confirincil to thcni hy a f;raiit from the rajah of 'I'mijore. MciinwhiU', war was being carried on between Dost Mi, the go- vernor or nabob of Arcot, and the Mahrattas under Ragojce Bhonslay, which terminated in the defeat of the former. His family, and several of bis subjects, took refuge in Poiidi- cherry, whither Uagojee pursued them, and threatened to besiege the place, unless tlicy were surrendered. This Dumas positively refused; and at length, after plundering far and near, the Mahrattas accepted a small subsidy, and retired from the field in April, 1741. Sufder AH, the son of the deceased nabob, is alleged to have made a princely return for the protection bestowed upon his relatives, by ceding to Dumas personally three districts, in value amounting to nearly .£100,000 sterling per annum. The emperor Mohammed is stated, by the same authority, to have confirmed this grant, and further to have sent Dumas a dress of honour, bestowed on him the title of nabob (a dignity never before conferred on a Euro- pean) , and made him a Mtinsubdar of 1,500 — that is, a commander entitled to the rank and salary associated with the control of that (often almost nominal) number of cavalry. These distinctions were, it is added, trans- ferred to his successor, the afterwards fa- mous Dupleix.* Another justly celebrated man was then at the head of the presidency estabUshed by the French in the Indian seas, which com- prised the two islands of IMauritius and Masearenhas, otherwise called Isles of France or Cerne, and of Bourbon. M. de la Bourdonnais was a native of St. Malo, and had been at sea since the age of ten years. In the course of his voyages he had the opportunity of observing the advantages of the coasting trade of India, in which he was the first of his nation to embark. In a few years he realised a considerable fortune, and by sheer force cf character, acquired much influence over those with wliom he associated. A violent quarrel between the crews of some Arabian and Portuguese ships, iu the harbour of Mocha, vras ami- * See Milburn's Oriental Commerce, i., 389. This usu.iily correct writer possibly attributes to Dumas honours conferred on or assumed by Duplei-K a few years later. Dost Ali was himself an interhiper, un- confirmed by the emperor or the viceroy of the Deccan; and it is strMnjje that the extravasjant grant made by his son should have received tlie imperial sanction, even though bestowed in i-eward of opposi- eably adjusted through his intervention ; and th(! viceroy of (ioa, greatly relieved by tliis termination of an ad'air which threatened fatal eonseciuences, invited the successful mediator to enter the service of Portugal, gave him the title of agent for that power on the coast of Coromandel, together with tlie command of a royal ship, the rank of Kidalgo, and enrolled him as a member of the order of knighthood profanely termed "of Christ." In this lionoural)le position he remained for two years, and t\um, in 17.33, returned to France, where his reputation for ability and uprightness procured him the a])pointment of governor -general of the ^luuritius and Masearenhas, where he ar- rived in 1735. His conduct here was truly admirable. He found the people poor, ia- dolcut, and itjnorant ; but by dint of un- wearied application, and a capacity for taking the initiative in everything connected with the material welfare of the settlements over which he had been chosen to preside, he effected improvements whicli seemed, says Raynal, "owing to enchantment. "t The functions of governor, judge, surveyor, engineer, architect, agricvdturist, were al- ternately performed by this one man, who could build a ship from the keel, construct vehicles, and make roads ; break in bulls to the yoke, or teach the method of cultivat- ing wheat, rice, cassava, indigo, and the sugar-cane. He established an hospital for tlie sick, and notwithstanding his multi- farious occupations, visited it regularly every morning for a whole twelvemonth. Neither his unwearied labours, nor the extraordinary success with which they were attended, suf- ficed to shield him from the shafts of ca- lumny. Some ship-captains and other visi- tants of the island, whom he checked in their unreasonable demands, laid unfounded charges against him before the directors, and the high-spirited governor was consequently exposed to treatment which induced him to return to France, in 1 710, with the intention of resigning his harassing and thankless ofHce.J This Orry would not permit, but induced him to return to the Isles, and en- couraged liis plans for the extension of French power ia the East, and of hostility tion to the common foe of Mohammedans, the Mah- rattas. t European Settlements in E. ^- TT. Indies, ii., 75. I Raynal states, that La Bourdonnais, being asked how he had conducted his private afl'airs with more alnlily tlian those of his employers, replied : " I ma- naged mine according to my own judgment, and those of the company according to tlicir directions." 248 DUPLEIX— STATE OP INDIA— 174U to 1715. against the English. La Bourdonnais could not, however, procure adequate means for the execution of his extensive projects; but the force entrusted to him was usefully em- ployed in raising the siege of Mahe, invested by the Mahrattas in 1741, after which he again occupied himself with the same energy as be- fore in the details of his own government. Dupleix, the French governor- general in India, was perhaps equal to his colleague in a certain description of ability, and pro- bably superior to him in education and social position (his father having been a farmer- general of the revenues, and a director of the East India Company) ; but in manliness and integrity he was incomparably the in- ferior. In 1 720, Dupleix was appointed first member of the council at Pondicherry ; and here he continued for ten years, carefully studying the politics of the epoch, and ac- cumulating property by engaging in the commerce of the country, from which the poverty of the servants of the French company for the most part debarred them. In 1730 he was sent to superintend the settlement at Chandernagore, which he found in a very neglected condition. Under his rule a great change took place, and the increase of wealth and population was marked by the erection of no less than 2,000 brick houses. A new trading establishment was foi'med at Patna through his exertions, and the French com- merce in Bengal became an object of envy to all other Europeans. These indubitable proofs of legislative ability, aided probably by the influence of family connexion at home, procured for Dupleix the position of governor-general. It would seem as if the peculiar vices of his character had lain dor- mant while he remained in a subordinate position, but were called into action by the possession of supreme authority over his countrymen in India, checked only by re- sponsibility to a distant and ill-informed body of directors. Ambitious in the extreme, in- ordinately vain, and no less restless and intriguing, Dupleix, from this period, con- stantly manifested a degree of littleness which made his really remarkable talents a matter of doubt in the sight of many who deemed such opposite qualities incompatible. It may be imagined that a man of this cha- racter would neglect no opportunity of dis- tinguishing himself and extending tiic power of his nation at the expense of the English ; but his appointment at Pondicherry had been accompanied by such stringent com- mands for a general diminution of outlay, that he dared not commence hostilities, but was compelled to content himself by taking measures (in contravention to his instructions) for placing Pondicherry in a strongly defensible condition. The state of the English Company at this period has been sufBcientlj^ shown in pre- ceding pages. They do not appear to have numbered among their servants any leader fltted by experience and ability to oppose with success the generalship of La I?our- donnais, or the wiles of Dupleix. Happily for England, want of union in the councils of the enemy, tended to diminish the dan- ger of their hostile attempts. Before proceeding to narrate the struggle between the two nations, it is necessary to pause and briefly notice the leading terri- torial divisions of India at the epoch when the Mogul yoke changed from an iron chain to a rope of sand, and imperial vice- roys or subahdars, nabobs or deputy go- vernors, rajahs and ranas, naiks, wadeyars, polygars, zemindars, and innumerable chiefs of lesser note and diff"enng titles, strove each one for the aggrandisement and in- dependence of himself or his own family. A similar summary has been given previous to the invasion of India by the followers of Mohammed (pp. 39 to 43); as also at the epoch formed by the accession of Akber in 1556 (pp. 93 to 107): it is now important to note the origin and condition of several newly-created principalities, and also the changes which had taken place in the older states, in the course of the intervening period of nearly two centuries, for the sake of affording a means of reference, the value of which will be apparent when the narra- tive of European progress brings into pro- minent notice nabobs and rajahs taking their titles from places as yet unheard of. Indian States — 1740 to 1745. — The in- vasion of Nadir Shah, in 1739 (as has been shown in previous pages), left the Great Mo- gul in the dismantled palace of his ances- tors, with an exhausted treasury and an empire diminished by the severance of Ca- BooL, SiNDE, and Moultan. A few years later, and another jewel was snatched from the imperial crown. The lovely valley of Cashmere, ever since its acquisition by Akbcr, had been the favourite retreat of successive monarclis from the intense sum- mer-heats of Delhi or Agra. Here Jehan- gccr had held many a Bacchanalian revel, and spent long hours in dalliance with the gifted but unprincipled Nour Mahal, watch- CASHMERE, OUDE, THE PUNJAUB, GUZERAT, RAJPOOTANA, &o. 249 ing her distilling the far-famed essence of the rose, or listening to her magnificunt projeets for the ei'ectiou of puhlie ediliccs, mingled, too often, with unworthy schemes of anihition or revenge. Here Sliah Jehaii passed many bright summers before death took away Taj Mahal, the wife whom he truly loved, and before the (|uarr('ls and rebel- lion of the children she had borne, brought to him, in retribution for the unsparing cruelty which had attended his accession to the throne, an old age of sorrowful captivity. Here Aurungzebe, proof alike against the enervating influences of climate, the charms of the seraglio, the seductions of wine, or the intoxicating drugs which had been the bane of his race, pondci'cd in austere seclusion over the complicated web he spent a life iu weaving, with the bitter result of finding himself at last entangled iu his own toils. Here, lastly, Mohammed Shah came, in the first flush of regal gran- deur, to forget, amid a crowd of giddy courtiers, the heavy i-espousibilities of the inheritance of despotic power which his indolent, easy nature rendered pccuUarly burdensome ; and here, too, he came in age, and beholding the vessel of the state, com- mitted by Providence to his guidance, reduced almost to a wreck, by calamities brought on by internal corruption, rather than by external strife, he probably learnt the causes of evils it was too late to remedy, but which he encountered with a quiet dig- nity and forbearance that served to keep together some of the shattered remains of imperial power. Cashmere was, however, seized by Ahmed Shah Abdulli, and incor- porated in the new kingdom of Candaliar ; and the conqueror proceeded to invade the PuNJAUB, and had even crossed the Sutlej, when he was met by the Mogul army (under his namesake the heir-apparent), completely defeated, and driven back. This victory was followed almost immediately by the death of Mohammed Shah, and the accession of Prince Ahmed. The period, however, of •which we are treating commences with the • The rise of the Mahrattas materially aided the JatSibywithdiawingAurungzebefrom the neighbour- hood of Agra ; but the statement of Grant Uutf, that the plunder of the imperial army enabled them to fortify Bhurtpoor, is contradicted by Elphinstone. — {India, u., 5\i. 6Ve also Thornton's 7h</(oh Gtizit- teer,\n four vols., London, lSo-1 — article, Bhurtpore.) t See p. 171. — The founder of the Kohillas is described by Duff as tlie son of a Hindoo Aheer, a class of shepherds nearly similar to the Dhunyurs of Maharashtra. An Afghan adopted him when a boy, and gave him the name of AH Mohammed Kchilia. departure of the Persian invaders (1739.) The intrigues of viceroys and governors were Sjicedily resumed when the first stunning cH'cct of the late calamity had passed away. In OuDK, Sadut Khan had been succeeded by his nejihew and son-in-law, Suftlcr Jung. Iti the PuNJAUii, the rebellion of the Mogul viceroy soon produced renewed incursions from the Ai^jhan border, and the province of (iiiZKiiAT fell completely into the hands of the Mahrattas. The three chief Rajpoot states of Jkypook (Amber), Joudpoor (Mar- war), and Oonii'ooii (Mewar), were still, to some extent, tributary to the emperor. The two last-named had been subjected to partial devastation from the Mahrattas; but the intimate connexion subsisting between Rajah Jcy Sing and Bajee Rao, prevented such aggressions in the districts of Jeypoor, at the cost to the empire of the province of Malwa. The Jat.s, established in the terri- tory between Agra and Jeypoor, were rapidly gaining ground ; aiul after the ^lah- rattas crossed the Chunibul, they, for the most part, maintained a friendly intercourse with their fellow-marauders.* The princi- pality afterwards known by the name of KoiiiLLA, was in progress of establishment in THE DoAB, little more than a hundred miles to the southward of Delhi. t BENtiAL, Baiiab, and OmssA were under the sway of Ali ^ erdi Khan, but subject to the exactions of the Mahrattas, to whom the whole of India was rapidly becoming more or less tributary. When one pretext failed, another could easily be found by those who had the power of enforcing their most unreasonable de- mands. A district once overrun, was said to be under tribute from usage, whilst chout and surdeshmooki were extorted front the others by virtue of letters patent. J Thus, oti various pretences the Mahrattas, says Dull", "went plundering and burning on the east and on the west, from the Hooghly to the Bunass, aiul from Madras to Delhi ;" while the Europeans, in their profound ignorance of native history, watched with amazement the progress of a people whom they still called His followers assumed the same designation ; and from being the commander of a small party of Afghan cavalry, in the service of the deputy-go- vernors of Moradabad, he gradually obtained pos- session of lands, and encroached by degrees, until the force sent for his expulsion by the imperial viceroy, proved in.sufficient for the purpose. \ It docs not appear that any deed for collecting general chout over the empire was ever granted by Mohammed Shah : sums of money and convenient assignments were the modes of payment. — (Grant Hull's History of the Mahrattns, i., 457.) 250 MAHARASHTRA AND THE SOUTH OF INDIA. " the Sevajees," after their great leader, in- stead of by their own distinctive appellation. The centre of the difl'iisive power of the Mahrattas was Maharashtra, the region where their peculiar language was spoken. The whole of this territory had, in 1.573, during the reign of Akber, been subject to the kings of Beejapoor and Ahmeduuggur, ■with the exception of a part of Candeish (which was held as an independent princi- pality by the sultan of Boorhanpoor), of the northern Concan belonging to Guzerat, and the possessions of the Portuguese.* At that period Golconda was the third important Mohammedan state in the Deccan, Beder (the seat of the Bahmani dynasty) and Berar having been annexed to the dominions of their more powerful neighbouring states, which, as we have seen, were themselves in turn extinguished by the encroachments of Sevajee on the one side, and the levelling policy of Aurungzebe on the other. The six Mogul subahs or provinces of the DECCAN'f ■were, in 1741, in so far as the Delhi emperor was concerned, an independent government, under the irresponsible rule of the old nizam, Asuf Jah, who divided the revenues with the Mahrattas ; the advantage being, as has been shown, increasingly on their side. The fixed possessions of the Mohammedans, for many centuries after their first invasion of the peninsula, did not extend south of the Kistna ; and, indeed, the term of " the Deccan," by writers of this religion, and even by Wilks and other English authorities, is commonly used to denote the countries lying between the Nerbudda and Kistna; the territory below the latter river being distinguished as the south of India. It is with this portion of the continent that we * See pp. 43 and 140. Hindoo writers differ ma- terially as to the extent of Maharashtra, which they designate one of the five principal divisions of the IJeccan. According to the Tiitica (one of the books of the Joluah Shastra or IJtitdvu Astronoinii), Maha- rashtra extends no farther than the C'handore range of hills, where Kolwun, Buglann, and Candeish are represented as its northern boundaries ; and all be- yond those countries is indiscriminately termed Vcndhiadree. Duff adds, " that the tract between Cliandore and Eroor Manjera, on the Kistna, is certainly the most decidedly Mahratta, and in it there is the least variation in the language ; but follow- ing the rule adverted to in its more extended sense, Maharashtra is tliat space which is lioiinded on tlie north by the Sautpoora [? Vindhya] mountains, and extends from Naundnde, on the west, along those mountains to the Wync Gunga, east of Nagpoor " — (i., 3.) A waving line from Mahonr to Goa, with the ocean on the westward, form the chief remaining limits. Wilks states, that the Mahratta language are more particularly concerned, from its having been the scene of the first struggle for supremacy between European powers. I Previous to the battle of Talicot, in 1565, j the whole of this territory was, more or less, ! under the sway of the government of Beeja- nuggur, or Vijeyanuggur ; but many dis- ! tricts were held by families who ruled as tribu- j taries or feudatories, with hereditary power. 1 The defeat and slaughter of the brave old Rama Rajah, and the destruction of his capital by the conjoined exertions of the four Mohammedan sovereigns of the Deccan, were not followed by any systematic attempts for the annexation of Beejanuggur by the conquerors to their own dominions, private jealousies and international disputes pre- venting any permanent arr.angement between I them regarding the division of the spoil. Venkatadri, the brother of the late rajah, established himself at Penconda, about 140 miles south-east of the former capital, and from thence the seat of government was shortly afterwards transferred toChandragiri. About the year 1597, a descendant of the ancient Ray eels (as the rajahs of this dynasty were called) ruled with some degree of { magnificence at Chandragiri and Vellore, where he still held at least nominal sway over the governors or naiks of Jinjee, Tan- jore, Madura, Chenuapatam, Seringapatam (Mysoor), and Penconda; and in 1640, the last representative of this ancient house, Sree Ranga Raya, sanctioned the establish- ment of the English at Chennapatam, or Madras. About six years afterwards, he was driven by the forces of Golconda from his occasiotial places of residence and nominal capitals at Chandragiri and Chinglcptit, and compelled to take refuge with the chief spreads from Beder to the north-west of Canara, and of a line which, passing considerably to the eastward of Dowlatabad, forms an irregular sweep until it touches the Taptee, and follows the course of that river to the western sea, on which the dis- trict of Sedashegur, in North Canara, forms its south- ern limit. In the gcogra])hical tables of the Hin- doos, the name of Maharashtra — and by contraction, Mahratta dasuni (or couiitri/) — seems to have been more particularly a])propriated to the eastern por- tion of this great region, including Jiaglana, part of lierar, and Candeish : the western was known by its ])r('senl luinie of Concan. — [Ilistoricdl Sl;ctches of the Sniif'h fif Iiiilia, or Htxtorii of Mysmr, i., 5-0.) t Isl. Candeish, capital liurhanpoor. 2nd. Auruti- gabad, which com])riscd the territory formerly called the state of Ahmednuggur, governed by the Nizam Shahi dynasty. 3rd. IJeejapoor or Viziapoor, the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty. 4lh. lieder. i'nh. Jierar. Gtli. Hyderabad, capital of the Gol- conda or Kootb Shahi dynasty. ACCOUNT OF CARNATIC BALA GHAUT AND PAYEEN GIIAUT. 231 of Bcdnore or Nuggur (now included in Mysoor.) Scr.-i, Bangalore, and Colar, with the important fortrcsscsof Vellorcand Jinjcc, were seized liy Bccjapoor, tlic ambitious and sliort-siglited rulers of that kingdom continuing, to their last gasp of ])owcr, to en- deavour to increase a superstructure already too extensive for its slender and tottering base. Aurungzebe's great political error, in destroying states it was his interest to uphold in dependence upon him, brought both tlicm and him a fitting reward for the ungovern- able lust of concpiest. It levelled the only barrier to the rapid spread of Hindoo power ; and in a sliort period of years, the supre- macy of the Mahratta state was acknow- ledged, more or less decidedly, over all the south of India ; and this, notwithstanding the incongruities of its internal constitution with its capitals of Sattara, where the rajahs lived (kings in name, captives or pageants in reality) ; and of Poona, where the peish- was (ministers in name, sovereigns in reality) held their now sumptuous courts and exer- cised sway, cheeked however materially by the private designs and unsleeping watch- fulness of the Dhabaray family, llugojee Bhonslay, and other noted lenders. With these turbulent eiiieftains, the peishwas were glad to compromise matters, by suftcr- ing them to invade Guzerat, Bengal, and other Mogul provinces on their own ac- count ; the authority of the rajah being a convenient pretence, occasionally resorted to in confirmation of such arrangements, and ■which, strange to say, still carried consider- able weight in the minds of the people, it being quite inconsistent with the character of tlie Brahminical cast to govern, except after the fashion of an English " lord-pro- tector" or a Frencli cardinal. The death of Bajec Rao, the famous antago- nist of the nizam, in 1740, has been narrated (p. 1(59), as also tlic events which attended the accession to the peislnvaship of his sou Balhijec Bajee Rao. It is not necessary to enter further into the Mahratta history of this period, save in so far as it is connected with that of the various distinct principali- ties now fast rising into importance beneath the sway of native rulers or usurping go- • nistonj of Mysoor, i. 8. t SitiiaU'd on the western coast of the Indian peninsula, lietwcen the Concan and Malabar (tbr- merly named Kerala.) I The great geographical feature of the south of India is a central eminence of 3,000 to 5,000 feet in height, above the level of the sea, separated by abrupt declivities from tlie low fiat countries to the vernors. Under the latter head may be classed TooLAVA, tlic region (formerly jiart of J)ravi(la) distinguished in liuropcan maps as thcCAiiNATic — a tract, says Colonel \Vilks, which " by a fatality unexampled in tlie history of nations, neither is nor ever was known by that name to the people of the province, or of any part of India."* The misnomer originated in the conquest of To(jlava by the government of Canara Propcr,t not long before the partition of the dominions of that state between the kings of Golconda and Bccjapoor. These sovereigns, in dividing a country of whose condition and history they were wholly ignorant, were satisfied with the sweeping designations of the Carnatic Bala Ghaut and Payeen Ghaut (above and below the Ghauts)! — appellations which were trans- ferred with the dominion over the region thus arbitrarily renamed — when all other Mohammedan governments were swallowed up in Mogul supremacy. In 1 70G, a chief named Sadut OoUah Khan (through the influ- ence of Baud Khan Panni,§ then viceroy of the Dcecan), was appointed by the emperor nabob of theCarnatic Bala Ghaut and Payeen Ghaut, II and he continued to fill that position after the death of his patron and the acces- sion of the nizam. Sadut Oollah is supposed to have fixed the seat of his government at Arcot about the year 1716, no inscription or authority (says Colonel Wilks) having been discovered to prove the previous existence of a capital on that site. He died in 1732, leaving no issue male ; but through the pre- cautious taken in behalf of his nephews and adopted sons. Dost Ali and Bakir Ali, the latter continued to be governor of Vellore, while the former succeeded in establishing himself as nabob of the Carnatic, despite the opposition of the nizam, whose jealous in- terference prevented his procin'ing an au- thentic commission from Delhi. At the period of his accession, the new nabob had two sons ; the elder, Sufder Ali, had reached manhood : he h?d also several daughters, one of whom was married to a distant rela- tive, the afterwards famous Chunda Sahib, who first acquired notoriety by his treache- rous acquisition of Trichinopoly. This little east and west, which form a belt of small and un- equal breadth between the hills and the ocean. This central eminence is usually named the Bala Ghaut; and the lower belt, the Payeen Ghaut — Ghaut sig- nifying a mountain pass or break. § See page 156. II Called also the Carnatic Beejapoor Bala Ghaut, and the Carnatic Hyderabad Payeen Ghaut. 252 PRINCIPALITIES OF TANJORE AND MYSOOR— 1740 to 1745. state, like the neighbouring principality of Tunjore, although at times subject to the exactions of the Mohamniedau rulers of Beejapoor and Golcouda, had maintained its independence from a remote date. The death of the rajah, in 17o6, gave rise to dis- putes concerning the succession. INIinakshi Amman, the reigning queen, upheld the cause of her adopted sou agaiust a rival claimant, and was actively supported by Cliunda Sahib. Grateful for his assistance, and unsuspicious of any sinister motive, the queen was induced to give her ally free access to the citadel, and he abused her confidence by taking possession of the government in his own right, and im- prisoning the ill-fated lady, who soon died of grief. This unworthy conduct excited strong dissatisfaction throughout the neigh- bouring states. The nabob viewed with alarm the ambitious and unscrupulous temper of his son-in-law, and the nizara was exceedingly annoyed by the growing power of a family, whose members, though disunited among themselves, would, he well knew, at any time coalesce against him as their common foe. The Hindoo princes participated in the jealous feelings of the uizam, and were likewise, it may be sup- posed, moved with honest indignation at the cruel treatment sustained by their fellow-so- vereign. The result was, the invasion of the Carnatic by a Mahratta army under Rugo- jee Bhonslay, in 1740, and the defeat and death of Dost Ali; followed, in 1741, by the siege of Trichinopoly and the capture of Chunda Sahib, who was carried prisoner to Sattara. Sufder Ali, the new nabob, was assassinated at the instigation of his cousin, Murtczza Ali, the governor of Vellore ;* and the murderer, after vainly endeavouring to take advantage of his crime, by establishing himself as ruler of tlie province, shut him- self up in his own citadel. The nizam having determined on quitting Delhi, arrived at Arcot in 1743. He found that the infant son of Sufder Ali had been proclaimed nabob ; and the popular feeling on the subject was so decided, that not caring openly to dispute the hereditary suc- cession tacitly established in the family of Sadut Oollah, the wily politician aflectcd to • Murtczza Ali is described by Orme as the model of a cruel and suspicious tyrant : he " never moved, not even in liis own palace, without being s\irrounded by guards, nor ever ventured to taste anything that was not brouglit to liim in a vessel to wliich his wile had alKxed her scab" lie is stated to have procured the assassination of his unsuspicious relative, by the intend confirming the boy in oflice so soon as he should arrive at years of discretion. In the interim, he placed two of liis own followers in the government. The first of these, Khojeh Abdulla, died in a very short space of time — it was supposed from the effects of poison administered by his succes- sor, Anwar-oo-deen : shortly afterwards, the youthful expectant of the nabobship, who had been very improperly committed by the nizara to the care of this same person, so notoriously unfit for such a charge, was mortally stabbed at a public festival, by a guard of Patan soldiers, under pretence of revenging the non-payment of arrears due to them by the father of their victim. Anwar-oo-deen and Murtezza Ali were sus- pected of having conspired for the com- mission of this new crime — an opinion which gained strength by the efi'orts each of them made to cast the odium wholly on the other. The nizam would not listen to the accusations brought against Anwar-oo-deen by the friends of the unfortunate family of Sadut Oollah, but caused him to be formally installed as nabob of the Carnatic, notwith- standing the opposition of the people of the province, who found in the arbitrary and par- simonious administration of the new gover- nor additional cause to remember the lenient and liberal conduct of their former rulers. It has been necessary to enter thus far into the domestic history of the Carnatic, in elucidation of its condition at the period when this very Anwar-oo-deen became an important personage in Indo-European history. For the same reason, a few words must be said regarding the native state of Tanjore — a relic of the ancient Hindoo king- dom of Madura — wliich, owing to domestic dissensions, had fallen into the hands of a Mahratta ruler. The sovereignty became an object of contest to the grandsons of Venkajee, the half-brother of Sevajee. One of these, named Pcrtab Sing, the son of a concubine, succeeded in gaining possession of it, in 1741, to the exclusion of Syajee, the legitimate heir of the late rajah. Syajcc, someyears after, sought help from thcEnglish. The Mysoor state, long a dependency of the kingdom of Becjanuggur, was founded under romantic circurastances,t by a youth hand of a Patan officer wliom Sufder Ali Iiad deeply injured by the seduction of his wife, and who availed himsi'lf of the opportunity of wreaking a deadly revenge by entering the tent of tlie nabob at midnight, and stal)bing him while attempting to escape. — {Mililunj Transactions, i., 4G — 'IH.) t Two brothers left the court of Beejanuggur to SOUTH CANARA, MALABAR, TRAVANCORE, TANJORE, &c. 253 of tlio fiimoiis trilio of Ycdavii, wliinli Ijoiists ainoii^ its ciiiiiicnt cliiiractcis, (Jrislnia (tlic cc'lt'lji'iitcd Indian A[)oilo), one of tlio incar- nations nf Vislinii. Tlic first cliicftain or rajah of this family wliose (hitc is established, succeeded to power in 1507, and was sur- named Arbiral, or the six-fingered, from the personal trait tluis described. A fort was constructed or repaired in 1521', at Mahcsh Asoor,* contracted to Mysoor ; but it was not till after tlio battle of Talicot (forty years later), that its petty cliieftains began to assume any importance among tlic princes of the south. In 1010 they acquired pos- session of Scringapatam, which thenceforth became the scat of government; and from this period their territories increased rapidly, and continued to do so, even after becoming avowedly tributai-y both to the Mogul em- peror and to the Alahratta rajah Shao. South Canaua, Malabar, and Travan- couE remain to be noticed, having as yet escaped Mohammedan invasion. In the first of tliese was situated the country of Bed- NOBE, under the sway of a family, wlio from a small establishment at Caladee, iu 1 199, had gradually extended their limits to the sea- coast of Onorc, and southward to the limits of Malabar, over the dominions of the former ranee of Garsopa, the " pepper queen" of Portug\iese authors ; while, on the north, they successfully ojiposed the further advance of the forces of Bccjapoor along the sea- coast. Sree Ranga Kaya, when expelled from his last fortress, Chandragiri, took refuge here ; and the Bcdnore rajah, formerly a servant of his family, availed himself of the pretence of re-establishing the royal house of his liege lord, as a cloak for his own am- bitious designs. The district belonging to Sunibajec, the Mahratta chief of Kolapoor, stck their fortunes, and having in tlie course of their vanilerinfjs alighted near tlie border of a tank, be- side the little fort of Iladana, a few miles from the site of the present town of Mysoor. they ovcrlieard some women, who had eome to fetch water, bewail- ing the fate of tlie only daughter of their tradeijur (if., lord of thirty-three villages), who was about to be given iu marriage to a neighbouring cliief of in- ferior cast, as the only means of preserving her family from immediate hostilities, which, owing to the mental derangement of the wadeyar, they were quite unprepared to resist. The young knights- errant oftered their services to rescue the aflbcted damsel from the impending disgrace ; and after slay- ing the bridegroom and his companions at the mar- riage feast, marched, at the he.id of the men of Hadann, upon liis territory of C'aragully, which hav- ing captured, the conquerors returned in triumph to Iladana; and one of them, Vijcya, married the lady, nothing loth, and by the general voice of her people 2 L formed tlie limits of I5cdiu)re on one side j and to the southwards, lay the niountainoua principality of Coouo, between the coast of Malabar and Mysoor. Malabar itself brings us to the familiar territory pf C'amcut, go- verned by the zamorin or Tamuri rajah, bounded to the southward by Cochin, on the opposite side of wliicli, at the extreme end of the Peninsula, was the state of Tanjore, once an integral part of I^falabar, known ia the records of the E. I. Cy. as the country of the queen of Attinga,t by whose permis- sion an English factory was formed at An- jcngo, in 1694. Since then Ta'ijore had become famous in tiie annals of the Dutch, tlirougli the determined opposition of its rajah to their encroacliments and oppression. Besides the slates enumerated in tiie above sketch, there were many others of less note; such for instance as those formed by the rajah of Soonda and the dessayc of Carwar, (who ]iad taken part with the Portuguese in tlieir late conflict with the Mahrattas) ; also by the Patau chiefs of Kuu.noul, Kuupa, and Savanoor, descendants of governors under the dynasties of Becjapoor and Gol- conda. The three last-named were closely connected with some of the leading iMahratta chieftains, and liad been for some time nearly indejicndent. Struggle for supremacy between Eng- land AND France. — Allusion has been made to the commercial crisis wliich convulsed these nations in 1720, brought on by im- prudence and the absence of sound principle on the part of their respective governments. A quarter of a century later we find them exchanging declarations of war; and after being, in the first instance, drawn into the vortex as auxiliaries in the disputed Austrian was elected wadeyar, first changing his creed from that of a disciple of ^'ish^u to mjuiii/um or lini/tcunt I — Hindoo terms, which will be liereafter explained. * >hihesh Asoor, " the buffalo-headed monster," whose overthro.w is the most noted exploit of Cali, the consort of Siva. This goddess is still worshipped under the name of C'hamoondee (the disconifiter of enemies) on the hill of Mysoor, in a temple famed at one period for human sacrifices. (Wilks'il/y.w/or, i. 34.) t Jlamilton states, that from remote antiquity the male ofl'sjiring of the tttmbiiretfies, or princesses of .\ttinga, had inherited the sovereignty of Travan- core, and continued to do so until the middle of the eighteenth century, when the reigning " tamburetty" was prevailed upon to transfer the authority to the male line. The conquests made by the Tanjore ruler, between 1740 and 11 5o, are attril)uted to the effi- ciency of a body of troops disciplined after the Euro- pean manner by Eustachius de Lanoy, a Flemish officer. — (Halt India GateUeer, ii., G74.) J 254 ENGLAND AND FRANCE STRUGGLE FOR GENERAL SUPREMACY. succession, becoming themselves fired with the fierce excitement, they continued the contest as principals, on one pretext or an- other ; the actual end desired by either party being the attainment of complete master}' in all points, whether as regarded political as- cendancy in Europe, transatlantic dominion, trading monopolies, or maritime power. In this unhallowed rivalry both kingdoms lavished unsparingly life and treasure, deeply injuring each others resources, and griev- ously retarding their mutual growth in Chris- tian civilisation and commercial prosperity. Spain, then a great colonial and naval power, sided with France, while England had to withstand their united force, and, at the same time, to bear vip against the disturb- ances connected with the Hanoverian succes- sion, and the long struggle which terminated in the independence of the United States. Sea and land witnessed the strife. In North America — at Quebec, Louisberg, and on the Mississippi; in the JVest Indies — at Marti- nique, Guadaloupe, and the Caribbee Islands ; in Africa— -dt Goree and Senegal; in the Mediterranean and Atlantic — at Minorca and Belleisle; and on the European continent, pro- longed hostilities were waged : while in India a contest commenced which lasted sixty years, the prize there fought for being nothing less than the establishment of a powerful Euro- pean dominion in the very heart of Asia. It is not to be supposed that the trading societies who first gained a footing amid the confusion of falling dynasties and usurping chiefs, foresaw from the commencement of the conflict the marvellous results with which their operations were to be attended. With the ex- ception, perhaps, of the brothers Child, none of the officers of the old-established English company had an}' desire for the acquisition of sovereignty, nor had they the inducement which might have been aff"orded by an insight into the actual condition of India. The gene- ral indifference manifested by the servants of the various European companies towards the attainment of Asiatic languages, long tended to prevent their acquiring this knowledge, even when the course of events plainly de- monstrated its imi)ortauce. Moreover, the English and French associations were both poor, and extremely unwilling to enter upon a costly warfare, respecting the issue of which no reasonable conjecture could be formed. The representatives of the latter body became first ins])ircd witli an irrestrain- able desire to take part in the .strife and in- trigue by which they were surrounded ; and the connection which subsisted between the government and the French company, en- abled La Bourdonuais and Dupleix to obtain, through the influence of Orry the minister, a sanction for their daring adventures, which the partners of a purely mercantile association would, if they could, have withheld. Even had the two states in Europe continued at peace, it was next to impossible that their subjects in India should bear a share in the disputes of neighbouring princes without soon coming to open hostility with each other; and the national declarations of war brought matters to an immediate crisis. The English were the first to receive reinforcements from home. A squadron of four vessels appeared off the coast of Coro- mandel, in July, 1745, having previously captured three richly-laden French vessels on their voyage from China. The garrison of Pondicherry contained only 436 Europeans, and the fortifications were incomplete. Dupleix, fearing that the place would be taken before La Bourdonnais could answer his appeal for succour, made earnest repre- sentations to the nabob, Anwar-oo-deen, and succeeded in inducing him to interfere for the protection of Pondicherry, by threat- ening to revenge upon Madras any injury which should be inflicted upon French pos- sessions within the limits of his government. At the same time, the nabob declared his intention of compelling the French, in the event of their acquiring additional strength, to abstain equally from ofl^ensive proceedings. Mogul power had not yet lost its prestige : that of England was still to be won ; conse- quently the determined language of the nabob intimidated the IMadras presidency, and induced them to prevent the fleet from attacking Pondicherry, and to confine their operations to the sea. In the June of the following year a French squadron arrived in the Indian ocean, under the command of La Bourdonnais, who had equipped the sliips with great difficulty at the Mauritius; and when afterwards disni-iutled by a hurricane, had refitted them at Madagascar. An inde- cisive action took place between the rival fleets, after which the French commander proceeded to Pondicherry, and there re- quested a supply of cannon, wherewith to attack Madras. The hearty co-operation of Dupleix and his council was, at this mo- ment, of the highest im])ortance ; but jealousy of the renown which would atteiul the success of the enterprise, induced them to receive the solicitations of their MADRAS CAPTUKED J5Y THE FliENCH— IM'G. 255 colleague with haughty and insulting in- difl'crcncc. La TJourcloniinis, already se- verely tried by the misci-ablc uiilitucss of the greater portion of his erews, consisting of sailors for the first time at sea, and soldiers who needed instruction how to fire a musket — their inefficiency incrcasc<l by sickness, by which he was himself almost prostrated — had now to struggle against tlu; aggravating tone adopted towards him by those to whom he looked for aid and sym- pathy. Under these circumstances, he be- haved with singular discretion and forbcirr- anee, and having at length ol)taincd a scanty reinforcement of guns, set sail for Madras, against which place he commenced opera- tions on the 3rd of September, 171G.* The fortifications of the city had been neglected, owing to the financial embarrass- ment of the E. I. Cy. There was little ammunition in store, and the soldiers were few, and of a very indifferent descrip- tion. The total number of Europeans iu the settlement did not exceed 300, and of these about two-thirds were included in the garrison. As might be expected, no very determined resistance was offered. The town was bombarded for several days, and four or five of the inhabitants were killed by the explosion of shells, after which a capitu- lation was agreed upon, by virtue of which the assailants entered Madras as victors, witliout the loss of a single man, but on the express condition that the settlement sliould be restored on easy and honourable terms. This arrangement was in strict accordance with the instructions laid down I)y the French directors, who expressly forbade the extension of territory until their exist- ing settlements should be more firmly esta- blished, and ordered their servants, in the event of capturing the possessions of any foreign foe, to abide by the alternative of de- struction or a ransom. The very day of the surrender of Madras, a messenger, dis- * The forces destined for the siege comprised about 1,100 Europeans, 400 sepoys, and 400 Mada- gascar blacks; 1,700 or 1,800 European mariners remained to guard the ships. — (Orme, i., 67.) f MUiturji Trunsactioiis, i., 7o. X Fron thence La Bourdonnais returned to France to vindicate himsell' from the complaints preferred by the family of Dupitix, some of whom being inti- mately connected with the E. I. Cy-, had warndy espoused the quanel of their relative .igainst his more worthy adversary. lie look his passage in a ship belonging to Holland, which, in consequence of the declaration of war, was forced into nn English harbour. The distinguished passrngerwas recognised; but his conduct at Madras procured him an honour- patched for more expedition on a camel, arrived at Pondichcrry with a letter from Anwar-oo-dccn, expressing his great sur- prise at the conduct of the French in at- tacking ^Madras, and threatening to send an army there if the siege were not immediately raised. Dupleix I'eturned a deceitful an- swer, promising that the town, if taken, should be surrendered to the nabob, with liberty to make favourable terms with the English for the restitution of so valuable a possession. Meanwhile, La Bourdonnais, relying on his own commission, proceeded to arrange the treaty of surrender without regard to the remonstrances or threats of Du])leix, who, notwithstanding the recent assurance given by him to the nabob, now insisted that Madras should be either re- tained as a French settlement, or razed to the ground. Three men-of-war arrived at this period at Pondichcrry; and, thus in- creased, says Orme, the French force " was sufficient to have conquered the rest of the British settlements in IIindoostan."f La Bourdonnais had resolved on making the attempt, but his plans were contravened by Dupleix; and after much time liaving been wasted in disputes regarding the evacuation of IMadras, a storm came on which materially injured the fleet, and compelled its brave com- mander to return in haste, before the change of the monsoon, to his own government at the I\Iauritius,J without staying to complete the shipment of the seized goods, which was to be followed by the restoration of the town. The machinations of Dupleix had thus succeeded in thwarting the views he ought to have promoted, and at the same time in acquiring an important addition of 1,200 trained men, left behind in conse- quence of the damage done to the squadron by the late tempest : accessions of strength were also received from other quarters, which raised the number of European troops at Pondicherry, in all, to about 3,000 men. able reception ; and the proposition of an East India director to become surety for him in person and property, was declined by government, on the ground that the word of La Bourdonnais was alone suffi- cient. This circumstance may liavc served to soothe the bitter trials which awaited his arrival in France. He was thrown into the Bastile, and remained in that terrible state prison for three years ; at the expira- tion of which lime his published \ indication, sup- ported by authentic documents, manifested not only the injustice of the charges brought against him, but also the ardour and ability of his services. Though liberated, he appears to have obtained no redres.% and did not long survive his acquittal, which took place when he was about fifty-three years of age. 25C) FRENCH UNSUCCESSFULLY ATTACK FORT ST. DAVID— 1746. These additions were needed to combat the force dispatched by Anwar-oo-deen for the recapture of Madras, so soon as he per- ceived the liollowness of the professions by which he had been induced to violate his pledge to the English, of compelling the French to abstain from hostile proceedings throughout the Carnatic. An armj', commanded by the son of the nabob, invested Madras, and made some clumsy attempts to imitate the proceedings which had proved successful in the jirevious instance. The Frcuch encountered them with a greatly inferior numerical force ; but the skilful and rapid management of their artillery, abundantly compensated for this disproportion, and enabled them to acquire a decisive victory. The event is memorable, as marking the commencement of a new phase of Indian historj'. The triumplis of the Portuguese were, for the most part, two centuries old : of late years Europeans had bowed submissively before the footstool of Mogul arrogance ; and the single attempt of the English (in 1686) to obtain independent power, had onl}' reduced them to a yet more humiliating position. The utter in- ability of unwieldy and ill-disciplined masses to contend with compact bodies of well- trained troops, was a fact which the French had again brought to light, together with another of equal importance — namely, the facility with which natives might be enrolled among the regular troops, and the reliance to be placed upon them. Already there were four or five disciplined companies at Pondicherry; but the English had not yet adopted a similar procedure. Dupleix fol- lowed up the defeat of the nabob's force, by declaring the treaty with the English annulled, and giving orders for the seizure of every article of property belonging to the unfortunate inhabitants, excepting their personal clothes, the movables of their houses, and the jewels of the women — com- mands which were executed with avaricious exactness. The governor and leading persons were carried prisoners to Pondicherry, and tliere exhibited before the native public in a species of triumi)h. Fort St. David, twelve miles south of Pondicherry, next became an object of am- bition, and a body of 1,700 men, mostly Europeans, was dispatched for the attack of its garrison, which, including refugees from Madras, comprehended no more than 200 Europeans and 100 Topasses. The un- expected advance of a large force, sent by Anwar-oo-deen to the relief of the fort, took the French by surprise while resting from a fatiguing march, and exulting in the prospect of an easy prey. They retreated at once, with the loss of twelve Europeans killed and 120 wounded. An attempt was next made upon the native town of Cuddalore, which was situated about a mile from Fort St. David, and inhabited by the principal Indian merchants, and by many natives in the em- ployment of the company. Five hundred men were embarked in boats, with orders to enter the river and attack the open quarter of the town at daybreak. But on this, as in the ease of the fleet of La Bourdonnais, the turbulence of the elements preserved the English from the assault of their foes : the wind rose, and the raging surf forbade the prosecution of the hostile enter- prise. Dupleix, finding that he could not expect to eope successfully with the united strength of the nabob and the English, directed all his powers of intrigue and cajolery to break off their alliance ; and at length suc- ceeded, by exaggerated representations of the accessions of force received and ex- pected by the French, in inducing the vacil- lating nabob to forsake the garrison of Fort St. David, who were described as a con- temptible handful of men, abandoned even by their own countrymen to destruction. The falsity of this last assertion was proved at a critical moment; for just as a French force had succeeded in overcoming the re- sistance ofi'ered to their crossing the river, and were marching on the apparently de- voted town, an English fleet was seen ap- proaching the roadstead, upon which the assailants hastily recrossed the river and returned to Pondicherry. In January, 1718, Major Lawrence arrived in India with authority over the whole of the company's forces. In the following year, the addition of a squadron dis- ])atched under the command of Admiral Boscawen,* rendered their fleet more for- midable than any previouslj' assembled by a single European power in India. Dupleix trembled; the nabob would, he feared, again change sides, so soon as the superior strength of the enemy should be manifest, and the French settlements be cut oil' from sujiplies i)oth by sea and land. The English, on their part, hurried on the operations of * Coiisistiiij; of ten shijis of tlie royal navy, and elm'cn bulonging to the coni|)any, carrying stores, and troops to llic amonnl of 1,100 men. MADRAS RESTORED TO THE ENGLISH— 1748. 257 Boscawcn, nothing doubting l)y the capture of Pondicherry, to rctuiiale tiic licavy sacri- fice attcndaut on the loss of ]Madras.* 'I'lioir exi)cctations were disappointed. Major Law- rence was taken prisoner during the assault of the little fort of Ariancopaug, two miles to the south-west of Pondiehcrry ; and when, after much valuable time spent in acquiring and occupying this position, the admiral ad- vanced u])oii the city, ignorance of the loca- lity, disease in the camp, and probably also the unfitness of the brave and active sea- captaiu to direct the comjilicated proceed- ings of a land attack, resulted in the raising of the siege l)y the fiat of a council of war, assembled thirty-one days after the opening of the trenches. The rejoicings of Dupleix at this unlooked-for triumph, were, as might be expected, boastful in the extreme, lie sent letters to the dilTercnt neighbouring rulers, and even to the Great ]Mog\U him- self, informing them of the formidable assault which he had repulsed, and received in return high compliments on his prowess and on the military genius of his nation, which was now generally regarded as far supci'ior to that of the English. His schemes were, however, contravened by a clause in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in which the French government agreed to restore Ma- dras; and this stipulation was enforced, notwithstanding the expense incurred by him in strengthening a possession obtained by a glaring breach of faith. On reoccupying their ancient settlement, the English like- wise established themselves at St. Thomas, or Meliapoor, a town mostly inhabited by the desceudants of the ancient Christians, whom the imperious Portuguese archbishop and viceroy ^lenezes had, with the aid of "the Holy Inquisition," brought into com- pulsory submission to the Komish pontiff. Since then it had sunk into obscurity, and would hardly have excited the notice of any European power, had not its position with regard to Madras, from which it was but four miles distant, enabled the ever-intrigu- ing Dupleix to gain from the Romish priests much important information regarding the state of that settlement. St. Thomas was therefore occupied by the English, and the obnoxious portion of the inhabitants ordered to withdraw. While these events were taking place in the Madra.s presidency, that of Bombay, * That event entailed a 'loss of £180,000 on the company. — (Anber's British Power in India, i., 48.) t Mill's liritish India, iii., 83, (edited by Milson.) X At Surat, for instance, in addition to the fixed and the inferior but independent one of Calcutta, enjoyed tranrpiillity. Ali Verdi Khan, the viceroy of Bengal, had con- sistently maintained the determination at first cxjiressed by Anwar-oo-dcen, in the Carnatie, of compelling the hostile nations to keep the peace in his dominions. At the same time he exacted from both parties con- tributions, in return for the protection which he bestowed. The sums demanded from the English are stated t as not exceeding £100,0(K), which, considering the heavy ex- penses incurred in rci)clling Mahratta in- roads, cannot be deemed immoderate. The restoration of peace between tlieir respective governments left the servants of the rival companies in India no pretence for continuing hostilities on any national ground. But extensive military prepara- tions had been made : nothing but a casus licUi was wanting; and it was not to be supposed that the commanders of consider- able bodies of troops, who, having been levied, must be paid and fed, would wil- lingly keep them in idleness for so slight a reason. The quarrels of neighbouring states afforded a ready pretext for armed interference, and offered to both French and English the immediate advantage of remunerative employment for spare force, together with the prospect of establishing a degree of independent, if not paramount authority, which might enable the factories to withhold the large sums it had been heretofore found necessary to pay to local officials, iu order to secure the enjoyment of the privileges conceded by imperial firmauns.J Neither party showed much anxiety about the character or claims of the candidates under whose banners they took post, the scarcely disguised motive being — how best to serve themselves ami weaken their rivals. Indeed, at this period, power iu the Dcccau had so greatly fallen into the hands of usurpers, that had the Europeans really desired to support no pretensions save such as were strictly legitimate, they must have commenced by setting aside almost the whole of the claimants who now pressed upon their notice. But this ad- mission cannot exculpate the English from the heavy charge of indiscretion and vena- lity — in first unsheathing the sword against a sovereign with whom they had long cairied on a friendly correspondence, and then sufler- ciistom dues of 3j per cent., no less a sum than l,3l!o,450 rupees are stated, in the record* of the E. I. Company, as having been paid from IGGl to 1683, «iniply to facilitate business. 258 CHARACTER AND EARLY EXPLOITS OP ROBERT CLIVE. ing themselves to be bought off from the cause they had unsuccessfully advocated. The case was simply this : Syajee, the es-rajah of Tanjore {see p. 25.2), craved their assistance to regain the throne from which he had been driven by his half-brother, Pertab Sing. He declared that the people were well- affected towards him, and promised, in the event of success, to bestow upon the Eng'isli the territory of Devicotta — a position ren- dered valuable by its proximity to the mouth of the river Coleroon, which was considered to offer advantages, as a harbour, beyond any other situation between Masulipatam and Cape Comorin. His solicitations produced two attempts for the invasion of Tanjore. The first by Captain Cope, undertaken with a view to the re-establishment of Syajee, proved a complete failure. The second, led by jNIajor Lawrence, succeeded in the object for which it was expressly de- signed — the capture cf Devicotta — owing, under Providence, to the ingenuity and dauntless bravery of a common ship's carpen- ter* and — Lieutenant Robert Clivo. This name, destined to stand first in a long line of Anglo-Indian conquerors, v/as then borne by a young man whose previous career afforded small promise of usefulness, though fraught with evidences of misdirected energy. Some twelve years before the siege of Devi- cotta, the inhabitants of Market-Drayton, Shropshire, had viewed with terror the exploits of the audacious son of a neigh- bouring scjuire.f On one occasion they beheld the daring boy climb the lofty church steeple, and quietly take his scat on a projecting stone spout near the summit, fashioned in the form of a di-agon's head, from whence he desired to obtain a smooth stone, for the pleasure of flinging it to the ground. At home the youth was noted for an immoderate love of fighting, and for a fierce and imperious temper; out of doors he displayed the same propensitiesby form- ing the idle lads of the town into a preda- tory army, and extorting a tribute of pence and trifling articles from the shopkeepers, guaranteeing them, in return, from broken • The fort of Devicotta was siluatud on a marshy shore covered with wood, .niid surrounded by the Tanjore army. The English b.itteries were erected on the opposite side of the river, and after three days' firing a breach was effected ; but before ad- vantage could be taken of it, a broad and rapid .stream had to be crossed in the face of the enemy. This was done by means of a raft, sufBcient to contain UK) nun, constructed by the carpenter, John Moore. The last difficulty— how to get the raft windows and the effects of other mis- chievous tricks. The character of an ex- ceedingly naughty boy accompanied Bob Clive from scliool to school, including the celebrated London seminary of the Mer- chant Taylor's Company. One of his early masters, it is said, had the sagacity to prophesy that the self-willed, iron-nerved child would, if he lived to be a man, and had opportunity to exert his talents, make a great figure in the world ; but this was an exception to the general opinion formed of his slender parts and headstrong temper; and his family, seeing no good prospect for him at home, procured for the lad, when in his eighteenth year, a writership in the ser- vice of the E. I. Company, and " shipped him off, to make a fortune or to die of a fever."J For some time after the arrival of Clive at ]\Iadras, the former alternative appeared highly improbable. The ship in which he sailed was detained for nine months at the Brazils, and the young writer expended all his ready-money, but picked up, in return, a knowledge of the Portuguese language, which proved useful to him in after-life. The salaries of the junior servants were then barely suflicient for their maintenance. Clive, who it may be readily imagined was no economist, soon became involved in debt ; and this circumstance, combined with his isolated position and uncongenial em- ployment (in superintending the taking of stock, making advances to weavers, shipping cargoes, and guarding the monopoly of his employers against the encroachments of jsri- vate traders), aggravated by the depressing influence of a tropical climate, so affected a mind unsupported by religious prin- ciple, that the rash youth, in one of the wayward, moody fits to which he was all his life subject, made an ineffectual attempt at self-destruction. A fellow-clerk entered his room (in Writers'-buildings) imme- diately after, and was requested to take up a pistol which lay at hand, and fire it out of the window. He did so ; and Clive sprang up, exclaiming — " Well, I am re- served for something; that pistol I have across — he removed by swimming the stream by night and fastening a rope to a tree, unperceived by the foe, whose attcntiori was diverted from the spot bv tlic well-directed manonivres of the artillery. The troo])s were disembarked on the opposite bank. t A landed proprietor, who practised the law, and resided on a small estate which had been enjoyed by his family since the twelfth century. ' \ T. 1!. Macaulay's brilliant critique on Malcohn'a Life of Lord Clkc!—(Vnticiil muf HisttiricalEaamju.) DKVICOTTA TAKEN.— INTRIGUES OF MADAME DUPLEIX. 259 twice snapped at my own head." * He was reserved for many things which tlie workl calls };rrat and f^lorioiis, and cvcri (by a stranf;c pcrvirsiim of the term) licroio ; Ijut his earthly career was not tiic less dcstiucd to terminate by the very aet which he had once been specially held back from accom- plisliing. That aet even worldlings brand with the name of moral cowardice ; while be- lievers in revealed religion view it as the last and dee[)est oU'enee man can commit against i his Maker. In the case of Clivc, such a tcrniiiiutiou of life was rendered pecu- liarly remarkable by his previous frequent and extraordinary escapes from perishing by violence. On the capture of Madras, in 1716, he, with others, gave his parole on becoming a prisoner of war, not to attempt escape ; but the breach of faith committed by Dupleix was considered by many of the captives to justify their infraction of the pledge given to M. de la Bourdonnais ; and Clive fled by night to Fort St. David, disguised in dress and comjilcxiou as a Mussulman. Con- tinued hostilities afforded him an opportu- nity of quitting the store-room for the camp ; and Major Lawrence, perceiving the military ability of the young aspirant, gave him an ensign's commission, which, after the unsuc- ecssful attack of Pondichcrry, in 1748, was exchanged for that of a lieutenant. At Dc- vicotta he was, at his own solicitation, suflcred to lead a storming jjarty, consisting of a platoon of thirty-four Europeans and a body of sepoys. Of the Europeans only four survived; but the determination of their leader, and the orderly advance of the se- poys, checked the opposition of the Tanjore horse, and gave the signal for the advance of Major Lawrence with his whole strength, which was speedily followed by the capture of the fort. A treaty of peace was soon entered into with the rajah, Pertab Sing, by which the English were guaranteed in the possession of Devieotta, with a territory of the annual value of 9,000 pagodas, on condition of their renouncing the cause of Syajee, and ' guaranteeing to secure his person so as to [ * Sir John Jralcohn states, that hi 1749, three years after this event, Clive had a severe attack of nervous fever, which rendered necessary " the con- stant prcKcncc of an attendant j" and ho adds, that even after his recovery, " the oppression on his spirits frequently returned." — (Mfinoirs, i., pp. GO-TO.) t Madame Dupleix is described in the Life of Clivc as a Creole, born and educated in l!enga! ; but her parentage is not stated. The Christian name prevent any further attempts on the throne of his brother — a service for which 4,000 rupees, or about £]()0, were to be paid annually. The i'higli.sh had been con)])i(;tcly misled ))y the statements of Syajee respecting his prospects of success; but still, this treatment of a person whom they had been endea- vouring to re-establish as a legitimate ruler, was highly discreditable. It is even said, that the unfortunate prince would have been delivered into the hands of his enemies, but for the lively remonstrances of Admiral Bos- cawen. As it was, he found means to make his escape, though not to recover his throne. In the meantime the French were engaged in transactions of more importance. They had far higher objects in view than any yet aimed at by the English, and their plans were more dec])ly laid. Dupleix, by means of his wif'e,t had obtained considerable acquaiulance with the intrigues of various Mussulman and Hindoo princes ; and this knowledge had afforded him material assist- ance on more than one occasion. The disturbed state of the Carnatie now offered a favourable opening for his ambition. The protracted lilc of the old nizam was fast approaching its termination ; and the nomi- nal viceroyalty, but actual sovereignty, of the Mogul provinces in the Deecan would, it was easy to forsee, speedily become an object of contest to his five sons. The cause of Anwar-oo-deen, himself almost a centenai'ian, would not therefore be likely to meet with efficient support from his legitimate superiors ; while among the people a very strong desire existed for the restora- tion of tiie family of Sadut Oollah. The natural heir was the remaining son of Sufder Ali, but his tender age forbade the idea of placing him at the head of a confederacy which needed a skilful and determined leader. Murtezza Ali (governor of Vellore), though wealthy and powerful, was deemed too treacherous and too cowardly to be trusted. The only relative possessed of sufficient reputation, as a general, to direct an attempt for the subversion of the power of Anwar-oo-deen, was Chunda Sahib. The utter absence of principle manifested Jeanne, she converted into the Persian appella- tion of Jan Besum (the princess Jtaiiiie.) Her intimate acquaintance with the native languages, joined to a talent for intrigue little inferior to that of Dupleix hihiself, enabled her to establish a very erticient system of "espionage." At the time of the French capture of Madras, and the attempts on Fort St. David by tlie English, the Indian interpreter was found to have carried on a regular correspondence 2G0 THE FRENCH SET UP CHUNDA SAHIB IN THE CARNATIC— 1748. in his seizure of Tricliinopoly,* did not pre- vent him from beinjc " esteemed the ablest soldier that had of late years appeared in the Carnatic/'t uniting in every military enterprise, " the spirit of a volunteer with the liberality of a prince."J On him Dupleis had early fixed his eyes as a fit coadjutor; and throughout his protracted imprison- ment at Sattara, had contrived to keep up an intimate connexion with him, through the medium of his wife and family, who had taken refuge in Pondicherry — Madame Dupleix acting as interpreter ; and at the same time corresponding, in the name of her husband, with various chiefs likely to prove useful in the coming struggle. At length all things seemed ripe for the enter- prise. Through the intervention of Dupleix, the release of Chunda Sahib was effected in the early part of the year 1748, bjr .means of a ransom of . seven lacs' of rupees (£70,000.) The nizam died shortly after ; and notwithstanding the prior claims of his numerous sons, another competitor for the succession arose in the person of a grand- son, the child of a favourite daughter. With the young adventurer (generally known by his title of Moozufler Jung),§ Chunda Sahib hastened to form an alliance, and in- duced him to commence operations in the Carnatic. Dupleix assisted the confederates with a body of 400 Europeans, 100 Kafirs, and 1,800 sepoys; and French valour and discipline mainly contributed to bring the storming of Amboor (a fort fifty miles west of Arcot) to a successful issue. Anwar-oo-deen was slain atthe extraordinary age of 107 lunar years ; his eldest son taken prisoner ; and his second son, Mohammed Ali, with the wreck of the army, escaped to Trichinopoly, of which place he was governor. The victorious leaders marched in triumph to Arcot, and then to Pondicherry, from whence (after in- creasing the limits and revenues of that set- tlement by the grant of eighty-one villages) they proceeded against Tanjore. It would have been unquestionably better policy to have advanced at once upon Trichinopoly; with Madame Dupleix in the Malabar tongue. He and a Hindoo accomplice were tried, found guilty, and hanf,'ed. — (Malcolm's Clivc, i., 2t ; Orme's Mili- turij Triutsactions, i., 88.) • See p. 252. In addition to the facts already stated, it may be noticed, as enhancing the perfidy of Chunda Sahib, that one means adopted by him to set aside any misgivings on lh(^ part of the ranee of Trichino])oly, was by swearing tliat liis troops, if secretly admitted within the citadel, sliould be em- ployed solely for the confirmation of her authority. but supplies of money were urgently needed, and the known wealth of the rajah of Tan- jore would, it was believed, compensate for the delay. The Tanjorine proved more than a match for his enemies in cunning, though inferior to them in force. Although at length compelled to pay a certain sura, claimed as arrears of tribute to the Mogul empire, and likewise in compensation for the expenses incurred in attacking him, the rajah continued to procrastinate in every possible manner, — one day sending, as part of the stipulated contribution, old and obsolete coins, such as he knew required long and tedious examiiiation ; another time, jewels and precious stones, the value of which it was still more difficult to determine. Chunda Sahib saw the drift of these artifices; but the want of funds induced him to bear with them until the end of the year (1749) arrived, and with it intelligence of the approach of a con- siderable army under the command of Nazir Jung,|| the second son of the late nizam. The allies, struck with consternation, pre- cipitately retreated to Pondicherry, harassed by a body of Mahrattas. Dupleix exerted all his energies to reanimate their spirits ; lent them £50,000, and increased the French contingent to 2,000 Europeans; but, doubt- ing greatly the ultimate success of the cause which he had so sedulously promoted, he sought to be prepared for any turn of cir- cumstances, by opening a secret communica- tion with Nazir Jung. In this treacherous attempt he failed, the prince having pre- viously formed an alliance with the English.^ On hearing of the defeat and death of Anwar-oo-deen, Nazir Jung had marched towards the Carnatic, where he was speedily joined by Mohammed Ali, son of the late nabob, and at the same time he sent to ask assistance from the English at Fort St. David. They were already filled with alarm at the part taken by the French in the recent hostilities, but possessed no authority from the Court of Directors to engage anew in the perils and expenses of any military undertaking. The result of This false oath he took on a false Koran — that is, on a brick enveloped in one of the s])lcndid coverings used by Mohammedans to wrap round the volume they revere as divinely inspired. ^(Colonel AVilks' Ilislot-y of Mijsoor, i., 250.) f Orme's Militun/ Truiisaetioiis, i., 119. i Wilks' Ilisturi/'of 3Iywor, i., 250. § Virlorinns in U'df. \\ Tn'uiiip/iiiiit in War. ^f Vide "Vindication," entitled Meiuni re pour Du- pleix : also ]\Iriii(iire ronire JJiip/eix, puldished by the directory of the l'"r. E. I. Cy.; quoted by Mill,iii., 105. NAZIR JUNG AND MOHAMMED ALI SUPPORTED BY ENGLISH— 1710. 201 the Tanjorc enterprise was not eacoiiraging; the attempt to reinstate Syajee liad proved a complete failure; ami Pertalj Siiij;, Ijy the eessioii of Devieotta, had Ijouf^ht them olf, as he might have done a body of Mahrattas, — not so niueh from fear of their power, as because lie expected a more daiif^erous as- sault on the side of Chunda Sahib and the Freneli. It was evidently no honest desire for peace which dictated the miserable half measures adopted l)y the Madras presidency. Although Admiral Boscawen ofl'ered to re- ipaiu if his presence should be formally de- manded, he was sufl'cred to depart with the fleet and troops. A force of 120 Europeans was sent to Mohammed Ali; and the report of the powerful army and extensive re- sources* of Nazir Jung induced thcni to send Major Lawrence, with GOO Europeans, to fight under so promising a standard. The rival armies, with their respective European allies, approached within skirmishing dis- tance of one another, and an engagement seemed close at hand, when thirteen French oflicers, discontented with the remuneration they had received for the attack on Tanjore, threw up their commissions; andM.d'Auteuil, panic-struck by this mutinous conduct, re- treated, with the remainder of the troops under his command, to Pondicherry, accom- panied by Chunda Sahib, while Moozufl'er Jung.t having received the most solemn as- surances of good treatment, threw himself upon the mercy of his uncle, by whom be was immediately placed in irons. Nazir Jung, relieved from immediate peril, took no thought for the future; but at once resigned his whole time to the plea- sures of the harem aud the chase. The only * Nazir Jung was at Boorhanpoor, in command of the army, at the time of the death of his father : this circumstance favoured his attempt at becoming su- bahdar of tlie Deccan, to the exclusion of his eldest brotlier, Ghazi-oo-deen, who, he asserted, had freely resigned his ))retensioMs, being satisfied with the im- portant position he held in the court of Delhi — a statement which was wholly false. Ghazi-oo-deen w:as by no means inclined to make any such renuncia- tion, and had in justice nothing to renounce, the government of the southern provinces being still, at least in form, an ajipointment in the gift of the em- peror. Mohammed Ali"s claim to the government of the Carnatic (urged, in the first instance, to tlie exclu- sion of his elder brother, the only legitimate son of Anwar-oo-deen) was based on the bare grounds that Nizam-ool-Moolk had promised, and Xazir Jung would confirm to him the possession of a patrimony which had been in his family just five years. This was the "rightful cause" maintained by English valour in the field, and contended for, in many volumes of political controversy, during a prolonged paper warfare. The French, on their part, upheld 2 M rival lie feared (Ghazi-oo-deen) was fully employed in the intrigues of the Delhi court; the other three brothers were held in close eonfinenicnt at Arcot; and the indolent prince, in the haughtiness of imaginary security, treated with disdain the claims of those who had joined him in the hour of danger. The experience of past time might have borne witness that iMogul rulers had seldom offended their turbulent Patau fol- lowers with impunity; yet Nazir Jung now behaved towards his father's old oflicers (the nabobs of Kudapa, Kurnoul, aud Savanoor) as if they had been mere feudatories, who as a matter of course had rallied around his standard, instead of what they undoubtedly were — adventurers who had hazarded their lives for the chance of bettering their for- tunes. The expectations of tlie English were equally disappointed by the refusal of a tract of territory near jMadras, the pro- mised reward of their assistance ; and ^lajor Lawrence quitted the camp in disgust. Dupleix and Chunda Sahib soon learned the state of afi'airs, and hastened to take ad- vantage of it both by force and stratagem. Masulipatam and the pagoda of Trivadi (fif- teen miles west of Fort St. David) were cap- tured ; the fort of Jinjee, deemed almost ia- aecessible, was attacked by the famous French commander Buss)', and the huge insulated rock on which it stands, stormed to the very summit. The boldness of the attempt, aud especially its being commenced at miduight, seems to have paralysed the energies of its superstitious defenders; and even the victors, in contemplating the natural strength of the place, were astonished at their success. Nazir Jung alarmed, entered with all the zeal of self-interest, both with the sword and the pen, the claims of the rival candidates. The pretensions of Moozuffer Jung rested on the will of his grandfather, which his adversaries declared to be a forgery ; but if a veritable document, it was un- lawful as regarded the emperor, and unjust in setting aside the natural heirs. The sole plea urged by Chunda Sahib, was the will of Moozuffer Jung that he should be nabob. The fact was, neither English nor French had any justification for interference in hostili- ties which were mere trials of strength among bands of Mohammedan usurpers; and the subsequent conduct of both parties in setting up pageants, because it was inexpedient for them to appear as principals, is nothing more than an additional proof that politicians, as a class, agree everywhere in receiving diplomacy and duplicity as convertible terms, maintaining, how- ever, as much as possible, the semblance of honesty in deference to the feeling which our Creator seems to have implanted in the mind of almost every com- munity — that the public safety is intimately connected w ith the integrity of those who bear rule. t This name is sometimes mis-spelt Mirzapha. 262 NAZIR JUNG ASSASSINATED, 1750— TRIUMPH OF DUPLEIX. into negotiations with Dupleix. The French deputies used their admission to his camp as a means of treachei-ously intriguing with the disaflfected nobles. Major Lawrence heard of the conspiracy, and endeavoured to convey a warning to the subahdar at a public au- dience ; but the interpreter employed dared not venture a declaration which might cost him his life, and the important information was withheld from fear of the vizier, who was falsely reported to be involved in the plot. The etiquette which prevented any direct communication with the subahdar, either verbally or by writing, is given as a sufficient reason for no determined effort to that effect having been made.* Nazir Jung continued, to the last moment, utterly unsuspicious of danger. He ratified the treaty with the French, and sent it to Pondicherry. They advanced against him from Jinjee the very next day; and the prince, while manfully striving to animate his troops to repel what he termed " the mad attempt of a parcel of drunken Europeans," t '"'^s shot through the heart by the nabob of Kudapa. The army learned the fate of their late ruler by the sight of his head fixed on a pole, and were with little difficulty induced to transfer their services to his nephew Moozuffer Jung, who now, released from captivity, became the gaoler of his three uncles. Dupleix was appointed governor of the Mogul possessions on the coast of Coromandel, from the river Kristna toCapeComorin,J andChunda Sahib his deputy at Arcot. The installation of the subahdar was performed at Pondicherry with much pomp. Salutes were fired from the batteries, and Te Deum sung in the churches. Dupleix, dressed in the garb of a Mussulman of the highest rank, entered the city in the same palanquin with Moozuffer Jung ; and, in the pageant which followed, took precedence of every other noble. The rank of a munsubdar of 7,000 horse was con- ferred upon him, with permission to bear on his banners the insignia of "the fish"§ — a dis- tinction among the Moguls equivalent to the coveted "blue ribbon" of the English court. Honours and emoluments could be obtained only by his intervention: the new ruler would • Major Lawrence perhaps disbelieved the report, otherwise his conduct was supine and neglectful. t Orme's Military Transactions, i., 106. I Masulipatam and its dependencies were ceded to the French E. I. Cy., with other territories, valued by them at £38,000 per ann., but, according to Orme, the revenues were considerably overstated. § The 3fahi, or figure of a (ish four feet long, in topper-gilt, carried on the point of a spear. not even peruse a petition, unless indorsed by the hand of Dupleix. The triumph of the ambitious Frenchman, though brilliant, was soon disturbed. The chiefs, by whose perfidy the revolution had been accomplished, demanded the fulfilment of the extravagant promises made to them while the prince, now on the throne, lay bound in fetters. Dupleix endeavoured to bring about an arrangement; and, as an incitement to moderation, affected to relin- quish all claim to share in the treasure seized upon the assassination of Nazir Jung, notwithstanding which he received no less than £200,000 in money, besides many va- luable jewels. II The offers made to the tur- bulent nobles were, however, so very large, that if (as would appear) really accepted and carried out, it is difficult to account for the rapidity with which they again broke forth into open revolt.^ After lulling all suspicions by a semblance of contentment, accompanied by oaths of allegiance sworn on the Koran, the chiefs watched their opportunity ; and, during the march of the army to Golconda, suddenly took possession of an important pass, and, supported by their numerous fol- lowers, opposed the advancing force. The steady fire of the French artillery soon cleared the way; but Moozuffer Jung, furious at find- ing himself menaced with the fate of his uncle, by the same double-dyed traitors, rushed upon the peril he had nearly escaped, by distancing his attendants in a reckless pursuit of the fugitive nabob of Kurnoul, whom he overtook and challenged to single combat. The elephants were driven close to each other; and the sword of Moozuffer Jung was uplifted to strike, when the javelin of his opponent pierced his brain. A moment later, and the victor was surrounded and cut to pieces : one of his fellow-conspirators had already perished in a similar manner; the third quitted the field mortally wounded. What were the French to do now for a puppet adapted by circumstances for the part of subahdar ? No time could be spared for deliberation : a few hours, and the hetero- geneous multitudes of which Indian armies consist, would, under their respective leaders, II Moozuffer Jung distributed £oO,000 among the officers and men engaged at Jinjee, and paid an equal sum into the treasury of the French company, in compensation for the expenses of the war. ^f Orme asserts, that besides various minor con- cessions, the Patau nobles were promised by Dupleix one-half the money found in the treasury of Nazir Jung, which, in a subsequent page, is stated at two million sterling. — {Military Transactions, i., lG0-'2.) FRENCH i'UVVJiil AT ITS llliKJHT IN INDIA— a.d. 1751. 263 after dividinpc the spoil of their late master, clisiicrsc ill scarcli of a new paymaster ; and, with them, would vaiiisli the advantages gained by the murder of Nazir Jung. Bussy, the eoniniandcr-in-ehief, was no less !)()!d and ready-witted tiian the absent Duph'ix, and his unlicsitating deeision exactly met the circurastanees of the case. The three uncles of the newly-deceased subahdar were in the camp, having been carried about as prisoners in the train of their nephew, lest some con- spiracy should be formed in their favour if separated from his immediate superintend- ence. In other words, it was convenient to keep within reach all persons whose dan- gerous consanguinity to the reigning prince might incite an attempt for the transfer of the crown ; such an endeavour being best frustrated by cutting off the head for which the perilous distinction was designed. Moo- zuffcr Jung left an infant son, whose claims on the gratitude of the French were after- wards recognised by Bussy,* though he set aside the title of the boy to sovereignty, and releasing the captive princes, proclaimed the eldest, Salabut Jung, viceroy of the Decean. The army acquiesced in the arrangement, and proceeded quietly on the road to Goleonda. Dupleix, on learning the late events, ad- dressed the warmest congratulations to Sa- labut Jung, who, besides confirming the ces- sions of his predecessor, bestowed additional advantages ou his new friends. The English watched with amazement the progress of the French, but without any efforts at counteraction. From some unex- plained cause. Major Lawrence, the com- mander of the troops, on whose character and experience the strongest reliance was placed in all military affairs, returned to England at the very time his services were most likely to be needed. The Madras pre- sidency desired peace at almost any sacrifice, and united with Mohammed Ali in offering to acknowledge Chunda Sahib nabob of all the Caruatic, except Triehinopoly and its dependencies. The French, borne ou the tide of victory, rejected these overtures; and the English, stung by the contemptuous tone adopted towards them, combined with Mohammed Ali to oppose their united foes. The opening of the campaign was not merely unfortunate, it was (in the words of Major Lawrence) disgraceful : " a fatal spirit of * The stronghold of Adoni, with its dependencies, which had been the original jaghire of the father, were given to the son, witli tlie addition of the terri- tories formerly possessed by tlie treacherous nabobs of Kurnoul and Kudapa. — (Orme, i., 249.) division" prevailed among the officers, and the Europeans fled before the force of ('Inmda Sahib, near the fort of Voleouda. while the native troops maintained the con- llict. Driven from one position to another, the English and their allies at length sought shelter beneath the walls of Triehinopoly. The enemy followed them without delay, and took post on the opposite side of the town, from whence they made some ineffectual attempts for the reduction of the place. The French had now reached the cul- minating point of their power in India : the English, their lowest state of depression ; yet the latter were soon to ascend an emi- nence, to which the position attained by their rivals seemed but as a stepping-stone. The young adventurer already noticed, was selected by Providence as one of the chief instruments in the commencement of this mighty change. In the interval of peace just ended, Clive had been appointed by his steady friend, Major Lawrence, commissary to the troops, with the rank of captain. He was now five-and-twenty, in the full strength and vigour of early manhood. The present emergency called forth all his powers; and, by earnestly representing the necessity of some daring attempt to relieve Triehino- poly, he succeeded in gaining the consent of the Madras presidency to attack Arcot, as a probable means of recalling Chunda Sahib to his own capital. A little force, consisting of eight officers (four of whom were factors turned soldiers, like " special constables" for the occasion), 200 Europeans and 300 sepoys, sallied forth under the leadership of Clive. The issue of this daring enterprise was awaited by the English with intense anxiety. It was no ordinary detachment, sent forth at slight hazard to effect a diversion : the men by whom it was undertaken were (at least in a military point of view) the life-blood of Fort St. David and ^Madras : in the event of their being cut off, these settlements would be left, the one with only 100, the other with less than fifty defenders, against the overwhelming strength of the Indo-French potentate Dupleix, and his satellites. On two previous occasions a fierce and sudden tempest had been the destined means of preserving the English from the hands of their foes. The fieet, assembled by the un- flasKiug zeal of La Bourdounais, shattered and dispersed when beariug down, m the pride of power, on the Coromaudel coast ; the stealthy, midnight assault of Dupleix on Cud- dalore arrested by the rising surf; — these dis- 264 OCCUPATION AND DEFENCE OF AKCOT BY OLIVE— 1751. pensations were now to be crowned by a third, yet more remarkable in its consequences. When Clive and his companions had ad- vanced within about ten miles of Arcot, a violent storm came on, through which they continued their march with the habitual bravery of European troops. The native garrison, accustomed to regard with super- stitious terror the turmoil of the elements, learned with astonishment the continued advance of their assailants ; and, on be- holding them approach the gates of Arcot amid pealing thunder, vivid flashes of light- ning, and fast-falling rain, panic spread from breast to breast: the fort was abandoned, and the English, strong in the supposed possession of supernatural courage, entered it without a blow. The city had neither wails nor defences, and no obstruction was offered to the few hundi'ed men who passed on as conquerors, gazed iipon with fear, admi- ration, and respect, through streets crowded by 100,000 spectators. They took posses- sion of the citadel, in which was found a large quantity of lead and gunpowder, with eight pieces of cannon of small calibre. The merchants had, for security, deposited there effects to the value of £50,000; but tlicse were punctually restored to the owners : and "this judicious abstemiousness," adds Orme, " conciliated many of the principal inhabit- ants to the English interest. The fort was inhabited by 3,000 or 4,000 persons, who, at their own request, were permitted to re- main in their dwellings." There could be little doubt that \'igorous attempts would be made by Chunda Sahib to recover the city which had thus strangely slid from his grasp. Clive instantly began to collect provisions, to throw up works, and to make preparations for sustaining a siege. It was a discouraging task, even to a man whose genius ever shone most brightly amid danger and difficulty. The walls of the fort were ruinous ; the ditches dry ; the ramparts too narrowto admit the guns; the battlements too low to protect tlie soldiers. The fugitive garrison, ashamed of the manner in which they had abandoned the place, assembled together, and encarajjcd close to the town. At dead of night Clive sallied out with almost his entire force, attacked the camp, slew great numbers, and returned to his • Fifteen Kiiropcans perished in a subsequent Bally apainst llie force of Keza Sahib : amongst these ■was Lieutenant Trenwilh, who, pereeivinf; a sepoy from a window taking aim at Clive, pulled liim aside and was himself shot tlirough tlie body. quarters, without having lost a single man.* A more dangerous enemy soon appeared, consisting of about 10,000 men, including 150 French from Pondicherry, under the command of Reza Sahib, son of Chunda Sahib. t The garrison had but a slight pros- pect of maintaining its ground against so formidable an armament ; and certainly the retention of Arcot was little less marvellous than its conquest, though accomplished by wholly different means. In the first instance, a scanty force took possession, without effort, of a prize unexpectedly placed within their reach ; in the latter ease, although reduced by casualties to 324 in number, they showed themselves determined to sacrifice even life in its defence. For fifty days the assault continued ; but the courage of the besieged never faltered : they held together as one man ; and at length, when food began to fail, and was doled out in diminishing portions, the sepoys, in their exceeding de- votion to their suffering comrades, came in a body to Clive, and entreated that all the grain in store might be given to the Euro- peans who required a nourishing diet, — they could subsist on the water in which the rice was boiled. J The reputation of the gallant defence of Arcot proved the immediate cause of its success. An ineffectual attempt at succour, on the part of the Madras govern- ment, was followed by the approach of 6,000 Mahrattas, under the famous leader Morari Rao. These troops had been enlisted in the service of Mohammed Ali, but, deeming his cause hopeless, had remained inactive on the frontiers of the Carnatic. As a last resource, Clive managed to convey to them an earnest appeal for succour, and received an imme- diate reply from the chief, that, being at length convinced the English could fight, he would not lose a moment in attempting their relief. This circumstance coming to the ears of Reza Sahib, he forthwith dispatched a flag of truce to the garrison, with ofters of honourable terms of capitulation, and a large sum of money to their commander, as the alternative of the instant storming of the fort and the slaughter of all its defenders. Clive, in rejecting the whole proposition, gave vent to his characteristic haughtiness, by taunting Reza Sahib with the badness of his cause, and the incfliciencyof his "rabble t Orme calls this leader Itnjuh Sahib ; Wilks (a miich better authority in a question of orthography), linza. I This water, called Cunjee, resembles very tliin CLIVE, SUIINAMED SABUT JUNO, THE DARING IN WAR. 2G5 force." Tlicn, liaving taken all possible mea- sures to resist tlio expected attaek, lie lay down exhausted with fatigue, but was soon aroused by the loud u|)roar of oriental war- fare in its most imi)osiiig form. It was the llth of November — the period allotted to the commemoration of the fearful massacre on the plains of Kerbcla, in which the iniauin Ilussyn, the grandchild of "the prophet," with his whole family and fol- lowers, suffered a cruel death at the hands of his inveterate foes. The recurrence of this solemn festival is usually the signal for the renewal of tierce strife, cither by words or blows, between the Sheiahs and the Son- rites, or followers of the caliphs, by whom AH and his children were superseded. The Mohammedans engaged in the siege seem to have been Sheiahs ; and in the absence of any sectarian quarrels, they directed the full force of the fanaticism roused by the recollection of the tragic catastrophe of Kcrbela, against the infidel contemners of both imaunis and caliphs, and even of their founder himself. Besides the well-known dictum of the Koran — that all who fall fighting against unbelievers offer thereby a sacrifice (accepted, because completed) for the sins of a whole life, and are at once re- ceived into the highest heaven, escaping all intermediate purgatories — a peculiar blessing is supposed to rest on those who perish in "holy" warfare during the period con- secrated to the memory of the venerated imaums.* Stimulating drugs were called in to heighten the excitement of the dis- courses addressed by the priests ; and in a paroxysm of mctital and physical intoxica- tion, the unwieldy host rushed furiously against the gates of Arcot, driving before them elephants with massive iron plates on thir foreheads. The first shock of these living battering-rams was a moment of im- minent peril ; but the gates stood firm ; and then, as in many previous instances, the huge animals, maddened by the musket- balls of the foe, became utterly ungovern- able, and turning round, trampled down hundreds of those who had brought forward such dangerous auxiliaries, causing con- • The other imavmi (Hassan) likewise fell a victim to the macliinations of the calijih Mauwiyah. — (See previous pages, 58 — ()'2.) t Orme states, that hut few of these were Euro- peans ; for most of the French troops were ohserved drawn up and lookin;; on at a distance. — (i., 195.) I The personal exertions of Clive were very great. Perceiving the gunners taking ineffectual aim at a body of the enemy, who were striving to cross on fusion throughout their whole ranks. About an hour elapsed, during which titnc three desperate onsets were made, and deter- minedly resisted ; the steady fire of the garrison telling fearfully on the shrieking, yelling mass beneath. The assailants thea retiretl beyond the ])artially dry moat, with the loss of about KM) men,t and requested a short truce, that they might bury their dead. The English gladly complied : they must have needed rest ; for many of them being previously disabled by wounds and sickness, the labour of repulsing the foe had fallen u])on eighty Europeans (oOicers in- cluded) and 120 sejjoys; and these, besides serving five pieces of cannon, had expended 12,000 musket cartridges during the attack, the front ranks being kept constantly sup- jilied with loaded guns by those behind them. J The stipulated interval passed away; the firing recommenced, and continued from four in the afternoon until two in the morn- ing, when it entirely ceased. The besieged passed some anxious hours; even the four or five men they had lost could be ill spared, for they expected to find the foe in full force at daybreak ; instead of which they beheld the town abandoned, and joyfully took pos- session of several guns and a large quantity of ammunition left behind in the retreat. The news of this extraordinary triumph was received at ^Madras with the utmost enthusiasm. Mohammed AH, who now as- sumed the privilege once exclusively con- fined to the reigning emperor, of bestowing titles, called Clive — Sabut Jung (the daring in war), a well-earned designation which the young soldier bore ever after on his Persian seal, and by which he became known throughout India. A reinforcement of 200 English soldiers and 700 sepoys joined Clive a few hours after the raising of the siege. Leaving a small garrison at Arcot, he set forth in pvir- suit of Rcza Sahib ; and having succeeded in efl'ccting a junction with a Mahratta divi- sion, overtook the enemy by forced marches, and, after a shar|) action, gained a complete victory. § The military chest of the defeated general fell into the hands of the con- a raft the water which filled a portion of the ditch, he took the management of a piece of artillery him- self, and, by three or four vigorous discharges, com- pel'ed the abandonment of this attempt. § A gallant exploit was performed on the part of the enemy by a sepoy, who, beholding a beloved | commander fall ir. the breach, crossed the ditch and carried oflf the body, passing unscathed through thft fire if at least forty muskets. — 'Orme, i., 194.) 266 CITY AND COLUMN OP DUPLEIX LEVELLED BY CLIVE— 1752. querors, 600 of his sepoys joined tteir ranks, and the governor of the neighbouring fort of Arnee consented to abandon the cause of Chunda Sahib, and recognise the title of Mohammed Ali. The great pagoda of Con- jeveram, which had been seized and occu- pied by the French during the siege of Arcot, was regained after a slight struggle.* Towards the close of the campaign of 1752, Clive was recalled to Fort St. David. On the march he arrived at the scene of the assassination of Nazir Jung, the chosen site of a new town, projected to commemorate the successes of the French in the East. Dupleix Futtehabad (the city of the victory of Dupleix) was the name given to the place ; and a stately quadrangular pillar, with in- scriptions in various eastern languages, recounted the short-lived triumph of the ambitious builder. Clive and his followers destroyed the newly-raised foundations, levelled the column to the ground and went their way in triumph, amid the wondering natives, who had lately deemed the French invincible. Notwithstanding the brilliant exploits of his allies, the position of Mohammed Ali continued extremely precarious : many of the strongholds of the province were in hostile keeping; and the want of funds wherewith to pay the army, daily threatened to produce mutiny or desertion. Under these circumstances he appealed to the gov- ernment of Mysoor, and, by extravagant promises in the event of success, prevailed upon the regent to send supplies of money and soldiers to Trichinopoly. The Mysoorean * While reconnoitring the pagoda over a garden wall, the companion of Clive, Lieutenant Bulkley, was shot through the head close by his side. + A memoir, drawn up by the French E. I. Cy., in answer to one published by Dupleix, accuses him of having more than once manifested a deficiency in personal courage, and states that he accounted for the care with which he kept beyond the range of a musket-ball, by declaring that, " le bruit des armes suspendait ses reflexions, et que le calnie seul con- venait a son genie." — (Mill's Jirilish India, iii., 83.) J Orme's Military Transaction!!, i., 220. § Some difficulty arose regarding the appointment of a junior captain to so important a command; but this obstacle was removed by the express declaration of Morari llao and the Mysooreans — that they would take no part in the expedition if dispatched under any other leader than the defender of Arcot. — (/</.) || M. d'.\iitcuil was dispatched by Du]ileix with supplies from I'ondicherry. Owing to a double mis- take on the part of Clive and d'.\uteuil, the former was led to believe that the information conveyed to him regarding the French detachment wa.s incorrect; the latter, being informed that the English com- mander was absent in pursuit of him, thought to troops were 14,000 strong; the Mahrattas, under Morari Rao, numbered 6,000 more; and the Tanjore rajah, who had previously remained neutral, now sent 5,000 men to join the allies. These accessions of strength were soon followed by the arrival of Major Lawrence (then newly returned from Eu- rope), with Clive at his right hand, accom- panied by 400 Europeans, 1,100 sepoys, eight field-pieces, and a large quantity of military stores. Preparations were imme- diately made to take the field. Dupleix became alarmed at the altered state of affairs. As a military commander he had never at- tained celebrity.t Bussy was absent in the train of Salabut Jun.;- ; the remonstrances of Chunda Sahib were unheeded; and the entire force, although the Carnatic lay open before them, took up a position in the forti- fied pagoda of Seringham, on an island formed by the branches of the Coleroon and Cavery. All parties suffered severely from the protracted duration of the war. The mercantile affairs of the English company were extremely distressed by the drain on their finances; and Major Lawrence, believ- ing it to be an emergency which justified " risking the whole to gain the whole,"J sanctioned the daring proposal of his young subaltern — to divide their small force, and remaining himself at the head of one portion for the protection of Trichinopoly, dispatch the othei', under the leadership of Clive, § to cut off the communication between Sering- ham and Pondicherry. Complete success attended the measure. || Chunda Sahib be- sought M. Law, the commander of the take advantage of the slightly-defended British post. With this view he sent eighty Europeans and 700 sepoys. The party included — to the sad disgrace of our countrymen — forty English deserters, whose familiar speech nearly procured the success of the treacherous undertaking. The strangers, on pre- tence of being a reinforcement come from Major Law- rence, were sufl'ered to jiass the outworks witliout giv- ing the pass-word. They proceeded quietly until they reached an adjacent pagoda and choultry (place of entertainment), where Clive lay sleeping, and there answered the challenge of the sentinels by a dis- charge of musketry. A ball shattered a box near the couch of Clive, and killed a servant close beside him. Springing to his feet he rushed out, and was twice wounded without being recognised. A despe- rate struggle ensued ; the English deserters fought like wild i)easts at bay. Tlie pagoda was in posses- sion of the French, and the attempt to regain it was broken off until cannon could be obtained. Clive advanced to the porch to offer terms : faint with loss of blood, in a stooping jioslure he leant on two Ser- jeants. The leader of the deserters (an Irish- man) came forward, addressed Clive in opjjrobrious language (apparently infuriated by some private ASSASSINATION OF CIIUNDA SAHIB— a.d.— 1752. 267 French forces, to make a determined effort to shako oft" tlic toils fast closing round them; but all in vain. Provisions bcj;an to fail, and men to desert ; at length the personal safety of the nabob becoming in evident danger, and his constitution rapidly giving way under the combined eft'ccts of age and anxiety, attempts were made to secure his escape by intriguing with his foes. Nego- tiations were opened with Monajec, the com- mander of the Tanjorc force, and a large sum of money paid to him, in retm-n for which he swore " on his sword and dagger" to protect the unhappy noble, and convey him mdiarmcd to the French settlement of Karical. This adjuration a INIahratta rarely violates; but Monajce did so in the present instance. His motives are variously stated. One eminent writer asserts, on native au- thority, that he acted as the instrument of Mohammed Ali :* Orme, that his treachery originated in the disputes which took place in the camp of the allies so soon as the arrival of Cliuuda Sahib became known. Fearing that his prize would be snatched away, either by the English, the Mysooreans, or the Mahrattas for their own ends, he settled the dispute by causing the object of it to be put to death. The event is still regarded by Mohammedans as a rrraarkable manifestation of divine vengeance; for, in the very choultry where, si.xteen years be- fore, Chunda Sahib, by a false oath, deceived the ranee of Trichinopoly, he was now cruelly murdered while lying prostrate on the ground, broken down by sickness and dis- appointment. f The head was sent to Tri- chinopoly ; and Mohammed Ali, after gazing for the first time on the face of his rival, caused it to be exposed in barbarous triumph on the walls of the city. The French at Seringham J capitulated immediately after quarrel), and taking a deliberate aim, fired his mus- ket. Clive asserts that the ball killed both his sup- porters, while he remained untouched. The French- men disowned any share in the outrage, and surren- dered ; the enemy's sepoys were cut to pieces by the Mahratta allies of the Knglish. — {Life, IKi.) » "Wilks' History of Mijsoor, i.. 284. f -^rf"". 285. J Under M. Law, a nephew of the Scottish schemer. § Yet, from fear of the designs of Nunjoraj and Morari Rao, Major Lawrence afterwards suggested to the presidency the seizure of their persons. II " We wrote to the King of Mysoor that we were merchants, allies to the circar (government), not principals." — (Letter from Madras, Nov., 1752.) The Presidency found it as convenient to disavow the semblance, while grasping the reality, of power, as did the nabob to profess fealty to the emperor : at the same time it must be remembered, they were wholly ignorant of the pledge given by their ally. the above occurrence; and the Engli.sh, de- sirous of continuing their successful career, urged the nabob to proceed at once to .finjee. He hesitated, procrastinated, and at length confessed that the aid of the ]\Iysoor go- vernment had been obtained by no less a bribe than a signed and scaled agreement for the cession of Triehinipoly and its de- pendencies. Major Lawrence was bitterly mortified at finding that the city to which, at this period, an importance far above its intrinsic value was attached, could not after all be retained by the person with whose interests those of his countrymen had become identified, except by a flagrant breach of faith which he honestly pronounced quite unjustifiable. § The nabob would not see the matter in this light; the Mysooreans, he argued, never could expect the fulfilment of such an unreasonable stipulation, especially while the chief portion of the dominions claimed by him as governor of the Camatic still remained to be subdued : abundant re- muneration should be made for their valuable services ; but, as to surrendering Trichinopoly that was out of the question ; for, after all, it was not his to give, but only to hold in trust for the Great IMogtd. This very convenient after-thought did not satisfy the Mysooreans. Both parties appealed to the Madras pre- sidency, and received in return assurances of extreme good-will, and recommendations to settle the matter amicably with one an- other. II !Morari Rao, the IMahratta chieftain, took a leading part in the discussion which followed, and received gifts on both sides; but it soon became evident that his impartial arbitration, if accepted, was likely to ter- minate after the fashion of that of the monkey in the fable, — the shells for his clients, the oyster for himself;^ and at length, after much time spent in altercation, the % After the capture of Trichinopoly, in 1741, by the Mahrattas, it remained under the charge of Morari Kao, until its surrender to the nizam, in 1743. Morari Kao, a few years later, maneiged to establish himself in the Bala Ghaut district of Gooty, and be- came the leader of a band of mercenaries. By careful training and scrupulous exactitude in the stated division of plunder, these men were maintained in perfect order; and from having frequently encoun- tered European troops, could be relied on even to withstand the steady fire of artillery. Morari Rao '. and his Mahrattas were, consequently, very important auxiliaries, for whose services the English and French , outbid one another. Wilks remarks, they were tiest \ characterised by the Persian compound, Mujt-Khoor (eating at other people's expense) : in the present case they were acting as subsidiaries to the Jlysoor force, in the immediate pay of Nunjeraj. — {Mysoor, i., 252.) 268 ENGLISH DEFEND TRICHINOPOLY AGAINST THE FRENCH— 1753. nabob, glad of any pretext for gaining time, promised to deliver up tlie fort in two months. Nunjeraj (the Mysoor general) seemingly assented to this arrangement ; but so soon as Mohammed Ali and Major Law- rence had marched off towards Jinjee, he commenced intriguing with the English garrison for the surrender of the place. The attempt afforded the nabob a flimsy pretext for avowing his determination to retain pos- session. The result was an opeu breach with the Mysooreans and Mahrattas. Dupleix, aided as before by the knowledge and in- fluence of his wife, entered into communica- tion with the offended leaders, and exerted every effort to form a powerful confederacy against ^Mohammed Ali and his supporters. The chief obstacle to his scheme arose from a deficiency of funds and European troops. The French company were much poorer than the English body ; and their territorial revenues formed the only available resource for the support of the force at Pondicherry, and that maintained by Bussy at Hyderabad : little surplus remained for the costly opera- tions planned by Dupleix ; but he supplied all deficiencies by expending his own princely fortune in the cause. The want of trust- worthy soldiers was a more iiTemediable defect. The officers sent to India were, for the most part, mere boys, whose bravery could not compensate for their utter igno- rance of their profession ; the men were the very refuse of the population.* The attempt made by Major Lawrence upon Jinjee failed ; but the English cam- • Addressing the French minister, in 1753, Du- pleix described the recruits sent him as " enfans, decroteurs et bandits" • • • " ,1,1 ramassis de la plus vile canaille ;" and he complained bitterly that, with the exception of Bussy, he never had an officer on vvnose ability he could place the smallest reliance. — (Mill, edited by Wilson, iii., 130.) t The English forces, under Lawrence, were for the most part of a very efficient description ; but the only detachment which could be spared on this occa- sion consisted of 200 recruits, styled by Macaulay " the worst and lowest wretches that the company's crimps could pick up in the Hash houses of London," together with oOO sejroys just levied. So utterly un- disciplined were the new-made soldiers, that on at- tacking Covclong, the death of one of them by a shot from the fort was followed by the immediate flight of his companions. On another occasion a sentinel ■was found, some hours after an engagement, out of harm's way at the bottom of a well. Clive, nevertheless, succeeded in inspiring these unpromis- ing auxiliaries with something of his own spirit; the sepoys seconded him to the utmost. Covclong fell ; a detachment sent to iLs relief was surprised by an ambuscade, lOU of the enemy were killed by one fire, 300 taken prisoners, and the remainder pursued to the paign of 1752 terminated favourably, with a. victory gained near Bahoor, two miles from Fort St. David, and the capture of the forts of Covelong and Chingleput.t These last exploits were performed by Clive, who then returned to England for his health, carrying with him a young bride, an independent fortune, and a brilliant military reputation. J Early in January, 1753, the rival armies again took the field. No decisive action occurred ; but in May, Trichinopoly was again attacked, and continued, for more than a twelvemonth, the scene of active hostility. The assailants had not sufficient supe- riority to overpower or starve out the gar- rison, nor could the English compel them to raise the siege. The introduction or interception of supplies engaged the un- wearied attention of both parties, and many severe conflicts occurred, without any deci- sive advantage being gained by either. Meantime the mercantile associations in Europe, and especially in France, grew beyond measure impatient at the prolon- gation of hostilities. Dupleix, foreseeing the unbounded concessions into which the desire for peace would hurry his employers, him- self opened a negotiation with the Madras government, where Mr. Saunders, an able and cautious man, presided. The deputies met at the neutral Dutch settlement of Sadras.§ The question at issue — whether jMohammed Ali should or should not be acknowledged nabob of the Carnatic, after being for four years contested with the sword — was now to be weighed in the balance gates of Chingleput. The fortress was besieged and a breach made, upon which the French commandant capitulated and retired with the garrison. I Clive married the sister of Maskelyne, the emi- nent mathematician, who long held the office of Astronomer Koyal. The amount of the fortune, acquired as prize-money, during the few years which had elapsed since he arrived in Madras a penniless youth, does not appear; but it is certain that he had sufficient to reclaim, in his own name, the family estate, and to extricate his father from pecuniary embarrassment, beside what he lavished in an extravagant mode of life. Dress, equipages, and more than all, a contested election, followed by a petition, left Clive, at the expiration of two years, the choice between a very limited income or a return to India. He took the latter course. The E. 1. Cy., on his arrival in Kngland, had shown their sense of his brilliant exploits by the gift of a sword set with diamonds — a mark of honour which, through his in- terference, was extended to his early patron and stanch friend. Major Lawrence; and when Cliv«^8 brief holiday was over, they gladly welcomed him back to Uieir service, and procured for him the rank of lieut.-col. in the liritish army. — (Life, i., 131.) § Forty-two miles south of Aladrus. TREATY BETWEEN FRENCH AND ENGLISH IN INDIA— a.». 1754. 269 of -justice. Duplcix, as the delegate of the iiizam or subahdar of tlie Deccan, olainicd tlic rij,'Iit of appoiiitincnt, wliicli ho had at dillcrciit times attciiiptcd to hostow upon Hcy.ii Saiiih and i\liu-tc7.7.a Ali (of Vcliorc) ; the English continncd to iilcad tlic cause of the candidate they had from the first steadily supported : and both the one and the other, ia the absence of any more plausiljlc ))rctcxt, j-cvertcd to the stale plea of iinpr rial authority. Patents and grants were produced or talked of, vhioh were re- spectively declared by the opposing ])arties forgeries and mere pretences. After eleven days' discussion, the proceedings broke off with mutual crimination. Duplcix was cen- sured (doubtless, with suflicicnt cause) as haughty and overbearing : no arrangement, it was asserted, would ever rcsnlt from dis- cussions in which he was allowed to take part. The French ministry were glad to free themselves of any portion of the blame attached to the ill success which had attended the arras of the nation in the late contest, and to hold the company and its servants responsible for all failures. The bold and warlike policy of Duplcix had been deemed meritorious while successful : his brilliant and gainful exploits were, at one time, the theme of popular applause; but now, while struggling with unflagging energy against the tide of misfortune, his unbounded am- bition and ovcrweeniug self-conceit over- looked in prosperity, outweighed the re- membrance of zeal, experience, and fidelity in the minds of the French Directory, and in August, 1754, a new governor-general, J\I. Godheu, arrived at Pondicherry, with authority to conclude a peace.* The Eng- lish were permitted to retain the services of Mr. Saunders and others, well versed in local affairs, instead of being compelled to trust to commissioners newly arrived from * DiipU'ix immediately retiu'iicd to Franee. His accounts witli tlio French company showed a dis- bursement of nearly £400,000 beyond what lie liad received durinjj tlie war. This claim was wholly set aside, upon the plea that expenses had been in- •curred witho\it suHicient authority. He commenced a law-suit against the company for the recovery of monies sjicnt in its behalf; but the royal authority was exercised to put a summary stop to these pro- ceedings ; and all the concession made to Dupleix was the grant of letters of protection against the prosecution of his creditors — which was nothing better tlian atoning for one injustice by committing another. The career of the proud governor — who had comiJelled his own countrymen to kneel before him, had threatened to reduce Madras to a more fishing village, and of whom it had been boasted that his 2 N Europe. The decision arrived at, though apiiarently equally fair for both sides, in- volved, on the part of the French, the sacrifice of all they had been fighting for. One clause of the treaty enacted, that all intcrfcrcuee in the quarrels of native princes should be relinquished; and thus tacitly recognised I\Iohammcd Ali as nabob of the Carnatie; another j)rovisot based tha territorial arrangements of the two nations on the principle of equality, and if fulfilled, would entail the resignation of the valuable provinces called the Northern Circars,{ lately bestowed on ]}ussy by Salabut Jung. This prince, it is true, was left subahdar of the Deccan, but the English had never at- tempted to oppose him. Indeed, the sudden death (attributed to poison), § of (ihazi-oo- deen, the eldest son of the old ni/,am, wheu approaching at the head of a large army to dispute the pretensions of his brother, had left iSalabut Jung in the position of lineal heir, now that the Deccani viceroyalty, like that of Bengal, had come to be looketi upon as an hereditary principality. The treaty was infringed as soon as made. The English proceeded to reduce to obedi- ence to their nabob the districts of IMadura and Tinuivclly. The French, under Bussy, retained the circars, and continued to sup- port Salabut Jung. In so doing, they un- willingly contributed to relieve j\Iohammed Ali from one of his great difficulties — the blockade of Trichinopoly by theMysooreans. Nunjcraj, justly repudiating the right of the French to make peace on his behalf, persisted in endeavouring to get possession of the fort, until the rumoured approach of a body of Mahrattas to levj' coutributious on the Mysoor frontier, and the simultaneous advance of Salabut Jung to demaiul tribute in the name of the !Mogul, induced him suddenly to march homewards, to the iufi- nanio was mentioned with fear even in the palace of ancient Delhi — terminated sadly enough in disputing over the wreck of liis fortune, and soliciting au- diences in the ante-chamber of hisjudges. Such at least is the account given by A'oltaire, who adds em- ])hatically, '• II en mourut bicnlot de chagrin." — (/ViViN ilii Steele (le Louis Xli'., ch. xxxix.) t " The two companies, English and French, shall renounce for ever all Jloorish government and dig- nity, and shall never interfere in any diflercnces that arise between the princes of the country." — (First article of Treaty, signed December, 1754.) ■ t Xamely, Mustaphabad, EUore, Kajahmundri, and Cliicacole (anciently Calinga); these additions made the French masters of the sea-coast of Coromandel and Orissa, in an uninterrupted line of 600 miles. § Prepared by the mother of Nizam Ali. 270 STATES OF SOUTHERN INDIA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. ^ (U •T3 e» OJ o "^ » CO C3 d a t^ i>» (S Tl ^ U) (1) Ti Siri n B C3 y -S ? CO ^ ^ -*J id o i^ !^ ,__l (L) !- cs n rt ri 0) ■4-* U a, <u 05 o w Eh ^ 'hh %^ K p- o w Eh 6B S o d n 3 t— 1 O SX5 (1) ,d 2 03 fH ^ ea -k> i c3 C o .3 -o W •T3 fo 'S 2 d o Ph e (« ^ .2 ^ o o -bJ HH HH .ta 1 CO »— * t*-. iJ TS o bD d O y _ ^ d o •r, a d -fj w o CJ o i-k Ph H O ri a ■S d o -o I'i CD H o -w O d W bn •^ k?; a 1) GG o •n d ,r: <D (U o ^ o Tl ^ g C3 a -1-3 O O (-H ^ O a o d C3 o -w Ph m K a W '"' ci S3 Eh o c d t-i be O a •-o ^j O -*-> c; <i) o (» d CO g^ 2 'o H « ^ '^ -!^ V <— t d S o o H ;: = S S * = 2 I 3 ? = 5 ,5 ft c it-^s, i-i.as-. "i-i'"ii ^r-- ° - " : — i -3 3 1- " r. f, — tfl •~' r ^gr-sgil-gjglill ^■''2 5-S &§ S 2 ty S 3 ^ 3 ' H .2 g ■» :s n = J " .S .5 'c. ^t. s-C ^'— '^-'tJ '"''"' "ncj g-c g a."?.; E! O H ^ "l.CJ t4^ U Vh S ^ a S S • •'TC-'c^.j — = .S a <= « '^ S-g 3 S.5 S i o i.a o i ScH C.3 .'^'i'Sgt, ■3 E - C g "O o bo = " ^•s:2. Eh O O i^ O "- r- £ ^— . p g ¥ 7 o s; -^ . e J ■■ ji 2 S .K -^ a> K — -5 'o '^ CI. C3 1* i S-^ i a eh_, <! i ^ - jj a ^ ^r^ ^ .a "^2 " ^ g ij;;!'^^^ c->5 g o-f •-« .22 •-'^i3'5ir"°'=^a«oS5£'o*-=" X a a ft »;<„ S - ■ 2 -■:= '^■^ ~ ^ rt ., ty " fcf. V - rn o >i a :- o a t- c!j „ a sj ■• c3 =3 03 n3 o tjX rt-^ ir o ^ ^ <y g ^ o ■q 6 o ^ '-'^ 9 .^ c o „.= >SB a ; ' o ^ 7\ —• ^ c ,B'ft .^ 2- .s-ss 5 sj o^ be— '^ ^ V Ti -, 5 .2..— .S. S 2 < o Ee.S « ■S «j ° ^.a-y.^ °^ o-c 5-^ <y-= ! •g-Si«S 3 g -a-S o-g Bj. -^ i a «x^ p fc- ' O C ,1, - Si.^;;^ =: £> o J. ft.5 2 g ^ HH ni 't? 5.L -.g ° a S S E.« 2 a"S.i.^>2 0*13 n S^ 3 -O = •53 gs-" ■^•z: a H' ■ »-5 : 1^ 3 o - : y "J i ^^'1^1 sis - .c o r^ t-t .^ a ^*J ea *' Jk a - >- Jan -3 .a ^x ■;; •2a- S "l « O •I k| " Bf^ 22- S o-nwc-S- "- a 5j >i2 a £ ftS (^ CO "^ § s^ '^ - -.'^ -£ ^ - s ^ §•; »- "= a »jj sq 4) M § • ~ J" o iltp 2 5: S ?> 5 CIJAKACTER OF SURAJAII DOVVLAII— a.d. 175G. 271 nitc relief of the iisibob. While the treaty was pcntlinp, a British squadron with rein- forrcmoulH ha<l been sent to India, under Admiral Walsou, and the decided supcrioiity thus ^iven to the I'Jngiish probably accele- rated the arrangement of all'airs. Their services were now employed in the sup- pression of the systematic piracy carried on by the Angria family for nearly fifty years on the ]\lalabar coast. Tiic pcishwa, or chief minister of the ^lahralta state, viewed them in the light of vcbelHous sub- jects, and united with tiie JMigiisb for their suppression. Karly in 1755, the fort of Sevcrndroog, and the island of J3ancoot, were taken by Commodore James ; and in tlie following year, Watson, in co-operation with Clive (then just returned from England with the appointment of governor of Fort St. David), captured Gheria, the principal harbour and stronghold of the pirates. The English and iMahrattas both coveted this position : the tactics of the former proved successful. Booty to the amount of i6150,000 sterling was obtained, and its dis- tribution occasioned disputes of a very dis- creditable character between the sea and land services. The partial biographer of Clive endeavours to set forth his hero on this, as on other occasions, as generous and disinterested ; but few unprejudiced readers will be ineliued to acquit him of fully sharing, what Sir John Malcolm himself describes as " that spirit of plunder, and that passion for the rapid accumulation of wealth, which actuated all raidvs." — (i. 135.) The scene of Anglo-Indian polities is about to change ; the hostilities on the Coromandel coast serving but as the pre- lude to the more important political trans- actions of which the Calcutta presidency became the centre. War of Bengal. — Ali Verdi Khan, subahdar or viceroy of the provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissn, died in 1756. Though in name a delegate of the INIogul emperor, he had long been virtually inde- pendent, and his power recognised as here- ditary. In the absence of any nearer relative, this important government devolved on his grandson, Mirza !Mahmood, a prince better known by his title of Snrajah Dowlah. Ali Verdi had no sons : his three daiighters married their cousins; and this youth, the * Sii/ar 111 Mutaliherin, i., 646. t The son of Molianiniei! Ali made this remark as n re.nson for employing Hindoo officials in preferenre to his feilow-believers, ■whom, he asserted, were like offspring of one of these alliances, from his cradle remarkable for extraordinary beauty, became tlie object of excessive fondness on the part of his grandfather. Unrestrained indulgence took the place of careful train- ing, and deepened the defects of a feeble in- tellect and a capricious disposition. To the vices incident to the enervating atmosphere of a seraglio, he is said to have added a tendency for society of the most degrading character ; and as few of the courtiers- chose to i-isk the displeasure of their future lord, with little chance of any effectual inter- ference on the part of their present ruler, Snrajah Dowlah was suffered to carry on a career of which even the annals of eastern despotism afford few examples. A Mo- hammedan writer emphatically declares, that " he carried defilement wherever he went,"* and became so generally detested, that people, on meeting him by chance, used to say, " God save us from him !"t I'he accession to irresponsible power of a youth of this character, could not fail to inspire a general feeling of apprehension. The Eng- lish had special cause for alarm, inasmuch as the new ruler entertained strong preju- dices in their disfavour. Some authorities state that Ali Verdi Khan, shortly before his death, had advised his destined successor to put down the growing military power of this nation; more probably he had urged the pursuance of his own gainful and con- ciliatory policy of exacting, at different times and occasions, certain contributions from all European settlements under his sway, taking care, at the same time, not to drive them into a coalition against his authorit}', or by any exorbitant demand to injure his permanent revenues by rendering their commerce unremunerative. Policy of this character was far beyond the compre- hension of Snrajah Dowlah. The plodding traders of Calcutta were, in his eyes, not as in reality agents and factors of a far dis- tant association, but men of enormous private wealth, like the Hindoo souears or bankers, whom one of his countrymen de- clared resembled sponges, which gathered all that came in their way, but returned all at the first pressure. J This pressure the , English were now to receive : a pretext was easily found. The impending outbreak of European war would, it was evident, lead sieves — "much of what was poured in, went through." —(Malcolm's i./t> of I.md Clive, i., 222.) X The one wife of .Vli Verdi Xhan steadily befriended the English.— (HohvcU's Historical Ecents, p. 176.) 272 SURAJAH DOWLAH BESIEGES CALCUTTA— a.d. 1750. to hostilities in India: tliey liad, therefore, begun to take measures for the defence of the presidency. Surajah Dovvlah, with whom a previous misunderstanding had occurred,* scut them an imperative order to desist, and received in return a deprecatory message, urging the necessity of talking measures against Frencli invasion. Tlie subahdar, remembering the neutraHty en- forced by his grandfather, deemed the excuse worse than the fauU ; and, althougli actually on the march against a rebellious relative, he abandoned tliis object, and advanced immediately to the factory at Cos- simbazar, which at once surrendered, the few Europeaus there having no means of offering any resistance. Tlie tidings were re- ceived at Calcutta with dismay. The defen- sive proceedings, which had attracted the attention of the subahdar, must have been very partial ; for the works, stores of ammu- nition, and artillery were all utterly insuffi- cient to sustain a protracted siege. The garrison comprised 20 i men, and the militia, formed of European aiid native inhabitants, 250 ;t but tlieir training had been so little attended to, that when called out, scarcely any among them " knew the right from the wrong end of their muskets. "{ Assistance was entreated from the neighbouring Dutch settlement of Chinsura, but positively re- fused; and, in the urgent necessity of the case, the probability of impending warfare with the French did not deter the presi- dency from appealing to them for aid. The reply was an insolent intimation that it should be granted if the English would quit Calcutta, and remove their garrison and effects to Chandernagore ; that is, put them- selves completely into the powei of their patronising protectors. Tlie last resource — an endeavour to purchase immunity froni Surajah Dowlah — failed, and an attempt .at resistance followed. The military officers on the spot, of whom none ranked higher than a captain, were notoriously incompe- tent to direct a difhcult defence; the civil authorities had neither energy nor presence of mind to couutcrbalancc the defieieucics of their colleagues. To abandon the fort and retreat to shipboard was the common • An uncle of Surajah Dowlah died governor of Dacca. His hopeful nephew at once resolved on plundering tlie widowed lieguni, or princess his aunt, with whom he had loiif; been at open variance, of the cnorinoiis fortune she was supjiosed to have inherited, and sent orders for the ini])risonment of the receivers and treasurers of the province : one of these — a Hindoo, named Kishendass, supposed to have opinion; and, under the circumstances, no dishonour would have attended such a course, if judiciously carried out. But the thunder of the enemy without the walls, was less inimical to the safety of the inha- bitants than the coiifusion, riot, and insu- bordination within, which, in the words of a modern historian. ■ made the closing scene of the siege one of the most dis- graceful in which Englishmen were ever engaged."^ The intention of a general escape was frustrated by the miserable selfishness of those on whom it devolved to make arrangements for the safety of the whole. The men sent ofi" with the women and children refused to return ; and soon after the governor and commandant, with a select body of cowards, seized the last boats which remained at the wharf, and joined the ships which, partaking of the general panic, had dropped down the river. The inhabitants, thus abandoned to the power of a despot whose naturally cruel temper they believed to be inflamed by a peculiar hatred towards themselves, elected ^Ir. Ilolwell (a member of council) as their leader, and for two daj's continued the de- fence of the place, in the hope that some of the ships would return to their sta- tions and answer the repeated calls for aid made by means of fiery signals thrown up from all parts of the town. Tiiese were in- deed little needed, for the continued firing of the enemy proclaimed aloud their in- creasing danger. Orme, wlio has minutely examined the details of this discreditable business, declares, that " a single sloop, with fifteen brave men on board, might, in spite of all the cflorts of the enernj', have come up, and, anchoring under tlic fort, have carried away all" those who remained to sutler a strange and terrible doom. No stronger illustration can be found of the manner in which selfishness and the greed of gain corrupt and extinguish the gentler instincts of humanity, and deprive men even of pliysical courage, than this aflair. ^Ir. Ilolwell strove, by throwing letters over the wall, to obtain terms of capitula- tion ; but in vain. An assault, in which ninety-five of the garrison were killed or accunnilated great wealth — escaped to Calcutta. Tl;e subahdar sent to demand the fupjitive; but the mes- senger entering tlie town in a sort of disguise, was treated by the iiresidcnt as an im]iostor, and dis- missed witli insult from the company's territory. t Making iJ40 men, 171 being Kuropcans J llolwell's /H(/m Tincts,m2. § Thornton's British .India, i., 190. MASSACllE OF THE BLACK HOLE AT CALCUTTA— 175G. 273 woiiiulcd, was followed by direct insubordi- ziatiou on tiic jjait of the remainder of the coiiiiuoii soldiers. Theybrokeopcuthc stores, and, all sense of duty lost in intoxieation, rushed out of one paU; of the furt, intending to escape to the river, just as the enemy entered by another. The inhabitants sur- rendered their arms, and the victors re- frained from bloodshed. The subahdar, notwithstanding his character for inhu- manity, showed no signs of it on this occa- sion, b\it took his seat in the chief apartment of the factory, and received the grandilo- quent addresses of his officers and atten- dants with extreme elation ; all angry feel- ings being merged in the emotions of grati- fied vanity at the victory thus absurdly overrated. The smallness of the sum found in the treasvuy (r)(),0()() rupees) was a great disappointment; but when Mr. llolwell was carried into his presence with fettered hands, they were immediately set free; and notwith- standing some expressions of resentment at the English for the defence of the fort, he declared, upon the faith of a soldier, not a hair of their heads should be touched. The conference terminated aliout seven in the evening. J\Ir. llolwell returned to his com- panions in captivity, and the question arose how they were to be secured for the night. No suitable place could be found ; and while the guards were searching about, the pri- soners, relieved from fear by the nnexpcetcd gentleness of Surajah Dowlah, stood in groups, conversing togetb.cr, utterly unsus- picious of their impending doom. The chief oilieer returned and announced that the only place of security he could fiiul was the garrison prison. At this time (before the jjhilantbropie labours of Howard) gaols, even in England, were loathsome dens; that of Calcutta was a cbambei', einbtecn feet long by fourteen broad, lit ar.d ventilated by two small windows, secured by iron bars, and overhung by a veraudah. Even for a dozen European malefactors this dungeon would have been iusuflcrably close and narrow. The prisoners of the svd)ahdar numbered 14G persons, including many English, whose constitutions could scarcely sustain the fierce heat of Bengal in this the summer season, even with the aid of every mitigation that art could invent or money purchase. They derided the idea of being shut up in the " Black Hole," us manifestly impos- * The detaclimant on g\iard had lost many nien in the sicfie, and the survivors were merciless. t Mr. IlohvcU and Mr. Cooke, another of the siblc. But the guards, hardened to the sight of snfl'ei-ing, and habitually careless of life, forced them all (including a half-cast woman, who clung to her husliand) into the cell at the point of the sword, and fa-^tcned the door upon the helpless crowd. llolwell strove, by bribes and entreaties, to persuade an old man of some authority among the guards, to procure their separation into two places. He made some attempts, but re- turned, declaring that the subahdar slept, and none daicd disturb him to request the ])crmission, without which no change could be made in the disposition of the prisoners. The scene which ensued perhaps admits of but one comparison in horror — that one is the hold of a slave-ship. Some few iiuli- viduals retained consciousness; and after hours of agony, surrounded by sights and sounds of the most appalling description, rendered up their souls tranquilly to their Creator and llcdcemer, satisfied (we may hope), even under so trying a dispensation, that the dealings of Providence, though often inscrutable, are ever wise and merciful. Man, alas! often evinces little of cither quality to his fellow-beings; and in this instance, while the captives, maddened by the double torment of heat and thirst, fought with each other like furious beasts to ap- proach the windows, or to obtain a share in the pittance of water procured through the intervention of the one compassionate sol- dier, the other guards held lights to the iron bars, and shouted with fiendish laughter at the death-struggles of their victims.* Towards daybreak the tumult began to diminish ; shrieks and groans gave place to a low fitful moaning ; a sickly, pestilential vapour told the reason — the majority had perished : corruption had commenced ; the few who remained were sinking fast. The fatal sleep of Surajah Dowlah at length ceased ; the door was opened by his orders ; the dead were piled up in heaps ; and twenty- three ghastly figures (including the now widowed woman before mentioned) stag- gered one by one out of the charnel-Iiouse. A pit was immediately dug, into which the bodies of the murdered men, 1!J3 in number, were promiscuously flung. Ko shadow of regret seems to have been evinced by the subahdar for this horrible catastrophe. t The first flush of exultation had passed away, and feelings of peeuniax-y sufferers, gave a painfully interesting account of the whole catastrophe before a committee of the House of Commons. — {Pari. Papers. E. I. Cy., 1772.) 274 TREATY BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SUKAJAH DOWLAH— 1757. disappointment were now uppermost. Hol- well, unable to walk, was carried into his pre- sence, with some companions, and harshly interrogated regarding the treasures of the company. No satisfactory answer being ob- tained, they were all lodged in miserable sheds, fed on grain and water, and left to pass as they might the crisis of the fever, in which several who lived through the night of the 20th June, 1756, perished. The release of the survivors was eventuall}^ procui'ed by the intercession of the grandmother of tlie prince,* and a merchant named Omichund. A Moorish garrison of 3,000 men was placed in Fort William, and with reckless impiety the name of Calcutta changed to that of Alinagore (the port of God.) Surajah Dowlah then, exacted from the Dutch a tribute of £45,000, and £35,000 from the French ; better terms being accorded to the latter, in consideration of their having fur- nished 200 chests of gunpowder to the army while ou their march to Calcutta. Tidings of the fall of the settlement and the catastrophe of the Black Hole reached Madras in August, and were received with a general cry for vengeance. Even at such a time the old jealousies between the land and sea forces interposed to prevent immediate action, and two months were spent in dis- cussing how the command was to be divided, and in what manner prizes were to be dis- tributed. At the expiration of that time, Olive find Watson sailed from Madras with ten ships, having on board 900 European troops and 1,500 sepoys. The fugitives from Calcutta were found at Fulta, a town some distance down the Ganges, and offen- sive operations were commenced by the attack of a fort called Budgc-Budge, situated on the river banks between the places above named. An unaccountable piece of care- lessness on the part of Clive nearly occasioned the failure of tlie enterprise. While the ships cannonaded the fort, a ruimber of tlie troops were to lay wait for the garrison, who it was expected, would abandon the place ; instead of which the ambuscade was itself * The widow of Ali Verdi IChan, before mentionod. \ Orme's Militani Transactiuna, ii., 12;5. Tlie total loss of the English in this ailaii- does not ap- pear. Ornic mentions thirteen men killed. Clive, in a private letter to Mr. Pip;ot, remarks, that " our los3 in the skirmish near ]iud<i;e-Bud<,'e was greater than could well be spared if such skirmishes were to be often repeated. — [Life, i., 153.) X The attack was deferred on account of the fatigue of the troops. A body of 2.J0 sailors were landed in the evening, and refreshed themselves by becoming extremely drunk. One of them, about surprised by a body of the enemy while resting on the march, having neglected even the common precaution of stationing sentinels to keep guard in the broad day- light. The presence of mind of Clive, aided probably by his reputation for good fortune, enabled him to rally the soldiers with rapidity, and advance with steadiness and success against the irregular ranks o. two or three thousand horse and foot who had stealthily approached amid the thick jungle. Monichund, governor of Calcutta, led the attack, and on receiving a ball in his turban, this commander, having "no courage, but much circumspection.^'t turned his ele- phant, and decamped with his entire force. The fort was cannonaded by the ship (the Kent) which first reached the spot, and a gene- ral attack projected for the next morning, but prevented by the silent evacuation of the place. J The other posts on the Gauges were abandoned at the approach of the English, and Calcutta itself recaptured, after a siege of two hours. The merchandise belong- ing to the company remained, for the luost part, untouched, having been reserved for Surajah Dowlah; but the houses of indi- viduals had been totally plundered. Hooghly was next attacked, and a breach easily eftected ; the troops mounted the rampart, and tlie garrison took to flight, leaving in the place a large amount of property. Intelligence of the renewal of hostilities between England and France, reached the armament at this period. The French in Bengal had a force of 300 Europeans and a train of field-artillery. Their unioit with Surajah Dowlah would give him an over- powering degree of superiority; it was therefore manifestly politic to take imme- diate advantage of the desire for an accom- modation with which the issue of the contest had inspired him. In February, 1757, a treaty was formed, by which the stibahdar — or, as he is com- monly called, the nabob — consented to re- store to the English their former privileges; to make compensation for the plunder of dusk, straggled across the moat, scrambled up the rampart, and, meeting with no opposition in the de- serted citadel, hallooed loudly to the advanced guards in the village that he had taken the place. Sepoys were stationed round the walls. Others of the intoxi- cated sailors coming up to share the triumph of their comrade, mistook the sentinels for foes, and fired their pistols. In the confusion an oiliccr was kilh;d. The seamen, on rel\u-ning to their shii)s, were flogged for misconduct : the man who had discovered the ilight of the garrison did not escape ; upon which he swore in great wrath never to take a fort again. CHANDERNAGORE CAPTURED FROil THE I'llENCII— 1757. 9.7^ Calcutta; anrl to permit the creation of for- tifications. Tills arraiigcmiiit was spcH'dily followed by an alliance, ofl'cnsivc and de- fensive, eagerly ratified by both parties. The peace which followed was of short duration. The English impatiently desired to retaliate on the French their late con- duct ; and demanded the consent, if not the co-opciatioii of their new ally, which he long refused, declaring with truth, that hav- ing no cause of enmity to cither party, it was alike a point of duty and interest to prevent the outbreak of hostilities. Beneath this ostensible reason, another existed in his desire to preserve terms with the French in the event of a rupture with the English. The invasion and capture of Delhi liy Ahmed Shah Abdalli, and the fear of an advance upon Bengal, for a time banished all other schemes. The nabob clung to his European allies as an efficient defence ; but a restless inquietude nevertheless possessed him; for the ability to protect was accom- panied by an equal power of destruction. At length, the peremptory demand and threats of Watson and Clive, backed by the arrival of reinforcements, with well- directed bribes to underlings, extorted from him a reluctant permission to " act according to the time and occasion."* This oracular phrase was considered to implv consent to the attack of Chandernagorc, which was im- mediately proceeded with, notwithstanding subsequent direct and repeated prohibitions. The French conducted the defence with gallantry ; but the combined force of the land and sea divisions proved irresistible. Admiral Watson evinced extraordinary sea- manship in bringing two of his vessels (the Kent and Tiger) abreast the fort ; and after three hours' firing the besieged capitulated. Chandernagorc, like Calcutta, comprised a European and native town with a fort, and stretched over territory which, commencing at the southern limits of the Dutch settle- ment of Chinsura, extended two miles along the banks of the nver, and about one-and- a-half inland. Clivc was delighted at the conquest, considering it of more conse- quence than would have been that of Pondi- cherry itself, t which he hoped would follow. To " induce the nabob to give up all the French factories," and " drive them out, root * Ormc's MUitary Transactions, ii., 140. t Clive describes Chaiulernagore as "a most mag- nificent and rich colony ; the garrison consisted of more tlian iiOO Europeans and blacks, all carrying arms: 3G0 aie prisoners, and nearly 100 have been suflfered to give their parole, consisting of civil, mili- and branch,"* — this and nothing less was now attempted. But Surajah Dowlah was never less inclined to so im|)olitic a prfice- dure, than after tlie taking of Cliandcrnagore. The exploits of the ships of war had filled him with consternation: it is even asserted that he had been made to believe they could be brought up the Ganges close to his own capital — an operation which he immediately took measures to prevent, Ijy causing tlie , mouth of the Cossimbazar river to be i dammed up. § The idea of counterbalancing | the power of the ICuglish by that of the French, was a natural and judicious one; but he had neither judgment nor self-reliance for its execution. Old in dissipation, he was young in years and in all useful experience. Vicious habits, II and an ungovernable tongue, had alienated from him the alfections of the chosen friends and servants of his grand- father; and they viewed with disgust the contrast alTorded to the provident habits and courteous bearing of their late ruler by his profligate successor. Scarcely one voice appears to have been raised up to warn the unhappy youth of the growing disaffection of his subjects. The haughty Mussulman nobles were incensed by his insulting de- meanour ; and the Hindoos had still stronger grounds for estrangement. Under all Mo- hammedan governments, the financial depart- ments were almost solely entrusted to this thrifty and calculating race. The Brahmini- cal and mercantile classes were treated with that solid respect, which those who wield the sword usually pay to those who keep the purse. By unwearied application and ex- treme personal frugality, the seits or soucars frequently accumulated immense wealth, which they well knew how to employ, both for purposes of augmentation and for the csta!)lishment of political influence. Their rulers lavished enormous sums on wars and pageants ; and though sometimes violent means were used to obtain stores of hidden wealth, the more frequent course adopted by princes to raise supplies was through orders on the revenue, in the nego- tiation of which the bankers contrived to make a double profit. Ali Verdi Khan had understood the value of these auxiliaries, and the importance of conciliating their confidence. Under his sway Hindoos filled tary, and inhabitants. Nearly sixty while ladies are rendered miserable by the loss of this place." — (Alal- colm's Life of Clite, i., 196.) | Idrm., p. 196. § Parker's Transactions in the East Indies, 57. II He threatened Juggut Seit with circumcision, the worst insult that could be offered to a Hindoo. 276 ENGLISH JOIN MEER JAFFIER AGAINST SURAJAH DOWLAH— 175' the higliest offices of the state. Ram Narrain, the governor of Patna, ami Rajah Ram of IMidnapoor, were the chief of the managers and renters. Roydullubj the dewau or minister of finance, was likewise a person of great influence — the more so from his intimate connection with Jiiggut Seit, the representative of the wealthiest soucar, or banking firm in India. This last, by means of his extended transactions, possessed equal influence at Lucknow,* Delhi, and at INIoorshedabad. ]\Iost of these persons, with the addition of IMonichund, the temporary governor of Calcutta, Surajah Dowlah liad offended in different waysjf and he especially resented the sense evinced by the Hindoos generally of the rising power of the English. The result was a determination to subvert his government. The chief conspirator was the bukshee, or military commander of the army, Meer Jaffier Khan, a soldier of for- tune, promoted by Ali Verdi to the highest military rank, and farther exalted by a marriage with a member of the reigning family. Omichund, a wealthy Hindoo, mer- chant, long resident in Calcutta, and inti- mately associated by commercial dealings with the E. I. Cy., became the medium of , conveying to the English ovei-tures to join the plot. Clive at once advocated com- pliance, on the ground that sufficient evi- dence existed of the intention of the nabob to join with the French for their destruction. It certainly appears that a correspondence was actually being carried on with Buss3', but to little effect, since the precarious state of politics at the court of Salabut Jung rendered his continuance there of the first importance. Still Clive argued that the conduct of the nabob sufficed to release his countrymen from their solemn pledge, and justified them in entering into a plot with the treacherous ministers ; and his strong will weighed down the opposition offered in discussing the ques- tion by a committee of the Calcutta presi- dency. To ojipose the vacillating, cowardly intrigues of Surajah Dowlah with fraud and j)erjury, was decided to be a more promising course than to remain in the narrow patli • The capital of the viceroy of Oudc. t The copy of a Icltci- found at Moorslicdabad, after llie fatal battle of I'lasscy, addressed by the nabob to Bussy, contains allusions to the seizure of Chandernagore, and offered co-operalion against "these disturbers of my country, l^ileer Jung lUi- luulur, the valiunt in hutllo (AVatson), and Sabut Jung (Clive), -whom bad fortune attend!" } J'u/c Stewart's Ilis/ori/ of (lio Dicrini, ii., 408; and the translation of the Siyar ul Miitakhcrin, pub- lished at Calcutta in n.SO.— (i., 7JS-"J.) of honest dealing. ]\Ieer Jaffier promised, in the event of success, large donations to the company, the army, navy, and com- mittee. Clive declared Surajah Dowlah to be " a villain,^' and Meer Jaffier " a man as generally esteemed as tlie other was de- tested."— (Malcolm's Life of Clive, i., 2G3.) The conduct of the chief person on this occasion, strongly supports the much-cri- ticised opinion of Mill — that deception never cost him a pang. Vague rumours of the plot reached the nabob ; and Clive, to dispel his suspicions, wrote to him " in terms so affectionate, that they for a time lulled the weak prince into perfect secu)'ity."J The courier conveyed a second missive of the same date, from the same hand, addressed to Mr. Watts, the British resident at Moorshedabad — in which, after referring to the " soothiug letter" § above alluded to, Clive adds, "Tell Meer Jaffier to fear nothing; that I will join him with 5,000 men who never turned their backs ; and that if he fails seizing him, we shall be strong enough to drive him out of the country. Assure him I will march night and day, as long as I have a man left." || The protestations of Clive gained force in the mind of the deluded nabob, through a cir- cumstance which occurred at this period. Tlie jNIahrattas, wlio had long been en- croaching on the fertile provinces of Bengal, thought the unpopularity and known ineffi- ciency of its present ruler afforded a favour- able opportunity for an attempt at its com- plete subjugation. The capture of Cossim- bazar and Calcutta would, the peishwa Bal- lajee Bajee Rao conceived, render the Eng- lish willing to enter into a coalition against the nabob, and the co-operation of the troops in the invasion of Bengal was solicited ; the compensation offered being the repayment of double the amount of the losses sustained from Surajah Dowlah, and the vesting of the commerce of the Ganges exclusively in the E. I. Cy. Some doubt was entertained as to the authenticity of this communication. It was even surmised to have been a trick on the part of Surajah Dowlah ; and as the assistance of the IMahrattas was by no means desirable § The words of Macaulay, one of Mill's censurers. II 'J'lie following is an extract from one of Admiral AA'atson's letters to the nabob : — " Let us take' C'han- dernagore," he writes, "and secure ourselves from any ajiprehensions in that quarter, and then wc will assist you with every man in our power, and go with you even to Delhi, if you will. Have we sworn rcci- ])rocaIly that the friends and enemies of the one should be regarded as such by the other P and will not God, the avenger of |ierjury, puiiisli us if wo do not fulfil our oaths?" — (I'arker's Eont Indies, p. 78.) SIGNATURE OF WATSON FORGED BY ORDER OF CLIVE. 277 in the scheme already set on foot, the letter was at once forwarded to the Dabob as ail'ord- inpf, in either case, evidence of the ^ood faith of his allies. It proved to be aiilliciitic ; and all the efl'eet expected resulted from its transmission. But the execution of a plan in which many jarring interests were concerned, necessarily involved numerous dangers. At one moment a vioU^nt ([uarrel between the nabob and Mccn- Jadier threat- ened to occasion a premature disclosure of the whole plot. This danger was averted by a reeoneiliation, in which that " estimable person," Meer Jaflier, swore upon the Koran fidelity to his master, after having a few days before, given a similar pledge to his English confederates in the projected usur- jnition. Clivc had his full share of what Napoleon would have styled " dirty work" to do in the business. ^Vjien all things were arranged, Omiehund suddenly declared himself dissatisfied with the amount of com- pensation* allotted to him in the division of the spoil planned by the conspirators. Ilis services at this crisis were invaluable, and his inilucnce with the nabob had repeatedly been the means of concealing the plot. The demand of thirty lacs of rupees (£350,000), was accompanied bj' an intimation of the danger of refusal. Whether Omiehund really intended to risk the reward already agreed on, together with his own life, by betraying a transaction in which he had from the first borne a leading part, may well be doubted; but Clive took an easy method of terminating the discussion by consenting to the exorbitant stipulation. Ouiielmnd likewise insisted on the agreement regarding himself being in- * The position of Omiehund, with regard to the Knglish, was jjeculiar. He had been connected with them in the affairs of commerce about forty years, and was looked upon as a person of great importance, both on account of liis mercantile transactions, which extended to all [jarts of Bengal and IJahar, and the magnitude of bis private fortune. His liabitation is described by Ornie as having been on a splendid scale, and divided intovario\is departments, resembling rather the abode of a ])rince than of a merchant. Besides numerous domestic servants, he maintained (as is frequent among eastern nobles) a retinue of armed men in constant pay. When news of the ap- proach of Surajah Dowlah reached Calcutta, the local authorities, among other vague fears, suspecting Omiehund of being in league with the enemy, seized and imprisoned him. An attempt was made to cap- ture the person of his brother-in-law, who had taken refuge in the a])artments of the women ; but the whole of Omichund's peons, to the number of 300, rose in resistance, and the officer in command (a Hindoo of high cast), fearing that some indignity might be sustained by the females, set fire to the harem, and killed no less than thirteen with his own serted in the treaty between the English and ]\lcer Jadicr. Clivc seemingly complied. Two treaties were drawn up, one on white paper, the other on red ; in the f(jrrner, Oinichtnid's name was not mentioned; tiie latter, which was to be shown to him, con- tained the specified proviso. The honesty of Admiral Wiitson had nearly defeated this manrcuvre. lie positively refused to sign the false treaty. Omiehund would at once suspect some reason for this omission. Clive removed the difliculty by causing a ^Ir. Lushington to forge the important name. Hostility to the nabob was now openly professed. The English force marched against him, sending forward a letter equi- valent to a declaration of war. Surajah Dowlah dispatched an appeal for aid to the French, assembled his troops, and prepared to encounter a foreigii foe, unsuspicious of the treachery at work within his camp. The courage of Meer Jaffier failed ; doubt and fear, in the hour of danger, overpowered am- bition : he hesitated ; and instead of imme- diately coming over to Clive, at Cossimbazar, with his division, as had been agreed upon, he advanced with the nabob to Massy. The position of the English became extremely perilous : the strength of the enemy twenty times outnumbered theirs. The ford of the Ilooghly lay before them, easily crossed ; but over which not one man might ever be able to return. Clive called a council of war for the first and last time in his whole career, probably as a cloak for his own mis- givings, since he voted first, and doubtless influenced the majority in deciding that it would be iiiiprudent to risk an advance. f This hand, after which he stabbed himself, though (con- trary to his intention) not mortally. This melancholy catastrophe did not prevent Mr. IIolwcll from soli- citing the intervention of Omiclumd to procure terms of capitulation from Surajah Dowlah ; and his conduct at this time totally removed the suspi- cions previously entertained. On the capture of the place, 400,000 lupees were plundered from his trea- sury, and much valuable projjerty of different de- scriptions seized ; but his person was set at liberty, and a favourable disposition evinced towards liim by the nabob, of which he took advantage to procure the restoration of bis losses in money, and likewise in soliciting the release of the survivors of tlve mas- sacre, who were fed by his charity, and ifi great mea- sure restored to liberty through, his entreaties. t The following is a list of the ofBcers of this coun- cil, and the way in which they voted : — Fur delay — llobt. Clive; James Kirkpatrick; Archd. Grant; Geo. Fred. Goupp ; .■\ndrew .■Vrmstrong; 'i'hos. Rum- bold ; Christian Firkan ; John Corneillc ; H. Pop- ham. For immediutc attack — Kyre Coote, G. .-Uex. Grant; G. Muir; Chas. Palmer; Robt. Camjibell; PeterCarstairsj W. Jennings. — {Li/eof Clwe,\.,'2oS.) 278 BATTLE OF PLASSY, 1757— DEFEAT OF SURAJAH DOWLAII, was an unusual opinion for "Sabut Jung" the daring iu war, to form, and it was not a per- manent one. Passing away from the meet- ing, gloomy and dissatisfied, he paced aboxit for an hour bencatli the shade of some trees, and, convinced on reflection that the hesita- tion of iMecr JafRer would give place to re- awakened ambition, he resolved to reverse the decision in which he had so lately con- curred; and, returning to the camp, gave orders to make ready for the passage of the river.* The array crossed on the following morning, and, at a little past midnight, took up its position in a grove of mango treesf near Plassy, within a mile of the wide-spread camp of the enemy. The souud of drums and cymbals kept CHve waking all night ; and Surajah Dowlah, overpowered by vague fears and gloomy ap- prehensions, passed the remaining hours of darkness in upbraiding and complaint. J At sunrise his army, marshalled in battle array, commenced moving towards the grove in which the English were posted. The plain seemed alive with multitudes of infantry, supported by troops of cavalry, and bearing with them fifty pieces of ordnance of great size, drawn by long teams of white o.xen, and propelled by elephants arrayed in scarlet cloth and embroidery. Beside these, were some smaller but more formidable guns, under the direction of Frenchmen. § The force to oppose this mighty host numbered, in all, only 3,000 men, but of these nearly 1,000 were English. Conspicuous in the ranks were the men of the 39th regiment, who that day added to the inscriptions on their colours the name of Plassy, and the motto, Primus in India. Of hard fighting there was but little; treachery supplied its place. The action began by a distant can- nonade, in which some of the few officers, still true to a falling cause, perished by the skilfully-directed fire of the "hat-wearers," who, says Hussein Gholam Khan, " have no equals in the art of firing their artillery and musketry with both order and rapidity." || Several hours were speut in this manner. • This is the account given by Ornic, who proba- bly heard the circumslances from C'live himself. Scraftoii attributes the colonel's change of mind to a letter received from Meer JafRer in tlie course of tlie day.— {Iir/lectiuiia, p. 85.) t KtguUirly jdanted groves or woods of tall fruit trees are very common in India; that of Plassy was a square of about two miles in circuit ; but it has been neglected, and is now mncli diminished. I The de.ipondency of the nabob, says Orme, in- creased as tl'.e hour of danger approached. His attendants, by some carelessness left his lent un- At length Meer-meden. one of the two chief leaders of the adverse force, was mortally wounded by a cannon-ball. He was carried to the tent of the prince, and expired while explaining the arrangements he had made for the battle. Driven to desperation by witnessing the death of his faithful servant, Surajah Dowlah summoned Meer JafSer to his presence, and bade him revenge the death of Meer-meden ; at the same time, placing his own turban at the foot of his treacherous relative — the most humiliating supplication a Mohammedan prince could ofl^br — he besought him to forget past differ- ences, and to stand by the graudchild of his benefactor (Ali Verdi Khan), now that his life, his honour, and his throne, were all at stake. Meer Jatfier replied to this appeal by treacherously advising immediate retreat i into the trenches ; and the fatal order was issued, notwithstanding the earnest remon- strance of the Hindoo general, Mohun Lall, who predicted the utter confusion which would ensue. Meer Jaffier had unsuccess- fully endeavoured to convey a letter to Clive, advising the imtnediate attack of the nabob's camp; now, perceiving the fortune of the day decided, he remained, as before, stationary with his division of the arm}'', amid the general retreat. Surajah Dowlah, on witnessing the inaction of so large a part of the force, comprehended at once his be- trayal ; and on beholding the English ad- vancing, mounted a camel and fled to Moor- shedabad, accompanied by 2,000 horsemen. In fact, no other course remained to one in- capable of taking the lead in his own person ; for to such an extent had division spread throughout the Mohammedan troops, that no officer, even if willing to fight for his rightful master, could rely on the co-opera- tion of any other commander. The little band of Frenchmen alone strove to confront the English, but were rapidly carried away by the tide of fugitives. Of the vanquished, 500 were slain. The conquerors lost but twenty-two killed and fifty wounded; they gained not merely the usual spoils of war in guarded, and a common person, either through igno- rance, or witli a view to robbery, entered unperceived. The iirincc, at length recognising tlie intruder, started from the gloomy reflections in whieli lie had been absorbed," and recalled his servants with the em- ])liatic exclamation, — " Sure tlicy see me dead !" — {Mililury Transuctions, i., 172.) § Orme states tlic force of the enemy at 50,000 foot, 18,000 horse, and fifty pieces of cannon. Clive says 35,000 foot, 15,000 liorse, and forty pieces of cannon. — {^Letter to Secret Ciiiionitlecuf B. 1. Uy.) II Siyar ul Ulutiihltcrin, i., 7G(i. FLIGHT OF SUllAJAH DOWLAII.— MEER JAFFIER MADE NABOB. 279 abundance — baggage and artillery-waggons, cleiiliants and oxcn^ — but paramount autho- rity over a conciiifred pioviiicc, larger and more populous tliau tlicir native country. 'J'lu^ conduct of iMecr J.iliicr iiad been by no means uucxccptionaljle, even in tlic sight of his aocompbccs. lie liad played for a heavy stalic with a faltering baud — a species of cowardice for which Ciivc bad no sym- pathy ; nevertheless, it was expedient to overlook all minor occasions of quarrel at this critical moment, and proclaim the traitor subabdar of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. Meer Jutlicr marched to Moorshcdabad. Surajab Dowlab learned his approach with a degree of terror that prevented him from forming any plan of defence : deserted on all sides, be strove to conciliate the alienated affections of the military commanders by lavish gifts; and at length, after balancing between the advice given by his counsellors — to throw himself upon the mercy of the English, or again try the fortune of war — be renounced both attempts, and accompanied by his consort, bis young daughter, and several other females, quilted the palace at dead of night, carrying with him a number of cle])hants laden with gold, jewels, and baggage of the most costly description.* Had be ])rocecded fearlessly by laud in the broad daylight, it is possible that many of the local authorities would have rallied round his standard ; but instead of taking a bold course, he embarked in some ijoats for Blassy, lioping to be able to efi'ect a junction with a party of the French under ^I. Law, who, at the time of the battle of Patna, was actually marching to his assistance. This proceeding removed all obstacles from the path of Meer Jaffier, and his installation was performed with as mncb pomp as cir- cumstances would permit. At the last mo- ment, cither from alTcctcd humility or a misgiving as to the dangerous and trouble- • Oime siiys tliat Surajah Dowlah esca])ed by night from a window of the jialacc, accompanied only by a favourite concubine and a eunuch ; but Gliolam Hussein, wlio, besides his usual accuracy, may be ex- pected to be well informed on the subject, makes the statements ^iven in tlie text, and confirms them by much incidental detail. —(Sii/ar ul Muiakhcrin, i., 7 ; sec also Scott's Beiii/tii, u., 371.) t The interpreter of Clive — a renegade Frenchman, called Mustapha, who translated tlie Sii/m' ul Mu- ttihhcrin — states in a note (i., 773), that the English never suspected the existence of an inner treasury said to contain eight crores (eight million sterling), kept, in pursuance of a custom common in India, in tlie zenana or women's apartments. In corrobora- tion, various circumstances are adduced in the history some nature of power treacherously usurped, be hesitated and refused to take pos- session of the sumptuously-adorned mus- niid, or ])ilo of cushions, prepared for bini. ('live, iiaving vainly tried persuasion, took bis hand, and ])laeing him on the throne, kept hiin down by the arm while he pre- sented the customary homage — a uuzzur, or offering of gold nioliurs, on a salver. The act was sufficiently significative; thenceforth the subahdars of Bengal existed in a degree of dependence on the foreign rulers by whom they were nominated, with which that formerly paid to the most powerful of the Great ^loguls bears no comparison. This public eercmonial was followed by a private meeting among the confederates to divide the spoil. Whether the extravagance of Surajah Dowlah, during bis fifteen months' sway, had exhausted a treasury previously drained by Mahratta wars and subsidies, or whether IMcer Jaflicr and his countrymen succeeded in outwitting their English asso- ciates, and secretly possessed themselves of the lion's sbare,t remains an open question ; but it appears that the funds available, amounted only to 150 lacs of rupees— a sum far short of that which had been reckoned upon in the arrangement previously made. One large claim was repudiated in a very summary manner. When j\Ieer Jaffier, and the few persons immediately concerned in the plot, adjourned to the bouse of Juggut Seit, to settle the manner of carrying out the treaty, Omiehund followed as a matter of course. He bad no suspicion of the deceit practised upon him; for "Clive, with dis- simulation surpassing even the dissimulation of Bengal, bad, up to that day, treated him with undiminished kindness."| Not being invited to take his scat on the carpet, Omi- ehund, in some surprise, withdrew to the lower part of the hall, and waited till he should be summoned to join the conference.^ of the individuals whom he assert-s to have been par ticipanls in the secret, to prove their having derived immense wealth from some hidden source. Among others Mini Btgum, the favourite wife of Meer Jaffier Khan, wlio survived him, possessed an im- mense fortune, altliough her husband was constantly involved in disturbances with the soldiery from real or affected inability to discharge their arrears of pay. \ Macaulay's Essay on Life of C/ife, ]i. 50. § Admiral Watson was not of the party. He died in the course of the year of a malignant fever which prevailed on the coast. Captain lirereton, when q<iestioned before ))arliamcnt regarding the deception practised on Omiehund, bore witnes.s that the admi- ral had stigmatised the conduct of Clive tis " dishon- ourable and iniquitous." — (Pari. IJcports, iii., 151.) 280 DECEPTION AND FATE OF OMICHUND— 1757. The white treaty was produced and read ; its various stipulations (including the utter expulsion of the French from Bengal) were confirmed, and the pecuniary claims of the English met by tlie immediate payment of one- halt' — two-thirds in money, and one-third in plate and jewels; the other portion to be discliarged in three equal annual payments.* At length Omichund became uneasy at the total disregard evinced of his presence. On coming forward, he caught sight of the document just read, and exclaimed — " There must be some mistake; the general treaty was on red paper !" Clive, wlio during his long residence in India never acquired a know- ledge of any Indian language, turned to Mr. Scrafton, one of the servants of the company, then acting as interpreter, and said — " It is time to undeceive Omichund." This was easily done ; the few words in Hindostanee, " The red treaty' was a trick, Omichund — you are to have nothing," were soon spoken; but the bystanders could scarcely have been prepared for the result. The Hindoo was avaricious to the heart's core ; and this sudden disappointment, aimed at the tenderest point, and aggravated by feelings of anger and humiliation, came like the stroke of death. Tie swooned, and was carried to his stately home, v/herc, after re- maining many hours in a state of the deepest gloom, he began to exhibit symptoms of insanity. Some days after he visited Clive, who, probably unwilling to recognise the full extent of the ruin he had wrought, strove to soothe the old man by promises of procuring favourable terms with the company regarding certain contracts which * Clive, in a letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors, dated Moorshedabad, 26th July, after jjiving some details of the battle, says — " The substance of the treaty with the present nabob is as follows: — 1st. Confirmation of the mint and all other grants and privileges in the treaty with the late nabob. 2ndly. An alliance, offensive and defensive, against all enemies whatsoever. 3rdly. The ]'>ench factories and effects to be delivered up, and they never to be permitted to resettle in any of the provinces. 4thly. One hundred lacs (£1,000,000) to be paid to the company in consideration of iheir losses at Calcutta, and the exi)enses of the eamjiaign. TMhly. Fiftv lacs (£500,000) to be given to the English' sufferers at the loss of Calcutta. Glhly. Twenty lacs (£'JO0,00O) to Gentoos, Moors, &c., black sufferers at the loss of Calcutta. 7thly. Seven lacs (£70,000) to the Arme- nian suiferers : these three last donations to be dis- tributed at the pleasure of the admiral and gentle- men of the council, including me. 8thly. Tlie en- tire jiroperty of all lands within the Mahralta ditch, which runs round Calcutta, to be vested in the com- )Kuiy : also (JOO yards all round, without the said ditch. Othly. The company to have the zemindary he held from them ; and even spoke of him, in an official despatch, as " a person capable of rendering great services, and therefore not wholly to be discarded."t This state- ment is, however, quite incompatible with the description of Ormc, who declares that Omichund, after being carried a senseless burthen from the house of Juggut Seit,J never rallied, but sank from insanity to idiocy. Contrary to the custom of the aged in Ilindostan, and especially to his former habits and strong reason, Omichund, now an imbecile, went about decked in gaudy clothing and costlj' jewels, until his death, in the course of about eighteen months, terminated the melancholy history. Such a transaction can need no comment, at least to those who believe that in all cases, under all eircurastances, a crime is of necessity a blunder. § In the present in- stance there could be no second opinion on the point, except as regarded the private interests of the persons concerned in the division of spoil found in the treasury of the deposed prince. The commercial in- tegrity of the English had laid the foun- dation of the confidence reposed in them by the natives, whether Mohammedan or Hindoo : the alliance of Juggut Seit and other wealthy bankers had been procured chiefly by this means. Omichund, in his endeavours to all.iy the suspicions of Sura- jah Dowlah, liad declared that the English were famous throughout the world for their good faith, inasmuch that a man in Eng- land, who, on any occasion, told a lie, was utterly disgraced, and never after admitted to the society of his former friends and ac- of the country to the south of Calcutta, lying be- tween the lake and the river, and reaching as far as Cui- pee, they paying the customary rents jiaid by the for- mer zemindars to the government. lOlhly. AVhenever the assistance of the English troops shall be wanted, their extraordinary charges to be paid by the nabob, llthly. No forts to be erected by the government on the river side, from Hooghly downwards." Clive carefully avoided all mention of the separate treaties for the payment of monies in which ho had the chief share. — (See Note in ensuing page.) t Life nf Clive, i., 289. X The ainoimt of the reward received by Juggut Seit does not appear. If at all in jnoportion to his jn-evious wealth, it must have been very large. At the time of the plunder of Moorshedahad by tlie Mah- rnttas, in 1742, two million and a-lialf sterling in Arcot ru])ecs were taken from tlie treasury of himself and his brother; notwithstanding which they con- tinued to grant bills at sight, of one crore each. § " Using no arguments but such as Machiavelli might have employed in his conferences with Jiorgia," reninrks Maraulay, " Clivi' committed not merely a crime but a blunder." — (JEssay, p. .jl.) ENORMOUS SUMS OBTAINED BY CLIVE IN BENGAL. 281 quaintanccs.* This invaluable prestige of lioiicst fk'iiling was placed in imminent jeo- pardy Ijy Clivc;; and years afterwards, rank and wealth failed to preserve him from learning, with anger and bitter humiliation, that forgery and lying were viecs which, in tlic sight of his countrymen at large, could not be atoned for by the most brilliant suc- cesses. With regard to the enormous sums accepted, or, in other words, seized by Eng- lish oilicials, both civil and military, from the treasury of Bengal, tliat also seems to resolve itself into a very simple question. If, like Morari llao, they had been professed leaders of mercenary troops, selling their services to the highest bidder, there could have been no doubt that, after their own fashion of reasoning, they would have well earned the stipulated reward. But Clivc and his compeers were not masters, but servants ; the troops under their command were, like themselves, in the pay of the nation or the company ; and it was unques- tionably from the government or the Court of Directors (to the latter of whom Clivc repeatedly affirmed that he " owed every- thing"), t and from them only, that rewards shoultl have been received. Years afterwards, when stcridy questioned respecting the proceedings of this period, Clive declared that on recollecting the heaps of gold and silver coin piled up in masses, crowned with rubies and diamonds, through which he passed in the treasury of Moor- slicdabad, he could not but view with sur- prise his own moderation in only taking (as it appeared):!: to the extent of twenty to thirtv lacs of rupees — that is, between £200,0t)0 and .£300,000. This "raodera- tiou''§ was, however, of brief continuaucc; for, some time afterwards, on the plea of desir- ing means wherewith to maintain a I\Iogul dignity conferred on him, he intimated to Mcer Jaflier the propriety of its being accompanied by a jaghirc (or estate for the support of a military contingent.) |] In their relative positions a hint was a command, and the quit-rent paid by the E. I. Cy. for the * Ornio's 3Iiltiarij Trinisuctions, ii., 137. t Malcolm's /.//(• of Lord Clicc, i., IS'2. . \ Clive cautiously alistaincd from any explicit statement of the siuns acquired by liim on various pretences; and his fellow-ollicials, as far as possible, refrained from acknowledging the e.\tent of his ex- tortions or their own, even when sharply cross- examined before iiarliamcnt. § In a letter addressed to Mr. Pisot, dated Au- gust, 1757, Clive speaks of his "genteel compe- tence," and " a possible reverse of fortune," as rea- sons for desiring to leave Bengal. Mr. I'igut pro- extensive lands hold by them to the south of Caletitta, amounting to nearly ,£.'5(),000 sterling per annum, was forthwith ceded. To return to the general narrative. Su- rajah Dowlah and his female companions reached Uaj Mahal on the third night after leaving ]\loor»hedabad. I'lxhansted with fa- tigue, and famishing with htinger, they landed, took refuge in a deserted garden, and began to prepare a mess of rice and pulse (called kiehery), the common food of the country. While engaged in this un- wonted task, the fugitives were discovered by a man of low condition, whose c;irs had been cut oil' by order of Siirajah Dowlah a twelvemonth before. Dissembling Ids vengeful feelings, he affected compassion and respect for the prince, and assisted in the preparation of the meal, but secretly sent word to the soldiers engaged in pursuit where to find the object of their search. At this very time. Law and his detaehinent were within three hours' march of llaj Mahal; but they were driven from place to place by a party under ilajor Cootc, and even- tually expelled from Bengal ; while Surajah Dowlah was seized by the emissaries of ^leer Jallier, laden with chains, treated w ith every species of cruelty compatible with the pre- servation of life, and dragged through ^loor- shcdabad, to the presence of his successor. It was noon ; but Meer Jailicr, though seated on the musnud, had taken his daily dose of bang, ^ and v,as incapable of giving instruc- tions regarding the treatment of the prisoner. His sou Mceran, a lad of about seventeen, took upon himself to decide the question. This mere boy, editeatcd in the harem, and remarkably effeminate both iu dress and speech, possessed a heart uo less callous to the gentler feelings of humanity than that of an old and unprincipled politician, hard- ened in the world's ways. " Pity and com- passion," he said, "spoilt business." It scarcely needed the murmuring and dissen- sion which pervaded the army, when the capture and ignominious trcatiueut of their late ruler became known, to decide his fate. bably sympathised with him, for he himself accumu- latetl a fortune of £400,000, chiefly (according to Mr. M'atts) by lending money at high interest to the nabob, the chiefs, and managers of provinces — a prac- tice, says Sir John Malcolm, then too common to be considered as in any way discreditable. — (ii., 251.) II )"/'(/(' his own evidence before the House of Commons. Such a solicitation was clearly opposed to the duty of a servant of the E. I. Cy. and a Lieu- tenant-colonel ill the British army. — (I'arl. Papers, vol. iii., p. 154.) % An intoxicating beverage, made from hemi). 283 MURDER OF SURAJAH DOWLAH.— REJOICING AT CALCUTTA. Meeran caused him to be confined in a small chamber near hi:s own apartments, and then summoning his personal friends, asked which of them would serve the existing admin- istration, by removing the only obstacle to its permanency. One after another pe- remptorily rejected the dastardly olBce ; at length it was accepted by a man under pe- culiar obligations to the parents of the des- tined victim, in conjunction with a favourite servant of Meeran's. On beholding the en- trance of the assassins, Surajah Dowlali at once guessed their purpose. " Tliey will uot suffer me even to live in obscurity !" he ex- claimed ; and then requested that water might be provided for the performance of the puri- fication commanded by the Koran before death. A large vessel which stood at hand was emptied rudely over him, and lie was hewn down by repeated sabre strokes; "se- veral of which fell," says the Mohammedan historian, "on a face renowned all over Bengal for regularity of feature and sweetness of expression." The memory of a past deed of violence came over the prince in this terrible houi', and he died declaring, in allusion to an officer whom he had tyraimieally caused to be executed in the streets of Moor.sliedabad, " Hussein Kooli, thou art avenged !" * The morning after this event Meer Jaffier visited Clive, and, in the words of the former, " thought it necessary to palliate the matter on motives of policy." Clive docs not ap- pear to have deemed any excuse necessary ; but tlie truth was, his own neglect had been unjustifiable, in not taking precautionary measures to guard at least the life of a ruler deposed by a conspiracy in which the English played the leading part. No eftbrt was made to jH'otect even the female relatives t of the murdered prince from cruel indignities at the hands of Meer Jaifier and his son, and his consort and infant daughter were robbed of all the valuables about them, and sent • The above account is, as before stated, chiefly derived from the Siyar ul 3lutukherin. The author is strongly prejudiced against Surajah Dowlah, to whom he was distantly related, lie had been taken Ijrisoner in an engagement between lliis jnince and Shaocat Jung, a rival pretender to the viceroyally of Bengal, who was slain during a fit of intoxica- tion. The conduct of Surajah i)owlah on this oc- casion, does not corroborate the statements made by Orme and Stewart of his cruelty and violence, and it is possible that these have been exaggerated ; but unhappily, all the evidence comes from one -side. t Surajah Dowlah was five-and-twenty at the time of his assassination. Ilis mother, on beholding tlie mangled remains dragged past licr windows, rushed into tlie street, without veil or slippers, and clasped the body in her arms, but was forced back with blows. into confinement in. a manner calculated to inflict indelible disgrace on Mohammedan females of rank. In Calcutta all was triumph and rejoicing. Few stopped to think, amid the excitement created by the tide of wealth fast pouring in, of past calamities or future cares. It was a momentous epoch ; the step once taken was irrevocable; the company of traders had assumed a new position — henceforth to be rulers and lawgivers, with almost irrespon- sible sway over a territory far larger and more populous than their native land. It may be doubted if the directors at home gave much heed to these considerations ; their representatives in India certainly did not, each one being fully occupied in gather- ing the largest possible share of the spoil. The monies stipulated for in restitution of the damage inflicted in Calcutta, with those de- manded on behalf of the squadron, army, and committee, amounted to £2,750,000, besides donations to individuals. J The company re- ceived property to tlie amount of £1,500,000, and territorial revenues valued by Clive at £100,000 a-year. A fleet of 100 boats, with flags flying and music playing, bore to Fort William £800,000 in coined silver alone, besides plate and jewels, as the first instal- ment of the promised reward. Leaving the Bengal functionaries in the enjoyment of wealth and influence, it is ne- cessary to narrate the cotemporary proceed- ings of tlie Madras presidency. Affairs in the Caiinatic and Coroman- DEL Coast. — Upon the breaking out of war between Great Britain and France in 1756, the French ministry resolved to strike an im- portant blow in India. A powerful armament was fitted out, and entrusted to the charge of Count J^ally, an officer of Irish extraction, who had shared the exile of James II., and was no less noted for personal courage than for strong feelings against England. X The army and navy had £jOO,000 for their share, Clive coming in, as commander-in-cliief, for £20,000. As a member of tlie Secret Unmmittee, ho received to the amount of £28,000, the others having £2-1,000 each; besides which every one of them ob- tained a special gift from Meer Jaffier: that of Clive is variously stated at from £100,000 to £200,000. The General Council (not of the coHimi'Med') received £00,000. Among the individuals who profited largely by what Clive termed the "generosity" of Meer Jallier, was Mr. Drake, tlie runaway governor of Calcutta. I.ushinglon (who forged the hand and seal of Admiral Watson) had, Clive stated in reply to parliamentary inquiry, " something very trifling, — about ,00,000 rupees." — (Pari. Reports.) The di- vision of the booty occasioned very serious disputes between the army and the navy. EXPEDITION TO THE CARNATIC UNDER COUNT LALLY— 1758, 283 He was accompanied by his own rep;imcnt of Irisli (1,080 stron;,0> ^Y ^f^y of the; royal artillery, and a great number of oflicers of distinction. Tlic court of Versailles looked on the success of tlic expedition as a matter of certainty, and directed the commencement of operations by the sie^c of Fort St. David. Their anticipated conquests were marred by a remarkable series of disasters. The fleet quitted Brest in May, 1757, and carried with them the infection of a malignant fever then raging in the port. No less than 300 persons died before reaching Rio Janeiro; and from one cause or another delays arose, which hindered tlic ships from reaching Pondichcrry until the end of April, 1758. There new difficulties occurred to obstruct the path of Lally. He had been especially directed to put down, at all hazards, the dis- sension and venality wliich pi'cvailed among the French ollicials, and to compel them to make exertions forthe benefit of theiremploy- crs, instead of the accumulation of private fortunes. The task was at best an onerous one, and Lally set about it with an uneom- pi'omising zeal, wliich, under the circum- stances, bordered on indiscretion. Perfectly conversant with the technicalities of his pro- fession, he was wilful and presumptuous: his daring plans, if heartily seconded, might have been crowned with brilliant success; as it was, they met the same fate as those of La Bourdonnais,w bile he was reserved for a doom more terrible, and equally unmerited. Some of his early measures were, however, attended with success. The English beheld with alarm the overpowering additions made to the force of the rival nation; and when, after a prolonged siege. Fort St. David capitulated, serious apprehensions were entertained for the safety of Madras. The want of funds alone prevented Lally from making an im- mediate attack. After vainly endeavouring to raise sufficient supplies on credit, he re- solved to direct to their attainment the next operations of the war. The rajah of Tanjorc, when hard pressed, in 1751, by the united force of Chunda Sahib and Dupleix, had given a bond for 5,()00,000 rupees, which remained unredeemed at Pondichcrry. To extort payment of this sum an expedition was now undertaken against Tanjorc, and on the march thither, many cruel acts of vio- • At Kivaloor, the scat of a celebrated pagoda, Lally, in the hope of findinc; hidden treasures, ran- sacked the houses, diip; up the foundations, dras;ged the tanks, and carried away the brass idols ; but to very little purpose as far as booty was concerned. Six Brahmins lingered about the violated shrines ; and lence were committed.* The rajah, after some resistance, ofl'crcd to compromise the matter by tiic payment of a sum much infe- rior to that required. The French com- mander was willing to abate liis pecuniary demand, provided lie should be supplied with f)00 cattle for draught and provisions, which were greatly needed for the troops. The rajah refused, on the plea that his rehgion did not sanction the surrender of kinc for the unhallowed uses of Europeans. The impe- tuous Lally had Ijcfore excited strong feelings of aversion in the minds of the natives by oljliging them to carry burthens for the army, and other services which he enforced pro- miscuously, without regard to the laws of cast : he now treated the assertion of the rajah as a mere pretext to gain time, similar to those practised upon Chunda Sahib on a previous occasion; therefore, making little allowance for the invariable ])rolixities of eastern negotiation, he declared that unless an arrangement were forthwith agreed on, the rajah and all his family should be shipped as slaves to the Mauritius. The Hindoos rarely indulge in intemperate lan- guage ; and tlic Tanjorc prince, stung and astonished by the outrage oilered him, re- solved to perish sooner than succumb to his insulting ibe. At his earnest request, an English detachment was sent from Trichino- poly to his assistance. Lally continued the assault on Tanjorc, and had effected a breach, when news arrived that the English fleet, after an indecisive engagement with that of France,t had anchored before Karieal, from whence alone the besieging force could derive supplies. Powder and provisions were both nearly exhausted, and Lally, by the almost unanimous opinion of a council of war, withdrew from Tanjorc, and hastened to Pondichcrry, with the intention of ntaking a simultaneous attack by sea and land on jMadras. Tliis project fell to the ground, owing to the determination of the naval commander to quit India immediately, which, notwithstanding the urgent entreaties of the local government and the army, he per- sisted in doing, on the ground that the dis- ablement of the ships, and the disease and diminution of the crews, rendered it impera- tively necessary to refit at the ^lauritius. Lally thus weakened, directed his next eu- Lally, suspecting that they were spies, caused them all to be shot off from the muzzle of his cannon. — (Wilks' Historij of Ml/soar, i., 397.) t The English "suffered most in their shipping ; the French in their men.— ( Vide Owen Cambridge's Ac- count of the War in India, from 1750 to 1760, p. 123.) 284 LALLY INEFFECTUALLY BESIEGES MADRAS— 1758-'59. deavours against Arcot, and succeeded in gaining possession of that place through the artifices of Rcza Sahib (now dignified by the French with the title of nabob), who opened a correspondence with the governor placed there by Mohammed Ali, and induced him to make a pretended capitulation, and come over with his troops to the service of the enemy. About the time of entering Arcot, Lally was joined by Bussy. This officer had, by the exercise of extraordinary ability, maintained his position in the court of Salabut Jung, and dexterously threading his way amid the intrigues of the IMohara- medau courtiers, headed by the brothers of the subahdar (Nizam Ali and Bassalut Jung), had contrived, with very slender means, to uphold the jiower of his country- men in connexion with the ruler they had nominated.* Lally did not, or would not, see that the authority of the French at Hydera- bad — that even the important possessions of the Northern Circars, rested almost wholly on the great personal influence of one man ; and notwithstanding the arguments and entreaties of Bussy and Salabut Jung, the troops were recalled to Pondicherry. It appears that Lally, having heard of the large sums raised by Dupleix on his private credit, hoped that Bussy might be able to do so likewise; and he listened with mingled sur- prise and disappointment to the averment of the generous and high-principled officer, that having never used his influence with the subahdar as a means of amassing wealth, he was altogether incapable of aftbrding any ma- terial assistance in pecuniary affairs. The government of Pondicherry declared them- selves devoid of the means of maintaining the army, upon which Count d'Estaigne and other leading ofScers agreed in council, that it was better to die by a musket-ball, under the ramparts of Madras, than by hunger within the walls of Pondicherry, and determined to commence oflensive operations by endeavour- ing to bombard the English settlement, shut up the troops in Fort St. George, pillage the Black Town, and lay waste the surrounding country. The sum of 9f,000 rupees was raised for the purpose, of which 60,000 were contributed by Lally himself, and the re- • A detailed aceount of liis proceedings occupies n consiclerable part of Orme's iVi/ilun/ Triinsaciioii':. _ t ><'o attempt was made to di lend tlie lilaek Town ; but after its seizure by tlie Frcncli, tlic Kng- lish perceiving tlie intemperance and disorder of tlie hostile troops, strove to profit by the op])ortunity, and sallied out 000 strong. They were, however, driven back with the loss of 200 men and six officers. mainder in smaller sums by members of ; council and private individuals. The force j thus sparely provided with the sinews of war, consisted of 2,700 European, and 4,000 Indian troops. The English, apprised of the intended hostilities, made active prepa- rations for defence under the veteran general, Lawrence, and their efforts were again 'fa- voured by climatorial influences; for the French expedition, though in readiness to leave Pondicherry at the beginning of No- vember, 17.58, was prevented by heav\' rains from reaching Madras till the middle of December, and this at a crisis when Lally had not funds to secure the subsistence of the troops for a single week. The spoil of the Black Townf furnished means for the erection of batteries, and the subsequent arrival of a million livres from the IMauri- tius, led to the conversion of the blockade (which was at first alone intended) into a siege ; but, either from prudential considera- tions or disaflection,J the officers refused to second the ardour of their commander; and after nine weeks' tarry (during the last fort- night of which the troops had subsisted almost entirely upon some rice and butter captured in two small vessels from Bengal), the approach of an English fleet of six sail, compelled the enemy to decamp by night with all haste. The state of feeling at Pondicherry may be easily conceived from the assertion of Lally, that the disastrous result of the expedition -was celebrated by the citizens as a triuinj)h over its unpopular commander. Their ill-founded rejoicings were of brief continuance ; scofling was soon merged in gloomy apprehensions, destined to find a speedy realisation. The arrival of an important accession to the English force, under Colonel Coote, in October, 1759, decided for the time the struggle between France and England for supremacy in India. AYandewash wa's speedily attacked and car- ried. Lally, while marching to attempt its recovery, was met and defeated. Bussy placed himself at the head of a regiment, to lead the men to the charge of the bayonet, as the only riieans of saving the battle; had his horse wounded under him, was aban- doned by the troops, and taken prisoner. } Orme says the former ; Lally, in liis Memoirs, the latter: at the same lime he severely censures the plots and whole conduct of the I'ondicherry govern- ment, declaring, in an intercepted letter, that ho " would rather go and command the Kafirs of Mada- gascar, than remain in thi^ ^odoni ; whinh it is im- possible but the fire of the English must destroy sooner or later, even though that of licaven should not." FIRST APPEARANCE AND CAREER OF HYDER ALT. 285 L Cliittnjiiit, Arcot, Doviootta, Karicul, Val- doro, (Juildalorc, and otlior forts, were suc- cessively raptured; and Ijy the Ijo^inniiif; of May, 17G(), tlio I'^rencli troojis were con- fined to tlic bounds of Poudiclicrry, and tlie English, having received further reinforce- ments, encamped within four rnilcs of the town. Lally shrank from no amount of danger or fatigue in his exertions to rally the troops and subdue the pervading spirit of mutiny and corruption. As the last chance of upholding the national interest, he resorted to the policy of Dupleix, and looked round for some uative power as an auxiliary. The individual on whom he fixed was Ilyder Ali,* a soldier of fortune, who had risen to the command of the • The great-gramlfatlier of Ilyder AH was a reli- gious peison, named Khelole, who migrated from the Punjab and settled with liis two sons at the town of Alund, 110 miles from Hyderabad. Here he erected a small mosque by charitable contributions, and also what is termed a fakeer's miikan — that is a house for the fakeer, who attends, at the mosque and pro- cures provisions for the use of the worshippers, by this s|)eculation, lihelole raised some projjerty, but not sufficient to support the families of his sons, who left him and obtained employment at Sera as reve- nue peons. One of these, named Mohammed AH, left a son called Futteh, who having distinguished himself for bravery, was promoted to be a Naik or commander of twenty peons. From this position he gradually rose to eminence, and married a lady of a rank superior to his own. The circumstances at- tending this union were altogether of a romantic character. The father of the lady was robbed and murdered near the borders of Bednore while travers- ing the jjeninsula. His widow and two daughters begged their way to Colar, where they were relieved from further difficulty by Hyder Naik, who married both the sisters in succession — a practice not for- bidden by the Mohammedan law. Two .sons, of whom the younger was the famous Ilyder Ali, were born to the second wife, and they had respectively attained the age of nine and seven years, when their father was slain in upholding the cause of the Mo- hammedan noble whom he served, against the pre- tensions of a rival candidate for one of tlie minor Dec- cani governments in 1728. The patron of Ryder Naik was defeated and slain; the family of the latter fell into the hands of the victor, and on pretence of a balance due from the deceased to the revenues of the province, a sum of money was extorted from his heirs by cruel and ignominious tortm-es, applied to both the lads, and even, Colonel Wilks supposes, to the widow herself. Ilyder Ali waited thirty-two years for an opportunity of revenge ; and then, as will be shown in a subsequent page, grasped it with the avidity of a man retaliating an injury of yesterday. Meanwhile his mother, being permitted to depart after having, in the words of her grandson, Tippoo Sultan, "lost everything but her children and her honour," sought refuge among her own kindred. Through the inffuence of a maternal uncle, the elder boy was received into tlie service of a Hindoo officer of rank, and gradually rose to a respectable position ; but Hyder Ali attained the age of twenty- 2p Mysoor army. With him Tjally concluded an agreement, by which Ilyder undertook to furnish a certain quantity of bullocks for the supply of I'ondieherrj', and to join the l"'rench with 3,000 picked horse and 5,000 sepoys. In return he was to receive imme- diate possession of the fort of Theagur — an important station, about fifty miles from Pondichcrry, situate near two of the prin- cipal passes in the Carn;itic, with, it is alleged, the promise even of Madura and 'J'innivellv, in the event of the favourable termination of the war. A detachment of the English army, sent to interrupt the march of the Mysoor troops, was defeated ; but, after remaining in the vicinity of Pondichcrry about a month, Hyder decamped one night seven without entering on any profession, in utter ignorance of the first elements of reading and writing, al)sent from liome for weeks together on some secret expedition of voluptuous riot, or passing, as was the custom of his whole life, to the opposite extreme of rigid abstinence and excessive exertion — wandering in the woods in pursuit of wild beasts, himself hardly less ferocious. At length he thought fit to join his brother's corps as a volunteer on a special occasion, and having attracted the attention of Nunjeraj by his singular bravery and self-possession, he was at once placed in command of some troops, and from that time acquired jiowcr by rapid steps. The authority of the Mysoor state then rested wholly in the hands of Nunjeraj and his brother Dcoraj ; but the death of the latter, and the incapacity of the former, induced an attempt on the part of the rajah to become a king in reality as well as name. Hyder at one time sided with, at another against, the rajah, his object in both cases being purely selfish. An invasion of Mysoor by the Mahrattas, in 1759, con- tributed to his aggrandisement, by giving scope for the exercise of his warlike abilities ; but he played a desperate game; for the queen-mother, perceiving his daring tem|)er, dreaded to find her son released from the hands of one usurper only to fall into worse custody, and laid a scheme, in conjunction with a Mahratta chief, for the destruction of Hyder Ali, who was then engaged at a distance from court. Hyder escaped with difficulty, and having travelled ninety-eight miles in twenty hours (the first seventy- five on the same horse), reached Bangalore, the fort and district of which had been given him shortly before as a personal jaghire, just in time to precede the orders sent by the rajah to close the gates against him. The strength of the Mahrattas was shattered by the disastrous battle of Paniput, in 1760; the ex- hausting strife of the European power m the Car- natic precluded their interference ; and Hyder found means to reduce his nominal master to the condi- tion of a state pensioner, and then looked round for further food for ambition. As an illustration of the cruelty of his nature, it is related that when after the successful termination of the rebellion, Kundee Kao, the brave and faithful general of the r.ij!ih, was surrendered to the conqueroi, with an earnest sup- plication for kind treatment. Hyder replied, that he would not only spare his life, but cherish him like a paioquet; and the miserable captive was accordingly confined in an iron cage, and fed on rice and milk. 286 EXTINCTION OF FRENCH POWER IN INDIA— 1760. with his whole force, on account of internal proceedings which threatened the downfall of his newly-usurped authority iu Mysoor. The English, so soon as the rains had ceased, actively besieged Pondicherry. Insubordina- tion, dissension, and privation of every de- scription * seconded their efforts within the walls. Lally himself was sick and worn out with vexation and fatigue. The garrison surrendered at discretion in January, 1 760,t and the council of Madras lost no time in levelling its fortifications with the ground. J The consequences predicted by Bussy, from his compulsory abandonment of Salabut Jung, had already ensued. An expedition from Bengal, fitted out by the English against the Northern Circars, had wrested from the French these important possessions. Mahe and its dependencies on the Malabar coast had been likewise attacked, and reduced a few months before the fall of Pondicherry. Theagur capitulated after a feeble resistance ; and the capture of the strong fort of Jinjee in April, 1761, completed the triumph of the English, and left the French without a single military post in India. The storm of popular indignation at this disastrous state of affairs was artfully directed upon the devoted head of Lally. On his return to France the ministry, seconded by the parliament of Paris, threw him into the Bastille, and on various frivolous pretexts he was condemned to die the death of a traitor and a felon. Errors of judgment, arrogance, and undue severity might with justice have been ascribed to Lally ; but on the opposite * When famine prevailed to an increasing extent in Pondicherry, Lally strove to prolong the defence by sending away the few remaining cavalry, at the risk of capture by the English ; by returning all prisoners under a promise not to serve again ; and also by expelling the mass of the native inhabitants, to the number of 1,400, without distinction of sex or age. The wretched multitude wandered in families and companies to various points, and sometimes strove to force a path through the hosts of the enemy, or back within the gates from which they had been expelled, meeting on either side death from the sword or the bullet. For eight days the outcasts continued to traverse the circumscribed space be- tween the fortitications and the English encamp- ment, the scant-s])read roots of grass affording their sole means of subsistence. At length the English commander suffered the survivors to pass; and though they had neither home nor friends in prospect, de- liverance from sufferings more prolonged, if less in- tense, than those endured in the hlack-Hole, was hailed with rapturous gratitude. — (Ornie, ii., U'JO.) An episode like this speaks volumes on the unjustifi- able character of a war, between civilised and Chris- tian nations, which is liable to subject heathen popu- lations to calamities so direful and unprovoked. side of the scale ought to have been placed un- compromising fidelity to the nation and com- pany he served, and perfect disinterestedness, together with the uninterrupted exercise of energy united to mihtary talents. It is re- lated that he confidently anticipated a tri- umphant issue to the proceedings instituted against him, and was seated iu his dungeon sketching a chart of the Coromandel coast, when tidings of the fatal sentence arrived. "Is this the reward of forty-five years of faithful service "i" he exclaimed ; and snatch- ing up a pair of compasses, strove to drive them to his heart. The bystanders prevented the fulfilment of this criminal attempt, and left to the representatives of the French nation the disgrace of perpetrating what Voltaire boldly denounced as "a murder committed with the sword of justice." A few hours after his condemnation, Lally, then in the sixty-fifth year of his age, was dragged in a dirty dung-cart through the streets of Paris to the scafl:bld, a gag being thrust in his mouth to prevent any appeal to the sym- pathies of the populace. La Bourdonnais, Dupleix, and Lally, were successive victims to the ingratitude of the French company. Bussy was more fortu- nate. Upon his capture by the English he was immediately released on parole, greatly to the dismay and disappointment of Mo- hammed Ali, the nabob of the Carnatic. He subsequently returned to France, and, strengthened by an aristocratic marriage (with the niece of the Due de Choiseuil), lived to enjoy a high reputation and a con- f The departure of Lally for Madras was marked by a scene of a most discreditable character. The French oiEcers raised a shout of derision, as their late commander passed along the parade a worn and de- jected prisoner, and would have proceeded to violence but for the interference of his English escort. The same reception awaited Dubois, the king's commis- sary. He stopped and offered to answer any accu- sation that might be brought forward, upon which a man came forth from among the crowd and drew his sword. Dubois did the same : he was of advanced age, with the additional infirmity of defective sight; and the second pass laid him dead at the feet of his antagonist. The catastrophe was received with ap- plause by the bystanders, and not one of them would even assist the servant of the deceased in the re- moval of the body. The unpopularity of Dubois originated in his energetic protests against the dis- order and venality of tlie local government. J. A sharp dispute took place between the officers of the crown and of the company. Colonel Coote claimed Pondicherry for the nation ; Mr. Pigot on behalf of his employers ; and the latter gentleman being able to enforce his arguments by refusing to ad- vance money for tlie payment of the troops, unless the point was conceded, gained the day. — (Orme, i., 724.) AFFAIRS OF BENGAL PRESIDENCY, FROM 1757. 287 sidcrable fortune. The company itself was soon extinguished,* and the power of the nation in India became quite inconsiderable. Al'KAUlS OF BeNOAL llESUMED I'llOM 1757. — The first important danger whicli menaced the duration of Mcer Jaflicr's usurped authority, was the approach of tlie Sliah-zada or heir-apparent to the throne of Delhi, who having obtained from his father formal in- vestiture as subahdar of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, now advanced to assert his claims by force of arms. The emperor (Alumgecr 11.) was at this period completely in the power of his intriguinj;- vizier, Siiaab or Ghazi-oo-dcen (the grandson of the famous nizam); and the prince had only escaped the toils of the imperious minister by cutting his way, sword in hand, witli half-a-dozen followers, tlirough the body of guards stationed to retain him a close prisoner within his own palace. The spirit manifested by this daring exploit did not characterise his after career, for he proved quite incapable of grappling with the many difficulties which beset his path. The gov- ernors or nabobs of Allahabad and Oude, both virtually independent powers, sup- ported his cause at the onset ; and the prince further endeavoured to obtain the support of the English by large promises. His offers were declined, and active co-operation with Meer Jaffier resolved on. The Shah-zada and his adherents advanced to Patna ; hut the treachery of the nabob of Oude, in taking advantage of the privilege accorded him of a safe place for his family, to seize the fortress of Allahabad, compelled the ruler of that province to march back for the pro- tection or recovery of his own dominions. t The result of their disunion was to bereave the Shah-zada of friends and resources. In this position he solicited a siun of money from the English general in requital for the abandonment of his pretensions in Bengal, and £1,000 were forwarded to the im- poverished descendant of a powerful dynasty. Through the influence of Shaab-oo-deen, * French ti-ade with India 'vas laid open in 1770; but in 17S3 a new company was incorporated, and lasted until 1790, when its tinal abolishment, at the expiration of two years, was decreed by the National Assembly. — (Macphcrson, pp. 275 — 284.) f The Allahabad ruler, while marching homeward, was met by M. Law with a French detachment, and entreated to return to tlie Shah-zada and assist in besieging Patna, which, it was urged, would occasion but a very slight delay. The proposition was rejected ; the nabob continued his march, but being eventually persuaded by the rival sidiahdar to trust to his gen- erosity, was made prisoner and put to death. the emperor was compelled to sign a sttnnud (edict or commission), transferring the empty title of subahdar of Bengal to his second son, and confirming Meer .TafTier in all real power, under the name of his deputy. Ujion this occasion Clive obtained the rank of a lord of the empire, which afforded him a pretext for extorting a jaghire amounting to £30/)00 per annum ; although, at the very time, the treasury of Bengal was almost ex- hausted, and the soldiers of the province clamorous for arrears of jjuy: and moreover, so douhtftd a complexion had the alliance between the English and ]\Iecr Jaffier already assumed, that immediately afterthe departure of the Shah-zada, the nabob was suspected of intriguing with a foreign power for the expul- sion of his well-bclovcd coadjutors. The Bengal presidency learned with alarm the approach of a great armament fitted out by the Dutch at Batavia. Seven ships ascended the Hooghly to within a few miles of Cal- cutta, where 700 European and 800 Malay soldiers disembarked, with the avowed in", tention of marching thence to the Dutch settlement of Chinsura. England and Hol- land were at peace; but Clive, notwith- standing the absence of any hostile mani- festation on the part of the newly-arrived force, obtained from the nabob a direct contradiction to the encouragement he had previously given, and a positive order for the Dutch to leave the river. J An English detachment was sent to intercept the march of the troops to Chinsura, but the officer in command (Colonel Forde) hesitated about proceeding to extremities, and sent to head- quarters for explicit instructions. Clive was engaged at the card-table when the message arrived. Tearing off a slip from the letter just presented to him, he wrote in pencil : " Dear Forde, — Fight 'em immediately, and I'll send an order of council to-morrow." Forde obeyed, and succeeded in completely routing the enemy, so that of the 700 Europeans, not above fourteen reached Chinsura, the rest being either taken pri- I The dominant influence of Qive is illustrated by an anecdote recorded in the Sii/nr til Miitakherin. A fray having taken place between the soldiers of Clive and those of one of the oldest and most at- tached adherents of Meer Jaffier, the nabob re- proached his officer for what had occurred, exclaim- ing, " Have you yet to learn in what position heaven has placed this Colonel Clive ?" The accused replied, that so far from seeking a pretext of quarrel with the colonel, he " never rose in the morning without making three profound bows to his jackass ;" — a speech which Scott {Ilixinn/ nf the Deccan, ii., 37G) explains as meant in allusion to the nabob himself. 288 DEFEAT OF DUTCH ARMAMENT IN BENGAL— 1759. soners or slain. The attack upon the ships was equally successful, the whole being cap- tured. After this heavy blow, the Dutch, to save their settlements in Bengal from total destruction, made peace with their powerful opponents by paying the expenses of the war; while Clive, aware of the irre- gularity of his proceedings,* facilitated the termination of the dispute by the restora- tion of the captured vessels in December, 1759. Early in tlie following year he re- signed the government of Bengal, and sailed for England. It has been asserted that Clive never suf- fered his personal interests to interfere with those of his employers. Had this been the truth, he would certainly not have quitted India at so critical a period for the E. I. Cy. as the year 1760. It was not age (for he was yet but five-and-tliirty) nor failing strength (for he declared himself " in excel- lent health") that necessitated his departure ; neither is it easy to find any less selfish reasons than a desire to place and enjoy in safety his immense wealth, leaving those at whose expense it had been accumulated to bear alone the brunt of the impending storm. His opinion of Meer Jaffier was' avow- edly changed; for though he continued personally to address him as the most mu- nificent of princes, yet in his semi-official correspondence with his own countrymen, the " generally esteemed" individual of two years ago, becomes an " old man, whose days of folly are without number." The English in general attributed to the ruler of their own nomination every vice previously al- leged against Surajah Dovvlah. It was urged, that whatever soldierly qualifications he might have possessed in the days of Ali Verdi Khan, had passed with the vigour of youth, leaving him indolent and incapable ; but easily carried away by unfounded sus- picions to perpetrate, or at least sanction, deeds of midnight assassination against in- nocent and defenceless persons of either sex.f A native authority! describes Mecr Jaffier as taking a childish delight in sitting, decked with costly jewels, on the musnud, which he disgraced by habitual intoxication, • He remarked, with regard to these transactions, that " a public man may occasionally be called upon to act with a halter round his nock." t 'I'he infant brother or nephew of Surajah Dow- lah, on the accession 4if Mecr Jafiier, is stated to have been murdered by hcin;; pressed to death between pieces of wood used in packing bales of shawls. t Siyar ul Mutakherin, ii., 19. § Clive calls him " a worthless young dog," and as well as by profligacy of the most un- seemly description. The English he feared and hated, but lacked energy and ability to offer any systematic opposition to their encroachments. The leading Hindoos be- came objects of aversion to him on account of their intimate connexion with the power- ful foreigners, and plots were laid for the destruction of several individuals, with vary- ing success. The chief instigator of these in- trigues was Meeran, the heir-apparent, who, in spite of the inexperience of youth and a merciless disposition, possessed a degree of energy and perseverance which, together with strong filial afifectiou, rendered him the chief support of his father's throne. § The "chuta" (little or young) nabob and the Eng- lish regarded one another with scarcely dis- guised distrust. The Begum (or princess) , the mother of Meeran, betrayed excessive anxiety for the safety of her only son ; and although her affectionate intercessions were treated with contemptuous disdain by the servants of the company, they were far from being uncalled for; since it needed no extraordi- nary foresight to anticipate that the ill-de- fined claims, and especially the right of inter- ference in every department of the native government asserted by the English, must end either in their assumption of all power, in name as in reality, or, it was just possible, in their total expulsion from the province. Clive had quite made up his mind on the matter ; and while receiving immense sums from the nabob on the one hand, and the wages of the E. I. Cy. on the other, he addressed a letter from Calcutta, as early as January, 1759, to Mr. Pitt, urging upon him the necessity of affairs in Bengal being viewed as a national question, and a sufli- cient force sent forthwith " to open a way for securing the subahship to ourselves." The Mogul would, he added, willingly agree to this arrangement in return for a pledge for the payment of fifty lacs annually — a sum which might be easily spared out of revenues amounting to i;2,000,000 sterling; and as to Meer JaflSer, there need be no scruple on his account, since he, like all other Mussul- mans, was so little influenced by gratitude, asserts his belief that he would one day attempt the overthrow of the nabob, blaming " the old fool" at the same time severely for " putting too much power in tlie hands of his nearest relations;" but there is no evidence to warrant his assertion ; on the con- trary, Gholam Hussein Khan, though strongly pre- judiced against both father and son, gives repeated evidence of the unbroken confidence which sub- sisted between them. — {Life, ii., 10-1 ; Siijnr, ii., 86.) DEATH OF MEERAN, THE "CHUTA" NABOB, BY MGHTNING— 17G0. 289 as to be ready to break witb bis best frienfls the rnomoiit it suited bis interests, while Mccran w;is " so apparently the enemy of the Euf^lisb, that it will be almost unsafe trusting; bini witb the succession."* This communication was forwarded to Mr. Pitt by Mv. AValsh, the secretary of Clive. In rclatinj; the discussion which fol- lowed its presentation, Mr. Walsh writes, that the al)le minister expressed bis views a little darkly (or proi)al)ly very cautiously) on the subject; mentioned that the com- pany's charter would not expire for twenty years ; and stated that it bad been recently inquired into, whether the conquests in I India i)elonn;cd:^ to the company or the Crown, and the "Judges seemed to think to the company; but, he added, "the company were not proper to have it, nor the Crown, for such a revenue would endanojer our liber- ties ;'' tiiercfore Clive showed " good sense by the suggested application of it to the public." Here the question dropped for the time, and Clive returned to England, apparently before learning the result of bis memorial, and at a time when events of the first im- portance were taking placet The Shah-zada, at the invitation of certain influential nobles of Patna, bad already re- newed hostilities, when Clive and Forde quitted the country in February, 1760. In the previous December an English detach- ment, under Colonel Calliaud, bad been sent from Calcutta to Moorsbedabad, and this force, in conjunction witb 15,000 horse and foot, under command of Mccran, marched in the following month to oppose the Mogul prince. Meanwhile the powerful king of the Doorani Afghans was again on his way to ravage Ilindoostan. Shaab-oo-deen, the vizier of the pageant-emperor, Alumgcer II., aware of the strangely-assorted friendship ■which existed between his ill-used master and Ahmed Shah, caused the former to be assassi- nated, and seated another puppet on the throne. The Shah-zada had entered Bahar, ■when tidings of the tragical end of his father * Life, ii. 120 — ll!2. The succession of Meeran had, it should be borne in mind, been one of the primary conditions made by Meer Jaffier with Clive. t Mr. Scrafton, in a letter to Clive, .states that Meeran, on one occasion, became so excited by the partiality evinced towards a Hindoo s;overnor (Roy- dullub) who was known to be disaHected to him, that he declared, unless an exjiress guarantee of safety should be given, he would leave Moorsbedabad with those who were faithful to him, and, if necessary, fight Ids way to the nabob, who was then at Patna. Scrafton adds, that the " old Begum sent for Petrus I the Armenian interpreter for the company), and fell a reached the camp. He assumed the title of Alum Shah, atul secured the alliance of Shuja Dowlah, the nabob of Oude, by the pro- mise of the vizierat; conferred on Nujecb-ad- Dowlab (an able Rohilla chief, staunchly attached to the imperial family) the dignity of amecr-ool-omra;j and, witb the .issistance of these leaders, assembled a considerable force. An engagement took place near Patna, between his troops and those of Meeran and the English. The emperor was defeated, and fled to Eahar, where he con- tinued to maintain a feeble contest until the campaign was abruptly concluded by the death of one of the parties chictly concerned in its results. A heavy storm commenced on i the night of the 2nd of July, and Meeran, ' the better to escape its violence, quitted bis spacious tent for one of less size, lower, and of greater strength. According to eastern usage, a story-teller stationed himself beside the prince, striving to soothe the unquiet spirit to repose, while a domestic chafed his limbs, with the same view of inducing sleep. Fierce thunder-claps long continued to break over the encampment, alternating with vivid flashes of lightning. The fury of the elements at last abated, and some attendants, whose turn it was to keep guard, entered and be- held with dismay the lifeless bodies of Meeran and bis companions, all three having perished by the same stroke. Colonel Cal- liaud considered it impolitic to publish the catastrophe, lest the consequence sbouJd be the immediate dispersion of the army of the deceased; he therefore, after certain neces- sary precautions, caused the body to be dressed, as if alive, and placed on an elephant; marched to Patna with all possible expedi- tion, and distributed the troops in winter quarters. It is scarcely possible to avoid attriljuting the fate of Meeran to an act of Divine retribution, so cruel and bloodthirsty had been bis brief career.^ The previous month had added to the list of victims sacri- ficed by his father and himself, two aged princesses, the surviving daughters of Ali blubbering, saying that she had but that son, and could not .spare him." — (Malcolm's Life, i., 349.) I X See previous section on Mogul empire, p. 177. ! § Upon examination, five or six holes were found on the back part of his head, and on his body streaks like the marks of a whip. A scimitar which lay on the pillow above his head had also holes in it, and part of the point ■n'as melted. The tent pole ap- peared as if rotted. Yet, notirithstanding these indi- cations, a rumour arose that the death of Meeran had been caused by the English ; and to this unfounded accusation Burke alludes in his famous speech on opening the charges against Warren Hastings. I I 290 VANSITTART APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF BENGAL— 1760. Verdi Khan; and among Lis papers was found a list of the names of persons whom he liad resolved to cut off at the conclusion of the campaign ; determined, as he said, " to rid himself of the disloyal, and sit down in repose with his friends." The death of Meeran was a terrible blow to his father. The slight barrier which had heretofore in some measure kept down the arrogance and extortion of the English functionaries, and likewise the clamours of the unpaid native troops being now removed, the nabob was left alone to bear, in the weak- ness of age and intellect, the results of his unhallowed ambition. Clive, with others who had largely benefited by sharing its first- fruits, had gone to enjoy the wealth thus ac- quired under the safeguard of a free con- stitution ; and their successors would, it was probable, be inclined to look to the expedient of a new revolution as the best possible mea- sure for their private interests, as well as those of their employers. The excitement attendant on the payment of the chief part of the stipulated sums to the Bengal treasui-y, had before this time given place to depression; that is, so far as the public afl"airs of the com- pany were concerned. Individuals had ac- cumulated, and were still accumulating large fortunes, to which, in a pecuniary sense, no drawback was attached; but the general trade was in a much less flourishing condition. On being first acquainted with the extent of money and territory ceded by Meer Jafiier, (of which, it may be remarked, Clive gave a very exaggerated account,) the directors sent out word that no supplies would be sent ijy them to India for several ensuing seasons, as the Bengal treasury would, it was ex- pected, be well able to supply the civil and military exigences of the three presidencies, to provide European investments, and even to make provision for the China trade. This was so far from being the case, that in less than two years after the deposition of Meer Jafficr, " it was found necessary to take up money at interest, although large sums had been received besides for bills upon the Court of Directors." * The distress created in England by these drafts was very great ; and oven in the year 1 7.58, the holders were ' with difficulty prevailed upon to grant fur- ther time for their hquidation. Tlic payment of the English troops en- gaged in repelling the attempts of the Shah- zada, presented an additional difiBculty. It had been thought that the stipulated sum of one lac of rupees (£10,000) per month, would amply cover their expenditure; hut expe- rience proved that amount insufficient to provide for the exigences of the augmented establishment thereby necessitated, even had the money been regularly paid; instead of which, the nabob was greatly in. arrears at the time of dive's departure. In fact, his own forces were so costly and extensive, that it is alleged they were alone sufficient to absorb the entire revenue. The death of Meeran was quickly followed by an alarming mutiny. The palace was sur- rounded, the walls scaled, and Meer Jaffier threatened with instant death unless the claims of the really distressed troops were liquidated. Meer Cossim, who had married the only surviving legitimate child of the na- bob, interfered for his protection, and brought about an arrangement by the advance of three lacs from his own treasury, and a pro- mise of the balance due in a stated period. Mr. Vansittart arrived to fill the position of governor of Bengal in July, 1760. An empty treasury ; a quarrelsome and dicta- torial council ; unpaid and disorderly troops ; the provision of an investment actually sus- pended ; — these were some of the difficulties which awaited him.f Mr. HolwcU, while in the position of temporary governor, had suggested to his fellow-officials, that the cruelty and incapacity of Meer Jaffier justi- fied his abandonment, and proposed that they should change sides — accept the re- iterated oifers of the emperor, and make common cause with him. This project was rejected ; but the necessity for some decisive measure being pretty generally agreed upon, it was at length resolved to offer Meer Cossim Ali the limited degree of real power still residing in the person of the nabob, on condition of the title and a fixed income being left with Meer Jaffier, and certain additional concessions made to the English. Mr. Vansittart acquiesced in the scheme formed by Mr. Holwell and the select com- mittee. One or two members of the general council, when the intended change was first hinted at, dissented on the ground that the incapacity of Meer Jafficr was itself favour- able to the interests of the company; but the urgent need of fresh supplies of funds to meet increased expenditure, conibincd pcr- • Vansittarl's Narrative of Transaction/: in Scn- yul, i., 22. The same authority states, that in 1700 the military and other charges in Uengal amounted to upwards of £200,000 per nnn.; while the net revenue did not exceed £SO,00(l-(i). 97.) + Vansittart's Letter to E. I. Proprietors, p. 13. MEEK JAFFIER SUPERSEDED BY MEER COSSIM— 1760. 291 haps with less easily avowed motives on the part of certain iiiflucutial persons overpow- ered this reasoning;, and a treaty was en- tered into hy tlie f^ovornor and select com- mittee with Mecr Cossim, by which he agreed to assign to the Eiii^lish the revenues of the three districts of IJurdwan, Midiia- porc, and Chittagonp;, in discharge of the balance due from his father-in-law. On the night on which tlie articles were signed, Meer Cossim tendered to Mr. Vansittart a note for the payment of twenty lacs of rupees to the five members of the select committee. Considering the large sums ex- torted from Meer Jafficr on a previous oc- casion, it was only natural to expect some similar instance of " munificence" in the present case; thougli, from the impoverished state of the revenues, the amoiuit must of necessity be greatly inferior. The note was, however, returned, and the governor and eommittec, if they had not the self-denial who/ly to reject the tempting offer, dis- played at least a sufficient regard to de- cor.im to refuse accepting any portion of it, until Meer Cossim should be seated in security on the musnud, and all the condi- tvyns of tiie treaty fulfilled. In the meantime they appear to have made no private agree- ment wliatever ; but, in lieu of it, to have asked a contribution of five lacs for the company, which was immediately paid and employed in aid of the operations then in progress against the French at Pondicherry. The deposition of Meer Jafficr was effected Ivith so much ease, that on the evening of .the day on which it took place, a stranger entering Moorshedabad would scarcely have suspected the revolution that had so recently occurred. When first informed of his in- tended snperccssion, the nabob manifested an unexpected degree of energy — declared that his son, !Mecran, had warned him what would happen, and even threatened to oppose force by force, and abide his fate. But this was the mere eflervescence of im- • Vansittart's Narrative, i., 100—138. t Among the reasons stated by the governor and committee for the deposition of Meer Jafficr, was a massacre committed by his orders at Dacca in June, 17G0, in which the mother of Surajah Dowlah, his aunt, his widow and daughter, and a boy adopted into the family, were taken from prison at midnight and drowned, together witli seventy persons of in- ferior note. Such wholesale slaughter as this, if actually perpetrated, would have cast into the shade even the enormities which formed the steps to the Mogul throne ; yet it does not seem that any official inquiry was instituted in the matter. So hardened do the minds of Europeans become by familiarity to potent rage. The palace was surrounded by English troops, and he possessed few, if any, on whose fidelity reliance could be placed ; besides which, so " general a disafl'cction against his government, and detestation of his person and principles, prevailed in tiie country amongst all ranks and classes of peo])le," that Mr. Vansittart declared, "it would have been scarcely possible for the old nabob to have saved himself from being murdered, or the city from plunder, another month."* Scarcity alike of money and provisions began to be painfully felt throughout Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. ]Moorshedabad, once the seat of unparalleled abundance, had become the abode of poverty-stricken multitudes;' while Patna, exposed for two years to the ravages of the imperial forces, and threatened with renewed invasion, in- stead of furnishing, as in times of peace, vast stores of rice, was now almost a wildcr- nesss. Amid this wide-spread mi.sery, the man from whom aid was expected continued to lavish sums extorted by oppression ou favourites of the most unworthy character; and pleasures (if they deserve that name) of the most disreputable description. The measure of bis iniquities was filled by the sanction or direction given by him, in con- jimction with jMeeran, for the midnight assassination of Gassitee Begum and Amina Begum, t which, in the case of the former princess, was an act of peculiar ingratitude as well as cruelty, since she had been ex- tremely useful to him during the fifteen months' sway of her nephew, Surajah Dowlah. It must be remembered, that Colonel Clive had viewed the assassination of that prince with utter indiflerence ; and it is the less to be wondered at that so sanguinary a com- mencement having passed uncensurcd, ileej Jafficr should have allowed his son to follow out the same course until he was cut off as one who, though unscathed by human laws, yet " vengeance suffereth not to live." The the worst features of despotism, that Messrs. Amyatt, Ellis, and Smytli, the three dissenting members of council, in their minute complaining of not having been duly consulted regarding the recent measures adopted by the select committee, positively palliate the cliarges brought against Meer Jatfier as cruelties whicli would ajjpear shocking to a civilised govern- ment, but which were common to all despotic ones. In fact, the transaction, infamous as it really wa.s, had been greatly magnified; for in October, 1765, it was officially stated by the government of Bengal, that of the five principal victims named above, only two had perished ; the rest had been kept in confinement, and were subsequently set at liberty. (Thornton's ""^r 292 ADMINISTKATION OF MEER COSSIM IN BENGAL— 1760. death of Meeran formed a new feature in the compHeated question upon which Mr. Vansittart was called upon to decide. The prince was well known to have been the chief counsellor and abettor of his father's actions; and it may be doubted whether Mr. Holwell's proposition (of abandoning Meer Jaffier and surrendering the govern- ment to the emperor) being wholly set aside, it would not have been wiser to have avoided the questionable expedient of a supercession, by suffering the present nabob to continue to occupy the musnud, but with a very limited degree of authority. It was evident things could not remain as they were ; the power of the English was too great and too little — altogether too undefined to be stationary ; and though there is much reason to believe that the course pursued in this diflicult crisis was really prompted by an honest desire for the good of all parties, yet, like most temporising measures, the result was total and disastrous failure. The resignation forced upon Meer Jaffier appears, under the circumstances, rather a boon than a punishment. The first out- burst of rage having subsided, he listened calmly to the proposals made to him — prudently rejected the ofler of continuing to enjoy the empty semblance of power, while the reality was to be vested in another person ; and simply stipulated that he should be suffered to proceed immediately to Calcutta, and reside there under British protection. It lias been alleged that his ambitious son-in-law objected strongly to such a procedure, and would have preferred disposing of his predecessor after a more summary fashion:* but be this as it may, Meer Jaffier quitted Moorshedabad the very British hidia, {., .387.) This does not free the English authorities from blame regarding the fate of those who really perished, and the hazard incurred by the survivors, who were left at the cajirice of an apathetic old man and a merciless youth. But so little con- cern was manifested when human lives and not trading monopolies were concerned, that Meeran, being reproached by Scrafton (then British resident at Moorshedabad) for the murder of one of the female relatives of Ali Verdi Khan, did not take the trouble of replying, as he truly miglit, that she was alive, but asked, in the tone of a petulant boy who thought he " might do what lie willed with his own," " What, shall not I kill an old woman who goes about in her dooly (litter) to stir up the jematdars (military commanders) against my father?" The perceptions of the Bengal public were, happily, not quite so ob- tuse as those of their Mohammedan or European rulers; and the murder of the princesses (with or without their alleged companions of inferior rank) was held to be so foul a crime, that the fiic of heaven. evening of his deposition, bearing away, to solace his retirement, about seventy of the ladies of the harem, and " a reasonable quantity of jewels." His only lawful wife (the mother of Meeran) refused to accom- pany him, and remained with her daughter and Meer Cossim. Thus ends one important though not very creditable page of Anglo- Indian history in Bengal. Administration of Meeu Cossim Ali. — The question uppermost in the mind of every member of the Bengal presidency, whether friendly or adverse to the new nabob, was — ■ how he would manage to fulfil the treaty with the English, pay the sums claimed by them, and liquidate the enormous arrears due to his own clamorous troops ? Being an able financier, a rigid economist ia per- sonal expenditure, and a man of unwcirying energy, Meer Cossim set about the Her- culean task of freeing himself from pecu- niary involvements, and restoring the pros- perity of the country by measures which soon inspired the English officials with the notion that, so far as their personal interests were concerned, the recent revolution mijht prove as the exchange of King Log "or King Stork. Strict accounts of income airL expenditure were demanded from the local governors, from the highest to the lowest ; the retrospect was carried back even to the time of Ali Verdi Khan ; and many who had long since retired to enjoy, in comparative obscurity, wealth gotten by more or less questionable means, while basking in the short-lived sunshine of court favour, were now compelled to refund at least a portion of their accumulations. In short, according to Gholam Hussein, the advice of Sadi the poet — " Why collectest thou not from every which smote the perpetrator, was popularly believed to have been called down by Amina Begum (the mother of Surajah Dowlah), who in dying uttered the vengeful wish, that the lightning might fall on the murderer of herself, her child, and her sister. The im- jjrecation is of fearful meaning in Bengal, where loss of life during thunder-storms is of frequent occurrence; and the tale ran, that the deaths of Meeran and his victims were not, as stated in the text, a month a])art, but simultaneous, the fatal orders being exe- cuted at Dacca on the same niglit and hour that Meeran perished, several hundred miles away. {Sii/ar ul Mutakherin, ii., 133.) The translator adds, in a note, that the imprecation of Amina Begum was mi-ntioned in Moorshedabad full thirty days before intelligence became public of the death of .Meeran. * This charge will be found in Holwell's Indian Tracts, i)0 — 91 ; but in a subsequent Jinge it is denied by Mr. llohvell, the person to whom the proposition is stated to have been made. — {Idem, p. U4.) ADMINISTRATION OF MEER COSSIM IN BENGAL— 1761. 293 subject a grain of silver, that thou mayest form a treasure?" — became the rule of Mecr Cossiin ; and, in the short space of eight months, he wrought a wonderful change for the better, thougli at a cost of personal exertion which he described by de- claring, that he liad " scarce had leisure to drink a little water, nor a minute's time to eat or enjoy sleep."* Such rigid supervision was sure to dis- please those especially by whom it was most needed ; and the camp of the Mogul be- came in consequence the rallying ground of many discontented zemindars and petty rajahs who were not strong enough to rebel in their own names. Early in 17G1 an engagement took place between the im- perial forces and those of Meer Cossira and the English under Major Carnae. The em- peror was again defeated ; the small Erench corps by which he had been supported quite dispersed ; and its indefatigable leader, M. Law, taken prisoner.f Immediately after the battle, overtures of peace were made by the victors, through the interven- tion of a brave Hindoo general, whose name, whatever it may have been, has been angli- cised into Rajah Shitabroy. The proposi- tion was gladly accepted ; Shah Alum pro- ceeded to Patna, and there bestowed on Meer Cossim the investiture of the govern- ment of the three provinces, on condition of the annual payment of twenty-four lacs of rupees. J The English commander then escorted the emperor some distance on his road to join Sluija Dowlah, the nabob of Oude. External hostility had scarcely been removed from the path of Meer Cossira, be- fore obstacles of a domestic character took its place. Several Hindoo officials of high rank persisted in evading his just demands for a settlement of outstanding accounts, and screened themselves from punishment, * Vansiltarl's Karratifc, i., 214. t After the fate of the day had been decided, Law, though deserted by liis countrymen, refused to quit the field ; and vexed to the soul by the utter failure of his attempts to uphold the interests of the French nation, sat down astride a gun, ready to fling away his life, when an attemjit should be made to cap- ture him. Major Carnae found him in this attitude, accepted his surrender on parole without deliver- ing up his sword, and subsequently, in common with all the other British officers, treated the cap- tive with marked consideration. Gholam Hussein Khan highly extols this chivalrous behaviour, and finds frequent occasion to applaud in the strongest manner the military qualifications of the English ; adding, that if they did but possess equal proficiency .n the arts of government, and nuinil'ested as much solicitude for the welfare of native communities or even from inquiry, through the interven- tion of the English. Ram Narrain, the goTcrnor of Patna, afforded a remarkaljlc exam])lc of this ill-judged partiality. He had been placed in office by All Verdi Khan, and was one of the few nobles whose fidelity to Surajah Dowlah remained invio- late. After the deposition and murder of this prince, IMcer .lallier had urgently soli- cited Clive to induce Ram Narrain to come to Moorshedabad under the promise of Bri- tish protection, in order, as the proposer of this notable scheme did not hesitate to avow, to obtain a convenient opportunity for cutting oil' his head. The experience of Clive in the art of writing "soothing" letters to an intended victim, was, happily for the national honour, not ^made use of in the present ease ; on the contrary, the ungenerous policy of maintaining a rival party in the court of the nabob, induced favourable terms to be made with Ram Narrain, and he was confirmed in his gov- ernment despite the opposition of his nomi- nal master. As might be expected under such cir- cumstances, between constant warfare and a disaffected ruler, the revenues of Patna proved of little benefit to the exhausted treasury of Moorshedabad. Ram Narrain scarcely disguised the hatred and contempt he felt for Meer Jaffier, and found no diffi- culty in resisting or evading his demands; but Meer Cossim was a man of a different stamp ; and a fierce and prolonged dispute took place between the nabob and the governor — the former demanding the im- mediate settlement of all arrears ; the latter, on one pretence or other, refusing even to render the accounts justly demanded from him. The refractory subordinate relied on the protection of the English, and long continued to be upheld in his unwarrantable in time of peace, as they did forethought in war, then no nation in the world would be worthier of command. "But," he adds, "such is the little regard they show to the people of these kingdoms, and such their apathy and indifference to their welfare, that the natives under their dominion groan everywhere, and are reduced to poverty and distress." — (Siyar ul Mutaklierin, ii., 102.) X Jleer Cossim, aware of the strong personal pre- judice of Major Carnae towards himself, refused to enter the imperial camp, lest some design against him — such as it appears was actually entertained by Carnae and Ellis (Vansittart's Karrative. ii., 399) — should be put in practice. Therefore the investi- ture was performed in the hall of the English fac- tory, a platform being made of two dining-tables covered with cloth, on which to enthrone the fallen. majesty of the house of Timur. 294, DISGRACEFUL QUARRELS OF BENGAL OFFICIALS— 1763. refusal to furnish any statement of his admin- istration by the miUtary commanders then stationed at Patna ; but at length the re- presentations of Meer Cossim, regarding- the violent conduct of Colonel Coote* and Major Carnac, occasioned their recall, and left Ram Narrain in the hands of the nabob, by whom iiis person was seized and his effects confiscated, on the charge of embezzlement. The truth was, the whole affair had been treated rather as a bone of contention among the jarring members of the Bengal pre- sidency, than as a question of justice. The secret of their disunion appears to have been sheer jealousy of the present offered by Meer Cossim to the select committee previous to his accession, which they refused receiving until the claims of the company should be satisfied, peace restored, and the long stand- ing arrears of the native troops entirely liqui- dated. f These preliminaries having been fulfilled, it was probably expected that Meer Cossim would repeat his offer of the twenty lacs of rupees to the individuals by whom it had been temporarily rejected. The remaining members of council (uot of the select commit- tee) became extremely violent on the subject, and instead of pleading, as they might have reasonably done, against being excluded from all share in a transaction which they had about as much, or as little right to benefit by as their colleagues, the tone adopted was one of disinterested zeal for the interest of their employers, in whose name it was insisted the twenty lacs should be immediately de- manded from Meer Cossim. This motion • For instance, Meer Cossim complained that on one occasion Colonel Coote, accompanied by thirty- five European horsemen and 200 sepoys, entered his tent in a great passion with a pistol in either hand, crying out, "Where is the nabob?" and uttering "God dammees !" Colonel Coote tacitly admitted the truth of this statement, with the trivial exception that his pistols were not cocked, as the nabob had declared. — (Vansittart's Narrative, i., 238—244.) t Soon after his accession, Meer Cossim took oc- casion to present Mr. Vansittart witli a present of 25,000 rupees on the birth of a son — an ordinary eastern compliment, which the governor accepted, but immediately paid into the company's treasury. \ A receipt in fu.l was given to Meer' Cossim in March, 1762, from all pecuniary obligation to the Eng- lish. A minute in council showed that he had paid them twenty-six lacs of sicca rupees (valued at 2s. %\d. each), together with fifty-three lacs of cur- rent rupees (2s. id. each), derived from the ceded districts. Ho had likewise satisfied the claims both of his own and his predecessor's troops. — (Narrative.) § It appears, however, from the evidence given before parliament, in 1772, by Colonel CalliauQ and Mr. Sumner, that the twenty lacs were aciuaiiy paid ■was brought forward by Mr. Amyatt, who, as Governor Vansittart did not fail to remark, had been of a different opinion some three years before, or he would scarcely have accepted a share in the golden harvest ob- tained by the elevation of Meer Jaffier, with- out exhibiting any such scrupulous regard to the interests of the general body. The re- sult of a subsequent nabob-making affair proved that another stickler for the rights of the company {^Ir. .Johnstone) was equally willing, when practicable, to make a bargain on his own account. The measure was, however, carried by a majority of the entire council, and a formal requisition to the above effect made to Meer Cossim. The answer was prompt and decisive. The nabob, after, stating, " by the grace of God, that he had fulfilled every article of the treaty,"J de- clared, " I owe nobody a single rupee, nor will I pay your demand." The sura intended for the select committee had been, he said, positively refused ; most of the gentlemen to whom it was offered had left the country; and as to the one or two still in India, " I do not think," adds the nabob, " they will demand it from me."§ The directors at home clearly appreciated the motives of all concerned, and expressed decided approbation of the " spirited" refusal given to an unauthorised encroachment. But the fire of anger and distrust, far from being extinguished by such well-merited rebuffs, was fed by various concomitant circumstances. An angry, if not insolent|| memorial, dictated by Clive immediately before sailing for England, and addressed by by Meer Cossim, and received in the following pro- portions : — the governor, five lacs (£50,000) ; Hol- well, Sumner, Calliaud, and M'Gwire, in diminishing portions, according to seniority. This makes the select committee to have consisted of five persons; but beside these, it appears there were others not then present at Calcutta. The committee consisted of the senior members of the council, and the coun- cil itself varied in the number of members from six to sixteen, according to the number of those absent in their em])loyments as chiefs of factories, &c. II One phrase declares that a recent communica- tion from the directors was equally unworthy of the parties by whom it was written, or those to whom it was addressed, " in whatever relation considered — as masters to servants, or gentlemen to gentlemen ;" and it is added, significantly, that from the partiality evinced to individuals, "private views may, it is much to be feared, take the lead here from examples at home, and no gentlemen hold your service longer, nor exert themselves further in it, than tlicir own exii/encies require." This remarkable specimen of plain speaking boasts the signatures of Clive, Ilolwell, Sumner, and .M'Gwire, all of whom were dismissed the service, as al.so another councillor named Pleydell. INLAND TllADE, 1763— MONOPOLY BY SERVANTS OF E.I. CO. 295 the Berif^al officials to tlieir "honourable masters," procured tlic dismissal of all ijy whom it had been sifjiicd. 'I'liis measure fuilcd in ))r()(luciii<; the iiitciidcd cd'oct; for of the refractory members, the majority, like their leader, iuid realistMJ iuimense fortunes i)y the use of more or less disereditablemeans; others paid the penalty of sharinj; the violence of their predecessors by expulsion from the company's service. Althouj^h subsequently reinstated, their temporary absence left the governor in a minority in council, and vested the ])crsonaI opponents of the nabob with overwhelming power. Mr. Van- sittart, in rectitude of character, discretion, and gentlemanly bearing, was infinitely su- perior to his fellow-ofrieials; but he lacked energy to control their unruly tempers, and successfully oppose their selfish ends. It a])- pears that, he and the other four gentlemen associated with him (tliat is, all the members of the select committee then in Bengal), did eventually receive from Cossim Ali the much- canvassed twenty lacs. This single draw- back on a general reputation for disinterest- edness, afl'orded an opening of which his ene- mies well knew how to take advantage, and every eflbrt made to check their illegitimate gains was treated as an act of corrupt and venal partiality towards the nabob. We have already seen that in the time of Moorshed Kooli Khan, the English officials had striven to construe the firmauns granted by the emperor Ferokshccr, as conferring not only exemption from custom-dues on all foreign commerce, but as including the produce of the country, which they asserted ought -to pass untaxed, if accompanied by their dustucks or licenses, even from one district to another. Now, as half the local revenue was, by the system imiversally pur- sued, obtained by innumerable petty dues levied on merchandise, at frequent inter- vals, in its passage from place to place, it followed that such an unreasonable claim, if granted, must prove highly injurious to the income of the province, and ruinous to tb.e native traders, who, fettered by taxation, could not hope to compete with their favoured rivals. The manifest injustice of the demand procured its speedy, and for a • Vansittart's !^\ir7-tii{re, ii., 153. + Treaty with Surajah Dowlah; vide Scrafton's Si'/lcctionf: mi the Oofcrnnwiit of Itidostan, p. 53. I Vansittart's Narralire, ii., ll.'J. § The existence and notoriety of these practices is evidenced in a letter from the directors, dated April, 1760, in which it is asserted, that the chiefs of suiior- dinate factories gained full twenty per cent, upon time, complete abandonment. At a subse- quent ])criod the directors (in a dispute witli the Dutch regarding the right of the em- peror to grant the I'jUglish merchants a mo- nopoly for the sole ])urchasc of saltpetre, notwithstanding tlie promise of free trade conceded to their competitors) laid it down as an axiom, that the design of all firmauns granted to Europeans was to admit them " to the same freedom of trading with the IMogul's own subjects — surely not a better."* In fact, the interests of the company were in no manner concerned in the question of inland traffic, because this had been entirely resigned to their servants ; and every attempt at encroachment made by them during the strong administrations of Moorshed Kooli and Ali Verdi Khan had been carefully sujipresscd, until the latter ruler became weakened by age, foreign wars, and domestic sorrows. The previous efforts were recom- menced and increased at the time of the ac- cession of Surajah Dowlah — so much so, that the articles signed by the English on the sur- render of Cossimbazar in May, 1757, included a specific promise to make good all that the ^lohammedan government had suffered from the abuse of dustucks. f This pledge was far fiorn being redeemed, and the abuse complained of rose to such an extent, despite the repeated remonstrances of Meer Jafiier, that not only every servant of the company, together with their (jomastahs or native agents, claimed complete immunity in carry- ing on inland trade in salt, betel-nut, tobacco, bamboos, dried fish, &c., but even the Bengalee merchants found it expedient to purchase the name of some member of the presidency ; and by virtue of " dustucks" thus obtained, could laugh at the revenue officers, and compel the natives, on penalty of flogging or imprisonment,^ to buy goods at more, or sell them at considerably less, than the market price. § Had Mr. Vansittart been a man of more determination, he might probably have averted a new revolution ; but the compro- mising character of his measures served only to encourage his intractable associates. In taking a firm stand on the justice of the question, and insisting upon the proper pay- goods supplied to private traders, often exclusive of commission ; while tlie native merchants " apply to our junior servants, and for valuahle considerations receive their goods covered with our servants' names : even a writer trades in this manner for many thousands, when at the same time he has often not real credit for an hundred rupees. For the truth of these assertions we need only appeal to yourselves.' 296 MEER COSSIM ALI PROCLAIMS FREE TRADE IN BENGAL— 1763. meut of taxes necessary to the maintenance of the country government, he would doubtless have been supported by the directors, who, unbiassed by self-interest, would then, as on a subsequent occasion, have given an honest decision on so plain a case. But Vansittart, aware of the extreme anxiety of the nabob to preserve peace with the English, hoped to bring about an arrangement by offering, on their behalf, the payment of nine per cent, (a rate not a quarter the amount of that exacted from native traders) upon the prime cost of goods at the time of purchase, after which no further duties should be imposed. These terms were settled at a private interview between the nabob and the governor, and the latter departed highly pleased at having brought about an amicable adjustment. But he did not understand the blinding influence of the factious and grasping spirit of the men with whom he had to deal. The members of council, ab- sent in their capacities of chiefs of facto- ries, were called together: even majors Adams and Carnac, though empowered to give a vote only in military affairs, were suffered to come and join a discussion in which they were unprofessionally, and not very creditably, interested as traders ; and the result was, the refusal of an overwhelm- ing majority to ratify the pledge given by their president. Warren Hastings, who had lately been elevated to the council, alone stood by Vansittart, and eloquently pleaded the cause of justice, relating the oppressions he had himself witnessed while employed in an inferior capacity in different factories, but with no beneficial result.* Meer Cossim soon saw the state of the case ; — a governor, williug^ but unable to pro- tect him against the rapacity of subordinate officials. He knew their vulnerable point; and instead of wasting more time in fruitless complaints, aimed a well-directed blow by proclaiming free trade among his own sub- jects for the ensuing two years. It was clearly the most equitable and statesmanlike measure that could have been adopted ; but the council, in their unbridled wrath at having the native traders placed on a level with themselves, denounced it as a shame- less infringement on the company's prero- gative ; and, upon tliis flimsy pretext, sent a deputation to the nabob, consisting of • In the course of these discussions, Mr. Batson, one of the council, struck Hastings a blow. The Injured party, with true dignity, left to liis col- leagues the charge of dealing with the offender. Mr. Amyatt and ]\Ir. Hay, to demand its immediate annulment. Meer Cossim re- fused to discuss the subject, and, in com- menting on the decision of the council — that all disputes between English gomastahs and his officers, should be referred to the chiefs of the company's factories — he said their justice consisted simply in this : — " they abuse and beat my officers, and send them away bound." Regarding the immediate question at issue, he vindicated the aboli- tion of customs on the plea of necessity, the conduct of the English having utterly prevented their realisation, and thus de- prived him of one-half his revenues. The remainder, he added, arose from laud-rents, which were diminished by the abstraction of half the country, and were required to pay his standing army. Under these circumstances he would be well pleased to be relieved of his irksome task, and see some other person placed in his stead as nabob. This proposition was probably made in re- ference to the projects already canvassed in council (and of which he doubtless had some knowledge) , for his supercession in the event of the outbreak of hostilities. The tone and bearing of Meer Cossim were, how- ever, still on the whole so deprecating and conciliatory, that no fear of the consequences appears to have arisen in the minds of the council to suggest the danger of driving him to extremities. The governor explicitly declares that, up to this period, the nabob had not shown " any instance of a vicious or a violent disposition ; he could not be taxed with any act of cruelty to his own subjects, nor treachery to us."t Of his troops a very contemptible opinion had been formed ; they were spoken of as " undisciplined rabble," whom a single European detach- ment could at once disperse : while Meer Cossim himself was known to possess neither taste nor talent as a military leader ; and the chief warlike enterprise of his administration (an invasion of Nepaul) had proved a failure. But sufficient account had not been made of the care with which the native army had been gradually brought to a state of unprecedented efficiency ; their number being diminished by the payment and dismissal of useless portions, while the remainder were carefully trained, after the European manner, by the aid of some mili- tary adventurers who entered the service of Meer Cossim. Among these the most cele- brated was a man called by the natives t Vansittart's Narrative, iii., 394. _ WAR BETWEEN MEER COSSIM AND THE ENGIJSII— 17G3. 297 Sumroo.* He was a German, Walter Rcine- hard by name, and came to India as a ser- geant iu the service of France. Military abili- ties raised him to high favour with Meer Cossim, and he l)ecamc the chief instigator and instrument of the cruelties which dis- graced the close of the struggle with the presidency. The abuse of certain discre- tionary powers vested in Mr. Ellis by the council, despite the opposition of the gov- ernor, precipitated matters. Patna was seized by the English, and, to their surprise, immediately regained by Meer Cossim. Mr. Amyatt was at this time on his way back to Calcutta; Mr. Hay being detained as a hostage for the safety of some of the native officials then imprisoned at Calcutta. Orders were given for the capture of Mr. Amyatt: he was intercepted, and, with several of his companions, slain in the struggle which ensued. The council closed all avenues to reconciliation with Meer Cossim, by the restoration of the man who, three years before, had been pronounced utterly unfit to reign. Suddenly annulling all that had been said and done — setting aside the imperial investiture, and everything else, Meer Jaffier, without even the form of a fresh treaty, was, by a strange turn of the wheel of circumstances, again hurried to the musnud from whence he had so lately been ignorainiously expelled. Vansittart, overpowered by bitter opposi- tion, and sinking under ill-health, no longer strove to stem the torrent. It was an emer- gency in which he thought "justice must give way to necessity ,"t and accordingly he signed the proclamation inviting the people of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa to rally round the standard of Meer Jaifier; with other documents, whose contents were wholly at variance with his previous measures ; only declaring that he would resign the govern- ment so soon as ]\Ieer Cossim should be subdued. This did not prove so easy a task as had been expected. The ex-nabob made a last effort at an accommodation bj' a letter to the presidency, in which he denied having given any order for the destruction of Mr. Amyatt ; but, at the same time, referred significantly to the number of English captured at Patna, plainly intimating that their fate depended on the terms made with him. The threat was little heeded. So perfect and uniform * His nnm-th-yuerre of Summer was clmnged by the Kreiicli soldiers into Sombre, on account of his dark complexion, pronounced by the natives Sumroo. had been his self-control, that not even the governor or Mr. Hastings (the two Euro- peans who had most intimately known him) ever suspected the fierce passions which lay hid beneath the veil of a singularly dignified bearing and guarded language. No deci- sive measure was therefore taken for tlie rescue of the prisoners, but only letters written, threatening unsparing vengeance in the event of any injury being inflicted upon them. These eommunicatious did but add fuel to fire. Meer Cossim well knew the stake for which he played — independent sway over at least a part of Bengal, or a violent death, with the possible alternative of poverty and expatriation in the dominions of his powerful neighbour, Shuja Dowlah. The English took the field iu 1703, and commenced operations by the successful attack of the army stationed to protect Moorshedabad. The city was captured; and in the following mouth, the severest conflict which the English had yet sustained took place on the plain of Geriah. The battle lasted four hours, and the enemy at one period broke the line, seized two guns, and attacked the 84th regiment front and rear. But the steadiness of the troops pre- vailed over the impetuosity of their assail- ants, and eventuaUy procured a complete victory. Meer Cossim was driven from place to place; defeat and disgrace dogged his steps ; and after sending his family and treasures to the stronghold of Rhotas, he commenced a series of executions at once, to gratify his revenge and intimidate his foes. Ram Narrain, with ten relatives, and other native prisoners of note, were the first victims after the battle of Geriah. A no less disastrous engagement, in September, near Oodwa, was followed by the execution of the celebrated bankers, Juggut Seit and his brother (or cousin), of whose persons the nabob had some time before obtained possession. Finally, the treacherous sur- render of Monghyr, which he learned at Patna, occasioned an order for the imme- diate execution of all prisoners confined I here, including fifty of the company's servants, civil and military. Among the number were Hay, Ellis, and Lushiugton (the person before named as having counter- feited the signature of Admiral Watson.) Mr. Fullarton, a surgeon, iu virtue of a pro- fession more peaceful than his praetice,|: t Vansittart's Narrative, iii., 317. I He is stated by Vansittart to have been mainly instrumental in urging Mr. Amyatt, with whom he 298 CAPTURE OF PATNA, 1763— EXPULSION OF MEER COSSIM. L formed the sole exception to this savage massacre, which was perpetrated by Sumroo and two companies of sepoys. On the ad- vance of the English, Patna was abandoned by its ruthless master; but the capture was not effected until the middle of November, after a prolonged and resolute defence. Meer Cossim, unable to offer further re- sistance, crossed the Caramnassa as a fugi- tive, and threw himself upon the protection of his ally, Shuja Dowlah, the nabob of Oude, who, from the nominal vizier, had by this time become the gaoler, of Shah Alum. Early in the following year, an army was assembled at Benares by Shuja Dowlah, who, it appears, desired to make the claims of his protege a pretext for obtaining pos- session of the three provinces for himself. The prospect of invasion was alarming- — less from the strength of the enemy than from the mutinous and disaffected condition of the British force. From the moment when a division of booty, to a hitherto un- heard-of extent, commenced at the taking of Geriah in 1756, a marked deterioration had, as Clive truly observed, taken place in their health and discipline. Large numbers perished from sheer debauchery ; and the survivors, imitating the civilians, were con- stantly on the watch for some new source of irregular gain. " A gratification to the army" had been one of the articles canvassed in council, as a point to be insisted on in case of Meer Cossim's supercession ; but war had come on them at the last so suddenly, and had been attended with such an unex- pected amo.uut of danger and expense, that in the terms dictated to Meer Jaffier, after his reinstatement on the musnud,the council had scarcely leisure to do more than stipulate for thirty lacs on behalf of the company ; for the reiniposition of taxes on the oppressed natives ; for their own total exemption, ex- cept a duty of two-and-a-half per cent, upon salt,* which, in their liberality, they ofl'ered to pay as a gratuitous assistance to the nabob ; and, lastly, for complete reimburse- ment to individuals who might suffer loss by the stoppage of tlie inland trade. It is easy to understand who these individuals were, but difficult to conceive to what an extent a clause so indefinite as this might enable them to carry their extortions. Even Meer Jalfier seems to have had a notion that, in had ureal influence, to adopt the policy which led to 80 melancholy a terniination.^ — {Nurrntive, i., 1()4.) • Kveiuhis rate was never levied.— (CVirc, iii.,103.) t ICvidence of Major Munro. — {First lieiiurt of Parliamentury Cvnuniltee, 1772.) return for these stipulations, he also might put forward some peculiar claims; and he now successfully urged, as a condition of re- accepting the subahship, permission to em- ploy, as one of his chief ministers, an intrigu- ing Hindoo named Nuncomar, who was actually in coufinement for having intrigued against the English with Shuja Dowlah and the French governor of Pondicherry. In these arrangements, all idea of a gratuity to the army was lost sight of; nor was any forthcoming, as expected, after the expulsion of Meer Cossim, although a specific pledge to that effect had, it appears, been given to the troops through Major Adams. t Under such circumstances little vigour was displayed in opposing the invading troops, until, after ravaging Bahar, they penetrated as far as Patna. Here, however, they were defeated. The English soldiers and sepoys — but especially the latter, on whom the principal weight of the attack fell — behaved with great steadiness and gallantry ; and the vizier, perceiving that his rude levies were quite unable to oppose a disciplined European force, soon began to evince an inclination for an amicable adjust- ment of affairs. But the English would make no terms that did not include the surrender of the fugitive nabob and his sanguinary instrument, Sumroo; and Shuja Dowlah, on his part, looked for nothing less than the surrender of the whole province of Bahar : consequently the discussion pro- duced no result ; and the tedious war dragged on until the approach of the rainy season compelled the vizier to conclude the cam- paign by retreating with all speed to Oude. The arrival of Major (afterwards Sir Hector) Munro from Bombay, with Euro- pean reinforcements, was the signal for an outbreak of the dissatisfaction long at work in the British army ; and a whole battalion of sepoys, with their arms and accoutre- ments, marched off to join the enemy. The major detached a select body of troops in pursuit. The fugitives were surprised by night, while sleeping, and brought back as prisoners. By the decree of a court-mar- tial of their own countrymen, twenty-four of the prisoners were condemned to die. They were tied up, four at a time, to the muzzle of as many guns, and blown away; the first to suffer beiug some grenadiers, who stepped forward and urged that, as they had constantly been allowed precedence in the hour of danger, so now it should be granted them in death. The claim was BATTLE OF BUXAK, 17G4— STATE OF BENGAL. 299 tacitly admitted to be true, by being granted, and the whole twenty-four were executed, despite the earnest remonstrances and even open ojjposition of tlieir comrades. Military men have applauded this trans- action as a piece of well-timed and necessary severity; those who, like myself, question both the lawfulness and expediency of capi- tal punishments, and deem war and stand- ing armies the reproach and not the glory of Christian nations, will probably view the whole afl'air in a difTcrent light. Li tlie middle of September (1701) the British troops again took the field, and having crossed the Sone in spite of the opposition of a corps of cavalry, advanced towards the intrenched camp of the vizier at Buxar. A sharp conflict took place, and lasted about three hours; the enemy then began to give way, and slowly retired ; but an immediate pursuit being commenced, Shtija Dowlah procured its abandonment, though at an immense sacrifice of life,* by destroying a bridge of boats upon a stream of water two miles from the field of battle. The emperor seized the opportunity of escaping from bis tyrannical minister, pitched his tents Ijcside those of the ll^nglish, and placed himself under their protection. Renewed overtures for peace, on the part of Sliuja Dowlah, were again met by a demand for the surrender of Meer Cossim and Sumroo. The former, fearing to trust his life any longer in the hands of one who had already taken advan- tage of his defenceless position to obtain possession of the chief part of the gold and jewels which he had brought from Bengal, now fled to the llohilla country, whither he had fortunately caused some treasure to be conveyed before the confiscation ordered by his ungenerous ally, on pretence of paying the troops. Sumroo, no less faithless than cruel, had deserted him ; and, with a large body of trained sepoys, had joined the force of Shuja Dowlah before the battle of Buxar. This piece of treachery nearly proved fatal to its perpetrator ; for the vizier, anxious to come to terms with the English, and yet to avoid the infamy of delivering up the de- serter, positively ofl'ered to procure his assassination in presence of any two or three witnesses chosen by ^Lajor Munro, and evinced great surprise at the rejection of this truly oriental proposal. It should • Stated at 2,000 men drowned or otherwise lost ; besides winch, 2,000 men were left dead on the field, be remarked, however, in justice to Shuja ]")owlali, that though willing to plunder Meer Cossim to the last rupee, he could not be induced to surrciulcr his person on any terms; and even for the life and liberty of tlie villain Sumroo, he would willingly have paid a heavy ransom ; for it was not until after the rejection of the offer of a sum of filty-eight lacs, in lieu of delivering up the fugitives, that he made the treacherous sug- gestion above narrated regarding Sumroo. Whether he really intended to carry it out, or if, on the contrary, some other stratagem was dcsi;^ned in the event of the plan being apjiroved by the English, cannot be ascer- tained. It is certain that his army was in no condition to renew hostilities, and, in- deed, never recovered the effects of the late decisive engagement. Meanwhile corruption, venality, and op- pression reigned unchecked in Bengal. The name of a nation, once highly honoured, l)ecarae alike hateful in the ears of Musstil- mans and Hindoos. f The approach of a ])arty of English sepoys served as a signal for the desertion of whole villages, and the shopkeepers fled at the approach of the palanquin of the passing traveller, fearing that their goods might be seized for an almost nominal value, and they themselves abused and beaten for oficring a remon- strance. The people at large were reduced to a state of unprecedented misery ; the ungenerous and impolitic advantage taken of their weakness, having put it in the ])ower of every marauder who chose to style liiraself an English servant, to plunder and tyrannise over them without control. The effect, Warren Hastings plainly declared to be, " not only to deprive them of their own laws, but to refuse them even the benefit of any." Had all this wrong proceeded from the will of a single despot, there can be little doubt he would have been speedily removed by a combination of his own offi- cers, or, as Mohammedan history affords so many instances, been smitten to the earth by a private individual, in vengeance for some special injury. But the tyranny of a far-distant association, dreadful and incom- lirehensible beyond any bugbear ever painted .t)y superstition, possessed this distinguishing feature above all other despotisms — thatitwas exercised through numerous distinct agencies, + I7(/«ITasting's letter; — Karratwe, \i., IS. Clive declares the oppressions prnctised had made " the with 133 pieces of cannon. The loss of the English, j name of the English stink in the nostrils of a Gentoo in killed and wounded, was 847. 1 or a Mussulman." — (Malcolm's Life, ii., 3S0.) 300 MEER JAFFIER DIES, 1765— SUCCEEDED BY NUJEEM-AD-DOWLAH. of which the hundred hands and arms of the Hindoo idols could convey but a faint and feeble image. Oppression reached a climax under the second administration of Meer JaiBer. He had previously complained in forcible lan- guage* of the injury done to the native merchants, as well as to the provincial reve- nues, by the abuse of the privileges conferred by the firmaun ; but to this wrong he for- mally assented when replaced on the musnud. It soon, however, became manifest that it mattered little what the terms of the agree- ment had been; for he was regarded simply as " a banker for the company's servants, who could draw upon him as often, and to as great an extent as they pleased."t The clause for compensation to individuals proved, as might have been foreseen, a handle for excessive extortion. At the time of its in- sertion the nabob had been assured that, although it was impossible to specify the particular amounts of claims, they would not altogether exceed ten lacs ; notwithstanding which, the demand was increased to twenty, thirty, forty, and at last reached fifty-three lacs. Seven-eighths of this sum, according to the testimony of Mr. Scraftou, then an E. I. director, "was for losses sustained (or said to be sustained) in an illicit monopoly of the necessaries of life, carried on against the orders of the company, and to the utter ruin of the India merchants." He adds, that " half of this sum was soon extorted from the nabob, though the company were at that time sinking under the burden of the war, and obliged to borrow great sums of money of their servants at eight per cent, interest, and even with that assistance could not carry on both their war and their investment, but sent their ships half loaded to Europe." J The military establishment of the English had by this time increased to 18,000 horse and foot, and its ill-regulated expenditure soon swallowed up the thirty lacs paid by Meer Jaffier, as also the further sum of five lacs a month, which he had agreed to furnish during the continuance of the war. Pressed on all sides by extortionate claims, despised and brow-beaten by the very men who had used him as an instrument for their private ends, the nabob sank rapidly to an unhonoured grave. His death in January, • " The poor of my country," s.iiJ Meer JafBer, " used to f;et their bread by tradinp; in salt, betel- nut, and tobacco, which the En;;lish have now taken to themselves ; by which my poor are starving, my revenues ruined, and no advantage to the company." 1765, had been shortly preceded by the de- parture of Governor Vansittart and Warren Hastings for England ; and in the absence of any restraining influence, the council were left to conduct the profitable affair of en- throning a new nabob after their own fashion. The choice lay between the eldest illegiti- mate son of Jaffier, Nujeem-ad-Dowlah, aged twenty years, and the infant son of Meeran. The claim of the emperor to appoint an officer was considered far too inconvenient to be acknowledged ; it would be easy to extort his sanction when the selection was made. Repeated offers had been made by him to bestow on the English real power over the revenues of Bengal, by vesting in them the right of collection. This office, called the dewannee, had been devised during the palmy days of the empire§ as a means of prevent- ing attempts at independence on the part of the subahdar, the dewan being designed to act as treasurer, appointed from, and ac- countable to, the Delhi government, leaving the subahdar to direct in all other matters. This arrangement had been allowed to fall into disuse ; for Ali Verdi Khan had usurped the whole authority, both financial and ju- dicial. Shah Alum must have been too well acquainted with the state of aff'airs, to doubt that the English, if they accepted the de- wannee, would be sure to engross likewise all real power vested in the subahdar; but he expected in return a tribute, on the re- gular payment of which dependence might be placed. It did not, however, suit the views of the representatives of the E. I. Cy. to occupy a position which should render them personally accountable for the revenues. A nabob— i.e., a person from whom " pre- sents" might be legally received — could not be dispensed with. The child of Meeran was old enough to understand the worth of sugar- plums, but hardly of rupees ; and his claims were set aside for those of Nujeem-ad-Dowlah. The new nabob consented to everything de- manded of him : agreed to entrust the mili- tary defence of the country solely to the English, and even to allow of the appoint- ment, by the presidency, of a person who, under the title of Naib Subah, should have the entire management of the affairs of gov- ernment. He eagerly advocated the nomi- nation of Nuncomar to fill this important — ( Vide Scrafton's Ohscrvations on Vansittart's Nar- rative, printed in HIJO, pp. 38-'9.) t Olive's speech, 1772 ; — -Almon's Debates, xiv. I Scrafton's Ubservalinns, pp. 48-'9. § See preceding section on Mogul Empire, p. 117. E. I. CO. INTERFERE TO CHECK THE AVARICE OF THEIR SERVANTS. 301 office, but in vain ; and the selection of an experienced noble, named Moliamined Rcza Klian, was perliaps the best tliat eould have been made. The otlicr articles of the treaty \vcr(! but the confirmation of previous ar- raiiffomcnts ; and tlio whole affair wound np, as usual, very much to the satisfaction of the English officials concerned, among nine of whom the sum of £139,357 vvas distributed, besides gifts extorted from leading Indian functionaries, in all of which the chief share was monopolised by Mr. Johnstone, the dis- senting member of council, who had so ve- hemently deprecated the conduct of the se- lect committee of 1760, in receiving the largess of Meer Cossim. The money thus acquired was not destined to be enjoyed without a contest ; for the curb (so greatly needed) was at length about to be placed on the greediness of Bengal officials. Ever since the deposition of Surajah Dow- lah, the E. 1. Cy. had been spectators rather than directors of the conduct of their servants in Bengal. Clive had quitted their service with bitterness in his heart and defiance on his lips ; and the example of insubordination, ambition, and covetousness given by him, had been closely imitated by men who could not appreciate the energy and perseverance which enabled him to swim where they must sink. The representations of Mr. Vansittart, the massacre at Patna, and the sharp conttest with Shuja Dowlah following that with Meer Cossim, seriously alarmed the mass of * Second Pari. Keport on E. I. Cy., 1772. + An Irish peerage was, after lonj^ delay, obtained by Clive, who took the title of Baron of Plassy : an English one, by liis own account, might have been purchased with ease {Life, ii., 189) j but then the enormous wealth which was to maintain its possessor on a level, in a pecuniary point of view, with the high-born aristocracy of England, rested on a preca- rious footing. Clive, notwithstanding his extraordi- nary facility of attributing to himself every possible perfection, never doubted that his position in societv rested onhis "bags of money and bushelsof diamonds ' (ii., 168), rather than on any mere personal qualifi- cations ; and when urged to exert his influence in the India House, soon after his return to England, for some special purpose, in contravention to the directors, he peremptorily refused, declaring, " my future power, my future grandeur, all depend upon the receipt of the jaghire ; and I should be a mad- man to set at defiance those who at present show no inclination to hurt mc." It must be remembered that Clive, besides the jaghire, had avowedly realised between three and four hundred thousand pounds during his second sojourn in India — a circumstance that greatly detracts from the efl'ect of the fiery indig- nation with which, when the right was questioned of Meer Jaffier to bestow, or his own to accept, the quit- rent paid by the conipnny, he came forward to save his " undoubted property from the worst of foes — 2 R East India proprietors; — anxiety for their own interests, and indignation at the wrongs heaped on the natives in their name, for the sole benefit of a few ungovernable servants, conspired to rouse a strong feeling of the ne- cessity of forthwith adopting measures cal- culated to bring about a better state of things. Stringent orders were dispatched in February, 17()4, forbidding the trade in salt, betel-nut, tobacco, and all other articles whatsoever, produced and consumed in the country;* and in the following May it was directed that new covenants should be executed by all the company's servants (civil and military), bind- ing them to " pay over to their employers all presents received from the natives, which should exceed 4,000 rupees in value." The above orders, and the unsigned covenants, were actually lying at Calcutta when the treaty with the new nabob was made, and the sum above stated extorted from him. Probably the directors were not unprepared for dis- obedience, evcii of this flagrant character. The execution of orders so distasteful needed to be enforced in no common manner; and reasoning, it would seem, on the ground that it was one of those cases in which " the chil- dren of this world are wiser than the children of light," it was suggested that Clive (now a lord) was of all men the best fitted to root up the poisonous tree he had planted. f The inducement was not wanting; for his jaghire had been called in question ; and to ensure its continuance for the next ten a combination of ungrateful directors" (ii., 229.) " Having now," says Sir John Malcolm, " no choice between bartering his independence to obtain secu- rity for his fortune," Clive commenced hostilities after the old fashion, sparing neither bold strokes in the field, nor manceuvres in the closet. Upwards of £100,000 were employed by him in securing support by a means then commonly practised, but afterwards prohibited — viz., that of split votes. He had, how- ever, some powerful o])ponents, with the chair- man, Mr. Suiivan, at their head. This gentleman and Clive were at one period on intimate terms; but according to the latter, their seeming good-fellow- ship had been sheer hypocrisy, since, in reality, they " all along behaved like shy cocks, though at times outwardly expressing great regard and friend- ship for one another." The issue of the conflict in London was materially influenced by the critical state of afl'airs in Calcutta. The court of proprietors took up the matter in the most decided manner. Clive availed himself of the excitement of the mo- ment, and besides the confirmation of his jaghire for ten years, obtained as a condition of bis acceptance of the oflice of governor and commander-in-chief in the Bengal Presidency, the expulsion of Mr. Suii- van from the direction. The four persons associated with him. under the name of a select committee — Messrs. Sumrier, Sykes, Verelst, and General (late Major) Carnac — were all subordinate to his will 303 CLIVE'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION IN BENGAL— 17G5. years to himself or his heirs, he agreed to return to India for a very limited period — sigued covenants to refrain from receiving any presents by which he became pledged from native princes ; and, invested with almost despotic power, reached Calcutta in May, 1765. Here he found matters in a widely different condition to that which had caused the E. I. Cy. so much well-founded apprehension. Meer Cossim had been ex- pelled ; the emperor had thrown himself upon the English for protection ; and Shuja Dowlah was so reduced as to be on the eve of deprecating their wrath by a similar expe- dient of placing his person at their mercy. The majority of the reasons for which such extraordinary powers had been vested in Clive, in conjunction with a select committee of four persons devoted to his will, had therefore ceased to exist; but he persisted in retaining these powers, and with suffi- cient reason ; for the task he had to perform, if conscientiously fulfilled, would have pro- bably required their exercise. As it was, he excited a general storm of rage, without effecting any permanent good — at least so far as the civil department of the presidency was concerned. The general council, in all, included sixteen persons ; though probably not half that number assembled at ordinary meetings. Among them was Mr. John- stone, who had played so leading a part in the transactions of the last few years. He was a person possessed of advantages, in regard both of ability and connexions, which rendered him not ill calculated to do battle with Clive ; and he scrupled not to retort the severe censures cast upon himself and his colleagues, by asserting that they had only followed the example given by the very man who now lamented, in the most bombastic language, the " lost fame of the the first-named had been ignominiously expelled the company, for signing the violent letter quoted at p. 294, biit subsequently reinstated. • These sentiments Lord Clive accompanies with an adjuration which too clearly illustrates the con- dition of his mind regarding a I'uture state. " I do declare," he writes, " by that Great Being who is the searcher of all hearts, and to whom we must be accountable if there must he an hereafter, that I am come out witli a mind superior to all corruption." Yet at this very time Clive scrujjled not to employ his private knowledge of the state of affairs, and of the increased value of stock likely to result from the acceptance of the dewannee, to write home directions in cipher (so that, if falling into strange hands, no otlier person should benefit by the information), desiring that every sliilling available, or that could be bor- rowed in his name, should be invested in E. I. stock " without loss of a minute." Mr. Kous (a director) British nation," and declared himself to have " come out with a mind superior to all cor- ruption," and a fixed resolution to put down the exercise of that unworthy prin- ciple in others.* The events of the next twenty months, though of considerable importance, can be but briefly narrated here. Immediately upon his arrival, Lord Clive, and the two members of the select committee who had accompanied him from England, without waiting for their destined colleagues, assumed the exercise of the whole powers of govern- ment, civil and military, after administering to themselves and their secretaries an oath of secrecy. Mr. Johnstone t made a despe- rate resistance to the new order of things, but was at length defeated and compelled to quit the service. The other members, for the most part, submitted, though with the worst possible grace ; and the vacancies were supplied by Madras ofiicials. The cove- nants forbidding the acceptance of presents were signed ; then followed the prohibition of inland trade by the company's servants. This was a more difficult point to carry. Clive well knew that the salaries given by the E. I. Cy. were quite insufficient to maintain the political rank obtained by recent events. J Poverty and power, side by side witli wealth and weakness, would, as he himself declared, offer to the stronger party temptations " which flesh and blood could not resist." With a full appreciation of this state of affairs, it was a plain duty to press upon the directors (as the clear-sighted and up- right Sir Thomas Roe had done in the early part of the preceding century) § the necessity of allotting to each official aliberal income, which should hold out to all a reasonable prospect of obtaining a compe- tency, by legitimate means, within such and Mr. Walsh acted with promptitude, by proceed- ing forthwith, though on a Sunday, to obtain the key of the cipher, which it seems they very imper- fectly understood.- — (See Thornton's India, i., 492.) t Johnstone and hiscolleagues, wlien vainly pressed to make over to the company the monies received from iS'ujeem-ad-DowIah, replied, that when Clive surrendered the money he liad obtained from the father, tliey would yield in turn the gifts of the son. X The salary of a councillor was only .t-oO ; the rent of a very moderate house in Calcutta, £'2U0. § " Absolutely jn-ohibit the private trade," said he, " for your business will be better done. 1 know this is harsli. Men profess they come not for bare wages, liut you will take away this ])lea if you give great wages, to their content; and then you know what you part Ironi." No amount of legiti- mate emolument will, however, assuage the thirst for gain inherent in many clever, unprincipled men. ENGLISH ASSUME THE DEWANNEE OF BENGAL— 1765. 30;j stated trnn of years as experience had proved eoiild be home by an uvcraf:;c Euro- pean eonstitutioii. But('live,instca(l of stren- uously urgiuf^ a ])olicy so honest and straiglit- forward as tliis, took npon himself to form a fund for the senior olliccrs of the presidency, from the governors downwards, by resolving, after consultation only with Mr. Sumner and Mr. Vorclst, that a monopoly should be formed of the trade in salt, l)ctel-nut, and tobacco, to be carried on for their exclusive benefit, with the drawback of a duty to the company estimated at .i,'l(")0,()()0 per aftuum. Monopolies are odious things at best : this one was of a peculiarly obnoxious and op- pressive character ; and the directors wisely and liberally commanded its immediate abandonment. The arrangements of Clive could not, however, be so lightly set aside ; and they continued in operation until 1768. With regard to Shuja Dowlali, it was deemed expedient that he should be replaced in the government of Oude, although a spe- cific promise had been made that, on pay- ment of fifty lacs of rupees for the expenses of the war, real power over the dominions of his tyrannical vizier should be given to the emperor, in the event of the English being triumphant. But this pledge, which had been needlessly volunteered, was now violated ; the vizier being deemed (and with reason) a better protection against Mahratta and Afghan invasion, on the north-western fron- tier, than his gentle master. In another mat- ter the claims of Shah Alum were treated in an equally arbitrary manner. The arrange- ments concluded with him by the Calcutta government were now revised, or, in other words, set aside by Clive. The emperor was given to understand, that since it was in- convenient to put him in possession of the usurped dominions of Shuja Dowlah (com- monly called the " nabob-vizier"), the dis- tricts of Corah and Allahabad (yielding jointly a revenue of twenty-eight lacs) must suffice for a royal demesne; and, at the same time, some large sums of money un- questionably due from the company to the indigent monarch, were withheld on the plea of inability to pay them.* Shah Alum re- monstrated warmly, but to no purpose : he was compelled to cancel all past agreements, and bestow on the company complete posses- sion of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, under the • Thirty lacs deficit of annual tribute, besides jag- hires or lands in Ben^'al now witlulrawn, amount- ing to five lacs and ii-half of rupees per ann. — (Mill.) t Malcolm's Life of Lord Clive, iii., 125. name of the " perpetual Dewannee," clogged only by a yearly tribute of twenty-six lacs of ru|)ecs. The formal confirmation of the I'juglish in their various scattered settlements throughout the nominal extent of the empire, was likewise obtained ; nor was the jaghire of Lord (Hive, with reversion to his em- ployers, forgotten in the arrangement. As a precautionary measure against the French (who, by virtue of a recent European treaty, had been reinstated in their Bengal settle- ments, with the proviso of neither erecting fortifications nor maintaining troops), it was deemed expedient to obtain from the emperor a free grant of the five Northern Cirears, over which Nizam Ali, the brother and suc- cessor (by usurpation and murder) of Sala- but Jung, then exercised a very precari- ous authority. In 1760, the Nizam (as he is commonly called) had proffered these Circars to the Madras government in re- turn for co-operation against the Mahrattas and Hyder Ali ; but his overtures were re- jected, because the forces required could not be spared. In 1766, an arrangement was brought about by dint of no small amount of bribery and intrigue, by which four of the Circars were surrendered, and the reversion of the fifth, or Guntoor Circar, which was held by a brother of the Nizam, Bassalut Jung, was promised to the com- pany, on condition of the payment of a rent of nine lacs of rupees, together with a most imprudent pledge to furnish a body of troops whenever the Nizam might require their aid in the maintenance of his government. The imperial firmaun, of which the chief articles have been just recited, took away the scanty remains of power vested by the Bengal presidency in Nujeem-ad-Dowlah. The weak and dissolute character of this youth rendered him an easy tool; and when informed by Clive that every species of control was about to pass from him, and that a stipend of fifty-three lacs would be allotted for the family of Meer Jaffier, out of which a certain sum would be placed at his disposal, this worthy priuce uttered a thankful ejaculation, adding, " I shall now have as many dancing-girls as I please. "f A leading feature in the second adminis- tration of Clive remains to be noted — one of the most important, as well as the most interesting in his remarkable career. The other " reforms" effected by him were no- thing better than a change of evils ; but, in checking the spirit of insubordination and rapacity which pervaded the whole Anglo- 304 STATE OF THE ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY IN 1765. Indian army, he served both the company and the state well and bravely. Clive was essentially a military genius :* he scrupled not to declare in after-times, that all he had in the world had been acquired as the leader of an army ; and when questioned re- garding the very exceptionable trading regu- lations instituted under his auspices, he de- clared, with regard to an article under notice, that " of cotton he knew no more than the pope of Rome." He might have pleaded equal ignorance of the state of the immense native population of Bengal. But the con- dition of the troops was a subject he would naturally study con amore. Dissension, luxury, and profligacy, attended with alarm- ing mortality, had immediately resulted from the large booty divided at Geriah under the auspices of himself and Admiral Watson. Since then excessive and extortionate gain, under pretence of trading, had become the predominant evil ; and the severity of Major Muuro, though it might for a time check, by the influence of terror, the insubordina- tion of the sepoys, or even that of the Euro- pean rank and tile, left untouched the root of the evil — namely, the eagerness of the officers in the pursuit of trade, at the ex- pense of professional duty. Now, Clive was the last person in the world to expect men to be content with honourable poverty, when they might acquire wealth without the cost of toil, or the stigma of indelible disgrace attached to certain heinous crimes ; and this circumstance, together with not unnatural partiality, induced him to take measures for the introduction of a better system among the military servants of the com- pany, with far more gentleness than he had evinced in dealing with the civilians. The ofllcers were to be compelled to re- nounce all trading pursuits : this was the first reform to be carried out by Clive ; the second was the final and uncompensated withdrawal of an extra allowance, called batta, given since an early period, but now to be abolished, excepting at some par- * In Chatham's words, " a heaven-born general." t Previous to the capture of Calcutta by Surajah Dowlah, the Benj^al establishment consisted of one small company of artillery, about sixty European infantry (including officers), and 300 Portuguese half-caste, called topasses ; out of the above, three captains, five lieutenants, and four ensigns perished in the Black-Hole. On the recapture of Calcutta, a battalion of sepoys was raised and officered from the detachments which had been sent from Madras to the relief of Fort William ; and others were subsequently formed in like manner ; until, at Plassy, in 1757, the British force comprised 3,000 sepoys. In 1 7G0 there ticular stations where, on account of the dearness of articles necessary to Euro- peans, it was to be either wholly or par- tially continued. The allowance originally granted by the company had been doubled by Meer Jaffier, who, at the instigation of Clive, paid the additional sum out of his own pocket, besides the regular ex- pense of the English troops engaged in his service, but ostensibly as a boon revo- cable at pleasure. His successor, Meer Cossim Ali, made over to the company the districts of Burdwan, Midnapoor, and Chit- tagong, in lieu of certain monthly payments ; and although the revenues of these terri- tories more than covered the cost of the army, including the double batta, the direc- tors, considering the large profits of their servants and their own necessities, strin- gently ordered the discontinuance of this allowance. Their repeated injunctions, the civil government, overawed by the mili- tary, had never dared to enforce ; and even Clive did not bring forward the question of double batta until the restoration of peace had enabled him to remodel the army by forming it into regiments and brigades, with an increased number of field-officers. f These improvements were efiected without opposi- tion, and the prohibition of officers receiving perquisites, or engaging in certain branches of trade, was compensated in Clive's plan by allowing them a liberal share in the mono- poly of salt, betel-nut, and tobacco. The proportions to be received by the senior ser- vants of the company, independent of their fixed salaries, according to the lowest calcu- lation, were £7,000 sterling per annum to a councillor or colonel, £3,000 to a lieutenant- colonel, £2,000 to a major or factor. Some scanty amends for the shameless oppression of taxing the natives thus heavily, was made by placing the management of the trade in their hands instead of under the guidance of European agents ; but even this measure was adopted from the purely selfish motive of saving expense. J were sixty European officers, viz. — nineteen captains, twenty-six lieutenants, and fifteen ensigns. In 1765, Clive found the amount raised to four companies of artillery, a troop of hussars, about 1,200 regular cavalry, twenty-four companies of Eurojiean infantry, and nineteen battalions or regiments of sepoys— in all, about 20,000 men — whom he divided into three brigades, each comprising one European regiment, one company of artillery, six regiments of sepoys, and one troop of native cavalry. The brigades were respectively stationed at Monghyr, Hankipoor (near Patna),and Allahabad. — (Strachey's Ihiiyal Mutiiii/.) I Even Clive admitted that by his arrangement the DOUBLE BATTA— MUTINY OP BENGAL OFFICERS— 1766. 305 As yet all had proceeded smoothly, so far as the military were concerned, and Clive, with his usual self-reliance, consider- ing the time at length arrived when the double batta might he safely abolished, with- drew it at the close of the year 1 765. The remonstrances of the officers were treated as the idle complaints of disappointed men, and several months passed without any apprehension arising of serious consequences, until towards the end of April a misunder- standing among the parties concerned sud- denly revealed the existence of a powerful and organised combination,* formed by the majority of the leading commanders, aided and abetted by many influential civilians, to compel the restoration of the extra al- lowances. It was a great and formidable emergency, but " Frangas non flecies" had been ever the motto of Clive, and now, re- jecting all temporising measures, or idea of a compromise, he came forward with a deep conviction of the danger with which the pre- cedent of military dictation would be fraught, and a firm resolve to subdue the mutiny or perish in the attempt. And there was real danger in the case ; for his imperious bearing, combined with the unjiopular regulations he came to enforce, had rendered him an object of strong personal ill-feeling to many in- dividuals of note ; yet, when told of threats against his life, alleged to have been uttered by one of the officers, he treated the report as an unworthy calumny, declaring that the mutineers were " Englishmen, not assassins." The dauntless courage which had distin- guished the youthful defender of Arcot again found ample scope for exertion : it was no longer the over-dressed baron of Plassy f — the successful candidate for power and pelf — price of salt Iiad been made too high for the natives, and the profit to the moMO]iolists unreasonably large. — (Malcohn's Life of Lord Clive, in., 259.) •From the month of December, 1765, consulta- tions had been held and committees formed un- der the veil of Masonic lodges, and no less than 200 officers pledged themselves to resign their commis- sions on Istof June, 1766, but agreed to proffer their services for another fortnight, by the expiration of which time it was expected tlie extensive defection would compel Clive to consent to the restoration of Ine double batta. In the event of capital punish- ment being decreed by courts-martial, they swore to firevent the execution of any comrade at the cost of ife ; and each one signed a penalty bond of £500 not to re-accept his commission if oB'ered, unless the object of the confederacy were gained. ■)■ Like most biographers, Sir John Malcolm and his coadjutors have endeavoured to set forth the character of their hero in the most favourable light, and by this means have drawn a picture which every the head of the then generally detested class of Anglo-Indian "nabobs," — but plain Robert Clive, who now, in the full vigour of man- hood, his heavy, overhanging brow express- ing more forcibly than words a stern ^lur- pose, set forth, not in the palanquin of the governor, but, soldier-like, on horseback, to face tlic disaH'cctcd troojjs. There were still some few officers on whom reliance could be [jhiced ; others were summoned from Madras and Bombay : commissions were liberally scattered throughout the ranks ; the services of civilians were used to sujiply vacancies ; and increase of pay, for a fixed period, was promised to the common soldiers, whom the officers, to their credit, had made no attempt to corrupt. The danger was in some sort increased by a threatened incursion of the Mahrattas, under their chief minister, the peishwa Mahdoo Rao ; yet, on the other hand, this very circumstance aroused in the breasts of many of the malcontents a feeling of shame at the thought of deserting their colours in the face of the foe. The JMonghyr brigade, under Sir Robert Fletcher, was the one in wliich the determination to resign had been most general ; and Clive, after a long harangue, perceiving indications of a dis- position to resist his orders, took advantage of the steady obedience of the sepoys, by directing them to fire on the officers unless they dispersed immediately. A general sub- mission followed ; courts-martial were held, and many of the delinquents cashiered : among others Sir Robert Fletcher, the head of the Monghyr brigade, who, although active in subduing the confederacy, was found to have been gravely implicated in its formation. No blood was shed iu these proceedings, and the result proved that such severity would impartial reader must feel to be incomplete and one- sided. The termination of the life of CHve by his own hand is not even hinted at ; and there is much reason to believe the same partiality to have chiefly guided the selection of letters for publication. Nevertliclcss, a very amusing one has crept in, ad- dressed by Clive to his intimate friend and agent, Orme the historian, filled with commissions as numerous and minute in detail as any ever received by a London lady of fashion from a country cousin. Among the items, all of which were to be " the best and finest to be got for love or money," were 200 shirts, with wrist- bands and ruffles, worked to order. The dress of Clive at the durbar (or Oriental levee) was a " fine scarlet coat with handsome gold lace," which one of his purveyors, Captain Latham, considered preferable to " the common wear of velvet." The thick-set figure of Clive, arrayed in a scarlet coat lined with imrchment that the cloth might not tcrinhle, must have presented a strange contrast to the graceful forms and picturesque attire of the Indian nobles. 306 MERCENARY CONDUCT OF LORD CLIVE— 1766. have involved a needless sacrifice ; but the merit of moderation docs not rest with Clive, who declared that his endeavours were not wanting to get several of the mutinous ring- leaders shot ; but his efforts were neutralised by some wholesome doubts in the minds of the judges regarding the extent of the company's authority. In the words of Sir John Mal- colm " a misconstruction of the mutiny act inclined the court-martial to viercij." It is a singular ending to the affair, that Sir Robert Fletcher, after this narrow escape, returned to India as commander-in-chief for the Madras presidency ; while one John Petrie, sent home by Clive with a rope round his neck, came back to Bengal with a high civil appointment, through the influence of his * The conduct of Clive, in respect to pecuniary gain, during his second administration, is too im- portant to be left unnoticed; yet the facts neces- sary to place it in a clear light, can be ill given within the compass of a note. It should be remem- bered, that by his agreement with the E. I. body, the famous jaghire was to be continued to him for ten years, and provided he should survive that period, was to become the property, not of Meer Jaffier, but of the company. Nowjaghires, by the consti- tution of the Mogul government, in which they originated, were simply annuities, given for the most part expressly for the support of a military contin- gent. A jaghire was like an office of state, revo- cable at pleasure : so far from being hereditary, an omrah, or lord of the empire, could not even be- queath his savings without special permission ; and we have seen that the Great Moguls — Aurungzebe for instance — never scrupled to exercise their claim as heirs to a deceased noble, leaving to the bereaved family a very limited maintenance as a matter of favour. Clive had solicited this jaghire simply to support his position as an omrah, and had no right whatever to expect its continuance for the purpose of building palaces and buying up rotten boroughs in England. The company might therefore well ques- tion the right of Meer Jaffier to bestow, or of their powerful servant to accept, as a perpetual jaghire the quit-rent paid by them for their territory in Bengal. Bui the question was altogether a per- plexed one, inasmuch as Meer Jaffiers claims were wholly founded on the usurpation which had been accomplished by English instrumentality. Sliah Alum was the only person who could have rightfully de- manded a quit-rent from the company when bestow- ing on them the dewannee ; but the "truth was, that every advantage was taken of his necessitous posi- tion, regardless of the dictates of justice. The con- firmation of the jaghire to Lord Clive, with rever- sion to the company in perpetuity, was exacted from the emperor; and in thus obtaining a boon for his employers, Clive was far from being uninilucnced by selfish motives; for, on coming to India, he was dis- tinctly told that tlie strict observance of his pledge— of refraining from every description of irregular gain — should be acknowledged in a manner which must satisfy the expeclalions even of a man who, after a most extravagant course of expenditure, had still an income of £40,000 a-year. Anrl when, on his return to England, the term of the jaghire was extended friends the Johnstones. Soon after this dis- persion of one of the most dangerous storms which ever menaced the power of the E. I. Company, the health of Clive failed rapidly, and though earnestly solicited to continue at least another year, and apparently not unwiUing to do so, bodily infirmity prevailed, and he quitted Bengal for the third and last time in January, 1767. Shortly before his departure, the young nabob, Nujeem-ad- Dowlah, died of fever, and his brother Svef- ad-Dowlali was permitted to succeed him. In a political point of view the change was of less importance than would have been that of the chief of a factory, but it was advantageous to the company in a peoimiary sense, as afford- ing an opportunity for reducing the stipend.* for ten years, or, in other words, £300,000 were guaranteed to him or his heirs, Clive had surely reason to admit that " no man had ever been more liberally rewarded." Nevertheless, his administra- tion, even in a pecuniary point of view, had not been blameless. On arriving in India, it appeared that Meer Jafiier had bequeathed to Clive five lacs of rupees, which were in the hands of Munnee Begum, the mother of the reigning prince. Whether Meer Jaffier really left this sum either from friendship to Clive, or from a desire to propitiate him in favour of his favourite concubine and children, or whether they themselves offered a present in the only form in which he could have any excuse for accepting it, is not known ; but it was no one's interest to examine into the affair, since Clive thought fit to set the matter at rest by employing the money as a fund greatly needed for the relief of the disabled officers and soldiers of the Bengal establishment, with their widows, and thus laid the foundation of the present establishment at Poplar. Even, however, in this case Clive took care of his personal interests, by inserting a clause in the deed providing that in case of the failure of his interest in the jaghire (then only guaranteed for ten years, of which a considerable portion had expired), the whole five lacs should revert to him. He moreover contrived to make the fund a weapon of political ])ower, by threatening to exclude from it all persons whom he might think "undeserving in any respect soever." — (iii., 43.) With regard to the large sums of money avowedly received by him during liis second administration, it certainly appears that he did not apply them to the increase of his fixed income, but systematically ap- propriated the overplus of such gains to tlie benefit of certain connections and friends (i.e., his mother-in- law, Mr. Maskelyne ; his physician, Mr. Ingham ; and a Mr. Strachey, his secretary), " as a reward," he writes, in his grand-bashaw style, " for their ser- vices and constant attention ujion my person," — (iii., 136.) On his arrival in India he at once cm- barked largely in the salt trade, and thereby realised in nine months a profit, including interest, of forty- five per cent. ; his share in tlie monopoly of salt, established in defiance of the repeated orders of the company, was also greatly beyiuul that of any indi- vidual ; and it is certain he employed these and other irrejiular gains for jiiirely private purposes. Jtesides this, he sanctioned the unwarrantable con- duct of many favoured officers in continuing to re- STATE OF ENGLISH SOCIETY IN BENGAL— 17G0 to 1770. 307 It is hardly necessary to remark that the Bengal presidency did not assume a loftier tone of feeling in questions regarding re- ligion or morality under the ausjiices of Lord Clive. The jjriestly odice was not then deemed inconsistent with mcreaiitile pursuits ; and the saving of souls gave [ilaee to the engrossing cares of money- making. As to the general state of society, Clive's own account affords al)undant evi- dence of the aptitude with which cadets and writers, fresh fiom piiljlic schools, or, it may be from the pure atmosphere of a quiet home, plunged headlong into a career of extravagance and notorious jirofligacy, of which the least revolting description would have made their mothers sicken with disgust. One walk about Calcutta would, it appears, suflice to show a stranger that the youngest writers lived in splendid style, which Lord Clive explains, by saying "that they ride upon fine prancing Arabian horses, and in palan- quins and cliaiscs; that they keep seraglios, make entertainments, and treat with cham- pagne and claret ;" — the certain result being, to become over head and ears in debt to the banyan, or native agent, who, for the eeive presents after tliey had been required to sign covenants enjoining their rejection. For instance, his staunch adlierent, General Carnac, after his col- leagues had executed the covenants, delayed a cer- tain time, during which he received a present of 70,000 rupees from BuKvant bingh, the Hindoo rajah of Benares, who joined the English against Shuja Dowlah ; and he appears to have afterwards obtained permission to appropriate a further sum of two lacs of rnpe(5s, given by the emperor, whose un- questioned poverty did not shield him from the extortions of British officers. It has been urged that Clive made atonement for the doubtful means by which he acquired his wealth by its liberal distri- bution ; and the act chielly insisted upon is the grant of an annuity of £oOO a-year to General Lawrence, when he left India enfeebled by asthmatic com- plaints and the increasing infirmities of age, and returned in honourable poverty to his native land. Considering that Clive acknowledged that to the patronage and instructions of Lawrence he owed all ills early success, the extent of the allowance was no very remarkable evidence of a munificent disposition. The dowries of three or four thousand jiounds each to his five sisters, with an injunction " to marry as soon as possible, for they had no time to lose" (ii., 161), evince a strong desire to get them off his hands. The princely estates purchased by him, in various parts of the country, were undisguised mani- festations of his ostentatious mode of life : among them may be named the noble property of Claremont (obtained from the Duchess of Kewcastle), Walcot, Lord Chatham's former residence at Bath, and a house in Berkeley-square. No description of expense was spared to render these aristocratic dwellings fitting exi)onents of tlie grandeur of the Indian niillioniiaire ; and the smaller accessories of picture galleries and sake of obtaining the cover afforded by the bare name of a servant of the powerful English company, supplied the youths with immense sums of money, and committed " such acts of violence and oppression as his interest prompts him to."* It may be re- membered that Cliv(! commenced his own Indian career l)y getting into debt; and there is reason to ijelicve that for all the proceedings mentioned by him in the above quotation, the company's servants might have pleaded his lordship's conduct in ex- tenuation of their owu.f After the departure of Clive, a select committee continued, by his advice, to pre- side over the affairs of Bengal, the chair of the governor being filled by IVIr. Verelst until December, 1770. During the admin- istration of this gentleman and his tempo- rary successor, Mr. Carticr, no changes were made in tlie system of the " double government:" that is to say, of a sway carried on in the name of a nabob, but in reality by English officials. !Mill forcibly describes the utter want of any efficient system, or of well-known and gcuerallj' re- cognised laws, which formed the prevailing pleasure-grounds did not hinder Clive from carefully following out his leading object — of obtaining parlia- mentary influence. Six or seven members were returned at his expense, and their efforts doubtless did much to mitigate, though they coukl not wholly avert, the storm which burst over his head in 1772. The decision of the committee employed in examining his past conduct pronounced, as was fitting, a sen- tence of mingled praise and condemnation. He had notoriously al)used the powers entrusted to him by the nation and the company; but he had rendered to both important services. Such a decision was ill calculated to soothe the excited feelings of Clive, who^e haughty nature had writhed under proceed- ings in which he, the Baron of Plassy, had been ■' examined like a sheep-stealer." The use of opium, to which he had been from early youth addicted, aggravated the disturbed state of his mini!, without materially alleviating the sufferings of his ])hysical frame; andhe died by his own handin Nov., 1774, hav- ing newly entered his fiftieth year. — (Malcolm's Life.) • Clive's speech on Kast Indian Judicature Bill, March, 1722.— (Hansard's P:irl. Hist., 355.) f The French translator of the Si)/ar ul Mntak- hcrin (who was in the service of the Bengal presi- dency and well acquainted with Clive, to whom he occasionally acted as interpreter) explains a forcible denunciation by Gliolam Hussein, of the conduct of certain persons who were tempted by the devil to bring disgrace on families, as an allusion to the violation of all decorum committed by Meer JafEer, in giving to Clive " ten handsome women out of his seraglio — that is, out of Surajah Bowlah's." Had the donation been conferred on a good Mussulman, in- stead of a disbeliever in the Koran, the sin would, it seems, have been thereby greatly diminished. — (Siyar ul Mutakherm, i., 722.) 308 INDIA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. feature of this period. The native tribunals retained scarce the shadow of authority; the trade of the country was almost ruined by the oppressions committed on the people; and the monopoly of the inland traffic in salt, betel-nut, and tobacco, when at length un- willingly relinquished by the English offi- cials, did not prove the relief to the Bengalee merchants that might have been expected, owing to the heavy pressure of tj'ranny and extortion to which they were subjected. In fact, there were so many channels by which the natives could be wronged and the com- pany plundered, that closing up one or two might change the direction of the flood, but could not diminish its volume. Clive was naturally unwilling to acknowledge how much of the task for which he had been munificently rewarded had been left unful- filled; and it was not till after long and bitter experience that the E. I. Cy. learned to appreciate, at their proper value, his ex- aggerated account of the revenues* obtained through his aggressive policy. And here it may be well to pause and consider for a moment the nature of our position in Bengal, and, indeed, in the whole of the south of India. The insatiable ambition of Aurungzebe had urged him onwards ■without ceasing, until every Mohammedan kingdom in the Deccanhad become absorbed in the Mogul empire. The impolicy of this procedure has been before remarked on. The tottering base forbade the extension of an already too weighty superstructure ; but the emperor persevered to the last. Beejapoor and Golconda fell before him, and the gov- ernments established by their usurping dynas- ties were swept ofl' by a conqueror who had time to destroy institutions, but not to replace them. The result was the rapid rise of the many-headed Mahratta power, and the equally rapid decay of Mogul supremacy, even while Aurungzebe, his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons were all in arms together for its support. The death of the emperor, well nigh hunted down by the foes who from despising he had learned to hate, followed as it was by repeated wars of • In addressing the House of Commons, in 1772, Clive described iiengal as " a country containing fif- teen millions of inl]al)itants, a revenue of £4,000,000, and trade in proportion." The extreme distress then existing he treated as a temporary effect of dissen- sions in the company at home, and misgovcrnmeiit in India, dating of course from his dciiarture; and he spoke of the venality that prevailed, equally among high and low, with a bold assumption of dis- interestedness, declaring, " that in the richest country succession and intestine feuds, reduced his descendants, step by step, until their last representative. Shah Alum, became nothing better than the pageant of every successful party. The disastrous battle of Paniput (1761) left the Mahratta state thoroughly unhinged, and, together with internal strife, incapacitated its rulers for assuming that dominant position in India under which such men as Sevajee, Bajee Rao, or the first peishwa, Maharashtra, would doubtless have aspired. In fact, India in the middle of the eighteenth century, resembled, in a poli- tical point of view, a vast battle-field strewn with the fragments of ruined states, and affording on every side abundant evidence of a prolonged and severe conflict, from which even the victors had emerged irre- trievably injured. In the Deccan this was especially the case ; and the only relics of legitimate power rested with a few small Hindoo states (Tanjore, Mysoor, Coorg, &c.), whose physical position or insignifi- cance had enabled them to retain inde- pendence amid the general crash of mon- archies. The representatives of the E. I. Cy. in India understood the state of aff'airs, but very imperfectly : it appears that, in 1756, they did not even clearly know who Ballajee Bajee Rao (the actual ruler of the Mahratta state) might be; but at the same time, they had been too long anxious spectators of the proceedings of Aurungzebe and his succes- sors, to be ignorant of the thorouglily dis- organised state of the empire. The suc- cessful ruanceuvres of Dupleix and Bussy must have sufficed to remove any lingering doubt on the subject ; while the jealousy of the two nations in Europe rendered it evi- dent, that in the absence of a native power (Mussulman or Hindoo) sufficiently strong to compel their neutrality, a contest for supremacy must, sooner or later, take place between the French and English, especially as the former had all along assumed poli- tical pretensions ill at variance with the peaceful pursuits of trade. Without enter- ing on the difficult question of the general proceedings of the English company, far in the world, where the power of the English had become absolute, where no inferior approached his superior but with a present in his hand, where there was not an officer commanding II. M. fleet, nor an officer commanding H.M. army, nor a governor, nor a member of council, nor any other perso'ii, civil or military, in such a station as to have connection with the country government who had not received pre- sents, it was not to be expected the inferior officers should be more scrupulous." — Almon's Dehales,llTl. FIRST PARLIAMENTARY INTERFERENCE WITH E. I. CY.— 1766 309 less attempting to vindicate tlic special ag- gressions and tricliy ])olicy of Ciive and his successors, it seems, nevertheless, of aljsolute necessity to bear in mind tlie lio])eIess com- plication of ad'airs througli which Anglo- Indian statesmen had to grope their way at this critical ])criod ; nor do I feel any incon- sistency, aftiu- eni[)loying tlic best years of my hfe in pleading — faintly and feebly, bnt most earnestly — the rights of native British subjects (made such by the sword), in avow- ing, in the present instance, my conviction, that having once taken a decided course by the deposition of Surajah Dowlali, it would liave bcini better to iiave assumed at once all power, in name as in reality, over Bengal, and given the natives the benefits they were entitled to expect uiuler a Christian government, instead of mocking their hopes by placing on the musnud a Mussulman usurper of infamous character, — dejiosiug, reinstating, and after his death continuing the pretence in the person of his illegitimate son. Such an unworthy subterfuge could answer no good purpose; it could deceive no one — certainly not the European governments of Spain, Portugal, Holland, and France ; for they were severally experienced actors in the theatre of oriental policy. The native poiiulation knew, to their cost, that all real authority was now vested in the English presidency ; but its members were far too eagerly employed in gathering up spoil for themselves, to heed the cries of the poor in Bengal, or the remonstrances of the com- pany in England. The consequence was, the "middle-men" reaped an abundant har- vest, heedless of the ruinous etleets of their negligence and venality alike on those they served and those they governed. The direc- tors in London, buoyed up by the represen- tations of Clive, and the flattering promises of their servants abroad, augmented their dividends, fully expecting to find this step justified by largely increasing remittances from India. On the contrary, the auju'chy which prevailed, and the additional expenses of every department of government, with the abuses that crept in,* swallowed up the di- minishing revenues ; and though every ship brought home individuals who had amassed wealth as if by magic, yet heavy bills con- tinued to be drawn on the company; the * Clive, in allusion to the charges of contractors, commissioners, engineers, &c., saitl — •'Kverynian now who is permitted to make a bill, makes a fortune." During his own administration, he found soldiers cliarged for in the hos))ilal-list, whose funeral ex- penses had been long paid. — [Life, iii., 137 — 288.) 2 S bullion sent for the China trade was whollr, or in ])art, appropriated ; and the invest- ments continued to diminish alike in quantity and quality. The British government had before set forth a claim to control both the revenues and territorial arrangements of India. Tiie subject was warmly con- tested in parliament; and in 17G7, a bill passed obliging the E. I. Cy. to pay the sum of X'100,00() per annum into the public treasury,t during the five years for which alone their exclusive privileges were formally extended. In 17G9, a new term of five years was granted, on the same con- dition as that above stated, with the addi- tional stipulation of annually exporting Bri- tish manufactures to the amount of £300,000 and upwards. The directors, in the following year (1770), declared a dividend at the rate of twelve percent ; but this improvident pro- cedure was taken in the face of a failing reve- nue and an increasing debt. In the Carnatic, the ill-advised pledge of co-operation with the Nizam had brought the Madras presi- dency in collision with Hyder Ali ; and in Bengal, affairs grew more and more involved, until the necessity for a change of policy became evident to save the country from ruin and the company from bankruptcy. Mr. Vansittart (the ex-governor), ]\Ir. Scraf- ton, and Colonel Forde, were sent out in 1769, to investigate and arrange the business of the three presidencies : but this measure proved of no effect ; for the Aurora frigate, in which they sailed, after doubling the Cape of Good Hope, was never more heard of, and probably foundered at sea. The loss of Mr. Vansittart was a new disaster to the native population of Bengal, since he well knew the ruinous condition to which they had been reduced by the baneftd influence of the monopolies so cruelly en- forced by his countrymen ; and notwith- standing the perverse proceedings of Clive, and his adherents in the E. I. House in associating with him as fellow-commis- sioner his sworn foe, Luke Serafton, still some comprehensive measure might have been expected to have been devised by a man generally considered kind-hearted, to relieve the overwhelming miserj' in which he would have found the native population involved, had he been permitted to reach t The E. I. Cy. themselves proposed to purchase the extension of their privileges by suffering the public to participate in the territorial acquisitions gained with the aid of the army and navy. The government interfered (ostensibly at least) to check the simultaneous increase of debt and dividend. 310 AWFUL FAMINE IN BENGAL— a.d. 1769-'70. Calcutta in safety. The miseries of a land long a prey to oppression and misgovern- ment, had been brought to their climax by drought. The rice crops of December, 1768, and August, 1769, were both scanty, and the absence of the heavy periodical rains, usual in October, produced an almost total failure of the harvest earnestly desired in the following December. The inferior crops of grain and pulse ordinarily reaped between February and April, were dried to powder by the intense heat, and Bengal, for- merly the granary of India, became the scene of one of the most awful famines on record. Not merely whole families, but even the inhabitants of entire villages were swept off by this devastating scourge.* The bark and leaves of trees were eagerly devoured by thousands of starving wretches, who there- with strove — too often in vain — to appease the gnawing pangs of hunger, happy if their sufferings did not goad them to seek relief by more unnatural and loathsome means; for the last horrors that marked the siege of the Holy City were not want- ing here ; the child fed on its dead parent, the mother on her offspring. The people thronged the towns in the hope of obtaining succour, the highways were strewed with the corpses of those who had perished by the ■way, and the streets of Moorshedabad and Calcutta were blocked up with the dying and the dead. Day after day the Hooghly rolled down a pestilential freight of morta- lity, depositing loathsome heaps near to the porticoes and gardens of the English resi- dents. For a time a set of persons were regularly employed in removing the ra- pidly accumulating masses from the public thoroughfares ; but the melancholy office proved fatal to all employed in it : exposure to the effluvia was certain death ; and during the worst period, dogs, vultures, and jackals were the only scavengers. The hot, un- ■wholesome air was filled with shrieks and * The anonymous but well-informed author of Unf/tish Transactions in the East Indies, published at Cambridge in 1776, states, that the duty laid by Clive on salt was thirty-five per cent. ; the previous tax, even under the monopolies established by Mo- hammedan nabobs, having been only two-and-a-half. He adds, that the five gentlemen who signed resolu- tions regarding trading monopolies in India, to levy taxes upon necessaries of more than one-third their value, instead of the fortieth penny with which they •were before charged, were all, on their return to Kng- land, chosen as members of parliament to co-operate in arranging the national assessments. — (143.) t Vide Sit/ar ul Mutiiklwrin, ii., 43H. Hamilton's Gazetteer, \., 214. Macaulay's Vliic, 83. lamentations, amidst which arose the voices of tender and delicate women, nurtured in all the refinements of oriental seclusion, who now came forth unveiled, and on their knees besought a handful of rice for them- selves and their children. f Large subscriptions were raised by the presidency, the native government, and in- dividuals of all ranks and countries. In Moorshedabad alone, 7,000 persons were fed daily for several months; and fearful scenes, involving the destruction of large numbers of the weak and the aged, took place at these distributions, from the fierce struggles of the famished multitudes. Of the total amount of life destroyed by this calamity, no trustworthy estimate has ever been given. J Mr. Hastings — perhaps the best authority — supposes Bengal and Bahar to have lost no less than half their inhabit- ants : other writers state the depopulation at one-third ; and even the lowest calcula- tions place the loss at three million of human beings — or one-fifth the inhabitants of the three provinces (including Orissa.) The question of how far the Bengal au- thorities were to blame for this calamity, was warmly discussed in England. Their ac- cusers went the length of attributing it wholly to a monopoly of rice by them ; but this was so far from being the case, that, with the exception of the necessary measure of storing a sufficient quantity (60,000 maunds) for the use of the army, all trading in grain was strictly forbidden by an order of council in September, 1769. If, as was asserted, certain functionaries did — as is very possible, in defiance of prohibitions, enunciated but not enforced^ — make enor- mous profits of hoards previously accumu- lated, these were but exceptional cases ; and it may be added (without any attempt to exculpate those who, in the face of misery so extreme, could bargain coolly for exorbi- tant gains), that the reason for regret was X Gleig's Life of Warren Hastings, i., 309. Mal- colm's Clive, iii., 253. Grant's Sketch, 319. § The author of Emjlish Transactions, recently quoted, concurs with many writers of the period in as- serting, that some of the company's agents, finding themselves conveniently situated for llie collection of rice in stores, did buy uj) large quantities, which they so managed as to increase immensely the sell- ing price to the people, for their ])rivate gain (p. 145); and Di. Moodie, in his Transactions in India (pub- lished anonymously in London in 1776, but of which a co])y bearing his name, with many MS. ad- ditions, is in the possession of the E. I. Cy.), men- tions the case of a needy Knglish functionary at the court of tlie naliob, who made £60.000 in a few months. DISTRESS OF BENGAL AGGRAVATED BY INSUFFICIENT CURRENCY. 311 not that some few persons had had the forcthoui^ht to make jirovision Tor the day of want, ijut that a policy of cvidciit necessity should have beeu nef^lcctcd by the rulers of a population mainly dciicndcnt for subsistence on so precarious a staple as rice. The true cause of complaint against the Bengal presidency — and it is a heavy one — rests on the systematic oppression and utter mis- government which their own reeerds reveal as having existed, despite the orders of the directors in England. These again, deceived by the gross exaggerations of Clive, looked upon Bengal as a fountain fed by unseen springs, from which wealth, to an immense extent, might be perpetually drawn, without the return of any considerable proportion to the country from whence it was derived. Clive, during his second administration, had promised the company a net income from Bengal of £2,000,000 per annum, exclusive of all civil or military disbursements ; and he declared in parliament, in 1772, that India continued to yield " a clear produce to the public, and io individuals, of between two and three million sterling per annum."* It is certain that the Bengal investment of 1771, amounting in goods alone to j£768,500, was " wholly purchased with the revenues of the country, and without im- porting a single ounce of silver"t — ^ f''ct which abundantly confirms the declaration of Hastings, — that the sufferings of the people, during the famine, were increased by the • Malcolm's Life of Clive, iii., 287. t Verelst's State of Benyal, see ])p. 81 — 85. J Gleift's Life of Warren Ilastint/s, i., 310. § A cotemporary Knt;lish writer, nviewing the evi- dence given before parliament in 1772, remarks, that from 1757 to 1771, it is acknowledged or proved, that the E. I. Cy. and their servants received be- tween twenty-nine and tliirty millions sterling from Indian princes and their subjects, besides a sum not known, arising from trading monopolies. — (Pai'ker's Eiidence, 281.) Of the amount above stated, the company received neaily twenty-four million, and their servants upwards of five-and-a-half as presents, which were, however, but one form of what Clive termed the " long track of frauds under the custo- mary disguise of perquisites," which annually brought lacs to junior servants whose salaries were mere pittances. — [Life of Clire, iii., 81 ; Life of Iliistinijs, i., 300.) No estimate could be formed of the for- tunes thus accumulated, because the prohibition of the directors to send rcmittunces home, exceeding a certain limited amount, by bills drawn on tlieni in England, led Clive and the whole body of officials who, at a humble distance, followed in his footsteps, to invest their wealtli in the purchase of diamonds. or to transmit vast sums through the medium of the Dutch and French comijanies, by which means these inferior settlements had money in abundance, while the investments at Calcutta were often procured by violent measures adopted to keep up the revenues, especially by an assessment termed na-jay, " a tax (in a w{jrd) upon the survivors, to make up the deficiencies of the dead."{ Besides this, when the immense and abso- lutely incalculable amount of specie ex- ported, from the time of the deposition of Surajah Dowlah to the epoch of the famine, is considered in eoiiii(!xion with the notorious deficiency of the circulating medium, and the abuses and erroneous policy connected with the coinage,^ it is easy to understand how fearfully scarcity of money must have aggravated the evils of failing harvests; and how, when rice rose from a standard of price (already permanently augmented under British supremacy to four, six, and even ten times the usual rate), it became of little importance to the penniless multitudes whether it might or might not be purchased for a certain sum, when all they had in the world fell short of the market value of a single meal. In England, the rates of labour are always more or less influenced h\ the price of provisions ; but when the Bengal merchants endeavoured to raise the manu- facturing standard, their attempts were soon forcibly pvit down by the local authori- ties, who well knew that Indian goods, purchased at a premium consistent eveu with a Bengalee's humble notion of a " fair day's wages for a fair day's work," would not, when sold in the European markets, indemnify the company for prime cost, for loans, of which eight per cent, was the lowest interest taken for a long series of years. Among the charges brought against Clive, when examined before parlia- ment in 1772, were frauds in the exchange and the gold coinage. According to Ferishta, no silver coin was used in India as late as a.D. 1311 ; and Colonel Uriggs, in commenting on this passage, remarks, that up to a very late period, the chief current coin in the south of India was a small gold fanara, worth about sixpence. — (i., 375.) Since then, however, gold hav- ing been entirely superseded by silver, measures nere instituted to bring the former again into circula- tion ; and on the new coinage Clive received a heavy per-cintage, as governor. The ill-fated bankers — Juggut Seit and his brother — had introduced a tax on the silver currency during the short reign of Surajali Dowlah, which the English very improperly adopted. It consisted in issuing coins called sicca rupees, every year, at five limes their actual value, and insisting on the revenues being paid in this coin only, during the period of its arbitr.iry value — that is, during the year of coinage. In three years it sank to the actual value of the silver; but its pos- sessor, on payment of three per cent., might have it recointd into a new sicca rupee of the original exag- gerated value. I'idc Dow"s account of this ingenious method of yearly " robbing the public of three per cent, upon the greater part of their current specie." — {Uistunj of HindooUan, i., Introduction, p. cxlvii.) 312 E. I. Cy. on the verge OF BANKRUPTCY IN 1772. duties and other expenses, exclusive of the profit, which is the originating motive of all commercial associations. Now, it is a well- known, fact, that many men who, in their private capacity, would sooner face ruin than inflict it on the innocent, will, as members of a senate or corporation (under the influ- ence of a vague notion of state-necessity or the good of proprietors, whose interests it is their acknowledged duty to consult), insti- tute proceedings of a character utterly opposed to the simple principles of action which guide them in the daily intercourse of domestic life. Flagrant wrong they shrink from with unaffected disgust; but still there are few men who do not, with strange inconsistency, manifest by their practice that public affairs require a constant sacrifice of integrity to expediency, which once admitted as justifiable in their private career, must inevitably destroy the mutual confidence which forms the basis of that distinguishing national characteristic — an English home. The ignorance of the E. I. Cy. of the actual state of affairs (in great measure the result of the newness of their position), was doubtless the leading cause of their suffering the continuance of many un- questionably faulty practices, from the diffi- culty of providing efficient substitutes. The course of events was well fitted to teach them the great lesson — that there is no course so dangerous to rulers as a persis- tance in tyranny and misgovernment. The misery of the mass, aggravated by the shameless extortions of English function- aries, necessitated a large iucrcase of mili- tary expenses :* taxes were litei'ally enforced at the point of the bayonet ; " bur-jaut," or the compulsory sale of articles at less than their actual cost, became a notorious prac- tice ; and, simultaneous with these iniquitous proceedings in India, were the pecuniary involvements of the company in London ; and, what was yet more disgraceful, the fierce strife between the proprietors and directors, and again between both these and his majesty's ministers. "While the sums obtained from Meer Jaffier and Cossim Ali were in process of payment, the affairs of the company went on smoothly enough : annual supplies were furnished for the China trade, and likewise for the Madras presidency (which was always in difficulties, notwithstanding the various * Dow asserts, that " seven entire battalions were added to our military eslablishnieiit to enforce the collections." — {Hindoostan, i., cxxxi.t.) sums obtained from Mohammed Ali, the nabob of Arcot), while five lacs or more were yearly drawn by the Bombay presidency.f The dividend of the E. I. Cy., from Christ- mas, 17G6, to Midsummer, 1772, averaged eleven per cent, per annum ; during the last- named year it had reached twelve-and-a- half per cent., and this notwithstanding the stipulated payment to government of £4^00,000, in return for the continuance of the charter. Meantime the bonded debt of Bengal increased from £612,628, in 1771, to £1,700,000, in 1772 ; and the company, though most unwillingly, were obliged to throw themselves upon the mercy of the ministry (of which the Duke of Grafton and Lord North were at the head), and confess their utter inability to furnish tlieir annual quota ; and further, their necessity of soli- citing from the Bank of England a loan of above a million sterling to carry on the coQimercial transactions of the ensuing season. The government, thus directly appealed to, had ample grounds for instituting an in- quiry into the condition of an association which, notwithstanding its immense trading and territorial revenues, had again become reduced to the verge of bankruptcy. It was argued, that the bitter complaints of venality and mismanagement, freely recipro- cated by the directors and the servants of the company, were, on both sides, founded in truth. Moreover, the representations made on behalf of jMohammed Ali by his agents, particularly Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Maepherson, had considerai)le eS'ect, not only generally in producing an un- favourable opinion of the dealings of the E. I. Cy. with Indian princes, but specially by inducing the sending to Arcot of a royal ambassador, Sir John Lindsay, and sub- sequently of Sir Robert Harland, between both of whom and the local government the most open hostility existed. These pro- ceedings have had too little permanent efl'ect to need being detailed at length, but they illustrate the state of feeling wiiich led to the parliamentary investigations of 1772, and resulted in the first direct con- nexion of the ministry with the management of East Indian affairs, by the measure com- monly known as the Regiiluiing Act of 1773. A loan was granted to the company of £] ,100,000 in exchequer bills,J and various t Oriyinat Papers, sent from India and published in Eniiland by Governor Viinsittart. — (ii., 74.) J Tlie conditions of the loan were, that the sur- "REGULATING ACT" FOR INDIAN GOVERNMENT— 1773. 313 distinct provisions were iniulc to amend the constitution of that body, both at home and iil)roa(l, and to ameliorate tlie (condition of the native pojndation newly broujilit under their sway. A {governor -general (Warrcu Hastings) was nominated to preside over Bengal, and to some extent control the presidencies of Madras, Bombay, and Bcn- cooleu (in Sumatra) ; the number of coun- sellors was reduced to four; and these, together with tlic governor-general, were appointed for five years :* the old Mayor's Court at Calcutta was set aside, and a Su- preme Court of judicature, composed of a chief justice and three puisne judges (all English barristers) established in its place, and invested with civil, criminal, admiralty, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all British subjeetst resident in the three provinces (Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa) ; but the gov- ernor-general and members of council were exempted, unless indicted for treason or felony. Europeans were strictly for- bidden to enter into the inland traffic in salt, betel-nut, tobacco, and rice ; and the governors, counsellors, judges, and revenue- collectors, were rigidly prohibited all trade whatever. Not only the covenanted ser- vants of the company, but also the civil and military officers of the crown, were for- bidden to receive presents from the na- tives; and the maximum of the legal rate of interest in Bengal was fixed at twelve per cent, per annum. Specific punishments were affixed to the violation of the above plus of the clear revenue of the company should be paid half-yearly into the cxcliequer, till the liquida- tion of the debt ; that in the interim, their annual dividend should not exceed six per cent. ; and tliat until the reduction of their total bond-debt to £1,500,000, the dividend should not exceed seven per cent.— (13 George III., c. G4.) Among the alterations made by this enactment in the internal arrangements of the association, was a decree for the annual election of six directors for the term of four yeart , the interval of a year to be then suffered to elapse before the same |)erson could be again eligible ; whereas the directors had been previously annually chosen for a .--ingle year, at the close of which they might lie at once re-elected. The qualification for a vote was raised from £500 to £1,000 slock, and re- gulations were framed to prevent the collusive transfer of stock for electioneering purposes. • The salary of the governor-general was fixed at £25,000 per ann. ; the counsellors, £10,000 each ; chief jiistice, £f<,000 ; p.iisne judges, £6,000 each ; to be received in lieu of all fees or perquisites. t Notwithstanding the absolute nullity of any power in the youth on whom the title of nabob had been last conferred, the natives of Bengal were not yet viewed as British subjects ; and by the Hegtilal- ing Act, could not be sued in the Supreme Court, enactments, ou conviction before the Su- preme Court. The majority of these regulations were of a nature which, from the political cha- racter of the I'higlish constitution, could be enforced against British subjects only by the express authority of their national rulers. t The privity of the Crown thus of necessity established in the affairs of the company, was further secured by a proviso, that all financial and political advices trans- mitted from Iiulia, should, within fourteen days after their arrival, be cominunicated to the administration by the Court of Direc- tors ;§ and any ordinance of the governor- general in council might be disallowed by the Crown, provided its veto were pro- nounced within two years after the enact- ment of the obnoxious measure. The state of Bengal, at the period at which we have now arrived, has been suffi- ciently shown in the foregoing pages. The only events still unnoticed with regard to the Calcutta Presidency, are the death of the nabob, Syef-ad-Dowlah, of small-pox ; the accession of his brother, Mobarik-ad- Dowlah, a boy of ten years old ; and the departure of Shah Alum from Allahabad to take possession of his own capital of Delhi. After the retreat of the Doorani invader, the government of this city had been assumed by Nujeeb-oo-Dowla (the Rohilla chief frequently alluded to in pre- vious pages), and, together with such autho- rity, territorial and judicial, as yet remained (except upon any contract in writing, where the object in dispute exceeded 500 rupees in value), unless they were themselves willing to abide by the decision of that tribunal. This protective clause was set forth only in the directions for civil proceedings, and (pro- bably from inadvertence) not repealed in those which regarded the penal court. The omission enabled the chief justice to adjudge the celebrated Nuncomar to death for forgery, at the suit of a native. I The preamble to the act states it to have been a necessary measure, because several powers and authorities previously vested in the E. 1. body had " been Ibund, by experience, not to have sufficient force and efficacy to prevent various abuses which have prevailed in the government and affairs of the said company, as well at home as in India, to the manifest injury of the public credit, and of the com- mercial interests of the said company." § The regulations and ordinances decreed by the governor-general in council, were invalid unless duly registered and published in the Supreme Court of judicature. Appeals against any of them might be laid before the king in council by any person in India or in England, if lodged within sixty days after the publication of the act complained of, either at the Supreme Court or the E. 1. House, where notices of all such measures were to be affixed. 314 EMPEROR ENTERS DELHI UNDER MAHRATTA PROTECTION— 1771. connected therewith, was exercised by him in the name of the youna; prince, Jewan Bukht, the eldest son of Shah Alum, who had been left behind at the period of his father's flight in 1758. The encroachments of the Jat Rajah, Sooraj Mull, into whose hands Agra had fallen after the battle of Paniput, in 1761, resulted in a regular con- flict between him and Nujeeb-oo-Dowla, in 1764. The rajah was killed at the very commencement of hostilities; and the en- deavour of his son and successor, Jowher Sing, to prosecute the war by the assistance of the Mahratta chieftain, Mulhar Rao Holcar, proved ineflectual. In 1769, the peishwa's army crossed the Chumbul, and after desolating Rajast'han and levying arrears of chout from the Rajpoot princes, they proceeded to overrun the country of the Jats, which at this time extended from Agra to the borders of Delhi on the north- west, and near to Etawa on the south-east, and aS'orded a revenue of nearly £250,000. The Mahrattas gained a decided victory near Bhurtpoor, and made peace with the Jats on coudition of receiving a sum of about £75,000. They then encamped for the monsoon, intending at its expiration to enter Rohilcund, and revenge on the leading chiefs the part played by them in concert with the Afghan victor at the bloody field of Paniput. Nujeeb-oo-Dowla took advan- tage of the interval to negotiate a treaty on behalf of himself and the Rohillas in gene- ral ; and his overtures were favourably re- ceived, on account of the mutual need each party had of the other to obtain an object desirable in the sight of both, the withdrawal of the emperor from the immediate influ- ence of the English, and his re-establishment in Delhi. The arrangement was marred by the death of Nujceb-oo-Dowla, at the close of 1770. His son, Zabita Khan, who appears to have inherited the ambition, un- checked by the loyalty or prudence of his father, assumed the charge of affairs, and showed no inclination to procure the return of his liege lord. In the following year, Rohilcund was overrun by the i^lahrattas; the strong fortress of Etawa fell into their hands j Delhi was seized by them, and Zabita Khan fled to Scharunpoor, the capital of his own patrimony in Rohilcund. The prince, Jewan Bukht, was treated with marked respect, and the emperor given to understand, that if he did not think fit to accept the repeated invitations made to him to return to his capital, his son would be formally placed ou the throne. In an evil hour. Shah Alum yielded to a natural desire of taking possession of the scanty remains of imperial power which formed his ill- omened inheritance. The darkest hour he had hitherto encountered had aS'orded him experience of the fidelity of a Mahratta general ;* nor does there seem to have been any sufficient reason for his anticipating the mercenary and unprincipled conduct which he eventually received at their hands, which, however, never equalled in treachery the proceedings of his professed friend and nominal servant, but most grasping and re- lentless foe, Shuja Dowlah, the cherished ally of the English. In fact, the insidious counsels and pecuniary aid furnished by this notable schemer, were mainly instrumental in resolving Shah Alum to quit Allahabad, which he did after receiving from the Bengal presidency a strong assurance " of the readi- ness with which the company would receive and protect him, should any reverse of for- tuue compel him once more to return to his provinces. "t The commander-in-chief (Sir Robert Barker) and Shuja Dowlah attended the royal march to the frontier of the Corah district, and then took leave with every de- monstration of respect and good-will ; the latter declaring that nothing but the pre- dominant influence of the Mahrattas at court prevented his proceeding thither and devoting himself to the performance of the duties of the vizierat. Shah Alum reached Delhi in December, 1771, and entered its ancient gates amid the acclamations of the populace. Happily, his enjoyment of this gleam of prosperity was unmarred by a knowledge of the almost unexampled mise- ries which awaited him during the chief part of the ensuing six-anil-twenty years. Could but a passing glimpse of coming sorrows have been foreshadowed to him, the lowliest hut in Bengal would have seemed a blessed refuge from the agonies of mind and body he and his innocent family were doomed to endure within the statelv walls of their ancestral home. • Etal llao .ay encamped on tlie banks of the his pledge, in sjiite of threats and bribes, by gnard- .Tumna, wlien the emperor (tlien lieir-apparent) fled iiiR t-he prince for six months, and tlien escorting from Delhi. He received the fugitive with the him to a place of safety.— (Friincldin's Wi«/j .J/»m.) utmosi kindness. — swore on the holy waters of tl]e t Onicial Letter from Bengal, JJlst August, 1771. Ganges not to betray him j and more tlian redeemed I Auber's JJritish I'lni-er in India, :., 287 rUESIDENCIES OP BOMBAY AND MADRAS— 170]— 1774. The Bombay Presidency, so far as its finances were concorncd, ooiitinucd to be a heavy tax on the .1"]. I. ('}'., the net revenue not siiflieinf; to defray a tliird of its civil and military expenditure.* In the Maduas Puesidency, events had taken place which the superior importance and interest of Bcii<ral aflains liavc pre- vented from Ijeing noticed in chronological succession. Reference has been made to the ill-feeling wliich sprang up between the E. I. Cy. and Mohammed All (the nabob of their own nomination.) The cause was twofold — first, the English expected to find the province, of which Arcot was the capital, a mine of wealth, and hoped to derive from the nabob, when firndy estab- lished there, considerable pecuniary advan- tage. They soon discovered their mistake as to the amount of funds thus obtainable, and still more with regard to the expendi- ture of life and treasure to be incurred in establishing the power of a man who, though of very inferior capacity, was inordinately ambitious, and yet distrustful — not perhaps without cause — of the allies, by whose assis- tance alone his present position could be maintained, or his views of aggrandisement carried out. The chief points in the long- continued hostilities, undertaken by the presidency to enforce his very questionable claims to sovereignty or tribute, may be briefly noted, nor can the painful admission in justice be withheld — that many expeditions dispatched under the auspices of Mr. (after- wards Lord) Pigot, whatever their osten- sible motive, were really prompted by a desire to replenish a treasury exhausted by military expenses, especially by the long war with the French, which commenced in 1716, and terminated with the reduction of Pondicherry in 1761. The miseries of the native population must have been too great to admit of much increased exaction. Since its first invasion by Aurungzebe,t the Carnatic had been, almost without interrup- tion, the scene of rapine and disorganisa- tion; imperial agents, usurping nabobs, and chout-collecting !Mahrattas had claimed revenues, and exacted contributions, as each • In the Heport nf Select Committee, June, ITS-l, the net revenue of Bombay for the year ending April, 1774, is stated at £109,163; civil and militarv charges, £347..387 : leaving a deficiency of £238.224. t During the nineteen years preceding the death of Aurungzebe, in 1707, his favourite general, Zul- feccar Khan, was employed in the Carnatic in cease- less and destructive hostilities ; and it is recorded that nineteen actions were fought, and 3,000 miles found opportunity ; and the commanders of districts and forts maintained their often ill- gotten authority, by resisting or complving with the demands made upon them, accord- ing to the urgently of the case. But the great load of suffering fell ever on the unarmed and inoffensive peasantry, whose daily sustenance was to be procured by daily work. This sud'ering was not of a cha- racter {leculiar to the epoch now under consideration : it would seem that, from titne immemorial, the working classes of Ilindoostan had practically experienced the scourge of war ; for every one of the multi- farious languages of the peninsula has a word answering to the Canaresc term Wulsa, which, happily, cannot be explained in any European tongue without considerable cir- cuudocution. The Wulsa denotes the entire popidation of a district, who, upon the ap- proach of a hostile army, habitually bury their most cumbrous effects, quit their beloved liomes, and all of them, even to the child that can just walk alone, laden with grain, dcjiart to seek shelter (if, happily, it may be found) among some neigh l)ouring community blessed with peace. More fre- quently the pathless woods and barren hills afford their sole refuge, until the withdrawal of the enemy enables them to return to cultivate anew the devastated fields." Such exile must be always painful and anxious : during its continuance the weak and aged die of fatigue ; if long protracted, the strong too often perish by the more dreadful pangs of hunger. Colonel Wilks affirms, that the Wulsa never departed on the approach of a British army, when unaccompanied by In- dian allies ;% but this is poor comfort re- garding the measures taken on behalf of Mohammed Ali, since there is no reason to suppose his troops more scrupulous than their fellows, or less feared by the unhappy peasantry. The fort and district of Vellore were captured for him, in 1761, from iMurtezza Ali,§ with the assistance of the English, after a tlirce months' siege; but the treasure taken there ill repaid the cost of the conquest. The latter part of 1763, and nearly the whole of the following twelve- marched by this officer in six months only. Famine and pestilence — the direct consequences of prolonged and systematic devastation — followed, and even ex- ceeded in their ravages the scourge of war. The terri- ble sufferings of the people, during this melancholy period, are affectingly described in many of the me- nioiis comprised in the valuable Mackenzie coliectioD. \ Wilks' History of Mi/soor. i.. 309. § Sec previous pages, especially Note ti P- 252. 316 FATE OF MOHAMMED ESOOF, 1763— PROGRESS OF HYDER ALL months, were tcaken up in a struggle with Mohammed Esoof, a brave and skilful officer, who liad long and faithfully served the English as commandant of sepoys. He \ had been placed in command of Madura, as renter; but the unproductive condition of the country rendered it, he declared, impos- sible to pay the stipulated sum. The excuse is believed to have been perfectly true ; but it was treated as a mere cloak to cover an incipient attempt at independence. An army marched upon Madura, and Esoof, fairly driven into resistance, commenced a desperate contest, which occasioned heavy loss of life on the side of the English, and the expenditure of a million sterhng, before hostilities terminated by the seizure and be- trayal of his person into the hands of Mo- hammed Ali, by whom he was condemned to die the death of a rebel, and actually executed as such. His betrayer was a man named Marchand, who had joined him among a body of French troops sent to his aid by the Mahratta rajah of Tanjore, from whom a heavy sum had re- cently been extorted on the plea of arrears of tribute due to the general government of the Cariiatic. The acquisition of the Nor- thern Circars, in 1766, and the treaty made by Lord Ciive with Nizam Ali, has been noticed, as also the impolicy of engaging to hold a body of troops in readiness to do the will of so belligerent and unscrupulous a leader. It was not long before the fulfil- ment of this pledge was insisted on, and the immediate consequence proved the com- mencement of a long and disastrous series of wars with Hyder AU. Since his sudden • The districts of Great and Little Balipoor were included in the province of Sera : the former was held as a jaghire by Abbas Ivooli Khan, the persecutor of Hyder in childliood. Bassalut Jung wished to exclude this territory from that over which he as- sumed the right of investing Hyder with authority, — (a right, says Wilks, which could only be inferred from the act of granting) ; but the latter declared the arrangement at an end, if any interference were attempted with the gratification of his long-smoulder- ing revenge. Abbas Kooli Khan fled to Madras, leaving his family in the hands of his bitter foe; but Hyder showed himself in a strangely favourable light; for in remembrance of kindness bestowed on him in childhood by the mother of the fugitive, he treated the captives with lenity and iionour. This conduct did not, however, embolden Abbas Kooli to quit the protection of tlie English, or throw himself on )iis mercy; and, some years later (in 17(19), when Hyder presented himself at the pates of Madras, he embarked in a crazy vessel, and did not venture to land until the hostile forc2 had rcascended the mountain-posses. — (Wilks' Mysoor, i., 410.) t The last actual rajah of Bednore died in 17o5, separation from the French, iu 1760, his road to eminence had been short and san- guinary. Force and fraud, used indif- ferently, according to the nature of the obstacle to be overcome, had raised Hyder to the supreme authority in Mysoor; and a skilful admixture of the same ingredients, enabled him gradually to acquire possessioa of many portions of Malabar and Canara, until then exempt from Moslem usurpation. The strife at one period existing between Nizam Ali and his elder brother, Bassalut Jung, induced the latter to make an attempt at independence, in prosecution of which he marched, in 1761, against Sera,* a pro- vince seized by the Mahrattas, and separated by them from the government of the Deccan, of which it had previously formed a part. The resources of Bassalut Jung proving quite insufficient for the projected enter- prise, he gladly entered into an arrange- ment with Hyder Ali; and, on receiving five lacs of rupees, made over his intention of conquering Sera to that chief, on whom he conferred the title of nabob, together with the designation of Khan Bahadur — " the heroic lord." Sera was speedily sub- dued, and its reduction was followed, in 1763, by the seizure, on a most shameless pretext, of Bednore,t a territory situated on the loftiest crest of the Ghauts, 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, abounding ia magnificent forests, and fertilized by copious rains, which produce harvests of remark- able abundance. The sequestered position of this little kingdom, had hitherto pre- served it from Mohammedan invasion, and enabled successive rulers to accumulate leaving an adopted heir, of about seventeen years of age, under the guardianship of his widow. The youth animadverted with severity on the conduct of the ranee, with regard to a person named N^imbeia, and the result was his own assassination by a jetti or athlete, who watched an opportunity to dislocate his neck while employed in shampooing him in the bath. The guilty ranee selected an infant to fill the vacant thone ; but, about five years after, a pre- tender started up, claiming to be the rightful heir, and describing himself as liaving e«ra])td the in- tended doom by means of a humane artifice practised by the athlete. Hyder readily availed himself of the prete.xt for invading Bednore, thougli he probably never entertained the least belief of the truth of the story ; and the whole army treated the adventurer with the utmost derision, styling him the " llajah of the resurrection." So soon as Bednore was cap- tured, Hyder, setting aside all conditions or stipula- tions ])reviously entered into, sent the ranee and her parcnnour, with his own pi-(ili'(/i', to a common prison in the hill-fort of Mudgherry, whence they were lil)enited on the capture of tlie place by the Mahrattas in 1707. The ratu'c died directly after her release. CONQUESTS OP IIYDER.— BEDNORE AND MALABAR— 17G3-'6. 317 imirli treasure. 'I'lio moiiiitiiin cipital (oiglit miles in eiiTuinfereiiee) full an easy prey to the Mysoorean cliief; "and the booty realised niay," says (."olonel Wilks, "without the risk of exaj,'i.'eration, be esti- mated at twelve million sterliiif;, and was, throiijch lite, iiabitually spoken of i)y llydcr as tlic fonndatiou of all liis subsequent greatness."* The subju'^ation of tlie coun- try was not, however, accomplished without imminent danj^er to the life of the invader.f riyder now assumed the style of an inde- pendent sovereign, and struck coins in his own name. Having completed the neces- sary arrangements for the occupation of the lesser districts included in his new do- minions (which comprehended two places often named in the history of early Euro- pean proceedings on this const, — Onore and Mangalore), he next seized the neighbouring territories of Soonda and Savanoor, and then rapidly extended his northern frontier almost to the banks of the Kistnah. Here, at length, his daring encroachments vtcre • Ilktory of M>/Mwr, i., 452. Mill says—" More likt'ly it was not a tliiid of the sum" (iii., 4(i9) ; but native testimonies and tlie re])Oits of the French mercenaries in the service of Ilydcr, with other cir- cumstances, tend to coniirm the o])inion of Wilks. In a life of Ilyder Ali, written by the French leader of his European troops, whose initials (M.M.D.L.T.) are alone friven, it is stated that two heaps of gold, coi[ied and in ingots, and of jewels, set and unset, were piled up until they surpassed the height of a man on horseback. They were then weighed with a corn measure. Hyder gave a s>d)stanlial proof of the extent of his ill-gotten booty, by bestowing on every soldier in his service a gratuity equal to half a year's ])ay. — (Jlistor;/ of Ai/der AH Khan, Knhoh Bahoder; translated IVnm the French: Dublin, 1774.) f The ministers of the late dynasty entered into an extensive conspiracy for bis assassination and the recovery of the capital. Some vague susjiicions in- duced Ihder to cause inquiry to be made by his most confidential civil servants. The persons so em- jiloyed were, strangely enough, all concerned in the plot. They performed I heir commission with ajipa- rent zeal, and read the result to the dreaded despot as he lay on a couch shivering witli ague. His keen perceptions were nndimnied by bodily infirmity; but afiVcting to be du])ed by the garbled statements made by the commissioners, he detained tbem in consultalion until he felt able to rise. Then, enter- ing the durbar, or hall of audience, be examined and cross-examined witnesses until the mystery was quite unravelled. The commissioners were executed in his presence, many unhappy nobles of Bednore arrested, and, before the close of the dav, 300 of the leading confedtrates were hanging at the difTerent public ways of the city. Hyder, we are told, retired to rest with perfect equanimity, and rose on the following morning visibly benefited by the stimulating effect of his late exertions. }'cnce of mind had. however, tied from him ; and, notwithstanding the terrible perfection which his inquisitorial and sanguinary arrested by Mahdoo Rao, the young and energetic Mahratta peishwa, wlio (taking advantage of the accommodation with Nizam Ali, wiiiedi had sucr-ecded the partial destruction of Poonah by the latter in I70.'5) crossed the Kistnah, in 17G1, with a force greatly outnumbering that of Ilyder. A prolonged contest ensued, in which the advantage being greatly on the side of the .Mahrattas, and the army of Ilyder ranch re- duced, he procured the retreat of the peishwa, in 170.5, t)y various territorial concessions, in addition to the payment of thirty-two lacs of rupees. ^Vhen relieved from this formidable foe, he forthwith commenced pre- parations for the conquest of Malabar, which lie succeeded in eilecting after an irregular war of some months' duration with the proud and liberty-loving Nairs, or military east; for the disunion of the various petty princi- palities neutralised tlie effects of the valour of their sulyects, and prevented any com- bined resistance being offered. Cananore,J Cochin, Karical — all fell, more or less coni- police system subsequently attained, the dagger of the bssass.n was an image never absent from hi; sleeping or waking thoughts, save when banished by the stupor of complete intoxication, which became to him a nightly necessity. One of his most inti- mate associates relates, that after having watched over him during a short interval of convulsive sleep, snatched m his tent during a campaign, Hyder ex- claimed on awaking — " The state of a yogce (reli- gious mendicant) is more delightful than my envied monarchy: awake, they see no conspirators; asleep, they dream of no assassins." — (Wilks'.l/i/soor, i., 143.) X The Dutch possessions on the Malabar coast had been materially lessened during the interval between the last mention made of them in 1740 (p. 245), and the invasion of Hyder Ali in 176(). The expensive trading pstablishment.s maintained there proved a heavy drain on the finances of the company, which Slavorinus, on the authority of Governor Mossel, alleges to have been occasioned by the continual disputes and wars in which the\ had been engaged with the native princes, " and not a little by the infidelity and peculation of the servants who have been em]iIoyed here." Mossel declares, "it would l.ave been well for the Dutch companv bad the ocean swallowed up the coast of Malabar an hundred years ago.' llnder these circumstances, the best thing was to get rid of such unfortunate acqui- sitions. Cranganore was sold to the rajah of Travan- core ; and Cananore, in 1770, for the sum of 100,000 rupees, to a recently established potentate, styled bv Stavorinus the Sultan of Angediva or Anchediva, a little rocky isle, two miles from the coast of North Canara. This chief belonged by birth to the mixed class, the offspring of intercourse (after the Malabar custom) between native women and Arabian immi- grants: they bore the significant appellation cf Moplih or Mfijii/lii (the children of their mothers) ; but wi re mostly believers in the Koran. Ali Knjah, the purchaser of Cananore. had risen by trade to wealth, and thence to political importance : he took 318 FATE OF THE ZAMORIN, 1766.— TIPPOO MENACES MADRAS— 1767. pletely, into the power of Hyder ; and Maan Veerara Raj, the Zamorin, or Tamuri ra- jah of Calicut, disgusted by the faithlessness of his unprincipled opponent, and terrified by the cruel and humiliating tortui'es in- flicted on his ministers to extort money, set fire to the house in which he was con- fined, and perished in the flames.* Shortly after this event, Hyder was recalled to Seringapatam by the alarming intelligence that the English and Mohammed Ali had united with the Nizam in a confede- racy for the reduction of his dangerous ascendancy. Hyder was a complete master of every description of intrigue. He suc- ceeded, by dint of bribery, in withdrawing Nizam Ali from the alliance into which the English had unwisely entered, and the very corps which had accompanied the Nizam into the dominions of Hyder, sustained in its retreat an attack from, their united forces. f Madras was imperilled by the unlooked-for appearance of 5,000 horse, under the nomi- nal command of Tippoo, the eldest son of Hyder Ali, then a youth of seventeen. The president And council were at their garden- houses without the town ; and had the atten- an early opportunity of propitiating the favour of Hyder, at the expense of the high-born Hindoo princes in his vicinity. When Stavorinus himself visited India, in 177o-'8, the Dutch possessions on the Malabar coast nominally extended a distance of about thirty-two leagues ; but, excepting the little island of Paponetty, and a few insignificant villages on the shore, the company had " no other actual property in the soil than in that upon which their fortifications are constructed."- — (Stavorinus' Voyages, iii., chapters xiii. and xiv.) • Several of the personal attendants of the Zamo- rin being accidentally excluded when the doors were fastened, threw themselves into the flames, and perished with their master. This catastrophe had no efi'ect in softening the heart of Hyder, or inducing him to show compassion to the ministers. The Nairs, rendered desperate by his cruelty, rose against him repeatedly, and were, if captured, either be- headed or hanged, until the idea struck their perse- cutor of preserving them to populate certain other portions of his dominions. The experiment proved fatal to the majority of the unhappy beings upon whom it was tried : of 15,000 who were subjected to this forced emigration, only 200 survived the fatigue and hardships of the way and the change of climate, which Indians in general — and particularly the na- tives of Malabar — can ill hear under every possible circumstance of alleviation. — (Wilks' il/y.iow, i.,477.) t Kilher from generosity or policy, five English companies, attached to the Nizam as a guard of honour, were suffered by him to depart and join the force under Colonel Smith three days before the commencement of open hostilities by the new allies. X Ilyder prevailed on the Nizam to give the order to retreat, and was himself clearly perceived by the English issuing directions for that purpose, in the midst of a select hody of infantry, whose scarlet tiou of the invaders been less absorbed in the accumulation of plunder, they might have seized as their prize the whole of these functionaries, and dictated at leisure the terms of general peace and individual ran- som. But they delayed tmtil news arrived of a decisive victory gained by Colonel Smith, at Triucomalee,J over Hyder and Nizam Ali, which being closely followed by other advantages on the side of the English (in- cluding the successful defence of Amboor),§ brought the campaign to an end. Hyder re- treated within his own frontier, and the Ni- zam concluded a peace with the English in February, 1768, by which he agreed to re- ceive seven lacs per annum for six years, as temporary tribute for the Circars, instead of the perpetual subsidy of nine lacs per annum previously promised. Hyder was himself equally solicitous of forming a treaty with the Madras presidency. He did not scruple to avow his inability to oppose at once both them and the ]\Iahrattas; and he candidly avowed that disinclination to make common cause with the latter people, was the leading incentive to his repeated overtures for al- liance with the English. His ofi'ers were, dresses, with lances eighteen feet long, of bamboo, strengthened by bands of polished silver, rendered them no less picturesque in appearance than for- midable in reality. The retreat was, for the moment, delayed by a singular incident. Nizam Ali invari- ably carried his favourite wives in his train, even to the field of battle. On the present occasion, directions were given to the drivers of the elephants on which they were seated, to decamp forthwith, — an undigni- fied procedure, which was firmly opposed by the fair occupant of one of the howdahs. " This elephant," she exclaimed, "has not been instructed so to turn; he follows the imperial standard :" and though the English shot fell thick around, the lady waited till the standard passed. A considerable body of cavalry, roused to action by the sense of shame inspired by this feminine display of chivalry, made a partial charge upon the enemy. — (Wilks' Mi/sonr, ii., 38.) § The assault lasted twenty-six days, at the expi- ration of which time, the besieged were relieved by the approach of the British army. In honour of the steady courage there manifested, the 1st battalion of the 10th regiment bear "the rock of Amboor" on their colours. Hyder had a narrow escape during this enterprise; for while examining the fortifications, under cover of a rock which sheltered him com- pletely from the direct fire of the fort, a cannon-shot rebounded from a neighbouring height, and cut in two his only companion, leaving him unhurt. The Mysoorcan court were, according to Colonel Wilks, the most unscientific in all India; and being ignorant of the simple principle by which a ball would rebound amid the rocks which limited its iullucnce, until its force was spent, they attributed the fate of Xhakee Shah to a miracle of vengeance, wrought to punish his recent offence of taking a false oath on a false Koran, to aid Hyder in deceiving and entrapping his ancient and much-injured ])atron, Nunjernj. — (Wilks.) IIYDEK DICTATES A PEACE TO THE ENGLISH AT MADRAS— 17G9. 319 however, haughtily rejected. Driven to despe- ration, he ])ut fortii all liis powers, ravaged the Carnatic, penetrated to Trichinopoly, laid waste the provinces of Madura and Tinncvclly, and finally, after drawing; the English army, by a scries of artful niove- meuts, to a considerable distance from Madras, he selected a body of (),()00 cavalry, marched 120 miles in three days, and sud- denly appeared on the Mount of Saint Thomas, in the immediate vicinity of the ICnglish capital. The presidency were struck with consternation. Tlie fort might un- doubtedly have held out till the arrival of the army under Colonel Smith, but the open town with its riches, the adjacent country, and the garden-houses of the offi- cials, would have been ravaged and de- stroyed ; moreover, the exhausted state of the treasury afforded little encouragement to maintain hostilities with a foe whose peculiar tactics enabled him to procure abun- dant supplies for his troops in a hostile country, and to surround his enemies with • Hyder, throughout his -whole career, displayed a peculiarly teachable spirit in every proceeding rela- tive to his grand object in life — the art of war. Kunde Kao, a Brahmin, early instructed him in Mahratta tactics ; and by tlieir joint endeavours a system of plunder was organised, which Sevajee himself might have admired. The Beder jieons (described by Colonel "Wilks as " faithful thieves ") and the Pindarries (a description of horse who re- ceive no p.iy, but live on the devastation of the enemy's country), were among the most effective of Hyder's troops. The general arrangement seems to have been, that the army, besides their dii'cct pay, should receive one-half the booty realised ; the renjainder to be appropriated by their leader ; and the whole proceeding was conducted by a series of checks, which rendered the embezzlement of spoil almost impossible. Moveable property of every de- scription, obtained either from enemies or (if ])rac- ticable without exciting suspicion) by simple theft from allies, was the object of these marauders; — -from convoys of grain, cattle, or fire-arms, down to the clothes, turtians, and earrings of travellers or vil- lagers, whether men, women, or children. Kunde Rao at length became disgusted by the uncontrolled ambition and covetousness of Hydcr. Unwilling to see the ancient Hindoo institutions of Myscor swept off by an avowed disbeliever in all religion, he went over to the side of the unfortunate rajah, and was, as bcfoie stated, in the hour of defeat delivered up to his fierce and relentless foe, who retained him two J ears exposed in an iron cage in the most public thoroughfare of Bangalore ; and even when death at length released the wretched captive, left his bones to whiten there in memory of his fate. (See Wilks' Ilistorij of Mi/xoor, i., 43-1, the French Life of AyiJer, and Dr. Moodie's Tntnsactions in India from 1758 to 1783, for an account of this almost tniexampied act of barbarity.) In his later cireer, Hyder declared, that the English were his chief tutors in military stratagems ; and for Colonel Smith he expressed particular respect, calling him his pre- dcvastation and scarcity in the heart of their own domains.* A treaty was concluded with him in April, 17()'J, of which the principal eonditioasf were a mutual restora- tion of conquests and a pledge of alliance, defensive but not offensive. The distinction involved in the latter proviso was, as might have been foreseen, of little avail; for the foes against whom Hyder especiall}' desired the co-operation of the English troops, were the Mahrattas, who periodically invaded his territories ; and on the expected approach of Mahdoo Rao, he urgently a[)pealed to the ])rc- sidcney for the promised aid. which they withheld on the plea of complicated political relations, and thus excited, with too just cause, the vindictive passions of their ally. The military abilities of the pcishwa were of no common order : and he approached with the determination of materially circum- scribing the power of a rival whose jiro- eeedings and projects, after long under- valuing, he began to appreciate correctly. Seizing one by one the conquests^ of Hyder, ceptor in the science of war, and having his picture suspended in the palace of Seringapatam. t Other clauses provided, that the company were to be allowed to build a fort at Onore, and to have the sole right of purchasing pepper in the dominions of Hyder Ali; payment to be made to him in guns, saltpetre, lead, gunpowder, and ready money. The directors strongly reprobated the supply of offensive implements to so dangerous a potentate, and likewise the cannon afterwards sold to him, and the shipping built by his orders, — remarking, that such a procedure could not conduce to the welfare of the presidency, although it might suit the views of individuals. X The b.attle of Chercoolee, which occurred while the Mysooreans were retreating to Seringapatam, was attended by some incidents singularly illustra- tive of the chiiracter of Hyder, who, though well able to be courtly on occasion, was habitually fierce iu his anger and coarse in his mirth, and in either case ecpially unaccustomed to place any restraint on his tongue or hand. When under the influence of in- toxication, his natural ferocity occasionally broke out in the most unbridled excesses; but he rarely dr-ank deeply, except alone and at night. On the eve of this disastrous battle, the alarms of war prevented him from sleeping off the effects of his usual pota- tion ; and in a state of stupid inebriety he sent re- peated messages desiring the presence of Tippoo, wh.ich owing to the darkness and confusion, were not delivered until daybreak. When Tippoo at length ajipeared, his father, in a paroxysm of rage, abused him in the foulest language, and snatching a large cane from the hand of an attendant, inflicted on the heir-apparent a literally severe beating. Burning with anger, and smarting with pain, the youth, when suffered to retire, hastened to the head of his divi- sion, and dashed his sword and turban on the ground, exclaiming, " My father may light his own battle ; for I swear by .'VUa'h and the Prophet, that I draw no sword to-d.ay." Then throwing aside his outer gar- ment of cloth of gold, he tied a coloured handker- chief round his head, and assumed the guise of one 520 STATE OF MYSOOIl, ]\rAHARASHTRA, AND HAJAST'HAN— 1772. he raarclierl onward until the Mysoor state shrank into narrower limits than it had occupied under the native government at the beginning of the century. The autho- rity of the usurper tottered ; and the Hindoo rajah, thinliing the conjuncture of affairs favourable to the assertion of his claims, strove to open a communication with the !Mahratta general ; but tlie proceeding being detected, the unhappy prince was imme- diately strangled while in the bath. Still Ilyder cared not, at this crisis, openly to scat himself on the ivory throne of Mysoor : double governments were in fashion through- out India, and the brother of the late rajah was proclaimed his successor. He did not long survive this perilous distinction ; and Hyder, with unblushing effrontery, affected to choose from the children of the royal lineage, for the next pageant, a boy of sense and spirit — qualities which would necessarily unfit him to be the tool of the deadly foe of his family.* The retreat of the Mah- rattas was secured on more favourable terms than could have been expected, by reason of the fast-failing health of the peishwa, who, in the same year (1772), died of con- sumption. He left no cliild, and his widow, who had renounced the world. After the ensuing complete victory of the Mahrattas, Tippoo was ad- vised by his faithful friend, Seyed Mohammed (who related the adventure to Colonel Wilks), to make his way to Seringapatam as atravellinj^ mendicant; and they contrived to reach the capital that niijht, to the great relief of llyder, who believing his son lost, had refused to enter the city, and was awaiting further intelligence in a small mosque, probably un- able to bring himself to encounter the burst of anger and sorrow to which his wife, the mother of 'I'ippoo, who had great influence with him, would give vent on learning the circumstances which he knew, and the issue he feared. — {3Ii/soor, ii., 146.) * Hyder assembled the children in the royal hall of audience, which he had previously caused to be strewn with fruits, sweetmeats, flowers, books, coin, and toys of all description : each took what struck his fancy ; one boy seized a brilliant little dagger, and soon afterwards a lime with the unoccu|)ied hand. "That is the rajah," said Hyder; "his first care is military protection ; his second, to realise the produce of his domininns." — (Idiin. ii., 163.) t Ilistorij of the Shihrattan, ii., 237. The actual revenue of the iMahratta state, at this period (in- cluding the jaghires of Holcar, Sindia, Janojee Bhonslay, and Dummajee Guicowar, together with tribute, fees, fines, and extra revenue of every de- scription), amounted toabout seven million sterling per ann., including .\lahdoo Uao's personal estate, which seldom exceeded i;:i(),i>()l) per ann. He was, how- ever, jjossessed of twenty-four lacsof private property, which he bequtall:ed to the slate, and which iiideed was much needed. At the time of his accession, a large outstanding debt existed ; and although at his death, reckoning sums due, the value of stores and other property, a nominal balance existed, yet the to whom he had been devotedly attached, burnt herself with his body. j\Iaharashtra is described as having greatly improved under his sway, and as being, in proportiou to its fertility, probably more thriving than any other part of India, notwithstandins the inherent defects of its administrative system, and the corruption which Madhoo Rao restrained, but could not eradicate. His death, says Grant Duff", " occasioned no immediate commotion: like his own disease, it was at first scarcely perceptible; but the root which invigorated the already scathed and wide-extending tree, was cut off from the stem ; and the plains of Paniput were not more fatal to the Mahratta empire, than the early death of this excellent prince. "f The above sketch illustrates, so far as the limits of this work will permit, the position of the three presidencies and of the leading neighbouring states, at the period when great and rapid changes were about to be effected in the whole scope and tenor of Anglo- Indian policy. The princes of Rajast'han were engaged in holding their own against the marauding Jats and Mahrattas, under Hol- car and Sindia,J who, for their own ends, thought fit to interfere in a disputed suc- treasury itself was empty. The ordinary army of the peishwa comprehended 50,000 good horse ; and calculating the contingent which Guicowar and Bhonslay were bound to furnish at from ten to fifteen thousand, Holcar and Sindia's army at 30,000, and allowing 0,000 for the Puars of Dhar, his total force at command must have amounted to about 100,;,iOO fine cavalry, exclusive of Pindanies. No wonder that Hyder Ali should have been ever solicitous to shun contact with, and form alliances against, such a force under such a leader. By official records, it ap- pears that of -149 officers under Mahdoo Rao, ninety- three wrre Brahmins, eight Kajpoots, 30S Mahrattas, and fo>iy Mohammedans. — [Idem., p. 270.) J Holcar and Sindia both acquired valuable terri- torial possessions (or rather the mortgage of them) in !Mewar, which, like most of the llajpoot princi- palities, was about this time a prey to internal miseries, — its fields, mines, and looms all unworked, and hordes of " pilfering Mahrattas, savage Kohillas, and adventurous Franks" let loose to do their wicked will in its once fruitful valleys. Oudipoor had nearlv fallen before Sindia, but was bravely and successfully defended by Umra Cliund, the chief min- XfXcr of Bana Ursi, who, in 1770, succteded in com- jielling Sindia to accept a ransom, and raise the siege. This excellent minister fell a victim to court intrigues; but hi-; death, says Tod, " yielded a flat- tering comment on his life : he left not funds suffi- cient to cover the funeral expenses, and is, and will probably continue, the sole instance on record in Indian history, of a minister having his obsequie.<i (lelVaved by subscription among hi.' felloH-ci'izens." They yet love m descant upon his virtues; and "an act of vigour and inlegril) is still desigr)atid L'mra- t7iii)u'(i- evincitig, that if virtue has few imitators in this country, she is not without ardent admirers." BlllTll AND EARLY HISTORY OV WARREN HASTINGS— 1732 to 1772. 321 Cession to the throne of Anibur or Jeypoor. Pretexts, more or less phiusible, were put fortli by other Maliratta leaders tor the same course of invasion and plunder. The state of the Ruiiillas «ill be more partiou- l.iriy mentioned in a subse(pient paj^e. The far-distant Seiks had j:;radindlv inercased in numl)er and power, and could now furnish 80,000 men fit to bear arras. They pos- sessed all the fertile country of the Punjaub between Sirliind and Attoe. Administration' op Waiiukn Hastings. — This eelebr.ited governor superseded Mr. Cartier in the Uenj;al presidency in April, 1772. He had accompanied Mr. Vansittart to England in 1764, and was at that time in the enjoyment of a moderate indepen- dence, and a reputation for ability and dis- interestedness of no common order. Presi- dents and counsellors, eominandcrs military and naval — in a word, the whole body of European oflieials, of any rank in the ser- vice — are recorded as having received costly presents from the native princes. In this list the name of Warren IIastinf:;s is alone want- ing; and as it is certain his position in the court of Meer Cossiin must have afforded more than average o])portunities for the accumulation of wealth in a similar manner, the exception tends to prove that the love of money formed no part of his " sultan- like and splendid character."* On the con- * Bishop Heber's Journal (London, 1828), i., 330. t The ]it'digi'ee of llie yoiinp; writer can, it is nftirmed, be traced back to tlie fierce sea-king, long the terror of both coasts of tlie British channel, whose subjugation called forth nil the valour and perseverance of the great Alfred ; and in tracing llie ]iolitical career of the Indian governor, one is tempted to think that not a few of tlie piratical propensities of Hastings the Dane, were inherited by his remote descendant. The more inunediate ancestors of Warren Hastings were lords of the manor of Dav- U'sford, in Worcestershire, and retained considerable V calth up to the time of the civil war in which King Charles I. lost his crown and life, and their existing representative all his possessions, except the old manor house, which being from povertv un- able to retain, tliey sold in the following generation to a Lonilon merchant. To regain the ancient home of his family was the aspiration of Warren Hastings, w hiie still a child of seven years old ; and the hojie ■which first dawned on his mind as he lay on the bank of the rivulet flowing through the lands of Daylesford to join the Isis, never passed away, but cheered him amid every phase of his chequered career, from the time when he learned his dailv tasks on the wooden bench of the village school, or laboured at a higher deseriiition of study at the next school to which he was sent, where he was well taught, but so scantily fed, that he always attributed to that circumstance his stunted growth and emaci- ated appearance. From Newington Butts he was trary, he was generous even to prodigality; by which means, a brief sojourn in ICng- land, Hurroundcd by family claims, reduced his finances to a condition little above that in which they had been fifteen yeais before; when, through the influence of a distant relative in the K. I. direction, the impo- verished scion of a noble house bad been dispatched, at the age of seventeen, as a writer to Calcutta. f There, as we have seen, he had risen from the lowest grade of office to a seat at the council-board, aided by gen- eral talent and ap|)lieatioii to business, but especially by the then rare advantage of acquaintance with the Persian language — the medium through which official correspon- dence in India was mainly conducted. The evidence given by him during the inquiry instituted by parliament in 17Gfi, regarding the system of government adopted by the E. I. Cy., aflbrded a fair opportunity for the exposition of his views on a subject of which he was well calculated, both by expe- rience and ability, to form a correct opinion; and altliougli the hostility of the Clive ])arty in the India House, prevented — happily for Hastings — his being suffered to accompany his former chief, Mr. ^'ansittart, in the pro- jected mission to Bengal, no objection was made to his appointment to the station of second in council at ^Madras, whither he proceeded in 1769. Here his measures transferred to Westminster school, where Churchill, Colman, Lloyd, Cumberland, Cowper, anil Imjiey, were fellow-students. flis comrades liked and admired the even-tempered boy, who was the best of boatmen and swimmers; and so high were his scholarlv ac- quirements, that ujion the sudden death of the uncle, who had ]>laced him at Westminster, Dr. NichoU, then head-master, ottered to bear the expense of sending his favourite pupil to Oxford. But the distant relative on whom the responsibility of the decision devolved, persisted in sending the youth to India, and he was shipped oft' accordingly. Some seven years after, when about four-and-l'.venty, he married the widow of a military officer. She soon fell a victim to the climate, leaving Hastings one child, who was sent to England for health and edu- cation. The death of this son. to whom he was fondly attached, was the first intelligence received by the bereaved father on hi.s arrival in 1764, and it rendered him more than commonly indifferent to the management of his pecuniary affairs. On leaving India, the chief part of his savings remained vested there, the high rate of interest being jirobably the inducement ; but great advantages of this description are usually of a precarious character, and Hastings lost both principal and interest. This calamity did not hinder him from providing liberally for an aunt, for an only and beloved sister, like himself, the off- sjiring of an early and ill starred marriage, and for other pensioners, althougli his own Indian equip- ment had to be purchased with borrowed money. 322 STATE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN BENGAL— 1772. were especially directed to improve the investments on -which the dividends of the company mainly depended, and these ex- ertions were instrumental in procuring his promotion to the station of governor of the Bengal presidency.* Affairs there had reached the last stage of disorganisation. Seven years had elapsed, since the acquisition of the dewannee, with- out the establishment of any efficient system for the government of the people, and the result was the total absence of "justice or law, or adequate protection to person or property anywhere in Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, except at Calcutta; the boys of the service being sovereigns of the coun- try, under the unmeaning title of super- visors, collectors of the revenue, adminis- trators of justice, and rulers, heavy rulers, of the people." These youths — whom Hastings elsewhere describes as " most of them the agents of their own banyans (native managers), and they are devils" — occupied more lucrative positions than the governor himself, obtaining from one to three lacs a-year; but they were a dan- gerous class to meddle with, being " gene- rally sons, cousins, or d'eves of directors."t The new governor was not the man to risk provoking a powerful opposition to his ad- ministration by their recall, but contented himself with some indirect and partial at- tempts to retrench their power, and pave the way for its gradual withdrawal. Meanwhile, the measures dictated by the Court of Directors were to be carried out, and the task was one of much greater deli- cacy and importance than persons imper- fectly acquainted with the constitution of Indian society could possibly conceive. The company were extremely dissatisfied with the amount of revenues levied by the native officials, and were well disposed to attribute * Among the fellow-passengers of Hastings, during his voyage, was a German baron named Irahoff, who, in the hope of finding remunerative employment as a portrait painter, was proceeding to India, accom- panied by liis wife, a very beautiful and accomplished woman, a native of Archangel, and their children. The result of some montlis of constant intercourse between two persons of liigh intellectual acquire- ments, and feelings stronger than their principles, may he conjectured. Hastings was taken dangei-- ously ill ; the lady nursed liini (according to tlie Kev. Mr. Gleig) " with a sister's care ;" and before the vessel reached Madras, it was arranged that a di- vorce should be sued for in the Franconia courts by the baroness, who, during the long years which might and did elapse ])cndiiig tlie decision of the judges, was to continue to live with the baron. This arrangement was actually carried out: the Imhotfs to their mismanagement and venality the ruinous condition both of their own finances and of the trade of the country. This frame of mind procured a ready reception to the charges brought before them through irre- gular channels, by means of the long purse and restless intrigues of Nuncomar, against Mohammed Reza Khan, who, it was alleged, had been guilty of extensive embezzlements of revenue, and likewise of an illicit mono- poly of rice during the recent famine. Hastings was consequently directed to pttt in immediate execution the resolve of the company — " to stand forth as dewan, and to take upon themselves the entire care of the revenues;" and, likewise, to institute a public examination into the conduct of the ex-dewan. These instructions were ad- dressed by the secret committee of the company, not to the council, but privately to the governor, and were received by him in the evening of the tenth day after his accession to office. On the following morn- ing, orders were dispatched to Moorshedabad for the seizure of Mohammed Reza Khan, which was effected with the utmost secrecy in the silence of midnight. The Mussulman, with characteristic composure, upon being unex- pectedly made a prisoner, attempted neither resistance nor expostulation, but bent his head and submitted to the will of God. It was considered necessary by the presidency to subject to a like arrest and examination the brave Hindoo chief, Shitabroy, whose distinguished services had been rewarded by a similar appointment in Bahar to that given to Mohammed Reza Khan in Bengal, although the directors had given no order on the sttbject, nor was any accusation what- ever on record against him. The inquiry into the conduct of these ex-officials and their subordinates was delayed for some months, on the plea of giving time for the followed Hastings from Madras to Calcutta ; and when the marriage was at length formally dis- solved, the baron returned to his native country with wealth to purchase and maintain the position of a landed proprietor, leaving the governor-general of Lulia to marry the divorced lady, and adopt her two sons. Whether from ignorance of these facts, or a politic desire to overlook the antecedents of the union of a distinguished public servant, it appears that Queen Charlotte welcomed Mrs. Hastings with especial affability to a court remarkable for its high standard of female character. It is but justice to state, that Mr. and Mrs. Hastings remained devot- edly attached to each other ; and that the affectionate attentions of her son and daughter-in-law, 8ir Charles and Lady Imliofi', were the solace of Hastings under tlie many self-sought sorrows of his old age. t Li/c of Warren ILisliiigs, pp. 147, 235, 269. HASTINGS' METHOD OP RAISING LAND REVENUE— 1772. 323 deposition of complaints. In the mean- wliilo, tlio Khulsa, or f^nvcrninpiit revenue est:il)lisliiiient, was transferred from Moor- shedabad to Calcutta; the ollice of iiail)- dewan was abolished botli for ]5engal and Bahar; the British council formed into a board of revenue ; and a native functionary or assistant dewan, under the old lliiuloo title of roy-royan,* appointed to act in the Khalsa, to receive the accounts in the Benf^al language, and make reports. The great ob- stacle to an equitable and satisfactory ar- rangement of the revenues, was the utter ignorance of the law-makers regarding the tenure of land ; but Hastings, influenced by the necessity of a speedy decision, and considering it better " to resolve without de- bate, than to debate without resolving, "-|- cut the Gordian knot by determining to let the lands in farm for a period of iive years. | In many instances, the hereditary Hindoo rulers of districts had sunk into tlic con- dition of tributaries, and in that character had been forcibly included by their Moslem concjucrors in the large class of zemindars or middle-men, by whom the village autho- rities of the old system of numerous inde- pendent munieipahties were gradually sup- planted in Bengal. By the present regula- tions, when the zemindars, and other middle- men of ancient standing, oflercd for the lands, or rather land-rents, which they had been accustomed to manage, terras which ■were deemed reasonable, they were pre- ferred ; when their proposals were considered inadequate, a pension was allotted for their subsistence, and the lands put up for sale — a proceeding which, of necessity, involved the repeated commission of glaring injustice and impolicy ; for many men who had nothing to lose were installed, to the expulsion of pre- vious zemindars, who only ottered what they could realise with case to their tenants (for so these must be called, for want of a proper term to express a false position) and remu- neration to themselves. To the ryots, or actual cultivators, leases or titles were given, enumerating all the claims to which they • The royroyan had before been the chief officer under the naib-dcwan, having the immediate charge of crown lands, and the superintendence of the ex- chequer. — (Auber's British Poucr in India, i., 3G9.) t GU'ig's Life of V'lirren Hasfiiiffx, i., ."01. I Under Mohammed Keza Khan's management, the system followed was the ruinous one introduced by Mohammedan nabobs, of farming out the lands annually. — (l)ow's llindoostan, vol. i., p. cxxxv.) § No European was permitted, directly or indi- rectly, to hold lands in any part of the country. II Hulhed's Digest of Hindoo Laws was drawn up were subject, and prohibiting, under penal- tics, every additional exaction. 'I'licse ar- rangements, however fair-seeming in theory, were founded on incorrect premises, and proved alike injurious to the interests of the company and the welfare of the people. § Regarding the administration of justice, Hastings exerted himself with praiseworthy zeal. Aware of the intention of the home government to take this portion of Indian att'airs under their especial consideration, he feared, not without reason, that their deliberations might issue in an endeavour to transplant to India the complicated system of jurisprudence long the acknowledged and lamented curse of lawyer-ridden Eng- land. In the hope of mitigating, if not averting this evil, he caused digests of the Hindoo and ^lohammedan codes to be pre- pared under his supervision, and forwarded them to Lord IMansfiehl and other legal functionaries, with an earnest entreaty that they might lie diligently studied ; and in such changes as the altered state of affairs im- mediately necessitated, he was careful, by following the plain principles of experience and common observation, to adapt all new enactments to the manners and understand- ing of the people, and the exigencies of the country, adhering as closely as possible to ancient usages and institutions. || There was justice as well as policy in this procedure ; and it is only to be regretted that it was not carried out with sufficient exactitude. All attempts to force a code of laws, however excellent, tipon people un- fitted by antecedent circumstances to receive the boon, have proved abortive : a heathen nation must be educated — aiul that often very gradually- — iu the principles of truth and justice brought to light by the Gospel, before they can rightly appreciate the prac- tical character of these virtues. The thief will not cease to steal, the perjuror to for- swear, or the corrupt judge abstain from bribery at mere human bidding ; a stronger lever is requisite to raise the tone of society, and produce a radical change in its in Sanscrit by certain pundits (Hindoo doctors of law), translated from Sanscrit to Persian, and thence to English. The Mohammedan code, such as it is, has but one legitimate source — the Koran; nevertheless, an immense mass had been written on the subject, of which a digest called the Ihdcya, filling four large folio volumes, was framed by order of Aurungzebe ; and of this work a precis was now executed under the supervision of llaslings. The Brahmins would accept nothing for themselves but bare subsistence dining their two years' labour. Promises were made of endowments for their colleges, 324 ACQUITTAL OF MOHAMMED REZA KHAN AND SHITABROY— 1773. whole spirit, before public virtue could flourish iu a moral atmosphere so deeply vitiated as that of Bengal. After centuries of oppres- sion and venality, the new rulers felt tliat their safest policy was to commence a course of gradual amelioration, rather than ! of abrupt changes — abolishing only punish- ments openly at variance with the common dictates of humanity, such as torture and mutilation. Stipendiary English magistrates were appointed to act with native colleagues ; civil and criminal tribunals were established in each district, under the check of two supreme courts of appeal — the Suddur De- wannee Adawlut, and the Nizamut Suddur Adawlut. In these arrangements one great error was, however, committed, in over- looking, or wilfully setting aside, the system of punchayets, or Indian juries, which had, from time immemorial, been the favourite and almost unexceptionable method of de- ciding civil disputes. The immediate difficulties of the presi- dency at this period were, how to raise funds wherewith to provide the investments, which were expected to be regularly furnished from the revenues; and to obtain relief from a bond-debt, varying from a crore* to a crore and a-half of rupees, the interest of which alone formed an item of ten lacs in the yearlv disbursements. In a pecuniary point of view, the cessation of the enormous salary of nearly £100,000, paid to Moham- med Reza Khan, was an advantage. He had filled, during the preceding seven years, tlie double office of naib-subah (properly subahdar) and naib-dewan; that is to say, he had been entrusted with the exercise of all the higher powers of government, judi- cial and financial (comprehended in the nizamut), and likewise with the charge of the education and management of the house- hold affairs of Mubarik-ad-Dowlah ; the ex- penditure of the yearly stipend of £320,000 having been entrusted exclusively to liim. Hastings now resolved on reducing the na- bob's allowance by one-half — a diminution which, together with the stoppage of the sala- but not jififoimed. — (llaxthii/s, iii,, 1.58.) ■* A crore of rupees, accoidii {; to the existing standard, anioiinted to imicli above a million sterlino;. t Tbe charge of o])])ressing the people, and apply- ing the most cruel coercion to delinquent renters, was certainly not disproved. Dow, who was in Ben- gal during the early part of the administration of Mohammed Iteza Klian, declares tluit, on the plea of their inability to fulfil their contracts being a ]>re- tence, many of the zemindars were bound to stakes and whipped with such unrelenting barbarity, tliat "not a lew of theiu expired in agonies under the ries of Mohammed Reza Khan and Sliita- broy, effected, it is asserted, a clear yearly saving of fifty-seven lacs of rupees, equiva- lent, at the then rate of money, to be- tween six and seven hundred thousand pounds. The youth and inexperience of Mubarik-ad-Dowlah rendered it necessary to nominate a new superintendent for his establishment ; and the selection made was so strange, that it gave rise to much subse- quent criticism, as to the real motive for choosing a female, and yet setting aside t!ie mother of the prince. Hastings thought fit to appoint to the post of gouvernante Mun- nee Begum — a person who, previous to her entrance into the seraglio of Meer Jaffier, had been a dancing-girl, but who was now possessed of great wealth ; the ostensil)le reason for the choice being " the awe" with which she was regarded by the nabob, and the improbability of her forming any plots against the English riders. There were, of necessity, many afl'airs wliich eastern customs forbade to be transacted by a woman ; and the coadjutor chosen for her was Rajah Goor- dass, the son of Nuncomar, wlio, because he inherited neither the ability nor the guile of his father, would, Hastings alleged, prove a safe instrument of conferring favour on the latter, and inducing liim to make every effort for the establishment of the guilt of Mohammed Reza Khan. The Hindoo, however, needed no incentive to stimulate his deep-rooted animosity against his Mus- sulman rival; yet, witli all his ingenuity, he failed to establisli the justice of the charges of embezzlement and monopolyf brought against the ex-dewan, or to ])revent his acquittal, after prolonged examination before a committee, over which the governor pre- sided. The innocence, and more than that, the excellent conduct, of Shitabroy, and the great exertions made by him to mitigate the sufl^'erings of the people during the famine, were clearly proved at an early stage of the inquiry. A formal apokigy was made for the restraint to which he had been subjected ; and a sirpah, or costly state lash i" and many of the ryots, reduced to despair, fled the country. — (Iliinhmstdn, i., cxxxvi.) These state- ments derive corroboration from the reasons given by the directors for ordering the trial of the dewan. In the same communication, allusion is made to the re- peated accusations brought against the agents of English ofllrials, " not barely for m<ino|)olising . grain, but for compelling tlie jioor ryots to sell even the seed requisite for the nc.\t harvest." — (Letter to I liengal, 1771.) Si'e ])r. Moodie's Tinnnuctiuits in India for important inlbrmation regarding the corj- ; duct of Mohammed Keza Khan during the famine. DEATH OF SIIITABROY.— BREACH OK FAITH WITH EMI'E1U)R-I773. 325 dress, with jewels, and an elepliant riclily cnparisoiKul, were jircsontod, to atlorii liis tiiiuii])liant return to I'atna, to fill the odice of roy-royan — tlic liif^iicst to which a native functionary could, by tlie recent rcf^ulations, t)c appointed. No small degree of humilia- tion was therefore blended with thcHC marks of retnrninpj favour, which, even if unalloyed, would probably have arrived too late to repair past wrongs. Above a twelvemonth's detention in the uncongenial climate of Calcutta, aggravated by the workings of a proud spirit subjected to unmerited indig- nity, inllictcd a mortal injury on the health of the brave chief, who died shortly after his acquittal. The appointment of roy-royan was, in testimony of liis worth, transferred to his son Callian Sing, to whom the English, by the oddest assumption in the world, thought fit "to confirm the title of Maha Kajah."* But the recent changes, notwithstanding the diminution of expendi- ture with which they were attended, did not furnish ready money to cover the cur- rent outlay of the civil and military ser- vices of the presidency, which had risen to an enormous height ; much less to meet the demands of the company at home. Hastings was deeply impressed with the exigencies of the case ; and although the Court of Directors — however strongly they urged the adoption of measures to procure relief from the bond-debt by which their movements were fettered — uniformly stated, iu the most forcible language, their desire for the merciful government of the people over whom they had assumed sway, and urged the adoption of an honest and straight- forward policy on all occasions, yet their representative, on looking round him, and perceiving the difficulties attendant on the strict fulfilment of the various duties en- joined, thought it best, whatever else he slighted, to obey the leading injunction of getting money, comforting himself with the belief that his employers would gladly re- ceive the fruits of his success, without caring to question the manner in which they had * Letter from Bengal, Nov., ITV.'J. The ancient title of Maha Kajah (the great king), borne by the highest Indian jiotentatcs before tl)e Christian era, was not, it appears, usurped by Hindoos in modern times until th*- later Mogul emperors took upon tliom- selves to confer titles, which their own usurpations had rendered unmeaning, and which by Hindoo laws could be olitained only by inheritance. Under the Rnglisli, " Maha Kajahs'' became very frequent ; and Nuncomar held this title, which descended to his son Goordass. I have been unable to trace llie origin of this celebrated man, or to find the authority upon 2u been acquired. In this resolution he was, no doubt, strengthened by the exceptional instance in which, deviating from their usual tone of instruction, they suggested the policy of taking a shameful advantage of tlie condition of the emperor, by with- holding from him the annual subsidy of about .C3()0,()()(), guaranteed by thcni in re- turn for the perpetual grant of tlie dewan- nee.t So flagrant an inconsistc'ncy was (piite enough to inspire Warren Hastings with a general distrust of the sincerity and good faith of his employers, and to incite him to grasp at immediate and unjust gains, rather than frankly set forth the actual position of affairs, and trust to the common sense and humanity of the company to give him time to develope the resources of the country, invigorate its wasted trade, cheer the drooping spirits of its industrious population; and, by tliese legitimate means, together with reformatory measures for the reduction of the illicit gains of European officials, to restore the commerce and revenue of Ben- gal to a healthy and flourishing condition. But such a course of conduct required an amount of sturdy independence — or, better far, of stanch religious principle — rarely manifested by public men of any age or country. Warren Hastings, gifted as he was in many respects, had no pretensions of this nature. A long series of years spent in the company's service, had rendered their interest a primary consideration with him. Though lavish in his expenditure, he had, as has been before shown, no avarice iu his composition. " He was far too en- lightened a man to look upon a great empire merely as a buccaneer would look on a gal- leon. "J The love of power and fame burned strong within him ; and in taking possession of the highest appointment iu the gift of the E. I. Cy., he expressed his disgust at the possibility of the government of Bengal continiung " to be a mere chair for a trien- nial succession of indigent adventurers to sit and hatch private fortunes in;"§ and urged the advisability of being entrusted wliich Macaulay speaks of him as the " head of the Brahmins of Beng.al." — {Essai/ on IlastinffS, 36.) t As earlv as Nov., 1768, the select committee, in a letter to "liengal. began to speculate on finding a plea for breaking faith with the emperor ; remarking, among other contingencies — "If he flings himself into the hands of the Mahrattas, or any other power, we arc disengaged from him ; and it may open a fair opjiortunity of withholding the twenty-six lacs we now iiay him."— (Thornton's lirilish India, ii., 37.) X Macaulay's lEsscn/ on Warren Hastingt, p. 10. § Gleig's Life of Haslinys, i., 377. 326 HASTINGS SELLS ALLAHABAD AND COEAH TO VIZIER— 1773. with sufficient authority to carry into execu- tion, without check or hindrance, the ambi- tious schemes ^vhich filled his mind, and to the fulfilment of which he was ready to de- vote his Hfe. The constitution of the presi- dency was a subject of grave complaint with him ; for, saving a certain pi'estige attached to the chair, and the single privilege of a casting vote, the governor had no superiority over any other member of the board, except the invidious description of exclusive au- thority, occasionally conferred by private communications, as in the case of Moham- med Reza Khan. A change was at hand, but by no means such as Hastings desired ; in the mean- while, during the continuance of the old system, the majority of the councillors sided with him, and enabled him to pursue his own policy, despite the opposition and re- monstrances oft'ered by the minority on various occasions, especially with regard to his summary method of dealing with the emperor. The removal of this unfortunate prince from the immediate sphere of British protection, was assei-ted to be sufficient justi- fication not only for the withdrawal of the yearly subsidy (to wliich the faith of the company liad been unconditionally pledged) ,* but even for the repudiation of the arrears which Shah Alum had been previously as- sured were only temporarily kept back by reason of the pecuniary difficulties occa- sioned by the famine. Nor was tliis all : the emperor, while at the mercy of the arrogant Mahrattas, was compelled to sign sunnuds, or grants, making over to them Allahabad and Corah. The governor left by liim in charge of these districts, knowing that the order for their relinquishment had been forcibly extorted, asked leave to place them under British protection. Hastings agreed with the Mogul officer in the impropriety of obeying a mandate issued under compulsion ; but that same mandate was not the less set forth by him as conveying a formal renun- ciation, on the part of Shah Alum, of these districts, which were forthwith formally • The very sunnuds which form the title-deeds of the company, distinctly set forth the annual pay- ment of twinty-six lacs to tlie emperor, Shall Aluiii, as a first cliaige on the revenues of Benfjal. t Col. Smith attested that, in 1768, Sliuja Dowlah came to him, expressed his desire to possess Allaha- bad and Corah, and " proH'ered four lacs of rupees in ready money, and to swear secrecy on the Ko- ran, if he would aid in its accomplishment." The same officer bore witness, that the emperor sen- sibly felt the conduct of the vizier, and had de- clared, with emotion, that it seemed as if he " did resumed in the name of the company ; and as their distance from Calcutta rendered them too expensive possessions to be re- tained without an addition of military force quite disproportioncd to the revenue deriv- able therefrom, they were openly sold to the man who had once before obtained them by treachery and murder, and who (p. 287), after his defeat by the English, had spared neither intrigue nor bribery for their regainment. t It was an act quite unworthy the representative of a great English asso- ciation, to let the paltry sum of fifty lacs induce him to sacrifice the last remnants of dominion to wliich the unfortunate emperor had been taught to look as a refuge from the worst evils that could befall him, to the ambition of his faithless and ungrateful servant. Sir Robert Barker remonstrated earnestly against this procedure, which was arranged after repeated private conferences at Benares, held between Shuja Dowlah and Mr. Hastings, during nearly three weeks of close intercourse. He declared it to be a flagrant breach of the treaty of Allahabad of 1765, by which the dewan- uee of Bengal was granted to the com- pany ; and said tliat the emperor might, and probably would, if opportunity offered, bestow the sunnuds on a rival nation. Hastings treated the possibility with scorn ; declaring, " the sword which gave us the dominion of Bengal, must be the instrument of its preservation :" if lost, he added — " the next proprietor will derive his right and possession from the same natural char- ter." Even had the imperial grants been worth no more than the parchment they were written on, the company would have been unjustifiable in withholding the pur- chase-money they had pledged themselves to give : but the truth was, the sunnuds had a real, though not very definite value, of which Hastings was fully aware, though he now chose to ridicule them as much as liis predecessor Clive had exaggerated their importance ; and for precisely the same reason — of tempo- rary expediency. t It is difficult for the not wish him to have an habitation of his own on the face of the earth." — (Aul)fr's India, i., 191-'2.) J In 1784, when arj^uinp; in favour of aidinjr, in- stead of oppressinf; tlie em])er(n', ]iastin<i;s writes, that he demanded assistance from the Ivnglisli on tlie right of f^ratitudc; assei'tiiig, " that wlieu the French and llyder earnestly solicited his grants of the Car- natic, and otl'ered large sums to obtain them, he constantly and steadily refused them. We know, by undoubted evidence, that this is true." These fir- mauns had therefore a mnrlietiihlc value very different to that of " waste pajier." — (Life, iii., 192.) TREATi' OF BENARES BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SIIUJA DOWLAH. 327 English reader to appreciate the feelin<;s which, ill the iiiiiuls of tlic Indian po]mla- tion, lent a pccnliar deforce of legality to grants unquestionably issued by the Great MoRid. The powerful and arrof;aiit ruler of Oudc ventured not on assuming the style of a sovereign : lu; knew the temper of neighbouiing (;onimunitics, and possibly of his subjects, too well to attempt this innovation ; and his successor earnestly so- licited, and at length with diinculty ob- tained from Shah Alum the title of vizier, or first subject of an empire which had little more than nominal existence, while he was himself undisputed master of an indepen- dent state as large as Ireland. Tiie sale of Allahabad and Corah was only one portion of the treaty of Benares. The counterpart was an arrangement for the hire of the British force to Shuja Dow- lah, in the novel and degrading character of mercenary troops; and this, notwithstand- ing the repeated orders of the directors to refrain from all participation in aggressive warfarcj and the recent (July, 1772) and unanimous declaration of the council, when called upon to assist their ally against the invasions of the Mahrattas — " that no object or consideration should tempt or compel them to pass the political line which they had laid down for their operations with the vizier, which were to be defensive only;" adding, that " not a single sepoy was to pass the frontiers of his territories."* The people against whom Hastings agreed to co-operate, in violation alike of the orders of his employers and the resolutions of his colleagues, were the Rohilla rulers of the country lying N.W. of Oudc and E. of the Ganges. The establishment of this mili- tary colony had been, as we have seen, forcibly cftceted during the decline of the empire, partly by the retention of lands as hereditary property, which had been origi- nally granted on the ordinary jaghire tenure, but ciiictly by the aggressions of AH ]Mo- haramed Khan,t the adventurous leader of an ever-increasing body of Afghans, whose title was avowedly that of the sword. Suc- cessive rulers of the Oudc province — them- selves usurpers of equally short standing — had made various attempts to subdue Kohil- • Auber's British Potcer in India, i., 385. t All Mohammed is said to have been the son of a Hindoo nlicer or shepherd, adopted in infancy by a Rohilla chief, and treated in all respects as his own child. — (■S/i/nc ul Mutakhcrin, iii., '!().) ^ The possessions of Haflz KelimetKhan joined the western limits of Oude, and were situated en- cuiid, and annex it to their own dominions, but without any permanent result. The country was, at the present time, divided into numerous petty principalities, under inde- pendent chiefs or .sirdars, all of whom de- rived their origin from the same stock, being of one tribe— that of Ali Mohammed Khan. Tiic very nature of their power rendered tlieir union improbable for any other pur- pose except temporary coalition against an invading force; but in that event— if all were true to the common cause — they could, it was estimated, bring into the field" 80,000 efieetive horse and foot. Still it was less their number than their bravery, dexterity with the sword, and skill in the use of war- rockets, that had heretofore enabled them to hold their ground against the imperial troops, the rulers of Oude, and their worst foes — the ]\Iahrattas. Against the latter they had fought with relentless fury on the plains of Paniput; and though, for a time, the prudence of Nujeeb-oo-Dowla had averted the threatened vengeance, the danger was delayed, not dissipated. The open hostility displayed by his son, Zabita Khan, to Shah Alum, and the evident preparations made bv him for war at Seharunpoor, were followed by the invasion of his territories by the imperial troojis, under a brave commander named Niijccb Khan, in conjunction with the jNIahrattas ; but the latter contrived to reap all the benefit of the enterprise. Shuja Dowlah did not view without un- easiness the prospect of the subjugation of Rohilciind by the iNIahrattas. To have a territory he had long coveted seized and occupied by the most dangerous people all India could furnish for neighbours, was a calamity to be averted at any hazard ; and he gladly entered into an alliance with the Rohillas, in 1773, to which the English became a party, to make common cause against the invaders. The leading Rohilla chief, Ilafiz Rehmet, whose territories formed the western boundary of Oude,J though compelled by dire necessity to consent to co-operate with the nabob-vizier, as the sole means of defence against an immediate and overpowering foe, was so distrustful of his ultimate designs, that he positively refused to take the field against the Mahrattas until tirely on the north side of the Ganges, except Etawa and one or two straggling districts. Those of Zabita Khan commenced on the Jumna, about fourteen miles from ]Jelhi, and were bounded by Sirhind on the west ; and those of Ahmed Khan Bungush, bordered on the Corah country — Furruckabad being the capital. — (Aubers India, vol. i., 189.) 328 PROCEEDINGS OF HAFIZ REHMET, THE ROHILLA CHIEF— 1773. assured by Sir Robert Barker, on the faith of the English, that no ungenerous advan- tage should be taken of his absence from his own frontier by their mutual ally. This temporary and precarious confederacy of powers, strong only if heartily united, did not prevent the hostile force from crossing the Ganges and committing great ravages in Rohilcund ; but their withdrawal was at length purchased by a bond for forty lacs, given by Hafiz Rehmet, on behalf of himself and his fellow-chiefs, to Shuja Dowlah, who became guarantee for the gradual payment of the money to the Mahrattas. The suc- ceeding events are very confusedly, and even contradictorily, related by different writers. The native, and apparently least inconsistent version, is given in the narra- tive of the son of Hafiz Rehmet, who states that the Mahratta leaders, Holcar and Sindia, subsequently negotiated with his father to join them against Shuja Dowlah, offering, as an inducement, to surrender to him the bond given on his behalf, and a share of such conquests as might be made in Oude. The Rohilla chief, whom all autho- rities concur in describing as of upright and honourable character, refused to listen to this proposition, and warned his ally of the intended attack, which, however, the Mahrattas were prevented by intestine strife from carrying into execution. The ever- treacherous and ungrateful vizier, relieved from this danger, immediately demanded the payment of the bond which he held simply as a guarantee against loss, for the benefit, not of the Mahrattas, but of him- self and the English ; and he had the art to persuade the latter people that the deed in question had actually been drawn up for the express purpose of providing for the ex- penses incurred in resisting the common foe. Hafiz Rehmet, however disgusted by this shameless demand, was not in a con- dition to offer effectual resistance, having lost many of his bravest commanders in the recent hostilities. He therefore for- warded his own share of the required sum, and entreated his fellow- chiefs to fol- low his example ; but they refused to sub- rait to such extortion ; and after many ineffectual attempts at compromise, he reluctantly prepared for the inevitable con- flict, observing, " that as he must die • Life of Ilnfiz Rehmet, English abridgment, publishi'il by Oriental Translation Fund, ])p. 112 — ll.'i. Also Sir Hubert liarkcr's evidence in 1781. Thornton's ISnlisli Einjitrr in Jiidiii. ii., -1 1. some time, he could not fall in a better cause."* Shuja Dowlah, notwithstanding the pains he had taken to win over some of the minor sirdars or governors, the indefensible cha- racter of the country, and the vast numerical superiority of his own troops, was little disposed to confront, without extraneous assistance, the small but hardy Afghan bands, who were resolved to struggle, even unto death, in defence of their hearths and homes in the fair valleys of Rohilcund. There were soldiers in India whose steady disciplined valour might be depended upon when fighting as hired mercenaries against such combatants as these. A single English battalion was to native armies as the steel to the bamboo : with this addition they became all-powerful; without it, the death of a favourite leader, the outburst of a thunder-storm, a few wounded and ungov- ernable elephants, or a hundred other pos- sible and probable contingencies, might change in an instant the shout of victory and the eager advance, into the yell of defeat and the headlong flight, amidst which even the commanders would lack presence of mind to issue any better orders than the very watchword of panic — chellao ! chellao ! (get on ! get on !)-|- The deceitful represen- tations made by Shuja Dowlah regarding the reason for which he had been intrusted with the Rohilla bond, was intended to give the English a plausible pretext to aid him in punishing an alleged breach of treaty. At the same time, he was too well acquainted with the wants and difSculties of the Cal- cutta presidency, and with the character of the governor, to feel any necessity for circum- locution in intimating Lis desire of seizing Rohilcund, and his readiness to pay a large sum for the assistance of a British force in the accomplishment of the projected usurpation. Neither regard for the honour of his nation, nor the dignity of his own position as the representative of a great commercial body, nor even for the private reputation which he often declared " it had been the study of his life to maintain unblemished," withheld Hastings from receiving this pro- position with favour, and even encouraging it by dwelling on the advantages to be derived by the projector from its execution. The result was the insertion of a clause in t Fide Colonel Wilks' graphic narrative of the battles of Hyder Ali, especially of his defeat by the Mahrattas at Chercoolee, and Hight to Seringapatum. — (llisionj of Mijsour, ii., 1-M.) ENGLISH TROOPS IIIllKI) TO EXTIRPATE ROIIILLAS— J7n. 329 the treaty of Benares, by which the Jhij^lish governor agreed to furnish trooi)3 to assist the ruler of Oudc in "the reduction" or cxi)ulsioii of their hitc aUics the Hoiiiihis, for a gratuity of forty lacs of ru])crs, to he paid when the " extermination" should he ooni- pleted, the vizier to hear the whole charge (computed at 210,000 rupees a month) of tlic British force employed in the expedition.* In the spring of 177I', the second of the three brigades into which the Bengal army was divided — viz., that of Allahabad, t joined the forces of Shuja Dowlah, and the com- bined troops entered the Kohilla country. The English commander was possibly already prejudiced against Hastings, on account of the determination manifested by the latter to keep the military under the complete control of the civil authority ; but this cir- cumstance was not needed to deepen the natural disgust excited by being employed in an undertaking deservedly stigmatised as " infamous.^' Tiie conduct of the nabob- vizier was, from first to last, as bad as cruelty, cowardice, and rapacity could make it. The Rohillas, astounded by the ap- proach of English troops, anxiously strove to make terras of peace ; but the demand of tlie invader for tivo crore of rupees, evinced his uncompromising resolve to proceed to extremities. Hafiz Rehmet took post near the city of Bareilly, with an army of 40,000 men. The English commenced the attack by a cannonade of two hours and a-half, the rapidity and persistanee of which de- feated the frequent attempts of the enemy to charge; at length, after Hafiz RclimctJ and one of his sons, with several chiefs of note, had been killed whilst rallying their dis- pirited followers, the rest turned and ilcd. Shuja Uowlah had heretofore remained a * Hastings avowed himself " glad of any occasion to employ the E. I. Cy's forces, which saves so much of their jiay and expenses" (Life, i., oj9) ; and regrets being unable to derive " some advantage from the distractions of the Malu-atta state." — (i., 397.) I Tlie Allaliabad brigade, established by Clive, drew from Fort William no less than two million sterling in P.ve years. The sum of 30,000 rupees per month, paid according to agreement by Shuja \)m\- lah, durmg that period, was scarcely felt as a relief, for the officers in command contrived to reap the chief benefit therefrom. — (Gleig's Life tf If'urreu IListinys, i., Sii.) J The old warrior, conspicuous from his long white beard, stately bearing, and noble ch.irger, when all was lost, was seen to gallop forward to perish (to our shame) on English bayonets. — (Ilebcr, i., 431.) § Warren Hastings remarked, that Colonel Cham- pion had little reason to express indignation regard- ing the destruction of the villages ; and he quoted a quiet spectator of the fight, surrounded by his cavalry and a large body of artillery; but the fortune of the day being decided, his troops made u[) for their j)ast inactivity by pursuing, slaughtering, and pillaging the fugitives ;ui(l the abandoned camp, " while the company's troojis, in regular order in their raidvs, most justly observed," (says their commander), " we have tlie honour of the day, and these banditti the profit." Then followed a fearful destruction of vil- lages, the whole country being overspread with flames for three days after the battle. Colonel Champion vainly besought Shuja Dowlah to give orders lor the cessation of these atrocities; and he also appealed to Hastings^ to plead the cause of the unhappy family of Ilafiz Rehmet; but the answer was, that such interference would probably aggravate the sufferings it was designed to alleviate : and this rebuff was accompanied by an intimation that it was the business of Colonel Champion :o fight and not to diplo- matise, and that it was especially incumbent on him to refrain from any line of conduct which should afford the nabob-vizier a pre- text for refusing to pay the forty lacs — lite- rally, the price of blood. Thus sharply admonished, Colonel Cham- pion was compelled to abide by the " great political maxim," till then utterly disre- garded in Anglo-Indian policy, — " that no power which supports another as the mere second in a war, has the smallest right to assume a prominent place in the negotia- tions which are to conclude that war."|| Shuja Dowlah was therefore suflcred to finish the aft'air entirely to his own satisfac- tion ; which he did by following up the slaughter of about 2,000 Rohillas on the field of battle, with the expulsion of 18,000 letter written by this officer during the war with the vizier, in 1764, in which he declared, that according to his instructions he had been ravaging the enemy's country, and had " destroyed upwards of 1,000 villages." This barbarous system was unhappily employed, without scruple, by European commanders; and Clive especially, as a favourite measure, sub- sidised bands of Mahrattas for the express purpose of spreading devastation round the French settle- ments and encampivients. Orme's work contains irrefragable testimony of the desolating ho.stilities of even Europeans, practised at the expense of the wretched peasantry, who beheld every art of a boasted civilisation employed in strife and blood- shed, and their fields not only ravaged by rival in- vaders with fire and the sword, but even the mounds reared with unwearied labour thrown down, and the waters let loose to destroy the cultivations pre- viously irrigated with unavailing toil. I! Life of Hastings, i., 439. 330 HASTINGS CAUSES CHILDREN OF ROBBERS TO BE SOLD AS SLAVES. of their countrymen, wlio, with their wives and children,* were driven forth to beg, steal, or starve. The Hindoo peasantr_y, who formed the mass of the population, ■were unfavourably aflfected by the change. It was at first attempted to show that they had experienced a great benefit by being delivered from the " grinding tyranny " of the Rohillas ; but other and more trust- worthy accounts, describe the case dificr- ently, and assert that these people, unlike their race in general, encouraged agricul- ture, while in another point they shared the Afghan characteristic— of freedom from any passion for the accumulation of wealth. The population over whom they had usurped sway, being left in the undisturbed posses- sion of their religion and customs, were therefore probably better situated under the immediate sway of these independent chiefs, than beneath the delegated despotism of the Mogul emperors.f Their expulsion was, however, not quite complete; for one chief, FyzooUa Khan, continued to resist the power of the usurper, and took post with the remains of the army on the skirts of the mountains near Pattir Ghur. After some ineft'ectual attempts to dislodge him, the vizier found his own troops becoming so discontented from arrears of pay, that he was glad to bring hostilities to a close, by entering into an agreement with Fyzoolla Khan, who agreed to surrender half the treasure which he had contrived to carry off, on condition of receiving a grant of Rampoor and certain dependent districts in Rohilcund, yielding a revenue of above £150,000 per annum. This arrangement was, however, hurried to a conclusion more by a consideration of the failing health of the vizier, than even from the discontent of the troops. The cause of his rapid decline was ostensibly attributed to a cancerous disease ; but the Mussulman historian of these times alludes to a current report — that it was the direct conseciucnce of a wound inflicted by the hand of the daughter of Hafiz Rehniet, who, when the murderer of her father filled up the measure of his crimes by an attempt to dishonour her, stabbed him with a small dagger she had concealed for the purpose. The unhappy girl was immediately put to • Stated by Colonel Champion at 100,000 souls. t Hafiz Kehmet is said to have liein " an excel- lent sovereign" (Heber, i., 434), anil Fyzoolla Klinn "a liberal U\ml]ovd."—( Jtepurl on liohilcmid 1808.) \ Siyar ul MtUakherin, iii., 208. death ; but the wound she had inflicted, though slight, proved mortal, the dagger hav- ing been previously poisoned by her mother. Such is the story told by Gholam Hussein and his translator. The former denies, the latter aflirms, its truth, and adduces certain circumstances — such as the friendship of the author for the sons of Hafiz Rehmet, his alliance with the English, and other causes, for a desire to pass slightingly over so painful a matter, f This at least is cer- tain, — that ShujaDowlah, immediately after the accomplishment of his much-desired object, the possession of Rohilcund, was seized by mortal sickness, while yet strong in the full energy of middle life ; that he lingered through many months of intense bodily anguish, and then died, leaving his usurped dominions to a youth whose addic- tion to the most hateful forms of sensuality rendered him an object of genei-al contempt. The Rohilla war was the last transaction of importance which marked the career of Hastings as governor under the old system. Among the other measures of this epoch, was one of a quite unexceptionable charac- ter — the removal of a tax on marriage. He likewise exerted himself vigorously for the suppression of gangs of thieves and plun- derers, who, under the name of decoits, committed terrible ravages in Bengal. Troops of scnassies, or religious mendicants, (the pilgrim-gipsies of Hindoostan), did great mischief under the cloak of fanatical zeal. The truth was, that during the late season of anarchy, crime of all descriptions had been greatly augmented; and many who had first laid violent hands on food, at the instigation of ravening hunger, con- tinued as a trade what they had yielded to as a momentary temptation. The measures adopted for suppressing gang-robbery were, however, of a character so flagrantly uujust, that no Christian governor could be justi- fied in adopting, far less in initiating them. Each convicted criminal was to be executed in his native village, of which every member was to pay a fine according to his substance; aiul the family of the transgressor were to become slaves of the state, to be disposed of at the discretion of govci-nment. These iniquitous regulations were enacted, not- witlistanding the avowed knowledge of the presidency, that the custom of selling slaves was alike repugnant to the doctrines of the Koran .and the Shastras. Moreover, it was at this very time found necessary to take measures to check the kidnapping of cliil- ARRIVAL OF COUNCILLORS APPOINTED UNDER NEW SYSTEM— 1774. 331 dreii, and carrying them out of the country in Dutcli and Ercnch vessels, — a ]>racticc \vhi(;h " liad fjrcatly increased since the establishnacnt of the English govcrnnicnt."* Haslhijjs Governor-general. — The great change in the constitution of the Bengal presidency, decreed by the llcgulating Act of 1772-'3, was unwelcome intelli;;i'ncc to the governor, who juslly considered the actual though ill-defined supremacy vested in the Calcutta prcsidcucy, with tlie liigh-sounding but empty title given to its head, poor compensation for liaving liis movements fettered hy four coadjutors, eacli one scarcely less ])owerful than himself. The erection of a Supreme Couit of judicature, to be con- ducted by Englishmen after tlie national method, he knew to be an innovation likely to produce considerable dissatisfaction in the minds of tjie natives ; and the result proved his surmise correct : but no small part of the blanio-iittachcs to the individuals of wliom it was composed, their ignorance of the customs of the people they came to judge being aggravated by a haughty indif- ference to the deep-rooted and undcviat- ing adherence to ceremonial observances and the riglits of sex and caste, which form so prominent a feature in the manners of the whole native population, both Iliudoo and Mohammedan. Hastings, indeed, con- soled himself for the dangerous character of the new legal courts, because the chief jus- tice, Sir EHjah Impcy, his old schoolfellow at Westminster, was the best man that could have been chosen for tlie office "in all England. "t Most authorities have formed a very ditlevcnt estimate of the same person ; and Maeaulay has not hesitated to declare, that " no other such judge luis dishonoured the English ermine since Jefl'eries drank himself to death in the Tower." J Towards the new councillors — General Clavering, Colonel IMonsou, and ^Ir. (after- wai'ds Sir Philip) Francis^ — Ilastiugs wasnot favourably disposed. They knew this, and came prepared to resent any semblance of disrespect. The occasion ofl'ercd itself be- fore they set foot in Calcutta : the salute • lierenuc CimsnUaliiinn of Aiiril and May, 1774; and ofiicial letters from Bengal of this date, quoted in Auber's British Puicer in India, i., 432. t Life of Hastings, i., 471. I Essay on Warren Ilastinfja, p. 50. § Pronounced very decidedly by Maeaulay to he the author of the Letters of Junius. — [Idem, p. 30.) The stronjiest argument on the other side, is the Steady denial of Francis himself, which he reiterated so late as 1817— that is, the year before his death, at the advanced age of eighty-eight. from Fort William consisted of seventeen, instead of twenty-one, discharges ; and the expected guard of honour did not await their latiding. The governor-general under- stood the ed'ect of these apparent trifles on the minds of the natives of all ranks, and liad calculated the degree of respect abso- lutely necessary to be shown to his colleagues: so, at least, tliey reasoned ; aiid within six days after their arrival in October, 1774, a struggle commenced, which rendered the council-chamber of Calcutta a scene of stormy debate for the space of four years. Mr. Barwell, the fourth member nomi- nated by the Regulating Act, was an ex- ])crienced Indian ollicial. He had not always been on good terms with Hastings ; but he now steadily, though with little effect, adhered to him against the uew-comcrs. Hastings liimself possessed a remarkable degree of self-control, || and rarely suffered the violence of Clavering, the pertinacity of Monson — or, worse than all, the sharp tongue and ready pen of Francis — to drive him from the 'vantage ground of equanimity, or tempt him to lay aside the quiet tone of guarded cynicism, to which the eloquent enthusiasm of his earlier and purer life had long since given place. The J5cuarcs treaty and the Rohilla war were the first subjects of discussion. On the plea of keeping faith with the political agent^ placed by him at the court of Shuja Dowlah, Hastings refused to produce the correspondence; and this circumstance, com- bined with other manifestations of a desire to crush or evade inquiry into matters in which he was personally concerned, gave rise to many grave imputations on his cha- racter. The Rohilla war was deservedly denounced by the majority as a shameful expedient to raise money ; but, unhappily, party feeling against Hastings alloyed their zeal, and ensured defeat by its own violence. In diplomacy, all three combined were no match for him, as they soon learned with bitter mortification. The clause in their in- structions which directed examination to be made into past oppressiops, was amjjle war- II In the council-chamber at Calcutta hangs a por- trait of Hastings, bearing the legend — " ?Iens a-qua in arduis ;" and no better comment need be desired to accompany the semblance of the pale face, slight frame, singularly developed brow, penetrating eye, and thin, firmly-closed lips of the man of whom it has been said, " hatred itself could deny no I title to glory — except virtue." — (Macaulay's £ssai/ on IVarrcn JListings, p. 92.) I 51 'J^'he ^Ir. Middleton mentioned under such sus- I picious circumstances in the next page. 332 SPECIFIC CHARGES OF PECULATION URGED AGAINST HASTINGS, rant for the inquiries instituted by them into various complaints urged by natives of rank against the governor.* No doubt, many of these were well founded ; for it is not likely that a person, so indifferent to the common rules of honesty and humanity in all matters of foreign policy, would be scru- pulously just in his internal arrangements. But the most puzzling point in the quarrels of this epoch, is the repeated accusation brought against him of venality — urged with a degree of vehemence which may be illus- trated by a single extract from the official records, in which the " gentlemen of the majority" (as Hastings sarcastically called them) complain, in plain terms, of the " for- midable combination of reciprocal interest" which he had established, " by acceptiug unwarrantable advantages himself, and con- niving at those which were received by the company's servants."t To this heavy charge is added : — " In the late proceedings of the revenue board, there is no species of pecula- tion from which the honourable governor- general has thought it right to abstain."! It has been before stated, that Hastings was not avaricious — far from it : he had neither taste nor taleut for the accumulation of wealth, and appears to have habitually mismanaged his pecuniary affairs. For that very reason, the high salary attached to his office proved insufficient to cover his ill- regulated expenditure : and this circum- stance may account for his having availed himself of means to recruit his own ex- chequer, closely resembling in character those simultaneously employed by him on behalf of the compaay. Many specific accusations were urged against him. Among others, the extra- ordinary appointment of Munnee Begum as guardian to the nabob, was novy distinctly * Among these was the ranee of Burdwan, the relict of the late rajah, Tiliook Chund, whose an- cestors hud governed their rightful heritage as a zemindarree during the whole period of jVIoliam- niedan rule. The ranee complained that she had been set aside from the government during the mi- nority of her son, a boy of nine years old, to make room for a corrupt agent. Another accusation brought against Hastings was that of unduly favour- ing his native steward, named Cantoo Baboo (a former servant of Clive's), who had been not only allowed to farm lands to the value of ,£15(),0()() per annum, but also to hold two government contracts, one in his own name, and the other in that of his son, a boy of ten or twelve years of age, amounting to u still higher sum. — (Dr. Hoodie's Transactions in Jinlia, p. 211.) t The majority steadily refused even the customary presents or nuzzurs (of comparatively ismall value, stated to have been purchased by her in the first instance, and subsequently retained by bribery ; and it was alleged in corroboration, that in the examination of her receipts and disbursements, a large sum remained unac- counted for. She was placed under restraint, and on being closely questioned as to the cause of the defalcation, she pleaded having given three lacs of rupees to the governor- general and his immediate retainer, Mr. Middleton.§ The receipt of this sum was not denied ; but Hastings vindicated his own share in the transaction, by asserting that the lac-and-a-half taken by him had been used as " entertainment money," to cover the extraordinary outlay necessitated by his visit to Moorshedabad, over and above the charge of upwards of 30,000 rupees made by him on the Calcutta treasury for travelling expenses ; together with a large additional sum for his companions and attendants. This explanation is quite insufficient as re- gards the exaggerated scale of expenditure adopted by the governor-general during his absence from Calcutta ; far less can it justify so large a deduction from the income of the nabob, immediately after his allowance had been cut down to the lowest point. The result of the investigation was the removal of Munnee Begum from office, and her supersession by Rajah Goordass, the son of Nuncomar, by whom the accusation of col- lusion between the begum and the governor had been preferred. The appointment was the act of the majority, conferred — not, of course, for the sake of Goordass, who was deemed incapable of doing much good or harm — but as a strong mark of the feelings entertained by them to his father ; although, at this very time, as Hastings savagely de- clared," the old gentleman was in gaol, and in a fair way to be hanged." || offered by the natives of rank), as a dangerous prac- tice i and commented severely on the reasons adduced by Hastings for receiving and paying them into the company's treasury, and by Barwell for receiving and retaining them. — (Lcttirfrom llenijiil, Oclo\K'r,\lli.) I Coiisutlalioiis (if l!iiii/al Cnuncil, May, 1775. § Of tlie lac-and-a-half of rupees (wliich, by the existing standard, considerably exceeded £1 j,()00 in value) no account was ever rendere<l, or defence set tip, by Mr. Middleton.— (Mill's Imliti, iii., U3;3.) II The concentrated bitterness of this expression appears in a striking light when contrasted witV the singular moderaliou of Hastings at the time of the trial of Mohammed Keza Khan, on the charges of wholesale plunder and sanguinary op])ression. He then remarked on the little chance of ca])ital punish- ment being inflicted, let the trial end how it would i giving as a reason — " On ne pend pas des gens qui ont un million dans leur poche." — {Life, i., 264.) NUNCOMAR HEARD IN COUNCIL AGAINST HASTINGS--177r.. 333 The means by which the most danp;orous and (Iciully foe ever en<:ouiitcrc(l by Jlastiiif^s was dashed to tlie ground at the very moment when his hand was uplifted to strike, arc of a nature which must ever leave some (Icgree of uncertainty as to the degree of culpability attributable to the chief actors.* The antecedent circumstances require to be rightly understood before any clear con- ception can be formed on a matter wliieli created no ordinary degree of interest in the mind of the English public, and afforded to Burke a fitting theme for some of the most thrilling passages in his eloquent speeches, in the long subsequent impeach- ment of Hastings. It will be remembered that Nuncomar, previous to his appointment as naib-dewan to Meer Jaffier, had been detained at Calcutta by order of the direc- tors, on the ground of being a dangerous intriguer, whose liberty might endanger the safety of the state ; and this conclusion was arrived at mainly through evidence brought forward by Hastings, who conducted the examination, and was known to entertain a very unfavourable opinion of Nuncomar. At the period of the trial of Mohammed E.cza Khan, the governor-general took great credit for the manner in which, notwith- standing his private feelings, he had entered freely into all the complaints brought for- ward by the Brahmin e.x-dewan against his Mussulman successor. He even showed Nuncomar considerable personal attention until the termination of the affair, when the accusations not being established, were pronounced malicious aiul libellous. Nuncomar felt that he had been used as a mere tool ; and, stung to the soul by the disgrace in which his ambitious schemes had terminated, he retired into temporary obscurity, and eagerly waited an oppor- tunity of revenge. The dissensions which took place in the council, speedily afforded the desired op- portunity; and just four months after the establishment of the new government, Nun- comar presented a memorial to the council, which contained a formal statement of bribes, to a great extent, received by the governor-general from jSEohammcd Reza Khan, as the price of bringing the inquiry into his conduct to a favourable termination. Francis read the paper aloud : a stormy • One of the most moderate and unprejudiced authorities on this subject truly remarks, that " opinions may, indeed, differ as to the extent of Hastings' culpability ; but he must be a warm parti- al tcrcation followed. Hastings, for once, lost all temper ; called his accuser the basest of mankind ; indignantly denied the right of the councillors to sit in judgment on their superior ; and, u])on the request of Nun- comar to be heard in person being granted by the m<ajority, he left the room, followed by Harwell. General Clavering took the vacant chair, — Nuncomar was called in, and, in addition to the previous charges, he alleged that two crore and a-half of ru- pees had been paid by !Munnce Begum to Hastings, and that he had himself pur- chased his son's appointment, as her col- league in office, with another crore. Hastings felt the ground giving way be- neath his feet. The arrangement (to use the most lenient epithet) between him and Munnce Begum, regarding the " entertain- ment money," would, if other testimony were wanting, suffice to prove that he had not scrupled to obtain, in a more or less surreptitious manner, large sums in addition to the regular salary (£25,000 per annum), and allowances attached to his position of governor-general. The probability was a strong one, that the various and specific charges which the vindictive Brahmin was prepared to maintain at the hazard of his life, would contain at least sufficient truth to enable the adversaries of Hastings to triumph over him, by the ruin of the repu- tation he had, from early youth, spent laborious days and anxious nights in ac- quiring. To lose this was to lose all : he had no extraneous influence with the crown, the ministers, in parliament, or even with the company, sufficient to prop up his claims to the high position which credit for personal disinterestedness, still more than for great and varied talents, had obtained for him. ^Vith a mind depressed by gloomy apprehension, he prepared for the worst ; and, to avoid the last disgrace of dismissal, placed in the hands of two confidential agentsf in London his formal resignation, to be tendered to the directors in the event of a crisis arriving which should render this humiliating step of evident expediency. Meanwhile he met his foes with his usual undaunted mien, and carried the war into the enemy's country, by instituting pro- ceedings in the Supreme Court against I\un- comar and two kinsmen, named Eowke, in san, indeed, who will go to the length of declaring that the hands of the governor-fieneral were alto- gether clean." — (Thornton's British India, ii., 71.) t Col. Macleane and Mr. Graham. 334 NUNCOMAR TRIED BEFORE SIR ELIJAH IMPEY FOR FORGERY the company's service, for an alleged con- spiracy to force a native, named Camul-oo- deen, to write a petition reflecting falsely and injuriously on himself and certain of his adherents, including his banyan Cantoo Baboo, on whom he was known to have conferred undue privileges. Clavering, Mon- son, and Francis, after hearing the evidence adduced at an examination before the judges, placed on record their conviction that the charge was a fabrication, and had no foundation whatever in truth. Within a few days from this time a more serious ofience was alleged against Nuncomar — he was arrested on a charge of forging a bond five years before, and thrown into the common gaol. The ostensible prosecutor was a native of inconsiderable station ; but Hastings was then, and is still, considered to have been the real mover in the busi- ness. The majority manifested their con- victions in the most conspicuous manner : they dispatched urgent and repeated mes- sages to the judges, demanding that Nun- comar should be held to bail ; but to no purpose. The assizes commenced ; a true bill was found ; Nuncomar was brought before Sir Elijah Impey, and after a pro- tracted examination, involving much con- tradictory swearing, was pronounced guilty by a jury of Englishmen, and condemned to death. The animus of the whole affair could not be mistaken : all classes were infected by a fever of excitement ; and Clavering, it is said, swore that Nuncomar should be rescued, even at the foot of tlie gallows. Impey behaved throughout the trial with overbearing violence, and not only refused to grant a reprieve until the pleasure of the home authorities should be known, but even censured the counsel of Nuncomar, in open court, for his laudable attempt to prevail on the foreman of the jury to join in recom- mending his client to mercy.* Hastings, who might, had he chosen, have set his cha- racter in the fairest Hght by procuring the respite of his accuser, remained perfectly • Thornton's British India, ii., 84. Burke pub- licly accused Hastings of having " murdered Nunco- mar, through the hands of Impey." Macaulay views the matter more leniently as regards Hastings ; but deems the main point at issue quite clear to everyone, " idiots and biographeis excepted," and considers any lingering doubt on the subject quite set aside by the strong language in which Impey was subsequently described by Hastings as the man " to whose sup- port I was at one time indebted for the safetv of my fortune, honour, and reputation." — (ii., 265.) 6ut this quiescent, and thereby confirmed the general conviction that he dared not encounter the charges of Nuncomar. The sufficiency of the evidence by which the act of forgery was established, is a question of secondary importance when compared with the palpable injustice of inflicting capital punishment for a venial offence on a person over whom the judges had but a very questionable claim to exer- cise any jurisdiction at all.f Forgery in India was the very easiest and commonest description of swindling — a practice which it was as needful, and quite as difficult, for men of business to be on their guard against in every-day life, as for a lounger in the streets of London to take care of the handkerchief in his great -coat pocket. The English law, which made it a capital ofience, was just one of those the introduc- tion of which into Bengal would have been most vehemently deprecated by Hastings, had he not been personally interested in its enforcement. The natives, both Mussul- man and Hindoo, were astounded at the tinprecedented severity of the sentence ; many of them, doubtless, remembered the notorious forgery of Clive, and the fate of Omichund : and now an aged man, a Brah- min of high caste, was sentenced to a public and terrible doom for an act, a little more selfish in its immediate motive, but certainly far less dreadful in its effects. The offence which had not barred an Eng- lishman's path to a peerage, was now to doom a Hindoo to the gallows. And yet not so; the ostensible reason deceived no one ; and even the warmest partisans of Hastings could not but view Nuncomar rather as the determined opponent of the governor-general, about to pay with life the forfeit of defeat, than as a common felon, condemned to die for a petty crime. The Mussulmans were mostly disposed to view with exultation the fate of the inveterate foe of Mohammed Reza Khan ; but the Hindoos waited in an agony of shame and doubt the dawn of the day which was to witness the evidence is not unexceptionable, since it is very pos- sible that these words referred to the important de- cision of the judges, at a subsccpient crisis in the ca- reer of Hastings, when liis resignation was declared invalid, and Clavering reluclanlly compelled to relin- quish his claim to tlie position of governor-general. t Inasmuch as Nuncomar was not a voluntary in- habitant of Calcutta at the time when the ofience was said to have been committed, but a prisoner brought and detained there by constraint, under the circumstances referred to in the preceding page. EXECUTION OF THE MAHA-RAJAH, NUNCOMAll-l 775. 835 ignominious end of a Brahmin vvlio, Ijy tlicir laws, could, for the darkest crime ever pictured by tiie imagination of man, only be puiiislicd with loss of caste. The fatal morning of the 5th of August arrived, and Nuncomar stepped into his palanquin with the dignified serenity so often displayed by his countrymen wlien brouglit face to face with a violent death, and was ijornc; through countless multitudes, who beheld the rnehui- clioly procession with an aniazeiuent which swallowed uj) every other feeling. Calmly mounting the seati'old, the old man sent a last message to the three councillors who would, he knew, have saved him if possible, commending to their care his son, Rajah Goordass. He then gave the signal to the executioner. The drop fell, and a loud and terrible cry arose from the assembled popu- lace, which immediately dispersed — hun- dreds of Hindoos rushing from the pol- luted spot to cleanse themselves iu the sacred waters of the Hooghly. The majority in council, thus publicly defeated, sympathised deeply with the fate of this victim to political strife; and the older English oflicials could not but remem- ber for how many years Nuncomar had played a part, of selfish intrigue it is true, but still an important and conspicuous part in Anglo-Indian history; for his co-opera- tion had been gained at a time when gover- nors and members of council, then mere commercial factors, paid assiduous homage to native functionaries.* The feelings of Hastings may be conjectured from au e.x- * Nuncomar was governor of Ilooghly in 1756. He was induced by the English to talte part witli them against liis master, Surajah JJowlah, whose orders of affording aid to the French wlien besieged in Chandernagore he disobeyed, to serve his secret allies, to whom on several occasions he rendered con- siderable service, and in so doing incurred the sus- picions of the nabob, and was dismissed from office. His subsequent career lias been shown in previous pages; its termination adds another name to the list of remarkable deaths which awaited the chief actors in the conspiracy that was carried into execution on the field of I'lassy. At the division of spoil which took place in the liouse of the Seit brothers, nine persons were present. Of these, three (the Seits and Koy-duUub) were murdered by Meer Cossim Ali ; the fourth (Clive) died by his own hand ; the fifth (Meeran) perished by lightning ; the si.\th (Scrafton) was lost at sea; the seventh (Omicliund) died an idiot; the eighth (Meer Jaffier) went to his grave groaning under every suffering which pecu- niary dilficidties, domestic sorrows, and bodily diseases, resulting from deliauchery, could indict. Of the death of Mr. Watts I have seen no record. Gassitee Begum, and several confederates not present on the occasion above referred to, were put to death at pression which csca|)ed him many years lat(;r, that he had never bc(!n the per.Honal enemy of any man but Nuncomar,! " whom from my soul 1 detested even when 1 was compelled to countenance him." He like- wise foresaw the eflect the fate of his fallea foe would produce in the mind.s of the na- tives. To contest with a fortunate man, was, in their sight, especially in tiiat of the Mo- h:iirinK!(lan population, like fighting against God himself — as futile, and, in some sort, as impious. As to the power of the ma- jority in council, its prestige was gone for ever; although, how the right of making war and peace, levying tax.es, and nomi- nating officials, came to be vested in one set of men, and the exclusive irresponsible infliction of capital punishments in another, was a question quite beyond the comprehen- sion of the Bengalees. 'J'he governor-general felt relieved from the danger of any more native appeals, pecuniary or otherwise ; J and whilst the air was yet filled with weeping and lamentation, he sat down to write a long and critical letter to Dr. Johnson about the Tour to the Hebrides, Jones' Fersian Grammar, and the history, traditions, arts, and natural productions of India. From this time he renounced all idea of resiirnin? his position, and repeatedly declared, in both official and private communications, that nothing short of death or recall should hinder him from seeing the result of the struggle with his colleagues. That result may be told in his own w ords — " his adver- saries sickened, died, and fled,"§ leaving him various times. Meer Cossim himself died poor and in obscurity. t Life, iii., 3o8. This speech needs qualification; for Hastings, on his own showing, entertained for P'rancis, Wavering, and many minor functionaries, a feeling for which it would be difficult to find any other name than personal enmity. One gentle- man, apjiointed by the majoiity to supersede a fa- vourite nominee of his own as resident at Oude, lie speaks of as " that wretch Bristowe ;" and entreats bis old friend Mr. Sulivan ^the ancient opponent of Clive, and the chairman of tlie Court of Jjirectors) to help rid him " from so unworthy an antagonist," declaring that he would not employ him, though his life itself should be the forfeit of refusal. — (ii.,336.) X Francis, when e-xamined before parliament in 1788, declared, that the effect of the execution of Nuncomar, defeated the inquiries entered into re- garding the conduct of Hastings; " that itirapresised a general terror on the natives with respect to pre- ferring accusations against men in great power ;'' and that he and his coadjutors were uiiwiili:ig to expose them to what appeared to him and his fellow-coun- cillors, as well as to the Bengalees, a manifest danger.— (Mill, iii., 641.) § Life of Ilastiiujs, iii., 305. 336 HASTINGS KEPUDIATES RESIGNATION TENDERED BY HIS AGENT. the undisputed master of the field. The first to fail was Colonel Monson, who, after two months' sickness, fell a victim to the depressing influence of climate, and the wear and tear of faction. The casting vote of Hastings, joined to the undeviating support of Barvrell, restored his complete ascendancy in council, which he exercised by reversing all the measures of his adversaries, displacing their nominees to make way for officials of his own appointment, and by reverting to his previous plans of conquest and dominion, of which the leading principle was the formation of subsidiary alliances with the native princes, especially of Oude and Berar, — a policy which, in skilful hands would, he foresaw, act as a powerful lever wherewith to raise England to a position of paramount authority in India. But once again his ambitious career was destined to receive a severe though temporary check. The ac- counts sent home by the Clavering party, furnished both the government and the directors of the E. I. Cy. with strong argu- ments for his immediate recall. With the proprietors he had been, and always con- tinued to be, a special favourite, and they vehemently opposed the measure. Still there seemed so little chance of his con- tinuance in office, save for a limited time, and on the most precarious and unsatisfac- tory tenure, that his agents and friends, after much discussion, thought themselves war- ranted in endeavouring to effect a compro- mise, by tendering his voluntary resignation in return for a private guarantee on the part of government for certain honours and advan- tages not clearly stated. The resignation was proffered and accepted, but it appears that the conditions annexed to it were not ful- filled ; for the negotiators sent Hastings word, by the same ship that brought an order for the occupation of the chair by General Clavering (pending the arrival of the newly-appointed governor-general, Mr. Wheler), that they hoped he would not abide by the pledge given on his behalf, since the stipulations made at the same time had been already flagrantly violated.* On receipt of this varied intelligence, Hastings was, or afi'ected to be, at a loss * See Letters of Maoleaiie and Stowart. — (Lifi:, ii., 95.) The " gross breacli" of afjrcement so loudly complained of, was the investment of General Claver- inp; with the order of tlic liath. This same " red ribbon" created as much spleen and envy among the Englisli functionaries, as the privilege of carrying a fish on their banners did among the ancient Mogul nobility ; and a strange evidence of the consequence, how to act; but the violence of General Clavering in attempting the forcible assump- tion of the reins of government, afforded him an inducement or a pretext to repu- diate the proceedings of his representatives in London, and declare that his instructions had been mistaken ; that he had not, and would not resign. Clavering insisted that the resignation which had been tendered and accepted in England, could not be revoked in India: he therefore proceeded, with the support of Francis, to take the oaths of office, issue proclamations as gover- nor-general, hold a council, and formally demand the surrender of the keys of the fort and the treasury. But Hastings had the advantage of that possession which an old adage pronounces to be " nine-tenths of the law :" he warned the officers of the gar- rison at Fort WUliam, and of all the neigh- bouring stations, to obey no orders but his at their peril, and altogether assumed so daring an attitude, that his adversaries shrank from the alternative of civil war, and consented to abide by the decision of the judges. The notorious partiality of the chief justice left little doubt of the issue ; but apart from any such bias, the decree was sufficiently well-grounded. The right of Clavering rested on the resignation of Hastings, and Hastings would not resign. In such a case the most reasonable course was to let things remain as they were, pend- ing the decision of the home authorities. The defeated party, and especially Francis, behaved with unexpected moderation; but the victor, not contented with his triumph, strove to prevent Clavering from reassuming his place in the council, on the ground that it had been formally vacated, and could not be reoccupied except with the combined sanction of the ministers and directors. This absurd proposition Hastings maintained with all the special pleading of which he was an unrivalled master; but the judges could not, for very shame, support him, and Clavering was sufi'ered to resume his former position. These proceedings occurred in June, 1777. They had a most injurious cft'cct on the health of the high-principled but hasty- tempered general; so much so, that Hastings' attributed to the intriguing nabob of Arcot at the Knglish court, was afforded by the knightly insignia being sent to him, with authority to invest theiewitll (jeneral Coote, and the royal ambassador, Sir John Lindsay. — (Auber's Imliii, i., liOO.) The greatest w<inder is, that the honest and plain-spoken general did not fiatly refuse to receive the lionour by the luuul of one he so thoroughly despised.) THE SUPEEME COURT OF CALCUTTA IN 1780. 337 prophecy that he ■would soon die of vexa- tion, was realised in the followinj; August.* Mr. Whclcr, on his arrival in November, was compelled to content liimsrlf with the rank of a councillor, instead of tlie high ofTioc he had c::])ccted to fill. National difficulties fast following one another, en- gaged the whole attention of English poli- ticians; and war with America, conjoined to the hostility of France, Spain, and Holland, with the armed ncutndity of the Baltic, and growing discontent in Ireland, left the miuistryt little inclination to begin reforms in India, which must commence with the removal of a man whose experience, energy, and self-reliance might be depended upon in the most perilous emergency for the de- fence of British interests in India; although, in less critical times, his aggressive policy necessitated an amount of counter-action quite inconsistent with the unchecked authority he so ardently desired to obtain, and which, for many reasons, it seemed advisable to vest in the governor-general. These considerations procured for Hastings a temporary confirmation in oflice after the expiration of the term originally fixed hy the Regulating Act. In 1779, a new par- liamentary decree announced that the .£1,400,000 borrowed of the public, having been repaid by the company, and their bond- debt reduced to £1,500,000, they were authorised to declare a dividend of eight per cent. The r.aising of the dividend seems to have been an ill-omened measure ; for once again it was followed by an increase of pecuniary distress, which not even the inventive brain and strong arm of the gover- nor-general could find means to dissipate, although the departure of Francis freed him from the restraining presence of a se- vere and prejudiced, though public-spirited censor. Before their final separation, a partial and temporary reconciliation took place, effected under peculiar circumstances, through the mediation of Mv. Barwell, who, having amassed an ample fortune, returned to enjoy it in England in 1780. Unanimity in the council was indeed of the first neces- sity to meet a great and instant danger — namely, the alarming excitement occasioned among the native population by the perse- • It was about this period that the news of the much-desired divorce arrived, wliich enabled the Baroness Inihoff to become Mrs. Hastings. The Mussulman chronicler, in relating the splendid fes- tivities with which the marriage was celebrated, asserts that the governor-general, ve.xed at the ab- sence' of Ckvering, went himself to his house, and vering attempts of the Su])remc Court to extend its jurisdiction over the whole of the company's territory, and to exert a control- ing power even over the council itself. Macaulay has drawn a picture of this period in language too vivid and grajjhic to be condensed, and which has a peculiar value as proceeding from the pen of one who him- self filled the position of councillor in the Bengal prcsidencj', in an expressly legal capacity. In enumerating the evils at- tending the new tribunal, lie states that it had " collected round itself," — " A banditti of bailiffs' followers compared with whom the retainers of the worst English spunging- houses, in the worst times, might be considered as upright and tender-hearted. Many natives highly considered among their countrymen were seized, hurried up to Calcutta, flung into the common gaol, not for any crime even suspected, not for any debt that had been proved, but merely as a precaution till their cause should come to trial. There were in- stances in which men of the most venerable dig- nity, persecuted without a cause by extortioners, died of rage and shame in the gripe of the vile alguazils of Impey. The harems of noble Mohammedans, sanctuaries respected in the east by governments which respected nothing else, were burst open by gangs of bailitfs. The Mussulmans, braver, and less accustomed to submission than the Hindoos, some- times stood on their defence ; and there were in- stances in which they shed their blood in the door- way, while defending, sword in hand, the sacred apartments of their women. Nay, it seemed as if the faint-hearted Bengalee, who had crouched at the feet of Surajah Dowlah — who had been mute during the administration of Vansittart, would at length find courage in despair. No Mahratta invasion had ever spread through the province such dismay as this inroad of English lawyers. All the injustice of former oppressors, Asiatic and European, appeared as a blessing when compared with the justice of a Supreme Court." • • • u f hg lapse of sixty years, the virtue and wisdom of many eminent magistrates who have during that time administered justice in the Supreme Court, have not effaced from the minds of the people of Bengal the recollection of those evil days." — {JEstay, p. 49.) The power of the Supreme Court con- tinued to increase, until it seemed as if every other function of government would be swept away in the vortex created by its ever-growing circles. Not satis- fied with treating -iTitli the utmost con- tempt the magistrates and judges of the highest respectability in the country, the " black agents," as the chief justice con- at length brought him in triumph to pay homage to the bride. The fatigue and excitement, perhaps, accelerated a crisis, for the general died a few days later. — (Siyar ul Mutahherin, ii., 477.) t The dissolution of the Hockinchara ministry, by the sudden death of its chief, in 1782, was one of the circumstances which prevented Hastings' recall. 338 RECALL OF SIR ELIJAH IMPEY— 1783. temptuously termed them,* he at length fairly ventured upon a distinct assumption of dominant authority in Bengal, by sum- moning the governor-general and council individually to defend themselves against a suit for trespass committed by them in their ofBoial capacity. Hastings could bear much from his "respectable friend, Sir Elijah Impey;" but there were limits even to his tolerance; and Francis, who had long vehe- mently remonstrated against the tyranny of the Supreme Court, willingly shared the responsibility of releasing various persons wrongfully imprisoned by the judges, and of preparing to resist the outrageous pro- ceedings of the sheriff's officers, if necessary, by the sword. But before matters had pro- ceeded to the last extremity, a compromise was effected between the governor- general and chief justice, by means of an offer which the former had clearly no right to make, and the latter no shadow of excuse for ac- cepting. It will be remembered, that before the Regulating Act came into operation in India, a court of appeal had been projected, under the title of Sadder Deiuannee Adawlut, to consist of the governor- general and council in person ; but this arrangement had not beeu carried out, because the in- tended members feared to find their deci- sions set aside by the overweening authority assumed by the "king's judges," as the officers of the Supreme Court delighted to style themselves, in contradistinction to the company's servants. It was precisely this independence (in itself so just and neces- sary, though misused in unworthy and in- discreet hands) that Hastings desired to destroy ; and he did so, for the time at least, most effectually, by offering Impey, in addition to the office already held by him, that of chief justice of the Sudder De- wannee Adawlut, with a salary and fixed emoluments amounting to nearly £8,000 a-year, to be held during the pleasure of the governor-general and council. Francis and Whelcr united in opposing this arrange- ment, and stated, in plain terms, that the idea of establishing peace upon the ground of adverse claims still unrelaxed, and which nothing even appeared to reconcile but the lucrative office given to the chief justice, could be maintained oidy upon suppositions highly dishonourable to the public justice * Letter of Impey to Lord Weymouth. — (Mill.) t Keport of Committi'e, 1781. I Sir E. Coote,who had taken the placeof Barwell, geconded Hastings, though with doubt and hesitation. and to the executive administration of Bengal. This view of the case was per- fectly just. Even as far as the rival func- tionaries (executive and judicial) were con- cerned, it could produce only a temporary pacification, while its worst effect was — as a parliamentary committee afterwards affirmed — that it gave the governor-general an as- cendancy by which he was " enabled to do things, under the name and appearance of a legal court, which he would not presume to do in his own person. "t The measure was carried by Hastings and Coote,J in defiance of Francis and Wheler; and the chief jus- tice entered on his double functions, and the receipt of his double salary, with much alacrity, but considerably diminished arro- gance, and continued to give undeviating allegiance to his patron, until news arrived of an act of parliament, passed in 1782, for the limitation of the powers of the Supreme Court of judicature ; accompanied by the re- call of Impey, to answer before the House of Commons the charge of having " accepted an office not agreeable to the true intent and meaning of the act 13 Geo. III." The ascendancy of Hastings afforded some relief to the natives against wanton outrage, and the subsequent restraint laid on Anglo-Indian jurisdiction, contributed to their further relief. But the terrible pres- tige given by the unwarrantable proceedings of these times could not easily pass away. Moreover, even when its first terrors had been set aside, the labyrinth of innu- merable and inexplicable forms, aggravated by the difficulties of a foreign language, in which a native found himself surrounded when brought within the mysterious circle of an English court of law, was calculated to deepen rather than remove the prejudices of persons who might be impelled by suffer- ing to seek relief from present injury or redress for past wrongs, by a course of liti- gation which experience could scarcely fail to prove so tardy and expensive in its pro- gress, as frequently to neutralise the benefit of an upright and unprejudiced decision. I can speak from personal experience of the fear entertained, by both Mussulmans and Hindoos, of being by any hook or handle involved in the harassing intricacies of a lawsuit; and even to the present day, many natives from the interior habitually fix their abodes on the safe side of the Mahratta ditch — the boundary of chancery and other civil branches of the Supreme Court. The uncompromising opposition of Francis DUEL BETWEEN HASTINGS AND FRANCIS-1782. 8S9 to the scheme of ITasting;s, toRctlier witii difl'iToiicos oil jioiiits of forcifjii ixjlir^-, ter- minated in the renewal, and even inerease, of former ill-feclinfj. The govcrnor-f;eneraI recorded, in an oflieial minute, liis disbelief in the "promises of candour" made by his opponent, and declared liis jMibJie, like liis private conduct, "void of truth and honour." Francis, whose health and spirits had been for some time visil)ly failinjj;, and who, in the words of his opponent, had lost all self- control, and needed to be dealt with like "a passionate woman,"* could ill bear this un- merited taunt. After tlic council had risen, he placed a cliallcn^e in the hands of llastiiifts. It had been expected, and was immediately accepted. The example had been previously given by General Clavcring (the commander-in-chief) and Mr. Barwell ; and now the governor-general of India and the senior councillor, with remarkable dis- regard for the interests of their employers at a very critical period (not to speak of higher principles, which were quite out of the ques- tion), proceeded to edify an assemblage of women and children, by iigliting a duel, as the Mussulman chronicler has it, "according to the established custom of the nation. "t At the first exchange of shots, Francis fell, severely but not mortally. wo\inded. He recovered slowly, and resumed his seat at the council board ; until, wearied with the unequal contest, he threw up his position and returned to England at the close of 178.2, leaving to Hastings the undisputed supremacy. Wheler had gradually been relaxing in his opposition. After the de- parture of his unbending colleague, he sided almost invariably with the governor- general, who spared no eflbrts to conciliate him by every possible means, especially by " providing handsomely for all his friends."J Yet. however great the triumph of Hastings, and undisguised his delight at the successful termination of a six years' conflict, abundant cause for anxiety remained, on every side, to lower the exulting tone he might have otherwise assumed. The ministers of the * Life of Ilaslinijs, ii., !384. I Siijar til Mutukherin, ii., 518. \ Wheler's support was not, however, quite un- deviftting; and his despotic chief complained of his attachment to " the lees of Mr. Francis, and his practice of <J strunpe polic;/ of heariiii; whattver any nian has to say, and especially against public measures." — (/'iff of Hustings, ii., 'SSI.) § litem, iii., 31. II He himself acknowledged how little he allowed an " expression dictated by the impulse of present crown and the directors of the company suffered his retention of the highest oflice in India simply as a measure of temporary expediency ; and even his stanch friends, the proprietors, failed not to give occasional and qualified censure to the unscrupulous deeds of the man on whose abilities and ex- perience they relied for the fulfilment of those financial expectations which he had made it his great oijject to realise. But the very uncertainty of his position tended to encourage his innate propensity for tem- porising measures, and induced him to pur- chase golden opinions from his fellow-ofHcials by conniving at innumerable illicit proceed- ings, for the interest of individuals, to tlie manifest injury of the revenues of the com- pany and the prosperity of the provinces. Reforms are generally most unpopular where most needed ; and Hastings, after forming plans for a large reduction of ex- penditure, set them aside until, as he re- marked, he should be more certain of liit own fate; "for I will not," he adds, "create enemies in order to ease the burdens of my successors. "§ This very natural feeling, though somewhat inconsistent with the exces- sive zeal expressed by the writer for the pecu- niary interests of the company, is quite in accordance with the unscrupulous manner in which he dealt with native princes — treating their riglits and claims as valid or invalid, as substantial ormereempty-seeming, just as it suited his immediate object. || Such habitual double-dealing, however con- venient the weapons it might afford for an immediate emergency, could not fail to render his publicly-recorded o])inions a tissue of the most flagrant contradictions ; and it tended materially to produce the evils which he endeavoured to prove had resulted solely from the opposition made to his measures by the ex-majority. Those evils are thus enumerated by his own pen : — "An exhausted treasury; an accumulating debt ; a system charged with expensive establishments, and precluded, by the mul- titude of dependents and the curse of patron- emergency," to impose upon him "the obligation of a fixed principle." And one of his ablest and not least partial advocates, in the present day, admits tliat liis determination to hold " his post and his pnrposcs" in defiance of the directors, led hira " to devise arguments and assign motives intended to meet the exigency of the moment, and, therefore, sometinus as much at variance with themselves as were the arguments of those by whom he was so veliemently and invariably opposed." — (Professor Wilson's Note on Mill's India, iv., 30.) 340 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY— 1772. age, from reformation ; a government de- bilitated by the various habits of inveterate licentiousness ; a country oppressed by private rapacity, and deprived of its vital resources by the enormous quantities of current specie annually exported in the remittance of private fortunes, in supplies sent to China, Fort St. George, to Bombay, and lately to the army at Surat, and by an impoverished commerce; the support of Bombay, with all its new conquests ; the charge of preserving Fort St. George, and recovering the Caruatic from the hands of a victorious enemy ; the entire maintenance of both presidencies ; and lastly, a war, either actual or depending, in every quarter and with every power of Hindostan."* Before proceeding to describe the manner in which Hastings, now alone at the helm, steered his way through this troubled sea of dangers and difficulties, and likewise through personal trials of his own seeking, it is necessary to narrate, as briefly as possible, the leading events which, since his promo- tion to the station of governor-general in 1772, had taken place in the minor or sister presidencies of Bombav and Madras. Bombay, 1772 to 1780. — The possession of the little island of Salsette and the fort of Bassein had long been earnestly coveted by the E. I. Cy., and in 1768, they strongly urged on their Indian representatives the additional security to Bombay to be de- rived from the annexation of these places ; which, however, they desired to see eflected " rather by purchase than war." Under the strong government of Madhoo Rao, the latter experiment would have been suffi- ciently hazardous ; and the result of nego- tiations opened in 1772, clearly proved the small chance that existed of a voluntary surrender of territories no less valued by the one party than desired by the other. The death of the Mahratta peishwa pro- duced dissensions in the state which, by destroying unity of interest even in Poona itself, offered to the English a prospect of obtaining, in the character of mediators or partisans, the concessions vainly sought for by more legitimate means. Madhoo Rao, always patriotic and unselfish, liad diligently striven to <ivert the calamities by which his early death was likely to be attended. Per- ceiving his end approaching, he caused his uncle Ragoba to be released from confine- ment, and in the most affecting and im- • Life of llmtiwjs, ii., 329. t Giant Dufl's Mahrnltas, ii., 249. pressive manner entreated him to guard and guide the person and counsels of his brother and successor Narrain Rao, a youth of seven- teen. Ragoba appeared kindly disposed to the nephew thus committed to his charge, and the new peishwa was formally invested by the pageant-rajah with the insignia of office. But before long, dissensions arose between the chief ministers of Narraiu (Sukaram Bappoo, Nana Furnuvees, and others, appointed by Madhoo Rao) and Ragoba, the result of which was his con- finement to certain apartments in the palace. While smarting under the check thus given to his ill-regulated ambition, Ragoba, stimu- lated by the evil counsels of his tale-bearing wife, Anundee Bye, was induced to gratify the jealous hatred entertained by her against Gopika Bye, the mother of Madhoo and Narrain, by giving a written sanction for the seizure of the young peishwa, which she : wickedly converted into an order for his ; assassination, by changing the word dhu- \ raws (to seize) into marawi (to kill.) A ' domestic, who had been publicly flogged by order of the destined victim, was a chief mover in the plot, which was carried out by working on the discontent of a body of un- paid infantry. They had been extremely turbulent during the afternoon of the 30th of August, 1 773, and in the night the ringleader, Somer Sing, entered the palace by an un- finished doorway newly opened to make an entrance distinct from that of the portion inhabited by Ragoba. Narrain Rao, on starting from sleep, fled, pursued by Somer Sing, to his uncle's apartments, and flung himself into his arms for protection. Ragoba interfered, but Somer Sing exclaimed — " I have not gone so far to ensure my own destruction ; let him go, or you shall die with him." Ragoba was too deeply com- promised to give way to remorse : he disen- gaged himself from the grasp of his nephew, and got out on the terrace. Narrain Rao strove to follow him, but was seized by the leg and flung to the ground by the vengeful servant before named. At this moment one of the personal attendants of the peishwa entered, unarmed, and flew to his rescue ; but his fidelity cost him his life, for both mas- ter and servant were dispatched by the swords of the assassius.f The unfortunate Narrain Rao appears to have manifested a degree of indecision and timidity, on this try- ing occasion, remarkable in one of his caste and nation; but these failings were probably not radical defects, but rather incidental ENGLISH ESPOUSE CAUSE OP MAIIRATTA CHIEF RAGOBA— 1775. 34.1 to an unformed cluirwlcr.* A searching inv<'stiji;atioti was instituted into the ad'uir bj' Ham Sliasti'oc, tlio celebrated judge, whose integrity and ability had reflected so much honour on the administration of liis beloved disciple Madlioo Jlao. To him Ragoba confessed his partial ])artiei])ati()u in the crime, and asked what atonement he could make. " The sacrilice of your own life," replied the uncompromising judge; " for neither you nor your government can prosper; and, for my owti part, I will neither accept of employment, nor enter I'oona whilst you preside there. "t I^c kept his word, and retired to a sequestered village, from whence he witnessed the fuHilment of his prediction ; for Ragoba's "ili-luek" be- came proverbial, and communicated itself, in a greater or less degree, to every enterprise in which he was concerned. At the onset, the total absence of a rival claimant enabled him to obtain, without dillieulty, the con- firmation of the rajah of Sattara to his assumption of the rank of peishwa; but his title was subsequently rendered invalid by the posthumous birth of a son, the rightful heir to Narrain Rao. Considerable doubt was thrown upon the legitimacy of the child by the means adopted by the ministers (Nana Furnavecs, Sukaram Bappoo, and others), to provide a male substitute, in the event of their influence being endangered by the birth of a girl ; but, as the ease hap- pened, the manoeuvre only served to en- danger their own cause, and afford Ragoba a pretext for resisting the claims of the son of his murdered nephew, who was * Madhoo Rao, whose generous nature rose su- perior to tlie unwortliy considerations which induced the Mogul emiicrors lo treat their near relatives as dangerous rivals, and confine them from infancy to state prisons, delighted in cherishing and drawing public attention to the good qualities of his in- tended successor. The Mahrattas relate, that the brothers were witnessing an elephant-fight from a small hill in the environs of Poona, when one of the animals becoming excited, rushed furiously to- wards the spot wliere they were seated. The com- panions and attendants of the peishwa, forgetting all courtly etiquette, took to their heels, and Narrain jumped up to run ofi' with the rest. " Rrother," said Madhoo Kao, " what will the ukbars [luilire netrs- fiapersl say of you ?" The boy instantly resumed his seat, and retained it until the danger, wliich became imminent, had been averted bv the bravery of a by- stander, who, drawing nis nagger, sprang in front of the peishwa and turned the animal aside by wound- ing it in the trunk. — (Dufl's Mdliratta', ii., 251.) f Histori/ of Malirattas, ii., 2-U). An interesting feature in the intercourse of Madhoo Uao and Ram Shastree, is related by Duff. The peishwa devoted himself, at one period, to the practice of " Jhep" or 2 Y proclaimed peishwa when only forty days old. The l-iiglish atithorities ajipcar to have been quite misled by the representa- tions which accompanied his appeal for their assistance; and even when compelled to recognise the utter futility of attempting to establish his supi-emaey in defiance of the general feeling of the Mahratta nation, they seem never to have rightly understood the nature of his claims, or the basis on which they rested. Tlie cession of Bassein and Salsette, with the payment of a large sum of money, formed the leading stiinilatious on the part of the Bombay authorities; but as Ragoba was very unwilling to consent to any sacrifice of territory, they took advan- tage of the plea afforded by an inclination manifested by the Portuguese to regain their ancient possessions, to forcibly occupy them with British troops, protesting, nevertheless, that they held them only on behalf of Ragol)a, until he should himself settle the arrangements of the pending treaty. The part taken by Sindia and llolcar, in siding with the ministers, left him no choice but to comply with the demands of the English; and, in I'eturn for his concessions, J 2,500 men were landed at Cambay, under Colonel Keat- ing, in the early part of the year 177o, to aid his own mob-like assemblage of about 20,000 men. The campaign was successful, though at- tended with considerable loss of life; § but pre- parations for the renewal of hostilities, at the close of the monsoon, were suddenly arrested by the interference of the Bengal presidency. The Bombay authorities were sharply repri- manded for disregarding the recent regu- rcligious meditation, to a degree which interfered with his public duties. Ram Shastree told him, that if he were inclined to revert to the condition of devout and austere poverty, which by the Hindoo doctrine was the especial duty of a Brahmin, he would gladly do tlie same ; but if, on the contrary, Madhoo intended to follow the example of his pre- decessors, and retain the position of an earthly poten- tate, the duties incumbent on the assumed office ought to be his first consideration. " The musnud, or a life of self-denial in the holy city of Benares, — which you will," said the honest Mentor ; " I will abide with you in either station." Happily for Maharashtra, Mad- hoo Rao remained its ruler, and Ram Shastree its leading judge, — an unimpeachable one, for he had no thirst for power, and all his habits were consistent with his characteristic rule — to keep nothing more in his house than sufficed for the day's consumption. I Ragoba, or Rugonatli Rao, having no other funds, deposited with the company, jewels valued at up- wards of six lacs. These gems were, about twenty- eight years later, freely presented to Bajee Rao on his restoration to the office of peishwa, in 1813. § In tlie small detachment of Colonel Keating, 222 persons perished, iiicluding eleven officers. 342 TREATY OF POORUNDER— 1773. MAHRATTA WAR RENEWED— 1778. lations, wbicli placed the control in matters of foreign policy in the hands of the governor- general and the supreme council ; and, be- sides being blamed for insubordination, they were informed that an envoy (Colonel Upton) would be sent direct from Bengal to conclude a treaty of peace. This latter proceeding could not fail to irritate the Bom- bay officials, and to lower their authority, and, indeed, that of the English in general, in the eyes of the Mahratta ministers, than whom no men living were better able to appreciate the weakness arising from divided counsels. The consequence was, that after a negotiation conducted, on the part of the Mahrattas, with more than characteristic procrastination. Nana Furnavees and the ministers of the infant peishwa,. concluded a treaty at Poorunder, by which Colonel Upton promised that the English should relinquish the cause of Ragoba, and guarantee the dis- bandment of his army on certain stipulations quite contrary to the views of that individual. Of Salsette Island they were to retaiu pos- session, but to relinquish certain cessions in Guzerat, made by the Mahratta chief Futteh Sing Guicowar. No sooner had this hu- miliating agreement been entered into than the home despatches arrived, highly ap- plauding the conduct of the Bombay autho- rities, and bidding them, in any and every case, retain all their late acquisitions, espe- cially Bassein, if it were included in the number; which was not the case. The mandate came late, but its efl'ects were soon manifested in a partial breach of faith, by continued though guarded favour shown to Ragoba, and a decided inclination to break with the Poona ministry. Nana Furnavees, a politician of much ability and more cun- ning, strove to prevent the renewal of hos- tilities, by affecting to encourage the pre- tensions of a French adventurer, named St. Lubin, who, after imposing upon the Madras government in the character of an agent of the court of Versailles, had re- turned to France, and by exaggerated repre- sentations of the influence acquired by him at Poona, had induced the minister of ma- rine to intrust him witii a sort of clandestine commission, as an experiment for ascertain- ing if any footing migiit be gained (tiie port of Choul being especially desired.) No one had less inclination to suflfcr the introduction of Frencii power into ]Maha- rashtra than Nana Furnavees ; and by the little favour shown to the avowed agent of another European state (Austria), then at Poona, it seems that he considered St. Lubin as a mere impostor, and encouraged him simply as a means of alarming the English government by an affected alliance with France. These proceedings served, on the contrary, to incite immediate opera- tions before the anticipated arrival of French auxiliaries at Poona. Even Has- tings was dissatisfied witli the treaty of Poorunder ; and notwithstanding the cen- sure bestowed on the previous " unwar- rantable" interference of the local authori- ties, they were now directed " to assist in tranquillising the dissensions of the Mah- ratta state." Ostensibly for the promotion of this object. Colonel Leslie was dispatched, with a strong detachment, to march across the centre of India, from Bengal to the western coast. The Bombay presidency, delighted with this indirect admission of the advisability of their former measures, deter- mined not to wait the arrival of reinforce- ments, but to make war at once, upon the strength of their own resources ; and Mr. Carnac, who had the lead in council, was himself placed at the head of a committee, to aid in the direction of military operations. In fact, despite the oddity of making war under the superintendence of civilians, the infirm health and inexperience in Indian war- fare of Colonel Egerton, the officer on whom the command devolved by right of seniority, rendered such a step of absolute necessity to the carrying out, with any prospect of success, the wild plan of advancing with a force (including a few straggling horse under Ragoba) of less than 4,500 men, to at- tack the ministerial party in their own capital. So bold a design imperatively needed rapidity in execution; yet, after crossing the Ghaut (mouutaiii-pass), the army, without any reason for such ill-timed tardiness, advanced only eight miles in eleven days. The enemy had fully prepared for their reception ; and the deliberate progress of the English was but slightly opposed, until, at about sixteen miles from Poona, they found themselves face to face with the ^Mahratta host. Mr. Carnac and Colonel Cockburu (who had taken the lead, in consequence of the sickness of Colonel Egerton) seem to have been panic-struck by the imminent danger which they had wantonly incurred, and they immediately issued orders for a silent midnight retreat. In vain the junior officers and Ragoba, whose military experience was treated with undeserved contempt, urged that, from the CONVENTION OF WURGAUM WITH THE MAHRATTAS-1779. 343 well-known tactics of the enemy, such an attempt, made in dcfiuneo of clouds of trained cavalry, was more perilous than the boldest advance. And so the event proved ; for the first retrograde movement of the English gave the signal for attack to the whole hostile force. The bravery and skill of Captain Hartley, the oillocr in command of tlie rear-guard,* together with his extra- ordinary inlluence with the native troops, conduced materially to save the invading army from total destruction. After several furious charges, the enemy desisted, without having made a serious impression on any jiart of the line. But the loss of .'5{)0 men, includ- ing fifteen officers, had so completely dis- pirited the military leaders, that they now, in continued opposition to the arguments and entreaties of Hartley and others, declared advance and retreat alike impossible, and that nothing reniained but to make peace with the ]\Ialirattas on any terms, — in other words, to confess themselves caught in their own trap, and consent to such a ransom as their captors might dictate. They were even prepared to give up Ragoba to his foes, the ministers ; but he, aware of the un- generous intention, made private terms of surrender with Siiulia. The almost indepen- dent power of this chief, and the jealousy existing between him and the Poona au- thorities, enabled the English, by a direct application to him, to obtain more favour- able terms than might otherwise have been conceded ; but despite the moderation of the victors, the Convention of Wurgaum formed a fitting ending to one of the few disgrace- ful campaigns recorded in the annals of the Anglo-Indian army. Every point in dispute was yitlded ; all ae(|uisitions made since the death of JSIadhoo Rao (of course including Salsette) were to be rclinquished, as also the revenue raised by the company in Broach, j- and even in Sural, which the Mah- rattas had never possessed. Hostages (Mr. Farmer and Lieutenant Stewart) were left with Siudia for the performance of the treaty : nevertheless, the lii-st act of the committee by whom the whole aflair had been so terribly mismanaj. -', ou descending the Ghaut in safety, w>.s to countermand the • Sindia loudly extolled (he conduct of the rear- guard, which he compared " to a red wall, no sooner beat down than it was built un af;ain." — (Duff.) t A petty Mogul nabob held Broach, in subordi- nation to the Mahrattas until 1772, when it was captured by a British force under General Wedder- burnc, who was killed in the a-sault. order dispatclicd in agreement with the recent convention forbidding the advance of the troops from Bengal. J The presidency were indignant beyond measure at this discreditable conclusion of their attempt to show (Calcutta what JJombay could do. Hastings was, on his part, no less irritated by a series of rashly-planned and ill-executed measures, which nothing but " success, that grand ajjology for states- men's blunders,''^ could excuse. His own long-cherished hopes of taking advantage of the dissensions of the jMaiiratta state jiroved equally fruitless. A mistaken idea of the connexion of Moodajec Blionslay, the ruler of Berar, with the house of Seva- jee, led Hastings to stimulate Moodajec to assert his supposed claim to the raj, or sovereignty, upon the death of Uam Rajah in 1777, and the appointment, under the name of Shao ]\Iaharaj, of a distant rela- tive, adopted as his son, and heir to his gilded ca[)tivity by the deceased prince. The elfort proved fruitless, for Moodajee retained a lively recollection of kindness received from the grandfather of the infant peishwa, and despite the jiromptings of am- bition, was reluctant to interfere ;yith the power of that family. These kindly feel- ings, one of the Hindoo guardians of the child (either Nana Furnavees or Sukaram Bappoo) liad taken pains to cherish, by placing his infant charge in the arms of young Raghoo, the son of INIoodajee, and styling him the protector of the peishwa. Hastings himself remarks that acts of this description establish in the minds of the Mahrattas " obligations of the most solemn kind," and afford " evidence of a generous principle, so little known in our political system." II The powerful minister. Nana Furnavees, was, however, actuated by less generous principles, his chief object being to use the little peishwa as au instrument for his own aggrandisement and that of his family, to whom he designed to transmit his paramount authority over the puppet minister of a puppet rajah. These designs were not likely to escape the notice of his colleagues in of!ice, and dissensions arose, of which Sindia took full advantage I The hostages were, nevertheless, generously re- leased by Sindia, who did not even demand the parole of Lieutenant Stewart not to fight against him, but, on the contrary, said — " Resume your place in the army; your sword is your subsistence." — (Wilks.) § Duti's Mahrattas, ii., 379. II Life of Hastings, ii., 361. 344 GWALIOR FORTRESS, AHMEDABAD, AND BASSEIN CAPTURED— 1780. for the establishment and increase of his own power, by interfering as much as pos- sible in the garb of a mediator.* Under the pressure of external hostilities, internal disputes invariably gave way to co-operation for mutual defence ; and such was tlie imme- diate effect produced by the repudiation by the governor-general of the Convention of Wurgaum, which he declared invalid, inas- much as the English committee had far exceeded the powers vested in them. This was actually the case ; and Mr. Farmer had informed Sindia that they had no power to enter on any treaty without the sanction of the supreme government. The Mahratta chief treated this excuse as a mere pretence to avoid giving an inconvenient pledge, and scornfully asked, if their authority was so limited, by whose order they had ventured to break the treaty concluded by Colonel Upton ? The question was unanswerable ; the danger imminent ; and Mr. Carnac, consoling himself with the idea that if, after ■what had passed, the Mahrattas were duped, the fault was their own, dispatched a pleni- potentiary to the camp of Sindia for the avowed purpose of concluding a treaty, ■which he confirmed by every outward mark of good faith, under a mental reservation of the invalidity of the whole transaction. On their return to Bombay, Mr. Carnac, Colonel Egerton, and Colonel Cockburn (a brave and steady soldier, but totally unfit for so arduous a command), were dismissed the service, and the recall of Colonel Leslie was only prevented by his death of fever. The ofi'ence of the latter officer was the * Sukaram Bappoo, the chief rival of Nana Fur- navees, at length became his victim, and was secretly removed from one fortress to another, till he perished miserably under bodily suffering created rather by the efi'ects of unwholesome food and harsh treat- ment, than the slight infirmities of a green old age. Among his various prisons was that of Pertab- gurh, on the western side of which lay an abyss formed by 4,000 feet of rugged rock. From the eastern side the spot ■Nvas plainly visible where his Brahrnin ancestor, 120 years before, won over by Sevajee, swore the treacherous, midnight oath to deliver up his master, Afzool Khan, to planned assassination. — (Duff's 3lu!inittas, ii., yOO.) t This little ])riiicipality, situated on the north- eastern bank of tlie Nerbudda, was formed by the usurpations of Dost Mohammed, an Afghan in the service of Aurungzebe. ])uring the troubles that succeeded the death of the emperor, he assumed the title of nawab («)»//m' nabob), and rallied round liim bands of adherents whom he had invited from Ben- gal. His successors contrived to extend their sway, and, what was more ditficuh, to gain the good-will of the intractable Gonds, or people of Gondwarra, the inhabitants of the southern portion of the Bhopal slowness of his march from Bengal, and his mistaken policy in allowing some Rajpoot allies of the Slahrattas to engage him in petty hostilities, and hinder the accomplish- ment of his main object — namely, speedy arrival at the seat of war. General God- dard was chosen by Hastings for the com- mand, and his progress was altogether as speedy and fortunate as that of his predeces- sor had been slow and unsatisfactory. After receiving great kindness, bestowed under circumstances of much doubt and difficulty by the Afghan ruler of Bhopal, t Goddard marched boldly on, manifested his good sense by cordial co-operation with the Bombay government, carried out their plan of attacking Guzerat (notwithstanding the almost independent authority with which he was invested), and having, by extra- ordinary expedition, avoided the snares laid to interrupt his progress, crossed the Taptec on the 1st of January, 1780, and before the end of the month, carried by storm Ahmedabad, the great but decayed capital of the province. The famous fortress of GwaliorJ was captured on the night of the 3rd of August, by a force of 2,400 men, sent direct from Bengal by Hastings; and the year terminated with the conquest of Basseiu by Goddard. But these successes were counterbalanced by disasters in other quarters, which rendered the English anxious to conclude a speedy peace with the Mah- rattas on almost any terms. The aspect of afl'airs was indeed alarming ; for, at this period, Hyder Ali and the Nizam had merged, for the moment, their mutual animosities, territory, chiefly through the instrumentality of an able Hindoo minister, Bejee Ram, and a lady of re- markable ability, who for more than half a century greatly influenced, if she did not control, the coun- cils of the principality, under the name of Mahjee Sahiba, the " lady-mother," an appellation descriptive of her benevolent character only, for she was child- less. Hindoos and Mohammedans agree in cherish- ing the memory of this beloved princess, and vie with one another in citing anecdotes illustrative of her judgment ami integrity. She attained the age of eighty. — (Major Hough's Bliopnl Priucipiility.) t Gwalior, the famous state-prison of Akber and Aurungzebe, had, upon the dismemberment of the Delhi empire, fallen into the hands of a Jat chief, known as the rana of Gohud. It was taken by Sindia in 1779, and captured, in turn, by the British troops under Major I'opham, the scarped rock on which the citadel stood being ascended at daybreak by means of wooden ladders. Hastings bad formed a very exaggerated idea of the power of the rana of Gohud, to whom he restored the fortress ; but on discovering his mistake, he changed his policy, and sanctioned its recovery by Sindia, in 1781 — con- duct which formed an article in his impeachment. PROCEEDINGS OF MADRAS PRESIDENCY— 17G9 to 1772. 345 and confederated with their sworn foes, the Poena ministers, for the express purpose of expellitig the English and the n!il)ol) Mohammed Ali from the Carnatic. Tlic causes uliich led to this ahirmiiii^ coalition of Hindoo and ]\lnssulman ])o\vcrs, are closely interwoven with the history of the— Madras Puksidkncy kuom 17()i)T() 17H(). — The principles wiiich guided the counsels of this government were so avowedly bad, that tlieir ruinous consequences seem to have been the natural fruit of the tree they planted. In 1772, the presidency made war u])()n the poligars or chiefs of certain adjacent districts called the Marawars, not that they had any quarrel with them, but simply because the tyrannical nabob had "made them his enemies, and therefore," the Madras councillors add, " it is necessary they should be reduced. It is necessary, or it is i;ood jiolicy they should. We do not say it is altogether just, for justice and good policy are not often related."* Hosti- lities were commenced on the above not "altogether just" grounds, and they were carried on, to adopt the same smooth-tongued phraseology, in a not altogether merciful manner. The poligar of the greater Mara- war (a boy of twelve years of age), was taken at the capture of his capital of Ram- nadaporam, in April, 1772, after brave but unskilful resistance on the part of its native defendants (the tribe called Coleries by Orme.) The poligar of the lesser Marawar was slain after a treaty of peace had been actually concluded, owing to a misunder- standing between the English commander and the son of the nabob, Omdut-al-Omrah. The peasantry, as usual, remained passive during the siege of the various forts : they expected to be little aflectcd by the change of one despot for another; but the grinding exactions of the new conqueror, which are said to have surpassed even those of Ilyder Ali in the amount of misery inflicted, soon convinced them of their error ; and on being turned out of their lands, many took nj) arms in sheer despair — the inverted plough * Tarl. Papers, quoted by Mill, iv., 100. t Mill's India, iv., 10;J. \ Col. AVilks describes the sway of Hyder as one succession of experiments as to how fiir extortion couUl be practised on the farmer without diminish- ing cultivation. When his subjects claimed justice at his hands, he jnuiished the offenders by a heavy fine, but pocketed the money himself, dpclaring that this appropriation was, by restraining oppression, nearly as good for the people, and a great deal better for tiie sovereign. Nevertheless, Wilks states that being the general symbol of revolt. The English ofTicer, Colonel Bonjour, who had been ordered to superintend the settlement of the country in the manner desired by Mo- hammed Ali, remonstrated forciljly against an ol)jcct which, being in itself opjircssive to the last degree, would rctpiire for its accom- plishment " extremities of a most shocking nature. "t For instance, the impossibility of seizing the armed and watciiful foe, must, he said, be met by such rejirisals as the complete destruction of the villages to which they belonged, the massacre of every man in them, and the imprisonment (probably to end in slavery) of the women and children ; with other "severe examples of that kind. "J Colonel Bonjour received an answer very similar to that given by Hastings to Colonel Champion in the case of the Rohillas, to the effect, that these things were the natu- ral consequences of war, and that the worthy ^lohammcd Ali must not be affronted by impertinent interference. In fact, the ma- jority of the Madras council, at this period, were the nabob's very humble and obedient servants, although some trouble was taken to conceal the fact from their " honourable masters" in Leadenhall-strect. Subser- viency of so manifestly degrading a cha- racter, could scarcely be the result of any but the most unworthy motives ; and the simple truth appears to have been, that the leading English councillors entered upon the extension of the power of the Moham- medan nabob of Arcot, as a particularly safe and promising speculation, since if their efforts succeeded, great part of the profit would be their own; and in the event of failure, the expenses must be borne by the company. So early as 1769, three members of council held a large assignment of territorial revenue, wliich the Court of Directors subsequently discovered; and many official and private persons received from the nabob, bonds for the repayment of money lent and not lent, the true conside- ration given or promised being of a descrip- tion which neither party cared to specify. the misrule of Mohammed Ali " left at an humble distance all the oppression that had ever been prac- tised under the iron government of Hyder." — (3Iij- soor, ii., 103.) Swartz corroborates this statement by his remarks on the regularity and dispatch with which the government of Mysoor was conducted. " Hyder's economical rule is to repair all damages without losing an instant, whereby all is kept in good condition, and with little expense. The Euro- peans in the Carnatic leave everything to go to ruin." — {Idem, p. 5"'2.) 346 CAPTURI!; AND RESTORATION OF TANJORE— 1772 and 1776. "When Englishmen of a certain rank " could make open and undisguised offers of tlieir services to become directors of the E.I.Cy.,"* and even stoop to occupy seats in the Bri- tish parliament purchased with his funds, avowedly for the promotion of liis interests, little cause for surprise remains that Anglo- Indian functionaries, placed for the time beyond the reaeli of that public opinion ■which with so many men stands in the stead of conscience, should, by degrees, lose all sense of shame, and scarcely take ordinary pains to conceal their venality. Even had they been more on their guard, the conduct of Mohammed Ali could scarcely have failed to provoke recriminations calcu- lated to expose tlie whole nefarious system. His love of money, though it fell far short of his thirst for power, was still excessive : he never willingly parted Avith gold, but accumulated large hoards, giving bonds to his real and pretended creditors, until they themselves became alarmed at the enormous amount of private debts with which the revenues of Arcot were saddled. Mean- while, the legitimate expenditure of govern- ment was narrowed within the smallest possible limits ; the troops, as usual, were in arrears of pay, and the promises made to the E. I. Cy. remained unfulfilled. The booty obtained by the seizure of the Ma- rawars had only served to whet the appetite of Mohammed Ali and the party of whom he was at once the tempter and the dupe. There was a neighbouring state better worth attacking — that of Tanjore, a Mahratta principality against which the nabob of Arcot had no shadow of claim, except that of having, by dint of superior strengtli, ex- acted from thence an occasional subsidy. Its late ruler, Pertap Sing, had, it is said, more than once purchased the mediation of the leading English officials by borrow- ing from them large sums of money at exorbitant interest : but his son and succes- sor, Tuljajee, forsaking this shrewd policy, applied to the Dutch at Kegapatam, and the Danes at Tranquebar, for the means where- with to pay a heavy sum which he had been compelled to guarantee to the Arcot autho- rities as the price of peace, so late as 1771. • lu!c Wilks' M;/soi»; ii., 213; and Burke's ad- mirable speech on tlie C'arnatic debts, in which he affirmed that the nabob of Arcot had returned eight members to one British parhament. t Lord I'igot went out as a writer to Madras in 1730; was promoted to the government in 11 'A went home, in 1 7G3, with an immense fortune; ana Buccessively obtained the rank of a baronet and of Some small portion of this agreement re- mained unfulfilled, and it served to afford a sufficient pretext for the invasion of Tan- jore. In fact, such a formality could only be necessary for the sake of preserving ap- pearances with the company and the British public. George III. had, it was well known, been prepared, by wilful perversions of the truth, to take a generous and manly, but wholly mistaken and prejudiced view of all matters regarding Mohammed Ali, whom he had been induced to regard as an in- dependent sovereign of high principle and ability, whose plans the English were, in gratitude and duty, bound to further to the uttermost. Existing disputes between the governments of Poona, Guzerat, and Berar, preventedthe chiefs of the Mahratta confede- ration interfering to protect the rajah ; there- fore, taking advantage of the opportunity, hostile proceedings were commenced, and ground broken before Tanjore on the 20th of August ; on the Gth of September a breach was effected ; and on the following day, during the intense heat of noon, while the garrison were for the most part at rest, in expectation of an evening attack, the English troops were, with the least pos- sible noise, marshalled for the assault. The stratagem was entirely successful ; the fort was captured almost without loss, and the rajah and his family fell into the hands of Mohammed Ali, by whom his dominions were formally occupied. The indignation of the company was naturally roused by a procedure which lacked even the thread- bare excuse of zeal for their service. Orders were issued (though somewhat tardily, owing to the disturbed state of affairs at home) for the restoration of the rajah of Tanjore; and Lord Pigot,t his proved friend, was sent out as governor, in 1775, for their en- forcement. This act of justice was not car- ried through in a purely disinterested man- ner, for stipulations were made for the main- tenance of an English garrison within the citadel, and the payment of tribute to the nabob. The latter clause failed to reconcile Mohammed Ali to the surrender of Tanjore : he even formed a plan for its forcible de- tention,! which was forestalled by the prompt an Irish peer. A treaty with tlie rajah of Tanjore, in '7l32, was one of his iiivourite measures, and he felt naturally annoyed by its shameless violation. I I'iJe Willis' Mi/svui; ii., 225. Mohammed Ali had secretly ordered n large amounl of military stores from the ])anish authorities at Trancjue- bar, but tliey arrived too late for the purpose de- signed. The Danes had no great reason to rejoice MR. PAUL BENFIELD— ARREST OP LORD PIG0T-I7rG. 317 and decisive measures of Lord Pigot, who proceeded in |)crson, in tlie spring of 177(), to rcinstiitc Tuljajoc ia liis former (lij;nity. The conncil took advantage of his al)sence to consider the delicate question of tlie pecu- I'.iary chiims of indivichials, especially those of Mr. Paul Benficld. The case of this in- dividual may servo to illustrate the character of the nahoh's debts, the majority of \vhic;h wen; similar in kind, tliouj;h less in degree, in proportion to the o|)portunities, audacity, and cunning of the parties concerned. Mr. Benfield was a junior servant of the com- pany, with a salary of a few hundred pounds a-year, which, as all old Indians know, could leave little margin for extravagance; never- theless, this clever adventurer, having in his own scheming brain a talent for money- making scarcely inferior to that vested in the fairy purse of Fortunatus, contrived not only to support a splendid establishment and equipages, unrivalled at Madras even in those days of luxury and ostentation, but also to obtain certain assignments on the revenues of Tanjore, and on the growing crops of that principality, to the enormous extent of ,€234,000, in return for .€102,000 Ostensibly lent to the nabob of Arcot, and i;72,000 to individuals iu Tanjore. Such was the leader of the party arrayed on the side of Mohammed Ali, who had actually signed bonds to the amount of nearly a million and a-half sterling, backed by as- signments on the revenues of Tanjore; and the very nature of these claims caused them to be urged with peculiar acrimony and violence. In Calcutta, the character of the majority hy whom Hastings was at this very time so fiercely opposed, was wholly different to that with which Pigot had to struggle. Clavering, jMonson, and Francis might be reproached with party spirit, but in all pecuniary matters their reputation was unblemished, and their public proceedings were, consequently, free from the baneful in the transactinn, iVir Ilyder made them pay a fine of £14,000 sterling for furnisliing liis inveterate foe with warlike weapons ; and Mohammed Ali, despite his desire to keep the affair quiet, liquidated but a small portion of the stipulated price. The whole matter came to light in 1801, wlien the E. I. Cy. took possession of the Carnatic, and on tlie production of the secret correspondence with the naliob, paid the Danish Cy. a balance of £42,304.— (Wilks, ii., 10.) * The scale on which bribery was carried on, may be conjectured from the fact, that Admiral I'igot declared in the House of Commons, in 177S, that his brother, the late governor, had been otfered a bribe, amounting to £600,000 sterling, only to defer for a time the reinstatement of the rajah of Tanjore. and narrowing influence of self-interest. At Madras the case was wholly difrerent; the majority consisted of men of dee|)ly corrupt character, who, in return for accu- sations of venality in abetting the aggressions of the nabob, reciprocated the charge against all the uphohlers of the rajah, from the governor downwards.* The previous career of Lord Pigot did not facilitate the per- formance of the invidious task he had under- taken. Like Clive, he had formerly accumu- lated an immense fortune by questionable means, and had returned to root up abuses which, at an earlier stage, might liave been nipped in the bud. Even his present visit to Tanjore, and the part played by him in the struggle for the appointment of a resident at that government, was far from being free from all suspicion of private ends and interests, either as regarded himself or his immediate retainers. But, however alike in their views and motives, the positions of Clive and Pigot were very different. The latter, instead of possessing supreme authority, was subordinate to a governor-general by no means inclined to afford cordial support to any reformatory measures, save of liis own introduction; and Lord Pigot, trusting too much in his own strength, by a haughty aiul violent line of conduct,t soon brought matters to a crisis he was unprepared to meet. The imprisonment of Sir Robert Fletcher, with the attempted suspension of two of the leading members of council, was retaliated by his own arrest, perfor.iied in a very unsoldier-like style by the temporary commander-in-chief of the army, Colonel Stuart, with the aid of a coachman in the pay of Mr. Paul Benfield. J Having thus unceremoniously disposed of their chief, the majority proceeded to enact a series of leg.nl, or rather illegal forms, and assumed the whole power of government. § They did not long enjoy their triumph; for the home authorities, astonished and alarmed by such f Swartz, commenting on the proceedings of which he was an eye-witness, remarks : — " Probably his in- tentions were laudable, but he began not with God." X Col. Stuart was on terms of close intimacy with Lord Pigot; had breakfasted and dined with him on the day of the arrest, and was ostensibly on the way '< to su]) w ith him, when the carriage of the governor, ! in which they were both seated, was, by the appoint- j ment of the colonel himself, surrounded and stopped by the troops. — (Mill, iv., 1;J4.) The governor was dragged out, made a prisoner, and thrust into Ben- field's chaise. — ( J'icle Abstract of Trial of S'.ralton, Brooke,Floyer, and Mackay. Murray ; London, 1780.) § Hastings "persuaded his colleagues to acquiesce in the nevf arrangements." — (Life, ii., 106.) 348 GOVERNOR riGOT DIES A PRISONER— MADRAS— 1777. strange excesses, recalled both the de- posed governor and his opponents, that the whole matter might be brought to light. Before these orders reached India, Lord Pigot had sunk under the combined effects of mental suffering and imprisonment for nine months in an ungenial climate. His death terrified all parties into a compro- mise. The chief civil servants concerned in the affair returned to England; the four members of council paid the to them very trifling fine of £1,000 each, and tlie su- bordinates crept back into the service. Colonel Stuart was tried by a court-martial, and, unhappily for the company, acquitted. The new j^overnor, Sir Tiiomas Rumbold, reached Madras in 1778, and applied himself, with much energy, to the improvement of his private fortune. The council cheerfully fol- lowed so pleasant an example ; and unwonted tranquillity prevailed within the presidency, the predominant feature being wilful blind- ness to the storm gathering without. Yet even Mohammed Ali beheld with alarm that the utterly inconsistent, hesitating, yet grasping policy long persisted in, was about to issue in the conjoined hostilities of Hyder Ali, the Nizam, and the Mahrattas, to each of I whom distinct occasions for quarrel had been ! given ; and to these dangers the fear of French invasion, owing to the outbreak of ! European war, was added. Hyder Ali, their most formidable foe, had been made such by their own misdoings. He had earnestly de- * Hyder entered Coorg in 1773. The rajah (l)i- vaia) fled, and was afterwards captured ; but the people hastily assembled on a woody hill, which was immediately surrounded by the enemy. Seating himself with much state, Hyder proclaimed a reward of five rupees for each head that should be brought to him. After receiving about 700, two were de- posited on the heap of such singular beauty, that, looking earnestly at them, he ordered the decapita- tion to cease. The remaining Coorgs were not, how- ever, disposed to submit tamely to the usurper notwithstanding the tribute paid to the finely-formed heads of their murdered countrymen ; and when he proceeded to raise the assessment on produce from the ancient tenth to a sixth, they rose as one man, but were again reduced to submission by asweejiing mas- sacre of nearly every individual of note. — (Wilks.) f Guoty is almost impregnable under ordinary circumstances ; but the number of refugees from the town, and the quantities of cattle driven into the citadel, had exhausted the reservoirs of water ; and Morari Rao, after above three months' siege, was re- luctantly compelled to treat for peace, which Hyder guaranteed on condition of receiving eight lacs of rupees in coin, or that amount in jewel.s, immediately, and a hostage for the subsequent payment of four more. The hostage, a brave but inex])erienced youth, won by the praise bestowed on his chief and himself by the conqueror, imprudently boasted that sired to keep the Mahrattas at bay by means of an alliance with the English, whose enmity he dreaded, fearing, above all things, the unseen resources of the E. I. Cy. The Madras government temporised with him for years, and he bore all manner of neglects and slights, waiting, in sullen silence, an opportunity of revenge. After the death of Madhoo Rao, he regained his previous conquests, and largely increased them. The little principality of Coorg,* and Gooty, the eagle's nest of ]\Iorari Rao, fell succes- sively : the first, before a sudden invasion, most barbarously carried through ; the other under peculiar circumstances of treacherj'.f The JMahratta chieftain soon perished under the influence of the insalubrious climate of a hill-fort, called Cabal Droog, aggravated by food of so unwholesome a character as to be almost poisonous. His family, being sub- jected only to the first of these evils, survived him fifteen years, and then perished in a gene- ral massacre of prisoners, ordered by Tippoo, in 1791. At the close of the year 1770, Hyder con- templated with delight the fertile banks of the Kistna, newly become the northern boundary of the empire he had erected ; but still unsatisfied with its extent (as he would pro- bably have been had it comprised all In- dia), he proceeded in person to besiege the fortress of Ciiittledroog,J which, amid the chances and changes of previous years, had fallen into the hands of a brave Hindoo nothing short of being reduced to three days' water would have induced Morari Rao to capitulate. Hyder forthwith resumed the blockade, which he maintained until the garrison, in an agony of thirst, consented to an unconditional surrender, and then such as escaped with life and liberty were robbed of every other possession ; even the women being despoiled of their accustomed ornaments, for the ex- clusive benefit of the perfidious invader. J The second siege. of Chittledroog lasted three months, and was attended with immense loss of life. The garrison believed the place invested with super- natural strength as the site of a famous temple dedi- cated to the goddess Call, so long as her rites were duly performed. Unlike Hindoo deities in general, Cali was supposed to delight in blood, and conse- quently her worshipjiers, despite the rashness of such a proceeding, regularly sallied forth, after )K'rforming their devotions, on every successive Monday morn- ing during three months; and notwithstanding the warning to the besiegers, given by the loud blast of a horn as the signal for the outburst, and the fore- knowledge of nil except the exact point of attack, the Beders never once returned witliout carrying off the specific number of heads to be ofi'cred to their tutelary deity, upon whose shrine about 2,000 of these bloody trophies were found ranged in small ])vr:imids alter the fall of the place. — (Colonel Wilks' nUlonj of Mysoor, ii., 182.) CHANDERNA.GORE AND OTHER FRENCH SETTLEMENTS SEIZED_1778. 34£ polij^ar or oliinf. The native garrison de- f Sprinpinpf from his conch, he performed the foiidcd tlic ]il;icc with the fciirlrss /pal of fatia ticisin, but were l)ctr.ay<'(I by a corjjs of Mo- hammedan mercenaries, whom Ilydcr found means to corrupt throuj^h the medium of tlieir spiritual instructor, a hermit of rei)utod sanctity, who resided unmolested on tlie plain below, near the hostile encampment. The natives of the surroundiii<i; territory (chiefly of the Beder tril)e) had manifcstrtl unconquerable attachment to the fallen chief. In vain llyder had seized all the visible [jropcrty, and consumed all the provisions on which his practised j)ilfcrers could lay hands ; neither these measures, nor the infliction of the most cruel punishments on every person cn^asjcd in the conveyance of sup- plies to the besieged, could deter men, women, and even children from sacrifieino; their lives, in continued succession, in the attempt to support the garrison. Ilyder at length de- termined to sweep off" the whole remainder of the population, whose fidelity to their be- sieged countrymen had alone prevented their following the general example of flight to the woods, or other provinces. About 20,000 vrere carried away to populate the island of Seringapatiim ; and from the boys of a cer- tain age, Ilyder formed a regular military establishment of captive converts, in imita- tion of the Turkish janissaries (new soldiers.) These regiments, under the name of the " Chelah"* battalions, were extensively em- ployed by Tippoo Sultan. The reduction of the small Patau state of Kurpa and several minor places, next engaged the at- tention of the Mysoorean. One of these expeditions nearly cost him his life, by rousing the vengeance of a party of Afghan captives, who having overpowered their guards in the dead of night, rushed to his tent, and the foremost having succeeded in effecting an entrance, aimed a deadly blow at the rich coverlid which wrapped what he took to be the body of the sleeping despot. But Hyder himself had escaped to the protec- tion of the nearest corps. On first hearing the uproar he guessed its cause; for it was a por- tion of his earthly punishment that, sleeping or waking, the dagger of the assassin was never absent from his thoughts. Despite the bur- den of advancing years, his mental and physical energies were wholly unimpaired. * Chelah wns a softened name for slave ; first cm- ployed hy Akhcr, who disliked the harsh term, hut not the odious thing denoted. Slavery has, avourite feat of the nursery hero, Jack the fiiant-killer, by stealthily laying his long pillow in the place of his own body. 'J'lien cutting a passage through the side of the tent, he efl'eetcd a safe and unsuspected re- treat. The wretched Afghans were slain or disarmed ; those taken alive were reserved for various cruel deaths, such as having their hands and feet struck ofl', or being dragged rouiul the camp tied to the feet of elephants, until, and even long after, life had left their mangled bodies. Such was the barbarous character of the foe whom the I'^itiglish had so long braved with impunity, that, from the sheer force of habit, they continued to treat him with con- temptuous superiority, even after the unpro- mising state of their own affairs, in various quarters, rendered it obviously advisable to adopt a conciliatory policy. The renewal of European war, would, it was probable, prove the signal for an attempt, on the part of the French, to regain their lost possessions in India, by the co-operation of some of the more powerful native states. It was notorious that St. Lubin and other adventurers, had es- sayed to ingratiate themselves as representa- tives of their nation, with the Mahrattas and also with Hyder. But both these powers were bent on avoiding any intimate con- nexion with European states, whose tendency to become supreme they justly dreaded, though they were ever desirous to purchase, at a high rate, the services of foreigners to discipline their troops. Hyder especially dreaded the eflcct of French influence, and would certainly have had no dealings with that government, save as a counterpoise to the English and Mohammed AH, whom he cordially detested. Affairs were in a very precarious condition, when intelligence ot the renewal of war in Europe reached Ben- gal (July, 1778) ; and, though somewhat premature in character, Hastings thought the information sufficiently authentic to warrant the immediate seizure of the whole of the French settlements before reinforce- ments should arrive from England, or time be given for the adoption of any concerted plan of defence. Chandernagore, with the factories at ]\Iasulipatam and Karical, sur- rendered without resistance. Pondicherry hondsmen of the palace, even beneath the sway o. Hyder.had so much the air of "children of the house," that the <cood missionary, Swartz, praises the care however, habitually assumed a milder form in the i evinced for orphans, in total ignorance that Hyder's F.ast than the N\ est Indies, under Hindoo and Mo- protection had been purchased by the severance of hsnjmedan, than under Christian masters ; and the every natural tie of family, country, and creed. 2 z 350 PONDICHERRY AND MAKE TAKEN, 1779— HYDER AND SWARTZ. was captured after a combined attack by sea and land. The French squadron, under M. Tronjolly, was worsted by the English admiral Sir Edward Vernon, and quitted the coast by night ; but the garrison, under M. Belle- combe, held out bravely, and availed them- selves of every advantage derivable from the strong defences, which had been restored since their destruction in the course of the last war. A breach having been effected, and a combined assault planned by the troops under Sir Hector Munro, in con- junction with the marines and seamen, fur- ther resistance became hopeless ; the place capitulated, and its fortifications were razed to the ground. The fortress and port of Mahe alone remained to the French. The territory in which they were situated (on the Malabar coast), beside being included in the recent conquests of Hyder, was the depot for the military stores which he obtained from the Mauritius ; he was therefore extremely anxious for its re- tention by its French possessors, and dis- patched a vakeel (ambassador or envoy) to Madras, threatening the invasion of Arcot in the event of any hostile attempt on Mahe. The fortress was nevertheless besieged and taken in March, 1779, although the colours of Mysoor were hoisted on the walls with those of the French, and its troops assisted in the defence. The presidency were not without misgivings regarding the hazard incurred by these multiplied provocations, and Sir Thomas Rumbold made an effort to discover the intentions of Hyder, by dis- patching to his court the missionary Swartz, the only ambassador he would consent to receive. " Send me the Christian," said Hyder ; " he will not deceive me."* The reward of the envoy was to be some bricks • Swartz had exerted his great personal influence very successfully for the peaceful and equitable set- tlement of Tanjore. Hyder had probably heard much in his favour ; and his own opinion, formed from subsequent observation, was forcibly shown by the order issued in the Carnatic war, " to permit the venerable Father Swartz to pass unmolested and show him respect and kindness, for he is a holy man, and means no harm to my government." t Private resources Swartz had none ; little help could be expected from the Europeans of Madras, who, he says sorrowfully, could contribute 10,000 pagodas for a playhouse, " but to build a pray- house people had no money." The immorality of nominal Christians, he considered the most serious obstacle to the conversion of the heathen ; espccif.lly in the case of the rajali of 'J anjore.^(Wilks, ii., /id!).) X Perhap:; two more op])o.sile characters never en- gaged in familiar converse than when the vindictive, ambitious, and merciless Hyder sat and talked with the and rcortar, to biuld a church, from the stores at Tanjore.f These had been already promised for service rendered to govern- ment in his capacity of a linguist, but withheld from time to time. Hyder, who had ever been distinguished by discrimi- nation of character, fully appreciated the singlemindedness and tmaffected piety of his visitor, with whom he held frequent in- tercourse,! and suffered him to convey reli- gious instruction to the European soldiers in his service, and to hold unrestricted com- mnnication, not only with them, but also with the native troops, through the medium of the Persian, Tamul, Mahratta, and Hin- doostanee languages. Swartz refused to accept any gift from Hyder, even for his church, and on taking leave, stated with earnestness, that a desire for the prevention of war was the sole motive that had induced him to undertake a political mission, which, under the circumstances, he considered as in nowise derogatory to the office of a minister of God, who is a God of peace. " Very well, very well," said Hyder ; " if the English offer me tlie hand of peace and concord, I shall not withdraw mine." Swartz returned to Madras and related the verbal assurance, which qualified the written communication of which he was the bearer, wherein the various grievances sustained by the jMysoorean state, as well as by Hyder personally, from the time of the breach of faith regarding Trichinopoly in 1754, down to the recent offence of attempt- ing to inarch an army, without even asking his sanction, through his recently acquired territory of Cudapah to that of Bassalut Jung at Adoni, were enumerated; with the ominous conclusion — " I have not yet taken revenge; it is no matter." gentle, self-denying, peace-loving missionary, in one of the stately halls of the palace of Seringapatam, overlooking gardens adorned with fountains, cypress groves, trees grafted so as to bear two kinds of i'ruit, and every refinement that luxury could suggest. Hyder appears to have made no attempt to disguise his barbarous system of administration ; for Swartz speaks with horror of the dreadful tortures inflicted on the collectors of revenue if they failed, under any circumstances, to collect the stated revenue. " Al- though Hyder sometimes rewards his servants, yet the i)rincipal motive is fear. 'J"wo hundred people, with whips, stand always ready to use them. Not a day passes on which numbers are not flogged. Hyder applies the same cat to all transgressors alike, — gentlemen, horsekeepers, tax-gatherers, and his own sons;" but they are not dismissed, hut con- tinued in oflice ; for Hyder, adds Swartz, "seems to think that almost all i>rople who seek to cnricli themselves are void of all principles of honour." CONJ''Kl)i:ilA(;V OF NATIVE POWEJIS AGAINST ENGLISH— 1780. 851 Tlic authorities, immersed in the deadly stupor of indolfuco and venality, conducted themselves as if wholly iniliU'erent to the threat thus sij^nificantly conveyed. Swartz found that he had been a mere tool, and that Ilyder had appreciated more justly than himself the selfish duplicity of Sir Thomas Kuinbold and his coUi'afjues. Still perscvcriufi^ in the insultinj; aliectation of a desire to preserve amity, tli(;y actually sent to the magnificent court of INIysoor — to a sovereign enriched witli the spoil of principalities and provinces — a private per- son of no note as ambassador (Mr. (Jray), bearing with him an ill-made English saddle (hogskin to a Mussulman !) and a rifle which loaded at the breech. The presents were declined as unwortliy the giver or intended receiver ; neither would Ilyder grant a pri- vate audience to the envoy ; but on learning, through one of his nobles, the desire of the presidency to form an alliance with him, he sent word that he had at one period ear- nestly and repeatedly solicited it without effect, but was now strong enough to stand alone. The most alarming part of this defiant message is said to have been withheld by Sir Thomas Ilumbold,* whose policy was at the time directed to carrying off an immense fortune safe to England. Taking leave of the council, he congratulated them on the prospect of peace at a moment when every nerve ought to have been strained to prepare for defence against invasion, and took his departure in time to avoid the receipt of the recall then on its way to India. t Among the jjolitical errors urged against him was the offence given to Nizam Ali, by compelling his brother and subject, Bassalut Jung, to make over the Guutoor Circar to the company in 1779, instead of suffering him to enjoy it for life, as agreed upon by the treaty of 1768; and then using this extorted concession as a means of gratifying the cupidity of Mo- hammed Ali, to whom this fine district was to be let in farm. Both the Loudon direc- tors and the Bengal authorities strove to assuage the anger of the Nizam at conduct which he was both able and willing to resent ; but the Madras officials persisted in justify- ing their conduct in this respect, and also • Vide Captain Jamca Munro's Coromaudel Coast, p. 130. Dr. Moodie's MSS., in library of E. I. Cy. f A criminal prosecution was commenced against him in 1782, in the House of Commons, but ad- journed from time to time, and eventually dropped. in endeavouring to repudiate the arrears of peslieush, ortribute, due for the other (Mrcars, as warranted by their pi^euniaiy necessities, and far less faulty in principle, than the breach of faith committed in withholding the tribute pledged to the emperor as a first charge upon the revenues of Bengal. Ilyder Ali had spies everywhere. He was perfectly aware of the ill-feeling exist- ing between the controlling and subordinate governments, and made no secret of the hos- tile intentions and utter contempt he enter- tained towards the latter. The extraordi- nary apathy of the majority of the council, together with the violent measures used to stille the representations of the few who advocated the adoption of immediate mea- sures for the defence of the Carnatic, gave weight to his assertions that the time had arrived for all Indian powers to unite in ex- pelling the one great European state which threatened to engulph every other. Now, in its moment of weakness, when the reins of authority were vested in incapable and selfish hands, a short and decisive struggle might, by the conjoined strength of Mohammedans and Hindoos, brought to bear against the common foe, be attended with such com- plete success iis " to leave not a white face in the Carnatic." The confederacy advocated by Ilyder was actually formed, and a plan laid down which, if all parties had carried out their pledge as he did his, might have gone far to realise the desired object. Mo- hammed Ali, for once a true prophet, fore- told the coming storm; but in vain. The presidency persisted in declaring that the dark clouds which they could not deny overshadowed the political horizon, would pass away or be dissipated by the precau- tions of the Bengal council ; — days, weeks, months elapsed, at a time when even hours of continued peace were of incalculable im- portance, without any attempts for reinforc- ing weak garrisons in important positions, or for making arrangements for the pro- visioning of troops, notwithstanding the obvious necessity of the latter measure in all cases of threatened invasion, especially by a foe whose desolating and destruc- tive mode of warfare was proverbial. Yet the verj' man who had once before dictated terms at the gates of Madras, was treated as a mere braggart, even after he had actually crossed the frontier, and was ap- proaching, with his two sons, at the head of above 80,000 men, supported by a large train of ai'tillery and a considerable body of 352 INVASION OP THE CARNATIC BY HYDER ALI— 1780. Europeans (chiefly French), constituting, without doubt, the best-disciplined army ever marshalled by a native Indian power. At length the burning of Conjeveram, the largest village in the Carnatic (sixty miles from Fort St. George, and thirty-five from Arcot), and the testimony of numerous ter- rified and bleeding fugitives, closely followed by the sight of the much-dreaded predatory horse of the foe, prowling about amid the garden-houses round Mount St. Thomas, changed doubts, sneers, and cavils into un- speakable dismay, which the tidings of every successive hour tended to increase. Hyder pursued his favourite policy of creating a desert about the places he desired to con- quer. Round Fort St. George he drew a line of merciless desolation, extending from thirty to thirty-five miles inland, burning every town and village to the ground, and inflicting indiscriminate mutilation on every individual who ventured to linger near the ashes. The wretched peasantry, victims of the quarrels of usurping powers, whose actions they could neither understand nor influence, were sacrificed by thousands by fire or the sword, while multitudes, doomed to more protracted suflering, were driven ofi' in a whirlwind of cavalry into exile or slavery, frequently to both united ; — the father torn from his virgin daughter; the husband from the wife ; the mother borne away in the torrent, unable so much as to snatch her shrieking infant from the tramp- ling hoofs of the snorting horses. Yes ! Hyder was indeed at hand : dense clouds of smoke, mingled with flame, were the sure harbingers of his approach. The country- people fled, wild with terror, to Madras ; aud no less than 300,000 were sufl'ered to take up their abode in the black town in the space of three days. The assembling of the troops was evi- dently of the first importance. There was no lack of men or ammunition; but a grievous deficiency of discipline, and gene- ral discontent, engendered by the severe suflering inflicted by the non-payment of arrears.* A strong and united effort, by the local authorities, to relieve their wants • The force of the nabob alone, in 1776, was stated by Col. Matthews, before a Pari. Committee, to amount to 35,000 effective men. That of the presi- dency comprehended about .'iOiOOOj but even the Eng- lish forces were on the brink of mutiny for want of pay. In 1777, a regiment completely equipjied for service, and stationed a few miles from Hyder's frontier, seized Captain Campbell and their other officers, and were only brought to release them by and inspire confidence, was, however, all that was needed to restore their wonted efiicieacy ; but so far from any decisive measures being taken, delays and disputes arose; for the commander-in-chief. Sir Hector Munro, could not be spared to take the head of the army, because his vote alone insured the supremacy in council of his own opinions and those of the president, Mr. Whitehill. Lord Maeleod,t who had recently arrived from England with a high- land regiment 1,000 strong, was desired to assume the command, but he positively refused to accept the responsibility of car- rying out the hazardous plan devised by Munro, of uniting the main body with that absent in the Guntoor Circar, under Colonel Baillie, at the distant site of Conjeveram, and strongly urged the adoption of the more reasonable course suggested by the minority, of marshalling the forces with the least pos- sible delay on St. Thomas' Mount. Munro, wedded to his project, determined to take the field in person, and actually proposed and carried that he should appoint a nominee to occupy his seat in council so long as it continued vacant. The opposi- tion members indignantly reprobated this arrangement ; and one of them (Mr. Sad- leir) so provoked the majority, that they decreed his suspension, which was followed up by a challenge from Sir Hector. The subsequent conduct of the campaign corresponded with this inauspicious com- mencement. In the very face of the enemy, when from Cape Comorin to the Kistna all was plunder, confusion, and bloodshed, the civil and military authorities continued to quarrel with each other. Munro per- sisted in attempting the junction of the troops in the centre of a country occupied by an enemy. He marched to Conjeveram with the main body, which comprised 5,209 men, of whom 2,481 were European infantry and 294 artillery, and there awaited the arrival of Colonel Baillie, whose force con- sisted of about 150 Europeans aud 2,000 sepoys. Hyder was at the time engaged in besieging Arcot ; but his invariable policy — from which the English general might have the interference of Col. .Tames, the commandant of Trichinopoly, who made himself personally respon- sible for the utmost extent of arrears he could pro- vide funds to meet. The Kuro|)ean otiicers and na- tive troops under Colonel Fullarton, were, at a subsiqueut period, twelve months in arrear, and obtained their very food on credit. t Lord Macleod afterwards quitted India, in con- sequence of Col. Btuart being placed over him. I HYDEll ALI CUTS OFF COL. BAILLIE'S DETACHMENT— 1780. 353 learned a useful lesson — of directinj? his chief enorfjies to the most prominent danger, induced him to send the flower of the army, under Tippoo, to intercept the detachment under Baillic, which was ac- complished at a spot aljout tit'tccn miles distant from Conjeveram. After a severe conflict of several hours, Baillie succeeded in repellinj^ his assailants, but with so much loss, that he sent word to the general he could not join him unless reinforced in such a manner as to be eajjable of resistin;; the opposition of the enemy. He suggested that Munro himself should advance to the rescue; instead of which, the general thought fit again to divide his small army by sending forward a detach- ment under Colonel Fletcher, to strengthen that threatened by Tippoo. The intelligence of Ilyder regarding the plans and proceedings of the English, was as speedy and reliable as their information concerning him was tardy and misleading. Mis plot to surprise and destroy Colonel Fletcher on the march was, happily, neu- tralised by the discreet change of route ordered by that officer ; and it is considered, that had the junction of the detachments beeu followed up, after a few hours' rest, by speedy movement, the conjoined troops might have made their way safely to Conje- veram. But needless delay gave time for Tippoo to fix cannon at a strong post on the road, and, worse still, for Hyder him- self to advance in person and oppose their passage. The little band, both Europeans and sepoys, sustained furious and repeated assaults with extraordinary steadiness, in- spired with the hope that Munro would take advantage of the opportunity to relieve them by attacking the foe in the rear. Hyder was not without apprehensions on this score, which were heightened by the representations of the French oilicers in his service, especially of Lally and Pimorin.* The fate of the day hung in suspense until two of the tumbrils blew up in the English Hues, and at once deprived them of ammu- nition, and disabled their guns ; they never- theless maintained the contest for another hour and a-half. At the end of that time but 400 men remained, many of them wounded yet they still rallied round their * LiiUy was the commander of a small body of Buropeaii mercenaries who had successively served Nizam Ali and Bassalut Jung, before entering the service of Hyder. Pimorin was a French officer. t Of eighty-six officers, thirty-six were killed, thirty-four wounded, and sixteen surrendered unhurt. leader, desiring to cut their way through the hostile ranks or perish in the attempt. But Colonel Fletcher lay dead on the field of battle, and Colonel Baillie, willing to save the lives of his brave companions, and despairing of relief from hcad-ciuarters, held up his handkenducf as a flag of truce. An intimation of quarter being given, the Eng- lish laid down their arms; but had no sooner done so than a fierce onslaught was made by the enemy, and the whole of them would have been slain in cold blood, including even the native women and chil- dren who had accompanied the detachment, but for the interference of the French mer- cenaries. Baillie was brought, stiff with wounds, into the presence of his barbarous conqueror, and eventually perished in the prison of Seringapatam. About 200 Euro- peans were taken, of whom fifty were ofK- cers.t They were destined to linger long years in a captivity more terrible than death. When tidings of this disaster reached Conjeveram, Munro threw his heavy guns and stores which could not be removed, into a tank, and retreated from that jjlace to Chiugleput, where he hoped to procure a supply of rice for the army; but being dis- appointed by the conjoined ettect of Ilyder's alertness and his own want of precautionary measures, he retreated to Madras. Here general consternation and alarm prevailed, aggravated by the utter want of provisions, military stores, or funds even to pay the troops, European or native ; the latter, in the service of Mohammeu Ali, deserted in whole regiments simply for that reason. The state of things seemed hopeless, when the vigorous measures of the supreme gov- ernment at Bengal gave a new turn to affairs. The unfaltering courage and clear perceptions of Hastings were never ex- erted more advantageously than at this crisis. He had already instituted a nego- tiation with the Nizam for the restoration of the Guutoor Circar, the chief bone of contention ; and he maintained a correspon- dence with the Mahratta ruler of Berar, Moodajee BhonslajT, which had the eflect of rendering that chief unwilling to co- operate actively with his countrymen against the English, though he did not care openly to refuse joining the general confederacy. But these measures were manifestly insuffi- cient to meet the present crisis. Hyder had followed up his success at Conjeveram by the siege and capture of Arcot. Wan- duwash, Vellore, Chiugleput, and other bul- 354 SIR EYRE COOTE DEFEATS HYDER NEAR PORTO NOYO— 1781. warks of tlie Carnatic, were wretchedly provisioned and closely blockaded ; while the numerous forts under the direct control of the nabob, Mohammed Ali, were, for the most part, surrendered without a blow, from the various and often concurrent causes of disgust at an incapable and extortionate master, corruption, and despondency. Such was the news brought to Calcutta by a swift- sailing ship, flying before the south-west monsoon. In twenty-four hours the gov- ernor-general's course was taken. Supplies of every description — of men, money, and provisions — were gathered in, and dispatched under the charge of the veteran general Sir Eyre Coote, whose very name was a host, and to whom the sole conduct of the war was to be entrusted ; for Hastings, rightly deeming the emergency a justifica- tion for exerting the utmost stretch of authority, took upon himself to suspend Mr. Whitehill, the venal and incapable governor of Fort St. George. On reaching Madras, Coote found at his disposal a force num.bering altogether 7,00U men, of whom only 1,700 were Europeans. Despite the manifest disparity of numbers, he earnestly desired to bring Hyder to a regular engagement, believing that the danger to be incurred by such a proceeding would fall far short of that resulting from the waste of resources and dispiriting cflects of the harassing hostilities carried on by his opponent in a country already desolated. The wary Mysoorean well knew the foe with whom he had now to cope, and neither taunts, threats, nor manoeuvring, could induce him to risk a pitched liattle. This very circum- stance enabled the English to relieve Wan- dewash,* Permacoil, and other besieged places ; but [only for a time : the indefati- gable foe marched oft" uninjured to bloc- kade a diflerent fortress, and Coote followed till his troops were well-nigh worn out.f At length a seeming evil procured the long- desired engagement ; for Hyder, encouraged by the presence of a French fleet on the coast, intrenched liis army in a strong post ■near Cuddalore, close to the village called by Europeans i'orto Novo, and strove to * Wandewash was most gallantly defended by Lieut. Flint, who, notwithstanding; very deficient re- sources, and without a sinf,'le artilleryman, not only held his ground during seventy-eight days of o])en trenches against the flower of llyder's army, but raised a little corjis of cavalry, and procured provi- sions for his garrison and supplies for the main army. t When urged by the Uritisli commander to de- cide liie iortune of war by a pitched battle, Ilyder intercept and cut ofl" the supplies of the English, who had recently been repidsed in an attack on the pagoda of Chillambrum. Coote advanced boldly, and having dis- covered a means of approach for a portion of the troops by a passage through a ridge of sand-hills, formed by Hyder for his own use, the general contrived, by a series of simple yet skilful and admirably executed movements, to marshal his forces in the face of several heavy batteries, and finally succeeded, after a close and severe contest, in forcing the line of the enemy and fairly putting them to flight. At the commencement of the battle (about nine o'clock on the morning of the 1st July, 1781), Hyder took up his position on a little hill commanding the scene of action, and there he sat until four in the afternoon, cross-legged, on a low stool, watching every movement made by or against the English, and so enraged by the unexpected progress of aflfairs, as to become stupid with vexation. Fourteen years be- fore, when defeated by Colonel Smith, J he had been observed by the English oflicers, with cool self-possession, issuing orders for a retreat, in the manner of one who could afford to wait and bide his day of triumph. But Hyder was an old man now ; a pam- pered tyrant, accustomed to tread on the necks of his fellow-beings ; and he believed the time at length arrived to triumph over the power of the people by whom he had been long braved with impunity. The cup of revenge was at his lips; was it to be flung to the ground almost untasted? Considerations of this nature shut out from view all thought of personal danger, and rendered him deaf to the arguments off'ered to induce him to quit a position rapidly be- coming extremely perilous. The nobles in at- tendance were silenced by the obscene abuse, always lavishly bestowed by their imperious master when out of temper; their horses and servants had disappeared in the general flight before the advancing foe ; but Ilyder rcm.ained seated until a groom, who through long and faitiiful service was in some sort a privileged man, came forward, and is said to have replied — " What ! put my chargers, worth more than one hundred rupees each, in con- petition with your cannon-balls, that only cost a few i)ice (halfpence.) No, no : you shall hear of me often, but see me never. I will keep you march- ing until your legs are as big as your bellies, and your bellies the size of your legs ; and then you shall light when I choose, not when you please." \ At Trincomalee. in ITiT. {See p. 318.) BATTLE OF POLLILOOR— MACARTNEY REACHES MADRAS— ]'/8]. 355 drawing the legs of Ilyder from under liim, thrust WiA .slippers on liis feet, and with blunt fidelity jirevailed on him to rise, sayinfi, " we will lieat them to-morrow ; in the meanwhile mount your horse." Ilyder complied, and was out of s\^\\t in a few momenta, leaving the discomfited group, around liis stool of repentance, to save themselves as they hest could. Luckily for them, the Engli.sh had no cavalry where- with to carry on the pursuit. The victory was, however, frauijht with important con- sequences. It induced the hostile force to fall hack upon Arcot. Sir Eyre Coote fol- lowed, and encouraged by previous success, ventured to attack Ilyder near Polliloor, in a position which, besides great natural advantages, was held by the su])erstitious Mysoorean in particular estimation as a lucky spot, being that on which he had cut ofl' the detachment under Baillie in the previous year. The British troops became furious at the sight of the nnburied re- mains of their fallen comrades ; but insur- mountable obstacles retarded their advance. They could not get at the enemy ; two tum- brils broke (as on the previous occasion) ; and to make the confusion greater. Sir Hector Munro, having received a hasty rebuke from Coote, sullenly seated himself beneath the only tree in the plain, and refused to issue a single command. The loss of the English was about 500 killed, including some officers ; and the action would probably have terminated in a defeat, had their wily adversary suspected the existence of the dissension and confusion which tem- porarily prevailed in an army characterised by united action and steady discipline. The campaign ended with the surprise of the Mysooreans at tlie pass of Sholingur, on the road to Vellorc : their loss was estimated at 5,000 men ; w hile that of the English fell short of 100. Meanwhile, an important change had taken place at Madras in the nomination of Lord Macartney as governor and president of Fort St. George. The appointment of a man of acknowledged talent and strict integrity was, doubtless, a great step towards abolishing the systematic venality whieh had long dis- graced the presidency ; and the earnest and straightforward manner in which the new ruler applied himself to his arduous and in- vidious task, justified the expectations en- tertained on his behalf. But the difficulties which surrounded him were great beyond expectation. Disastrous news awaited bis arrival in June, 1781. First, tliat the Carnatic, which Sir Thomas Rumbold Iiad re|)resented in a most j)eacit(ul and jtrornising condition, was aetually occupied by a ruthless foe ; secondly, that the means of defence had been vainly sought for by men possessed of the local experience in which he was of necessity wholly deficient; and thirdly, that the increasing scarcity which prevailed through the Carnatic, threatened to termi- nate in a terrible famitie. Macartney was called on to decide how best to meet these difficulties without clashing with the extra- ordinary powers vested in the brave and in- defatigable, but peevish and exacting (ieneral Coote, and still more with the su[)remc authority wielded by the seemingly concilia- tory, but really dictatorial and jealous Hastings. Lord Macartney brought to India intel- ligence of war with Holland ; and despite the objections of Coote, who desired to see the whole force concentrated for the reconquestof Arcot, the Dutch settlements were attacked ; Sadras, Pulicat, and IVcgapatam successively taken ; after which the troops of Ilyder be- gan to evacuate the forts which they had occupied in Tanjore. But these successes were soon followed by renewed disasters. A French fleet arrived on the Coromandel coast in January, 1783, and after intercept- ing several vessels bound to Madras with grain, landed 3,000 men at Porto Novo, where Tippoo speedily joined them with a large body of troops. An English and native detachment, about 2,000 strong, sta- tioned in Tanjore, under Colonel Brathwaite, misled by a system of false information car- ried on by the spies of Ilyder, were surprised by a conjoined force under Tippoo and Lally, and after maintaining a desperate re- sistance for six-and-twenty hours, against an enemy who outnumbered them twenty to one, were at length completely surrounded, and either slain or captured. The conclu- sion of a peace with the ^lahrattas being officially announced at Madras in the month of June, gave an opportunity for opening a similar negotiation with Ilyder. The terms on which it had been obtained were not, however, of a nature to induce so wary a [xilitieian to make important concessions. The English, he well knew, had purchased peace by the surrender of almost all they had been fighting for — that is, by reverting to the terms of the indignantly repudiated ', treaty of Poorundcr ; and even these coudi tious had been made tlirough the instruineu 356 DEATH OF HYDER ALI— DECEMBER, 1782. tality of the formidable and intriguing Sindia.* But Hyder desired an interval of tranquillity in -which to settle a plan of com- bined operations with the French admiral Suffrein ; he therefore proceeded to treat with Sir Eyre Coote, who remained in sus- pense until the vakeel from Mysoor was suddenly withdrawn, and the old general discovered that his whole stock of provisions had been consumed, while the troops were kept in a state of inactivity by the artifice of Hyder. The subsequent attempts of the English to force a battle were unavailins; ; and matters grew from bad to worse, until towards the close of the year, Coote, who had previously sustained a fit of apoplexy, now suffered afresh seizure, which compelled him to resign the command to general Stuart, and retire to Bengal. Madras was by this time reduced to a terrible condition. The ravages of famine, after spreading over the whole Carnatic,t at length became felt in the presidency, and increased with alarm- ing rapidity, until the number of deaths amounted to, and continued for several weeks, at from 1,200 to 1,500. The French appear to have been ignorant of the state of affairs ; for they made no attempt to bloc- kade the coast ; and supplies from Bengal and the Northern Circars came in time to aid in preventing the scourge of pestilence from following the ravages of famine. Hyder Ali had ever been accurately informed re- garding the condition of every leading Eng- lish settlement, and would doubtless have not failed to take advantage of the condition of the capital of the presidency, but that his marvellous energies of mind and body, so long vouchsafed, so terribly misused, were fast failing. His health had been for some time decluiiug, and, in November, symptoms * The price paid to Sindia ■ko.s the surrender of the city of iiroach and its dependencies. The ar- rangements referred to (commonly known as the Treaiy of Salhi/e) were concluded in May, 1782. + An eye-witness pathetically describes the man- ner in which the nf lives, " whose very excess and luxury, in their most plenteous days, had fallen short of our severest fasts — silent, patient, resigned without sedition or disturhance, almost w;tnjut complaint," perished in multitudes. — (Mcodie's Transactions.) X It is said that Hyder, like Hamilcar, swore his sen to wage incessant war against the English ; but the tnUh of this assertion is doubtful. § The age of Hyder is very differently stated. Wilks (the best general authority regarding My- soor) slates that he was seven years old in 1728, which would make him about sixty at the time of his death ; but Mill and other writers unanimously speak of him as attaining a far more advanced age ; and the careful and accurate Thornton appeared of a mortal disease described as peculiar to natives of high rank, and there- fore called the raj-poora, or royal boil. He died at Chittore, in December, 1782, f leaving Tippoo§ to prosecute hostilities with the Eng- lish. The defalcation of the Mahrattas had, it is said, led him to regret the confederacy he had formed, and even to regard it as the most impolitic act of his whole career. " I have committed a great error," he exclaimed with bitterness; " I have purchased a draught of seandeejl (worth about a farthing) at the price of a lac of pagodas. I can ruin their resources by land, but I cannot dry up the sea."^ It would have been well for his successor had he profited by this dear-bought experience; but Tippoo, fierce, headstrong, and bigoted, was the last person in the world to gain wisdom on such easy terms. A leading characteristic of Hyder had been perfect toleration to every religious sect. Though quite capable of respecting the genuine piety of such a man as Svvartz, he appears to have been himself devoid of any belief whatever ; and alternately counter nanced and joined in the ceremonial obser- vances of the Mohammedans and Hindoos, and even the grossest forms of idolatry, super- stition, and magical incantation performed by the latter, simply from motives of policy. His cruelties, great and terrible as they were, resulted from the same cause, except- ing only those prompted by his unbounded sensuality. Tippoo Sultan, on the contrary, had all the insatiable ferocity of the wild beast whose name he bore, when the fear- ful relish for human blood has once been acquired ; and none of his victims could have suggested a more appropriate badge than the stripe of the royal tiger, which formed part of his insignia.** With him, the fiendish describes him as little younger than Aurungzebe. II Date wine, a cheap but very intoxicating liquor. •U Mysoor, ii., 373. Col. Wilks gives this strange confession on the authority of Poornea, the Hindoo minister, to whom it was addressed. Hyder, it must be recollected, had no ally on whom he could rely. The Mahrattas had forsaken him, and from the French he could only receive very partial aid, since he had predetermined, under no circumstances, to admit them in force to Mysoor. — {Linm, 374.) At a very critical period (March, 1782), Hyder resented the' attempt of a Frencli ofhcer to take possession of ChiUambrum, by turning him out of the fort, and the troops, having no bullocks, were actually com- pelled to drag their artillery back to Porto Novo ! •* Tippoo Sultan is thought to have been named after a famous ascetic for whom Hyder Ali had a regard, and who had assumed this strange designa- tion to signify sovereignty obtained over the tiger- like passions of the flesh. — (Wilks' Mysoor, ii., 567.) CIIAKACTER OF TIPPOO SULTAN— DEATH OF COOTK— 1783. 357 delight of inflicting pain and degradation, pliysical and moral, seems to have been an iustinc't (hivcloped eveil in early boyliooii. In vain the stern reprimands of his dreaded father were frequ(;iitiy sounded in his ears ; in vain the repeated inflietion of corporal punishment by the long whips, which Ilyder (h'clarcd to be better security for good government than all the reading and writing in the worhl ; — Tippoo conhl never be restrained from indulging the vicious tendencies whicli subseipiently found vent in the form of religious persecution. He persisted in inilieting the outward mark of Islam on such Christians as fell in liis power,* and insulted the peaceful Hindoo subjects of his father by wantonly defiling their places of worship, and slaving the animals they hold most sacred, especially the sacred bulls, which he recommended to his associates as the best possible beef Yet Tippoo, stanch Mussulman as he deemed himself, and sworn foe to idolatry, was not the less a slave to the gross superstitions of which the Brahminical creed of modern times is so largely composed ; and, like Hydcr himself, he rarely failed, in commencing a difficult and dangerous undertaking, to have the jebbum — a strange species of magical incantation — performed on his behalf by the Hindoos, simultaneously with the offer- ing up of ])rayers for success in the mosques. t Add to these cliaracteristies that of an irre- pressible tendency for pilfering and lying, and we have, perhaps, about as detestable a person as can well be conceived. In acti- vity in battle, he is said to have surpassed his father, and to have equalled him in personal daring; but in every other more Heedful capacity of a despotic ruler, lie was immeasurably inferior. His uncontested succession was ensured by the manoeuvres of two Brahmins, the chief ministers of Hy- der,J who concealed the death of the sovereign as long as possible, in order to give his heir time to return from his post on the western frontier of ^lysoor, whither he * When a youth, his father punished him severely for havinf; intiieted circumcision on an English sol- dier, at a lime wlicn he was anxious to conciliate the fjood-wili of the Madras presidency. t The Jebbum, though ])uiely a Hindoo cere- monial, was frequently resorted to by Mohamme- dans; one, of which the details are on record, is said to have cost Mohammed Ali £5,000, which he did not grudge, since il killcil Lord Pir/ot ; and another, after several failures, jiroduced the death of Hyder himself — (Wilks' Mj/som: ii., 'lob.) X The cliief ministers, rehitively speaking; for Hy- der was himself the acting head of everv department. 3 A had proceeded to repel the incursions of the English under Colonel 1 1 umber- stone. Lord Macartney, on learning the late event, earnestly pressed tlie comrnan- der-in-ehief (General Stuart) to take im- mediate advantage of the confusion likely to arise from a change of ruler. But here again the spirit of disunion, which pre- vailed to so remarkable an extent in the Madras presidency, forbade speedy and com- bined action. The general claimed to be allowed to exercise the same independent au- thority bestowed by the supreme government on Sir Eyre Coote, and the governor con- tended, as Hastings had done in Bengal, for the entire subordination of the military to the civil authority. The general, to vin- dicate his alleged right, took tlie course natural to an opiniatcd and narrow-minded man, of acting in direct opposition to the instructions given by the presidency ; and during the remainder of this the first war with the new ruler of Mysoor, the very spirit of discord ruled in the senate, the camp, and the field, neutralising every suc- cess, and aggravating every disaster. By the urgent solicitations of Hastings, Coote was again induced to return to the Carnatic; although, before liis departure from thence, some serious disputes had taken place be- tween him and Lord Macartney, notwith- standing the care evinced by the latter to act in the most conciliatory manner. But the ill-defined authority vested in the Supreme Council of Bengal, in conjunction with the personal misunderstanding which unhappily existed between Hastings and iLacartney,§ tended to mingle personal feelings with public questions ; and the dissensions be- tween them increased in violence, until the governor-general took the resolve not only of delegating to Sir Eyre Coote tlie uncon- trolled conduct of the war, but also, in the event of determined resistance at Fort St. George, of enforcing that measure by the deposition of the president. The death of Coote, four days after landing at Madras, || § The spotless integrity of Lord Macartney was a standing reproach to Hastings, who in dealing with him completely lost his temper. Thus, in a commu- nication dated 13th of April, 1783, he desires Lord ALi artney to explain some misunderstanding which liad arisen on an official subject, adding as a reason, " if you consider the estimation of a man [the goy- ernor-generai of India writing to the head of a subordinate presidency !] so inconsiderable as I am deserving of attention." — [Life, ii., t)3.) II During the voyage. Coote was chased for two days and nights by a French ship of the line; and the agitation caused therebv accelerated his death. 358 BEDNORE CAPTUEED FROM, AND REGAINED BY, TIPPOO— 1783. perhaps prevented intestine strife ; for Lord Macartney, though courteous and moderate, was by no means inclined to submit tamely to the lot of his predecessor, Lord Pigot. In all other respects the loss of the experienced general was a severe calamity. Despite the irritation and excitability consequent on ill- health, with other failings less excusable — such as extravagance as a commander, and covetousness in his private capacity — he pos- sessed a degree of activity, precision, and experience far beyond any of his compeers; besides which, a frank soldierly manner, aided by the charm of old association, and his own strong attachment to the troops, rendered him beloved by the army in gene- ral, and especially by the native soldiers. Many a white-haired sepoy, in after times, loved to dwell on the service they had seen under "Coote Bahadur;" and ottered, with glistening eye and faltering voice, a grateful tribute to his memory, while making a military salutation to the portrait of the veteran, suspended in the Madras exchange. The death of Coote was nearly simultaneous with the arrival of M. de Bussy. He had been long expected ; but his plans had been twice disconcerted by the capture of the convoy destined to support him, by Admiral Kempenfelt, in December, 1781. A similar disaster occurred in April, 1782; and when, after much delay, he reached the Carnatic in the following June, he found a conjuncture of affairs awaiting him by no means favourable to his views. Hyder was dead, and Tippoo absent on an expedition for the recovery of Bednore, which had surrendered to an Eng- lish force under General Matthews. This enterprise, which unforeseen circumstances alone rendered successful, had been under- taken for the express purpose of withdraw- ing the Mysoorcans from Arcot. The object was accomplished, but the expected advan- tages were greatly lessened by the previous ill-advised destruction of the forts of Wan- dewash and Carangoli, which had been demolished by the for once united decision of Lord Macartney and General Stuart, although almost every military opinion, from that time to the present, lius pro- nounced the measure premature, if not * The fjovenior was a chelnh, or slave, named Sheik Ayaz, to whom liyder had been so strongly attached, that he repeatedly declared he wished he had be- gotten him instead of Tippoo. The consequence was, Tippoo cordially hated Ayaz, and had arranged to put him to death ; but the letter beinp; intercepted, the intended victim hastened to make his escape. t Bernadotte, afterwards Crown Prince of Swe- wholly inexpedient. Considerable pecuniaiy acquisitions were expected to be realised from the capture of Bednore ; but these an- ticipations proved delusive, — whether owing to the large sums carried off by the native governor (himself the intended victim of Tippoo),* or whether from the peculation of English officers, is a disputed question. The place was only retained about three months, at the end of which time it was captured by Tippoo, who having (by his own accoimt) discovered that the English officers, in violation of the terms of capitulation dic- tated by him, were carrying away treasure and jewels to a large amount, caused them all to be marched off in irons to different prisons, where they endured a rigorous and dreary captivity, terminated, in the case of Matthews and several others, by a cruel death. Meanwhile Bussy, disappointed in the hope of joining the main body of the Mysoorean army under Tippoo, concentrated his force at Cuddalore, which was subsequently in- vested by General Stuart. It was of evident importance to use the utmost expedition in order to forestal the large reinforcements ex- pected from France, and which did eventually arrive. Nevertheless, Stuart, although com- pelled to some degree of obedience to the Ma- dras government, contrived to neutralise their plans by marching at the rate of three miles a-day, and thus occupied forty days, instead of the usual period of twelve, in reaching Cuddalore. The siege,t when commenced, proved long and sanguinary ; and in an attack which took place on the 13th of June, 1783, the English lost upwards of 1,000 men. M. de Suifrein arrived shortly after, and landed a body of 2,400 men to strengthen the garrison ; but Stuart had recklessly determined to carry out the commands of the presidency as literally as possible ; and all the British troops en- trusted to his charge, including a detach- ment tinder Colonel FuUarton, which had marched to his aid from Tanjore, would probably have been sacriliced to the spleen of one unprincipled man, but for the arrival of orders for tlie immediate cessation of hostilities, in consequence of the peace newly concluded betweett France and Eng- dcn, was captured in a midnight sally made by the garrison. He was treated with great kindness by General Wangenheim. commandant of the Hano- verian troops in the I''ngiisli service ; and in later life, when their relative jiositions were strangely altered, the general had am])le reason to remember, with satisfaction, the compassion ho had evinced towards the wounded sergeant. — (Wilks, ii., 442.) PEACE SIGNED WITH '1 ll'l'OO SULTAN— MAY, 1784. 55!) land. 'I'liis intcllif^cnce, at an (finally oppor- tune nionicnt, reached tlu; troops ('nf^a^cd in the defence of Maii^alore, which, thou<;li a place of very inferior strength, had stood a siege of fifty-six days, the defence being directed by Colonel Campbell, tiic attaeiv by Tippoo himself, who had proceeded thither with the main body after taking Bcdnore. The French envoy, Pcveron, is accused of having kept back the intelli- gence he came to bring, in order to enable Tippoo to retain the aid of Cossigny (the French engineer), Lally, and Boudcnot. Tiie declaration could, at length, be no longer withheld. Cossigny quitted the Mysoor army, and insisted on his companions with- drawing likewise. Tippoo was beyond mea- sure enraged by what he considered nothing short of treacherous desertion ; and his late allies, as the sole means of escaping urduirt by his resentment, were glad to avail them- selves of the protection of the l"]nglish. After some unsuccessful attempts to carry the place by his own unassisted strength, he agreed to an armistice, to extend over the coast of Malabar. (3ne leading condition was the supply of a stated monthly allowance of provisions to Mangalore, sufficient for the use of the garrison without trenching on their previous stock. This stipulation was broken by his furnishing articles deficient in quan- tity and deleterious in quality : no salt was sent, and many of the sepoys, Colonel AA'ilks affirms, became actually blind, as well as affected by various other ailmti.ts, in conse- quence of being compelled to eat rice in its simple, undigestible state, without the addi- tion of any of the usual coudimcnts. The ]\Iadras government were extremely anxious to conclude a peace ; and to this circum- stance, as also to the want of union among those in command, may be attributed the supiueness of Ceneral INlaclend and the scruples which prevented his eft'ective inter- position for the succour of Mangalore, which, after nearly a nine months' siege, fell before its cruel and perfidious foe. Colonel Campbell died soon after, overwhelmed with fatigue and disappointment. Tippoo had succeeded in his immediate object of proving to the native Indian powers his sufficiency to effect that which had baffled the skill and discipline of his French auxiliaries: in every other respect he had little reason to con- gratulate himself on the conquest of an iu- consider.iblc place, purchased by a long and costly siege, which, besides having hindered his attention to the affairs of his own dominions, had left the English free to gain consid(U'ai)lc advantages in other (|uar- tcrs. The misconduct of (jeneral Stuart, in the expedition to Cuddalorc, had filled the measure of his ofl'enecs, and induced the governor and council to order his arrest and forcible embarkation for England.* After this decisive measure matters took a difi'er- cnt and far more favouraltle turn. Tlu; abilities of Mr. Sulivan, the resident at Tanjore. and of colonels Lang and Ful- larton, had been successfully exerted in various ways. Caroor and Diiidegul, Pal- gaut and C'oimbatore, were captured; and Colonel Fullarton was even preparing to as- cend the (rliauts and march on Seringapa- tam, when he received tidings of a treaty of peace concluded between Tippoo Sultan and the Madras government, on the basis of a mutual restoration of conquests. The so- called peace was, however, but a hollow truce, to which nothing but fear of the ]\Iahrattas and the Nizam had driven the sultan. Throughout the whole of the ne- gotiations he behaved in the most insulting manner to the British commissioners,t who had been inveigled to his court to be lield up in the light of suitors for peace ; and even when the treaty was concluded, the fulfilment of his pledge of restoring his ca[)tives to liberty, gave fresh occasion for resentment, by revealing the treatment to which they had been subjected. Hyder had shown little humanity in his dealings with English prisoners, whom he kept in irons, chained in pairs, because "they were imruly beasts, not to be kept quiet in any other way." But Tippoo Sultan far surpassed his father in barbarity, and the English learned, with horror and indignation, that many officers distinguished by rank, skill, or bravery, had been poisoned or .assassinated in their dungeons ; that others, especially the younger of these unfortunates, had sutiered torture and ignominy of a revolting descrip- tion ; and that even the most fortunate among the captives had sustained close confinement in loathsome dens, their beds the damp ground ; with food so miserably insufficient, as to give scope for the untiring fidelity and self-devotion of their native companions in allliction, to show itself by the frequent sacrifice of a portion of the scanty pittance * One of the sons of Mohammed Ali expressed his vi?w of the matter in broken English, by declaring '• (ieiieral Stuart catch one Lord [Pigot], one Lord [Macartney] catch General Stuart." f Messrs. Sadleir, Staunton, and Hudleston. 360 HISTORY OP CHEYTE SING, RAJAH OF BENARES— 1778-1781. allowed for their maintenance, in return for unremitting labour, to mend the fare of the European soldiers.* The treaty entered into with Tippoo by the Madras authorities was transmitted to Bengal, and signed by the Supreme Council, on whom the full powers of government had devolved, owing to the absence of Mr. Hastings at Lucknow. On his return to Calcutta, Hastings found much fault with the treaty, especially because it made no nrention of the nabob of Arcot. He drew up a new one, and peremptorily commanded the Madras authorities to forward it to Tippoo. Macartney positively refused com- pliance ; Hastings could not compel it ; and so the matter ended. Close of Hastings' Administration. — Before the commencement of the war with Hyder, the financial condition of every one of the three presidencies had become seriously embarrassed. In August, 1780, the Supreme Council had been under the necessity of contracting a new debt, and when to this heavy burden on the Bengal revenues an additional one was added by the costly military operations required for the defence of the Carnatic, the governor-general felt compelled to announce to the directors the probability of a total suspension of the in- vestment, unless the purchase-money were sent from England. Nothing short of the most absolute necessity could, however, induce Hastings to endanger his standing with the Court of Proprietors, by the execu- tion of so unpopular a measure, while any source of supply remained available; yet such as there were had been already severely taxed. The nabob of Oude and the rajah of Benares were tributary princes. Viewed in this light, they were bound in all cases of difficulty to furnish assistance to the superior and protecting state. The degree of co- operation to be afforded was an open ques- tion, which Mr. Hastings, who now held un- disputed sway in Bengal, thought fit to decide in person, and, with that intent, pro- ceeded to the wealthy, populous, and venera- ted city of Benares. The rajah, Cheyte Sing, was the son and successor of Bulwunt Sing, whose alliance the English had courted during the war with Shuja Dowlah. The * Their exemplary conduct is the more deserving of admiration from the r.evere trials to which their fidelity had been recently exposed, as recorded in the pages of Wilks, Fuliarton, and other military authorities. The mismanagement of the finances of the Carnatic had told fearfully on the condition of the army; even veteran sepoys, who had served un- usurping nabobs of Oude had asserted the claim of the sword over the district of which Benares forms the capital, on the plea of its being a district dependent on their govern- ment. Bulwunt Sing made common cause with the English ; and on the conclusion of peace, an article was expressly inserted to secure him from the vengeance and cupidity of the nabob-vizier. This proved increas- ingly difficult; until at length, in 1774, it was proposed by Mr. Hastings, as the sole mode of protecting the rajah, to insist on his being declared independent of Oude, and tributary to Bengal. A stated sura was fixed to be paid annually, and the Supreme Council unanimously decreed that no more demands of any kind should be made upon him on behalf of the company. Cheyte Sing forwarded the tribute to Patna with remarkable regularity; nevertheless, in 1778, the necessities of the presidency were consi- dered to justify a demand for a heavy con- tribution (five lacs of rupees) to be furnished immediately. The rajah pleaded poverty, and asked for time ; but troops were sent against him, and he was compelled to furnish the sum originally demanded, with a fine of £2,000 for military expenses. He had, un- happily, incurred the personal enmity of the governor-general, by courting Clavering and Francis during their brief day of power; and the offence was one Hastings was little dis- posed to let pass unpunished. In 1780, the system of exaction commenced against Cheyte Sing, was continued by a new demand of five lacs, from which he endeavoured to gain relief by arguments and supplications, en- forced by a private offering of two lacs, which Mr. Hastings accepted, not as a part of the contribution, but as a distinct item, and then proceeded as before to exact the five lacs, with an additional mulct or fine of £10,000, for the trouble of compelling pay- ment. In 1781, the unfortunate rajah was again importuned for supplies of money and troops ; but this time unreasonable demands appear to have been made, simply with the object of provoking conduct which was to serve as a plea for the complete confiscation of his whole possessions. The amount now de- manded was not to be less than fifty lacs, with a contingent of 1,000 men. The rajah be- der Clive, were but imperfectly, if at all provided for. Colonel Fnllarton expressly slates, that the natives under his command were nearly twelve months in arrear, and that many wei'e driven to such extremities as to be compelled to sell their children into slavery to save themselves from starvation. — [View of Etig- lii/t Interests in India, 1782 to 1784; pp. 98—201.) DEPOSITION OF CIIEYTE SING, RAJAH OF BENARES— 1781. 861 havcd with remarkable moderation: lip(loiil)t- less (juessod tlio views entertained by Has- tinfjs — citlier tlie seizure of liis forts with tbeir eontents, or the sale of liis dominions to tlie nder of Oude ; and he. left no means untried to avert, by submission, evils which it was hopeless to combat by force. On the approach of the governor-f^eneral, he went to meet him with every demonstration of respect ; and, in token of entire submission, laid his turban on the; lap of the reserved and imjiassive Euf^lishman, the last act of humiliation in a country, where, to be bare- headed, is considered unspeakable degrada- tion. This conduct did not check, per- haps it accelerated the extreme measures adopted by Hastings, who asserted that be- sides falsely pleadiup; poverty, the rajah was really plottitig to become perfectly indepen- dent of the presidency ; but to this charjje his youth and inexperience att'ord the best contradiction, when viewed in conjunction with the unresisting^ manner in which he suffered the governor-general to take pos- session of Benares, though attended by a very slender escort, and even to go the length of arresting and confining him to his own palace. The two companies of sepoys placed on guard there, were not provided with ammunition, so little was any resis- tance anticipated on the part of this incipient rebel. The people were expected to witness, with indifference, the change of rulers. On the contrary, they were rendered desperate by an aggression which involved the downfall of one of their own race and religion, to be followed by the transfer of the sacred city and its fertile environs into the hands of aliens, who had no sympathies with their creed, and no interest in their welfare. Groat crowds assembled round the palace and blocked up all the avenues; and before reinforcements with ammunition could ar- rive to support the sepoy guard, a furious attack liad been made, in which the greater part perished. The rajah, so far from com- ing forth to head the mob, took advantage of the confusion to make his escape, and was let down the steep bank of the Ganges, by means of turbans tied together, into a boiit which conveyed him to the oppo- site shore. The multitude rushed after him, leaving the palace to be occupied by the English troops. Had they at once pro- ceeded in search of Hastings, no effective re- sistance could have been offered, since he had no protection beyond that of the thirty gen- tlemen of liis party and fifty armed sepoys. Cheyte Sing had, however, no thought of organised operations against his ])erseeutor, and he sent repeated apologies, and ofl'ers of the most com[)lete submission, all of which were treated with contemptuous dis- regard. The numbers of the insurgents continued to increase ; the building in which the Jlnglish party had taken up their abode was blockaded, and the sole means of con- veying intelligence to Bengal was by the subtlety of native messengers, who, taking advantage of the custom of laying aside in travelling their large golden earrings, becau.se tempting to thieves, placed on this occasion not the ordinary quill or roll of blank paper in the orifice, but dispatches from Has- tings to the commanders of British troops to come to his rescue, liefore these orders could be executed, affairs assumed a still more menacing aspect. A slight skirmish, brought on by a premature attack made by an English oflScer, at the head of a small body of men, on Ramnagur, a for- tified palace beyond the river, terminated in the death of the leader, and many of his followers by the hands of the people of Be- nares. The survivors retreated ; and Has- tings, alarmed for his own safety, fled by night to the fortress of Chunar, leaving the wounded sepoys behind. The excitement spread for hundreds of miles ; the husband- man quitted the field, the manufacturer his loom, and rallied round Cheyte Sing ; the oppressed population of Oude rose against the misgovernment of Asuf Dowlah and his English allies ; and even Bahar seemed ripe for revolt. The rajah at length assumed a haughty and defiant tone ; but the absence of skill or discipline rendered the tumul- tuary force thus voluntarily assembled utterly incapable of taking the field against a Euro- pean army, and the troops, under ^lajor Popham, were everywhere victorious. The fastnesses of the rajah were stormed, his adherents, to the number of 30,000, forsook his standard, and returned to their ordinary avocations, while their late ruler quitted the country for perpetual exile. Benares was anne.xed to the British dominions. To save appearances, a relation of the banished ruler was appointed rajah, but, like the nabob of Bengal, he became a mere stipen- diary, removable at the pleasure of the pre- sidency. This tyrannical procedure com- pletely failed in promoting the avowed ob- ject of Hastings — the attainment of a large sum of ready money ; for, notwithstanding the indignities used in searching even the 362 MORTIFYING RESULT OF EXPEDITION TO BENARES— 1781. persons as well as the wardrobes of the mother, wife, and other females of the family of Chevte Sing (in violation of the articles of capitula- tion), the booty realised was not only un- expectedly small (£250,000 to £300,000), but was wholly appropriated as prize-money by the armv.* Thus the immediate effect of the expedition was to enhance the diffi- culties it was intended to relieve, by the expenses attendant on putting down a re- volt wantonly provoked ; and so far from meetinsf the approbation of the company, the conduct pursued towards the rajah was denounced as " improper, unwarrantable, and highly impolitic." Nevertheless, the war into which Cheyte Sing had been driven was held to justify his expulsion from Be- nares ; and the positive declaration of Has- tings, that an order for the reinstatement of the rajah would be regarded by him as the signal for his own instant resignation of office, probably prevented any step being taken to make amends for past wrongs. The next expedient adopted to fill the empty treasury of Calcutta, was more suc- cessful in its results, but, if possible, more discreditable in character. Asuf-ad-Dow- lah, the successor of Shuja Dowlah, was a young man, not devoid of a certain description of abilityt and kindly feeling ; but his better qualities were neutralised by an amount of indolence and sensuality, which rendered him a political nobody in the sight of the presidency, and a severe scourge to his subjects by reason of the ex- tortions and cruelty perpetrated in his name by unworthy favourites. Already sundry concessions (such as the Benares tribute) had been extorted fi'om him, which Has- tings would never have so much as pro- posed to his father; and these, together with general misgovernment and extrava- gance, had reduced the treasury of Oudc to a condition which left its master little to fear from the rapacity of his neighbours. Continued drought had heightened his dis- tress, by diminishing the power of the people to meet the heavy taxation demanded from them ; and he found himself unable to pa}^ any portion of the arrears of his own mutinous troops, much less to maintain the costly detachment and the long train of officials, civil as well as military, forced upon him by the English. In an evil hour he sougiit counsel with the governor-general at Chunar, pleaded poverty, and gave as one, among many reasons for inability to fulfil the heavy con- ditions into which he had been led to enter, the large proportion of his father's wealth bequeathed to his mother and grandmother. These princesses had been uniformly treated by Shuja Dowlah with the highest con- sideration and respect : his wife, especially, had won his entire confidence by repeated evidences of energetic and devoted affection. During his lifetime the chief direction of his pecuniary affairs had been entrusted to her management, and, after his death, the two ladies remained in possession of certain extensive jaghires, with other property, to -a large extent ; not for their exclusive use, but for the maintenance of the rest of his family and those of preceding nabobs, amounting (including female retainers of all kinds) to about 2,000 persons. The profli- gate prince had early coveted the inheri- tance of his relatives, and he continued to exact contributions from them, until his mother, wearied and alarmed by his impor- tunities and injurious treatment, consented to surrender an additional sum of thirty lacs, on condition of his signing a formal pledge, gua- ranteed by the Supreme Council of Bengal, that she should be permitted to enjoy her jaghires and effects exempt from fur- ther persecution. This covenant, effected through the mediation of Bristowe, the English resident at Lucknow, was approved of and confirmed by the majority then dominant in Calcutta. Hastings disap- proved, but being in the minority, could offer no effective opposition. In 1 781 , when his authority became again (for a time) su- preme, he scrupled not to set aside all former promises by empowering the nabob * Hastings would seem to have outwitted himself in this matter. The wife of Cheyte Sing was a per- son of liigh character, niucli-beloved and tstcemed, and safety and respect for her person, tof;ether witli those of the other ladies of the family of the ill-fated rajah, were among the express terms of capitula- tion. Yet Hastings was unmanly enough to ques- tion the "expediency of the promised indulgence to the ranee," and to suggest that she would " contrive to defraud the captors of a considerable portion of the booty, by being suffered to retire without examina- tion." The intimation did not pass unheeded. The de- fenceless ladies were subjected to the insulting search of four females, but with what effect does not ap- pear ; and their persons were further insulted by thw licentious people and followers of the cnmp. But the officers and soldiery maintained that llastings liad exjiressly made over to thimi the whole profits of this nefarious transaction, and would not so much as lend a ])ortion to government. The share of the com- nuinder-iu-chief wiis X'^O-OOO. — (Mill, Moodie, Arc.) ■j- I'iclc tlie charming stanzas translated bylleber. TREATY OF CIIUNAR, 1781— BEGUMS OF OUDE TORTURE— 1783. 363 to take possession of the jaghircs of Ijotli princesses, as a. means of i)ayin}( liis debts to the eonipaiiy; and, as a further assistance, the I'Jn<^lisli troops, wliose maintenance l>resse(l h(!avily on tlie Oiide revenues, were to he withdrawn. Mr. llastinf^s asserted, in justification of his eonchiet, tliat the bef^ums had evinced an inclination to take part witli ('hcytc Sin;^ ; but the accusa- tion is improl)al)lc in itself, and uiisui)- ported by any reliable evidence : their other alleged fault — of embarrassing the gov- eruraeut of the nabob — was contradicted by the statements repeatedly forwarded by the English resident, of the persecutions endured by them at the hands of the local authori- ties. Asuf-ad-l)o\vlah (who, ever since the covenant signed in 177"), had been repeatedly violating it in dill'erent ways) was at first delighted at having his refractory relatives deprived of the protection to which they had constantly appealed ; but on quitting Chunar, and regaining his own dominions, he began to consider the matter in a dif- ferent light. Unsupported by the plausible reasoning of Hastings, the proposed plan of despoiling his mother and grandmother appeared fraught with ignominy ; and Mr. Middleton (who had been recently restored to the position of British resident) described, in the strongest terms, the almost uncon- querable repugnance evinced by the nabob towards the violent measures agreed on at (Chunar. He was peremptorily informed, that in the event of his continued refusal, the seizure of the jaghires and personal property of the begums would be accomplished by the English without his co-operation. The weak and vacillating prince, fearful of the ctfect such an assumption of authority by foreigners might produce on the minds of his subjects, reluctantly consented to ac- company the expedition sent to attack the princesses in tlieir own territory, in the * MiiUlleton's defence. Vide House of Commons Papers, Mardi, 1781 ; and Milfs India, vol. iv. I The account of these disgraceful proceedings is very fraf;mentary, but amply suftieient to warrant the assertions made in the text. Three principal facts are on record. The first is a letter from Middleton to the Knf;lish officer on guard, dated January, 1782, desiring that theeunuchsshould "be put in irons, kept from all food," iVrc. The second is a letter from the same officer to the president, jileading the sickly condition *f his prisoners as a reason lor temporarily removiny' their chains, and allowing them to take a little exercise in the fresh air. This was refused, and the captives were removed to Lvicknow. Tlie third comnninication, addressed still by one com- pany's servant to another, is a direct order for the ad- ■ mission of torturers to " inflict corporal punishment" commencement of the year 1782. The town and castle of Fyzabad (the second jilace in Oude) were oeeupied witiiout blood- shed, the avenues of the palae(' blocked up, and the begums given to understand that no severities would be spared to compel the complete surrender of their property. But here a serious obstacle presented itself. Even Middleton doubted what description of coercion could be effectually adopted, without offering an offence of the most un- ])ardonable description to the whole native |)0|)ulation ; for the ladies were hedged in by every protection which rank, station, and character could confer, to enhance the force of oiiinion which, on all such occaiions, is in the east so strong and invariable, " that no nuin, either by himself or his troops, can enter the walls of a zenana, scarcely in the case of acting against an open enemy, much less the ally of a son acting against liis own mother."* In this dilemma it was deemed advisable to work upon the fears and sym- pathies of the begums in the persons of their chief servants, two eunuchs, who had long been entrusted with the entire manage- ment of their affairs. There is, perhaps, no page in Anglo-Indian history so deeply humiliating to our national feelings, as that which records the barbarities inflicted on these aged men, during a period of nearly twelve months. Certainly no other instance can be found equally illustrative of the false varnish which Hastings habitually strove to spread over his worst actions, than the fact that, after directing the mode of dealing with the eunuchs — by rigorous confinement in irons, total deprivation of food, and, lastly, by direct torture ;t after inciting the indirect persecution of the princesses and the immense circle of dependants left to their charge l)y the nabob-vizier, by cutting oft' their supplies of food and neces- saries ;J — after quarreUing with and dismiss- on two aged prisoners accused of excessive fidelity to their mistresses ; and lest the feelings of a British ofHcer should rise against the atrocities about to be inflicted, an express injunction was added, that the executioners were to have " free access to the pri- soners, and to be permitted to do with them wh.it- ever they thought proper." — (Idem.) X The women of the zenana were at various times on the eve of perishing for want ; and on one occasion the Jiangs of hunger so completely overpowered the ordinary restraints of custom, that they burst in a body from the palace and begged for food in the public bazaar, but were driven back with blows by the sepoys in the service of the E. I. Cy. — (Dr. Moodie"s Transnctions, p. 405.') Major Gilpin, the commandant of the guard, humanely adTanced 10,(100 rupees for the relief of these unfortunates. 364 PARTIAL RESTORATION OF THEIR JAGHIRES TO THE BEGUMS. fng his favourite employe Middleton, for hav- ing been backward in conducting a business from which a gaoler of Newgate prison might turn with disgust, — he, nevertheless, when it became advisable to adopt lenient measures (since no further payments could be extorted by cruelty), had the consummate hypocrisy to remove the guard from the palace of the begums, and release the eunuchs, on the express understanding that their suffer- ings had proceeded from the nabob and his ministers, but their release from his own compassionate interference. The pre- vious ill-feeling justly entertained by the princesses and their adherents against Asuf- ad-Dowlah, probably lent some counte- nance to this untruth ; and the commanding officer by whom the eunuchs were set at liberty, described, in glowino; terms, the lively gratitude expressed by them towards their supposed liberator. " The enlargement of the prisoners, their quivering lips and tears of joy, formed," writes this officer, " a truly affecting scene." He adds a remark, which could scarcely fail to sting the pride, if not the conscience, of one so susceptible of censure in disguise — " If the prayers of these poor men will avail, you will, at the last trump, be translated to the happiest regions in heaven."* In the benefits to be derived from the recent despoliation, Hastings hoped to share largely, for he expected that the E.J. Cy., in gratitude for an accession of £600,000 to their exhausted treasury, would cheerfully assent to his appropriation of the additional sum of £100,000, which he had actually obtained bonds for from Asuf-ad-Do\vlah at Chunar. An extortion like this, committed at a time when the excessive poverty and heavy debts of the nabob-vizier, the clamours of his nnpaid troops, and the sufferings of the mass of the people, were held forth in ex- tenuation of the oppression of his mother and grandmother, together with other acts of tyrannous aggression, needs no comment. The directors positively refused to permit his detention of the money, and, moreover, commanded that a rigorous investigation should be instituted into the charges of disaffection brought against the begums ; and that, in the event of their innocence being proved, restitution should be made. • Pari. Papers, quoted l>y Mill, iv., 458. t LeUer of Haslin^js to coiiiicil, 1784. They gave rich gif'Ls to -Mrs. Hastings, in the I'orra of chairs and couches of exquisitely cru'ved ivory, &c. t Except a heavy exaction from FyzooUa Khan. Hastings strongly deprecated this equitable measure. He urged that the evidence ofl'ered under such circumstances would be sure to be favourable to persons whose cause should be so manifestly upheld by the com- pany ; and supported his views on the sub- ject by many characteristic arguments, such as its being unsuitable to the majesty of justice to challenge complaint. A compro- mise was effected ; the nabob, at his own urgent desire, was permitted to restore the jaghires wrested from his relatives ; while the ladies, on their part, thankful for even this scanty justice, " made a voluntary con- cession of a large portion of their respective shares" of the newly-restored rents, j- This transaction is the last of any impor- tance in the administration of Warren Hastings. J V^arious causes appeared to have concurred to render him as anxious to re- sign as he had once been to retain his post. The absence of his wife, to whom he was tenderly attached, and his own failing health, had doubtless their share in ren- dering him weary of a task, the difficulties of which had been lately increased by a change in the council-board calculated to destroy the despotic power essential to the policy of a ruler, whose measures, however cleverly planned and boldly executed, were rarely of a character to bear impartial, much less hostile criticism. Beside these reasons, his opponents suggested that of recent private extortions from the nabob-vizier; and it can- not be forgotten, that although he pleaded urgent necessity as an inducement for the directors to suffer him to appropriate the bonds obtained at Chunar, yet, about three years later, he was enabled, notwithstand- ing his habitual extravagance, to bring home a fortune avowedly not far short of £100,000, apart from the costly jewels exhibited by Mrs. Hastings, and the well- ! furnished private purse which there are grounds for believing her to have possessed. The prolonged administration of Hastings, his winning manner, and conversance with native languages, together with the im- posing efl'ect of the state by which he had, from motives of policy, thought fit to sur- round himself, made a deep impression on the minds of the Indian pojjulation. 1 have myself met with ballads, similar to those alluded to by Hcbcr and IMacaulay, which commemorate the swift steeds and richly- caparisoned elephants of " Sahib Ilushting;" they likewise record his victory over Nun- couiar who refused to do him homage. HASTINGS RETURNS TO ENGLAND, 1785— HIS IMPEACHMENT. 305 Tlio Incliaii version of tlic story makes, liovvcvcr, no mention of tlie accusation of forgery, but resembles rather tlic scripture Btory of Hamaii and INlordceai, witli a difler- ent ending. 'J'lio IJcngaleus jjossiljiy never understood the real and lasting injury done tlieni by Hastings, in fastening round their necks the chains of monopoly, despite the opposition of liis colleagues, and contrary to the. orders of the company. Once fully in 0|)eration, tlu; profits of exclusive trade in salt and opium* became so large, that its renunciation could s])i'ing onh' from philan- thropy of the purest kind, or policy of the broadest and most liberal character. With his countrymen in India, Warren Hastings was in general popular. It had been his unceasing effort to purchase golden opinions ; and one of the leading accusations brought against him by the directors, was the wilful increase of governmental expenses by the creation of supernMmcrai'y offices to provide for adherents, or to encourage those already in place by augmented salaries. His own adr.iissions prove, that attachment to his person, and unquestioning obedience to his commands, were the first requisites for subordinates; and the quiet perseverance with which he watched his opportunity of rewarding a service, or revenging a " per- sonal liurt," is not the least remarkable fea- ture in his character. lie quitted India in February, 1785. Notwithstanding the unwarrantable mea- sures adopted by him to raise the revenues and lessen the debts of the company, he failed to accomplish these objects, and, on the contrary, left them burdened with an additional debt of twelve-and-a-half mil- lion, and a revenue which (including the provision of an Euro[)can investment) was not equal to the ordinary expenses of the combined settlements. t Doubtless, great allowance must be made for the heavy drain occasioned by the pressing wants of the Bombay and JIadras presidencies, and de- cided commendation awarded for the ener- getic steps taken to avert the ruin in which the Mahratla war and the invasion of Hyder • The 12th article of impeachment .igainst Has- tings set forth, "that he granted to Stc])hen Sulivan, son of Lawrence Sulivan, chairman of the Court of Directors, a contract for four years for the provision of opium ; that in order to pay for the opium so pro- vided, he borrowed Kirge sums at an interest of eight per cent., at a time when he declared the drug could not be ex])orted with prolit ; and yet he sent it to China, which was an act of additional criminality, ns he l:ii*:w that the iiiij/vvtdfion qf<>j)itiin utts ^jyultihitcd 3 B threatened to involve these possessions : but it is equally true, that the double-faced and gras|)ing policy of the governor-general tended to neutralise the benefit of his coa rage and decision, and, as in the case of Lord I'igot, fomented, instead of allaying, the evils of dissension and venality, which were more destructive to the interests of the E. I. Cy. than any external O])position. Had Hastings resolved to abide by the conviction whicli led him on one occasion to exclaim, that he " wished it might be made felony to break a treaty," the consequences would have been most beneficial both to India and to England, and would, at the same time, have saved him long years of humiliation and anxiety. He little thought that the Rohilla war, the sale of Allahabad and Oudc, and the i)ersccution of the begums, would rise in judgment against him on his return to his native land, — bar his path to titles and offices of state, and compel him to sit down in the comparatively liumble posi- tion ■which had formed the object of his boyish ambition, as master of Daylesjford, the ancient estate of his famih'. But Francis, now a member of parliament, had not been idle in publishing the evil deeds which he had witnessed without power to prevent ; and Burke, whose hatred of oppression equalled his sympathy for suffer- ing, brought forward the impeachment as a question which every philanthropist, every- one interested in the honour of England or the welfare of India, was bound to treat as of vital importance. Political motives, of an exceptionable character, on the part of the ministers, favoured the promoters of the trial; and after many tedious preliminaries, Warren Hastings apj>eared at the bar of the House of Lords, and knelt before the tri- bunal of his country, in j)rcsence of one of the most remarkable assemblages ever con- vened in the great hall of A\ illiam Rufus. Of the brilliant aristocracies of rank, talent, wealth, and beauty, of which England then boasted, few members were absent. Tb.e queen and princesses had come to witness the impeachment of a subject known to hy the Chuiese." Sulivan sold the coitract to a Air. Benn for £10,000; Benn to a Mr. Young for £60,000; and the latter reaped a large profit. — (.Mill.) t A comparison of the receipts and disbursements of the year ending April, 17S6, exhibited a deficit of about £1.300,000. The arrears of the army amounted to two million ; and " the troops at Madras and Bombay were in a state of utter destitution, and some of them in open mutiny." The ascertained Bensial debt alone was about four million sterling. ^6G DEATH OP HASTINGS— CORNWALLIS'S ADMINISTRATION— 1786. have enjoyed no ordinary share of royal favour, and to listen to the charges urged against him by the thrilling eloquence of Burke, the solid reasoning of Fox, and the exciting declamation of Sheridan. The trial commenced with a strong feeling on the part of the public against the ac- cused ; but it dragged on, like most state proceedings, until people ceased to care how it ended. At length, after seven years spent in law proceeding;s of a most tedious character, the wrongs inflicted in a distant clime, and at a distant period, became almost a matter of indifference : a sort of sympathy, such as is often felt for acknow- ledged criminals, took the place of lively indignation ; and when the inquiry ended in the acquittal of Hastings, he was generally'' believed to have been sufficiently punished by the insuperable obstacles whicli his peculiar position had imposed to prevent his selection for any public office, and by the ruinous condition to which his finances had been reduced by the costly expenses, legitimate and illegitimate, of the painful ordeal through which he had passed. The law charges alone exceeded £76,000. Pro- bably still larger sums were expended in vrious kinds of secret service — " in bribing newspapers, rewarding pamphleteers, and circulating tracts;"* beside iil2,000 spent in purchasing, and .€48,000 in adorning, Daylesford : so that Hastings, when finally dismissed, turned from the bar of the House of Lords an absolute pauper — worse than that — an insolvent debtor. The company came to his relief with an annuity of £1,000 a-year, and a loan of £50,000, nearly half of which was converted into a giftj and they continued to aid him at intervals, in his ever-recurring difficulties, up to the period of his death, in 1818, aged eighty-six. • Macaulay's Essay on Hastings, p. 100. t Lord Macartney, on taking possession of the office of president of Madras, made a formal slale- ment of liis property, and on quitting office presented to tiie company a precise account of tiie increase effected during tfie interval. Tlie E. I. Cy. met him in tlie same frank and generou.s spirit by the gift of an annuity of i;i,oOO. It is to be regretted tliat he lent the sanction of example to the vice of duel- ling, then frightfully nrevalent, by a meeting with a member of council (Mr. Sadleir) wilh whom a mis- understanding had arisen in tlie course of ofKcial duty. On his return to J'highind he was challenf;cd by General Stuart, and slightly wounded. Tlie leconds interfered, and the contest terminated, though Stuart declared himself iiiisatishrd. \ The establishment of a 15oard of Control, with other important measures, respectively advocated by Fo.x or I'itt, will bo noticed in a subsequent section. Administration op Lokd Cobnwallis.— The government of Lord Macartney termi- nated in Madras about the same time as that of I\L'. Hastings in Bengal ; and a high testimony to the ability and unsullied integ- rityt of the former gentleman, was afforded by the ofl'cr of the position of governor- general, which he declined accepting, unless accompanied by a British peerage. This concession wg,s refused, on the ground that, if granted, it would convey to the public an impression that a premium was neces- sary to induce persons of consideration in England to fill the highest office in ludi.a, and the appointment was consequently con- ferred on Lord Cornwallis. To him was entrusted the charge of carrying into exe- cution some important alterations contem- plated by the act of parliament passed in 178-1; and by means of an express provision in the act of 1786, the powers of com- mander-in-chief were united in his person with that of the greatly enlarged authority of governor-general. f He arrived in Cal- cutta in the autumn of 1786, and immediately commenced a series of salutary and much- needed reforms, both as regarded the collec- tion of revenue and the administration of justice. Mr. Macpherson, the senior member of council,§ who had temporarily presided over the affairs of government, had success- fully exerted himself to diminish the waste of the public finances connived at by his predecessor ; and Lord Cornwallis set about the same task with a steadiness of principle and singleness of motive to whicl; both Eng- lish officials and Indian subjects had been long unaccustomed. The two great measures' which distinguish his internal policy, are the establishment of a fixed land-rent through- out Bengal, in exact accordance with the opinions of Francis ; and the formation of a § Mr. Wheler was dead. Jlr. (afterwards Sir John) Macpherson went to India, in 1700, as purser in a vessel commanded by his uncle, contrived to ingratiate himself witli the nabob of Arcot, and ro- turned to I'higland as his agent. AflL'r a strange series of adventures, which it is not necessary to follow in detail, he rose to the position of acting governor-general, in which capacity he obtained fur tlic company the valuable settlement of Penang or Prince of Wales' Island, by an arrangement with the King of (iueda. His brief administration was like- wise marked by a duel with Major 13rown (on the Bengal establishment.) The Court of directors, tired of witnessing the peaci.' of their territories endangered by such proceedings, unanimously nihxed the pi nalty of dismissal from tiie conijiitny's service to any iierson who should send a challenge oi\ account of matters arising out of the discharge of their ollicial duties. — (Auber's liritish India, ii., 39.) IMMENSE DESTRUCTION OE LIFE HY TIPPOO SU-LTAN— 1785, 8G7 judicial system to protect property. The necessity of eomiiif^ to some sjiccdy scllle- nieiit rcj.;ardiiig tlio collection of tcriitoriul rcven\ie, whether under tlic dcnoniiTiation of a rent or a tax, is the l)est apology for tiie necessarily imperfect character of the system framed at this period on the sound principle of giviuij; a proprietary ri^ht iu the soil; but even a brief statement of the different views taken hy the advocates of the zeniindarrce settlement, and of tlic opposite art^uments of those who consider the riniit in the soil vested in the ryots or cultivators, would mar the continuity of the narrative. The foreign policy of the governor-general was characterised hy the novel feature of the reduction of the rate of tribute demanded from a dei)cndent prince. Asuf-ad-Dowlah pleaded, that in violation of repeated trea- ties, a sum averaging eighty-four lacs per annum had been exacted for the company during the nine preceding years ; and his arguments appeared so forcible, that Lord Cornwallis consented to reduce this sum to fifty lacs per annum, which lie declared sufli- cient to cover the " real expenses" involved in the defence of Oudc. Negligent, profuse, and voluptuous iu the extreme, the nabob- vizier was wholly dependent on foreign aid to secure the services of his own troops or the submission of his own subjects; he liad therefore uo alternative but to make the best terms possible with the English, and might well deem himself fortunate in finding the chief authority vested in a ruler whose ac- tions were dictated by loftier motives than temporarj' expediency ; and infiucneed by more worthy considerations than the strength or weakness of those with whom he had to deal.. The extreme dissatisfaction openly expressed by Englishmen in India, regard- ing the peace of 1784, and tlie insulting conduct of Tippoo, led the jMahrattas and the Nizam to believe that the E. I. Cy would gladly take part with them in a struggle against one whose power and arrogance were alarmingly on the increase ; but their over- tures were met by an explicit declaration, that the supreme government (in accor- dance with the recent commands of the British parliament) had resolved on taking no part in any confederacy framed for pur- poses of aggression. Tippoo and the Mah- rattas therefore Aveut to war on their own • "Wilks' History of Mi^soor, ii., 530. t MoliamiDcd Tofjlilak. Sec page To. i Tippoo, in liis celebrated production, the Sill- taun-u- Towaicckh , or King of Histories, expresses resources, and continued liostile operations for about a year, until the former wa^ glad to make ])cacc, on not very favourable terms, in order to turn hisuiulivided attention to a portion of the territories usurped by liis father, and enact a new series of barbarities on the miserable inhabitants of tlic coast of Malabar. The fh-st measure by which this barbarian signalised his accession to despotic sway, Was the deportation of upwards of ;5(),()()0 native Christians from Cauara. The memory of the deeds of Cardinal Mcnezcs, and otlier stanch supporters of the " Hoi v Inquisition," had not passed away; and Tippoo affirmed, that it was the narrative of the intolerance exercised by the "Portu- guese Nazarenes" which caused " the rage of Islam to boil in his breast,"* and induced him to vcut his wrath upon the present in- nocent generation, by sweeping olf the whole of both sexes and every age into slaverv, and compelling them to observe and re- ceive the external rites of the Moslem creed. Of these tinfortunatcs, not one-third are be- lieved to have survived the first year of exile and degradation. The brave mountaineers of Coort( drew upon themselves the same fate by the constant struggles for liberty, to which they were incited by the odious tyranny of the usurper. Tippoo at length dealt with them in the manner in which a ferocious and half-crazed despot of early times diil with another section of the Indian popula- tion. f The dominant class in Coorg had as- sembled together on a hilly, wooded tract, apart from the lower order of the peasantry (a distinct and apparently aboriginal race.) Tippoo surrounded the main body, as if en- closing game for a grand circular hunt; beat up the woods as if dislodging wild beasts ; aiul finally closed iu upon al)out 70,000 persons, who were driven off, like a herd of cattle, to Seriugapatam, and " honoured witJi the distinction of Islam,"! on the very dav selected by their persecutor to assume sove- reign, or rather imperial sway, by taking the proud title of Padsha, and causing his own name to be prayed for in public in place of that of the !Mogul Shah Alum, as was still customary in the mosques all over India. The Guntoor Cire.ar, to which the EnglfSTT" had become entitled upon the death of Bassalut Jung, iu 1782, by virtue of the great detestation for the immorality of the Coorgs, who, he truly affirmed, systematically pui-sued a most e.\tr,iordinary system of polygandna, by giving to several brothers one and the same woman to wife. 368 ENGLISH, MAHUATTAS, AND NIZAM UNITE AGAINST TIPPOO— 1790. treaty of 1768, was obtained from Nizam Ali iu 1788. The cession was expedited by a recent quarrel between him and Tippoo Sultan, which rendered the renewal of the treaty of 1768 peculiarly desirable to the former, inasmuch as it contained a proviso that, in the event of his requiring assistance, a British contingent of infantry and artil- lery should march to support him against any power not in alliance with the E. I. Cy. ; the exceptions being the Mahrattas, the na- bobs of Arcot and Oude, and the rajahs of Tanjore and Travaneore. The Nizam would fain have interpreted the revived agreement as warranting a united attack on Mysoor ; but his schemes were positively rejected by Lord Cornwallis, on account of the recent engagement entered into with that state, which was still professedly at peace with the English. Yet it was evident to every power in India, that the sultau only waited a favourable opportunity to renew hostilities. The insulting caricatures of many of the company's servants, held up to mockery and coarse jesting on the wails of the houses of Seringapatam, might have been an idle effusion of popular feeling ; but the wretched captives still pining in loathsome dungeons, in violation of the promised general release of prisoners, and the enrolment of a num- ber of English children as domestic slaves to the faithless tyrant, afforded, in con- junction with various rancorous expressions, uumistakeable indications of his deadly hatred towards the whole nation.* The inroad of the ]\Iysooreans on the territory of the rajah of Travaneore, brought matters to an issue. The rajah, when menaced by invasion from his formidable neighbour, appealed to the E. I. Cy. for their promised protection, and an express communication was made to Tippoo, that an attack on the lines of defence formed on the Travaneore frontier, would be regarded as a declaration of war with the English. The lines referred to, constructed in 1775, consisted of a broad and deep ditch, a strong bamboo hedge, a slight parapet, and a good rampart, with bastions on rising grounds, almost flanking one another. They extended a distance of thirty miles (from the island of Vaipeen to the Anamalaiah range), but were more im- posing than cHc-ctual, as it was hardly pos- sible to dcR;nd so great an extent. Tippoo approached this barrier in December, ] 78'J, • Col. Fullarton, writinp; in 1784, accuses Tippoo of having caiiaed 200 English to be forcibly circum- cised and enrolled in his service. — ( View, 207.) and proceeded to erect batteries. An un- suspected passage round the right flank of the lines, enabled him to introduce a body of troops within the wall, and he led them onward, hoping to force open the nearest gate, and admit the rest of the army. The attempt proved, not merely unsuccessful, but fatal to the majority of the assailants. They were compelled to retreat in confusion, and, in the general scramble across the ditch, Tippoo himself was so severely bruised, as to limp occasionally during the remainder of his life. His palanquin fell into the hands of the enemy, the bearers having been trodden to death by their comrades ; and his seals, rings, and personal ornaments remained to attest his presence, and contra- dict his reiterated denial of having borne any part in a humiliating catastrophe, which had materially deranged his plans. Moi"e than this, alarm at the probable conse- quence of a repulse, induced Tippoo to write, in terms of fulsome flattery, to the English authorities, assuring them that the lute aggression was the unauthorised act of his troops. Lord Cornwallis treated these assertions with merited contempt, and hastened to secure the co-operation of the Nizam and the Mahratta ministers of Poona, to wliich he would gladly have added that of Sindia, had not the price de- manded been the aid of British troops for aggressive warfare in Rajpootaua, which was unhesitatingly refused. He proceeded to make vigorous preparations for a campaign, by assembling troops, collecting supplies, and meeting financial difficulties in an open and manly spirit. Further outlaj' for a Eu- ropean investment he completely stopped, as a ruinous drain on resources already insufficient to meet the heavy expenditure which must inevitably be incurred in the ensuing contest, the avowed object of which was to diminish materially the power of the sultan ; for, as Lord Cornwallis truly de- clared, in a despatch to General Medows, if this despot were " suft'cred to retain his present importance, and to insult and bully all his neighbours, until the French should again be in a condition to support him, it would almost certainly leave the seeds of a future dangerous war." INIeauwhile, Tippoo conflrnmd these convictions, and justified the intended procedure by a renewed at- tempt upon Travaneore, and succeeded in razing the defences and spreading desola- tion over the country. The invasion of ]Mysoor compelled him to rcturu for its CORNWALLIS, IN PERSON, UIRECTS THE CAMPAIGN OF 1701. 3G'J defence; and the system of intellif^cnce cstal)lishrd by liis fatlior, tojrethcr witli liis own (U'tivity, cnabl<'(l liini to take ailvaiitnf^o of the separation of the JCii<;lisli army into three divisions, to attack tlicin in detail, break through their chain of communica- tion, and transfer hostilities to tlie Carnatic. 'J'hese reverses were partially compensated by the success of a fourth detachment from liombay in obtainiufj possession of the whole of Malabar. The second campaign was opened in February, 1791, by Corn- wallis in person. Placing himself at the bead of the anny, he entered ^lysoor by the pass of Mooglee, and iu the commence- ment of March, laid siege to tlie fortress of Bangalore. Though the troops liad been little harassed by hostile operations, they M'ere much enfeebled by the fatigues and privations of a tedious march ; the cattle were worn to skeletons, and their supplies, both of food and ammunition, nearly ex- hausted. The arrival of a Mabratta re- inforcement bad been long and vainly ex- pected ; and aft'airs weie iu a most critical state, when the successful assault, first of the town, and subsequently of the citadel of Bangalore (carried by a bayonet charge), relieved the mind of the commander-in- chiff from the gloomy prospect involved in the too probalilc event of defeat. Never- theless, dilliculties and dangers of no ordi- nary cliaracter remained to be combated. At the close of ]\Iarch the army moved from Bangalore northward, for the purpose of forming a juuetiou with the auxiliary corps of cavalry expected from the Nizam. M'hen, after being repeatedly misled by false information regarding the vicinity of the Hyderabad troops, the desired union was at length successfully efl'ceted, it proved a fresh source of trouble and disappointment; for the 10,000 light troops so anxiously awaited, instead of rendering good service iu the field, were so ill-disciplined and un- trustworthy, as to be incapable of conduct- ing even a foraging expedition, and there- fore did but augment the distress and anxiety they were sent to lessen.* Though surrounded ou every side by * Their eonimander is said to have been influenced by inUif,'ues carried on between tlie mother of Tippoo and the favourite wife of the Nizam. The former lady successfully deprecated the wrath excited by the gross insults lately ofi'ered by her son, in return to solicitations addressed by some female members of the family of Nizam AH when in peril at Adoni. t Twenty En^jlish youths, the survivors of the un- happy band whom Tippoo, with malicious w antonness, circumstances of the most depressing cha- racter, Cornwallis, with undaunted courage, made sucli preparations as tlie |)ossession of Hangalon^ placed in his [lowcr for the siege of Seringapatam. An earnest desire to bring to a speedy close hostilities, the pro- longation of which involved a grievous sacrifice of life and treasure, added to the alarming information constantly arriving in India regarding the jirogress of the French revolution, induced him to advance at once upon the capital of Mysoor, despite the defective character of his resources. The troops marched, in ^lay, to Arikera, about nine miles distant from Seringapatam, through a country which, in anticipation of their approach, liad been reduced to the coiulition of a desert. Tippoo Sultan took up a strong position in their front, from whence he was driven by Lord Cornwallis — forced to action, defeated, and compelled to retreat and take refuge under the works of his capital, for the safety of which he now became seriously alarmed, llecognising too late the folly of wantonly provoking the vengeance of a powerful foe, he gave orders that the caricatures of the English slioidd be carefully obliterated from all public places; at the same time taking the savage precaution of slaughtering, without distinc- tion, such prisoners as he had privately de- tained, lest they should live to afford incon- trovertible evidence of his breacii of faith and diabolical cruelty. t Lord Cornwallis was, however, quite un- able to pursue his recent success. The deplorable condition of the army, in which smallpox was now raging, with diseases immediately resulting from insufficient food and excessive fatigue under incessant rains, comi)clled him to issue a reluctant order for retreat. It seemed madness to remain un- der such circumstances iu such a position, still more to hazard further advance, on the chance of the long-delayed succour expected from the iMahrattas ; and after destroying the battering train and other heavy equip- ments, which the loss of cattlcj prevented them from carrying away, the English, in deep disappointment and depression, corn- had caused to be trained and dressed like a troop of Ilindoostanee dancing-girls, were tirst sacriticed to his awakened fears; but there were many other vic- tims, including native state prisoners. A few Eng- lishmen contrived to elfect their e.'^cape, and one of them wrote an account of the treatment received. — (See Ciiptitilij of James Sciirr;/ : London, 1824.) X Nearly -lO.obO bullocks perished in this disastrous campaign. — (Mill's India, v., 396.) 370 CAPTURE OF SAYENDROOG AND OTHER HILL FORTS— 179L menced their homeward march. Orders were dispatched to General Abercromby (governor of Bombay), who was advancing from the westward, to return to Mahibar; and Lord Cornwallis, having completed these mortifying arrangements, was about sis miles en route to Bangalore, when a party of horse unexpectedly rode in upon the baggage flank. They were taken for enemies, but proved to be forerunners of the despaired-of Mahratta force, under Hurri Punt and Pur- seram Bhow. In answer to the eager in- terrogatories poured in upon them on all sides, they replied that numerous messengers had been regularly sent, at different times, with accounts of their approach ; every one of whom had been cut off by the unsleeping vigilance of the light troops of the enemy. Their tardy arrival was iu some measure accounted for by the time spent by them in co-operation with a detachment from Bom- bay under Captain Little, in the siege of Darwar, one of the great barriers of Tip- poo's northern frontier. Tlie place held out against the unskilful and dilatory operations of the assailants for twenty-nine v.eeks, when the arrival of news of the capture of Baugalore induced its surrender, which was followed by the easy conquest of all the possessions of the sultan north of the Toombuddra. The Mahrattas now declared themselves unable to keep the field, unless the English could give them pecuniary support; and Lord Cornwallis, unable to dispense witli their aid, was compelled to advance them a loan of twelve lacs of rupees, to obtain which he took the bold measure of ordering the Madras authorities to coin the bullion sent out for the China trade into rupees, and for- ward it without delay. The ample supplies of draught cattle and provisions, together with the innumerable miscellaneous contents of the bazaar of a Mahratta army,* afforded a most welcome relief to men half-famished and wretchedly equipped. Still the advanced season, and the return of General Aber- cromby, compelled the continuance of the • The Maliiattas commenced by asking exor- bitant prices for their goods ; but when compelled by the diminished purses of the purchasers to reduce their demands or stop the sale, tliey took the former alternative; but still continued to realise immense profits, since their whole slock-in-trade had been ac- cumulated by plunder. Their bazaar is described by Col. Wilks as comprising every imaginable article, from a web of linglish broadcloth to a IJirmingham penknife ; from the shawls of Cashmere to the secondhand garment of a Hindoo; from diamonds of the first water to the silver earring of a poor retreat to Bangalore; which was followed up by the occupation of Oossoor, Rayacot- tah, and other forts, whereby communica- tion between the presidency and the Carnatic, through the Polieade Pass, was laid open. By this route a convoy reached the camp from Madras, comprising 100 elephants laden with treasure, marching two abreast; G,000 bul- locks with rice ; 100 carts with arrack; and several hundred coolies with other supplies. The war was viewed by the British par- liament as the inevitable consequence of the cruelty and aggression of Tippoo. The energetic measures of Lord Cornwallis were warmly applauded, and reinforcements of troops, with specie to the amount of .€500,000, sent to assist his operations. Comprehensive arrangements were made for provisioning the troops, by taking advantage of the extensive resources and experience of the Brinjarries,-\ or travelling corn-mer- chants, who form a distinct caste, and enjo}^, even among the least civilised native states, an immunity for life and property, based on the great services rendered by these neutral traders to all parties indiscriminately, from a very remote period. Measures were like- wise adopted for the introduction of a more efficient system of intelligence. The gen- eral campaign which opened under these auspicious circumstances, was attended with complete success. The intermediate opera- tions were marked by the capture of the hill-forts of Nundydroog, Savendroog, and Ootradroog. All three were situated on lofty granite rocks, and deemed well-nigh in- accessible — especially Savendroog [the rock of deatli) ; and so implicit was the con- fidence placed by Tippoo in the strength of its natural and artificial defences, that he received with joy the tidings of the assault, making sure that the malaria for which the neighbouring jungle had acquired a fearful celebrity, would fight against the English, :uid slay one-half, leaving the other to fall by the sword. But the very character of the place diminished the watchfulness of its garrison, and tempted them to witness with plundered village maiden; from oxen, sheep, and poultry, to the dried salt-fish of the Concan. The tables of the moneychangers, overspread with tiie coins of every country of the east, were not wanting in this motley assemblage; and among the various trades carried on with remarkable activity, was tliat of a tanner, so tliat the Englisli officers were enabled to obtain, by means of ambulatory tan-pita, what their own Indian capitals could not then pro- duce, except as Isuropean imports — excellent sword- belts. — (Mr/soof, 'in., lo.S-'D.) t A I'ersian compound, designating tlicir office. LOUD CORNWALLIS LEADS THE ATTACK ON SKllINCJAl'ATAM— 1702. 371 contemptuous iudiffcrencc the early ap- proaches of tlic hcsicfjors, who, after a scries of llerculcau hihours (ia wliich tlio utmost cxcrtious of human strength and skill, were aided in an extraordinary niauucr by tlie force and saj^acity of some admirably- trained elejjhauts), at length s\iccceded in cfl'ecting a practicable breach in what formed the lower wall of the rock, although it rose 1,500 feet from a base of above eight miles in cireumfcreuee. Tjord Cornwallis and General jMedows stood watching witii intense anxiety tlic progress of the assault, wliieh commenced an hour before noon on the 21st December, 1791. The baud of the 52nd regiment played " Britons, strike home;" and the troops mounted with a steady gallantry which completely nnncrved tlie native forces assembled to defend tlic breach. A hand-to-hand encounter wij^ men who had already overcome such tre- mendous obstacles, was sufficient to alarm the servants of a more popular master than Tippoo, and they fled in disorder, tuml)liug over one another in their eager ascent of the steep and narrow path which led to the citadel. The pursuers followed with all speed ; but the majority of the fugitives had effected their entrance, when a sergeant of the 71st regiment shot, at a distance, the soldier who was closing the first gate. All the other barriers the English ))asscd together with the enemy, of whom about 100 were slain, while many others perished among the precipitous rocks, in endeavouring to escape. This important enterprise, wliieh the commander-in-chief had eoutemplated as the most doubtful operation of the war, was clfected in twelve days from the first arrival of the troops. The casualties were not numerous, and the actual assault only lasted an hour, and involved the loss of no single life on the side of the besiegers. It was well-timed ; for even so much as half-an- hour's delay would have sufficed to bring to the scene of action the ]\Iysoorean de- tachment, then fast approaching to aid their comrades. The counter-hostilities of Tippoo were • In detaining the garrison close prisoners, not- ■n'itlistandinf; a proviso for tlicir liberation. IJad faith was the notorious characteristic of Tippoo, wlio, says CoL Wilks, could not be made to appre- einte the value of truth even as a convenience. Among his letters, translated by Col. Kiikp;iti'icl;, is one in which he desires the commander of an attack on a Mahratta fortress to promise anything until he got possession, and then to put every living thing — man, woman, ehiU, dog, and cat — to tiie sword, ex- cept the chief, who was to be reserved for torture. feebly conducted ; but the irrepressible ten- dency of the Mahrattas for frcebooting on their own account, led them again to de- range the jdans of Lord Cornwallis, by neg- lecting to support (Jcneral Abcreromby, and their misconduct facilitated the conquest of the fort of (.loimbatore by the J.Iysooreans. The flagrant violation of the terms of sur- render* (a besetting sin on the part of Tip- poo), afl'orded a reason for rejecting his overtures for ])eacc; and on the 1st of Feb- ruary, 179.2, Lord Cornwallis, in conjunc- tion with the Hyderabad and I'oona armies, advanced to the attack of Seringa|)atam, under the walls of which the sultan, with his whole force, lay encamped. Aware of his inability to compete in the field with the formidable confederacy by which he was opposed, Tippoo hoped to be able to hold out against their combined efforts in his island-capital,t by keeping them at bay until the want of supplies, in an already exhausted country — or, in any case, the recurrence of the monsoon — should compel their retreat. The dilatory and unskilful tactics of the native troops would probably have contributed to realise these auticipa- tions ; but the English eomraander-in-ehicf correctly appreciated the danger of delay, and chose to incur the charge of rashness by attempting to surprise the tiger in his den, rather than waste strength and resources in the dispiriting operations of a tedious and precarious blockade. It was deemed inad- visable to await the arrival of expected reinforcements from Bombay, or even to divulge the plan of attack to the allies, who, on the night of the Gth, were astounded by the news that a handful of infantry, \iu- supported by cannon or cavalry, were on the march to attack the dense host of Tippoo, in a fortified camp under the walls of his capital ; and that Lord Cornwallis, iu person, commanded the division destined to penetrate the centre of the hostile force ; having gone to figlit, as they expressed it,J like a private soldier. The sultan had just finished his evening's repast when the alarm was given. § He mounted, and beheld t Seringapatam is situated on an island formed by two branches of the Cauvery, which after separating to a distance of a mile and a-half, again unites about five miles below the point of division. A "bound 1 hedge'' of bamboo and other strong shruljs sur- rounded the capital, and Tippoo's encamcment oc- cupied an enclosure between this hedge and the river. I There were two otlier columns, commanded l)y General Medows and Colonel Maxwell. § 'ITie Indians usually atuck at midnight or day- ■ break. 372 TIPPOO PURCHASES PEACE WITH HALF HIS KINGDOM— 1792. by the light of the moon an extended column passing rapidly through his camp, driving before them a cloud of fugitives, and making directly for the main ford of the stream wliich lay between them and the capital. This movement threatened to cut off the retreat of Tippoo, who perceiving his danger, hastened across the ford in time to elude the grasp of his pursuers and take up a position on a commanding summit of the fort, from whence he continued to issue orders till the morning. His troops had already deserted by thousands. One band, 10,000 strong (the Ahmedy Chelahs, com- posed of the wretched Coorgs), wholly dis- appeared and escaped to their native woods, accompanied by their wives and children ; and many of the Assud Oollahees (a similar description of corps) followed their example. A number of Europeans, forcibly detained in the service of Tippoo Sultan, likewise fled to the protection of the English, in- cluding an old Frenchman, named Blevette, who had chiefly constructed the six re- doubts which offered the most formidable ■obstacles to the assailants. Two of these were captured and retained by English de- tachments, at the cost of much hard fight- ing. The night of the 7th afforded an interval of rest to both parties, and time to ascertain the extent of their respective losses. That of the British was stated at 535 men, including killed, wounded, and missing ; that of the enemy at 23,000, of whom 4,000 had fallen in the actual contest. On the following morning operations were com- menced against the strong triangular-shaped, water-washed fort, in which the sultan had taken refuge. His gorgeously furnished garden-palace was turned into an hospital for the wounded English, and the magnificent cypress groves, and other valuable trees, cut down to afford materials for the siege. Gen- eral Abercromby arrived in safety with the Bombay army, having perfected a line of communication with the Malabar Coast; the Brinjarries maintained such abundance in the camp of Cornvvallis as had not been known since the commencement of the war; and the soldiers, stimulated by the hope of speedily lil)crating, with their own hands, the survivors of their murdered countrymen, worked with unflaggiug energy at the b'rcach- iug batteries. Tippoo, seriously alarmed, made overtures for peace, and after much delay, occasioned by his treacherous and UMstal)le policy, and his unceasing efforts to gain time, was at length compelled to sign a preliminary treaty, the terms of which in- volved the cession of half his territories to the allies, and the payment of about three million and a-half sterling. Two of his sons, boys of eight and ten years of age, were delivered up to Lord Cornwallis, as hostages for the confirmation and fulfilment of the agreement ; but despite this guarantee, Tip- poo showed evident signs of an inclination to renew hostilities, on finding that the English insisted on his relinquishment of Coorg, the rajah of which principality he had hoped to seize and exhibit as a terrible instance of vengeance. Lord Cornwallis, who appears to have acted throughout the war with equal energy and moderation, endeavoured to conciliate him by the sur- render of Bangalore — a fortress and dis- trict whicli, in a military point of view, far surpassed Coorg in value ; but on the latter point he took decided ground, justly deem- ing it a clear duty to reward the good ser- vice rendered by the rajah, by preserving him from the clutches of his relentless foe. Preparations for a renewed siege at length brought matters to an issue. The previous arrangements were formally coafirraed by Tippoo on the 19th of March, and the treaty delivered to Lord Cornwallis and the allies by the royal hostages. The total territorial revenue of the sultan, according to the admitted schedule, averaged from about two-and-a-half to three million sterling, one-half of which was now made over to the allies, to be divided bv them in equal portions, according to the original terms of the confederation. By the addition now made to their possessions, the boundary of the Mahrattas was again ex- tended to the river Toombuddra. The allotment of the Nizam reached from the Kistna beyond the Pennar, and included the forts of Gunjccotah and Cuddapah, and the province of Kurpa. The British obtained Malabar and Coorg, the province of Dinde- gul (a valuable accession to their southern territory), together with Baramahl and the Lower Ghauts, which formed an iron boun- dary for Coromandcl. The Anglo-Indian army were ill-pleased with this termination 'of the war. Tlicy had set their hearts on nothing less than the storming of Seriiiga- patam ; aiul when, in consequence of Tippoo's overtures for peace, orders were given to desist from further operations, they be- came, says an officer who was present, " dejected to a degree not to be described, and could with dilliculty be restrained from THE GREAT MOGUL BLINDED BY llOIIILLAS— 1788. 373 eoutiiiui)>^ tlicir work." Tlieir diiisatisfuc- tion Wiis iucruiiscd l)y the iiiiscriihlc; artifice of Tippoo, «lu), dcsifous ot" cisstiiiiiii^f iictorc liis own trifops !i (leliiiiit attitiulc, altlioii;fii really a suitor for pt^aito, ;;avc; sccri't orricrs to lire on the I'liifjiisli soldiery, liotli with cniiiioii and musketry. Under sucli circum- stances, it needed all the weif^ht of the public and private character of Lord Cornwallis, to enforce the admirable precept with which the };eneial orders to the victorious troops concluded, — " that moderation in success is no less expected from brave men than f,'al- lantry in action." In acknowledgment of their excellent conduct, a donation, equal to twelve mouths' batta, was awarded them, out of the money e.vaeted from the sultan. The disinterestedness of the commander-in-chief and of General IVIedows was dis[)Iaycd in their refusal to accept any portion of this sum, or of the prize-money. Their cordial co-operation and perfect confidence in each other's zeal and integrity, had been con- spicuous throughout the war, forming a pleasing contrast to the divided counsels and personal quarrels which had, of late years, diminished the efllcieney of the military and civil services of the oHicers of the com- pany. This unanimity enabled Lord Corn- wallis to take full advantage of the influence he possessed over the Nizam and the Mah- rattas. Their mutual distrust, combined with the respect inspired by the English commander-in-chief, led them to entrust to him the sole control of the late opera- tions. These were no sooner terminated by the treaty of Seringapatam, than occasions of quarrel reappeared among the allies. The Nizam, by far the weakest of the three powers, petitioned to be allowed to retain the services of a British detachment. His request was granted, greatly to the annoy- auce of the ^lahrattas, whose discontent at finding him thus favoured, was aggravated by the refusal of Lord CornwalRs to sulfcr a similar stipendiary force to be permanently annexed to the army of the peisliwa, or rather of his ambitious guardian. Nana Furuavees. lu this ease the concession • De Boigne was a Savoynni by birth, and had been an ensign in the service of die E. I. Cv. t Among the few wlio fiiithfully adhered to the cause of Shah Ahim, was the widow of the notorious Suniroo, who had entered the imperial service, or rather that of Nujeef Klian, after quitting Oude, and married the daughter of an impnveri^hed Mogul noble. Tlie " Begum Suniroo" received Christian bap- tism, at the request of her husband. After his death, in 1778, she was suffered to retain tlie jaghire 3c muiit have provoked immediate hostiliticH with IMaliadajce Sindia, since it was to oppose his large and formidalilc corps of regular jirtillcry (under De IJoignc* and other European olIic(;rs), that the services of an Lnglish deta(;linient were especially de- sired. Such a ])rocedure would have Ijeen inconsistent with the pacific policy by which it was both the duty and inclination of Lord Cornwallis to abide; and ISindia was there- fore suflered to retain, without interference on the part of the only cncinv he feared, the dominant position which the time-serving policy of Hastings had first helped him to assume, as vicegerent of the ^fogul empire. His power, before reaching its present height, had received a severe check, from the efforts of other ambitious chiefs to obtain posses- sion of the person, and wield authority in the name, of the hapless Shah Alum,t who, from the time of the death of his brave general, Nujeef Khan, in 1782, had been tossed about, like a child's toy, from one usurper to another — a tool during their prosperity, a scape-goat in adversity. Sindia became paramount in 1785; but having engaged in war with Pertab Sing of Jey- poor, advantage was taken of his absence by (iholam Kadir Khan, the son of Zabita Khan, the Rohilla, to gain possession of Delhi in 1788. This he accomplished through the treachery of the warir or chief eunuch, to whom the management of the imperial establishment was entrusted. The inmates of the palace were treated by the usurper with a degree of malicious barbarity which it is liardly possible to conceive any human being evincing towards liis unoft'end- ing fellow-creatures, unless actually pos- sessed by an evil spirit. After cruelties of all descriptions had been practised to extort from the members and retainers of the imperial family every article of value which still remained in their possession, Gholam Kadir continued to withhold from them even the necessaries of life, so that several ladies perished of hunger; and others, maddened by sufl'ering, committed suicide. The royal children + were compelled to granted to him for the support of five battalions of disciplined sepoys and about 200 Europeans, chiefly artillerymen, whose movements she directed from her palanquin, even on the actual field of battle. An imprudent marriage with a German, named Vaissaux, for a lime endangered htr influence ; but after liis seizure by the mutinous troops, and death by bis own han<l, she regained her authority. I The Shahzada, Prince Jewan Bukht, had taken refuge at Benares. Lord Cornwallis granted him a 374 LORD CORNWALLIS SUCCEEDED BY Sill J. SHORE— 1793. perform the most liumiliating offices ; and when Shah Alum indiguautly remonstrated against the atrocities he was compelled to witness, the Rohilla sprang upon him with the fury of a wild beast, flung the venerable monarch to the ground, knelt on his breast, and, with liis dagger, pierced his eye-balls through and through. The return of Siudia terminated these horrible scenes. Gliolam Kadir took to flight, but was cap- tured by the Mahratta chief, who cut off his nose, ears, hands, and feet, and sent him iu an iron cage to Shah Alum — a fear- ful example of retributive barbarity. He perished on the road, and his accomplice, the treacherous nazir, was trodden to death by au elephant. The condition of the im- perial family, though ameliorated, remained barely tolerable during the supremacy of Sindia; for the stated allowance for the support of the emperor and his thirty chil- dren, though liberal in its nominal amount, was so irregularly paid, that the royal household often wanted the necessaries of life. The arrogance of Mahadajee increased with his power ;* and not only the Nizam and the Poona ministry headed by Nana Furnavees, but even the English, began to contemplate an approaching struggle as in- evitable; when their apprehensions were unexpectedly removed by his death, of fever, in February, 1791, aged sixty-seven. He left no male issue, but bequeathed his ex- tensive territorial possessions to his gi-cat- nephew and adopted son, Dowlut Rao, then a youth of fifteen. The administration of Lord Cornwallis ended in the preceding year; its concluding feature being the capture, once again, of Pondichcrry and all the French settlements in India, in consequence of the national yearly stipend of four lacs (promised, but not paid, by tlie vizier of Oude), wliich, after tlio death of the prince, was continued to his family by the E. I. Cy. * W'liat a blow would have been inflicted on the pride and Ijigolry of Aurungzebe, could it have been foretold tliat one of his dynasty would be comjjcllcd, by a Maln-alta, to .sign a decree forbidding the slaughter of kine throughout the Mogul dominions. Yet this was enforced by Sindia on Shah Alum. t In the year ending April, 179:i, the receipts of the company in India amounted to i;8,22j,(i28 ; tlie total expenses to £7,007,().)() ; leaving a surplus of £1,218,078 clear gain. In tlie outgoings, were in- cluded tlic interest of Indian debts (the ])rincipal of wliich amounted to £7,iJ71,<l(),')), and money sup- plied to ISencoolen and other distant settlements ; making a drawback of £702,4'! 3. Tlie debts in England, exclusive of the capital stock, were £10,083,618. The capital stock liad been Increased declaration of war. The charter of the E. I. Cy. was at the same time (1793) renewed for a term of twenty years.t Ar- rangements were made for the relief of the financial difficulties of jMohammed Ali. The management of the revenues of the Carnatic, which had been temporarily as- sumed by Lord Cornwallis during the war, was partially restored to the nabob at its conclusion, and the payments to his credi- tors reduced from the twelve lacs of pagodas (conceded to them most improperly by the Board of Control in 1785), to somewhat more than six lacs. Attempts were like- wise made, but with little success, to induce the profligate Asuf-ad-Dowlah to adopt reformatory measures, to stay the ruin which seemed about to overwhelm the fair province, or rather kingdom, of Oude. Administration op Sir John Shore. — This gentleman (afterwards Lord Teign- mouth) had been many years in the service of the company, and was selected for the high post of governor-general,^: expressly on account of the ability and perseverance which lie had brought to bear on the in- tricate and little understood question of Indian revenue. His pacific disjjosition was likewise viewed as affording a guarantee for the fulfilment of the strict injunctions of the British parliament — to shun every de- scription of aggressive warfare on behalf of the company, whether in the character of a principal or an ally. Upon the deatli of jMahadajee Sindia, preparations for hostili- ties against the Nizam were carried on by his young successor, Dowlut Rao Sindia, with the co-operation of the Poona authorities and all the leading Slahratta chieftains. § The attempts of Sir Jolin Shore at friendly mediation were treated with insulting indif- ference by the j\Iahrattas, so soon as they in 1789, from four to five million, on which sum a dividend of ten-and-a-half per cent, was now paid. I General Medows had been ofiered the position on the expected resignation of Lord Cornwallis; but lie declined it, declaring liis intention of staying in India just long enough " to lead the storming party at Seringap.atam, or until tlie war is over;" and no longer. He adds, that he liad saved £40,000 out of the liberal appointments of tlie company, and should feel amply com])ensated if they pronounced "the la- bourer worthy of his hire." — (Aubcr's Jiu/ici, ii., 121.) § Tookajee Ilolcar and the rajah of Berar, with the rejiresentative of the Puar and other influential families, took tlie field ; while the Guicowars from Guzerat, and otlicrs, sent deUiehnients to join the gen- eral assembly of Malirattas, gathered together for the last time under the nominal authority of the peishwa, Madlioo Kao II., who was himself comjiletely con- trolled by Nana Furnavees. — (Duff, iii.. 111.) LORD TEIGNMOUTII (SIIOllK) RESIGNS.— STATK OF INDIA— 17'J8. a7u lierccivcd liis determination of preservint; a strict neutrality. Tiic Nizam advanccrt to Ucdcr, wlicrc tlic enemy liastcned to give liim battle. After an indceisivc aetion, he retreated l)y night to Kurdia, a small fort surrounded by hills. He uas besieged, closely blockaded, and compelled to pur- chase peace by the most ignominious con- cessions, which, if carried out, would have completely crippled his resources, and left him at the mercy of his old foe, Nana Furuavees. Rut at this crisis the " Mah- I'atta ]\Iachiavelli " overreached himself. The severity and excess of his precautionary measures wrought upon the high spirit of the young peishwa (then onc-and-twenty years of age) with unexpected violence, and, in a moment of deep depression, caused by the indignity to which he was subjected, he flung himself from a terrace of the palace, and expired in the course of two days, after expressing a strong desire that his cousin, Rajee Rao, should succeed to the authority of which he had been defrauded.* This arrangement would have been generally popular ; for Hajec Rao, then about twenty years of age, bore a high cha- racter for skill in manly and military exer- cises, and was besides deeply read in ancient Brahminical lore, and a studious follower of the intricate observances of caste. Reneath this fair surface lay, as Nana Furnavees truly declared, the weakness of his father Ragoba, and the wickedness of his mother Anundee Bye, as yet undeveloped. The talents of Rajee Rao, even had they been likely to be used for good instead of for evil, would probably have been equally opposed to the views of the minister, who wanted a mere puppet to occupy the musnud on public occasions, and then return to his gilded prison. "With this intent he caused the widow of the late jNFadhoo Rao II. (herself a mere child) to adopt an infant, whom he proclaimed peishwa. Sindia espoused the cause of Rajee Rao, and the dissensions which followed enabled Nizam All to procure a release from three-fourths of the cessions and payments stipulated for by the treaty of Kurdia. The remaining events during the admin- istration of Sir John Shore may be briefly • Bajee Rao had endeavoured to open a secret in- tercourse with Madhoo Kao, which being discovered by Nana Furnavees, drew severe reproaclies and more strict surveillance on both cousins. — (DiiH.) t In this year the Calcutta bench, and orientalists in general, sustained a heavy loss in the death of the upright judge and distinguished scholar. Sir 'William noted. Fyzoolla Khan, the Rohilla ruler of Ramporc and its dependent districts, died in 17t)kt His eldest son, Mohammed Ali, snececded to the government, but was seized and murdered by his younger brother, Gliolam IMohammed Khan, who was in turn deposed by the conjoined troops of the English and the vizier. A jaghii-c of ten lacs of revenue was conferred on Ahmed Ali, the youthful son of the murdered ruler; provision was made for the maintenance of (iholam Mohammed, who came to reside at Renares, under the jn'otection of the Bri- tish government ; and the treasures and remaining territory of the late Fyzoolia Khan, were delivered np to the wasteful and profligate Asuf-ad-Dowlah. Mohammed Ali, of Arcot, died in 1795, aged seventy-eight, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Omdut-al-Omrah. In the same year the English efl'ected the com- plete reduction of the Dutch settlements in Ceylon, Malacca, Banda, Amboyna, Cochin, and the Cape of Good Hope. J Asuf- ad-Dowlah died in 1797. A dispute con- cerning the successioii arose between his brother Sadut Ali, and his alleged son Vizier Ali, a youth of seventeen, said to be of spurious descent. § Sir John Shore eventually decided in favour of the former, with whom he entered into a new treaty, by which the fort of Allahabad was made over to the English, the annual subsidy increased to seventy-six lacs of rupees, twelve lacs guaranteed by the vizier as compensation money for the expenses incurred in the recent interference, and an annual pension of a lac and a-half of rupees settled on Vizier Ali, beside other arrangements re- garding the support of the company's troops, deemed necessary for the defence of Oude. In the beginning of 1798, the governor- general, who had been raised to the peerage with the title of Lord Tcignmoiith, resigned his position on account of ill-health, and returned to England. Despite his high character as a financier, the pecuniary re- sidts of his four years' sway were disastrous, and the scourge of war was but temporarily delayed. Tippoo evidently waited an oppor- tunity to renew hostilities ; and the expen- sive preparations made to invade Mysoor, in Jones, aged forty-eight. He was the first president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Warren Hastings the patron, and Charles Wilkins a member. + These conquests were mainly effected through the zeal of Lord Hobart, governor of Madras. § On inquiry, it appeared that the alleged children of Asuf-ad-Dowlah were all sujiposilitious. 376 ADMINISTRATION OF LORD MORNINGTON (WELLESLEY)— 1798, the event of his taking part with the Dutch, together with the requirements of the presi- dencies of Madras and Bombay, obliged the supreme government, in 1796, to open the treasury for a loan bearing twelve per cent, interest. In the following year, increasing involvements compelled a considerable re- duction in the investments^ — a step never taken, it will be recollected, except under the stern pressure of necessity. Administration of Lord Morninoton (Marquis Wellesley.) — An impending war with Mysoor, intricate political rela- tions based on the temporary interest of other native powers, an exhausted trea- sury, and an increasing debt, — such were the difficulties that awaited the successor of Lord Teignmouth. After some delay, the choice — happily for England and for India — fell upon a nobleman no less distinguished for decision of purpose than for deliberation and forethought in counsel, gifted with a mind alike capable of grasping the grandest plans, and of entering into the minute de- tails so important to good government. Lord Mornington was but seven-and-thirty when he was selected for the arduous office of exercising almost irresponsible authority over British India ; but he had been early called to play an important part in public life, and had, from circumstances, been led to regard Indian affairs with peculiar interest, even before his appointment as one of the six commissioners of the Board of Control, * The Earl of Mornins;ton (afterwards Marquis Wellesley) was descended from an ancient family, whose founders went over to Ireland with Strong- bow, and held (on the tenure of bearing the royal standard " qxiando opus fiieiif) the castle and manor of Dangan, in the county Meath, where the future governor-general of India was born in 1760. The name of his father Hlls an honoured place in the musical annals of England, as the composer of some of the finest chants and glees in the language : his mother, the Countess of Mornington, was highly gifted both in person and in intellect, and especially remarkable for force of character, which she retained unimpaired even to advanced age, and transmitted to at least three of her sons — the subject of this notice, "the Iron Duke," and Baron Cowley. The death of Lord Mornington, in 1781, arrested the college studies of his young successor, and called him when scarcely of age, to relinquish the classic pursuits by which he might else have become too exclusively engrossed, for the severer duties of pub- lic life. Close intimacy with the Cornwallis family, doubtless contributed to direct his attention to In- dian affairs ; and the influence of the Eton holidays regularly passed with Archbishop Cornwallis at Lam- beth Palace, from 1771 to 1770, had probably its effect in producing, or at least strengthening the love of justice and high sense of honour for which the young lord became distinguished, as well as in im- in 1793.* In this position he continued for the ensuing five years, attending sedu- lously to its duties, and availing himself to the utmost of the opportunities it afforded of becoming intimately acquainted witii the condition of the E. I. Cy., the mode of gov- ernment adopted in the three presidencies, and the position and history of neighbouring powers. The subject was, to the highest degree, attractive to a statesman who con- sidered that "the majesty of Great Britain was her trade, and the throne of the com- merce of the world the fittest object of her ambition." The able and indefatigable, but prejudiced historian of India, was probably but imperfectly acquainted with the cha- racter and antecedents of Lord Morning- ton, when he remarked that he came out as a war-governor : still less ground existed for the assertion, that his lordship had " possessed but little time for acquainting himself with the complicated affairs of India, when all his attention was attracted to a particular point. "f The remarkable letter, addressed to Lord JMelville from the Cape of Good Hope, in 1798,J abundantly attests the extraordinary amount of infor- mation already accumulated by the writer, as well as the profound and far-sighted views which he had been enabled to form therefrom. The mental qualifications of Lord Mornington were rendered generally at- tractive by the dignified and courteous bear- ing, and the sweet, yet powerful utterance planting the deep and clear views of religion which formed the solace of his honoured age. His first care was the voluntary liquidation of his father's debts; the next, a most liberal provision for the edu- cation of his brothers and sisters, especially for that of Arthur, whose capacities he early appreciated. A brilliant career in the Irish House of Parliament, was speedily followed and surpassed by his success as an orator in the British House of Commons, where, strangely enough, his first speech was in reprobation of the conduct of Lord North in making Warren Hastings governor-general of India, after his un- principled conduct regarding the KohiUas. The o])inions delivered by him on the questions of war with the French republic, the disputes regarding the regency, the abolition of the Irish parliament, and Catholic emancii)ation,have their ])agc in history ; but none occupy a higher place in the memory of those who cherisli the name of the Marquis \\'cllesley, than his unwavering and indignant denunciation of the slave-trade, which he declared to he an " abomi- nable, infamous, and bloody traflic," the continuance of which it was a disgrace to Great Britain to sanc- tion, even for an hour. ( Tide IJebate on motion of Mr. Dundas for t/raihial abolition, April, 1792.) t Mill's India : edited by Pi of. Wilson, vi., 73. \ Dfspalches, Mittulcx, and Corres/mnilmcn nf the ]\larquis IVellcxIfij : edited by K. Montgomery Martin, i., 1 — 15. Murray: Loudon, 1830. TiPrOO SULTAN INTtlTGUES WITH THE FRENCH REPUBLIC— 179R. 37? which enhanced tlie effect of his rare elo- nupuee. His small hut perfectly symmetrical fi};urc, formed a worthy model for the chisels of Bacon and Chantry; while the easel of Lawrence rendered the delicate hut clearly defined outline of the nose and month, tlie soft, ga7,elle-like* eyes and dark arched brows, in cotitrast with the silver locks which clustered round his lofty forehead — seareely less publicly known, in his own time, than the remarkahle profile and eagle- eye of his younger brother are at present. On his arrival in ^Tadras, in April, 17!>8, Lord Mornington was accompanied by his younger brother Henry, afterwards Lord Cowley, in the capacity of privnte seere- t-ary. 'The future duke," then Lt.-Col. Wel- leslej', with his i-egiment (the .'};5rd), had been already some months in Lidia. After a brief stay at Madras (of which presidency Lord Clive, tlie son of the hero of Arcot, was appointed governor), Lord Mornington proceeded to Calcutta, and commenced a series of civil reforms ; but his attention was speedily arrested by the intrigues of Tippoo and some French adventurers, who, though in themselves of small importance, might, he well knew, at any moment give place to, or acquire the rank of powerfully supported representatives of their nation. Li fact, schemes to that effect were in pro- cess of development ; though the success of the British by sea and land, the victoiies of Nelson on the Nile, and that of Acre by Sir Sidney Smith, in conjunction with Lord Mornington's own measures, eventually pre- vented Buonaparte from putting into execu- tion his cherished plasi of wresting fi'om Eng- land her growing Indian empire. The re- publican general and his great adversaries, the brothers Wcllesley, had a long series of diplomatic hostilities to wage in distant hemispheres, before the last fierce struggle which convulsed the European continent with the death-throes of the usurped au- thority of the citizen emperor! Their battle-fields and council-chambers, as yet, lay wide apart; but the letters of Buona- parte to Tippoo Sultan and to Zemaun Shah, the successor of the fierce Doorani conqueror of Panipnt, who had threatened to renew the incursions of his grandsire in Hindoo- stan, served to convey an impression to the * This expression may savour of exaj:<reration or affectnlioii to persons unacquainted with Lord AVcl- lesley. 'I'hose who have watched him wliile speak- ini; on subjects wliich touclied his feelings, will, on the nontrary, consider the comparison a poor compliment native princes that a European power did exist, eagerly waiting its opportunity to fight the i']nglish with their own weapons. So strongly impressed was Tip])oo with this con- victioti, that he sent ambassadors to the French governor of the Mauritius (M. Ma- lartic), with proposals for an offensive and defensive alliance against tlicir mutual rival, offering to bear the whole expenses of the French auxiliary force to be sent to his as- sistance, and to furnish them with every ac- customed allowance except wine and spirits, with which lie declared himself entirely un- provided. The truth was, that Tippoo, in laudable conformity with the ordinance of his standard of action, the Koran, forbade his subjects to use any description of intox- icating plants or beverages; and, as far as possible, caused the white poppy and tlic hemp-plant to be destroyed even in private gardens. Those only who, like Colonel Tod and other travelled historians, have had the opijortunity of searching out for tticmsclves autiientic records illustrative of the condi- tion of the people of Lulia at diflcrent epochs, can fully appreciate the political importance of this measure, and its proba- ble effect in tending to stay the moral and physical degradation which ths abuse of all intoxicating compounds never fails to pro- duce, especially of that valuable medicine, but when misused, detestable drug, opium. The oiler of the sultan was warmly wel- comed by the French goATrnor, and a small detaehnientt of volunteers sent to I^Ialabar, and received as an earnest of further assist- ance. Lord Mornington addressed repeated remonstrances to Tippoo inspecting this no- torifius breach of faith ; and iTceived, in re- turn, the same empty professions of good-will which had been previously made to Lord Cornwallis. There was but one course to be taken with a man who met all argu- ments regarding the hostile operations in which he was engaged by positive denial or wilful silence ; and the governor-general, dcs])itc the exhausted treasury and financial involvements which even a peace-governor had i)een unable to avoid, now fouinl him- self compelled to prepare for the renewal of war. He proceeded to !Madras, where, by infusing his own spirit into this heretofore venal and incapable presidency, he procured to eyes gifted with the power of reflecting every vary- ing phase of thought and feeling, but ever tender and g;izelle-like in repose. t About loO; composed of convicted criminals and the refuse of the rabble of the island. — {Vesjialches.) 378 LORD WELLESLEY DISBANDS NIZAM'S FRENCH CORPS— 1798. the adoption of measures for the complete equipment of the armies on tl:e coasts of Coromandel and Malabar. The conduct of Nizam Ali, the suhahdar of the Deccan, afforded much ground for uneasiness. The refusal of Sir John Shore to suffer the Eng- lish subsidiary detachment to fight against the Mahrattas, had induced him to raise a large corps, trained aud officered by French adventurers, under the immediate superintendence of a M. Raymond, who was justly suspected of being in communication with Tippoo. Lord ]\Iornington felt that the course of events might render this body a nucleus for all powers and persons jealous or envious of British supremacy. He therefore hastened to make overtures for a closer alliance with the Nizam; and on the 1st of September, a new treaty was con- cluded, by winch the subsidiary detachment in his service was increased from two to six battalions, and the E. I. Cy. became pledged for liis protection against any unjust de- mands on the part of the Mahrattas. The Nizam consented to the immediate dis- bandnient of Raymond's corps, and the surrender of their officers as prisoners of war ; but as he manifested some hesitation regarding the fulfilment of these stipula- tions, the French cantonments were unex- pectedly surrounded by the whole English force, in conjunction with a body of the Hyderabad cavalry. The men, already dis- afl'ected,* upon a promise of continued employment and the payment of arrears, laid down their weapons ; the officers were quietly arrested, and, in a few hours, 14,000 men, possessing a train of artillery and a well-supplied arsenal, were completely dis- armed and disorganised. The private property and arrears due to the officers were carefully secured to them by the governor- general, and arrangements made for their honourable treatment and speedy transport to their own country. The primary importance of neutralising the danger of French influence at the court of the Nizam, did not blind Lord Morning- ton to the advisal)ility of avoiding hostilities with the jMahrattas. The supremacy of • M. Raymond, a. man of considerable talent, died a few montlis before these events, and a struggle for ascendancy had induced disunion among the troops, who, it may be added, were avowed red republicans. t Words of ]/ord C'ornwalHs. I ll'iUcihi/ J)i:!.]iutclic:!<, v., 1,'). § Tlie army assenililed at Vellore exceeded 20,000 men, including 'ifi'.'i') cavalry, and -(..'iSl i'lurojieans ; to which was added the 6,500 men serving with the Nana Furnavees and his baby pcishwa, had given place to that of Sindia aud Bajee llao, with whom Nana had become partially reconciled ; and through his influence, a pledge of co-operation, in the event of a war with Mysoor, was given by them, but apparently with the most treacherous intent. These precautionary measures concluded. Lord Mornington felt himself in a position to bring matters to an issue. The "violent and faithless"t character of the sultan, ren- dered it necessary to take summary steps for the reduction of his power and arro- gance, which had again become alarming. The abandonment of his French connexions was at first all that was desired ; but the ex- pense of military preparations having been incurred — the cession of the maritime pro- vince of Canara, with other ten-itory and a large sum of money, the establishment of ac- credited residents on the part of the E. I. Cy. and their allies at his capital, and the expul- sion of all Frenchmen from his service and dominions, were now demanded. Tippoo resorted to his old plan of evasion, hoping to procrastinate until the season for attacking Seringajjatam should be past; and when hard driven, wrote a tardy consent to receive an English envoy to negotiate terms of more intimate alliance with that nation, while, at the same time, in his capacity of citizen and wearer of the red cap of liberty, he dispatched an embassy to the French Directory, solicit- ing speedy assistance " to attack and anni- hilate for ever our common euemies.'-'J As on a previous occasion, his duplicity was met by a declaration of war ; and on the 5th of March, the British force, under General (afterwards Lord) Harris, aud that of the Nizam under his son ]\Ieer Alum, entered the Mysoor territory, with the intent of marching directly upon the capital. Lord Mornington truly declared, " that an army more completely appointed, more amply and liberally supplied in every department, or more perfect iu its discipline and in the acknowledged experience, ability, and zeal of its oflicers, never took the field iu India. "§ The very abundance of the equipments of the invaders formed, in sonic sort, an im« Nizam, and a large body of Hyderabad cavalry. The army of the western const, assenililed at Cana- nore, under General Stuart, amounted to 6,420 men, of whom, 1,017 w-ere JOuropcans ; while a third corjis, under Colonels Head and Brown, from the southern districts of the C'arnalic, at once threat- ened the enemy in Hank, and secured abundance of provisions to the main body of the invaders. A Bri- tish Heel, under Admiral llainier, lay olf the coast. WAR WITH TIPPOO SULTAN.— INVASION OF MYSOOll— 17'jy, 379 pediment to their speedy progress; and this cirounistaiicc, tof^ctlior with tlic cum- brous baggap;*' o^ tlie Nizam's troops, and the innumerable camp followers, tended to produce so much confusion, that the forces were repeatedly compelled to halt, and destroy a part of the mass of stores with i which they were encumbered ; until at length, the loss of powder, shot, and other military stores, became sudiciently con- siderable to excite alarm. Nearly the ivhole of the draught and carriage bullocks, com- prising upwards of 60,000, died in the march to Seringapatam, although it was scarcely retarded u day by the opposition of the enemy. In the meantime. General Stuart, with the force from Bombay, had crossed the western frontier, and been at- tacked on the Gth of IMareli, by the sultan with a superior force, near Pcriapatam. After a brisk action, iu which the rajah of Coorg effectively seconded the English general by personal bravery and commis- sariat supplies,* Tippoo, being worsted, drew oft' his army, and hastened to meet the main body of the enemy under General Harris. This he accomplished near Mala- velly, on the ]\Iadoor river, but was again defeated with heavy loss. His subsequent attempts to impede or harass the pi'ogress of the invaders, were frustrated by their un- expected changes of route; and he learned with dismay, that the battering train, with the last of the army, had actually crossed the Cauvery fifteen miles east of Seringapa- tam, while he was yet at a distance, keep- ing guard in an opposite direction, — an indubitable proof how greatly his system of intelligence fell short of that maintained by his father. Deeply disappointed, he summoned his chief officers to his pre- sence. " "We have arrived," he said, " at our last stage ; what is your determina- tion?" " To die with you," was the unani- mous reply; and the assembly separated, * The rnjah of Coorg had collected 6,360.000 Ihs. of rice, and 560,000 lbs. of grain, for tlie use of the troops ; and his whole conduct during the present war, warranted praise equal to that awarded him on the previous occasion, of having been " the only ally Mfixa had performed all his obligations with fide- lity, efticiency, and honour."- — (3l;/sn(»; iii., 247.) It is no disparagement to llie acknowledged merits and peculiarly chivalrous character of the rajah, to add, that he had the deepest wrongs, both as re- 1 gardcd family and national relationship, to avenge upon the usur|)ing dynasty. The reduction of Coorg had been at first clfected by Hydcr, through trea- cherous interference, during a contested succession. Of the two families, one was destroyed ; the repre- sentative of the other (Veer Rajunder) escaped after a tearful farewell, having resolved to interot^pt the expected passage of the 1'^nglish across the stream to the island on which Seringapatam is situated, and make death or victory the issue of a single battle. The equipments of the sultan were iu order, and his troops well jilaeed to contest the fords; but the advancing foe did not ap- proaeii them, but took up a position on the south-western side of the fort, on the ijtii of April, exactly one month after crossing tiiC j\Iysoor frontier, having advanced at the rate of not seven miles a-day on hostile ground, and not five from the coramence- ment of the march. The consequence of this unc.vpected tardiness, and of great loss of stores, was, that despite the extraordi- nary supplies assembled by tlie governor- general, it was ascertained, on the 18th of April, that but eighteen days' provision for the fighting men, at half allowance, re- mained in store.t The siege was of necessity carried on with the utmost diligence. The sultan made overtures for peace, but re- jected the terms of the preliminary treaty now proposed — namely, the surrender of his remaining maritime territories, and of half his entire domiuions, with the pay- ment of two erore of sicca rupees, and the total renunciation of French auxiliaries. Every hour's delay rendered the position of the allies more critical; and on the 28th, when the sultan i-enewed his proposals for a conference, he was informed that no ambas- sadors would be received unless accom- panied by four of his sons and four of his generals (including ScyedGhofar) as hostages, with a erore of rupees, in token of sincerity. No answer was returned. Tippoo's he- reditary aversion to the English liad been raised to the highest pitch by the represen- tatives of the French adventurers about his person. Naturally sanguine, he had buoyed himself up with expectations of the arrival of succours direct from France, from Egypt, from the hands of Tippoo, and upon the out- break of the previous war, hastened to join the Eng- lish. jN'otwitlistanding the ruthless manner in which the population and resources of his country had been treated, lie was able, by his intelligence and activity, to aid materially the operations of the Bombay army. Mill, who is little inclined to bestow praise on Indian princes, speaks of him as possess- ing a remarkable "enlargement of mind, and dis- playing a generosity and a heroism worthy of a more civilised state of society." — (v., 4J3.) Col. Wilks narrates many actions which confirm this tes- timony. So, also, does M.-ijor llirom"s Narrative. t There nuist have been, also, much disgraceful jobbery, the effects of which were happily neutral- ised by a public tender of 1,200 bullock-loads of rice. 380 STORMING OF SEEING APATAM— MAY 4th, 1799. or from the Mauritius ; and when at length the progress of the siege drew from him a sincere attempt at negotiation, his haughty spirit could not brook the humiliating con- ditions named as the price of peace, and he suffered hostilities to proceed, comforting himself with the idea that Seringapatam was almost invincible ; that the failure of supplies would probably even now compel the enemy to withdraw ; and that, at the worst, " it was better to die like a soldier, than to live a miserable dependent on the infidels, in the list of their pensioned rajahs and nabobs." Despite the manliness of Tippoo's words, his deeds evinced a strange mixture of indecision and childish credulity. For years he had shown himself the bigoted and relentless persecutor of his Hindoo subjects ; and so effectual had been his measures, that only two Brahminical tem- ples remained open throughout his domi- nions. Yet now, those very Brahmins, whom he had compelled to violate the first rules of their creed, by fleshing their weapons on the bodies of sacred animals, were entreated to put up prayers on his behalf, and the jebbum* was performed at great cost by the orders of a Mussulman sovereign, to whom all kinds of magical incantation were professedly forbidden, and who simultaneously put up earnest and reiterated prayers in the mosque, re- questing thereto tlie fervent amen of his attendants. Then he betook himself to the astrologers, and from them received state- ments calculated to deepen the depression by which his mind was rapidly becoming unhinged. The evident progress of affairs might well furnish them with a clue to decypher the predictions of the stars, and a set of diagrams were gravely exhibited as warranting the conclusion, that so long as Mars should remain within a particular circle, the fort would hold out : he would touch the limit on tlic last day of the lunar month, the 4th of IMay; then it would be advisable to offer the oblations prescribed by law to deprecate an expected calamity. It is possible that the true movers in this singular scene may have been certain faith- ful servants of Tippoo Sultan, who, as the danger increased, beheld with grief his accustomed energy give place to a sort of despairing fatalism, alternating with bursts of forced gaiety, which were echoed • See previous p. 307. t Baird was taken prisoner witli llie Lurvlvors of Cul. Baillie's detachment, and not released until 1 '^■i. back by the parasites by whom he had become exclusively surrounded. Seyed Ghofar was one of the most zealous and able of the Mysoorean commanders. Al- though wounded at an early period of the siege, he did not relax his exertions for the defence of the capital, or his efforts to awaken its master to action, despite the despairing exclamation — " He is surrounded by boys and flatterers, who will not even let him see with his own eyes. I do not wish to survive the result. I am going about in search of death, and cannot find it." On the 3rd of May, a practicable breach (100 feet wide) was effected. On the morning of the 4th, the sultan offered the oblation before arranged ; and after an attempt to ascertain the aspect of his des^ tiny by the reflection of his own face in a jar of oil, returned to his accustomed station on the fortifications. Seyed Ghofar, seeing the trenches unusually crowded, sent word that the attack was about to com- mence ; but the courtiers persuaded their infatuated lord that the enemy would never dare the attempt by daylight; and he re- plied, that it was doubtless right to be on the alert, although the assault would certainly not be made except under cover of night. Excited by such mistaken security, the brave officer hastened towards the sultan. "I will go," said he, "and drag him to the breach, and make him see by what a set of wretches he is surrouuded : I will compel him to exert himself at this last moment." The arrival of a party of pioneers, to cut off the approach of the foe by the southern rampart, induced him to delay his intention for the purpose of first giving them their instructions; and, while thus engaged, a cannon-ball struck him lifeless to the grouiul, and saved him from witnessing the realisation of his worst anticipations. Tippoo was about commencing his noon- day repast, when he learned with dismay the fate of his brave servant. The meal was scarcely ended before tidings were brought of the actual assault, and he hastened to the breach along the northern rampart. The leader of the storming paity was Major-general Baird, who had, at his own request, been deputed to head the attack on the fortress, within whose walls he had been immured in irons for three years and a-half f The hope of releasing captives treacherously detained, and of i)rev(uting such faithless outrages for the futuic, would, apart from less commendable feelings, have been suffi- THE DEATH OF TIPPOO SULTAN— 1799. 881 cient to excite to tlic utmost a less anient teiiipcianieiit. Mouiitinj; tlie parapet of the breacli, in view ol botii armies lie drew liis swDid, and, in a voice wliicli thrilled tiironj;li every heart, called to the euliimus into which the assaidtin;^ force* had been divided, "to follow him and prove them- selves worthy the name of British soldiers." A forlorn hope, composed of a serj;eant and twelve men, led the van of cither column, followed by two sul)altern detach- ments, and were met on the slope of the brca(^h by a small but icsohite body of My- sooreans. Nearly the whole of the first com- batants perished, l)ut their place was rapidly supplied by the forces led by Baird; and in six minutes after the energetic call to arms, the British colours were planted on the summit of the breach. This important step accomplished, much danger and difficulty remained ; for the traverses, especially along the northern rampart, were stronger than liad been expected, and the sultan in person animated the exertions of his de- fenders. After much hard fighting, the British columns overeame all intermediate obstacles, and menaced Tippoo and his sup- porters both in front and rear. The confu- sion then became com|)lete : the Mysooreans fled in various directions; some through a gateway in the rampart opening on the palace, some over the fortifications, and others by a water-gate leading to the river. The sultan, after long lighting on foot, being slightly wounded, was seen to mount his horse, but what he had next done, no one knew. It was eonjeetured that he had taken refuge within the palace ; and the chief per- scms admitted to his confidence during the last few perilous days, alleged that obscure hints had escaped him of an intention to fol- low the ancient Indian custom, by putting to death the females of his family, destroying certain private jjapers, and then sallying forth to perish on the swords of his foes. According to instructions previously framed. Major Allan was deputed to proceed to the palace with a flag of truce, and offer protec- tion to Tippoo and every one in it, on the proviso of immediate and unconditional sur- render. The major laid aside his sword, in evidence of his peaceable intentions, and prevailed upon the attendants to conduct him and two brother ofBcers to the presence • Comprising 2.494 Europeans, and 1,882 natives. ■)■ 'I'lie inct was subscqueiuly asceitaintd by ex- luimin^ tlie bodie?. The niniour bein^ in itself sutlicieiulv probable, niav palliate, but cannot justiCv, ■3 D of the two eldest sons of Tippoo, from whom he with diilieulty obtained warraut ior the occupation of the palace, witliiii u hieli many hundred armed men were assembi d; while, without the walls, a large body of troops were drawn up, with General Buird at their head. The fierce excitement of a hard-won field had been increased by the hoiiible and only too well authenticated information of the massacre of about thir- teen Europeans taken during the siege ;t yet the torrent of exccratiun and invective was huslied in deep silence when the sons of the hated despot passed through the ranks as prisoners, on their way to the British camp. The royal apartments were searched, due care being taken to avoid iullicting any needless injury on the feelings of the ladies of the harem, by removing tlicm to distinct rooms; but still the impoitaiit question re- mained unanswered— what had become of the sultan ? At length it was discovered that private intelligence had reached the killedar, or chief ottieer in command, that Tip|)O0 was lying under the arch of the gateway open- ing on the inner fort. General Baird pro- ceeded to the s[)ot, and searched a dense mass of dead and dying, but without suc- cess, until a Hindoo, styled Ilajah Khan, who lay wounded near the palanquin of the sultan, pointed out the spot where his master had fallen. Tippoo ha(l received two inusket-l)alls in the side, when his horse being wounded sank under iiim. Kajah Ivlian, after vainly striving to cany iiim away, urged the necessity of disclosing his rank as the sole chance for his preservation. This Tippoo peremptorily forbade, and con- tinued to lie prostrate from the loss of blood and fatigue, half-buried under a heap of his brave defenders, until an English soldier coming up to the spot, strove to seize the gold buckle of his sword-belt, upon which he partly raised himself, seized a sabre that lay beside him, and aimed a desperate blow at his assailant, who, in return, shot him. through the temple. Thus perished Tippoo Sultan, in the forty-seventh year of his age. The body, when eventually dragged forth, was found to have beeu riHed of every ornament except an amulet on the right arm, immediately below the shoulder. ' The head was un- the threats used by General Baird to the princes and others, who liad surrendeieil on the lailh ol' the assurances of .\lajor Allan, to draw from ihrm the whereabouts of Tij)poo. — (Thoiulon's India, iii., o9.) 382 GOVERNMENT AND ARMY OP TIPPOO SULTAN— 1799. covered, and, despite the ball which had entered a little above the right ear and lodged in the cheek, and three wounds in the body, the stern dignity of the counte- nance,* its glowing complexion, the expres- sion of the dark full eyes unclosed and sur- mounted by small arched eyebrows marred by no distortion, were altogether so life- like, that the effect, heightened by the rich colouring of the waistband and shoulder- belt, almost deceived the bystanders; and Colonel Wellesley and Major Allan bent over the body by the uncertain and flicker- ing glare of torch-light, and felt the pulse and heart, before being convinced that they were indeed looking on a corpse. f The remains were deposited beside those of Hyder Ali, in the superb mausoleum of Lall Bang, with every ceremonial demanded by Mussulman usage. The minute-gun and other military honoui's, practised by Euro- peans, were paid by order of the com- mander-in-chief, a ceremonial which, how- ever well intended, was misplaced. It would have been better taste to have suf- fered the bereaved family of the sultan, who had died in defence of his capital, to bury their dead, undisturbed by the presence of his triumphant foes. Terrific peals of thunder and lightning,| to an extent re- markable even in that tempestuous district, burst over the island of Seringapatam, and formed a fitting close to the funereal rites of the second and last representative of a brief but blood-stained dynasty. The pre- diction of Hyder was fulfilled: the empire he had won his son had lost, and with it life itself. The romantic circumstances attendant on the death of Tippoo may tend to throw a false halo over his character > but admiration for his personal bravery, or even better -grounded praise for his excellent • The sultan was about five feet ten inches in hciglit, had a short neck and square shoulders; his limlis were slender, (eel and hands remarkably small, and nose aquiline. His dress consisted of a jacket of fine white linen, loose drawers of flowered chintz, a crimson {girdle, with a handsome pouch slung over his shoulder by a belt of red and green silk. I This expression, says Col. W'ilks, was noticed only by those who saw Tippoo for the first time ; it wore otf the more s])eedily owing to his excessive garrulity and harsh, inharmonious voice. J Two officers and several ])rivates were killed. § llistvry (if Mysiiur, iii., 209. II On the 4th of May, there were in the fort 13,7:i9 regular troops, and 8,100 outside and in the inlrenchnients. with 120 I'renchmen, under the c(mi- mund of a clicf lie brii/aile, ,M. Cliapuis. In the as- sault, 8,001) Mysooreans were killed, including twenty- four principal otticers killed and wounded, beside measure in striving to put down the use of intoxicating preparations, which had become a very curse to India, must not be permitted to disguise the fact that, with few excep- tions, his career was one of blood and rapine, beside which that of Hyder appears just and compassionate. 'iippoo manifested remarkable industry in his endeavours to establish the reputation of a reformer; but the regulations framed for the government of his dominions, were enforced by penalties of so revolting a cha- racter, as alone to prove the lawgiver unfit to exercise authority over his fellow- men; equally so, whether these were prompted by diabolical wickedness, or the aberrations of a diseased intellect. " His- tory," says Colonel Wilks, "exhibits no prior example of a code perverting all pos.sible purposes of punishment as a public example, combining the terrors of death with cold- blooded irony, filthy ridicule, and obscene mutilation — the pranks of a monkey with the abominations of a monster. "§ Such a despotism, based on usurpation and fraud, and exercised with unparalleled ferocity, Britain may well rejoice in having been per- mitted to abolish. The total military establishment of Tippoo was estimated at about 100,000, including matchlockmen and peons (revenue officers or police) ; his field army at 47,4.70 ett'ective troops. The granaries, arsenals, and magazines of all kinds in Seringapatam, were abundantly stored ;|| but a very exag- gerated idea had, as is commonly the case, been formed of the amount of his treasure in gold and jewels, the total value of which did not reach a million and a-half sterling, and was entirely appropriated by the con- quering army. In acknowledgment of the energy and forethought displayed by the numbers of inferior rank. The total loss of the British, during the siege, was twenty-two officers killed and forty-five wounded (twenty-five of these in the storming of the citadel) ; rank and file — Euro- peans, 181 killed, 622 wounded, twenty-two missing: natives, 119 killed, 420 wounded, and 100 missing. In the fort were found 929 pieces of ordnance (373 brass guns, sixty mortars, eleven howitzers, 41)6 iron guns, and twelve mortars), of which 287 were mounted on the fortifications : there were also 424,400 round shot J 620 lbs. of gunpowder, and 99,000 muskets, carbines, iS;c. Within the fortress were eleven large powder-magazines ; seventy-two expense magazines j eleven armories for making and furnishing small arms; thne buildings with machines for boring guns; four large arsenals, and seventeen other store- houses, containing accoutrements, swords, itc. ; and many granaries abundantly filled with provisions of every description. — (lieatson's War with I'ippoo.) DIVISION OF NEWLY-CONQUERED TEllRITOllIES— 1799. 383 governor-general, in directing the whole resources of British India to one point, and thus, iiuinaiily spcakin]^;, cnsurin;; suei'css in a single canipaifjn, lie was raised a step in the peerage,* and infornied that, Ijy the con- current authority of his majesty's ministers and the Court of Directors, a portion of the spoils of Seringapatam, to the value of J21 00,000, would be directed to be appro- priated for his use, the remainder to be divided among the troops. Lord Wcllesley was far from ricli, but he unhesitatingly refused this tempting offer, as an cneroaeii- inent on the claims of the army, and, more- over, as being an injurious precedent, likely to afford the future arbiters of peace and war, in India, pecuniary temptations to a belligerent policy. A star and badge of the order of St. Patrick, composed of some of Tippoo's jewels, was all that he accepted at the time. In 1801, an annuity of £5,000 was settled on him by the company. Unfortunately, this memorable example of disinterestedness did not prevent some very discreditable proceedings with regard to the distribution of the prize-money; and the commandcr-in-cliief (Harris) and six general officers (Floyd, Baird, Popham, Bridges, Stuart, and Hartley), were con- sidered by the home authorities to have appropriated to themselves a very undue proportion ; General Harris, in ])articular, having received one-eighth instead of one- sixteenth part of the whole. The command of Seringapatam was entrusted by Harris to Colonel Wellesley, much to the displea- sure of General Baird, who exclaimed — " Before the sweat was dry on my brow, I was superseded by an inferior officer '." The governor-general showed his conviction of the propriety of the measure, by subsequently investing his brother with the superinten- dence of the civil government of Mysoor. As, despite liis strong family aflection. Lord Wellesley is universally acknowledged to have been distinguished for a judicious and impartial selection of particular men for particular positions, perfect reliance may be placed on his own assertion, that, despite the jealousy to which the appointment made • Rather a doubtful advantage in the sif;Iit of the receiver, who was wont to allude to the merging of an English eai'ldom into an Irish marquisate, as hav- ing changed his English ale into Irish hntterniilk. ■j- Haird could not be trusted nilh such authority. I Tippoo left three legitimate and seventeen ille- gitimate cliildren ; twenty-four died before him. § The chiefs of districts submitted cheerfully to the conquerors. The only opposition offered was that of by Harris would give rise among the senior oilicers, ho confirmed, and would iiimself have originated it if necessary, simply be- cause, from his "knowledge and experience of the discretion, judgment, temijcr, and integrity" of Colonel Wellesley, Jie con- sidered him "the most proper for the ser- vice."t The generous warmth with which Lord Wellesley cherished the abilities of his younger i)rotliers, was, it may be thought, part of his private rather than public cha- racter; but it was closely allied with the active benevolence which formed the main- spring of his whole career. The cadets of the service found themselves, for the first time, the objects of almost parental scrutiny. Talent, zeal, and industry were found to ensure a better welcome at government- house, under an administration celebrated for a singular union of oriental magnifi- cence, patrician refinement, and scholastic lore, than ])atronage, high birth, or the yet more congenial aristocracy of talent could obtain, unsupported by meritorious service. Tlie disposition made by Lord Wellesley of the newly-conquered teriitory, was warmly approved in England, and excited in India a general feeling of surprise at its equity and moderation. Tlie fortress of Vellore, in the Carnatie, was fitted up for the family of H'ippoOjJ and an allowance made for their support, more liberal than tliat previously assigned by him; his chief officers were ail provided for by jaghircs or pensions, dis- pensed witli a well-considered munificence, which furnished a striking contrast to the parsimonious dealings of their late master. The affections of the Hindoo population were conciliated§ by an unlooked-for act of generosity. Cham Raj, the pageant-sove- reign placed by Hyder on the throne of Mysoor in 1772, died of smallpox in 1706. He had been regularly exhibited in public at the annual feast called the Dussera; but Tippoo chose to dispense with the cere- mony of nominating a successor, and caused the son of Cham Raj, a child of two years old, to be removed with his great-grand- mother (a woman of above ninety), his grand- mother, and other female relatives, from the Dlioondea AVaugh, a Mahratta, who after serving under Tippoo, set up for himself as leader of a pre- datory band, was taken prisoner, and remained in con- finement for years in the fortress of Seringaijatam. Amid the general confusion of the assault he managed to escape, and soon collected round him a daring band of freebooters ; nor was it until after severu months' hostilities, that he was at length defeated and slain in a charge of cavalry led by CoL AN'ellesley. 384 AKCIENT HINDOO DYNAS 1 Y fF MYSOOR PARTIALLY RESTORED ^bI ancient Ilimloo palace to a miserable hovel, where they were found by the English authorities' in 1799, in a state of deep poverty and humiliation. Their sorrow was turned into joy and gratitude on being in- formed that the conquerors had resolved, not simply to restore them to liberty, but to place the young prince Kistna Raj Oodaveer on the throne* of his fathers, iu their ancient capital of Mysoor, with a revenue exceeding that of the former Hindoo kingdom. The English reserved to themselves, by treaty, the right of inter- posing with paramount authority, in the event of any financial or political questions arising similar to those which had long distracted the Carnatic; but so far from employing their unquestioned supremacy to vest (as liad been the case on former occa- sions) all power and profit in English func- tionaries, nearly every office, civil and military, was left to be filled by the natives themselves. Poornea, the experienced and trustworthy Hindoo chief minister under the usurping dynast}-, was continued in office with the decided approbation of the female guardians of the young rajah. Colo- nel Wellesley, in all respects, hut especially by judicious abstinence from needless inter- ference, justified his selection for military commandant; while the rectitude and abili- ties as a linguist, of Colonel (afterwards Sir Barry) Close, facilitated his satisfactory fulfilment of the delicate position of politi- cal resident. The result was, that the Marquis Wellesley, at the close of his memo- rable jidministralion, was enabled to declare, that the actual success of the arrangement of Mysoor had realised his most sanguine expectations. * Literally so, for he was seated on the ancient ivory throne, whicli Aui'ungzebe is said to have ex- pressly sanctioned his ancestor in using, and which was found in a lumber-room of the palace after the siege. The throne of Tippoo was taken to pieces, its various parts forniin}^ splendid trophies of vic- tory. The asceiit to the musnud was by small silver steps on each side, its support a ti^er, somewhat above the iiaiural size, in a standing attitude, entirely cov- ered with plates of pure gold, the eyes and teeth being reijreseiiled by jewels of suitable colours. A gilded pillar supported a canopy fiinged with pearls; from the centre was suspended an image of the Uina, a bird about the size and shape of a small jjigcon, formed of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds inlaid in gold, and valued in India at 1,000 guineas. It was presented to King George III., as a tilting tribute to royally, being generally regardeil in the East as the harbinger of victory and sovereign power to the favoured individual whom it deigned to overshadow. By a singular coincidence, a bird of this "august" species (tor such, according to M. d'Herbelot, is the Of the usurpations of Hyder, besides those . restored to the Hindoo dynasty, to the value of thirteen lacs of pagodasf per annum; and after liberal provision for the families of Hyder and Tippoo, and their chief officers, a large overplus remained, the division of which, between the English and the Nizam, formed the basis of a new treaty. J The former took possession of the fortress, city, and island of Seringapatam, the districts of Caiiara, including all the sea-coast of Mysoor, together with Coim- batore and Daramporam, the intervening country between the territories of the E. I. Cy. on the Coromandel coast, and on that of Malal)ar; of the forts and posts forming the heads of the principal passes above the Ghauts, on the table-land of Mysoor, and the district of Wynaad. To the Nizam were given territories yielding an equal revenue with those appropriated by the English in the districts of Gooty, Goorumcondah, and the tract of country situated along the military line of Chittledroog, Sera, Nnndi- droog, and Colar, but without the forts, which it was considered would strengthen, to a dangerous extent, the position of a fluctuating and doubtful ally. The course to be adopted with regard to the Mahrattas, was a difficult question. The peishwa had wholly failed in his engagements of co-opera- tion against Tippoo ;§ nevertheless, the gov- ernor-general deemed it politic to offer him a share in the conquered territory on cer- tain conditions, which he looked upon as necessary preliminaries to the establishment of a solid and satisfactory peace; especially the reception of an English subsidiary force, and an amicable adjustment, according to English arbitration, of the claim of cliout meaning of its Persian name) built its nest in a grove of trees, under the shide of which the governor- general dictated his de- patches while resident at Madras, fur the purpose of more conveniently super- intending the conduct of the war. The natives hailed "itb delight the prosperous omen, and re- ceived the tidings of the capture of Seringapatam as confirmation of the victorious augury convejed bv the ])resence of the Uma, which the marquis was subsequenily empowered to add to his crest, with the motlo, " Sii/ier Iiidos pi-iitulit Iiiijjrn'iiin." t A pagoda was then above eight shillings in value. 1 The whole of 'I'ippon's annual revenue was esti- mated at .'iO.-lO.OOO pagodas. 'I'o the rajah of Mysoor was assigned i:i,()0,0()Oi to Nizam .-Mi, o,:!0,nOO; to the E. I. C). 5,37.00(1 ; for the maintenance of the faniiliea of Hyder and Tippoo (in charge of the Hritish gov- ernment), 2,40,000; and for Kummur-u-Deen, com- mander of Tippoo's cavalrv, and his family (in chargo of the Nizam), 7,00,00 pagodas.— (DufT, i'ii., 177.) § 13ajeeKao had actually aceepied a heavy bribe from Tippoo to break faith with the English. — (Duff.) STIBSIDIAllY SYSTEM PROMOTED BY THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. 385 Ions; lu-fipd ajjainst the Nizam. Tlicse sti- piil;iti()n!< were percniptorily rpjoctcd ; aiitl tlip reserved districts of llnrpoiicliy, Sooiida above tlio fJliants, and otliors, equ;il iti value to hctweeii one-lialf and two-tiiirds of the previously descril)ed portions, were thereupon shared agreeably to the articles of the parti- tion Irenty by the company and Sadut Ali. A fresh contract was entered into between tlic hitter parties in October, 1800, by vviiieh the Nizam, wlio was notoriously incapable of dcfendinj:!; himself against the Mahrattas, purchased the services of additional troops from the company and the promise of their aid against every aggressor, by the cession of all acquisitions made from the doniinions of Tippoo, either by the late treaty or that of Seringapatam in 1702. The pro[)osition originated with the minister of the Nizam ; and the governor-general prudently hastened to close an arrangement which placed the maintenance of the previously subsidised, as well as additional troops, on a more satisfac- tory fooling than the irregular payments of a corrupt government. The countries thus ceded yielded a revenue of about 1,758,000 pagodas. By this arrangement, says Mill, " the English acquired a sniall territory, with the obligation of defending a large one." This is not correct, inasmuch as the company were previously bound, both by considerations of honour and policy, to protect their ally in time of need ; and by tlie new compact they did but secure thetn- selves against pecuniary loss in so doing. Circumstances again altered their relative positions; or, to speak more plainly, the Bri- tish powerj increasing in an eddying circle, manifested in this as in other eases, its inhe- rent tendency to absorb the misgoverned aiul unstal)le principalities which sought and found in its strength temporary support, being driven by necessity, or induced by ignorance or recklessness, to ado|)t a pro- cedure calculated to induce eventually their political extinction. Lord Wellesley, like many other great statesmen, anticipated but very imperfectly the result of his favourite I measure. He hoped to find the subsidiary system instrumental in mitigating the turbulence of the native states of India, by controlling the sources of dissension, and encouraging and enal)ling minor chiefs to cultivate the arts of peace in the indepen- dent enjoyment of their respective rights.* But, iu truth, the first elements of stability were wanting; and although the personal • Wellesley Desjjaiclies, iv., 151. rectitude and ability of a nabob or a rajah, or their ('hief ministers, might for a time hold together the incongruous elements of Moslem and Hindoo communities, under an eilicicnt rule, distinct, so far as internal regulations were concerned, from the para- mount power, provided that were exercised with rigid moderation ; yet the more fre- quent eonsetpience of becoming subsidiary, was utter indifl'erence on the yjart of the sovereign to the ])rogress of a principality over which he had lost all absolute control; and, on the part of his subjects, contempt and indiHcrence for his diminished power. The oriental idea of authority is identified with despotism ; exercised rn every variety of form, from the homeliest phase of patri- archal sway, to the unapproachcd grandeur of Solomon : still the same in essence — the delegated government of God. In the (Christian world, despite the blinding in- fluence of our sins and imperfections, we do iTcognise, by the light of the Gospel, the inestimable worth of civil liberty. The law of the land, apart from the individual who dispenses it, is the basis on which the nationality and independence of every Eng- lish and American subject rests securely. But to Asiatics this is still a hard saying, and must remain so, until the same source from which we learned to realise its prac- tical importance, be laid open to them also. If British supremacy prove, indeed, the in- strument for the spiritual and moral rege- neration of India, thrice blessed will be both giver and receiver. Yet whatever be the re- sult, the immediate duty is clear — to spread the Gospel as widely as possible, and to en- deavour by good government, by just laws honestly administered, by lenient taxation equitably assessed, to show our native sub- jects the value of the tree by its fruits. To return to the affairs of the subsidiary states. The turbulent and dangerous cha- racter of Vizier Ali, the rival candidate for the dominion of Oude, rendered it advisable to remove his residence from Benares to Calcutta. The youth remonstrated strongly, but without effect; and while visiting, by appointment, the British resident ^Ir. Cherry, he spoke in violent terms of the hardship of the threatened coercion. The resident is represented to have behaved with much moderation ; but Vizier Ali, giving vent to rage, started up and made a thrust at him with his sword; an example which, according to eastern custom, was immediately followed by his atteudants. 886 EXTENSION OF BRITISH POWER TO THE NORTH-WEST— 1800 to 1803. Mr. Cherry was killed while attempting to es- cape through a window, and two of his cora- pauions shared his fate. The assassins, ap- parently in the hope of heading a general insurrection, hurried to the residence of the English magistrate,* who, after sending his wife and family to the terrace on the top of the house, seized a long spear, took up his position on a narrow staircase, and delayed their ascent until a party of horse arrived and put them to flight. Vizier Ali sought re- fuge in the woody country of Bhootwal, and being joined by several disafl'ected zemin- dars, soon mustered a considerable preda- tory force, wherewith to make incursions on Oude. The parsimonious and timid admin- istration of Sadut Ali had rendered him extremely unpopular; and he urgently en- treated that the English troops might be sta- tioned immediately about his person to pro- tect him, if need were, against his own army, whose faithlessness and disaffection likewise formed his excuse for not personally taking the field, in co-operation with his allies, against their joint foe. His assistance was not needed ; Vizier Ali soon found him- self abandoned by his followers, and was, in December, 1800, delivered over by the rajah of Jeypoor to the British government, and detained prisoner in Fort William. t At the close of hostilities, the marquis pressed on the nabob the propriety of dis- banding a force which, by his own showing, was worse than useless. This proposition, Sadut Ali met by a declaration of his desire to resign a position which he found full of weariness and danger. On the fur- ther development of his views, it appeared that the abdication in question was to be in favour of his son ; and that in quitting the musnud, he intended to carry away the trea- sures and jewels inherited from Asuf-ad- Dowlah, leaving his successor to pay tiie arrears due to the E. I. Cy. and the native troops as best he could. These conditions were promptly rejected, and a long discus- sion ensued, which terminated in the dis- bandment of all the native troops (their ar- rears being first wholly liquidated), and the substitution of an additional European force (numbering, in all, 13,000 men), in return for which, the provinces of the Doab and llohil- • Mr. Davis, father of the present Sir J. Davis. t Vizier Ali was afterwards removed to Vellore, where his family were permitted to join him. He died there, a natural death. — (Davis's Memoir.) X The gross revenues of the ceded provinces were one crore, thirty-five lacs, 23,474 rupees. cundj were conceded in perpetuity. To adjust the provisional administration of the ceded districts, three of the civil servants of the company were formed into a board of commissioners, and the Hon. Henry Wel- lesley nominated president and lieutenant- governor. For this appointment Lord Wel- lesley was blamed by the directors, as an evidence of partiality towards his brother, at the expense of the covenanted officials; but the propriety of the selection (as ii\ the case of Colonel Wellesley in !My- soor) was amply justified by the result; and the disinterestedness (as far as regarded pecuniary motives) of both nominee and nominator was apparent, from no eraolu- ment being attached to the delicate and onerous office. By the late treaty, the tri- bute paid to the ruler of Oude by the nabob of Furruckabad (the Patau chief of a district in the province of Agra), was transferred to theE.I.Cy., and an arrangement made — it is said with his perfect acquiescence — by which he renounced political power, and was added to the growing list of titled stipendiaries. Several of tiie more powerful zemindars of the ceded territories resisted the proposed alterations, and made attempts at indepen- dence; especially Bngwunt Sing, who pos- sessed the forts of Sasnee and Bidjegliur; the rajah Cliutter Sal ; and the zemindar of Cutchoura : but they were all overpowered in the course of the years 1802 — 1803, and compelled to seek safety in flight. Tiie character of Sadut Ali was strikingly evinced, in the course of his negotiations with Lord Wellesley, by an attempt to win from the latter a sanction similar to that given to his half-brother (Azuf-ad-Dowlah), for the plunder of the begum, the grandmother of both these hopeful rulers. The intima- tion was met with merited disdain ; but the old lady, fearing to be exposed to continuous indirect persecution, took tlie prudent step of ensuring the peaceable enjoyment of her personal property, by offering to constitute the company her heir — a proposition which was gladly accepted. While these changes were taking place in Oude, others of a similar character were carried out in Tanjore and Arcot. Rajah Tuljajee died in 1787, leaving his adopted son and heir, Scrfojec, a boy of ten years old, under the public tutelage of his half- brother, Ameer Sing, and the private guar- dianship of the missionary Swartz. Ameer Sing succeeded for a time in persuading the English authorities to treat the adoption of ASSUMPTION OF TANJORE, CARNATIC, AND SURAT— 1790— 1801. 887 his youiip; ward as illegtal, and caused liim to l)c confined and cruelly ill-trcatcKJ. 'I'iie vigilance and untiring exertion of Swartz* occasioned a searching investigation, and the evidence brought forward on the matter led botli Lord Coriiwallis and Sir John Shore to consider the claims of Scrfojec as well founded. The oppression exercised by Ameer Sing over the widows of the de- ceased rajah, was accompanied by general maladministration. During the first war with Ti|)poo, the management of Tanjore had been assumed by the English, as the sole means of rendering its resources avail- able against the common foe; and on the conclusion of peace, a prolonged discussion arose concerning the propriety of restoring to power a ruler whose legal and moral claims were of so questionable a character. The supreme government, fearing to incur the im|)utation of excessive rigour, replaced Ameer Sing in his former position : but the home authorities do not appear to have approved of this decision ; for in June, 1 799, they expressly instructed Lord Wellesley not to relinquish possession of the territories of Arcot and Tanjore, which, in the event of hostilities with Tippoo, would "of course come under the company's management," ■without special orders to that effect. The measure thus taken for granted by the di- rectors, had not been adopted by the governor-general, who deemed the brief and decisive character of the war a sufficient argument against a step the immediate effect of which " would have been a con- siderable failure of actual resources, at a period of the utmost exigency." The disputed succession afforded a better plea for the assumption of the powers of govern- * Swartz S]i.ired no pains in implanting religious principles, or in cuhivating tlie naturally gifted in- tellect of Seifojee. The death of the good mis- sionary, in 1798, prevented him from witnessing the elevation of his grateful pupil, who honoured the me- mory of his benefactor, less by the erection of a stately monument, than by his own life and character. Bishop Heher, in noticing the varied acquirements of Serfojee, states that he quoted Fourcroy, Lavoisier, Linnajus, and Buft'on fluently; that he had "formed a more accurate judgment of the merits of Shaks- peare than tliat so felicitously expressed by Lord ISyron," and was " much respected by the English officers in the neighbourhood, as a real good judge of a horse, and a cool, bold, and deadly shot at a tiger." — {Joiinial, ii,, 459.) t The key to the cypher was found among the private papers of the sultan. The English were de- signated by the term tieic-comers ; the Nizam, by that of nol/iiiir/iie^x ; the Mahrattas, as desjiicahle. In commenting on the disclosure of these proofs ot faithlessness on the part of the nabobs of the Carnatic, ment; Ameer Sing was deposed, and Serfo- jee proclaimed rajah, in accordance with the terms of a treaty, dated October, 1709, by which he renounced all claim to political authority, in return for nominal rank, and the more substantial advantage of a pension of one lac of star pagodas, with a fifth of the net revenues. The assertion of corn- plcte authority over the Carnatic, was expe- dited by the discovery, consequent on the capture of Scringapatam, of a secret corre- spondence, in cypher,f carried on between IMohammed Ali and his successor, Omdut- al-Omrah, with 'I'ippoo, in direct violation of the treaty of 1792. The conduct of the nabob during the late war, in withholding promised supplies, had given rise to suspU cions of treachery which were now confirmed. His failing health induced Lord Wellesley to delay the contemplated changes; but on his death, in 1801, tlie dispositions made by him in favour of his illegitimate son, Ali Hoossein, a minor,J were set aside in favour of Azim-ad-Dowlah, a nephew of the late prince, who made over to the company all claim to real power, on condition of receiving the title of nabob, and the allotment of a fifth part of the net revenues of the Car- natic for his support. The company further engaged to provide for the family of the preceding nabobs, and to pay their debts. The government of the extensive and populous, though dilapidated city of Surat, was assumed by the company in 1800 ; the Mogul nabob, or governor, resigning his claims on receipt of a pension of a lac of rupees annually, in addition to a fifth of the net revenues guaranteed to him and his heirs. The ■ commencement of the nineteenth as favouring the views of the directors, .Mill exclaims, " Nothing surely ever was more fortunate than such a discovery at such a time." Yet, although plainly intimating the possibility of fabricating evidence to prove a lie, he is conipellrd, by his own truthfulness, to bear witness to the character of the great man, against whom he appears to be, on the whole, strangely prejudiced. " With regard to Lord Wel- lesley," he adds, " even his faults bear so little affinity with this species of vice, and his most conspicuous virtues are so directly opposed to it, that we may safely infer it to be as unlikely in his case as in any that can well be supposed, that he would fabricate evi- dence to attain the objects of his desire." — (vi., 312.) X The governor-general was disposed to confirm the will of the late nabob in favour of Ali Hoossein, despite his illegitimacy ; but his refusal (too late withdrawn) to accept the terms offered on behalf of the E. L Cy., occasioned his being altogether set aside. He was carried off by dysentery in the following year. Ameer Sing, the deposed rajah of Tanjore, died a natural death in the commencement of 1802. 388 ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY JOIN BRITISH IN INDIA— 1801. century, thus strongly marked by the ex- tension of British power in India, is no less memorable for the bold and decisive mea- sures of foreign policy, planned and executed by the governor-general. The threatened in- vasion of Zemaun Shah had been no vague rumour. A letter addressed by the Afghan leader to Lord Wellesley, peremptorily de- manding the assistance of the English and their ally, the nabob vizier, m rescuing Shah Alum from the hands of the ]\Iah- rattas, and replacing him on the throne of his ancestors, had furnished ample reason for precautionary measures against the re- newed incursions, under any pretext, of the dreaded Afghans. To avert this evil, there appeared no surer method than to form a close alliance with Persia; and for this pur- pose Captain (afterwards Sir John) Malcolm was dispatched as British envoy, in Decem- ber, 1799, to tiie court of Teheran, attended by a magnificent embassy. The result was completely successful. Ali Shah engaged to lay waste the country of the Afghans if ever they should invade India, and to permit uo French force to form a settlement on any of the shores or islands of Persia ; the English, on their part, pro- mised to aid the Shah in the event of inva- sion, whether from France or Cabool. In- ternal dissension between Zemaun Shah and his brother Mahmood, rendered the issue of the above negotiation of less importance as regarded the Afghans, whose turbulence found vent in civil war; but the danger of French encroachments still pressed severely on the mind of the governor-general. The injury inflicted by the privateering force of the Mauritius and Bourbou upon the Indian coasting trade, and even upon that with Europe, was of serious magnitude. Between the commencement of hostilities and the close of 1800, British property, to the amount of above two million sterling, had been car- ried into Port St. Louis. Lord Wellesley resolved to attempt the extinction of this fertile source of disasters, by the conquest and ocou|)ation of the French islands; and, with this intent, assembled at Trincomalce* in Ceylon, a force comprising three royal regiments and 1,000 Bengal volunteers. The project fell to the ground through the pertinacity of Admiral Rainier, who declared that he could not lawfully take part in the • Tiincomalee was taken from the Dutch in 1796. t Lord Wellesley, with liis usual fuiesii^ht, gave orders for the occu|)iition ol Perini, a small islimil in the straits of Bab-el-Muiideb, the possession of which proposed expedition, without the express sanction of the king. The favourable oppor- tunity was lost; and French privateers con- tinued, during several subsequent years, to harass and plunder the commercial naviga- tion of the eastern seas. The troops as- sembled by the zeal of Lord Wellesley, found useful and hoiioural)le employ. He had repeatedly suggested to the home govern- ment the propriety of dispatching an Indian armament for the reinforcement of the British force in Egypt ; and on tlie receipt of orders to that efi'ect in 1801, 1,600 native infantry were added to the body already raised, and forwarded to Mocha as fast as transports could be provided for them.f Sir David Baird had command of the land troops ; Rear-admiral Blankctt, of a squad- ron of the company's cruisers, sent on with a small detachment as an advance guard, but Sir Home Popham was dispatched from England to direct the naval part of the ex- pedition. The struggle was well nigh ended before their arrival, by the defeat of the French in Egypt on the 21st of March, with the loss to the victors of their brave leader. Sir Ralph Aberciomby. General Baird marched from Suez to Rosetta, at the head of 7,000 men, in the hope of contributing to the capture of Alexandria; but the treaty of surrender was already in progress ; and with its ratification, hostilities were brouglit to a close. The striking demonstration of the power of England, made by bringing together numerous and cttective arma- ments from the east and west, to fight her battles upon the banks of the Nile, was doubtless calculated to "enhance her re- nown, and confirm her moral as well as political strength." Still, it is well added by Mill, that had the Anglo-Indian army been permitted to accomplish the purpose for which it was first designed by the governor- general, the conquest of the Mauritius and Bourbon would have been a more sub- stantial though less brilliant service. Upon the restoration of Pondicherry (ia accordance with the treaty of Amiens), mea- sures were taken by Buonaparte which amply proved the wisdom of the energetic precautious of the Marquis Wellesley against attempts for the revival of French iuHuence in India. Seven general, and a proportionate number of inferior ofHcers, were sent from would have effectually shut up the French forces in the Ked Sea, even had ihey passed through Kfjypt. The Earl (if KIgin, iheu unib.issador to the I'orte, eflec- tively co-operated with the marquis in various ways. INDO-MOIIAMMEDAN SWAY— USURPATION ON USURPATION. 389 France with 1,400 regular troops, and £100,000 in s|)ccic. The renewal of war in Europe aflbrdcd a reason I'or tiic rcoeeu- pation of' Pondielieny in IHO;}, and enaljlcd the E. I. Cy. to direet nndividcd attention to the complicated iiostilities then carried on with the JNlahrattas, tlie only Indian jjcoplc possessing; in tlicnisclves resources to main- tain unaided a loii;^ contest. 'J'iic most vulneralde part of tlie Bi'itish frontier lay contiguous to the country ])ossessed hy Sindia. The death of Nana Euruavees, in 1800, left this enterprising ciiicf no formi- dahle rival at the court of Poena ; and Bajee Rao the peishwa, appeared little less entirely under his control than the pageanteniperor of Delhi. In the event, therefore, of a strujigle for supremacy, arising out of the numerous causes of quar- rel abouiuiing oti both sides, the Mahratta confederacy, including the rajah of Berar, the representative of the Ilolcar family in Malwa, and the fiuicowar of Guzerat, with other leaders of minor rank, led by Sindia and the peishwa, and aided hy the skill and science of French ollicers, could collect a force against their European rivals which it would require a costly sacrifice of blood and treasure to repel. The best mode of avert- ing this dangerous possiliility appeared to be the formation of a strict alliance with one, at least, if not with the whole of the Mahratta chiefs. The error of Hastings, in sanctioning the aggressions of Sindia in Iliudoostan Proper, had furnished expe- rience which strcnj;thened the convictions of Lord AVellesley with regard to the policy of forming connexions with native powers, only on conditions calculated to secure an ascen- dancy, more or less direct, in their councils. Perfect neutrality amid scenes of foreign and domestic warfare, venality, extortion, and bloodshed, could scarcely have been recommended by considerations of duty or of policy ; and such a course, even supposing it to have been practicable, must have in- volved the infraction of old as well as recent treaties, oflensivc and defensive, with the Nizam aud others. As for Lord Wellesley, his clear and statesmanlike view of the case, formed after careful examination of the actual state of British power in India, was never marred by doubt or hesi- tation in the moment of action. Fettered by the parliamentary denunciatiou against the extension, under any circumstances, of the Anglo-Indian empire, yet, convinced that its foundations must be largelv iu- 3 E creased before a state of secure and tranquil authority could be reasonably expected, he was oftin driven to adduce secondary causes to justify measures, wiiich might have been sufiieiently vindicated on the score of poli- tical necessity, since they involved no moral wrong. The wretchedness of the peo])le of the Carnatie and Oude, abundantly excuse the steps taken to place them under the im- mediate superintendence of tlie company, in preference to employing, or rather con- tinuing to employ, the military force of England in riveting the chains of a foreign despotism, founded on usurpation of the worst kind, that of sworn servants betraying their master in the hour of weakness. There were no lawful heirs to these states; or, if there were, they should have been searched for in the ancient records of the Hindoos: the Mohammedans were all intruders in the first instance, and the existing leaders of every denomination, with few exceptions, rebellious subjects. AVhy, each one of the; African chiefs, whom English colonists anil Dutch boors have so unscrupulously exiled from their native territories, had more of hereditary right and constitutional privilege on his side than all the Indo-Mohamraedan dynasties put together. The case of the Hindoos is widely difl'crent; but in excuse, or rather in justification, of the conduct of the company, it may be urged that they found the great majority of the native inhabitants of India, under Moslem rulers, a con- quered and much-oppressed people ; and that, if England do her duty as a Christian state, they will, and — with all her errors and shortcomings, it may be added, they have materially benefited by the change. The Rajpoot states were the only ones which, although brought in collision with the jVIogul empire, were never wholly ab- sorbed in it. The Mahratta confederation had been founded on the ruins of the vast dominion won i)y the strong arm of Aurung- zebe, and lost through persecuting bigotry and the exactions eonsc(iuent on unceasing war. Sevajee and Bajee Rao (the first usurp- ing peishwa, or prime minister) built up Mah- ratta power. Madhoo Rao I. arrested its dissolution; but ]\Iahadajee Sindia, prompted by overweening ambition, enlarged his chiefdom until its overgrown dimensions exceeded in extent the whole remainder of the Mahratta empire, and threatened speedily to destroy the degree of independence still existing in llajpootana. Dowlut Kao pos- sessed equal ambition and energy with his 390 RISE OF SINDIA AND HOLCAR PllINCIPALITIES. predecessor, but far less jiicl2:ment and mode- ration. Tlie retirement to Europe, in 1796, of the experienced and unprejudiced leader of the European trained bands, De Boigne, and the accession to autborit}- of a French leader named Perron, \vith strong national feelings, gave a decidedly anti-English bias to the counsels of Dowlut Rao. The peish-n-a Bajee Rao, knew this, and had, in the time of Sir John Shore, courted the protection of the supreme government, as a means of securing to himself some degree of authority. The danger of provoking war, by giving offence to Sindia, induced the refusal of this request. The accession to office of Lord Wellesley was attended vrith a reversal of the policy of both parties. Perceiving the great advantage to be derived from the permanent s'ettlement of a subsidiary force at Poona, the governor-general formally offered the services of a body of the com- pany's troops, for the protection of the peishwa and the revival of the energies of his government. The very circumstance of the boon, once urgently sought, being now pressed on his acceptance, would have sufficed to ensure its rejection by so capricious and distrustful a person as Bajee Rao : but other reasons — especially the meditated departure of Sindia, to superintend his own disaffected troops in Hindoostan, and the impending war between Tippoo and the English — were not wanting to confirm his determination. The conquest of Mysoor again changed the aspect of affairs ; but Bajee Rao, in ac- cordance with the sagacious counsels of Nana Furnavces,* even after the death of the wary minister, continued to reject the alliance pressed on him by the English, until an unexpected chain of events com- pelled him to look to them exclusively for help and ])rotcction. Sindia and Holcak. — A new actor had recently come forward on the stage of Mahratta politics, whose progress seemed likely to diminish the authority of Sindia, and enable Bajee Rao to exercise unques- tioned supremary at Poona. Of those anticipated results only the former was realised ; the predatory chief in question, Jeswunt Rao II clear, proving strong enough not only to harass I)ut to defeat the * Nana Fiirnavces was imprisoned by Sindia ; but being releused in HOS, on jiaympiit. of ten lacs of rupees, lie accepted oftice under liajee Kao. ■(• AV'lien the ])owpr of Aliiilya liye became es- tablished, the beautiful but wicked wife of Kapoha sent a female attendant to bring her an account of the personal appearance of a princess so highly oele- troops of Sindia, and drive Bajee Rao from his capital. The founders of the Sindia and Holcar families were, it will be remembered, men of humble origin ; they became distin- guished as leaders of Piudarries, a class of the lowest freebooters who had from early times infested the Deecan. Bajee Rao I., though always ready to avail himself of their services for the invasion of Mogul provinces, took care to exclude such dangerous subjects from Maharashtra, by habitually stationing them in ]\Ialwa, where the power of the two leaders became paramount. The progress and history of Mahadajee Sindia has been incidentally told in previous pages ; but of Mulhar Rao Holcar little mention has been made since the battle of Paniput, in 1760, when he was named as one of the few leaders who escaped the carnage of that day. Having retreated into Central India, he em- ployed himself, during the remaining years of his life, in settling and consolidating his possessions in Malwa and the Deecan. He had established considerable influence in Jeypoor, and obtained from the rajah an annual tribute of three lacs and a-half of rupees. A considerable part of the province of Candeish had been allotted to him for the maintenance of his troops ; beside which, several villages were granted, by the peishwa and the Nizam, to the females of his family. The only lineal descendant of jNIulhar Rao, a vicious youth of unsound mind, succeeded his grandfather in 1766, but survived him only nine months. His mother Ahalya (pronounced Alea) Bye, a singularly gifted woman, declared her intention, as the sole representative of both the deceased rulers, to select a successor. Ragobaf attempted to interfere ; but jMadhoo Rao, with charac- teristic chivalry, directed his uncle to desist from further opposition to the projects of a person whose right and ability to manage affairs were alike indisputable. With the entire approbation of the leading military commanders in the army of her deceased relatives, Ahalya Bye took the reins of power in her own hands. The Mohammedan cus- tom of rigid seclusion had happily not been imitated by Mahratta females ; Ahalya Bye had therefore no conventional impediment of any kind to check the free exercise of brated, and so universally beloved. The description of a small slight woman, with irregular features, but "a heavenly lighten her counlcnanec," set the fair inli-ifiunic at rest as to any rivalry in the attractions by wliieh she set most store; and, williout noticing the last part of the description, Anundce Bye re- marked, " But she is not handsome, you say." AIIALYA BYE.— SUTTEK OK Wl'Al DAUGHTER, MUCIITA ]JYE. 391 her physical or mcnt.al powers. Still there were duties inconsistent with a woiiuiii's sphere of action; and to ensure their rulfil- mcnt, she formally adopted as her son,* and elected asoonimaMd(;r-in-cliicf,TookiijccHol- car, the leader of the household troo])s ; of the sanietribc, hut no otherwise related toMulliar llao. Like our great Eli/,al)eth, the litness of her ministers proved the judgnumtof the se- lector. The conduct of Tookajec, diirin;^ a period of above thirty years, justified tiie confidence reposed iu him. Ahalya Bye died, aged sixty, worn out with pul)lie cares and fatigues, aggravated hy domestic sor- rows ; but without having had, during that long interval, a single misunderstanding with her hrave and honest coadjutor. The his- tory of the life of this extraordinary woman, givei\ by Sir John Malcolm, affords evidence of the habitual exercise of the loftiest virtues; and it is difficult to say, whether manly resolve or feminine gentleness predomi- nated, so marvellously were they blended iu her character. The utter absence of vanity, whether as a queen or a woman ;t the fear- less and strictly conscientious exercise of despotic power, combined with the most xuiaflccted humility and the deepest sym- pathy for sufl'ering ; learning without pe- dantry, cheerfulness without levity, im- maculate rectitude with ])erfect charity and tolerance ; — these and other singular combi- nations would almost tempt one to regard Ahalya Bye as too faultless for fallen and sinful humanity, but for the few draw- backs entailed by her rigid adherence to almost every portion of the modern Brahmin- ieal creed, in which, happily, persecution has still no part, though self-inflicted austerities and superstitious observances have gained a most undue prominence. The declining age of the princess was saddened by the reso- lution taken by her only surviving child, jMuelita Bye, of self-immolation on the grave of her husband. The battle-field had widowed Ahalya Bye at twenty ; yet — despite the modern heresy of the Hindoos, that the voluntary sacrifice of life, on the part of the bereaved survivor, ensures immediate re- union between those whom death has di- vided, and their mutual entrance into the highest heaven, she had not been tempted by this lying doctrine to commit suicide, * Although Tookajee always addrrssed Iut by the name of "mother," he was considerably her senior. t A Hrahniin wrote a book in lier praise. Ahalya Bye, after patiently hearing it read, remarked, that she was " a weak, sinful woman, not deserving but liad lived to protect her children and establish the independence of the Holcar pritiei])ality. Now, flinging herself at the feet of Muehta J}ye, she besought her child, by every argument a false creed coidd sanc- tion, to renounce licr ])urj)ose. The reply of the daughter was affectionate but de- cided. " \'ou arc old, mother," she said, "and a few years will end your pious life. My only child and husband are gone, and when you follow, life 1 feel will be insup- portable ; but the op])ortiHiity of termi- nating it with honour will then have passed." ]<]very effort, short of coercion, was vainly practised to prevent the intended " suttee ;"% but the unfaltering resolve of the devoted widow remained unshaken, and her wretched parent accompanied the procession, with forced composure, to the funeral ])yre : but when the first vivid burst of flame told of the actual consummation of the sacrifice, self-command was lost in anguish ; the agonising shrieks of their beloved ruler mingled with the exulting shouts of the immense multitude; and excited almost to madness, the aged princess gnawed the hands she could not liberate from the two Brah- mins, who with difficulty held her back from rushing to die with her child. After three days spent in fasting and speechless grief, Ahalya Bye recovered her equanimity so far as to resume her laborious round of daily occupations, including four hours spent in receiving ambassadors, hearing pe- titions or complaints, and transacting other business in full durbar or court ; and she seemed to find solace iu erecting a beautiful monument to the memory of those she lamented, and in increasing the already large proportion of the revenues devoted to religious purposes and public works. Her charity was not lioundcd by the limits of the principality : it began at home (for she fed her owu poor daily), but it extended to far-distant lands. The pilgrim journeying to Juggernaut in Cuttack, in the far north amid the snowy peaks of the Himalaya, or south almost to Cape Comorin, found cause to bless the sympathy for individual sufl'er- ing, as well as the reverence for lioly shrines, manifested by Ahalya Bye with royal mu- nificence; while the strange traveller, with- out claim of creed or country, was arrested such fine encomiums," directed the book to be thrown into the Nerbudda, which flowed beneath her palace window, and took no farther notice of the aulhor.^ — (Malcolm's Central India, i., 193.) X Suttee or sati, denotes tlie completed sacrifice. 392 SUCCESSFUL ADMINISTRATION OF THE PIOUS AHALYA BYE. on liis weary, clusty road, hy water-bearers stationed at intervals to supply the wants of the passer-by ; and the very oxen near her dwelling at Mhysir, were refreshed by cooling draughts brought by the domestic servants of the compassionate princess. The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, had all their allotted share of her bounty ; and however puerile some of her minor arrangements may sound to European ears, or fanatical the habits of a sovereign who never dis- carded the plain white weeds of Hindoo widowhood, or touched animal food ; yet, probably, these very traits of character con- spired to add to the reputation her govern- ment retains in Malwa as the best ever known, tlie personal reverence paid to her memory as more than a saint, as an Avatar, or incarnation of the Deity. A blessing rested on the efforts of Ahalya Bye, despite the fettering power of hea- then darkness. Indore grew, beneath her sway, from a village to a wealthy city ; bankers, merchants, farmers, and peasants, all throve beneath her vigilant and foster- ing care. Malcolm states, that he made inquiries among all ranks and classes in the countries she had governed, and could elicit no information calculated to detract, in the judgment of the most impartial inquirer, from the effect of tlie eulogiums, or rather blessings, poured forth whenever her name was mentioned, except the large sums be- stowed on Brahmins, and the expenditure of state funds in the erection and mainte- nance of public works on foreign soil. The remarks made by one of her chief min- isters, when commenting on what Sir John considered misdirected bounty, afford a suggestive text alike to eastern and western potentates. He asked, " whether Ahalya Bye, by spending double the money on an army that she did in charity and good works, could have preserved her country for above thirty years in a state of pro- found peace, while she rendered her sub- jects happy and herself adored ? No person doubts tlie sincerity of her piety ; but if she had merely possessed worldly wisdom, she could have devised no means so admi- rably calculated to eliect the object. Among the princes of her own nation, it would have been looked upon as sacrilege to have become her enemy, or, indeed, not to have defended licr against any hostile attempt. She was considered hy all in the same light. The Nizam of the Decean uiul i'ippoo Sultan granted her the same respect as the peishna, and Moliammedans joined with Hindoos in prayers for her long life and prosperity."* After the deatli of Ahalya Bye, in 1795, the sole authority centred in Tookajee Holcar, who survived his excellent mistress about two years. He left two legitimate sons, Casee and !Mulhar Rao. The elder was of weak intellect and deformed person; the younger, able and active. Ahalya Bye and Tookajee had hoped that the example of their unanimity would be followed by the brothers in the joint exercise of autho- rity, but neither of the princes were capable of the self-denial and lofty rectitude neces- sary for such a course ; and preparations for a war of succession were at once commenced, but abruptly terminated by the treacherous interference of Dowlut Rao Sindia, who having inveigled jNIulhar Rao to his camp, caused him to be shot through the head ; and retaining possession of Casee Rao, not only compelled him to pay the heavy price stipulated for the murder of his brother, but reduced him to the condition of a mere tool. An avenger arose unexpectedly to scourge the unprincipled ambition of Sindia. Two illegitimate sous of Holcar, Jeswunt Rao and Etojee, survived their father; the latter was seized and imprisoned by Sindia and Bajee Rao. He escaped and joined a bod}' of freebooters; but being recaptured, was trampled to death by an elephant in the city of Poona. Jeswunt llao sought refuge at Nagpoor with Ragojee Bhonslay of Berar. His confidence was betrayed; and through the intrigues of Sindia and the peishwa, he also was made a captive, but succeeded in eluding his guard, and reaching Candeish about a year and a-lialf after the death of Mulhar Rao. Resolved to make an efl'ort to rescue the possessions of his family from the hands of Sindia, he took the name of assertor of the rights of Kundee Rao, the infant son of Mulhar Rao, then a prisoner at Poona, and assem- bled a heterogeneous force of Pindarries, Bheels, Afghans, Mahrattas, and Rajpoots. In 1798, he joined his fortunes with those of Ameer Khan, a jMohammedan adven- turer, less daring and reckless, but quite as unprincipled as himself, on whom he sub- sequently conferrcil the title of nabob. A terrible scries of hostilities ensued betwceu Sindia and Iloh^ar. From the ap[)carance of the latter chief, in 1800, the natives of Central India date the commencement of • Malcolm's Ceninil India, !., 189. TREATY OF BASSEIN ARRANGED WITH THE PKISIIWA— 1802. 393 an epoch of cifilitocn years' duration, wliich tlicy cm[jliiitic:illy <l(:si^iiate " tlic time of trouble." Tlic tiiiincd battalions of Siiidia were defeated, and his capital, Oojciti, and other chief places, captured and rifled by llolcar and Ainecr Kliaii, with a barbarity which was horribly rcvenf^cd on the wretched inhabitants of Indore by the instrumentality of Sirjee Rao (iliatkay, the iathcr-in-law of Sindia, and the ])rom|)ter as well as exe- cutor of his worst actions. Between four and five thousand persons are said to have perished by the sword, or under tor- tures inflicted by the ferocious Pindarries, for the express gratification of their dia- bolical leader; and the wells witliin the limits of Indore were actually choked up by tlie bodies of females, who had rushed on death to avoid the lust and cruelty which reigned unchecked for a period of fifteen days, and ended only with the slaughter or flight of almost every citizen, and the demo- lition of every house. Jeswunt Rao, with Indore, lost his only means of giving regular pay to his soldiers. Without attempting disguise, he told them the actual state of the case, and bade such as chose follow his fortunes in quest of plunder. The invita- tion was accepted with acclamation, and Jeswunt Rao became avowedly the leader of an army of freebooters, whose worst licen- tiousness he directed rather than curbed, and whose turbulence he bent to his will hy the habitual display of the dauntless courage which formed the distinguishing characteristic of his family, and by the coarse humour and inimitable cajolery peculiar to himself.* His declared object was the restora- tion of Mahratta supremacy over India by a revival of the predatory system of Sevajee ; but of this there was never any reasonable prospect. Jeswunt Rao was not the man to found a state even on the most precarious basis ; he was " terrible as a destroyer," but powerless to erect or consolidate dominion. The marauding force increased daily. Sindia renounced the cause of Casee Rao (who became thenceforth a dependent on * The following anecdote indicates that, with all his vices, Jeswunt Kao was nut what a modern writer de- sifjnates a s/inm. At an early prviod of liis career, the accidental buvstint; of a matchlock deprived him of the sisjht of an eye. ^Vllen told of tlie irreparable injury inflicted, lie exclaimed, in allusion to the Indian pro- verb that one-eyed people arc always wicked — " I was bad enouf;h before, but now I shall be the very Gooroo (hiuh-priest) of roi;ues." lie had no relis;ions scru- ples, but would plunder temples and ])rivate dwellings with equal inditterence. 'Ihe madness in which his ca- reer ended, is regarded as the punishment of sacrilege. his half-brother), and would have willingly purchased peace by the surrender of the infant Kuiidee Rao; but llolcar knew his strength, and had, besides, gone too far to recede with safety. A desperate contest took place between the two chiefs near Poona, in October, 1802, when the ])er- sonal exertions of Jeswunt Rao, who had staked his all ou the event, with the deter- mination of not surviving defeat, resulted in a com|)lete victory. By turning his owa guns on the ungovernable Patans of Ameer Khan, who was quite unable to check their violence, t llolcar saved the city from indis- eriniiiiate pillage; not, however, from any motiv(! of justice or compassion, but only that he might be enabled to plunder it systematically and at leisure, for the pay- ment of the arrears of his troops and the replenishment of his private coffers. After committing every description of extortion, and giving, in his own person, an exami)le of hard-drinking, by unrestrained indulgence in his favourite liquors, cherry and rasp- berry brandy, he left Amrut Rao (Ragoba's adopted son) in charge of the government, and marched off to pursue his marauding avocations in Central India. The triumph of llolcar completely changed the relative position of Bajee Rao and the English. Surrounded by a select body of troops, the peishwa waited the result of the contest; and when it was decided, fled from Poona, leaving with the British resident a draft treaty for the company, requesting the permanent establishment of a subsi- diary force within his dominions, and prof- fering in return the assignment of a certain amount of territory, and a pledge to hold no intercourse with other states, except iu concert with the English. The treatv of Bassein, arranged on this basis, was con- eluded in 1802. It entailed the subjection of the claims of the peishwa on the Nizam, and on Anuud Rao Guieowar, the chief of Baroda in Gnzerat, with whom the English )iad recently become closely allied; their interference having been solicited in t .\meer Khan had little personal courage. After the battle of Poona he came to Jeswunt Rao, who was tying up his wounds, and boasted of good for- tune in escaping unhurt; ''for, see!" he said, point- ing to the feather mounted in silver, which adorned liis horse's head, " my khuljee has been broken by a cannon-ball." " Well, you are a fortunate fellow," retorted the Mahratta, with a burst of incredulous laughter; "for I observe the shot has loft the ears of your steed uninjured, though the wounded or- nament stood betwixt them.'' — (Central India, l, 229.1 394 FAITHLESSNESS AND INDECISION OF BAJEE RAO— 1803. favour of the legitimate heir iii a case of disputed succession. These concessions in- volved a heavy sacrifice of political power; but they were slight compared with those which would have been exacted by Sindia or Holcar; and Bajee Rao could scarcely fail to fall into the hands of one or other of these leaders, if not upheld by extraneous support. Like his father, he had few per- sonal friends, and so little deserving the name of a party at Poena, that the governor- general, on discovering his unpopularity, ap- pears to have doubted what course to pursue with regard to his reinstatement on the musnud. The treaty had been entered upon in the belief that the majority of the jaghiredars, and the great mass of the nation, would co-operate with the English for the restoration of the peishwa. But if his weakness or wickedness had thoroughly alienated their confidence, the case was dif- ferent ; and Lord Wellesley plainly declared, that "justice and wisdom would forbid any attempt to impose upon the Mahrattas a ruler whose restoration to authority was adverse to every class of his subjects." In the absence of any general manifesta- tion of disafi'ection, Bajee Rao was escorted by an English force to the capital from whence he had fled with so little ceremony. Amrut Rao retired on learning his approach, and eventually became a state pensioner, re- sident at Benares. Tranquillity seemed restored. There could be no doubt that Holcar, Sindia, and Ragojee Bhouslay of Berar, would all feel mortified by a treaty which gave the English that very ascen- dancy in the councils of Poona they, or at least Sindia and Holcar, individually coveted. Still Lord Wellesley considered that their mutual deep-rooted enmity would prevent a coalition for so desperate an object as war with the English. Perhaps the result would have realised these anticipations had Bajee Rao been true to his engagements ; instead of which, he behaved with accus- tomed duplicity, and corresponded with both Sindia and Ragojee Bhonslay, to whom he represented his recent voluntary agreement as wholly compulsory, and endeavoured to incite them to hostilities, trusting to the chapter of accidents for the improvement of his own position. Yet, when the moment • The (lay nftcr the tukin^; of Poona, Col. Close, the lirilish resident, was sent for by Iloicar, whom he found in a small tent ankle-deep in mud, with a spear wound in the body and a sabre-cut in tlie head | which last he liud received from an arlillery- for action came, his schemes were lost in timidity and indecision : he would not trust others ; he could not trust himself. Holcar had heretofore expressly disavowed any unfriendly feeling towards the English ;* and they would willingly have mediated between him and the peishwa, had the ran- corous animosity of the latter suffered them to enter upon the negotiation. Sindia courted the co-operation of Holcar through the instrumentality of Ragojee Bhonslay, and went so far as to surrender the child Kimdee Rao, and acknowledge Mulhar Rao as the representative of the Holcar family, surrendering to him their territories in Malwa, and recognising his various claims throughout Hiudoostan. Despite these con- cessions, the robber-chief hung back; and when pressed by the confederates to unite his army with theirs in the Deccan, with a view to making war upon the E. I. Cy., he asked who was to take care of Northern India? and withdrew to pillage the de- fenceless provinces of friend and foe. The gathering storm did not escape the observation of the governor-general. Hos- tile preparations were commenced in every part of British India, and a declaration of his intentions demanded from Sindia ; who re- plied curtly, yet candidly, that he could not give any until after an approaching interview with the Bhonslay ; but would then inform the resident " whether it would be peace or war." This pledge was not redeemed ; the meeting took place, and was followed by vague and general professions of good-will to the British government, mingled with com- plaints against the peishwa for an undue assumption of authority in signing the treaty of Basseiu. The civil expressions of the chiefs ill accorded with the hostile and menacing attitude occupied by their armies on the frontiers of Oude. JNIajor-general Wellesley, to whom his brother had dele- gated full powers, political as well as mili- tary, either for negotiation or war, brought matters to au issue with characteristic frankness, by proposing as a test of the amicable intentions of the two chiefs, that they should respectively withdraw their forces, pledging himself to do the same ou the part of the English. The offer being rejected, the British resident was with- nian while leading a charge on tlie guns of the enemy, lie expiessed a strong wish to be on good terms with the ICnglish, and, with reluctance, per- mitted the withdrawal of the resident, alter which the worst outrages were couniiitted at I'oona. MAIIRATTA WAR.— BATTLE OF ASSAYE— AUGUST, 1803. 39S drawn, and preparations made on both sides for an appeal to arms. Maiikatta Waii. — Tlie govcrnor-fjcncral well knew that the finances of his employers were in no condition to endure the drain of protracted warfare, and he resolved to follow out the policy so brilliantly sncecssful in the Mysoor eampaif^n, of lirin^ing the whole force of British India to bear on the enemy; not, however, by concentration on a single point, but by attacking; their territories in every quarter at tlic same time. The army, by his exertions, was raised to nearly .WjOOO men. The troops in the Deccan and Gnzcrat numbered 35,(500, of whom KJjSoO formed the advanced force under General Welleslcy; in Ilindoostan, 10,500 men were under the command of General (afterwards Lord) Lake ; 3,500 were asscml)led at Allahabad to act on the side of Bundelcund; and 5,210 were destined for the invasion of Cuttack. The armies of Sindia and Ragojce were estimated at about 100,000 men, of whom half were cavalry; and 30,000 regular infantry and cavalry, commanded by Europeans, chiefly Freucli, under M. Perron, the successor of De Boigne. Ilimmut Bahadur, an influ- ential ]\Iahratta chief of Bundelcund,* sided with the English against the rajah, Shumshccr Bahadur. The campaign opened by the conquest, or rather occupation, of Ahmednuggur, the ancient capital of the Ahmed Shahi dynasty, on the 1st of August, 1803. The army under 'Major- general Wcllcslc}', by whom it was accom- jdishedj after much marching and counter- marching, fought the famous battle of Assaye, so named from a fortified village (near the junction of the Kailna and .Tuah rivers, 2G1 miles north-west of Ilydrabad), before which the confederates had encamped 21st August, 1803. They numbered 50,000 men, and were supported by above a hundred pieces of artillery. The British counted b\it 4,500 men; and their leader beheld with anxiety the strength of the foe, even though, on finding the Mahrattas at length drawn up in battle array, the exulting remark re-echoed through, the ranks — " They cannot escape us." While the British lines were forming, the IMahrattas opened a muidrrous cau- • The ancient Hindoo (lyna5;ty of Bundelcund, of which Chuttor Sil was the last cfticicnt represent.i- tive, was ovorwhelmed by the Mahrattas about 1786. Shunisheer Bahadur was an illegitimate descendant of the first peishwa, Bajee Rao. Himmut Bahadur, by a not unfrequent combination, was a ijnsacn (religious devotee) and a soldier of fortune. — (D:ip'.) nonadc. The 74tli regiment sustained heavy loss, and were charged by a body of the enc-my's horse. The 19th light dragoons drew only 3()0 sabres, but they received the order for a counter-charge with a glad huzza; and being manfully seconded by native cavalry, passed through the broken but uiulismayed 71th amid the cheers of their wouwIcmI comrades, cut in, routed the opposing horse, and dashed on at the iu- fatitry and guns. The troops of the line pressed on after them, and drove the enemy into the Juab at the point of the bayonet. The victory was com[)lctc, but dearly pur- chased ; for one-third of the conquerors lay dead or wounded at the close of this san- guinary action. Of the JVIahrattas, 1,200 were slain; the bodies of the fallen were scat- tered around in dense masses, and ninety- eight pieces of cannon remained on the field. Ragojee Bhonslay fled at an early period of the action, and Sindia soon followed his example. The cavalry evinced little incli- nation to out-stay their mastei-s; l)ut the infantry behaved with greater steadiness; the artillerymen stood to the last, and eight of the trained battalions of De 13oigne manifested unflincliiug determina- tion. AVhcn resistance became hopeless, tlie majority surrendered. f In the meantime, success still more bril- liant in its results had attended the army under Lake, w'ho was him,self the very model of a popular commander, as brave and collected in the front of the battle as in a council of his own officers. The de- struction of Sindia's force under Perron, the capture of Agra and Delhi, with the person of the emperor — these were the leading objects to which he was to direct operations ; and they were all so per- fectly fulfilled, that the governor-general declared, his most sanguine expectations having been realised, he was unexpectedly called on to furnish fresh instructions. General Lake first came in sight of the enemy's cavalry at Coel, near the fort of Alighur, whither they retired after a slight skirmish. Alighur, the ordinary residence of j\I. Perron, was, in his absence, bravely defended by the governor, M. Pedrons. It was \^cll garrisoned, and surrounded by a t The fidelity of these mercenary troops is ren- dered more remarkable by the fact, that a politic proclamation, issued by the governor-general at the commencement of the war, had had the etlcct of in- ducing the British part of the European officers to quit the service of Sindia, on condition of the con- liiuiance of the pay previously received from him. 396 BATTLE OF ALIGHUR.— GALLANT DEFENCE OF DELHI— 1803. deep and wide moat, traversed by a narrow causeway, which formed tlie sole entrance to the fort, and for which, by some strange neglect, a drawbridge had not been sub- stituted. One of the British officers who had come over from the service of Sindia, offered to head an attack on the gateway. The daring enterprise was carried out. Of four gates, the first was blown open by troops exposed to a heavy fire ; the second easily forced ; the third entered with a mass of fugitives; but the fourth, which opened immediately into the body of the place, resisted even the application of a 12-pounder. In this extremit}', a party of grenadiers, led by Major M'Leod, pushed through the wicket and mounted the ramparts. Oppo- sition soon ceased, and the British found themselves masters of the fortress, witli the loss of 278 men killed and wounded, in- cluding seventeen European officers. Of the garrison, about 2,000 perished ; many of whom were drowned in the ditch while attempting to escape. From Alighur, Lake marched to the north-westward, and on the 11th of Septem- ber, encamped within six miles of Delhi. The tents were scarcely fixed, when the enemy appeared in front. Perion had just quitted the service of Sindia, in conse- quence of the well-founded jealousy mani- fested towards him by that chief and the leading native officers. M. Bourquin, the second in command, took his place; and on learning the advance of the British against Delhi, crossed the Jumna with twelve battalions of regular infantry, and 5,000 cavalry, for the purpose of attacking Gen- eral Lake, whose force, after providing for the safety of his baggage, amounted to about 4,500 men. Bourquin took up a position on rising ground, with swamps on either side, defended in front by seventy pieces of cannon, half-buried arnid long grass. From this secure station he was withdrawn by a feint, which, with less highly disciplined troops, would have been very hazardous. Lake advanced to reconnoitre, and after having a horse shot under him, fell back with the cavalry in regular order upon the infantry, who had been meanwhile ordered to ad- vance. The enemy followed the retreating cavalry, until the latter, ojjcning from the centre, made way for the foot to advance to the front. Perceiving the trap into which he had fallen, Bourquin halted, and com- menced a deadly fire of grape, round, and canister ; amidst which the British troops moved on without returning a shot until within one hundred yards of the foe; they tiien fired a volley, and charged with the bayonet. Sindia's infantry, unequal to a hand-in-hand encounter, abandoned their guns, fled, and were pursued as far as the banks of the Jumna, in which river numbers perished. The total loss of the ]\Iahrattas was estimated at 3,000^that of the British at 585, including fifteen European officers. After being seventeen hours under arms, the troops took up fresh ground towards the river, and next morning encamped opposite the city of Delhi. In three days every show of resistance ceased, the fort was evacuated, Bourquin and five other French officers surrendered as prisoners of war, and the unfortunate Siiah Alum thank- fully placed himself under the protection of the British commander, September 10th, 1803.* General Lake next marched against Agra, where all was strife and confusion. The garrison had been under the eoraraand of British officers, who, on the breaking out of the war, were confined by their own troops. Seven battalions of Sindia's regular infantry were encamped on the glacis, but the besieged feared to admit them, on ac- count of the treasure which they wished to reserve for themselves. The battalions were attacked on the lOtli of October, and de- feated after a severe conflict; three days afterwards, those who remained came over in a body, and were admitted into the E. I. Cy's service. The siege of the fort was then commenced, and a breach effected, when further proceedings were arrested by the capitulation of the garrison, the im- prisoned officers being released, in order to make terms with their countrymen. The surrender was accomplished on condition of safety for life and private property, leaving treasure to the amount of £280,000 to be divided among the troops as prize-money. It is almost impossible to sketch a cam- paign carried on simultaneously by different widely-separated armies, without losing the thread of the narrative, or interfering with the chronological succession of events. Choosing the latter as the lesser evil, it may be mentioned that, towards the close of October, General Lake (]uitted Agra in pursuit of a large force, composed of filteeu Tieneral Lake found Sliali .\lum seated under a small tattered canopy, his person emaciated by in- digence and infirniily, and liis countenance dis- figured with the loss ot his eyes, and beaiing marks of extreme old age, joined to a settled melancholy. LAKE CONQUERS MAlIRATTyVS AT LASWAREE— NOV., 1803. 397 fcguliir battalions, dispatclicd by Siiulia from the Dcpcaii to strciifjtlu'ii liis iioillicrn army ; of wliieli there now rcmuiiieil but two battalions, the wreck of the Dcllii troops. Tiie total was, however, forinidalile ; being estimated at about 9,000 foot and 5,000 horse, with a numerous and well-a|ipoiiited train of artillery. Their d(;si^n was sup- |)osed to be the recovery of Delhi; but as the ]}ritish ndv;inccd, the IMahrattas re- treated; and Lake, fearing tiiey would escape his vigilance, and suddetdy reappear in some unlooked-for quarter, followed with bis cav- alry by forced marches, until, on the 1st of Novcmijcr, he found himself, after a night's journey of twenty-five miles, in face of an enemy in apparent confusion, but advan- tageously posted, and refreshed by rest. After an ineffectual and disastrous attempt at attack, the British general was compelled to withdraw his brigade out of reaidi of cannon-shot, and await the arrival of the infantry. The details of this portion of the action are somcwiiat vaguely told. The 76th regiment, which was chosen to head the attack, with some native infantry,* who had closed to the front, first reached the point from which the charge was to be made, and stood alone, waiting until the remainder of the column should be formed by their comrades, whose march " had been retarded by impediments in the advance,''t the nature of which is not stated. So galling was the fire opened by the enemy, that Lake, who conducted in person every operation of the day, aiul had already had one horse shot under him, resolved to lead the van to the assault, sooner than stand still and witness its destruction. At this moment his second liorse fell, pierced by several balls. His son, who officiated as aide-de-camp, sprang to the ground, and had just prevailed on the general to take the vacant scat, when he was struck down by a ball. Lake bad a singularly aflcetionate nature ; the fall of his child, severely if not mortally wounded, was well calculated to unnerve, or, in his own phrase, " uimian" him ; but he knew his duty, and loved the troops, who, be writes with un- affected modesty, " at this time wanted every assistance I could give them." J Leaving !N[ajor Lake on the licld, the gen- eral rode on with his gnllant band, until, on * The second battalion of the 12lh native infantry, and five companies of tlie IGtli. — (Thornton, iii. ooH.) t Despatch i)f Lake to the eovernor-general. — ( ll'c//fxli'i/ Dvspiitc/ifs, vol. iii., 413.) I Welteslei/ Despatches, iii., 41ti. § Idem, p. 446. General Lake, habitually so ready 3f arriving within reach of the canister-shot of tiic foe, their ranks were so rapidly thinned as to render regular advance imjiracticable, and tempt the Mahratta horse to charge. But this "handful of heroes," as they wei-e gratefully termed by Lake, him- self " la brave de.i braves" repulsed their assailants, who withdrew to a little distance. The order to the British horse to charge in turn, was brilliantly executed by the 29th rlragoons. They dashed through both lines of the opposing infantry, wheeled round upon the cavalry, and, after driving them from the field, turned the rear of the enemy's second line. The British foot failed not to take advantage of the opportunity thus afforded. The whole force had by this time arrived on the field of battle, and the issue soon ceased to be doubtful ; yet the hardy veterans of De Boigne's regiments, though deprived of almost all their e.\peri- cnced ofliccrs, would not surrender. About 2,000 of them were broken, surrounded and made prisoners, but the majority fell with weapons in their hands. " The gun- ners," writes the victorious general, " stood by their guns until killed by the bayonet : all the sepoys of the enemy behaved exceed- ingly well ; and, if they had been com- manded by French officers, the event would have been, I fear, e.\.tremcly doubtful. I never was in so severe a business in my life, or anything like it ; and pray to God I never may be in such a situation again. * * * These fellows fought like devils, or rather heroes."^ The battle of Laswaree was in all respects memorable. It completed the overthrow of the European disciplined brigades, and gave to England undisputed mastery over Delhi and Agra, with all Sindia's districts north of the Chumbul. These advantages were gained at a heavy sacrifice of life. The English loss amounted to 172 killed and' 052 wounded : that of the ]Mahrattas was estimated at 7,000. || The detached expeditions had likewise successfully accomplished their respective missions. All Sindia's possessions in Guzerat were captured by a division of the Bombay troops under Lieutenant-colonel Woodington. Broach was taken by storm on the 29th of August; and the strong hill- to praise others, barely notices his own gallant deeds or those of his son : but he mentions, the day after the battle, that parental anxiety rendered him " totally unfit for anything." Happily, Major Lake's woand proved less severe than was at first expected. II Memoir of the Campaign; by Major Thorn. ibrt of Powanghur, which overlooked the town of Champaneer, surreudered ou the 17th of September. The seizure of Cuttack was accomplished by detachments of the Madras and Bengal forces under Lieutenant-colonel Harcourt. The Brahmins of Juggernaut placed their famous pagoda under the protection of the British ou the 18th of September; and the fall of Barabuttee, the fort of Cuttack, on the l-lth of October, completed the reduc- tion of the whole province. lu the subjection of Buudelcund, Lieute- nant-colonel Powell was materially aided by Himmut Bahadur, the Hindoo leader pre- viously mentioned, who joined the British detachment in the middle of September, with a force of about 14,000 men. The army of Shumsheer Bahadur made but feeble resistance, and on the 13th of October was driven across the river Betwa. Their chief eventually became a British stipendiary. The concluding operations of the war were performed by the army under ]\Iajor- general Wellesley and Colonel Stevenson. A detachment under the latter leader took possession of Boorhanpoor on the 15th of October, and two days after marched to besiege Aseerghur, called by the natives "the key of the Deccan." The fortress surreudered on the 21st, and with it the conquerors became masters of Sindia's Dec- cani possessions, including several depen- dent districts in Candeish. After a short time spent in pursuing the rajah of Berar, who retreated to his own dominions, and in receiving some overtures for peace, of an unsatisfactory character, fi'om Sindia, Gen- eral Wellesley descended the Ghauts on the 25th of November, with the intention of assisting Stevenson in the projected siege of Gawilghur. The junction was effected on the 29th of August, near the plains of Argaum, where the British commander, ou reconnoitring, perceived with surprise the main army of the Berar rajah, comprising infantry, cavalry, and artillery, regularly drawn up, about six miles from the spot where he had himself intended to encamp. Sindia's force, consisting of one very heavy corps of cavalry, a body of Pindarries, and other light troops, su])ported those of Berar. It was late in tlie day, and the English were wearied with a Tong march under a burning • The defence liad been gallantly conducted by two Hajpoot lenders, whose bodies were found amid a heap of slain. 'I'licir wives and dau;;lilers were intended to have all blmred their fate ; but the ter- sun ; yet their leader thought it best to take advantage of the opportunity rarclv aflbrded of meeting the j\Iahrattas in a pitched battle. Forming two lines of in- | fantry and cavalry. Major-general Wellesley advanced to the attack. A body of 500 foot, supposed to have heen Persian mer- cenaries, rushed upon the 74th and 78th regiments with desperation, and were de- stroyed to a man. Sindia's horse charged the British sepoys, but were repulsed; after which the ranks of the enemy fell into con- fusion and fled, pursued by the British cavalry, assisted by auxiliary bodies of My- soor and Mogul horse. The loss of the victors, in killed, wounded, and missing, was 346 men ; that of the Mahrattas is nowhere stated, but must have been very considerable. The siege of Gawilghur, invested on the 5th of December, involved no ordinary amount of labour and fatigue, in conse- quence of the difficulty of carrying the guns and stores to the point of attack. The outer fort was taken by storm on the 15th; the inner fort was escaladed by the light company of the 94th, headed by Captain Campbell, who opened the gates and ad- mitted the rest of the assailants.* The confederate chieftains had by this time become extremely solicitous for the termination of war. The rajah of Berar dispatched vakeels or envoys to the British camp the day after the battle of Argaum ; but in consequence of the invete- rate manoeuvring and procrastiuation of the , Mahrattas, even when really desirous of | concluding a treaty, aftairs were not finally arranged until the 17th of December. By the treaty of Deogaum, then signed, the rajah consented to surrender the province of Cuttack, including the district of Balasore, to the company, and to relinquish to the Nizam certain revenues extorted from him ou various pretences. He further pledged himself to submit all ditl'crenccs which might arise between hitn aiui the Nizam or the peishwa to British arbitration, and pro- mised to receive into his service no Euro- pean or American subject of any state at war with the English, nor even any English- man, without the express sauction of the governor-general. Siudia had now no alternative but to rible order had been imperfectly performed willi steel weapons, instead of by the usual method of fire ; and thouph several died, the majority beinj^ carefully tended, recovered ol' their wounds. — ( Wviksk'y Dcq>.] TREATY OF SURJEE ANJENGAUM Will I SINDIA— DEC, ]80:J. 399 make peace on such terms as the con- querors tliouplit fit to {rrant ; and on tlie liOth of December he signed tlie treaty of Snrjec Anjent;;uini iti the J5ritisli camp, by which lie ecdc-d his rights over the couiilry between the Jumna and the Ciaiifjcs (in- cluding the cities of Jhdlii and Agra), and to the nortliward of tin; ]lai[)oot principali- ties of Jeypoor and Joudpoor; also the forts of Ahmedabad and Broach, with their de- pendent districts. On the; south lie yielded Ahniednuggur to the peishwa, and some extensive districts to tiie Nizam. In return, the leading j)hiccs coucpiercd during the war, uot above named, were restored to him. Shortly after this arrangement, Sindia entered the general alliance of which the British government formed the dominant portion, and agreed to receive a subsidiary ]5ritisli force, whose expenses were to be furnished from the revenue of the territories already ceded. The leading objects of the war had been fully carried out, in accordance with the plans of the governor-general. Among the less conspicuous but important services ren- dered by Lake, were the formation of alli- ances with the rajahs of Jeypoor, Joudpoor, Boondi, and Alacherry; with the Jat rajah of Bhurtpoor, the rana of Gohud, and Arabajec Inglia, the unfaithful successor of Perron in the service of Sindia.* Lord AVel- lesley was anxious to maintain the indepen- dence of the Rajpoot principalities against Mahratta aggressions, both as a matter of justice and policy. Their territories were guaranteed to them against external ene- mies, with immunity from tribute; but they were uot to receive European ofKcers into their service without the sanction of the British government, and were to defray the expense of any auxiliary force required to repel invaders from their dominions. War with ITolcak. — Despite so many brilliant victories, attended with such sub- stantial results, the British armies could not quit the field. During the recent hostilities, llolcar had remained in jVIalwa, levying enormous contributions upon the adjoining provinces. The success of the British arms seems to have convinced him of his mistake in neglecting to co-operate with chiefs of his own nation against a power whose elibrts were steadily directed to the sup- • Sindia seized the Goliud jiroviiice, and gave it in clias<;e to Ambajue Inplia, wlio went over to the English. Tliey kept Gwahcr, and divided the rest of the province between tiie rana and Inglia. pression of the predatory warfare by which lie had reached, and could alone expect to maintain, his jircsent position. AMien too late he bestirred himself to negotiate with the Rajpoots, the Hhurlpoor rajali, the Rf)hillas, th(! Soiks, and lliially with Sindia, whom he recommended to break the humiliating treaty he had recently formed, and renew the war. But Sindia had suffered too severely in the late hostilities to provoke their repetition; and being, moreover, exasperated by the time-serving policy of Holcar,t he commu- nicated these overtures to Major Malcolm, then resident in his camp. The inimical feel- ings entertained by llolcar, had been already manifested by the murder of three British officers in his service, on a false charge that one of them had corresponded with the commander-in-chief. Still it seemed higlilv imiu'obable that he could seriouslv iuteiid flinging the gauntlet at a nation whose military achievements had become the theme of every tongue in India; and the English authorities, anxious to bring matters to a speedy and amicable conclusion, invited him to send commissioners to their camp, to explain his views and desires. The ]\Iah- rattas are ever apt to treat conciliatory measures as symptomatic of weakness; and Holcar was probably influenced by some such consideration in framing the condi- tions for which his vakeels were instructed to stipulate witli General Lake as the terms of peace, and which included leave to col- lect cltout according to the custom of his ancestors, with the cession of Etawa and various other districts in the Doab and Bundelcund, formerly held by his family, llolcar had not without reason blamed Sindia for too exclusive attentioit to the rules of European discipline, and the neglect of the guerilla warfare which Sevajce and Bajce Rao had waged successftdly against Aurungzcbe. This was the weapon with which he now menaced the English, in the event of non-compliance with his demands. " Although unable," he said, " to oppose their artillery in the field, countries of many coss should be overrun, and plundered, and burnt ; Lake should not have leisure to breathe for a moment, and calamities would fall on lacs of human beings in continued war by the attacks of his army, which woidd overwhelm like the waves of the sea." t Amt-cr Khan was actually dispatched by Holcar to co-operate with Sindia; but the news of the battle of Assaye reached him on the inarch, and he returned as he came. — (Ameer Khan's Memoirs.) =^ 400 ZALIM SING OF KOTAH, THE NESTOR OF INDIA. Such a menace, from one of the most reckless and powerful marauders by whom the timid peasantry of Hiudoostan were ever scourged, was tantamount to a declaration of war — a formality which, it may be remarked, forms DO part of Mahratta warfare. Yet it was not till further indications appeared of his intention to commence hostilities at the first convenient moment, that the negotiation, which Holcar desired to gain time by protracting, was broken off, and Lord Lake and Major-general "VVellesley directed to commence operations against him both in the north and the south. The governor-general entered on this new war with unaffected reluctance. Once com- menced, it could not be arrested by an accommodation such as that entered into with Sindia ; for a predatory power must, he thought, be completely neutralised, in justice to the peaceable subjects of more civilised governments. It was important to secure the cordial co-operation of the sub- sidiary and allied states against the common foe ; and this was eS'ected by the declaration of Lord Wellesley — that all territory con- quered from Holcar should be divided among the British auxiliaries without reserve. The opening of the campaign was dis- astrous. Major-general Wellesley could not advance in consequence of a famine which prevailed in the Deccan. Lake, after storming the fort of Rampoora (IGth May, 1804), was compelled to withdraw the main army into cantonments for the rainy season, leaving Colonel Monson, with five sepoy battalions and c5,000 irregular horse, to watch the movements of the foe. The proceedings of this commander were most unfortunate. Though " brave as a lion," he wanted decision of purpose and con- fidence in the native troops. After making an ill-advised entrance into the dominions of the enemy, he became alarmed at the reported approach of Holcar in person ; and fearing the probable failure of supplies before the British could join the Guzerat force under Colonel Murray, he retreated forthwith. A retrograde movement on the part of British troops was proverbially more hazardous in native warfare than the boldest advance. Holcar eagerly followed, attacked and defeated the irregular cavalry left in the rear to forward intelligence of liis pro- ceedings, and summoned the main body to surrender. This being indignantly refused, furious and reiterated onsets were made by liim on the sepny battalions at the Mokundra pass, which they resisted with steadiness and success, till, at evening, their assailants drew off a few miles. Monson, not considering his position ten- able, continued the retreat ; the native troops behaved admirably, and, though harassed by the enemy, and exposed to heavy rains, reached Kotah in two marches. Kotah was a Rajpoot principality, ori- ginally formed of lands separated from Boondi. It remained for above a century and a-half of secondary importance, until it fell beneath the sway of Zalim Sing, a Raj- poot of the Jhala tribe, who governed under the name of regent — it would appear, with the full consent of the rightful prince or rana, Omeida Sing. Zalim Sing played a difficult part with extraordinary ability, and by dint of consummate art, perfect self-control, and unfailing energy, so steered the vessel of state, that while every other Rajpoot principality tottered under the effects of the furious attacks or undermin- ing intrigues of tlie encroaching INIahrattas, Boondi, though ever first to bend to the storm, raised her head as soon as it had passed over, as if strengthened by the trial. Excessive humility and moderation formed the disguise beneath which the regent at- tained the position of a general arbitrator in the never-ceasing disputes of neighbour- ing governments, which lie fostered under pretence of mediation. His deep duplicity did not preserve him from incurring strong personal hostility ; and Tod, after narrating no less than eighteen attempts at his assas- sination, represents him as sleeping in an iron cage for security. At the time at which we have now arrived, "the JMestor of India" was about sixty-five years of age. His position was one of peculiar difficulty. To keep peace with Holcar he had paid dearly, both in money and character, having stooped to forui an intimate alliance with Ameer Khan as a means of averting the scourge of indiscriminate plunder from the fertile fields of Boondi, great part of which were cultivated for his exclusive benefit; yet Colonel Monson, on his arrival with tlie weary and half-famished troops, demanded from the regent notliing less than their ad- mission into the city, which could not be granted without creating great confusion and insuring the deadly vengeance of the j\Lahrattas. To the English, Zalim Sing was yet more unwilling to give offence. Their paramount authority was being daily aui;- mentcd and consolidated ; nor could he SIEGE OF BIIURTPOOR.— DEFENCE OF DELHI. 401 doubt that Kotuli, like other native prinei- palitics, wouhl cvoiituiilly do well to (iiid in a dependent alliance on the dominant power, an alternative from complete extinction.* Even now, lie was ready to make common cause witii the retrcatinpj and dispirited troops, or to do anythiiif; for their snceoiir, to the extent of his ability, outside the walls of Kotah ; but the pertinacity of Monsoii iu demanding admittance was un- availing, and the detachment marched on to Rampoora, through an inundated country barely traversal)lc for the troops, and im- practicable for cannon and stores, which were consequently destroyed and aban- doned. A reinforcement sent with supplies by (jleneral Lake, gave temporary relief to the harassed soldiers, but could not remedy the incapacity of their commander; and after many more struggles and revcrses,t attended with a complete loss of baggage on the road to Agra, the confusion of one very dark night brought matters to a climax ; the troops fairly broke and fled in separate parties to the city, where the majority of tiie fugitives who escaped the pursuing cavalrv, found an asylum on the 31st of July, ISbk These proceedings increased the rabble force of Holcar tenfold. Adventurers and plunderers of all descriptions (including the wreck of the armies of Sindia and the Bhonslay) flocked to his standard ; and after making the regent of Kotah pay a fine of ten lacs for his partial assistance of the English,]: the ]\Iahratta chief invaded their territories, at the head of an immense army,§ in the character of a conqueror. At his approacli the British troops abandoned Muttra with its stores; but the fort was reoccupied by a detachmcut sent by Gen- eral Lake, who had marched hastily from Cawnjjore, in hopes of bringing the enemy to action. He was, however, completely outwitted by Ilolcar, who occupied the attention of the British general by ma- nCEuvring his cavalry ; while his infantry, by • When Colonel Tod was employed in forming an alliance between the supreme government and the Kotah pvincipality, he took an opportunity of assuring Zalim Sing that the Englisli desired no more terri- tory- Tlie old politician smiled, as he answered — "I believe you think so ; but the time will come when there will be but one sicca (stamp of sovereignty on coin) throughout India. You stepped in at a lucky time ; the p'fout (a sort of melon, which bursts asunder when fully matured) was ripe, and you had only to^take it bit by bit. It was not your ])Ower so much as our disunion that made yo>i sovereigns, and will keep you so." — I^Rajasfhan, i., 766.) a rapid movement, succeeded in inventing Delhi. The city, ten miles in circum- ference, had but a ruined wall, with scarcely more than 800 sepoys, for its defence; never- theless, these troops, headed by Lieutenant- colonels Ochterlony and Burn, after nine days' operations, compelled a force of 20,000 men to raise the siege. || Ilolcar, with his cavalry, withdrew to the Doab, whither he was followed by Lake, who, after a long pur- suit, by marching fifty-three miles in twenty- four hours, eventually came up with the enemy on the 17th of November, under the walls of Furruekabad. The Indian horse never could stand a charge in the field ; their leader knew this, and was him- self the first to fly, followed by his j)anic- struek adherents, of whom 3,000 were cut to pieces by the victors, and the rest escajied only by the superior swiftness of their horses, The Mahratta chief made his way to Deeg, a strong fort belonging to Runjeet Sing of Bhurtpoor, a Jat leader, who, after the defeat of the detachment under Monson, had quitted the English, and joined the opposite interest. The determined proceedings of Lake induced the confederate chiefs to evacuate Deeg and retreat to Bhurtpoor, a city not very formidable in appearance, of six to eight miles in circumference, defended by a high mud wall, and a broad ditch not easily fordable. But the rajah was skilful and desperate. Holcar had little to boast of; for while himself heading a defeated army in the field, his strongholds, iu various quarters, had been reduced by the English; and a detachment of troops from Guzerat had occupied Indore, and were preparing to intercept his retreat. Still he was a ma- rauder by profession, whose kingdom was in his saddle; whereas the Jat rajah truly declared he had no home but in his castle — every hope was bound up in its battlements. The defence was most determined ; and even when a practicable breach had been effected, attempts to take the place by storm were neutralised by the ready inven- t When the younger European officers were heart- sick, and well-nigh sinking with fatigue, the sepoys were frequently beard bidding them be of good cheer ; for they would carry them safely to Agra. — (Duff.) { Zalim Sing and Holcar (both one-eyed men) met in boats on the Chumbul, each fearing treachery. § ."Vccording to Malcolm, Holcar'sarmv eomnrised 92,000 men (66,000 cavalry, 7,000 artillery, 19.000 infantry), with 190 guns. — (Central India, i., 238.) II The sepoys were on duty day and night. To keep up their spirits under incessant fatigue, Ochter- lony had sweetmeats served out, and promised them halt" a month's pay when the enemy was repulsed. 402 COLLEGE OP FORT WILLIAM.— INDIA-BUILT SHIPPING. tion of the besieged. Stockades and bul- warks rose as if by magic to blockade the breach ; the moat was rendered unfordabie by dams; and, during the attack, pots filled with combustibles, and burning cotton-bales steeped in oil, were flung upon the heads of the assailants. The British were four times repulsed, with a total loss of .3,203 men in killed and wounded ; nor did even their highly-prized military reputation escape un- impaired. On one occasion, the famous 76th, in conjunction with the 75th, refused to follow their officers after the 12th Bengal sepoys had planted the colours on th.e top of the rampart. The bitter reproaches of their general recalled them to a sense of duty, and, overpowered with shame, they entreated to be led to a last attack, in which they displayed much desperate but unavail- ing courage. The operations of the siege were for a time intermitted to procure further reinforcements. The rajah, con- vinced that his destruction, however tempo- rarily retarded, was but a question of time, offered twenty lacs of rupees, with other concessions, as the price of peace, and the proposal was accepted, although at the risk of leaving on the minds of the natives a dangerous example of successful resistance. The advanced state of the season, the fear of the hot winds, together with the me- nacing attitude of Sindia, then under the influence of his father-in-law, the notorious Shirjee Rao Ghatgay, were sufficient rea- sons for refraining from engaging the flower of the British army, at a critical period, in a contest with a desperate man, who, if mildly treated, might be neutralised at once. The son of the rajah of Bhurtpoor was therefore taken as a hostage for the fidelity of his father, and the restoration of the fortress of Deeg held forth as its reward. The force of Holcar had been reduced by desertion, more than by actual loss, to less than a fourth of its number at the opening of the campaign. The separate treaty entered into by the rajah of Bhurtpoor left him no hope but in the co-operation of Sindia, who afl'ected to bo desirous of mediating with the British government on his behalf. The power of both chiefs was, however, broken, and few oljstacles remained towards a general pacification, on terms very advan- tageous to the ]!^nglish ; when their whole policy was abruptly changed by the passing of the office of governor-general from the hands of the jMarquis AVcJlrsley into those of Lord Cornwallis, in 1805. As early as January, 1802, Lord Welles- ley had signified to the Court of Directors his desire of quitting India. The motives for the proffered resignation were various. They included several acts, on the part of the directory, which the marquis deemed derogatory to the reputation of himself and his brothers, as well as to that of his stanch coadjutor, Lord Clive, the governor of Madras ; but the chief ground of com- plaint was the disfavour shown to his favourite scheme of founding a college at Calcutta, for the express instruction of young civilians in the description of know- ledge absolutely requisite for the fulfilment of their allotted duties. The glaring igno- rance of native languages evinced by Euro- pean rulers, had long been a manifest hin- drance to the good government of the people of India, as well as a bar to the kindly in- tercourse which might otherwise have sub- sisted. It was this primary defect which the marquis hoped to rectify, and at the same time to infuse into the youths of the service something of the esprit de corps, which he remembered with such vivid plea- sure to have existed at Eton. The College of Fort William was his favourite project. The company did not deny the want of systematic instruction, which was daily more painfully felt ; but they could not be brought to consent to the expenditure which Lord Wellesley deemed absolutely needful to fulfil the double object of educating Europeans and affording encouragement to native talent. The Board of Control sup- ported the views of Lord Wellesley ; but the project was, after all, but very imper- fectly carried out, so far as the Indian popu- lation was concerned : for the instruction of civilians destined to serve the E. I. Cy., a college (Haileybury) was founded in Eng- land a few years later. Another cause which rendered the governor-general un- popular with his employers, was his delibe- rate and avowed opinion in favour of the extension of trade with England to India- built shipping, instead of confining it solely to the chartered vessels of the E. 1. Cy. Despite the obvious policy, as well as jus- tice, of this measure, as the only means of preventing Indian commerce from finding its way to Europe l)y more objectionable chan- nels, " the shipping interest," then greatly predominant iu the counsels of the com- pany, violently opposed any alteration which should trench on their monopoly, and con- trived, in many ways, to render Lord Wei- CLOSE OF TIIli; WELLESLEY ADMINISTRATION— 1805. 403 lesley sensible of their unfriendly feelings. Nevertheless, his profl'cred resignation was depreeated by an entreaty to remain at least another year, to settle the newly-acquired territories, and eonecrt with the home authoritiijs the foundation of an cflieient system for the litiuichuiun of the Indian debt. Tlio renewal of war with tlic Alah- rattas, despite the brilliant sueeess with whieh it was attended, could not but involve an increase of immediate expenditure, though compensated by a more than proportionate augmentation of territory. ]5ut tlie invest- ments were impeded; and a failure in the an- imal supplies was ill borne by the company, however advantageous the promise of ulte- rior advantages ; consequently, a clamour arose against the marquis as a war-governor, which (leeided his recall at the time when all material obstacles were removed, and his whole energies directed towards the attain- ment of a solid and durable peace. He had been sent out for the express purpose of eradicating French influence, an object which he had completely accomplished, though, of necessity, at the cost of much war and more diplomacy.* Tiie Wellesley administration — from 1798 to 1805 — formed a new era in the annals of the E. I. Cy. Principles of honour and public spirit were engrafted which bore much fruit in after days ; and many a friend- less cadet of the civil and military service found in rapid promotion the direct reward of talent and integrity. Nay, more ; there are honoured veterans still with us, who, after the lapse of half a centm-y, delight to attribute their success to the generous en- couragement or kindly warnings of the good and gifted ^larquis AVcl lesley. f Perfect toleration was his leading rule ; nevertheless, he did not hesitate to interfere for the suppression of such heathen customs as were manifestly incompatible with the spirit of a Christian government ; such as the frightful amount of infanticide annually * Into his minor measures, especially the restric- tions jilaced on tlic liberty of the press, it is not practicable to enter : the motives for some of them were inirely political — to check the conveyance of dangerous information, or \\'u\g rumours to foreign states ; while the edict forbidding the publication of newspapers on Sundays, had the double object of reverence for the sabbath and a desire to show the nations, that not only the missionaries, but the Europeans in general had n religion — a fact which might well have been doubted. t The rising talent of the civil service was called out in a peculiar manner by Lord AVellesley. 'I'he youths of the three presidencies, who had distin- comraittcd at the mouth of the Ganges. Neither was he withheld, by timid or sec- tarian views, from aflbrdiiig liberal encou- ragement to the able and zealous mea (IJuehanan ami (Jarey, for instance) who had devoted themselves to the oflice of Christian missionaries. To all around him engaged in the cause of religion or gotxl government, he extended cordial sympathy as fellow- workers ; and if a shadow of blame can be cast on his ever-discriminating praise, it would be that of having been sometimes too liberally bestowed. J5iit the full meastire of love and confidence he gave so freel}', was returned into his own bosom. Military and civil officials, of all ranks and classes — from the Earl of Elgin, at Con- stantinople, and Lord Clivc, at Madras, to the humblest clerk — vied in alTording the fullest and most correct information for the use of the governor-general ; and the mer- chants and bankers seconded his measures in the most effective manner by furnishing government loans on the lowest possible terms. At the close of the administration of Sir John Shore, it had been difKcult to raise money on usurious interest ; but the ^larquis Wellesley, on the eve of a hazardous war, found men who could appreciate the policy of his measures, and make them prac- ticable, even at considerable ])ecuniary risk. J The general feeling in India was, unhap- pily, not a])prcciatcd or shared in I'jtiglaud. The marquis returned, after an arduous and brilliantly successful administration, to find the uncertain tide of popidar feeling turned against him. The British public were well acquainted with the aggressive and grasp- ing policy of Hastings, and the manner ia which he had made the weakness or wicked- ness of native princes conduce to the ag- graiulisemcnt of his employers or his own personal interest. It was a very natural conclusion to be arrived at by persons ig- norant of the general disorganisation of India, that a governor who had added hun- guished themselves in their examinations at the college of Fort Willisrm, were placed in the secre- tary's office of the governor-general, and educated under his immediate care for the respective depart- ments, for the duties of which they were best fitted. Of those thus brought forward, three (Metcalfe, Adams, and Butterworth Bayley) became acting governors-general ; and the majority attained high positions in India and in England. I Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Forbes, the head of tlie well-known firm at Bombay, was the chief of those who, by tiiking ti]) government paper at par, as well as furnishing supplies, restored ihe confidence of the wealthv natives in the slabilitv of the E. I. Cv. 404 CHARACTER AND POLICY OF THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. dreds of miles and thousands of subjects to an empire, which Hastings had been stigmatised as an usurper and oppressor for increasing by units and tens, must have been guilty of the same sins in an aggra- vated degree. Besides, the augmentation of territory and population had been effected in the teeth of a parliamentary prohibition of the most decided character. The oldest and ablest Indian politicians vainly strove to show the utter impracticability of neutrality, and argued that England, now the dominant power, could not relinquish her high posi- tion in measure, but must, of necessity, abandon territorial sovereignty and com- mercial advantage in almost equal degree. The company were smarting beneath the expenses of a war, which a little patience would have brought to the most satisfactory conclusion, by the prostration of the pre- datory power, which was equally opposed to all regular governments, foreign or native. But no ! an immediate compromise was the order of the day; the withdrawal of the plundering Mahrattas from the company's territories -was a relief to be obtained upon any terms, even by a direct violation of the pledge voluntarily given to the Rajpoot states to maintain their independence against their marauding foes. What matter if all Rajast'- han were overrun by these eastern Goths. The company's investments would go on meanwhile ; and when Sindia and Holcar had quite exhausted all outside the magic circle, it would be time enough to devise some other sop wherewith to engage them. This selfish policy, disguised by the few who understood the real state of the case by much abstract reasoning regarding the ad- mitted justice of non-interference in general, deceived many good men and raised a strong, though short-lived clamour, against the champion of the opposite system. The feeling of certain leaders in the directory, joined with party politics of a very discre- ditable description in the ministry, found a channel in the person of a ci-devant, trader named Paull, who, having accumulated a large fortune in India, came to England and entered parliament in the character of impeacher of the Marquis Wellesley, to whom, by his own account, he owed heavy obligations, and entertained, in common with the generality of Anglo-Indians, " tlie highest respect." The leading accu- sations were aggressions on native states : extravagance and disregard of home autho- rities, — at peculation or venality, not even calumny dared hint. The first charge re- garding Oude was thrown out by the Hous? of Commons, and the accuser died by his own hand, prompted by vexation or remorse. Lord Folkstone strove to carry on the im- peachment by moving a series of condemna- tory resolutions, which were negatived by a majority of 182 to 31, and followed by a general vote of approbation. Thus ended, in May, 1808, a persecution which cost the noble marquis £30,000, and excluded him from office during its continuance; for, with rare delicacy, he refused repeated soli- citations to re-enter the service of the Crown until the pending question should be satis- factorily settled. He lived to see the gene- ral recognition of the wisdom of his policy; and on the publication of his Despatches in 1834-'5, the E. I. Cy. made the amende honorable, by the unusual procedure of the erection of his statue in the E. I. House,* a grant of £20,000, and the circulation of his Despatches for the instruction and guid- ance of their servants in India. He died be- loved and honoured, aged eighty-three ; hav- ing twice filled the office of viceroy of Ireland — been secretary of state for foreign affairs ; beside other distinguished positions. This is not the place to tell of the efficient man- ner in which the illustrious brothers worked together for the defeat of the national foe, Napoleon : here we have to do with the marquis as an Indian governor ; in that character let the pen of the historian of the E. I. Cy. speak his merits. " The Marquis Wellesley was ambitious; but his ambition sought gratification not in mere personal aggrandisement, but in connecting his own fame with that of the land to which he belonged, and of the government which he administered, — in the diffusion of sound and liberal knowledge, and the extension of the means of happiness among millions of men who knew not his person, and some of them scarcely his name. That name is, however, stamped for ever on their history. The British government in India may pass away — its duration, as far as human means are concerned, will depend on the degree in which the policy of the Marquis Wellesley is main- tained or abandoned — but whatever its fate, or the length of its existence, the name and niemtny of the greatest statesman by whom it was ever administered are imperishable. "f • Lord Welleslry rpiiinrUrd, that to witness this coniiiliinent (raiuly paid until after death), was " hke haviiif; a peep at one's own funeral." t Thornton's India, iii., 570. SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF MARQUIS CORNWALLIS— 1805. 405 Second Administration of Lord Corn- WALLis. — The new governor arrived at Fort William in July, 1805, and immediately assumed the reins of office. The interval of tliiiteen years between liis resignation and rc'snmptioii of authority in India, liad told heavily on his strength of mind as well as of body, and the once indefatigable eom- mander-in-ehief returned to the scene of his former successes a worn and weary man, fast sinking to the grave under the inflic- tion of clironic dysentery. Yet the Euglisli authorities, in accordance with ])oj)ular opinion, declared him to be the only man fit to curb and limit the too extensive domi- nion obtained by tlie late administration in conjunction with the gallant Lake, whose services, though their effects were denounced, had been acknowledged by a peerage. Lord Cornwallis had given proof of mode- ration by suflering Tippoo to purchase peace with a third of his revenues, and had rather relaxed than straitened the connexion of the E. I. Cy. with various native states. Despite tlie unsatisfactory results of his arrange- ments, and still more so of those formed by Sir John Shore, the Directory and Board of Control agreed in reverting to the non- intervention system, and urged the arduous office of eflecting an immediate and total change of policy upon the ex-governor- gcneral with so much vehemence, that he, from self-denying but mistaken views of duty, would not sufl'er failing health to excuse the non-fulfilment of what, with strange infatuation, was pressed on him as a jinblic dutj'. It is not easy to understand the process of reasoning by which Lord Cornwallis was led to adopt such extreme opinions regarding the measures to be taken towards Sindia and Holcar. He had warmly a])proved the arrangements of the Marquis Wellesley regarding the occupation of Seriugapatam and the complete suppres- sion of the usurping dynasty ; yet, now the arrogant and aggressive Sindia, and the predatory Holcar were to be conciliated, not simply by the surrender of a succession of dearly-purchased conquests, but by the renunciation of alliance with the Rajpoot and other states, who had taken part with the British forces against the marauding !Mahrattas in the late crisis. Sindia had suffered, if not caused, the English residency attached to his camp to be attacked and plundered by a body of Pindarries, and had himself detained Mr. Jenkins; yet no rcpaj'atiou was to be de- 3g manded for this outrage : and the governor- general, in liis ira|)atient desire to conclude a peace, would even have waived insisting uijon the release of the resident ; but from this last degrading conecssion the J'^nglish were ha])pily saved by the intervention of Lord Ijake. Nothing could exceed the in- dignation of the brave and honest general on learning the nature of the proposed treaty, which he felt to be based on the unworthy principle of conciliating the strong at tlie expense of the weak. The territories conquered from Holcar had been distinctly promised to be divided among the allies of England ; instead of which, they were all to be restored to the defeated chief; and the breach of faith thus committed towards the only power able to resent it, was to be repaired at the expense of the powerless rana of Gohud, who had made over Gwalior to the English on being enrolled among the list of subsidiaiT princes. He was now to be reduced to the condition of a mere stipendiary, dependent on his hereditary foe for subsistence; for all Gohud, including Gwalior, was to be given to propi- tiate the favour of Sindia — " an act," writes the governor-general, " entirely gratuitous on our part." Equally so was the renuncia- tion of our connexion with the numerous rajahs, zemindars, jaghiredars, and other chiefs on the further side of the Jumna, for whose protection the British faith had been solemnly pledged. Lord Lake, who had been mainly instrumental in forming the majority of these alliances, and had, in his capacity of commander-in-chief, received material assistance from several of the parties con- cerned, addressed an earnest remonstrance to the governor-general against the proposed repudiation, declaring that the weaker allied princes never could be induced by any argu- ment or temporary advantage to renounce the promised support of the E. I. Cy., and that the bare proposition would be viewed " as a prelude to their being sacrificed to the object of obtaining a peace with the Mah- rattas." This communication bore date the day following that on which Lord Corn- wallis expired. For some time before his death, he passed the morning hours in a state of weakness amounting to insensibility ; but the evening usually brought him suffi- cient strength to hear despatches read, and even to dictate replies. Had the energetic appeal and arguments of Lake been sent a few days earlier, they might perhaps have been instrumental in delaying and modifying the 406 DEATH OP THE MARQUIS CORNWALLIS— OCTOBER, 1805. uugeuerous and selfish measures which cost England so dearly in character and blood and treasure, by strengthening the predatory power it was alike her duty and her interest to abase. It is hardly possible that the man who steadily befriended the rajah of Coorg, even at the hazard of renewing a perilous war with Tippoo, could seriously intend to abandon the Rajpoot and other princes to the shameless marauders against whom they had recently co-operated with the English, unless prejudice and ignorance, aided by mental debility, had blinded him to the plain facts of the case. But whatever effect the honest exposition of Lake was cal- culated to produce on the mind of Lord Cornwallis, can be only surmised from his habitual conscientiousness. He had been ex- tremely desirous of personally superintend- ing the progress of the negotiations, and hoped by short and easy stages to reach head- quarters ; but at Ghazipoor near Benares, an accession of weakness stopped his journey, and after lingering some time in the state previously described, he died there October 5th, 1805, aged sixty-six years. No provision had been made by the home government to meet this highly probable event.* Sir George Barlow, the senior member of council, on whom the chief au- thority temporarily devolved, had been asso- ciated with Lord Wellesley throughout his whole administration, and cordially seconded his lordship's views regarding subsidiary alliances. During the last illness of Lord Cornwallis, while hourly expecting his own accession to power, Sir George had expressed in writing " his confident hope that an accommodation would be effected with Sindia and with Holcar, on terms not differ- ing esseutially from those to which he was aware that Lord Wellesley was prepared to accede." Most certainly his lordship would never have consented to an accommodation which involved a direct breach of faith with numerous weak states. Sir George must have known this ; but his conduct was in perfect accordance with the principle which enabled a certain well-known individual "to • Lord Grenvillo pulilicly stated, that it had been generally supposed in London that Lord Cornwallis would not bear the voyafjej and, in any case, could not long survive his arrival in India. — (Thornton.) t (^iic of the few concessions demanded from Sindia was the exclusion from office of his father-in- law ; but even this was eventually renounced, and Shirzee Kao became again paramount. Happily his audacity at length grew offensive to Sindia, and an altercation took place which enabled the attendants, live and die vicar of Bray." The result was, however, less satisfactory ; for though the E. I. directors were inclined to reward imphcit obedience to their mandates with the highest position in their gift, the min- isters of the crown were not equally com- pliant; and although they also were de- sirous of purchasing peace on any terms, the recent appointment was neutralised, and a rule laid down that thenceforth no servant of the company should fill the office of governor-general. Sir George was placed in charge of Madras ; but before his removal from Calcutta he had contrived to neutralise, as far as possible, the effects of the measures which he had assisted in enacting ; his avowed expectation being that the native states, when left to themselves, would forth- with engage in a series of conflicts which would, for the present at least, keep them fully employed, and prevent the renewal of hostilities with the English. Sindiaf and Holcar received the proffered concessions with unmixed astonishment at the timidity or vacillation of their lately dreaded foe. The Rajpoot and other princes indignantly remonstrated against the renunciation of an alliance pressed upon them by the British government in her hour of need. The rajah of Jeypoor, who had especially pro- voked the vengeance of the Mahrattas, felt deeply aggrieved by the faithlessness with which he was treated, and his bitter re- proaches were conveyed to Lord Lake through the mouth of a Rajpoot agent at Delhi. Disgusted at being made the instru- ment of measures which he denounced, and at the almostf total disregard manifested towards his representations. Lord Lake re- signed his diplomatic powers in January, ] 806, and after about twelve months spent in completing various necessary arrangements regarding the forces, and settling, agree- ably to the instructions of the government, the claims of various native chiefs, he quitted India, leaving behind him a name that will be honoured and beloved so long as the Indian army shall subsist. § He died in England, 21st February, 1808, aged 64. under pretence of securing the person, to take the life of a miscreant whose memory is still execrated in Poona for the cruel oppression practised there. I Lord Lake was so far successful, that his repre- sentations against the immediate danger, as well as faithlessness, of dissolving the alliance with the rajahs of Macherri and Bhurt|)oor, induced Sir George to delay the execution of a determination which he nevertheless declared to be unchanged. § Major-general WeUesley, after receiving s MUTINY OF TROOPS AT VELLORE— JULY, 180G. 407 Little difference of opinion now exists regarding the acoomraodatioii cftVctod villi the Malirattas. The noii-iiitcrvciitiou policy was soon abandoned; but its results justify the declaration of Grant Duff", that the measures of Sir George 15arlovv were no less short-sighted and contracted than selfish and indiscriminating. His provisional ad- ministration terminated in July, 1807,* its concluding event being an alarming mutiny among the native troops in the Carnatic. The immediate cause was the enforcement of certain frivolous changes of dress, together with other orders trivial in character, but involving a needless interference with the manners and customs of the soldiery, which had been introduced without the knowledge of Lord William Bentiuck, the successor of Lord Clivc in the government of Madras. "The new regulations required the sepoys to appear on parade with their chins clean shaved, and the hair on the upper lip cut after the same pattern, and never to wear the distinguishing mark of caste, or their earrings when in uniform. A turban of a new pattern was also ordered for the sepoys."t These ill-advised changes might possibly have been accomplished without occasioning any serious disturbance, had a cordial under- standing subsisted between the British and the native officers. But this was not the ease ; and the consequence of the alienation existing between them was, that the sons of Tippoo Sultan, then resident at Vellore, took advantage of the princely income and unusual degree of liberty allowed them as state prisoners, to assemble a large band of adherents, who made it their business to inspire the soldiery with aversion to their foreign masters, on the ground that the newly-devised turban, and its concomitants, though ostensibly ordered for the sake of convenience and unanimity, were really the tokens and forerunners of a forcible conver- sion to Christianity. The assertion was an utter absurdity. The Hindoos themselves, whose creed makes no provision for eon- knighthood of the Order of the Bath, quitted India in 1805, ill-pleased with the manner in which the services of his brother and himself were received. • Mill's Jlistorrj of British India terminates with the peace with the Mahraltas. In an able, but pre- judiced, and without the comments of Prof. Wilson, misleading summary of the commercial results of the Wellesley administration, the revenues are shown to have been raised from £8,059,880, in lS05'-6, to £15,403,409; but the war expenditure, with the in- terest on the incre.iscd debt, which had been tripled. verts, were scarcely more devoid of prose- lytising zoal than the KngliKh had shown themselves, de8[)ite the opposite tendency of a religion whicii directs its professors " to preach the gospel to all nations," The military officers liad, as a body (for there were exceptions), no need to defend them- selves against any imputation of over-anxiety to manifest the excellencies of their faith in their lives and conversation, or by any en- couragement of missionary labours. Of Christianity the natives in the vicinity of Vellore knew nothing, and were conse- quently ready to believe just anything, ex- cept that its divine Founder had enjoined on all his disciples a code so fraught with humility, chastity, and brotherly kindness, that if observed it must infallibly render Christians a blessing to every state, whether as rulers or as subjects. Rumours of the growing disaffection were abroad, but excited little attention in the ears of those most concerned. Unmistak- able symptoms of mutiny appeared, and were forcibly J put down, until, on the lOtli of July, 1806, the European part of the Vellore garrison were attacked by their native colleagues, and Colonel Fancourt and 112 Europeans had perished or been mor- tally wounded, before Colonel Gillespie, at the head of a body of dragoons, terminated a contest which involved the destruction of about 3,50 of the mutineers, and the imprisonment of 500 more. Lord William Bentinck became the sacrifice of measures adopted without his sanction, and was re- called, together with the commander-in- chief. Sir John Cradock. The obnoxious orders were repealed, the allowances of the sons of Tippoo were diminished, their place of imprisonment changed from Vellore to Bengal ; and, by slow degrees, the panic wore off. The captive insurgents were gra- dually set at liberty ; the cheerful obedience of the men, and their customary fidelity to those whose salt they ate, returned ; and the British officers " ceased to sleep with pistols under their pillows." § caused the annual charges to exceed the receipts by above two million. This was a temporary addition, but the revenues of the conquered territories were a permanent gain, viewed as so certain, that Barlow held forth the prospect of a million sterling as the annual surplus, to follow immediately on the restora- tion of peace. t Auber's India, ii., 432. X The severe coercion employed may be conjec- tured from the fact that 900 lashes each were in- flicted upon two grenadiers for refusing to wear th» " hat-shaped" turban. § Bentinck 's Memorial. 408 MINTO ADMINISTRATION, 1806.— CRISHNA KUMARI OF OODIPOOR. Administration OF Lord MiNTo — 1806 to 1813.— The new governor-general (formerly Sir Gilbert Elliot) came to India strongly prepossessed in favour of a neutral policy, but was speedily compelled to modify his views. Holcar, on his return to Malwa, found occupation in quelling the disturbances arising from the non-payment of arrears to his turbulent followers, who made use of the boy, Kundee Rao, to intimidate his uncle into the liquidation of their claims. The object being accomplished, the child became, as he had himself predicted, the victim of the wrath of Jeswunt Rao ; and Casee Rao died suddenly soon after, having been likewise, it was supposed, assassinated to prevent the possibility of the rights of any legitimate descendant of Tukajee being brought into collision with those of Jeswunt Rao. These and other atrocities were the fore- runners of madness,which appeared in tempo- rary paroxysms, with intervals of partial sanity, employed by Jeswunt in making extensive military preparations, especially in casting cannon, a work which he superintended night and day, using stimulants to supply the place of food and rest. It soon became necessary to confine him ; and twenty to thirty men with diflSculty succeeded in bind- ing the despot fast with ropes, like a wild beast. His fierce struggles gradually sub- sided into speechless fatuity, and, at the expiration of three years, during the greater part of which he was fed like an infant with milk, the dreaded freebooter died a miserable idiot in his own camp, on the 20th of October, 1811.* Before his insanity, Holcar had taken advantage of the withdrawal of British protection to ravage and pillage the states of Rajast'han, especially Jeypoor or Amber, under the old pretext of exacting arrears of chout. The quarrels of the Rajpoot princes gave full scope for his treacherous interference. The hand of Crishna Kumari, the high-born daughter of the rana of Oodipoor, was an object of dispute between Juggut Sing of Jeypoor, and Maun Sing of Joudpoor. Holcar was bought oS' by Juggut Sing, but this arrangement did not prevent him from suffering his general. Ameer Khan, to hire his services to the opposite party. The chief commenced liis task by ridding the rajah of Joudpoor of a rebellious feudatory, named • Holcar was of middle lieight, remarljnldy strong and active. A small but handsome mausolenm was erected to his memory near Rampoora, and his favou- rite horse ranged in freedom around it. Tod describes Sevaee Sing, whom he deluded, by oaths and protestations of friendship, into visiting his camp. The intended victim entered the spacious tent of the Patan with a body of friends and attendants, and was received with every demonstration of respect. Ameer Khan invented a plausible pretext for a short absence, and caused the cords of the tent to be suddenly loosened ; then, taking advantage of the confusion, he ordered a sharp fire of musketry and grape to be poured indiscriminately on the whole of the crowded assembly. The massacre was com- plete; and not only the companions of the betrayed Rajpoot, but those of Ameer Khan himself, with a party of dancing-girls and musicians, were mercilessly sacrificed. The rana of Oodipoor was seriously alarmed by the enmity of so unprincipled an adversary. He vainly appealed to the British govern- ment, as possessing the paramount authority in India, to interfere for the protection of their oppressed neighbour : his entreaties, like those of Zalim Sing, were disregarded, and the proud representative of the Surya race (the offspring of the sun) was compelled to fraternise with the infamous Patan ad- venturer by the exchange of turbans, as well as to subsidise his troops at the cost of a fourth of the revenues of the principality. This was in itself deep abasement, but worse remained behind. Ameer Khan, in con- junction with Ajeet Sing, a Rajpoot noble, whose memory is, for his conduct on this occasion, execrated throughout Rajast'han, succeeded in convincing the unhappy rana, that the death of his child was absolutely necessary to save the principality from de- struction at the hands of the rival suitors. With his consent, poison was mixed with the food of the princess ; but she ate sparingly, and its murderous purpose was not accom- plished. The high-spirited girl, on dis- covering the design thus temporarily frus- trated, bade her father attempt no more concealment, since, if bis welfare and the safety of the state required it, she was ready to die by her own act. Accordingly, having bathed and dressed, as if for a nuptial feast, she drank off" the poison. The first two draughts proved harmless, for nature re- volted, and the noxious beverage was re- jected ; but the third time a more insidious preparation was administered, and Crishna this animal with enthusiasm, as the very model of a Mahratta charger, with small and pointed ears, full protruding eyes, and a mouth tliat could drink out of a tea-cup. — (Kajast'han, ii., 720.) CAPTURE OP THE MAURITIUS, BOURBON, AND JAVA— l«10-'l 1. 409 slept to wake no more in this life. Ilcr niotlicr (lied of fjricf ; her fatlier survived to endure tlic gailinj^ rcproaolics of some of his most faitiiful chiefs; and Oodipoor, so far from benefiting by the unnatural crime, lost from that hour its remaining glories.* Ameer Khan, elated by success, grew more daring in his plans ; and, attended by large bodies of Pindarries, undertook, in 1809, an expedition against the indolent and effeminate rajah of Berar. Lord Minto became alarmed by the probable subversion of the principality, and, departing from the non-intervention policy, sent a strong de- tachment for the defence of Nagpoor, and notified to the invader that the territories of the rajah were under British protection. A blustering and defiant reply was returned, upon which Colonel Close marched into Malwa, and occupied Seronje, the capital of Ameer Khan, with other of his possessions. The strict commands of the home authori- ties, together with considerations of finance, prevented the governor-general from fol- lowing up these vigorous measures by the complete overthrow of " one of the most notorious villains India ever produced ;"t and the immediate safety of Berar having been secured, Ameer Khan was suffered to escape with laidiminished powers of mis- chief. Before the close of his administra- tion. Lord Minto had reason to repent this mistaken lenity. Berar was again invaded, and one quarter of the capital burnt by the Patan and Pindarry freebooters, a party of whom proceeded to set at nought British authority, by an irruption into the fertile province of Mirzapoor. The advisability of reverting to the bold and generous policy of the Marquis Wellesley became evident ; and Lord Minto, whose term of office had nearly expired, urged upon the directors the necessity of vigorous measures. Indeed, • Malcolm's Central India, i., 340. Tod's liajasi'- han, i., 466. Malcolm states, that the circumstances attenduig the death of the princess excited loud and bitter wailing throughout the city of Oodipoor. An aged chief, named Sugwan Sing, having heard of the intended sacrifice, mounted his horse and rode with breathless haste to the palace. He found the rana and his counsellors seated in solemn silence ; and to his impetuous inquiry, whether Crishna were alive or dead, Ajeet Sing, the instigator of the tragedy, replied by an injunction to respect the affliction of a bereaved parent. Sugwan Sing un- buckled his sword and shield, and laid them at the feet of the rana, saying, " my ancestors have served yours for more than thirty generations, but these arms can never more be used on your behalf;" then turning to Ajeet Sing, he reproached him with hav- ing brought ignominy on the Rajpoot name, add- the leading acts of Lord Minto liimself were neither of a strictly defensive nor neutral eharaeter. Sir George liarlow's with- drawal of protection from the petty chiefs south of the Sutlcy, had tempted a neigh- bouring potentate, with whom the company had heretofore no connexion, to extend liis conquests in that direction. The leader in question was the famous Runjeet Sing, rajah of Lahore, a Seik chief of Jat descent. To prevent further aggression, the minor Seik powers menaced by him were declared under British supremacy, and a strong force as- sembled for their defence. Runjeet Sing, unwilling to provoke a contest, concluded a treaty with the company, by which he con- sented never to maintain a larger body of troops on the left bank of the Sutlcj than was needful to support his authority already established in that quarter. As a further guarantee for his good faith, a detachment, under Sir Uavid Ochterlony,J took up a permanent station at Loodiana, on the east- ern side of the river. The multiplied aggressions of France on the vessels of the E. I. Cy., and the fear of attempts to regain a territorial position in India, induced the dispatch of embassies to Persia§ and Cabool, for the sake of forming a more intimate alliance with those kingdoms. The Mauritius, Bourbon, and the Moluccas were captured by the British in 1810; and Java, with its dependencies, was conquered by Lord Minto, in person,|| in 1811. Of these valuable acquisitions, Bourbon, the beautiful island of Java, and the ^loluccas, were relinquished at the general pacifica- tion in 1815. Some few rcmainiug incidents of im- portance, which occurred in the time of Lord Minto, remain to be chronicled. The first of these is the death of the aged em- peror Shah Alum, in 180G, aged eighty- ing, as he quitted the assembly, " May the curse of a father light upon you — may you die childless." The malediction excited considerable attention, and the successive deaths of all the children of the guiltv noble, were viewed as its fulfilment. t tod's Jiqiasflian,i., 468. I Sir David Ochterlony and Runjeet Sing, like Holcar and Zalim Sing, were both one-eyed men. § Sir John Malcolm was sent to Persia by E. I. Cy. ; Sir Harford Jones and Sir G. Ouseley, by the Crown. II Lord Minto had been compelled' to'visit Madras in 1809, in consequence of the strong dissatisfaction ^s■hich prevailed among the European officers, arising from reduced allowances; but greatly aggravated by the dogged and tyrannical proceedings of the gov- ernor. Sir George Barlow. By a judicious blending of firmness and conciliation. Lord Minto succeeded in allaying an alarming tumult. 410 MOIRA, OR HASTINGS' ADMINISTRATION— 1813 three. He was succeeded in his titular authority by his eldest son, Akber Shah, who made some feeble attempts at the ac- quisition of real power, but soon renounced the futile endeavour. The exertions of the Travancore authorities in 1809, to throw off the yoke of the E. I. Cy., involved some destruction of life, but terminated in the principality becoming completely dependent on Fort St. George. The tribute exacted from Cochin was also largely increased. The last feature was an impending rup- ture with the Goorkas, a tribe who had come into notice about the middle of the eighteenth century, and had gradually as- sumed a dominant influence over the whole of the extensive valley of Nepaul. During the second administration of Lord Corn- wallis, they had completed the attainment of territory (less by violence than by fraud and corruption) which presented, on the side of the English, a frontier of 700 miles. Disputes had arisen between the Goorkas and certain chiefs, who, through the ces- sions made by the vizier of Oude, or other arrangements, had become British feudato- ries. The so-called pacific policy of Lord Wellesley's successors had emboldened ag- gression in all quarters ; and the seizure of Bhootwal (a border district of the ancient viceroyalty of Oude) was followed by re- newed invasion; until, in 1813, a new turn was given to affairs by the demand of the English authorities for the immediate sur- render of the usurped territories. Before an answer could arrive from the court of Nepaul, the reins of government passed from the hands of Lord Slinto, who returned to England, where he died (June, 1814), aged sixty-five. He was an able and energetic man ; and the removal of his prejudices paved the way for a similar change of feeling on the part of his countrymen.* MoiRA, OR Hastings' Administration, 1813 to 1823.— Lord Moira reached Calcutta in October, and, in the following month, received the tardy reply of the Goorkalese sovereign to the demand of Lord Minto for the evacuation of Bhootwal and Sheoraj. It was complimentary in manner, but un- compromising in substance. There were many reasons for avoiding immediate hos- tilities in this quarter, and attempts were made to settle the question by amica- * In 1813, an attempt to impose a house-tax occa- sioned great excitement in the lioly city of Benares: the people practised a singularly combined, and even- tually successful system, of passive resistance. ble negotiation ; but the persistance of the commissioners from Nepaul in reviving points previously settled, being at length silenced by a positive refusal to enter on such discussions, the British agent was warned to quit the frontier ; and the envoys were recalled to Katmandoo, the capital of Nepaul. Lord Moira was too anxious to avert a frontier war, to give place to hasty resentment; and he addressed aremonstrance to the Nepaulese government regarding the insulting manner in which the late negotia- tion had been broken off. No answer being returned to this communication, a detach- ment was sent from Goruckpoor to occupy the disputed lands, an object which was effected without opposition. The British troops placed the direction of affairs in the hands of native officials, and withdrew, con- gratulating themselves on the easy fulfilment of an unpromising task. The position of the northern mountaineers was but very imperfectly understood by the Calcutta functionaries, who now wielded the sceptre of the Mogul. During the palmy days of the empire, while the reins of gov- ernment were held by too firm a hand for servants to appropi'iate to themselves the dele- gated sway of the sovereign, the plains at the foot of the mountains, between the river Teesta on the east and the Sutlej on the west, had been possessed by numerous petty Hin- doo rajahs, who became tributary to the em- peror, and received, in return, protection from the aggressions of the lawless hill-chiefs, most of whom maintained their indepen- dence, though some were content to own a sort of vassalage to the empire, in return for the possession of a portion of the magnifi- cent forest of Sdl trees, and of the rich plain called the Turaee, lying between them and Hindoostan. The old highland rajahs, whose families had warred with their low- land countrymen from time immemorial, held their own during the continuance and after the decline of Mohammedan power, until one of themselves, an aspiring chief, named Prithi Narayan Sah,t rajah of the small state of Goorka, to the north-west of Nepaul, incited by the early victories of the English in Bengal, armed and disciplined a body of troops after the European fashion, and proceeded to absorb the surrounding states, in a manner described as closely t According to Col. Kirkjiatrick, the Goorka dynasty claim descent from the ranas of Oodipoor. Itumilion states, tliey helong to the Magar tribe, which has but very partially yielded to Brahministn. WAR WITH THE GOORKAS OR NEPAULESE— 1814. 411 resembling that whieh had rendered the na- tion lie imitated manterH of India. The na- bob of Moorsliedabad, Meer (Rossini Ali, at- I tempted to interfere on behalf of some of the weaker chiefs in 1762-'3, bnt sustained a 8ij:i;!ial defeat ; and an expedition sent by the Hengal government, in 17()7, to succour the rajah of Nepanl, proved equally unsuc- cessful. Prithi Narayan died in 1771, but his successors carried on the same scheme of conquest, crossed the Gogra river, seized Kumaou, and even strove to gain posses- sion of the rich valley of Cashmere. The lowland rajahs, when transferred by the ces- sion of the vizier of Oude from Mussulman to British rule, were suflered to retain un- disturbed possession of their territories on payment of a fixed land-tax. The Goork- alcsc, on the contrary, as each hill-chieftain was successively vanquished, exterminated the family, and, with the conquered posses- sions, took up the claims and contests of their former lords, and were thus brought in contact with numerous rajahs and zemindars, actually occupying the position of British subjects. The complaints laid before the supreme government by these persons were generally but lightly regarded ; and, unless under very peculiar circumstances, the Goorkalese were treated as good neigh- bours, whom it was desirable to conciliate. Under a strong government at Calcutta, outrages on the frontier were of compara- tively rare oceurrence, and, when firmly de- manded, reparation was usually made ; but the unfortunate measures of Sir George Barlow incited aggressions which were not to be so easily checked as heretofore. The rajah (a prince with a long string of names, differently given by different authorities)* was a minor. The chief authority rested in the hands of a military aristocracy, headed by a powerful family called Thappa, of whom one member, Bheem Sein, exercised the office of prime minister, with the title of general, while his brother, Umur Sing, held command of the army. The expediency of war with the English was much canvassed by the Goorkalese chiefs. The decision arrived at was, that their native fastnesses would always afford an invulnerable position, and by issuing thence on predatory incur- sions, a state of hostility could be made more • Styled by Fraser, Jiibun Joodeber Bheem Sah ; by Prinsep, Maharajah Xurnian Jorih Bikram Sah Bahadur bhumsheer Jung. His father was assassi- nated by hia own brother in full durbar, in 1805. The fratricide was slain in the ensuing barbarous aflVay, in which most of the chief nobles perished, and the advantageous, than peace purchased at Ihc saerificeof their favourite system of encroach- ment. The British, on their part, viewed the approaching struggle with little appre- hension. The Bengal oflicers, especially, made sure of victory. From the days of Clive to those of Lake, with scarcely an ex- ception, they had but to take the field and march straight against the enemy, to en- sure his precipitate flight. The uncontested occupation of Bhootwal and Slieoraj, seemed the natural effect of their military reputa- tion, and considerable surprise was excited by tidings that the Goorkalese had set them at defiance, by taking advantage of the with- drawal of the troops to surround the three police-stations in Bhootwal, where after kill- ing and wounding twenty-four of the de- fenders, the superior local officer of the British had been murdered in a very bar- barous manner. The governor-general de- manded from the court of Katmandoo the disavowal of any share in this outrage, and the punishment of its perpetrators ; but re- ceived a menacing reply, whieh precluded further hope of an amicable arrangement, and occasioned the issue of a declaration of war by Lord Moira in November, 1814. The army destined for the invasion of the enemy's frontier, formed four divisions, of which the first, under Major-general Marley, comprised 8,000 men, and was intended to march against Katmandoo. The other three divisions, under Maj. -generals Wood, Gilles- pie, and Ochterlony (4,500, 3,500, and 6,000 strong), were directed to attack different por- tions of the hostile frontier ; besides which, Major Latter was furnished with a body of 2,700 men for the defence of the Purneah frontier, to the eastward of the Coosy river. f The campaign opened with the siege of the petty fortress of Kaluuga or Nalapanee, situ- ated on an insulated hill, a few miles from Dehra, the chief town in the Doon (or valley.) The garrison consisted of about (500 men, headed by a nephew of Umur Sing. The English expected to carry the place by storm according to custom, and the gallant Rollo Gillespie, with fatal impetuosity, led an assault, in which, while waving his hat to cheer the troops, he was shot through the heart. The siege was discontinued pending the arrival of a battering train from Delhi ; royal family was nearly extinguished. The present rajah (then an infant) was secreted in the zenana. t Major (now General) Latter rendered good service by his negotiations with the rajah of Sikkim (a hill state cast of Nepaul), and his small detachment "ac- complished more than it was destined to attempt." 412 INVASION OF NEPAUL— MALOUN BESIEGED— 1814-'15. but even when a breach had been effected, the soldiers, dispirited by their former re- pulse, could not be induced to advance. It was not until the assailants had sustained a loss, in killed and wounded, considerably be- yond the entire number of the garrison, that measures were taken to shell the fort, and cut off the supply of water obtained without the walls. The besieged were compelled to evacuate the place on the 30th November, 1814. The conquerors found in the mangled bodies of hundreds of men and women, dead or dying of wounds and thirst, fearful evidence of the determination of the foe with whom they had now to deal. This inauspicious commencement seems to have inspired three out of four of the leaders of the British army (ineludiuif Martindell, the successor of Gil- lespie) with a degree of timidity and dis- trust, which can scarcely be disguised be- neath the name of prudence ; and General Marley was struck oiF the staff for neglect and incompetency. General Ochterlony displayed a quickness and energy which, combined with discretion, enabled him to cope with difficulties of a new and unex- pected order, and, although opposed by Umur Sing in person, to obtain triumphs to counterbalance the disasters which at- tended the other divisions. He had formed from the first a just estimate of the charac- ter of the enemy, whom he met with their own weapons, especially by the erection of stockaded posts, before unknown in Anglo- Indian warfare. The opening movements of the English veteran were cautious and laborious. The making of roads, and diplo- matic proceedings with wavering chiefs, oc- cupied much time before his masterly policy could be developed ; but its eflects were manifested by the reduction of the Ramgurh and other forts, and by the withdrawal of Umur Sing, with his entire force, to the strong position of Maloun. The stone fort thus named, and that of Soorajgurh, formed the extremities of a line of fortified posts, erected on a lofty and difficult ridge project- ing into the Sutlej. Of the intervening peaks, all were occupied by stockades except Ryla peak and Deothul. Of these two, Ochterlony, on his approach, succeeded in obtaining possession ; the first without diffi- culty, the second after a sanguinary conflict * Thi! Ooorkalcse displayed throughout the cani- jjaign an unexpected amount of chivalry, and ex- hihited, in many ways, their confidence in the fjood faith of the Ijritish. After the battle of Deothul, ihey asked for the body of Bhukti Sing, whose loss they loudly bemoaned, declaring that the blade of on the 15th April, 1815. Bhukti Thappa, a famous leader, above seventy years of age, who commanded at Soorajgurh, represented to Umur Sing the necessity of dislodging the British from Deothul ; and on the morn- ing of the 16tli, an attack was made by the flower of the Goorkalese army on all acces- sible sides.* Happily, the previous night had been spent in throwing up defences in expectation of a renewed struggle. The enemy came on with such furious intre- pidity, that several men were bayoneted or cut to pieces within the works; and their fire was directed so effectively against the artillerymen, that at one time three officers and one bombardier alone remained to serve tlie guns. A reinforcement, with ammuni- tion from Ryla peak, arrived at a critical moment, and the British, after acting for two hours on the defensive, became in turn as- sailants ; Bhukti was slain, his followers put to flight, and a complete victory obtained, at the cost of 213 killed and wounded. The enemy left about 500 men on the ground before Deothul. The event afforded a great triumph to the native troops, by whom it was almost wholly achieved. It was followed by the evacuation of Soorajgurh, and the concentration of the hostile force in Maloun, against which place a battery was raised by the end of the first week in May. In the meantime, the governor-general had been actively employed in initiating a series of spirited operations on the side of Rohilcund. While visiting the north-western provinces, he had learned that the inhabi- tants of Kumaon were held in rigorous subjection by the Goorkalese, who frequently seized and sold their wives and children to enforce the most arbitrary exactions. To supply the place of regular troops, levies were made from the warlike Patans of Rohil- cund, under the auspices of two commanders (Gardner and Hearsey), who had come over from Sindia at the time of the Mahratta war. The corps organised by Major Hear- sey was dispersed by the enemy, and its leader made prisoner ; but Lieutenant Gard- ner succeeded in making his way into the heart of the province of Kumaon, and took up a position in sight of Alniora, the capital, where a force of reguhir infantry and artil- lery, under Colonel NichoUs, joined him in their sword was broken. Ochterlony complied with the request, and sent the gory corpse, wrapped in rich shawls, in acknoH ledgment of the bravery of the fallen chief. II is two widows sacrificed themselves on the funeral pile next day, in com]>liance with his in- junction. — (H, T. I'rinsep's Trans, in India, i., 170.) SUCCESSFUL ISSUE OP NEPAULESE WAR— 181G. 413 the middle of April. The Sctolee lieif];hts, distant from the fort about seventy y.-irds, were gained after a severe contest ; and the governor, thus closely menaced, and strait- ened for want of supplies, si^^nod terms of surrender for the whole iirovincc, and for the retirement of the Goorkalcsc troops to the cast of the Kalee river — articles which were duly executed. Tidings of the fall of Almora facilitated the conquest of Maroun. The dispirited Goorkalesc entreated Uinur Sing to make terms for himself and his sou llunjoor, whom General Marlindell had incfl'ectually besieged in the fort of Jythidc. The old chief refused, declaring, that the rainy season, now close at hand, would compel the British to withdraw ; aud he used the most severe coercion to retain the allegiance of the troops. But in vain : the majority of both oHicers and men came over to the British camp as prisoners of war; and Umur Sing, with but 250 remaining adherents, beheld the batteries ready to open upon the walls of Maloun. Convinced of the hope- lessness of prolonged resistance, the proud chief resigned his last stronghold, together with all the territory from Kuraaou west- ward to the Sutk'j, including, of course, Jythuk. Thus a campaign which, in Jan- uary, promised nothing but disaster, termi- nated in May with the conquest of the whole hilly tract from the Gogra to the Sutlej, a country hitherto deemed impene- trable to Europeans. The triumph was, in fact, mainly due to native troops; of whom, with the exception of a few artillerymen, Ochterlony's division was exclusively com- posed. It is important to add, that this force was extremely well oiliccrcd, and that its operations were materially facilitated by the ability of the field engineer, Lieutenant Lawtic, who died, aged twenty-four, of fever, brought on by excessive fatigue aud exposure eudurcd before Maloun.* Ochterlony received a baronetcy, and a pension of £1,000 a-year in acknowledg- ment of his services. The governor-general was rewarded by a step in the peerage, being created IMarquis of Hastings. "X'arious im- portant arrangements attended the conclu- sion, or rather interruption, of hostilities. Many of the Goorkalesc entered the Bri- tish service, aud were formed into what were • General Ochterlony deeply lumeiited liis brave coadjutor. The whole army went into mourninjj, and afterwards erected a monument to the memory of Lieut. Lawtie in the cathedral church of Calcutta. 3 II termed the A^Mseeree battalions; a provincial corps was also raised for civil duties iri Kumaon, which now became a British pro- vince. The Doou was retained, and lUti- niately annexed to the Seharanpoor district. The remaining hill country was restored to the several chiefs from whom it had been wrested by I mur Sing, with the exception of a few military posts; and the whole terri- tory was declared under British protection. The Katmandoo government was not, how- ever, yet sufficiently humbled to accept the terms of peace offered by Lord Hastings. Umur Sing and his sons strenuously advo- cated the renewal of war, in j)reference to suffering a British resident and military establishment to be stationed at the capital. Another object of dispute was the fertile but insalubrious Turaee and the adjacent Sal [shorea robusta) forest, of which, accord- ing to a Goorkalesc saying, " every tree is a mine of gold.''t The })roposed treaty was therefore rejected, and Sir David Ochter- lony again took the field in January, 1816, at the head of nearly 17,000 effective men, including three European regiments. All the known passes through the first range of hills had been carefully fortified by the enemy ; but, happily, a route was dis- covered through a deep and narrow ravine, by which the Chcrea heights were gained without resistance, and the position of the Goorkalesc completely turned. The Bri- tish general marched on to the beautiful valley of the llaptee, and was moving up to ]\lukwanpoor, when a skirmish of posts paved the way to a general action, in which he obtained a signal victory ; whereupon the royal red seal was hastily affixed to the re- jected treaty of Segoulce, and a duly quali- fied envoy presented it on his knees at the durbar of General Ochterlony, in pre- sence of all the vakeels in the camp. By a jiolitic concession, a part of the Turaee was surrendered to tlie Nepaulcse. The portion skirting the Oude dominions was retained, and, together with Khyree- gurh, a pergiinnah of Kohilcund, was made over to Ghazi-oo-deen, in payment of a second loan of a crore of rupees obtained from him during the war, aud furnished out of the hoards of his father, Sadut Ali, the late nabob-vizicr, who died in 181 1. During the Goorkalesc war, indications t The timber is used in ship-building, though far inferior to the teak of Malabar ami of the Burnian empire. The elephant, rhinoceros, and bufi'alo abound in the forest, and ravage the plain. 414 PINDARRY IRRUPTIONS— MAHRATTA PROCEEDINGS— 1815-'16-'17. of a desire to take advantage of any symptom of vreakuess in tlie British government were not wanting on the part of Sindia, or even of the peishwa, who now began to think himself strong enough to stand alone, and was well inclined to kick aside the ladder by which he had risen to fortune. The triumphant conclusion of the late hostili- ties checked the development of these feel- ings, and left Lord Hastings at liberty to direct his chief attention to the suppression of the predatory bands of Pindarries and Patans, who had arisen, " like masses of putrefaction, out of the corruption of weak and expiring states."* The chief difference between them was, that the Patans were military mercenaries, associated for the pur- pose of invading or plundering such states as they could overpower or intimidate ; while the Pindarries were cowardly and desperate banditti, whose object was universal rapine. Against both these descriptions of marau- ders the English authorities were compelled to be continually on the alert. The most effectual defensive measure was considered to be the establishment of subsidiary troops in Berar. The death of Ragojee Bhouslay appeared likely to facilitate this arrange- ment; for his only son Pursajee, being paralysed and an idiot, the nephew of the late rajah Moodajee, commonly called Appa Sahib, assumed the regency; and the better to establish his ascendancy, sought the re- cognition of the English at the cost of entering upon tlie defensive alliance which they particularly desired. Appa Sahib was, at heart, decidedly opposed to the establish- ment of foreign influence at Nagpoor, and no sooner felt himself firmly seated on the yadi, than he sought the means of re- covering the purchase-money of his position by entering into negotiations with the court of Poona, then the nucleus of a powerful confederacy forming against the English — a proceeding which he accompanied by the precaution of causing his young and afflicted ward to be strangled in the night of Feb- ruary 1st, 1817. • Malcolm's Central India, i., 431. Sir John, on the authority of tlm Pimlarry leader, Kurcem Klian, gives the etymolo^'y of the term Pindarry— from Pinda, an intoxicating drink which they were con- stantly imbibing. Kunem Khan was a llohilla. t No fewer than twenty-live women drowned themselves to escape violation ; manv sacrificed also their young cliildren. The ordinary' modes of tor- ture inflicted l)y the Pindarries were — heavy stones placed on the head or chest; rcd-hol irons applied to the soles of the feet ; tying the liead of a person into a tobra or bag for feeding horses, filled with hot Before this event, the incursions of the Pindarries had alarmingly increased, and in 1816 they remained twelve days within the British frontier, during which time they were ascertained to have plundered 339 villages, put 182 persons to a cruel death, severely wounded 50.5, and subjected 3,G03 others to different kinds of torture. t The losses sus- tained by individuals at Guntoor (in the Nor- thern Circars) and elsewhere, were estimated at about £100,000 sterling. The peishwa, Sindia, and the divided authorities on whom the management of the Holcar principality had devolved, affected to desire the suppres- sion of these enormities; but as it was notorious they favoured the perpetrators, it became necessary to take steps against such deceitful governments. The policy pursued by the peishwa toward his English patrons, had become evidently hostile since the accession to office, in 1815, of one Trimbukjee Dainglia, a menial ser- vant, who had found the path to power by promoting the gratification of his mas- ter's ill-regulated desires. The assassination of Gungadhur Shastree,J the representative of the Guicowar chief, who had come to Poona to settle a question of finance, under the express protection of the English, justified the resident {]\Iountstuart Elphinstone) in demanding the removal from office of the instigator of the crime. Bajee Rao, with characteristic indecision, first surrendered his favourite, and then unceasingly solicited his deliverance from the imprisonment which was the only punishment the English autho- rities desired to inflict. Artifice eflected the deliverance of the prisoner. The Mah- ratta groom of one of the British officers in the garrison of Tanna, in the island of Salsette, while engaged in exercising his master's horse, sang beneath the window of Trimbukjee what appeared to be one of the monotonous ballads of the country, but which really communicated to the captive a plan of escape, of which he took advantage on the evening of the 12th of Septem- ber, 1816. Having made an excuse for ashes; throwing oil on the clothes and setting fire to them ; besides many others equally horrible. Their favourite weapon was the long Mahratta s])ear. J Gungadhur was the name of the ambassador; Shastree, a title denoting intimate acquaintancs with tlie Shastras, a portion of the sacred writings of the Hindoos. B.ijee Hao was himself supposed to have sanctioned tlic murder, to revenge an affront given by the Shastree in refusing to allow his wife to visit the ]ia!ace of tlie jieishwa, then tlio scone of licentiousness unparalleled during the sway of any of his predecessors. — (]>uff's 3Iahrattas, iii., ST-l.) TREATY OF POONA, 181G— PATANS AND PINDAIUIIES. 4H quitting IjIs rooms, he reached an embra- sure, and lowered himself into the ditch hy means of a rope, secured to a fjnii by one of his aeeonipliccH. Tbis udvcntme ^I'tally increased the reputation of Trinibuli jcc; with his own countrymen, and he bof;an to as- semble troops on the ]\Iahadco hills to the north of the Nccra. The military ])repa- rations of the pcishwa, and his secret cor- respondence, and even interviews, with a subject ajjainst whom lie affected to desire the co-operation of Britisli troops, left little doubt of his peiiidious intentions; and the govcrnor-<;cncral considered himself justified in adopting a very summary mode of di- minishing the power which he expected to sec employed in counteracting his plans for j the destruction of the Piiularries. Bajec ; Rao was treated as an avowed enemy, and I required, as the only means of averting war, to surrender Trimbukjec, to renounce the right of supremacy over the Mahratta con- federation, and to surrender certain terri- tories in Malwa, Guzerat, and the Deccan, for the purpose of supporting a force of 5,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry, to be maintained in lieu of the previous 15ritish contingent. Other humiliating concessions were exacted from Bajee Rao, by the treaty of Poona ratified in June, 1816, which in fact reduced him from the position of an independent prince to that of a mere vassal. The treaty of Basseiu had been censured for the sacrifices it entailed on the peishwa ; and " the extension of the sub- sidiary system in 1805, had led the way to the retirement of the most eulighteued statesman who had ruled in India."* By this time the weathercock of public opinion had veered round, and the Court of Direc- tors expressed themselves well satisfied with the course of events, and convinced " of the irrepressible tendency of our Indian power to enlarge its bounds and to augment its preponderance, in spite of the most peremp- tory injunctions of forbearance from home, and of the most scrupulous obedience to them in the government abroad.''t The sanction of the E. I. Cy. was hkewise • Auber's British Power in India, ii., 528. t Secret LeUer of Directory to Bengal, Jan., 1818. j I'rinsep's MUitary Transactions, ii., 21. § Among the malcontents assembled under Ameer Khan was Dya Kam, a refractory talnokilar, or ze- mindar of the Doab, who, in ISlfi, had been ex- pelled by British, troops from his fort of Hatras. II The peislnva had command over 2S,0(M) horse ; 13,800 foot ; 37 guns. Sindia— 1 1,2 JO horse ; 16,250 foot; 140 guns. Holcar— 20,000 horse ; 7,940 foot; given to offensive operations to tiic extent re(jnisite to drive the Pindarrics from their haunts on the Norbudda and from Malwa. Tiic views of the Martpiis of Hastings were more comprehensive : he considered that the peace of Central India demanded the total ex- termination of these predatory bands; and to that ciul " did not hesitate boldly to assume the principle that, in the operations against the Pindarrics, no power could be sullered to remain neutral, but all should be recpnred to join the league for their suppression. "J At this period (181 7) the Pindarrics, under their i-cspcetive leaders, were stated, by the lowest computation, at 15,000 horse, 1,500 foot, with twenty guns. Other writers car- ried the estimate as high as 30,000; but authorities agreed, that when joined by vohiuteers and adventiu'crs from other na- tive armies, they often exceeded the latter amount. The Patans, mider Araccr Khan, were estimated at 12,000 horse, 20,000 foot, and 200 guns. Supposing the contemplated confederation between the four Mahratta leaders (the peishwa, Sindia, Holcar, and the Bhonslay), the Nizam, Ameer Khau,§ and the Pindarrics, to have been carried out, a force of above 130,000 horse, 87,000 foot, and nearly GOO guns might have been brought into the field to dispute British supremacy. || Measures had been already taken to diminish the danger of hostility on the part of the peishwa, and the subsidiary alliance lately formed with Berar was expected to ensure neutrality in that quarter. The plan of the campaign, therefore, was princi- pally formed with relation to the indepen- dent states of Sindia, Ilolcar, the Rajpoots, the nabob of Bhopal, and the chiefs of Bundelcund. Something after the fashion of the old "circular hunts" was to be at- tempted, by assembling armies round these countries which should, by simultaneous movements, close in so as to encompass the Pindarrics and their abettors at all points, provision being made for the defeat of the project through the strength or cunning of the enemy, as well as for the defence of the 107 guns. Bhonslav— 15,766 horse; 17,826 foot; 85 guns. Nizam— 25,000 horse ; 20,000 foot. The Nizam himself was too weak and indolent, if not incapable, to be suspected of any intention to in- trigue against the English ; but his sons were tur- bulent youths, whose vicious practices it had been necessary to assist their father in restraining ; and it was difficult to judge what might be the conduct of the numerous armed population of Hyderabad, in the event of reverses attending our arms. 416 LORD HASTINGS MARCHES AGAINST THE PINDARRIES— 1817. British territory. The forces destined to carry out this extensive scheme comprised above 91,000 regular troops, and 23,000 irregular horse,* divided and subdivided in accordance with the plan of the cam- paign. On the 20th October, 1817, the mar- quis, in person, assumed command of the grand army at Secuudra (near Kalpee), and after crossing the Jumna by a bridge of boats, proceeded to occupy a position south of Gwalior, where Sindia had established his permanent camp ;t while another division of the Bengal troops took up its station at Dholpoor. Undoubted evidence had been obtained that Sindia had not onlj' pledged himself to support the Pindarries, but had even attempted a treacherous correspon- dence with the Nepaulese. His intercepted communications proved him to be only wanting a favourable opportunity to take the field, and thus give an example which would assuredly liave been followed by the open appearance in arms of Ameer Khan and his Patans, who were at present inclined to hold back from their Pindarry friends. Sindia had inherited the ambition without the judgment or decision of his predecessor. He had not anticipated the skilful move- ment by which he found himself menaced by a formidable force in front and in the rear. To bide the event of a siege in Gwalior, or to repair to his distant domi- nions and join the Pindarries, with the chance of being intercepted and compelled to risk the event of a general engagement, were both humiliating and dangerous mea- sures, which he thought best to avoid by agreeing to the demands of the English. These involved active concurrence against the Pindarries, and the temporary sur- render of the forts of Ilindia and Aseerghur, as a pledge of fidelity. The treaty exacted from Sindia was followed by the submission of Ameer Khan, who agreed to disband his army, if confirmed in possession of tlie terri- tory of which he was in the actual tenure under grants from Holcar. As this noto- • The Deccan force, under Sir Thomas Hislop (including a reserve corps, the Guzerat division, and the troops left at Poona, Hyderabad, and Nag- poor) numbered 57,000 regulars, of whom 5,-'Jo were cavalry. The liengal force comprised 34,000 regulars, including 5,000 cavalry. — (Col. Rlacker.) t Sindia seized Gwalior ujion the death of Am- bajee Inglia, in 1808, and established his army in the neighbourhood, where he remained until his own demise in 1827. A city sjjrang up there which soon rivalled Oojcin, if not in the costliness of its structures, at least in the amount of population. rious chief was a mere adventurer, whose de- mands could only be conceded by legalising the usurpations on which they were founded, it may be doubted whether temporary expe- diency, rather than justice, was not the actuating motive in the arrangement entered upon with him. Treaties with Zalim Sing of Kotah, and other minor potentates, were made in a spirit similar to those formed by Lake under tlie auspices of Lord Wellesley; and the nabob of Bhopal, especially, entered cordially into the intended expedition against the despotic freebooters from whose ravages his small territories had sustained almost irremediable damage. J The Pindarry chiefs, meanwhile, aware of the extensive preparations made against them, employed themselves during the rains in recruiting their respective durrahs or camps. The want of cordiality between the principal leaders — namely, Cheetoo, Kureem Khan, and Wasil Mohammed — prevented their forming any combined plan of resis- tance. With the exception of some luhburs, or plundering expeditions dispatched against the unprotected territory of the British or their allies, little attempt at opposition was made ; and losing their usual activity, the majority of the Pindarries retreated pas- sively before the advancing foe, fixing their last hope on the secret assurances of support received from Poona. The governor-general does not appear to have anticipated any struggle on the part of the peishwa to recover his lost authority. Mr. Elphiustone, in his capacity of resident, had seen ample reason to take precautions against this highly probable event; but Bajee Rao, in an interview with the politi- cal agent. Sir John IMalcolm, had conducted himself so plausibly, that Sir John, com- pletely duped by professions of grateful attachment for early support, mingled with sad complaints of the harsh policy recently adopted, forgot the character of the arch- hypocrite with whom he had to deal, and actually advised the peishwa to continue X In 1797, two Pindarry leaders, named Heeroo and Burrun, who were also brothers, offered the services of themselves and tlieir 5,000 followers to the state of Bhopal, as auxiliaries in the war then carried on with Berar. Being rejected, they went off and made a similar proposition to liagojee Bhonslay, who received it favourably, and bade tlicm lay waste Bhopal, then in a most flourishing con- dition. The order was obeyed with cruel and lasting effect. The cliiefs were plundered by their employer the Berar rajah. Heeroo, the father of Wasil Mo- hammed, died in prison ; Burrun at Aseerghur. J3ATTLE OF KIRKEE— BAJEE BAO DEFEATED— NOV. 5, 1817. 417 enlistiiifij recruits for the laudable pur[)ONe of co-operating with his good friends the Eng- lish. Thus encouraged, IJajee llao opeidy levied troops from ail (juartoi's, and secretly endeavoured to induce the IJritish sepoys stationed at I'oona to desert their colours. The native oflicers and regulars were, with- out exception, proof against these solicita- tions, which in many instances were made known to their commanders. But the iri'cgular battalions, under Major Ford, contained a large proportion of Mahrattas, and these were naturally more subject to temptation. It is asserted that the peisliwa desired, before proceeding further, to be rid of the resident by assassination ; but that Bappoo Gokla, the chief Mahratta leader, positively refused to sufl'cr the perpetration of so base a crime, the more especially since he had received peculiar kindness from the intended victim. Happily, Mr. Elphinstonc was on his guard alike against national and individual hostility, and waited anxiously the first symptom of xmdisguised hostility, in anticipation of which a regiment had arrived from Bombay. Thinking the can- tonment in Poona too exposed, the station was changed to the village of Kirkce, four miles distant ; a step which, being attributed to fear, greatly encouraged the jMahrattas, who began to plunder the old cantonments. At length, on the 4th of Nov., 1817, Moro Dikshut, the minister of the peishwa, ac- tuated by personal attachment, warned Major Ford to stand neuter in the coming struggle, and thus save himself and his family from the destruction which was shortly to overwhelm the whole British de- tachment. Up to this moment the major, though in daily communication with the city, had been so completely hoodwinked by Bajee Rao, as to entertain no suspicion of intended treachery. On the following day, news of the approach of a light battalion from Seroor, determined the irresolute peishwa to defer the attack no longer. Efforts were continued to the last to thi'ow the British ofl' their guard ; and an emissary, bearing some frivolous message from the court, had scarcely quitted the residency, before intelligence arrived that the ^laliratta army was in movement. Mr. Elphinstone and his suite had just time to mount and retire by the ford of the Moola river, to join their comrades at Kirkce, before the enemy arrived and took possession of the residency, which was speedily pillaged and burned. The British brigade, leaving their canton- ments, advanced to the plain between Kirkce and the city, to meet the .Mahratta troops. The peishwa, disconcerted by this daring movement, sent word to (jokla not to fire the first gmi. (Jokla, seeing the messenger, and susptcting the nature of his errand, waited not his arrival, but commenced the attack by opening a battery of nine guns, detach- ing a strong corps of rocket camels, and pushing forward his cavalry to the right and left. A spirited charge was made under his direction by Moro Dikshut, with a select body of (),()00 horse, bearing the Jitree Putka or swallow-tailed golden ])cnnon of the empire. They came down like a torrent on the British front, but were steadily encountered by the 7th battalion. Colonel Burr had "formed ami led" this corps; and now, though completely paralysed on one side, he took his post by its colours, calm and collected. One ball went through his hat, another grazed the head of his horse, two attendants were shot by his side; but the infirm oflicer, unhurt and undismayed, con- tinued to cheer and direct his men. The advance of the assailants was happily im- peded by a deep slough (the existence of which was not ])reviously suspected by either party), situated immediately in front of the British line. The cavalry, while scrambling out of the mire, were exposed to the re- served fire of Burr's detachment; ISforo Dikshut was killed, the force of the charge broken, confusion spread through the Mah- ratta ranks, and the advance of the English proved the signal for a general retreat. The battle of Kirkee must ever remain con- spicuous among the hard-fought fields of India, for the great disproportion of the combatants. The Mahratta force comprised 18,000 cavalry and 8,000 foot: their loss was 500 men in killed and wounded ;* beside which, a considerable number of their valu- able and highly-cherished horses were dis- abled. The whole number of the British troops engaged in this affair, including jMajor Ford's battalion (part of which de- serted), was 2,800 rank and file, of whom 800 were Europeans. Their loss was 186 killed and fifty-seven wounded. During the engai;ement, the peishwa re- mained on the Parbuttee hill, witli a guard of 7,000 men. At the first outbreak of hostilities, his orders were vindictive and ferocious in the extreme ;t but he became * Moro Dikshut was mortally wounded by a shot from a gun attached to Captain Ford's battalion, t Several Europeans were killed in cold-blood; 418 BATTLE OF CORYGAUM— SURRENDER OF SATTARA— 1818. alarmed by the unexpected turn of events, and gave over all power into tlie hands of Gokla, who was anxious to continue the contest. " "We may have taken our shrouds about our heads," he said, "but we are determined to die with our swords in our hands."* This was not, however, the gen- eral feeling of the ]\Iahrattas. They had httle cause for attachment to the grasping and incapable Bajee Rao ; and he displayed an utter want of confidence in their will or ability to protect him, by taking the ap- proach of a British reinforcement, under General Smith, as the signal for a midnight retreat towards Sattara. Poona, thus a second time deserted by its sovereign, sur- rendered on the following day; and the necessary arrangements having been made for its retention. General Smith started off in pursuit of the peishwa, who, though a fugitive, was still at the head of a formi- dable army. He was further strengthened by the open adhesion of Appa Sahib, the rajah of Berar, between whom and the British force, under Colonel Scott, a severe conflict took place on the heights near Nag- poor, on the night of the 26tli of November. The rajah being defeated, made terms of peace, for the fulfilment of which he was himself to be the guarantee, as a sort of prisoner in his own palace ; but Mr. (after- wards Sir Richard) Jenkins, learning that Appa Sahib was only waiting an opportu- nity of escape, seized and sent him strongly escorted towards Benares. The captive, though treated heretofore without much ceremony, was suffered to choose his own escort; the result of which was, that the British officer on guard, having been made to believe that his charge was an invalid, gave a hasty glance at the bed on which Appa Sahib usually slept, and turned away after this slack performance of his nightly duty, without discovering that a pillow had been made to take the place of a person who was already many miles distant. General Smith followed the peishwa through the Ghauts, but failed in bringing him to action. This much-desired object was, however, unexpectedly accomplished on the 1st of January, 1818, by a detach- ment proceeding to support Colonel Burr in resisting an expected attack on Poona. Captain Staunton, with one battalion of N. I. GOO strong, 350 irregular horse, and and the families of the native troops who fell into the hands of the Mahrattas were cruelly maltreated • Duff's Mahratlas, iii., 429. two 6-pounders, manned by twenty-four Europeans, after a long night march, reached the hills above Corygaum, a village over- hanging the steep bauk of the Becma river, and beheld with surprise the whole force of the peishwa, estimated at 25,000 to 28,000 men, encamped on the opposite bank. Both parties pushed on for the village, and suc- ceeded in occupying diSereut portions ; but the British gained possession of a small choultry, or place of refreshment, which had originally been a temple. Here the de- tachment remained, under a burning sun, cut off from the water from noon to nine o'clock, disputing every foot of ground, and repidsing repeated attacks with the bayonet. The peishwa ascended an adjoining emi- nence, and, with the rajah of Sattara by his side, awaited what seemed a certain vic- tory. Gokla and Trimbukjec (who had now joined his master) directed the attacks; and the Arab mercenaries, whose superior cou- rage was acknowledged by superior pay, at one time became masters of the choultry, but it was soon recaptured. The struggle seemed hopeless, but surrender was not thought of. " See," said Captain Staun- ton, pointing to the headless trunk of Lieu- tenant Chisholm, lying beside a gun, " the mercy of the Mahrattas ! " The troops, though some were fainting and others nearly frantic with thirst, declared that sooner than fall into the hands of their foes, they would die to a man : and the result seemed probable. Happily, towards nightfall, a supply of water was procured. The firing gradually ceased ; and at daybreak, when the brave band prepared to renew the con- flict, the enemy was descried moving off on the road to Poona, in consequence of the rumoured advance of General Smith. Cap- tain Staunton, who was unburt, retreated to Seroor; and the government, in commemo- ration of this gallant affair, raised the corps engagedf to the much-coveted rank of grena- diers, and added " Corygaum" to the name of " Maugalore," previously borne by the first regiment of Bombay native infantry. Sattara was besieged by a combined force under generals Smith and Pritzlcr, on the 9th of February, and capitulated on the fol- lowing day. A manifesto was issued by Mr. Elphinstone, on behalf of the British government, taking formal possession of the dominions of the peishwa, with the view of + The battalion (2nd of 1st ISombay N. I.) lost 153 killed and wounded ; the artillerymen (2(5 in all), IS; cavalry, 90 ; officers, 6 out of 8, including 2 surgeOns. BATTLE OP ASIITEIi— SUBMISSION OP PEISHWA-CIIOLKRA. 419 retaining all except a small tract to be re- served for tlic nijah of Sattara, wlin, with his family, was still in tin: haiids of Bujcc llao. General Smith aj^ain started olf in [jiir- suit, and came up with the Maliratta force at Ashtee, to the north-westward of Shola- poor. IJajee Rao, as usual, thoufjlit only of making good his retreat, and left (jokla, with a body of ci^lit or ten thousand horse, to fight the En^'lish. (Jeneral Smith,* tliough in other respects a good officer, is said to have been ignorant of the art of manoeuvring cavalry, and he was opposed by a leader of unrivalled skill in that favourite branch of Maliratta warfare. The English chief was cut down, and some confusion ensued ; of which before Gokla could take advantage, he was liimself slain — falling, as he had pi'o- mised, sword in hand. There was no one capable of taking his place, and the Mali- rattas fled in wild dismay, leaving elephants, camels, and baggage of all descriptions, to the victors. t The rajah of Sattara, with his mother and two brothers, voluntarily threw themselves on Jiritish protection ; and being placed under the care of Mr. Elphiu- stone, and assured of the favourable inten- tions of the British government, the rajah assumed the state of a sovereign. The wound of General Smith did not prove dangerous, and he was soon enabled to re- sume the pursuit of Bajee Rao, which the excessive heat of the weather rendered an extremely arduous and depressing task. The men fell beneath sun-strokes more surely and speedily than in the recent engagements, and the hospitals became crowded. The fugitive peishwa had long been desirous to make terms of peace ; and at length, when his intended passage across the Nerbudda was intercepted by Sir John Malcolm, he made proposals which that officer considered as affording satisfactory ground for an arrangement. The terras finally agreed to were the complete renun- ciation of every political right or claim by Bajee Rao, in return for an allowance of not less than eight lacs of rupees a-year. Beithoor, a place of sanctity near Cawnpore, was appointed for his future residence. Trimbukjee was soon after captured in his lurking-place by a party of irregular horse under Lieutenant Swanston (one of the vic- • Afterwards Sir Lionel Smith, govr. of Jamaica. t The British loss amounted to only nineteen killed and wounded; that of the encmv, to 200. I 'Trniisactwits in India, 1813 to 18^3, i., 107—111. Mr. Prinsep was present at head-quarters, and lost seven servants and a moonslicc in four days. During tors at Corygaum), and sent prisoner to the fort of Cliunar, in Bengal. 'i'o revert to the 0])crations simulta- neously carried on against the Pindarrics, Soon after the signing of the treaty of alli- ance with Sindia, on the oth of Nov., 1817, the army uiid(!r Lord Hastings was over- taken by a violent pestilence, since known as cholera,]: which traversed the whole of India, from Nepaul to Cape Comorin. The year was one of scarcity, the grain of in- ferior quality, and the situation of the British cantonments low and unhealtliy. Por ten days the whole camp was an hosjiital ; and the deaths in that short [leriod amounted to a tenth of the total number collected. Towards the end of the month the troops removed to a healthy station at Erich, on the Betwa, and the epidemic had evidently expended its virulence. Notwithstanding this calamity, the object of Lord Hastings in advancing to Gwalior, was fully answered by the prevention of any co-operation between Sindia and the Pindarrics. The latter, after being expelled from their haunts in Malwa, were compelled to retreat in various directions, and annihilated or dis- persed, with the exception of those under Chectoo, who being pursued by Sir John Mal- colm, took refuge in the camp of Holcar, near Mahidpoor. The government of the Holcar principality at this time rested in the hands of Toolsae Bye, the favourite mistress of the late Jeswunt Rao, who had exercised the chief authority during his insanity. After his death, she placed on the musnud his infant son jNIulhar Rao, and proceeded to give vent to all the cruel caprices which could suggest themselves to the imagination of a woman of thirty years of age, handsome and of fascinating manners, but of an im- perious and merciless temper and most li- centious morals. Her last favourite, who assumed ex officio the reins of govern- ment, was the Dcwan, Gunput Rao. He wavered between fear of the I'higlish and a desire to take part with the peishwa, then in arms. The commanders of battalions, especially the Patans, were adverse to en- tering upon any treaty by which their con- sequence was likely to be lowered ; and fearing that the force under Malcolm, to which the division under Sir Thomas Hislop one week, 761 soldiers and 8,000 camp followers perished. Total deaths of Europeans in camp in Nov. — 148. The epidemic, called hy the natives the "black death," visited Calcutta in September, 1817, and for a lonj; time destroyed above 200 per diem in that city. — (Prinsep : Wilson, ix., 253.) 420 MAHIDPOOR—ASEERGHUR— SUPPRESSION OF PINDARRIES— 1818, had since been added, would overawe their vacillating rulers into submission, they threw Gunput Rao iuto prison, enticed away the child, Mulhar Rao, from the tent before which he was playing, and carried off Toolsae Bye, by night, to the banks of the Seepra, where, despite her cries, she was decapitated, and the body thrown into the river.* On the following day (21st of December, 1817), a pitched battle took place, in which the British were completely successful, though at the cost of nearly 800 in killed and wounded. The euemy lost 3,000 men, chiefly in the flight to Mundissoor. The mother of the child Mulhar Rao, though a woman of inferior rank, being now the ac- knowledged regent of the Mahratta state, made full submission to the English; and in return for the cession of all claims in Rajast'hau and south of the Sautpoora range, was confirmed in the actual posses- sion of the remaining territories of the prin- cipality, at the court of which a British resident was to be established. Many of the old leaders repudiated this engagement, and set ofl" to join Bajee Rao — an attempt in wliich some succeeded, but others were intercepted, and cut oft' or dispersed. t The ministers, under the new order of things, " did not deplore an event which disembar- rassed a bankrupt state of a mutinous sol- diery, and cancelled a number of old and troublesome claims." The struggles of the Pindarries were nearly ended ; Kureem Khan, and other chiefs, surrendered on the promise of pardon and a livelihood, and received small grants of land. Wasil Mohammed poisoned him- self. Cheetoo for some time contrived to elude pursuit, but was surprised in Dec, 1817, with the main body of his followers, and dispersed by a detachment from the garrison at Hiudia. The Bheels (aboriginal peasantry) and the Grassias (native land- owners), remembering the outrages they • The career of Toolsae Bye resembles that of the heroine of a romance. She passed as the niece, but was generally supposed to be the daughter, of Ad- jeeba, an amhitious priest, who, though a professed mendicant, rose to rank and influence. He spared no pains in the education of Toolsae ; and she, Malcolm not very gallantly remarks, was "tutored in more than the common arts of her se.x." Jeswunt Hao became enamoured witli the fair iniriijante at first sight. She was married, but that mattered Utile. In a few days the lady was in the palace of Ilolcar, her husband in prison, from whence he was re- leased and sent home to the Deccan with some jiresents. Toolsae Bye had an artful waiting-maid, double her own age, who, after having attained high had long passively sustained, now spared not a Pindarry who fell into their hands ; but Cheetoo, with about 200 followers, still re- mained at large. J Though driven from place to place, the daring freebooter bore up against misfortune with a spirit worthy a better cause; till he suddenly disappeared — none, not even his son and few remaining follow- ers, knew how or where; for they had parted from him to hunt the forest for food. After some days, his horse was discovered grazing near the jungles of Aseerghur (where Appa Sahib had sought refuge), sad- dled and bridled : at a little distance lay a heap of torn and blood-stained garments, and a human head, the remains of a tiger's feast. It was a fitting death for the last of the Pindarries — the last that is deserving the name ; for these bold marauders, de- prived of their leaders, without a home or a rendezvous, never again became formidable. After the termination of the war with the peishwa, they gradually merged into the ordinary population, following the example of their leaders. Many of them settled in the Deccan and Malwa, as cultivators ; and some, employing their energies to a right use, became distinguished as active, im- proving farmers. The remaining Patan troops were conciliated or dispersed without further bloodshed. The flight of Appa Sahib caused much anxiety, which terminated with the fall of the fortress of Aseerghur (April, 1819), whence the ex-rajah escaped disguised as a fakeer, and soon sank into a state of insignificance, from which he never emerged. An infant grandson of Ragojee Bhonslay was chosen to bear that name and fill the vacant gadi, or throne of Berar, with the title of rajah, under the nominal regency of his grand- mothci', the British resident being vested with the actual control of affairs during the minority. The remaining operations of the war were chiefly directed to the expulsion station and amassed large sums by extortion (thereby exciting the envy of the minister on whom the fleet- ing affections of her mistress for the moment rested), was dung into prison, cruelly tortured, and driven to end her agonies by taking poison. — (Malcolm.) t An excellent account of the Mahratta and Pin- darry campaigns of 1817-'18-'li», has been given by an oilicer engaged therein — Lieutenant-colonel Blacker. I Conditions of surrender were discussed on behalf of Cheetoo, but his terms were extravagant : moreover, he feared treachery and transi)ortation ; and even when dreaming, used to lalk with horror of the sea, the hateful Cctla paid, or black water. After his tragical end, a few fields were allotted for the sub- sistence of his son, a youth of weak intellect. FIRM OF PALMER AND CO.— RESIGNATION OF HASTINGS. 421 of various Anib garrisons from Candeisli, a province wliicli, tliouj^li [)rofcasc(l!y under tlicsway of tlic I'oona f;ovcrnnu;ut, liad been gradually usurped by Arab colonists. Malli- gauni, the strouffcst fort in the Candcish valley, was p;aincd after au obstinate siege in June, 1819, at a cost to the successful besiegers of 200 killed and wounded.* The E. 1. Cy. evinced their sense of the conduct of the governor-general during the late " glorious and successful wars," by granting him the sum of .£00,000 from the territorial revenues of India, for the purchase of an estate in the United Kingdom. Few remaining events in tlic administration of Lord Hastings need here be mentioned. Its commencement was marked by the renewal of the company's charter for twenty years; by the opening of trade with India to the nation at large ; ami by the formation of an ecclesiastical establishment for British India. t The occupation of Singapore, in 1817, was effected througli the efforts of Sir Stamford Raflles, to whose zeal and dis- cernment may be attributed the possession of the British portion of the Indian Archi- pelago. Protracted negotiations were carried on with Holland by ]\Ir. Canning, then President of the Board of Control, which terminated in the Netherlands' treaty of 1821, by which the Dutch settlements ou the continent of India, with Malacca, and the undisputed right to Singapore, were ceded to England in exchange for Sumatra, which was needlessly surrendered. The financial dealings with Oude have been noticed. The pecuniary loans of the nabob aided in enabling him to assume the title of vizier without the sanction of the emperor; and, in 181',), the style of vizier was changed for that of king — an indis- creet admission on the part of the E. I. Cy. Tlie chief blot upon the character of Lord Hastings' administration, was caused by the countenance lent by him to the ne- farious transactions of certain persons wlio, * In the course of Uio Mahratta war, considerable service was rendered by Sir Thomas Munro, who, with a few hundred men, was deputed to take pos- session of the country ceded by the treaty of Poona, which was effected witli some fi^'htinj, but cliielly by conciliation. Sir David Ochterhinybkewise played a conspicuous part in the I'indarry war. His death, in 1825, occurred under painful circumstances. He was twice appointed resident at Delhi, and removed each time against his inclination : on the last oc- casion, vexation of spirit increased the morbid melan- choly which hastened the close of his eventful career ; and his last words, as he turned to the wall, were — " I die disgraced." — (Kay's Life of Metcalfe, ii., 132.) 3 I under pretence of mercantile dealings, obtained the sanction of government to tlic most shameless and usurious practices, car- ried on at the expense of the weak and in- competent Nizam. It was in fact a new version of the "Carnatic debt," conducted in the name of ^Icssrs. Palmer and Co., one of the confederates or jiartners being Sir Thomas Rtimbohl, who stood almost in the po.-iition of son-in-law to the governor- general, having married a niece whom his lordship had brought up from infancy, and for whom he avowedly cherished the feelings of a father. Strong domestic attachment and excessive vanity conspired to induce Lord Hastings to defend a course into which he had been misled by the artifice of covetous men ; and when his late secretary, Charles Metcalfe, on entering upon the duties of British resident at Hyderabad, set forth in very guarded and moderate lan- guage, the necessity of introducing a better order of things, the marquis manifested great annoyance, and subsequently addressed a most intemperate letter to the directory, in return for their very just animadversions on the nature of a firm which, without oflice or establishment, carried on "dealings to the extent of nearly .t700,000, occurring under an imperceptible progress. "f Pay- ments for real or imaginary loans, at sixteen to eighteen per cent., were made by the Hyderabad government, by cash and by assignments of revenue; notwithstanding which, .£000,000 were claimed by Messrs. William Palmer and Co., as the balance of accounts with the Nizam in 1820. Buring the course of his prolonged ad- luiuistration, the Marquis of Hastings, involved in numerous and intricate military operations, found little opportunity to study with success questions connected with the civil administration of the empire, and the complicated and anxious question of reve- nue. § His lordship resigned his office into the hands of the senior member of t The first Bishop of Calcutta (Middleton) came out in 1814. He died in 1822, and was succeeded by Reginald Hcber, who was cut off by apople.KV in 182G. Bisliop J.ames died in 182S. Turner in 1830. I Auber, ii., 5J8 to uG6. Thornton, iv., 583. § Sir Tliomas Muni-o was sent to Madras in 1814, at the head of a commission formed for the purpose of revising the judicial system. He exerted himself very efficiently in the decision of arrears of causes which had been auH'ered to accumulate to a shameful extent. In 1821, he became governor of Madras, and carrii d out a settlement with a portion of the individual cultivators, called the ryotwar assessment, by wliicli each small holder was not simply put in 423 ADMINISTRATION OF LORD AMHERST— 1823. council, Mr. Adam, and quitted India in January, 1823.* Though nearly seventy years of age, pecuniary embarrassments pi-e- vented him from spending his remaining days in his own country ; and he was ap- pointed governor of Malta, where he died, in consequence of a fall from his horse, in 1826.t For six months the supreme atithority rested in the hands of Mr. John Adam, an honest and able man, but somewhat pre- judiced. He had uniformly dissented from the conduct adopted by the late governor- general with regard to the house of Palmer and Co. ; and he was ready and willing to carry out the orders of the court for making the large advance to the Nizam necessary to free him from the hands of his rapacious creditors, who were forbidden to have any further dealings with the court of Hyderabad. The circumstances of the case are involved in mystery ; but it is certain that the failure of the concern created a great commotion in Calcutta, many persons being secretly interested in these transac- tions whose names were never made public. The proprietors of East India stock called for documents calculated to throw light on the whole affair; and, after much tedious discussion during the next twenty years, political influence procured a decision more favourable to the claims of the European money-lenders, against various native debtors iu Oude, than was consistent with the honour of the British government. This provisional administration was marked by the deportation of Mr. Silk Buckingham, the editor of the Calcutta Journal, for a breach of the regulation forbidding editorial comments on public measures. The suc- cessful eflbrts of ]VIr. Adam for the reduc- tion of expenditure, especially of the interest of the Indian debt, were highly meritorious, the position of a mere yearly tenant, but was com- pelled to pay a fluctuatinf; amount assessed annually at the pleasure of the collector for the time being, whose chief object was naturally the realisation of an immediate amount of revenue, without regard to the permanent welfare— indissolubly united— of the governors and the governed. This system, much praised at the time, reduced the Madras ryots to a state of extreme depression. Munro died of cholera near Gooty, in 1827.— ( Vide Life, by Gleig.) * The revenues of India rose from £17,228,000, in 18iy-'14, to £23,120,000 in 1822-3; but a con- siderable share of this increase is attributable to the accession of territory made under the Wellesley ad- ministration. The more than proportionate aug- mentation of military expense is no less clearly as- cribable to the unjustifiable measures of Lord Corn- wallis and Sir G. Barlow, and especially to the as were also his unavailing attempts for the extension of native education. Amherst Administration: 1823 to 1827. — The place of Lord Hastings was at first destined to be filled by Mr. Canning; but the changes in the cabinet, consequent upon, the death of the ]\Iarquis of Londonderry, opened more congenial employment to the newly-appointed governor-general, and he remained at home in charge of the foreign office. Lord Amherst was selected for the control of Indian aiFairs, and arrived in Calcutta in August, 1823. The first object pressed on his attention was the open hos- tility in which a long series of disputes with the Burman empire abruptly terminated. The power of the Burmese was of com- paratively recent growth. The people of Ava, after being themselves subject to the neighbouring country of Pegu, revolted under a leader of their own nation, in 1753. Rangoon, the capital of Pegu, surrendered to the Ava chief, who assumed the title of Alompra,J and the style of a sovereign; and during the succeeding eight years, laid the basis of an extensive state, which was sub- sequently enlarged by acquisitions on the Tenasserim coast taken from Siam, and by the annexation of the previously indepen- dent states of Arracan, of Munnipoor, and of Assam. Proceedings connected with the conquest of Arracan, brought the Burmese in contact with the British government; for, at the close of the eighteenth century, many thousand persons of the tribe called Mughs, sought refuge from the insufferable persecution of their oppressors in the British province of Arracan. The numbers of the immigrants excited apprehension, and attempts were made to prevent any more of them from crossing the boundary line formed by the Naaf river. But this was impracticable by means consistent with sufferance long extended to the ferocious I'indar- ries and the encroaching Mahrattas. For five years (1817 to 1822), the average annual military expendi- ture was £9,770,000. In 1822-3, the expenses still reached £8,495,000. The Indian debt increased from £27,002,000, in 1813-'14, to £29,382,000 in 1822-3; showing an augmentation of £2,380,000. An alile and comprehensive summary of the Hast- ings administration is given l)y Josiah Conder, whose history terminates at this point. t Lord Hastings married Flora Campbell, Countess of Linulon, who lived with him in India in the full blaze of vice-regal splendour. In 1827, the sum of £20,000 was granted to the young marquis. I Alompra (correctly, Aliiiiiii/-lj'liiini), a term ap- plied by the Duddhists of Ava to an individual destined to become a Budd'ha, and attain the supreme felicity of absorption into the divine essence. IMMIGRATION OF MUGHS— FIRST BURMESE WAR— 1823. 423 ordinary huiiKuiity. la J7!)S, not fewer tliiiu 1(),()00 ]\liif;lis nislicd to tlic iVontier iu iui almost frenzied state, and were fol- lowed l)y another Ixjdy still more muneroiis, Icavin;;- the cai>ital of Arracan nearly dc- l)0|)nlatcd. Tliey had fled throngii Avilds and deserts without any preconcerted plan, leavinp; behind thenj abundant traces of their melancholy progress in the dead bodies of both old and young, and of mothers with infants at the breast. The leader of one party, when told to withdraw, replied that he and his companions would never return to Arracan : they were ready to die by the hands of the English, or, if forcibly driven off, would seek refuge in the jungles of the great mountains, the abodes of wild beasts. The wretched multitudes attempted no violence, but sustained life as best they could on "reptiles and leaves," numbers daily perishing, until the British govern- ment, taking pity upon their misery, pro- vided the means of sustenance, and materials for the construction of huts to shelter them from the a])proaehing rains. Extensive tracts of waste lauds, in the province of Chittagong, were assigned to the refugees, whom, perhaps, it would have bceu advisa- ble to have settled in a more central posi- tion, since a colony of 40,000 persons, established under such circumstances, would, as they grew stronger, be very likely to provoke hostilities with the already incensed and barbarous sovereign of Ava. The surrender of the Mughs was repeat- edly demanded by this potentate, but the Marquis Wcllesley returned a decided re- fusal ; qualified, however, by an ofl'er to give up any proved and notorious criminals, and by a promise to prohibit any renewed im- migratiou of Burmese subjects. Some com- munications took place of little importance ; and the discussion might have passed oft' without producing further hostility, but for the restless spirit of the ]Mughs, and their natural longing to regain possession of their ancient rights and former homes. A chief, named Khyeu-brau (miscalled Kingbcrring), arose among them inspired with an insatiable desire of vengeance against the Burmese, * The names of the kings of Ava, like those of the zaninrins of Calicut, were kept secret until their deatlis. The stylo of the Ava court, was to speak of " the golden presence," to address " the golden ear," or lay petitions before " the golden foot;" and on state occasions, tlie royal iiead was litcraliy "p|»Tssed with the wcifjht of a golden pyra- mid, and the body clothed in wronj^ht gold. — (Trant's Two YearsinAiaj'Z'O; Havelock's.-irii, 245.) which he manifested byannnal irruptions into Arracan. The Calcutta govern tncnt strove to cheek these aggressions, and Jjord Hast- ings gave leave to the J$urrncse to pursue the dejiredators to their haunts in Chitta- gong ; but this concession did not appease the King of Ava, who attempted to form a confederacy with Uunjeet Sing and other Indian princes, for the ex[iulsion of the Eng- lish from India. After the death of Kliyen- bran, in 1815, the tjorder warfare greatly diminished, and the British authorities, con- sidering the chief cause of contention re- moved, maintained a very conciliatory tone, which being interpreted by the nameless* majesty of Ava as significant of weakness, only rendered his representatives more inso- lent and overbearing. Still no actual rup- ture took jjlace until September, 1H2.3, when a thousand Burmese lauded by night on the small island of Shahpoori, at the entrance of the Tek Naaf, or arm of the sea dividing Cliittagong from Arracan. The islet was little more than a sandbank, affording pas- turage for a few cattle. The guard con- sisted only of thirteen men, three of whom were killed, four wounded, and the rest driven off the island. An explanation of this conduct was de- manded, and given in the form of a vaunt- ing declaration, that Shahpoori rightfully belonged to the " fortunate king of the white elephants, lord of the seas and earth," and that the non-admission of the claim of "the golden foot" would be followed by the invasion of the British territories. The threat was carried into execution, and a Burmese force actually took post within five miles of the town of Sylhet, only 22(3 miles from Calcutta. The governor-general en- tered upon the war with unfeigned reluc- tance, and its commencement was mate- rially iitipcded by ignorance of the country, its routes, and passes. The advance from Bengal was at one time intended to have Ijeen made through Arracan, but this plan was set aside from regard to the health of the troops; and the main part of the force designed for the campaign, comprising about 11,000 mcn,t of whom one-half were Euro- t This included the combined strength of Madras and Bengal ; but the excessive repugnance mani- fested by the native troops in the service of the latter presidency to forsake their families and forfeit caste by embarking on bo.ard ship, rendered it im- possible to employ any considerable portion of them. It appears, moreover, that great neglect existed oa the part of those entrusted with the charge of the commissariat, as in the case of the refusal to march 424 ENGLISH INVADE AVA BY THE IRAWADDY RIVER— 1824. peans, assembled in IMay, 182i, at Port Cornwallis, iu the Great Andamaus. Major- gcueral Sir Archibald Campbell took com- mand of the land, and Commodore Grant of the marine portion of the expedition, but the latter commander was speedily com- pelled, by ill-health, to give place to Captain Marry at. The forces safely reached Ran- goon, the chief port of Ava, which was eva- cuated after a very feeble attempt at resist- ance.* On the 10th of June, a successful attempt was made on the fortified camp and stockades at Kemeadiue, on the Irawaddy river. The outwork was taken by storm ; the first man to gain the summit being Major (afterwards Sir Robert) Sale. These conquests were followed by a disastrous ex- pedition, which involved not only loss of life, but of character. A Burmese detach- ment had formed stockades, under cover of a fortified pagoda, at Kykloo, fourteen miles from Rangoon, and a body of Madras infan- try was dispatched to drive them off, under Lieutenant-colonel Smith. The Burmese suffered the English to approach within sixty yards of the pagoda, and then opened their reserved fire with deadly cflect. The sepoys may well be excused for quailing before the foe when British officers fairly lost all self-control, and lay down to screen themselves from danger. Colonel Smith ordered a retreat, which soon became a flight, and many lives would doubtless have been sacrificed had not the approach of re- inforcements arrested the progress of both pursuers and pursued. A strong force was sent by Sir A. Campbell to drive the Bur- mese from Kykloo, but they had previously absconded. This affair, which occurred iu October, 1821', was not calculated to cheer the army, or encourage them in a position daily becoming less endurable. No con- sideration of pity for the unfortunate people against the Burmese, made by the 47th regiment (about 1,400 in numbei'), at Barrackpoor, in 1825. The men entreated to be dismissed and suffered to return to their homes, but without effect. The regi- ment was paraded, and the refusal of the men to march or ground their arms (which they lield un- loaded, thougli furnished with forty rounds of am- munition), was punished by a murderous discharge of artillery, whidi killed numbers of them. Aliout 200 were taken prisoners, of wliom twelve were hanged, and the remainder condemned to labour in irons. The court of inquiry appointed to report on the whole affair, declared the conduct of the unhappy soldiers "to have been an ebullition of despair at being compelled to march without the means of doing 60." — (Thornton's India, iv., ll'i.) IIo^v mili- tary men can reconcile their consciences to such proceedings as these, is perfectly incomprehensible. of Rangoon had prevented the complete de- vastation of the country by its sovereign, and the invaders were consequently dis- appointed in their hopes of obtaining sup-' plies of fresh meat and vegetables, and compelled to feed on putrid meat and bad biscuit. The influence of dense jungle and pestilential swamp, aggravated by intense heat and deluges of rain, spread fever and dysentery through the camp : scurvy and hospital gangrene followed in their train; and by the end of the monsoon scarcely 3,000 men were fit for active dut)'. The King of Ava relied on the proverbial unhealthiness of Rangoon to aid the efforts of his ill-disci- plined troops, and facilitate the performance of his command to drive the invaders into the sea, or bring them to the capital to suffer torture and ignominy. Notwithstanding this vaunting language, his majesty of the golden foot became extremely uneasy on witnessing the pertinacity of the English, and despite much affected rejoicing at their having fallen into a trap by taking up a position at Rangoon, he compared himself, in an unguarded moment, to a man who, having got a tiger by the tail, knew not whether to hold on or let go.f He is said to have been encouraged in " holding on," by an odd tradition (if any such did really exist) that the capital would remain invin- cible until a magical vessel should advance against it without oars or sails !J The Diana steamer, which accompanied the flotilla on the Irawaddy, though pos- sessed of no magic power, did great service in capturing and destroying the war-boats and fire-rafts sent out by the Burmese. The arrival of reinforcements and supplies from Bengal restored the number of troops at Rangoon to about their original amount, and infused new life into the survivors, and spirit to resist the repeated but ill- • Crawfurd's Embassy to Ava in 1827: App., p. 65. t The Shwe-da-gon, a Buddhist temple of great size and remarkable sanctity, being deserted by ils priestly guardians, was >.ised by Sir A. Campbell as a military outwork. The building was of solid brickwork, elaborately decorated, and coated with gilding, whence its name — the Golden Pagoda. The portion deemed peculiarly sacred, was a solid cone 300 feet high, which was supposed to enshrine, or rather entomb, relies of the four last Budd'has — the staff of Krakuchunda, the watcr-jjot of Gunnguna ; the bath- ing-robe of Kasyapa, ami eight hairs IVom the head of Gautama, or Sakyasinha. — (\\'ilson's Mill, ix., 50. Also Hough, Symes, Snodgrass,'lVant, and Ilaveloek.) J Auber gives the tradition upon the authoriiy of Col. llopkiiisnn, who CDUimandcd tlie Madras artil- lery in the Burmese war. — (ii., 57!l.) Tranl alsr mentions it. — {Two Years in Ava, 211.) TRIUMPHANT TERMINATION OF BURMESE WAR— 1826. 425 directed attempts of the various forces dis- patched ai,'aiust them from Ava. The ])r()viiicfis of Assam and Cachar were captured by troops sent from Jliiidoostaii, witli tlie aid of native auxiliaries. In Jan- uary, 1825, 11,000 men were assembled in Chittagong, and dispatched, under General Morrison, to Arraean, witli instructions to reduce that province, and tlien join Sir Areliibahl Cani[)bcllon tlie Irawaddy. Tiic first object of the mission was fulfilled ; but if;noraucc of the Aeng Pass rendered tlie Youmadoung mountains an impracticable barrier, and prevented the performance of the latter order. By tlic close of the rainy season one-fourth of the men were dead, and more than half the survivors in hos- pital, from the uulicaltliiness of the climate. The remainder were therefore recalled, with tlie exception of a few divisions left on coast stations. Happily the war had been more successfully prosecuted in Ava. The whole of Tenasserim was conquered by detachments from Rangoon* before the close of 1821'; and in the following February, General Campbell prepared to advance, by land and water, against Prome, the second city of Ava. On the 2r)th of ]\Iarch, the troops came in sight of Donabew, a fortified place, where the flower of the Burmese army lay encamped. Our flotilla was attacked with- out success. Bandoola, the ablest and most popular of the Burmese commanders, was killed by a shell ; upon which Donabew was abandoned by the enemy and immediately occupied by order of General Campbell, who advanced against Prome, which was evacuated on his approach. The King of Ava had not yet lost hope : levies were raised in every part of the kingdom; and in November, a heterogeueons force marched under the command of the prime minister for the recovery of Prome. An engagement took place on the 1st of December, which terminated in the death of the Burmese leader and the dispersion of the entire force. The British general prepared to follow up his victor}' by marching on the capital, but his progress was delayed by overtures of peace, which proved to be mere pretexts to gain time. The same stratagem was repeated more than once; -and even at the last, wheu the evident futility of resist- * .\mong the expeditions .■sent against tlio Eng- lish at Rangoon, was one under the immediate superintendence of the king's two brotliers, and numerous astrologevs. A band of warriors termed "invulnerahlcs" by their countrymen, accompanied ancc seemed to attest the sincerity of the defeated Burmese, the boast of a military adventurer, that he would be answerable for the discomfiture of the invaders if enabled to lead an army against them, induced the renewal of offensive operations by the King of Ava. Troops to the nuiriber of 10,000 were assembled under the new leader, who was dignified by the name of Nuring Tliuring, prince of Sunset (which our troops, being jjoor linguists, translated as prince of Darkness), and entrusted with the charge of covering the capital against the ajiproach of the British army. The so-called " retrievers of the king's glory" eucountcred about 1,.300 men, under Colonel Campbell (two brigades being absent on duty), and were dispersed with greater loss than had been sustained by their predecessors on any pre- vious occasion. Their brave, though boast- ful leader, ventured to piostrate himself before the golden throne, and solicit a more powerful force, but was immediately put to death by the enraged and humiliated sove- reign. No time could be spared now for procrastinating schemes if Ava were to be saved from the grasp of the I'higlish army, which marched on to Yandabuo, only forty- five miles distant. Two American mission- aries (Messrs. Price and Judson), " the only negotiators in whom the king had any con- fidence," were dispatched to the British camp to conclude peace. General Camp- bell made no increase on the terms already stipulated for, and a treaty was finally con- cluded in February, 1826, by which the King of Ava ceded Arraean and Tenasserim to the English ; agreed to pa)' them a crore of rupees (about a million sterling), to re- ceive a resident at his court, and to grant to their ships the privileges enjoyed by his own. lie likewise renounced all claim upon Asam, Jyntia, Cachar, and ^Iuuuii)oor, which were to be placed under princes named by the British government. The " peacock signet" was afiixcd to the treaty, the provisions of which were ful- filled, including the money stipulation, after some delay and discussion; and thus ended the first Burmese war. The dangers, disasters, and heavy cost of life and treasure involved therein, aflforded strong arguments to both parties in favour of a durable peace. the princes, and were remarkable for the elaborate tattooing of their bodies, wliicli were covered with figures of animals, and literally inlaid with precious stones. Despite their name, and real though ill- directed valour, they tied before European musketry. 426 SIEGE OP JAT FORTRESS OF BHURTPOOR— 1825-'6. The maiu body of the invading force re- turned as they came, by the line of the Irawaddy; but a body of native infantry succeeded in finding a practicable route to the Aeng Pass, and thus clearly proved that nothing but ignorance of the geography of the country had, humanly speaking, been the sole means of preventing " a portion of General IMorrison's army from wintering in Ava, instead of perishing in the mountains of Arracau."* Before the termination of the Burmese war, proceedings had occurred in another quarter which involved a fresh appeal to arais. The successors of Runjeet Sing of Bhurtpoor, had faithfully observed the treaty of 1805. The latter of these rajahs, Baldeo Sing, had taken pains to ensure the pro- tection of the supreme government for his son, Bulwunt Sing, a child of five years old, by entreating the political agent at Delhi, Sir David Ochterlony, to invest the boy with a khelat, or honorary dress, which was the form prescribed by Lord Wellesley as the oflicial recognition necessary to legal succession on the part of all subsidiary and protected princes. The request of the rajah was granted early in 1824^, in consideration of his infirm health ; and his death a year after, not without suspicion of poison, was followed by a train of events which proved the justice of the pi-ecautions adopted on behalf of the heir. For about a month the reins of government rested quietly in the hands of the guardian and maternal nncle of the young rajah ; but at the expiration of that time, the citadel was seized, the uncle murdered, and the boy made pri- soner by Doorjun Sal (a nephew of the late Baldeo Sing), who assumed the direction of affairs. This daring usurpation involved a defiance to the British government, which Sir David Ochterlony felt keenly ; he also knew on how slender a thread hung the life of the boy, for whose protection the honour of England had been solemnly pledged. An immediate demand for the surrender of Bulwunt Sing was refused ; but the promptitude and determination with which it had been made, probably prevented an- other name from being added to the long list of Indian princes born too near a throne to escape death by a poisoned opiate, or the dexterous liand of an athlete. Sir David • Traiit's Two Years m Ava, IIT. I'rof. Wilson's Ducuiiioiils IllunlriUlvc of Unriiiese Jl'ar, t Wilson's Mill's Iiirlui, ix., lUl. I See Note to j). 421 was anxious to waste no time in inconclu- sive negotiation : he wished to march at once against Bhurtpoor, before the enemy should have opportunity to take measures of defence. Witii this intent, the veteran general, then in his sixty-eighth year (fifty preceding ones having been spent in India), set on foot the necessary preparations, wliich were arrested by counter-orders from the supreme government. The heavy pecuni- ary cost, and numerous disasters attendant on the early stages of the Burmese war, combined with mortifying recollections of the issue of the former siege of Bhurtpoor, rendered Lord Amherst reluctant to enter on an undertaking which, if unsuccessful, might, it was feared, add to existing embar- rassments — that of " hostilities with every state from the Punjab to Ava."t The suc- cessful defence of this Indian fortress against Lake, was still the favourite vaunt of every secret and open foe to English supremacy : the repetition of such an event was to be avoided at any cost. The annulment of the recent measures may be vindicated as a necessary act ; but tliere can be no excuse for the harsh and peremptory manner iu which it was enforced, to the bitter mortifi- cation of Ochterlony, who after being before deprived of the position of Delhi resident by Sir George Barlow, was now compelled to tender his resignation, which he sur- vived only a few months. J Doorjun Sal attributed the conduct of the British government to fear, and was consequently emboldened to drop the sub- missive tone which he had adopted while military preparations were in progress, and assert his claims, not as regent, but as rajah. The new Delhi resident, Sir Charles Met- calfe, advocated the same policy as that which had cost his predecessor so dearly; and his representations, in conjunction with the warlike proceedings of Doorjun Sal, induced the supreme government to resolve on espousing the cause of Bulwunt Sing. An attempt at negotiation having failed, an army, comprising about 21,000 men and above a hundred pieces of heavy ordnance, marched against Bhurtpoor in December, 1825, under the direction of Lord Comber- mcrc. The garrison was believed to comprise 20,000 men, chiefly Rajpoots and Jats, with some Afghans; but the best di:fencc of the fortress consisted iu its thick high walls of indurated clay, rising from the edge of a broad and deep ditch, flanked by thirty-five tower-bastions, and strengthened by the I CAPTURE OF BHURTPOOR, JAN., 1826— DUTCH CESSIONS. 427 outworks of nine gateways. Of these forti- fications several had been added since 1805 : one in particular, termed the Bastion of Vic- tory, was vauntingly declared to have been built with the blood and bones of Euf^lish- men there laid low. On the previous occa- sion the besieged had, nevertheless, enjoyed advantages far superior lo those on wliicli they now relied. An immense number of troops, stated, doubtless with exaggeration, at 80,000,* were then assembled within the walls, whence they eould issue at pleasure to draw supplies from the adjacent country; for the liuiited number of Lord Lake's force confined his operations to a single point. Moreover, the English at that time trusted too exclusively to hard fighting, and neg- lected the resources of engineering skill, especially the construction of mines — a mea- sure now adopted by Lord Combermere, at the suggestion of Major Gallowayf and Lieutenant Forbes of the engineers, who was on duty at the siege. Tlie communica- tion between the moat of the fortress and the extensive piece of water by which it was supplied, was cut off, the ditch nearly emp- tied, and mines were carried across and above it ; while the operation of powerful batteries covered the approaches and kept down the fire of the enemy. By the middle of January the walls had been efJ'ectively breached, and the army impa- tiently waited the order to storm. It was given on the 18th, the appointed signal being the springing of a mine containing 10,000 lbs. of powder. The foremost of the storming party, in their anxiety to advance immediately after the explosion, crowded too near the opening, and the quakings of the earth, and the dull tremulous sound beneath their feet, came too late to save several of them from sharing the fate of numbers of the enemy assembled to defend the breach, who perished in tl'.e convulsion which darkened the air with dense clouds of dust and smoke, and hurled disjointed masses of the hardened ramparts in all directions. The fate of their comrades gave a momentary cheek to the ardour of the assailants; but the order to advance was issued and obeyed — the troops scaled the ramparts, aud after overcoming a resolute resistance at different points, gained pos- session of the town and outworks, at the cost of about 600 killed and wounded. The * Creighton's Siege of lihurtpnor in 1825-'6, p. 152. t Better known as Major-trencral Galloway, the author of a valuable work on the mud forts of India. loss of the enemy was estimated at 11, 000, of whom 8,000 were slain in the assault; many being cut off by the British cavalry while attempting to escape through the gates on the western face of the fortress. The citadel surrendered in the afternoon. At the conimenecmcnt of the assault, Doorjun Sal had (juitted the fortress with his wife and two sons, escorted by forty horsemen, and sought refuge in au adjoin- ing wood, where he remained for several hours, and then endeavoured to escape un- pcrceived. The attempt failed ; the fugi- tives were overtaken by a troop of native cavaliy, and secured without opposition. Doorjun Sal was sent as a prisoner of state to Allahabad, and the young rajah rein- stated on the throne of his ancestors; but though the nominal regency was made over to the prinei[)al widow of Baldco Sing, and the jiartial management of affairs entrusted to his leading ministers, the paramount authority was vested in a British resident permanently appointed to Bhurtpoor. The armv appropriated booty to the amount of about £22,000. Before the fall of Bhurt- , poor, the conduct of the Ava war, though. | not entirely approved, procured an earldom for Lord Amherst. Lord Combermere was created a viscount. The di[)lomatie arrange- '. ments made during this administration were \ of some importance. In 1821, ^Malacca, I Singapore, and the Dutch possessions on I the continent of India, were ceded by the | King of the Netherlands in exchange for the British settlement of Bencoolen, in Su- matra. Dowlut Rao Sindia died in March, 1827, leaving no son. His favourite, but not jirineipal wife, Baiza Bye, was, in ac- cordance with his wish, suffered to adopt a child and assume the regency — a procedure for which the consent of the company was so- licited and obtained, provision for the con- tinued maintenance of a British contingent being made by the advance of a loan or deposit of eighty lacs of rupees, the interest of which, at five per cent., was to be em- ployed in the support of the troops. Lord Amherst visited the titular king of Delhi early in 1827, and then repaired to Simla on the lower range of the Hima- laya, which from that time became the favourite retreat of the governors-general of India, from its beauty and salubrity. AVbile there, hostilities broke out between Russia and Persia, and the latter and of course much weaker power demanded the aid of the Calcutta government, in accord- 428 BENTINCK ADMINISTRATION, 1838— ABOLITION OF SUTTEE— 1839. ance with the treaty concluded at Tehran in 1814. The point at issue regarded the boundary line between the two countries. The cabinet of St. Petersburp^ positively re- fused to accept the arbitration of British officers; and the result was, that a struggle ensued, in which the British took no part ; and the Persians, being worsted, were com- pelled to make peace with Russia by the surrender of the contested territory, in Feb- ruary, 1828. In the same month Lord Amherst re- signed his position, and returned to Eng- land. The restoration of tranquillity had enabled him to pay some attention to civil matters ; and the diffusion of education had been promoted by the formation of col- legiate institutions at Agra and at Delhi, as also by the establishment of schools in various provincial towns. The pressure of financial difficulties impeded the full execu- tion of these as well as of other measures required to lighten the burdens and stimu- late the commerce of the people of India. The war with Ava had necessitated heavy disbursements. In two years (1824 and '25), the sum of nineteen million sterling had been raised ; and at the close of the Am- herst administration, "the financial prospects of the country were of a most alarming com- plexion."* Nearly eighteen months elapsed before the arrival of a new governor-general, and during that time the supreme authority rested in the able hands of the senior mem- ber of council, Butterworth Bayley, who busily employed himself in laying the foun- dation of various internal reforms, which were carried out during the ensuing — Bentinck Administration, 1828 to 1835. — After his recall from the government of Madras, in 1807, Lord William Bentinck had remonstrated forcibly against the injus- tice of making him the victim of measures adopted without his cognizance; and his arguments being seconded by influential family connexions (with Mr. Canning and the Portland family), he eventually obtained the appointment of governor-general, and in July, 1828, arrived in Calcutta. At that time unaccustomed tranquillity prevailed throughout India, and the character of Lord William Bentinck was considered the best guarantee against its disturbance by any aggressive or domineering spirit on the • Wilson's continuation of Mill, ix., 231. t The altered tone of Calcutta Kociety may be conjectured, from the fact of Jacqueniont's going on Sunday to the house of tlic chief justice, Sir Charles part of the English. A vivacious French traveller (Jacquemont) declared that the actual possessor of the sceptre of the Great Mogul thought and acted like a Pennsyl- vanian quaker : yet some of the acts of this administration would certainly not have been sanctioned by the great American coloniser. The influence of Lady Bentinck was unquestionably of the best description ; and the improved tone of thought and feel- ing which pervaded the society of gov- ernment-house, diffused itself throughout Calcutta and the British presidencies. f All the support derivable from a manly and conscientious spirit, was needed by one who came out burdened with the execution of immediate and sweeping retrenchments. No opposition was made to the extensive reduction of the army; but the old question of batta (extra pay) which had called forth the energies of Clive, became afresh the source of bitter discontent. The total diminution, on the present occasion, did not exceed €20,000 per annum ; but it fell heavily on individuals : and although the governor- general could not avoid enforcing the ac- complishment of stringent orders, he was thereby rendered permanently unpopular with the military branch of the service. The press commented freely on the half-batta regulations, and the discontented officers were wisely suffered to vent and dissipate their wrath in angry letters. The same forbeai'- ance was not manifested when the excessive flagellation, which at this period disgraced the discipline of the army, became the theme of censure ; for Lord W. Bentinck, " though a liberal to the very core," held, as had been proved at Vellore, very stern notions on military affairs ; and in this, as also in some other cases, showed himself decidedly " inclined to put a gag into the mouth of the press. "J In 1829, a regulation was enacted, by which the practice of suttee — that is, of burning or burying alive Hindoo widows — was declared illegal, and the principal persons engaged in aiding or abetting it, became liable to trial for culpable homicide, and were punislial)lc with imprisonment and fine. This enactment was far from ex- citing the expected degree of opposition. The same unlooked-for facility attended another measure (denounced still more de- Grey, to hear some music, play chesa, and seek a refufje from tlic general devotion of the English. — (Lctlcrs from India, i., 101.) X Kaye's Life of Metcalfe, ii., 253. EXTHIPATION OF THUGS-SUBJUGATION OF COORG— 1834. 429 cisivel)') in prospect, as a perilous innovation, not on "the rii^hts of women" only, but on those of the entire Hindoo community ; namely, the abrofjation of the intolerant laws which decreed the forfeiture of all civil rip;hts as the penalty of conversion to (Jhristianity. Tlie convert not only became an outcast, but an outlaw ; incapable of inheriting personal or family property. The wonder was that a Christian govern- ment had not sooner put a stop to such bigotry. Now, the necessary steps were taken with much caution, and the alterations were so mixed up with other ordinances, as to create little commotion or excitement even when first published. In 1831, active measures were adopted for the extirpation of the numerous and formidable gangs of depredators, known by the name of Thugs or Phansi-gars ; the former term (signifying a cheat) being the more common, the latter (denoting the bearer of a noose or phansi, wherewith to commit murder by strangulation) the less general, but equally appropriate designa- tion. The lasso was not, however, neces- sary to these miscreants, whose horrible dexterity enabled them, with a strip of cloth, or an unfolded turban, to destroy the unwary traveller speedily and surely; — the dead body was then buried in the ground, and every trace of the crime care- fully obliterated. Hundreds upon hundreds of husbands and fathers perished none knew how, save the members of this horri- ble confederacy, who, whether of Hindoo or ^Mohammedan origin, were usually thieves and murderers by hereditary descent. Of the doctrines of the Koran they were wholly ignorant, and of Eraliminism they knew nothing but its worst superstitions; which are those connected with the sanguinary worship of the goddess Doorga or Cali, the wife of Siva, whom they regarded as their jieculiar patroness, and looked to for guidance and counsel, which they believed to be communicated through the medium of the flight and utterance of birds, beasts, and reptiles. Fearful oaths of secrecy were inter- changed; and the difliculty of detection was enhanced by the consummate art which enabled the stealthy assassin to maintain the bearing of an industrious peasant or busy trader. Remorse seems to have been well-nigh banished from this community by the blinding influence of the strange pre- destinarian delusion that they were born to rob and kill their fellow-men — destined for 3k this end by Providence by a law similar to that which impels the savage beast of the forest to slay and devour human beings. "Is any man killed from man's killing?" was their favourite argument. " Are we not instruments in the hand of (JodV" The mysterious workings of that almighty and ever-present power, which controls the actions, but leaves the will free, was un- thought of by these unhappy men, whose excesses rendered them a by-word of fear and loathing throughout India. Lord Hastings made some eflbrts for their sup- ])rcssion by military detachments, but with little cfleet. Summary and organised mea- sures of police were adopted by Lord Ben- tinek, and ably carried out by Mr. Smith, Major Sleeman, and other functionaries. In the course of six years (1830 to 1835) 2,000 Thugs were arrested and tried at Indore, Hyderabad, Saugor, and Jubbul- poor, of whom about 1,500 were convicted and sentenced to deatii, transportation, or imprisonment. The strange esprit de corps which for a time sustained them, at length gave way ; many purchased pardon at the expense of full and free confession : formi- dable gangs were thus reduced to a few scat- tered and intimidated individuals; and the Thugs became a bugbear of past times. The most exceptionable feature in the Bentinck administration was the deposition of the rajah of Coorg, Yeer Rajundra AVudi- yar, and the conversion of his mountainous priuci])ality into a province of the JIadras presidency. The immediate occasion ap- pears to have been a domestic quarrel with his sister and her husband, which led them to seek the protection of the British resident at Mysoor. The rajah was described as fierce, cruel, and disposed to enter on in- trigues against the supreme government with the rajah of ^lysoor. TJiese vague charges, together with some angry letters, demanding the surrender of his fugitive relations, and the imprisonment of a servant of the company, were considered to justify the dispatch of a powerful force for the sub- jugation of Coorg. The British advanced in four divisions, and entered the princi- pality from as many quarters. The alleged unpopularity of the rajah was contradicted by the determination of his defenders, despite a proclamation offering protection to person and property as the price of neutrality ; but the efforts of the brave mountaineers were rendered unavailing, less by the overwhelming superiority of 430 RAJAH OF COORG— ESTABLISHMENT OF OVERLAND ROUTE— 1830, numbers and discipline on the part of the invaders, than by the avowed disinclination of Veer Rajundra to organised opposition against the powerful protectors of his an- cestors. Merkara, the capital of Coorg, was captured in April, 1834, and the rajah, with liis family, surrendered uncondition- ally. A committee of inquiry was instituted into the charges adduced against him, and the search made after the seizure of INIer- kara, brought to light the bodies of seventeen persons, including three relatives of the rajah, who had been put to death by decapitation or strangling, and thrown into a pit in the jungle. This was a melancholy revelation; but such severities are unhap- pily quite consistent with the ordinary proceedings of despotic governments ; and it may well be doubted whether, even if proved beforehand, they could warrant the interference of a foreign state for the depo- sition of the prince by whom they were committed, in opposition to the will of the people he governed. Certainly the assump- tion of sovereignty over the Coorgs could be excused only by the most rigid adherence to the promise given, " that their civil rights and religious usages should be respected, and that the greatest desire should invariably be shown to augment their security, comfort, and happiness. How far these objects have been effected," adds Professor Wilson, " may admit of question ; but the province has remained at peace, and the Coorgs have shown no disposition to reassert their inde- pendence."* The rajah became a pensioner on the E. I. Cy. Some few years ago he came to England, bringing with him a daughter, a lady-like and intelligent child, to be edu- cated as a Christian. Queen Victoria, by a graceful act of spontaneous kindness calcu- lated to endear her to the vast Indian popu- lation beneath her sway, officiated in person as godmother to the young stranger, who, it is to be hoped, will live to merit and enjoy a continuance of the royal favour. The rajah himself lias no trace, cither in countenance or bearing, of the insane cruelty ascribed to him ; and the satisfac- tory arrangement of the pecuniary questionf • Continuation of Mill's India, ix., SiiO. t Kelaliiig to the proprietary right to a large sum of money invested l)y the prince and his family in the Anglo-Indian funds, the interest of which had been regularly paid to the rajali. Veer Kajundra, up to the time of his deposition, which the K. I. Cy. now appear disposed to regard as confiscated. ( The efforts of Lord W. Bentinck were especially now at issue between him and the E. I. Cy. is desirable, as the best means of strength- ening the confidence of Indian princes iu the good faith of the nation in general. Whatever view may be taken of the con- duct of Lord W. Bentiuck in this case, and of certain complex arrangements, of com- paratively small interest, with Oude, My- soor, Nagpoor, Jeypoor, and other Indian states, there can be no doubt that the gen- eral result of his administration was highly beneficial to the cause of religious civilisa- tion. { Public institutions, whether for edu- cational or charitable purposes, were warmly encouraged; and the almost exclusive agency of European functionaries, which had been the radical defect of the Corn- wallis system, was to some extent remedied by the employment of natives in offices of trust and emolument, — not, indeed, to the extent which they have a right to expect eventually, but as much perhaps as the cir- cumstances of the time warranted. The opening of the " overland route" by way of the Red Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, and the consequent reduction of the length of transit from four or five months to forty or fifty days (an immense boon to the Anglo-Indian community), was effected mainly through the instrumentality of the late Lieutenant Waghorn, R.N. The navigation of the Ganges by steam- vessels was attempted, and proved entirely successful. § Measures were adopted to pro- cure the unobstructed navigation of the Indus, with a view to the extension of British trade with the coimtries to the west- ward as far as the Caspian Sea, and also in the hope of establishing a commanding in- fluence on the Indus, in order to counter- act the consequences which might be an- ticipated from the complete prostration of Persia, and its subservience to the designs of Russia against British India. The orders of the cabinet of St. James were positive, and Lord W. Bentinck must therefore be acquitted of blame for the complex relations formed with the IMohammedan states of Bahawulpoor, Sinde, and Afghanistan, and especially with the wily and ambitious Seik, Runjeet Sing, to whom a present of several directed to the diffusion of the English language among the natives — a measure difllcult indeed, but highly desirable in the sight of all their well-wishers. § Tlie first voyage between Bombay and Suez, made by the Huiih Liinlsuy in 1830, occupied thirty days; the second, in the same year, only twenty- two. The passage between England and India now requires fewer weeks than it formerly did months. METCALFE'S FREE-PRESS ACT, 1835— AUCKLAND ADMINLSTRATION. 431 English horses, of unusual size and stature, were presented bv Lieutenant Buint^s, in the name of William IV., in October, IH.'Jl. The renewal of the charter of tlie K.l. Cy. for the term of twenty years [IKVi to 185.'J), was attended with a complete change in the constitution of that powerful body, which, after commencing in a purely commercial spirit, now consented to place in abeyance its exclusive privileges of trade with (Jliina as well as with India, but retained its ])oliti- cal rights; and, in conjunction with tlic Board of Control, continued to direct the affairs of Hindoostan. The fixed dividend guaranteed to the shareholders, and charged upon the revenues of India, the means of redeeming the company's stock, with other arrangements then made, are set forth in the opening page of this history. Lord William Bentiuck resigned his position on account of ill-health, and quitted India early in 1835. The brief provisional sway of Sir Charles Metcalfe was distinguished by a measure which procured him much exagge- rated applause and equally indiscriuiitiatc censure. This act was the removal of the restrictions on the public press of India, which, though rarely enforced, were still in existence. It is worthy of remark, that the hability to government interference was confined to Europeans ; for native editors could publish anything short of a direct libel : and after the banishment of ]\Ir. Silk Buckingham by Mr. Adam, his paper was continued by a successor of mixed race, an Anglo-Indian, whom the law did uot affect. The views of Sir Charles IMctealfe, with regard to the precarious nature of our In- dian empire, were of a decidedly exag- gerated and alarmist character. In 1825, he had declared the real dangers of a free press in India to be, " its enabling the natives to throw off our yoke ;'"' and a minute recorded by him in October, 1830, expressed, with some sharpness, the incon- venience attendant on the proceedings of government finding their way into the newspapers. Despite some apparent incon- sistency, the strenuous advocacy of the freedom of the press, at all hazards, would have been a proceeding worthy his frank and manly character ; but it would be diffi- cult to justify his conduct in enacting a measure, however laudable in itsel.*", in op- position to the will, and, as it was generally supposed, to the interests of his employers. The change could scarcely have been long delayed ; for uow that Englishmen Avere to be suficrcd to settle at pleasure in India, it was not likely they would tamtdy submit to have summary deportation held over them as the ])enalty of ofrending against the pre- rogative of a despotic governor, in a time of external and internal tranquillity. Auckland Ahministkation : 1835 to 1842. — The person first nominated as the successor of Lord William Bcntinck was Lord lleytesbury; but the brief interval of ])()wer enjoyed by the Torv ministrv having expired before his lordsliii) could quit Eng- land, the appointment was cancelled, the large sum granted as usual for outfitting expenses being forfeited by the E. I. Cy. The restored Whig cabinet, under Lord Melbourne, bestowed the Indian vice- royalty on Lord Auckland, a nobleman of amiable character and business habits, who, it was generally supposed, might be safely entrusted with the charge of the supreme government, which had certainly never been assumed by any preceding functionary under more favourable circumstances. Per- fect tranquillity, a diminisiiing debt, and increasing commerce, seemed to promise an easy and honourable administration ; un- happily, it proved the very reverse. The first event of importance was one which, though vindicated by an author whose im- partiality reflects equal credit on himself and the E. I. Cy.,* nevertheless appears to the writer of the present work an act of cruel injustice, the blame of which rests chiefly on the Bombay authorities ; for the new governor - general gave but a tardy and reluctant assent to their deci- sion. The measure in question was the deposition of the rajah of Sattara, the legi- timate successor of Scvajee, who had been placed on the musnud in 1819. The policy or impolicy of his reinstatement need not be discussed. Pertab Sein, then twenty-seven years of age, showed unbounded delight at his restoration to what he nndisguisedly viewed as real power, and diligently set about improving his little sovereignty. Suc- cessive residents at his court — Grant Duff, generals Briggs and Robertson, and Colonel Lodwick — bore witness to the general excel- lence of his administration from 1819 to 1837-'8, the last gentleman with some qualification, the specified drawback being the new feature of weakness of mind mani- fested by an excessive addiction to Brah- minical superstitions, and the employment * Mr. Edward Thornton, head of the statistical department at the India House. 432 DEPOSITION OP PEKTAB SEIN, RAJAH OF SATTARA— 1839. of women in the management of elephants, as guards, and in other unusual offices. These complaints were the first indication of an altered tone on the part of the local authorities, and were probably the earliest results of a conspiracy formed against the rajah in his own palace. The favourable nature of the testimony regarding his conduct previously sent to England, had drawn from the Court of Directors repeated expressions of warm and generous praise. In 1829 he was declared to be " remarkable among the princes of India for mildness, frugality, and attention to business;" in 1831, "his disposition and capacity for gov- ernment" are again noticed; and in De- cember, 1835, a letter was addressed to him, lauding the "exemplary fulfilment" of his duties as " well calculated to pro- mote the prosperity of his dominions and the happiness of his people," and acknow- ledging " the liberality displayed in exe- cuting various public works of great utility, which has so justly raised your reputation in the eyes of the princes and people of India, and gives you an additional claim to our approbation, respect, and applause." This testimony was accompanied by a hand- some sword, the most marked tribute of respect which could be offered to a Mah- ratta. The letter and sword were arbitra- rily detained by the Bombay government, and never presented to the rajah, whose feelings about this time became irritated by a controversy with them regarding certain jaghires to which he laid claim. A con- spiracy was, it is believed, concocted against him by a vindictive, ungrateful, and profli- gate brother, and the rajah was accused of endeavouring to procure the overthrow of British power by three extraordinary mea- sures : — first, by striving to corrupt the entire Anglo-Indian army through two native officers of a regiment stationed at Sattara; second, by inducing the Portu- guese at Goa to land 30,000 European troops in India, who were to be marched overland for the purpose; third, by cor- responding with the fugitive ex-rajah of Nagpoor, who had neither character, in- fluence, nor ability, — not a shilling, nor an acre of territory, — and was himself dependent • Since the deposition of tne Sattara ra)ah, on the evidence of forf;ed documents and jierjiired wit- nesses, a similar case has come to ligtit. Ali Morad, one of the Ameers of Siiide, havinf; been convicted of forgery, liad a large portion of his territories con- fiscated by the British government. The accuser, on charity. The seals of the rajah were forged, pretended correspondence produced, and other artful schemes successfully carried through. There was at this time a vague feeling of alarm throughout India relative to a general rising against British supre- macy : the press at home and abroad gave countenance to the idea; and Sir Charles Metcalfe declared he should not be surprised " to wake some fine morning and find the whole thing blown up." Sir Robert Grant, then governor of Bombay, and some officials around him, fell into the trap, and despatches of several hundred paragraphs were written regarding the alleged application of the rajah for the aid of 30,000 Portuguese soldiers, when, at that time, thirty would have been an impossibility ; and great alarm was pro- fessed lest 200,000 British soldiers — Mussul- men as well as Hindoos, who had ever proved themselves true to their salt — should be seduced from their allegiance by this petty prince, who was no warrior, but an excellent farmer and landlord. The supreme government of India at first treated the affair with the contempt it merited : but reiterated calumnies began to take effect ; and the alarm once given, the most absurd stories, many of which carried with them the proof of their falsehood,* were believed by men who were afterwards ashamed to confess their credulity. Sir R. Grant died, and Sir James Carnac, then chairman of the Court of Directors, suc- ceeded him. He went to Sattara in 1839, and required the rajah to acknowledge his guilt, sign a new treaty, and all would be forgiven. Pertab Sein refused to declare himself a traitor to the British government; asked for a copy of the charges against him, and demanded a fair hearing and a public trial. Sir J. Carnac was a kind and mode- rate man; but the strong prejudices — not to use a harsher term- — of his associates warped his judgment, and led him to view the con- duct of the rajah as the continued contu- macy of a rebel, instead of the offended feelings of an innocent man. A body of troops marched at midnight into the palace, led by the successful plotter, Appa Sahib : the rajah was made prisoner in his bed, all his property seized; and ere morning Sheik Ali Hussein, had been prime minister of the chief, and was dismissed for mul|)ractices : at his death (8lh May, 185:i), he confessed that all he had sworn against Ali Morad was untrue, and that ho had given false evidence for purposes of revenge. — {Bombay Gazette, 10th May, 1853.) STATE OP AFGHANISTAN AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES. 433 dawned, the victim of a foul conspiracy was ifjiioiiiiiiioiisly liiirricd away as a [)risoiier to ]5cnarcN, wlicn; he died. The brother wlio liad caused his ruiti was i)hiced on the throne. After a few years of profligacy and indolence Appa Sahib died, leaving no son, and the little principality of Sattara de- volved, in default of heirs, iqion the British government. The whole transaction is pain- ful, and reflects little credit on any con- cerned therein: time, the revcaler of truth, has exposed the fully and injustice of the procedure ; and had the ex-rajah survived, some measure of justice would probably have been rendered him.* The next and all-absorbing feature of the Auckland administration is the Afghan war, to understand the origin of which it is necessary to explain the condition of the territories on our western frontier. Zemaun Shah, the Afghan ruler of Cabool, against whom a treaty was negotiated with Persia in 1801, by Sir .John iMalcolm, was deposed and blinded in the same year by his brother Mahmood — treatment precisely similar to that bestowed by him on his immediate pre- decessor, Iluraayun. Mahmood was, in turn, displaced by a fourth brother, named Soojah- ool-Moolk. With unwonted clemency the conqueror refrained from inflicting ex- tinction of sight, which, though not a legal disqualification to sovereign power, usually proves an insuperable bar to the claims of any candidate. Soojah coidd not keep the throne he had gained ; but being expelled by the reviving strength of Mahmood, sought refuge with Runjeet Sing, who plun- dered him of all his valuables, including the famous Koh-i-Noor (the gem of the English Exhibition of 1851), and made iiim prisoner. By the exertion of an unexpected amount of skill and resolution. Shah Soojah suc- ceeded in making his escape in the disguise of a mendicant, and readied the British station of Loodiana in September, 1816, whither his family, together with Zemaun Shah, had previously found refuge. Mah- mood did not, however, possess the throne in peace. His vizier, Futteh Khan, an able chief, who had been mainly instrumental in carrying out the late revolution, evinced indications of a desire to elevate his nume- rous brothers to almost exclusive authority, and to make the Barukzye clan, of which * Sir Charles Forbes, Bart., Mr. John Forbes, M.P., and several leading directors of the E. I. Cy., with Mr. Joseph Hume, M.P., .•Vrthur Lewis, of the chancery bar, and many other members of the Court he was hereditary chief, the governing class. The youngest of his brethren, the after- wards famous Dost Mohammed, treacherously occupied the fortress of Herat, committed great excesses there, and even profaned the harem by seizing the ornaments of its in- mates, and especially by violently tearing away a jewelled girdle from the person of one of the royal princesses. The insulted lady sent the torn robe to her relative, Prince Kamran, the son of i\Iahinood Shah, with a demand for ven- geance. Dost Mohammed fled to Cashmere, where his brother, Azim Khan, was gov- ernor. Futteh Ali was made prisoner, and blinded by the dagger of Kamran. Subse- quently, on his refusal to call upon his bro- thers to surrender, the unfortunate vizier was literally hacked to pieces by the courtiers in attendance on the king and prince. Dost Mohammed raised an army, and made himself master of the city of Cabool, in 1818. Shah Mahmood and Kamran estab- lished themselves in Herat, and the usurper turned his attention to the affairs of gov- ernment, and proved a much better ruler than either of his predecessors. He had many difSculties to contend with, includ- ing the jealous intrigues of his brothers, several of whom became in fact indepen- dent princes. Their hostility encouraged Shah Soojah to attempt regaining posses- sion of Cabool, but without effect. At the commencement of Lord Auckland's ad- ministration. Dost Mohammed reigned over the chief remaining portion of the Doorani kingdom founded by Ahmed Shah, which, at the time of the death of that ruler, ex- tended from the west of Khorassan to Sir- hind, and from the Oxus to the sea. Of the seventeen provinces it then comprised, only six now remained — namely, Cabool, Ba- meean, Ghoreband, Ghuznee, Candahar, and Jellalabad. Beloochistan had become independent, under a chief named Moham- med Khan, in 1802; Khorassan had beea recovered by Persia ; Herat was retained by Prince Kamran, after the death of Mah- mood ; Baikh was taken by the King of Bokhara, in 1823; and the Punjab, Mooltan, Dera Ghaza Khan, Dera Ismael Khan, and lastly Pcshawur, fell to the share of Runjeet Sing. Sinde was still nominally dependent on Cabool ; but its rulers — three brothers of Proprietors, wlio were the warm friends of the ex- rajah, never ceased to seek a hearing and trial for him, and entertained a strong and permanent convic- tion of his innocence. 434 TRIPARTITE TREATY— ENGLISH, RUNJEET SING, & SHAH SOOJAH. who governed conjointly under the title of " the Ameers" — generally needed the pre- sence of an army to compel the payment of their arrears of tribute. Cabool itself, and a considerable portion of the Hazerah country, was under the immediate sway of Dost Mohammed ; Candahar, and the adja- cent territory, was held by his three brothers, Kohen-dil-khan, Rehem-dil- Khan, and Mehir-dil-Khan, under the name of sirdars or governors. The divided and independent governments beyond the Indus were in a condition well calculated to secure our power, without any infraction of the strict neutrality which the English rulers so ostentatiously declared it their desire to preserve, when, in 1838, an attack was made on Herat by the Shah of Persia, with the aid of Russian officers.* Herat has been called the key of Afghanis- tan : it is also the gate towards which all the great roads from Central Asia to India con- verge ; and the Calcutta authorities became exceedingly alarmed at the probability of its falling under the influence of Russia. They became very solicitous that Afghanis- tan should maintain entire independence, and reject the proffered alliance with the Muscovite court. Lieutenant Burnes was dispatched on an embassy to Dost Moham- med, or " the Dost," as he was commonly called ; but although the instructions of Burnes were explicit regarding the non- reception of Russian envoys, and other demands to be exacted on the part of the English, he had nothing beyond idle pro- fessions of regard to ofler in return ; not even mediation with Runjeet Sing for the restoration of Peshawur, which the Seik conqueror was willing to surrender to any one except to the ruler of Cabool, from whom it had been taken. The contrast between the magnificent presents brought by Mountstuart Elphin- stone to Afghanistan, on a former occasion, with the pistol and telescope, pins, needles, and playthings, now offered to the Dost for himself and the inmates of the zenana, could not but be painfully felt; yet the chief knew the value of British protec- tion, and was not disposed to take offence lightly. But he could not afford to re- ject the direct ofl'crs of assistance, in men and money, made by the secretary of * One of the alleged reasons being the activity with which the slave-trade was carried on at Herat. t Mr. H. Tprrens, and John Colvin, Lord Auck- land's private secretary. — Kaye's WarinAfghanistai). the Russian legation, without some clear guarantee against the evil effects of such rejection; and as this was positively refused, he had literally no alternative but to accept the Russo-Persian alliance. It would have been only common prudence, on the part of the supreme government, to have waited the issue of the siege of Herat, before pro- ceeding further ; but Lord Auckland was unhappily enjoying the cool breezes of Simla, away from his legitimate advisers at Calcutta, and was, it is said, considerably under the influence of two or three clever and impulsive men, who may have been excellent secretaries and amusing table- companions, but were very ill-adapted for wary counsellors. f It would have been an easy matter to convert Dost Mohammed, the sirdars of Candahar, and the whole Barukzye clan, into firm allies ; neverthe- less. Lord Auckland, in an hour of weakness and indecision, was induced to seek the co- operation of Runjeet Sing for the restora- tion of Shall Soojah; and, although the defeat of the Persian army, and its with- drawal, after a ten months' siege,J secured the independence of Herat, and removed one main incentive to war, the projected invasion was carried out despite the apathy of the Seik ruler (now fast sinking to his grave, under the combined influence of age and the most hateful excesses) and the scarcely disguised distrust of Soojah, who could not comprehend why the assistance repeatedly refused by Lord W. Bentinck, was bestowed unasked by Lord Auckland. Perhaps so perilous an enterprise was never more rashly and needlessly under- taken. It was wrong in principle, weak in execution, and appalling in its results. Shah Soojah was not even presumptive heir to the usurped dominions of his grand- father; for Kamran, the son of the elder brother Mahmood, had a prior claim. The professed object of the Tripartite Treaty now formed, viz., to restore a legitimate sove- reign to the throne from whence he had been wrongfully expelled, was therefore ab- solutely false ; and as if to make the spirit of the whole transaction more evident, Run- jeet Sing affixed his signature to tlie treaty at Lahore, June, 1838, with the ill-gotten Koh-i-Noor gleaming on his arm.§ In re- turn for furnishing a few thousand troops J Lt. Eldred Pottinger cheered, counselled, and fouglit with the garrison throughout tlie weary siege. § This famous stone is said by several modern writers on the Afghan war to have formed part of MARCH OF THE "ARMY OF THE INDUS" TO SINDE. 435 to be paid by Shah Soojah, Runject Sing was to be confirmed in possession of all the territories (incliuliiig Peshawnr) wrested by him from Cabool.* As to the JOnglish, they were willing to lavish men and money on the trappings of war, and to get n[) "a grand military promenade," for the sake of terrifying Knssia by a formidable demon- stration of our power and energy. Thosef who vcnt\xrcd to speak of the dreary defiles, inelement elimate, and, above all, of the warlike temper of the people upon whom a rejeeted yoke was to be reimposcd by Eng- lish bayonets, were ecnsured as timid, pre- judieed, or misinformed; and the assem- bling of the " army of the Indus" was a source of agreeable excitement, fraught with promotions and a])pointments, commissa- riat contracts, and honours from the Crown ; for, despite the neutral policy urged by the liome authorities, it was pretty evident that a brilliant campaign was no less certain to procure for its promoters rank and emolument, than to inflict new burdens on the Indian revenues, and increase the pressure of taxes which it was alike the duty and the interest of the government to mitigate. A declaration of war was issued from Simla, in 1838, and a British force was speedily gathered of 28,350 men, partly from Bengal, partly from Bombay. It was deemed advisable by the governor-general that the Shah should " enter Afghanistan surrounded by his own troops ;" and, for this end, about Shah Jehan's peacock throne, which was carried off from Hiiuloostan by Nadir Shah ; but there does not seem evidence to support the statement. Several diamonds of extraordinary value were seized by different invaders, and one in particular was given by the exiled Huniayun to his ungracious host the Shah of Persia.— (Ste p. 91.) * The concessions made to Runjeet Sing at this period were no less undignified than unwise. At the meeting which took place with Lord Auckland at Ferozepoor, caresses were lavished on the " lion of the Punjab," who though now a decrepit and paralysed old man, continued to outrage public de- cency by the ]iractice of shameful sensualities. There he sat in his golden chair, shaped like a hip- bath, with his attenuated limbs gathered beneath him, and his single restless eye flashing in rivalry of the Koh-i-Noor (the only ornament he wore, except a string of 300 pearls of the finest water and the size of small marbles), listening to the civilities of the English authorities, which happily did not extend to compliance with his previous demand for an Eng- lish wife.— (Osborne's Court and Camp af Runjeet Sin;!, 199.) The fact that the old debauchee en- tertained some at least of his official visitors with the "hurra tomaclia" (great fun) of intoxicating "nautch" girls, for the sake of seeing them l)eat and abuse one another, gives force to the remark of a 4,000 camp followersj were levied from the E. I. Cy.'s military stations, and placed under the nominal command of Timiir, the eldest son of Soojah-ool-jMoolk ; the whole boing led by British officers, and paid from the British treasury. Runjeet Sing was to supply a contingent of 0,000 men, and to station 15,000 men as an army of observa- tion in Peshawur. The commissariat ar- rangements were extremely deficient, and the enormous number of camp followers, aiuounting to nearly 100,000 persons, im- parted new diflicultics to a march of extra- ordinary length, through an almost un- explored and hostile territory. The in- vading force had only physical difficulties, and the depredations of certain mountain tribes, to encounter on the road to Candahar. It was expected that the Ameers of Sinde would offer opposition on the score of the manifest infraction of the treaty of 1832, by which the E. I. Cy., when desirous to opea the navigation of the Indus, expressly de- clared that it would be employed by them solely for mercantile uses. The Ameers, however, saw the folly of remonstrating with a powerful force thirsting for the plun- der of the rich city of Hyderabad. Tiiey paid £100,000 as an instalment of the £280,000 demanded by Shah Soojah on the favourite plea of arrears of tribute, and sur- rendered the fortified island of Bukktir in the Indus, the possession of which was deemed necessary to the security of the English force. The army of the Indus British officer, who, commenting on tlie indulgence evinced to the vices of Runjeet Sing, writes^" It was impossible not to feel that this complaisance was carried a little too far, when he was exhibited in the character of a I3acchus or Silenus, in the presence of an assemblage of English gentlewomen, and when their notions of decency were further outraged by the introduction, to whatever extent sanctioned by culpable usage in other parts of India, of bands of singing and dancing courtesans." — (Havelock's IJ'ar in Afyhanistan, {., 87.) After all the Seiks were not conciliated : they watched the Feringhees (foreigners) with extreme suspicion ; and when their infirm old chief, in his anxiety to examine a present of two howitzers, fell prostrate before them, the ac- cident was regarded as a fearful omen. t In October, 1838, the author, deeply convinced of the unjust and perilous nature of the war, drew up a memorandum, which the Marquis AVellesley transmitted to Sir John Cam Hobhouse, then Presi- sident of the Board of Control. His lordship ad- dressed a subsequent communication to Sir John against the Afghan war, predicting that " our diffi- culties would commence where our military successes ended." The Duke of Wellington, Elphinstone, Ednionstone, Metcalfe, and other Indian statesmen, took the same view of the question. X Col. Dcnnie's Campaigns in Afghanistan, 51. 436 CAPTURE OF GHUZNEE— OCCUPATION OF CANDAHAR & CABOOL. traversed the weary Bolan Pass, and the dangerous and difficult Kojuck defile with success, but at a fearful cost of life,* espe- cially on the part of the camp followers, from beat and want of water. Candahar (the capital of Western Afghanistan), was occu- pied without resistance by Shah Soojah and his allies, in April, 1839. Kohun-dil-Khan and his brother sirdars fled as the foe ad- vanced; and English gold scattered lavishly on all sides, enabled the returning monarch to win the temporary suffrage of several Barukzye chiefs. In the following June the army under Sir John Keane and Shah Soojah left a garrison at Candahar and set out for Ghuznee. This ancient fortress proved stronger than had been expected; but a nephew of Dost Mohammed deserted from the garrison, and betrayed the im- portant secret, that an entrance called the Cabool gate had not, like the rest, been built up with stone, but had been left slightly barricaded in the expectation of supplies. The besiegers, acting on this information, fastened bags of gunpowder upon the wooden door at night, and by setting them on fire effected a practicable breach, through which a storming party, led by Colonel Dennie, immediately secured an entrance, captured the town, and, after some hours' resis- tance, the citadel also, receiving little loss, but slaying 1,000 Afghans: 3,000 more were wounded or captured. Among the prisoners were about fifty fanatics of all ages, who had assumed the name of Ghazee, in right of being engaged in holy warfare against infidels. These men, the first taken in arms against Shah Soojah, " were hacked to death with wanton barbarity by the knives of his executioners."! So much for the magnanimity of the re- stored monarch in his short hour of triumph. The campaign thus successfully opened, was to some extent overshadowed by tidings of the death of Runjeet Sing, in 1839; but notwithstanding the jealous dislike evinced towards the English by the new authorities at Lahore, the Seik contingent, wretchedly insufficient as it was, became serviceable in the hands of Colonel Wade ; and this ener- getic officer, with his nominal coadjutor the Shahzada (Prince Timur), who was "an absolute cypher,"contrivcd, partly by fighting, • Of 100,000 camp followers, only 20,000 reached Candahar.— (Capper's Time I'reiiidem-ies, p. 212.) t Vide John William K aye's graphic and fearless Ilit^tory iif Ihc War in jifykunislan, i., 445. \ Idem., 501. partly by diplomacy, to traverse the formi- dable Khyber Pass, at the head of a motley assemblage of Hindoos, Seiks, and Afghans. Akber Khan, Dost Mohammed's favourite " fighting son," was recalled from his camp near Jellalabad, to join his father at Cabool, and the path being left open. Wade marched on and seized Jellalabad. The position of Dost Mohammed was daily rendered more perilous by the deser- tion of his relatives and followers. Very shortly after the taking of Ghuznee, he at- tempted to compromise matters by offering to submit to the restoration of Shah Soojah, on condition of his own nomination to his late brother Futteh Khan's position of vizier. This proposition was of course re- jected ; for so far from being inclined to delegate authority to his opponent. Shah Soojah desired nothing better than to " hang the dog" — a procedure which the British en- voy, Mr. Macnaghtan, does not appear to have considered otherwise than advisable, provided they could catch him. J The Dost desired to give the invaders battle at Maidan, on the Cabool river, but treachery and disaffection surrounded him ou every side, and his camp at Urghundeh fairly fell to pieces. The venal Kuzzil- bashes (or Persian guard) forsook the master whose salt they had eaten thirteen years. In vain he entreated them to stand by him in one charge against the Feringhees, that he might die with honour, — the spirit- stirring appeal fell on the listless ears of men determined to purchase safety by desertion; and, attended by a few faithful followers. Dost ]\Iohammed in despair turned his horse's head towards the Hindoo-Koosh, leaving his guns standing. Cabool opened its gates with " sullen, surly submission;" and Shah Soojah entered the Balla Hissar or palace-citadel in triumph, while his British allies sounded a long loud note of triumph, the European echoes of which were destined to die away in the very saddest cry of anguish and humiliation ever uttered by the proud conquerors of India. The authorities at Cabool soon discovered that the foreign bayonets and foreign gold which had been the means of replacing Shah Soojah on the throne of Afghanistan, were likewise the sole method of keeping him there. Lord Auckland desired the return of the entire " army of the Indus ;" but the unpopularity of the Shah was too evident to admit of lueh a step, unless we were williuir to confess the whole affair a SURRENDER OF THE AMEER, DOST MOTIAMMKD— 1810. 4:37 failure, and escort his majesty l)af!k to Loodiana, or if he thouf^lit fit, leave him to take his chance among his own nountry- meii. An open confession of error, how- ever mortifyiiifT, would have been inca!- eidably wiser than foliowiii}; up one false step with a multitude of others. In 1S39 a portion of the troops retuined to Calcutta. The commander-in-chief, Sir John Keane, immediately proceeded to England, where lie was elevated to the peerage by the title of Baron Keane of Ghuznee, and further re- munerated by a pension of £2,000 per ann. for himself and his two next heirs male. The governor-general, from a baron, was made an earl. Mr. Maenaghten was created a ba- ronet, and orders of the Bath were bestowed, not with the most discriminating hand.* The winter of 1839 passed in tolerable tranquillity. The British took military possession of the country by establishing garrisons in the cities of Cabool and Can- daliar, and in the principal posts on the main roads to llindoostan — viz., Ghuznee and Quettah on the west, Jellalabad and Ali-Musjid on the east. Some minor de- tachments were left in various other isolated positions; thus dividing a force which, united, was scarcely sufficient for its own protection. Moreover, the military authorities in Cabool, instead of retaining their position in the Balla Hissar, were induced to build costly and indefensible cantonments on the adja- cent plain, in compliance with the scruples of Shah Soojah, who soon began to feel his throne somewhat too closely hedged in by foreign troops. The first fiush of triumph over, he could not but find it a weary thing to live shut up in a fortress, despised by his own subjects ; and as he looked forth from the Balla Ilissar on the city beneath, he said " everything appeared to him shruidv small and miserable; and that the Cabool of his old age in no res])eet corresponded with the recollections of the Cabool of his youth." The yearnings of romance were soon swallowed up in real dangers. Insur- rections took place in various quarters. Dost Mohammed again appeared in arms, and several sharp encounters took place in the course of the year 18-10; but the Afghans, despite some partial successes, offered no combined or systematic resistance. The Dost, after making a brave and suc- cessful stand at Purwau in November, thought the time had arrived when he * Dennie's .';eivices at Gliuznee were overlooked. 3 L might, with a good grace, surrender him- self to the English (into whose hands the ladies of his family had already fallen.) 'i'urning from the field of battle in despair, he galloped towards Cabool, and twenty- four hours spent on the saddle, brought him face to face with the British envoy, who was returning homeward from an evening ride. Dost Mohammed sprang to the ground, tendered his sword, and claimed protection as a voluntary captive. I'he kindly peace-loving nature of Sir William had been sadly warped since he had ex- changed the ordinary routine of official duties and scholarly recreations for the arduous post of counsellor to Shah Soojah ; and immediately before this unlooked-for greeting, he had been inquiring with regard to the Dost — " '\Vo\dd it be justifiable to set a price on this fellow's head?" for "it appears that he meditates fighting with us so long as the breath is in his body." But the chivalrous bearing of the defeated Ameer banished all harsh thoughts. Sir William refused the proffered sword ; and when the Dost was sent as a state prisoner to Hindoostan, actually advocated his being provided for by the British authorities " more handsomely than Shah Soojah had been," for the followitig memorable reason : — " The Shah had no claim upon us. We had no hand in depriving him of his king- dom ; whereas, we ejected the Dost, who never offended us, in s\ipport of our policy, of which he was the victim." Lord Auck- land tacitly admitted the fact by receiving the deposed ruler with extreme courtesy, and burdening the Indian population with a new pension of two lacs, or about £20,000 per ann. for his support. At this time the revenues of Cabool, gathered by force of arms, did not exceed fifteen lacs, and barely paid the ordinary expenses of government, 'i'he Anglo-Afghan treasury was well-nigh exhausted, and there were grounds for doubting whether the E. I. Cy. would not think a million and a quarter a-year too dear a price to pay for the maintenance of their nominee at Cabool. The reduction of outgoings was attempted by the diminution of the " black mail" paid to certain Khilji chiefs for checking the excesses committed by the predator}' tribes who infested the passes. The experiment proved very dan- gerous ; the Khiljies assumed a haughty tone; the Kojucks, and many tribcj of whose very names the English had until now remained in happy ignorance, rose ia 438 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENGLISH IN AFGHANISTAN— 1841. what was misnamed "rebellion" against Shah Soojah. In Kohistan and the Khy- ber, that region of snowy precipices and roaring torrents, where every man is a good marksman behind his native rock, more than usual excitement prevailed. The British envoy, considering with some reason the state of Afghanistan to be at the best of times one of chronic unrest, paid too little heed to the numerous signs of an approach- ing crisis which alarmed Shah Soojah. The noses of the Dourani Khans (or lords) had, Macnaghten said, been brought to the grindstone, and all was quiet, from Dan to Beersheba.* Impressed with this agreeable conviction, he prepared to resign his posi- tion, and return to Hindoostan to fill the honourable station of governor of Bombay. His intended successor, Sir Alexander Burnes, had long ardently desired the office of envoy ; but from the conflicting and con- tradictory character both of his ofiicial and private statements, it is difficult to say what his actual opinions were concerning the condition of the country and the feelings of the people. He must have known that the military occupation of Afghanistan (of ne- cessity sufficiently unpopular) had been rendered peculiarly hateful and galling by his own unbridled licentiousness, and by that of other officers, whose example was closely imitated by the mass of the Euro- pean soldiery. Lady ]\Iacuaghten, Lady Sale, and other Englishwomen resided with- in the cantonments, yet their presence did not cheek the excesses, the terrible retribution for which they were soon to share. Shah Soojah, whom Macnaghten declared to be "the best and ablest man in Lis dominions,"t and whose fidelity was evinced by the warnings he repeatedly gave the English authorities of the impending danger, and his entreaties that they would take up their abode in the Balla Ilissar, remonstrated forcibly against the immo- rality of the officers, and pointed out the * News had arrived at Cabool, in the course of the summer, which greatly relieved the apprehensions of Macnaghten and Burnes, both of whom had a tendency to look out for dangers from afar, ratlior than guard against those by -nhich they were imme- diately surrounded. The raising of the siege of Herat had only temporarily allayed their fears of Tiussian aggression, which were soon aroused by the dispatch of a powerful force, under General Tcroffski, ostensibly directed against the man-stealing, slave- holding princijjality of Khiva, but it was believed, in- tended to act offensively against the I'higlish. Wliat- evcr llie true design may have been, it was frus- trated by the intense cold and inaccessible character indignation which it excited among his countrymen. " I told the envoy,'"' writes the Shah to Lord Auckland, January, 1842, " what was going on, and was not listened to. I told him that complaints were daily made to me of Afghan women being talcen to Burnes' moonshee (Mohun Lai), and of their drinking wine at his house, and of women being taken to the chaonee, and of my having witnessed it." J Kaye states, " the scandal was open, undisguised, notorious. Redress was not to be obtained. The evil was not in course of suppression. It went on till it became intolerable ; and the in- jured then began to see that the only remedy was in their own hands. "§ That remedy was the death of the leading offender, and the expulsion of the English from Afghanistan. Warnings of various kinds were not wanting; but they passed unheeded. The week fixed for the depar- ture of the envoy arrived, and preparation.s were made for his journey, and for the comfort of his successor in office, and of tlie other functionaries during the coming winter, which was expected to pass like the two former ones, in a sttccession of pastimes, including shooting, card-playing, drinking, y and various amusements, innocent or other- wise, according to the tastes and habits of tliose concerned. On the evening of the 1st November, 1841, Burnes formally con- gratulated IMacnaghten on his approach- ing departure during a period of profound tranquillity.^ At that very time a party of chiefs were assembled close at hand dis- cussing in full conclave the means of redressing their national and individual wrongs. At daybreak on the following morning, Burnes was aroused by the mes- sage of a friendly Afghan, informing him of upproaching danger, and bidding him quit the city and seek safety in the Balla Hissar or the cantonments. The vizier of Shah .Soojah followed on the same errand, but all in vain ; the doomed man sent to ask mili- of the country, which, together with pestilence, nearly destroyed the Russian army, and compelled Peroffski to turn back without reaching Khiva. t Kaye, i., 5;S3. I Hem, ii., 354. § Idem, i., 615. II Dost Mohammed ])roliibited the sale of a fiery spirit distilled from the grape. The English restored the Armenian manufacturers to full eniplnyment. ^ It is asserted, that on the same day, intelligence so clear and full of a hostile confederacy had been given to liurnes, that he exclaimed the time had come for the I5ritish to leave the country. Burnes was impulsive, vacillating, ambitious, ami uni)rincipled. It is possible tlial he deceived hinisi'lf soruetimes : it is certain that he constantly misled Macnaghten. MASSACRE OV THE BROTHERS BURNES AND LIEUT. BROADFOOT. 439 tary support, and persisted in rrmainiii!^ in his own al)0(lc, which adjoined that of Ca))- tain Johnson, ])ayniastcr of the Sliah's forces. This otriccr was absent iu canton- ments, but tliG treasury was under the care of the usual sepoy guard, and they were ready and even desirous to fire on the in- surgents. Burnes refused to give tlie neces- sary orders, in the ho])c of receiving speedy succour; mcanwliile the crowd of stragglers grew into an infuriated mob, and his at- tempted harangue from the balcony was silenced by loud clamours and reproaches. Two oificcrs had slept that night in the house of Sir Alexander: one of them, Lieu- tenant ]?roadfoot, prepared to sell his life dearly, and it is asserted, slew no less than six of his assailants before a ball struck him to the ground a corpse; the other. Lieutenant Charles Burnes, remained beside his brother while the latter ofl'ered redress of grievances, and a heavy ransom to the populace as the price of their joint lives. But in vain ; the outraged Afghans loved vengeance better than gold; and after setting fire to the stables, a party of them burst into the garden, where they were fired iipon by the sepoys under Lieutenant Burucs. Sir Alexander disguised liimself in native attire, and strove to escape, but was recog- nised, or rather betrayed by the Cash- merian who had induced him to make the attempt. A fearful shout arose from the party iu the garden on discovering his pre- sence — " This is Secuudcr (Alexander) Burnes!" and in a few moments both brothers were cut to pieces by Afghan knives. The sepoys in charge of the ti-ea- sury fought desperately, and surrendered their charge only with their lives. IMas- sacre followed pillage ; every man, woman, and child (Hindoo and Afghan) found in the two English dwellings perished :* finally, the buildings were fired ; and all this with (),()00 British troops within half-au-hour's march of the city. The only energetic attempt made to check the insurrectionary movement emanated from the Shah, and was performed by one of his sons; but it proved unsuccessful, and the British autho- rities displayed aia apathy quite inexplicable, even supposing the outbreak to have been directly occasioned by the ill conduct of its chief victim. General Elphinstone, the commander-in-chief, was an officer of high character, and of brave and kindly bearing; ! * Moonsliee Mohim Lai, who did "the dirty work of ' the British diplomatists," made his escape.— (Kaye.) but increasing physical infirmities pressed heavilj' on him: and before the catastrophe he had ajjplied for his recall from Afghan- . istan, where, indeed, he ought never to have been sent. Between him and Maenaghten no sympathy existed : they could not under- stand each other, and never acted in con- cert. The one was despondent and procras- tinating, the other hopeful and energetic, but too much given to diplomacy. The consequence of this tendency was the adop- tion of various compromising measures whea the occasion loudly called for the most active and straightforward policy. Post after post was cajjtured from the British in the immediate vicinity of Cabool, and it soon became evident that the out-stations were in extreme peril; for the insurrection, from being local, speedily became general. The "frightful extent" of the cantonments (erected before Elphinstonc's arrival), the loss of a fort four hundred yards distant, in which the commissariat stores had been most improvidently placed, together with the deficiency of artillery, so disheartened and unnerved the general, that he suffered day after day to pass without any decisive effort to gain possession of the city, and began to urge on Maenaghten the propriety of making terms with the enemy. The king remained shut up iu the Balla Hissar, " like grain between two millstones." He was a man of advanced age and weak purpose, and the hostility of his subjects being avowedly directed against the Feringhees, he strove to keep his crown upon his head, and hi^ head upon his shoulders, by a trimming policy, which rendered him an object of distrust to both parties, and cost him even- tually life as well as honour. Avarice had grown on him, and he beheld with extreme annoyance the sums of money lavished by the British envoy in the futile attem])t to buy off the more influential of the confede- rate chiefs. The urgent solicitations of Elphinstone, the growing difficulty of ob- taining supplies for the troops, the unsatis- factory results of daily petty hostilities, and the non-arrival of the reinforcements of men and money solicited by ^Maenaghten from Hiudoostan, at length induced him to oflTer to evacuate Afghanistan on honourable terms. Tb.e tone adopted by the chiefs was so arrogant and offensive, that the confer- ence came to an abrupt termination ; both parties being resolved to resume hostilities sooner than abate their respective preten- sions. During the interview a strange 440 ENGLISH FORCE BELEAGUERED IN CABOOL CANTONMENTS— 1841. scene took place outside the cantonments. Thinking that a treaty of peace was being concluded by their leaders, the British and Afghan soldiery gave veut to their joy in mutual congratulations. The Europeans lent over the low walls (misnamed defences), conversing familiarly with their late foes, and even went out unarmed among them, and thankfully accepted presents of vege- tables. The result of the meeting between the envoy and the chiefs was the renewal of strife, and the men whose hands had been so lately joined in friendly greetings, were again called on to shed each other's blood for the honour of their respective countries. The English troops showed so little inclina- tion for the work, that Macnaghtan angrily designated them a " pack of despicable cowards," and was soon compelled to reopen his negotiations with the enemy. Aflairs were in this precarious condition when Akber Khan returned to Cabool, after more than two years of exile and sufl'ering. His reappearance caused no additional anxiety to the beleagured English ; on the contrary, the fact that the ladies of the family of the young Barukzye were, with his father, prisoners in Hindoostan, inspired a hope that he might be made the means of procuring favourable terms from the hostile leaders who, on their part, welcomed the return of the favourite son of the Dost with extreme delight. Akber (styled by Roebuck the "Wallace of Cabool") was, beyond doubt, a favourable specimen of an Afghan chief, strikingly handsome in face and ^gure, full of life and energy, joyous in peace, fearless in war, freedom-loving, deeply attached to his father and his country, sus- ceptible of generous impulses, but unedu- cated and destitute of self-control. For some time he took no leading part against the English, and neither aided nor opposed the dominant party in formally setting aside the authority of Shah Soojah, and proclaim- ing as king in his stead the Nawab Moham- med Zemaun Khan, a cousin of the late Cabool chief. The selection was fortunate for the English, the Nawab being a humane and honourable man, well inclined to grant them acceptable terms of evacuation ; and his turbulent and quarrelsome adherents were, after much discussion, induced to sign a treaty, the stipulations of which, mutual dis- trust prevented from being fulfilled by either party. The English consented to sur- render the fortresses they still retained in Afghanistan, and their cannon, on con- dition of receiving a supply of beasts of burden from the enemy, to facilitate their march. Shah Soojah was to be allowed to return with them or to remain in Cabool, with the miserable stipend of a lac of rupees per annum ; and one moment he resolved on accompanying the retreatinjj army, while the next he declared it his intention to remain where he was, and wait a new turn of events. In either mood, he declaimed, with reason, against the folly of his allies in divesting themselves of the means of defence, asking indignantly whether any people in the world ever before gave their enemies the means of killing them? The officers in charge of Candahar and Jellala- bad (Nott and Sale) took the same view of the case ; and, arguing that the order of sur- render must have been forcibly extorted from General Elphinstone, positively re- fused to abandon their positions. The treaty was thus placed in abeyance, and the troops in cantonment lived on from day to day, frittering away their resources, and growing hourly more desponding ; while Macnaghten, Elphinstone, and the second in command. Brigadier Shelton, passed the precious hours in angry discussion. The ill-health of the general, increased by a painful wound caused by a musket-ball, obliged him to delegate many duties to Shelton, an officer of great personal courage, but overbearing and prejudiced, with the especial defect of being unable to sympathise with the suffer- ings, or appreciate the noble devotion of the much-tried native troops. The civilian is said to have been the truest soldier in the camp ; but he had no confidence in his colleagues, and his own powers of mind and body were fast sinking beneath the load of anxiety which had so suddenly banished the delusion (sedulously cherished by the unhappy Burnes to the last day of his life) of the tranquil submission of Afghanistan to a foreign yoke. Never had day-dreamer a more terri- ble awakening. Incensed by the refusal of the holders of inferior posts to obey his orders, and by the non-fulfilment of the promises made by the Barukzye chiefs of carriage cattle, Macnaghten, chafed almost to madness, was ready to follow any ignis fatuus that should present a hope of escape for himself and the 1G,000 men whose lives trembled in the balance. Although osten- sibly bound by treaty with the Barukzyes, he was ready to side with Doorani or Populzye, Khilji or Kuzzilbash, or, in a word, to join any native faction able to MURDER OF SIR W. MACNAGIITEN AND CAPTAIN TREVOR— 1811. 441 afford cordial co-operation. In this mood he lent a willing; ear to a comnniiiicatioii made to him on tiic evening of ll2nd Dec, 1841. The proposal was that Akber and the Kliiljics should unite with the British for the seizure of the; person of Ameeri- oollah Kiiari, a leading Barukzve chief, and a party to the hite agreement, wiiosc head, for a certain sum of money, would he laid at the feet of tlie envoy. Happily for his own honour and that of his country, Mac- naghtcu rejected the proposition so far as the life of the chief was concerned,* but was prei)ared to aid in his capture without tiie preliminary measure of declaring the treaty void. The envoy gave a written promise for the evacuation of Afghanistan in the coming spring; Shah Soojah was to be left behind, witii Akber for his vizier; and the representative of the British govern- ment furtiier guaranteed to reward the ser- vices of Akber by an annuity of £40,000 a-year, and a bonus of no less than £300,000. On the following morning Macnaghten scut for the officers of his staff (Capts. Lawrence, Trevor, and Mackenzie), and, in an excited but determined tone, bade them accompany him to a conference with Akber: lastly, he informed the general of his intentions, desiring that two regiments might be got ready for service, and, to some extent, e.\- plaining the matter in hand. Elphinstone asked what part Nawab Zemaun Khan, and other leading Barukzyes, were expected to take ? " None," was the reply ; " they are not in the plot." Tiie old general was scni- pulously honest, and the word grated on his ear. But Macnaghten would listen to neither remonstrance nor entreaty. Impa- tiently turning aside from the feeble but chivalrous veteran, he exclaimed — "I under- stand these things better than you ;" and rode off to the fatal interview, — not, however, without some misgiving as to its result; for he declared to his companions, that come what would, a thousand deaths were prefer- able to the life he had of late been leading. The meeting commenced in apparent cour- tesy ; Macnaghten offered Akber a noble Arab horse, which the young chief accepted with thanks, at the same time acknowledg- * The same riglit principle had not been inva- riably adliered to during tlie .Afghan war, and the chiefs had good grounds for suspecling that blood- money had been offered for their lives. John Conolly (one of three brothers who followed the for- tunes of their uncle. Sir W. Macnaghten, and like him, never lived to return to India), addressed from tne Balla Ilissar repealed injunctions to Moluin Lai, ing the gift of a pair of double-barrelled pistols, sent on the previous day, which he wore at his girdle. The whole party, English and Afghans, dismounted, and seated themselves on cloths spread on some snow-clad hillocks, near the Cabool river, and about ()()() yards from the fantoriments. Macnaghten stretched himself at full length on the Ijank ; Trevor and Mackenzie seated themselves beside him ; but Lawrence knelt on one knee, ready for action. There was abundant cause for suspicion : the presence of a brother of Ameen-ooUah, the excited and eager manner of the Afghans, and the numbers gathering round the iMiglish, drew from Lawrence and Mackenzie a remark that such intrusion was not consistent with a private conference. " They are all in the secret," said Akber; and, as he spoke, the envoy and his companions were violently seized from behind. Resistance was hope- less : their slender escort of sixteen men galloped back to cantonments to avoid being slain, save one who perished nobly in attempting to join his masters; the three attache's were made prisoners; but Mac- naghten commenced a desperate struggle with Akber Khan, and a cry being raised that the troops were marching to the rescue, the young Barukzye, in extreme excitement, drew a pistol from his girdle, and shot the donor through the body. A party of fanati- cal Ghazees came up, flung themselves on the fallen envoy, and hacked him to pieces with their knives. Trevor slipped from the horse of the chief who was bearing him away captive, and shared the fate of his leader; and the other two officers were saved with difficulty by Akber Khan, who, remorseful for his late act, " drew his sword and laid about him right manfully"t for the defence of the prisoners against the infuiiated crowd. While the mangled remains of the victims were being paraded tlirough the streets and great bazaar of the city, the military leaders remained in their usual apathetic state ; nor was it until the morrow that authentic information was received of the catastrophe. Major Eldred Pottinger, on whom the office of political agent devolved, entreated the authorities assembled in to offer from ten to fifteen thousand rupees for the heads of certain leading chiefs; and, in the cases of AbdooUah Khan and Meer Musjedee, the rewards were actually claimed but not accorded ; nor do the offers of Conolly appear to have been made with the concurrence or even cognizance of Macnaghten, much less with that of Klphinstom-. — (Kaye, ii.. o7 — 104.) t Capt, Mackenzie's words. — (Lt. Eyre's Juunml.) 442 FATAL RETREAT OF ENGLISH TROOPS FROM CABOOL— JAN., 1841. council, either to take refuge in the Balla Hissar, or endeavour to force a way to Jel- lalabacl, and there remain until the arrival of reinforcements from India, tidings of which arrived within two days of the mas- sacre. But his arguments were not re- garded, and new terms were concluded, by which the representatives of the Indian government engaged to abandon all their forts, surrender their guns, evacuate Af- ghanistan, restore the deposed Dost, and pay a ransom of £140,000 in return for the supplies necessary for the retreat. Hos- tages were demanded and given for the performance of these humiliating condi- tions ; but Lawrence and Mackenzie were released. Akber Khan desired that the English ladies should be left behind, as se- curity for the -restoration of the female members of his family; but the married officers refused the advantageous offers made from head-quarters to induce them to consent, and "some (says Eyre) declared they would shoot their wives first." On the 6th of January, 1843, though deep snow already lay on the ground, the troops quitted the cantonments, in which they had sus- tained a two months' siege, to encounter the miseries of a winter march through a country of perhaps unparalleled difficulty, swarming with mountain tribes predatory by profession, and bitterly incensed against the foreign invaders. The records of that terrible journey are written in letters of blood. No circumstances could possibly have occurred under which regularity and discipline were more needed to ensure the safety of the retreating force ; yet even the semblance of it was soon abandoned in one general attempt to keep on with the fore- most rank : to lag behind was certain death from Afghan knives or Afghan snows. In the dark and terrible pass of Koord Cabool, five miles in length, through which a roar- ing torrent dashed on between blocks of ice, while its heights were crowned by the jjitiless Khiljies, 3,000 persons perished. The Englishwomen rode through, on horse- back or in camcl-paniers, uninjured, except Lady Sale, who received a bullet in her arm; but, brave-hearted as they were, it • Some of them had just become, or were nhout to become mothers. Tlie widow of Capt. Trevor had seven chiklrcn with )ier, and an eiglilh was born at liiuldeeabad. Tlie idea of a (^rrind military prome- nade was certainly carried out, Mlien not only ladies and children, but a pack of foxhounds, and one of firoadwood's best pianos, were broujjht through the IJolan Pass. — (Fane's J''ive Tears; Ex-political's JJri/ seemed scarcely possible they and their in- fant children could long continue to bear up against the intense cold and incessant fatigue.* The only alternative was to ac- cept the protection of Akber Khan, who, it is said, promised to convey them to Pesha- wur; and to him the whole of the married Englishwomen, their husbands, and chil- dren, with Lady Macnaghten and her widowed companions, were confided. It was a tempting opportunity for barbarian revenge. The wives and babes of the proud Feringhees were at the mercy of the Af- ghans ; yet there is no record of any insult having been offered to them, or any attempt to separate them from their natural protec- tors, now defenceless as themselves. On the contrary, Akber Khan earnestly craved the forgiveness of Lady Macnaghten, assur- ing her he would give his right arm to undo what it had done ; while, in many ways, he strove to alleviate the hardships of the march by bearing the weaker of the party over fords on his own steed, binding up the wounds of the officers with his own hands, and sufiering the ladies to encumber the march v.'ith the costly baggage which two or three of them still retained. The volun- tary surrender of such a prize was of course not to be expected while his father, brothers, and wives were retained in exile. As it was, his " guests," as they were termed, had every reason to rejoice at finding in temporary captivity an alternative for the loss of life. On the very next day (10th January), the remnant of the doomed force was intercepted on the road to Jellalabad, in a narrow gorge between the precipitous spurs of two hills, and the promiscuous mass of sepoys and camp followers were hewn down by the infuriated Afghans. EI- phinstone sent to Akber Khan, who, with a body of horse, still hovered on the fianks of the retreating force, to entreat him to stop the massacre; but he replied, that it was impossible, — at such times the Khiljies were uncontrollable even l)y their imme- diate chiefs : there was but one chance for the English — an immediate and uncondi- tional surrender of arms. The general sadly resumed his march to the Jugdulluck Leaves.) The troops in Cabool, thoup;h in many respects needlessly encumbered, do not seem to have bten attended by a single chaplain ; an omission ■Hhich tends to justify the description given by a lieloochee of tile Fcringhee force, of whom one sort (the Jlindoos) were idolaters; tlu' white (English) had no religion at all ; but the third were good Mussul- men, "and say their prayers as we do." — (Idem.) MASSACRE IN THE JUGDULLUCK PASS-JANUARY 12th, 1842. 443 heights, and there the troops who remained — of ranks all but destroyed by death and de- sertion — found a brief respite, and strove to quench their burning thirst with handsful of snow, and to still the cravinj^s of liunj^er with the raw and rcekin;^ iicsli of three newly-killed bullocks. Tlic nii^lit was spent at JugduUuck; on the Ibllowing day Ak- ber Khan requested a conference with the General, Brigadier Shelton, and Captain Johnson. It is strange, with the recollec- tion of the Cabool plot fresh in their minds, that the three military authorities should have accepted this significant invitation ; but they did so, were courteously received, refreshed with food, provided with a tent, and — made prisoners. They entreated their captor to save the survivors of the force, and he really appears to have exerted him- self for that purpose, but in vain. Captain Johnson, who understood the Persian lan- guage, lieard the petty chiefs of the country between JugduUuck and Jellalabad declaim- ing, as they flocked in, against the hated Feringhees, and rejecting large sums as the price of a safe conduct to Jellalabad. On the evening of the 12th, the wreck of the army resumed its perilous march. The sepoys had almost wholly perished, and of the Europeans only 120 of the Ikh regi- ment and twenty-five artillerymen remained; but their movements were still impeded by a comparatively large mass of camp fol- lowers, who " came huddling against the fighting men," thus giving free scope to the long knives of the Afghans. The sol- diers, after some time, freed themselves from the helpless rabble, turned against their foes with the bayonet, drove them off, and pursued their way to the fatal JugduUuck Pass, where their suflferings and struggles found a melancholy termination. A bar- ricade of boughs and bushes arrested fur- ther progress ; officers, soldiers, and camp followers desperately strove to force a pas- sage, though exposed to the deliberate aim I of the "jezails" (long rifles) of the enemy. Anquetil, Thai.n, Nieholl, and the chief I • A few stragsl'i^R sepoys and camp followers afterwards found Uu'ir way to Jellalabad. + The Xawab (or nabob) of Kurnoul was suspected of entt'rtainiug hostile intentions against the English ; the chief, though not very satisfactory evidence of which rests on his having accumulated a large quan- tity of warlike stores. He was likewise .said to be a very oppressive ruler. At the close of t!ie year 1848, the capital was seized by a Uritisli force with- out opposition, and the nabob, who had abandoned the place, was pursued, taken prisoner, and became a of the remaining leaders fell here. About twenty olliecrs and forty-five European sol- diers cut their way through, hoping to gain Jellalabad; but weak and wounded, with only two rounds of ammunition left, they could not make head against the armed vil- lagers who came crowding forth against them from every Imt. The majority fell at Gun- damuck; a few escaped and struggled on- wards: but even they fell — one here, one there; until a single European (Dr. JJrydon), wounded and worn out by faininc and fatigue, mounted on a jaded pony, alone survived to announce to the gallant garrison of Jel- lalabad the total annihilation of the force of ]G,500 men which liad quitted Cabool only seven days before.* 'J'he terrible tidings reached Lord Auck- land at Calcutta while awaiting the arrival of his successor in ofliec. lie had pre- viously seen reason to regret bitterly that ever British troops liad crossed the Indus : he knew that the E. I. Cy. had consistently opposed the Afghan war, and that the Peel cabinet, now in power, were of the same opinion ; and he therefore refused to follow up the abortive attempts already made for the relief of the beleaguered garrisons by any efficient measures, lest his proceedings should controvert tlie views and embarrass the projects of his expected successor. The arrival of Lord Ellenborough, at the close of February, released Lord Auckland from his painful position, and he quitted India in the following month, leaving on record a finance minute which proved the war to have already inflicted a burden of eight mil- lion on the Indian treasury. The only remain- ing circumstances which occurred under his swa}', were the annexation of the little prin- cipality of Kurnoulf and of Cherong, a for- tified place in Bundelcund. Ellenborough Admi.vistratiox : 1842 TO 1 S44. — The opinions held by the new gov- ernor-general were well known. His lord- ship had been for yeai-s president of the Board of Control : he was a conservative, and agreed with his party and the majority dependent on the British government. He retired to Trichinopoly, and became a frequent attendant on the mission clnii-ch. On the last occasion he was mortally stabbed by one of his Jlohammedan fol- lowers. His eldest son, Uluf Khan, received a pen- sion of £1,000 a-year until his death in 1818. The Knglish enjoy the entire revenues of Kurnoul, esti- mated, in 1813, at £',10,000 per annum, and control over a territory between 2,000 and 3,000 square miles in extent, with a population stated in a Pari, return for 1851, at 273,190.— (Thorntou's Oazetteer.) 444 SALE AND "THE ILLUSTRIOUS GARRISON" OF JELLALABAD— 1842. of unbiassed men, in considering the Afghan invasion "a blunder and a crime;" but he had likewise declared, that " India was won by the sword, and must be kept by the sword." These opinions, coupled with his adoption of an axiom of unquestionable truth, that "in war reputation is strength," served to convince the Indian public that his policy would probably aim at the com- plete and speedy evacuation of Afghanistan, performed in such a manner as to prove beyond question that England voluntarily resigned a position which an erroneous view of the feelings of the Afghans had induced her to assume ; and this object, despite some glaring errors and inconsistencies, was, in the main, carried through by Lord Ellenborough. The first- event in his ad- ministration was the surrender of Ghuznee, by Colonel Palmer, to Shums-oo-deen Khan, nephew to Dost Mohammed, on the 6th of March ; the fear of a failure of water and provisions being the reasons alleged for the relinquishment of this strong fortress and the surrender of the officers,* who were treated with faithless cruelty by the con- queror. Nott and Sale still held their ground at Candahar and Jellalabad, against bitter cold, scarcity of fuel and provisions, and repeated though unskilful assaults, as did also the little garrison of Kelat-i-Khilji, under Captain Craigie, At Jellalabad, re- peated minor shocks of earthquake were succeeded on the 10th February by a ter- rible convulsion, which levelled with the ground the defences which liad been erected and rendered efficient at the cost of three months' intense labour of mind and body. Akber Khan, with the flower of the Ba- rukzye horse, was at hand, ready, it was expected, to enforce the fulfilment of El- phinstone's order of surrender. But " the illustrious garrison," as Lord Ellenborough justly styled the brave band, did not abate one jot of hope or courage. The spade and pickaxe were again taken in hand, and the work of restoration went forward so rapidly that Akber, deceived as to the extent of the damage sustained, declared that English witchcraft had preserved Jellalabad from the effects of the mighty shock. The Af- ghans, having little inclination for a hand- * Kaye says — " If there had been any one in Ghuznee acquainted with the use and ])ractice of artillery, the garrison nii^ht have hoUi out till April." He adds, "Ttiat among the oUicers of Nott's army [by whom the place was reoccu|)ir'd in Sep- tember], the loss of Ghuznee was considered even less creditable than the loss of Cabool." — (ii., 428-'9.) to-hand encounter with Sale's brigade, con- tented themselves with striving to maintain a rigid blockade; but the garrison sallied forth under Dennie, and swept away sheep and goats in the very froivt of the foe. The political agent, Capt. Macgregor, an able and energetic man, contrived to establish a system of intelligence far superior to that gene- rally maintained by the English. Tidings arrived on the 5th of April, that General Pollock, with 12,000 men and supplies of all kinds, was fighting his way to their res- cue through the Khyber Pass, opposed by Akber Khan. The garrison gallantly re- solved to assist their countrymen by issuing forth to attack the Afghan camp. This unlooked-for enterprise was attended with complete success. The blockading troops were completely routed, and fled in the di- rection of Lughmaa. The victors lost only thirteen men ; but that number included the gallant Colonel Dennie, who fell at the head of the centre column. On the 11th April, the army under General Pollock reached Jellalabad, and the garrison, whose five months' beleaguerment ha 1 been already so brilliantly terminated, sent the band of the 13th light infantry to meet the troops, and marched them in to the fort to the tune of an old Jacobite song of welcome, of which the refrain runs, " Oh ! but ye've been lang o' coming." General England was not suc- cessful in his early attempts to succour Nott and his "noble sepoys"t at Candahar. Having been repulsed in an attack on the Kojuck Pass, he fell back upon Quetta, and commenced fortifying that town ; but Gene- ral Nott imperatively demanded his re- newed advance, and sent the best part of his force to aid England through the pass, who thus assisted, marched to Candahar, which place he reached with little loss; for the Afghans, though strongly posted at Hykulzie (the scene of his former dis- comfiture), were rapidly dispersed by a vigo- rous attack, and did not muster in any force to oppose his further progress. No impediment now remained to the junction of the forces under Nott and Eng- land with those of Pollock and Sale. The only consideration was, what to do with them. Lord Ellenborough had wisely re- ■{■ " My sepoys," Nott writes to Pollock in April, " have behaved nobly, and have licked the Afghans in eTery affair, even when five timrs their number." In the same letter lie states thnt thr'y had had no pay since the previous December. The fidelify and privations of the native troops throughout the Afghan war well deserve a special narration. BATTLE OP TEZIiEN— MURDER OF SHAH SOOJAH— APRIL, 1842. 445 solved on the evacuation of Af^lianistan ; but lie loft to the military authorities the choice of "retiring" by the line of Ciuettaanrl Sukkur, or by that of Ghuznce, Cabool, and Jcllalubad. Nott chose the latter alterna- tive; and in communinatint; his resolve, repeated with quiet sarcasm his lordship's plirasc of "retiring" from Candahar to Lidia by vray of Ghuznee, Cabool, and Jel- lalabad ; the said retirement, says Kaye, being like a man retiring from Reigate to London vid Dover and Canterbury. Pol- lock entirely sympathised with General Nott. The former marched to Cabool, which he reached on the 5th Sept., after having encountered and put to flight the Afghans under Akber,* in the valley of Tezeen and the adjacent passes of Koord Cabool, where the English had been slaughtered in the previous January. General Nott proceeded to (jhuznee, which was evacuated on his approach ; and after destroying the town as well as citadel by fire, he proceeded to the tomb of Mahmood, in obedience to the special instructions of the governor-general, to bear away tlip famous idol-destroying mace of the conqueror, suspended above the tomb, and a pair of sandal-wood gates, em- bossed with brass, which were said to have been carried away by him from the temple of Somnauth, in Guzerat, a.d. 1024. Bur- dened with these trophies, the general pro- ceeded to Cabool, which city Pollock had entered unopposed on the 15th Sept., and planted the union-jack on the Balla Hissar.f In the interval between the evacuation and reoccupation of the capital of Afghanis- tan by the English, another melancholy tragedy had been enacted. Shah Soojah, abandoned by his allies, for some months contrived to maintain himself in the Balla Hissar; but his position becoming at length insupportable, he resolved to attempt to join Sale at Jellalabad. Early on the morn- ing of the 5th of April, the Shah left the citadel, escorted by a small party of Hin- doostanees, intending to revie\f the troops * The Goorkalese infantry fought most manfully, clambering undauntedly the steepest ascents, beneath the iron rain poured on them from Afghan jezails. — (Kaye, ii., 679.) It must have been a strange sight to see these daring, sturdy, but diminutive men, driving before them their stalwart foes ; but stranger still the thought, how recently these vahiable aux- iliaries had done battle on their native hills, against the people for whom tliey were now shedding their life-blood, and ably wielding the British bayonet. t Bulla IIisti<2r, the Persian for High Fort. J The trials of the captives began when Akber became again a fugitive, and could no longer retain 3 M and quit Cabool ; but his passage was op- posed by a body of Afghans, who opened a volley upon the royal cort/'ge, which struck down the bearers of the state chair, and killed the king himself. Throughout his whole career, Shah Soojah had been a ]iom- poiis man, sjjeaking and thinking ever of "our blessed .self" Now his lifeless body was stripped of its costly array, of its sparkling head-dress, rich girdle, and jewelled dagger, and flung into a ditch. His eldest son, Prince Timur, then about twenty-three years of age, was with the British at Can- dahar. The ne.xt in succession, Futteh Jung, was courted by the Barukzye chiefs, who hoped to find in him a shield from the vengeance of the advancing foe. The prince listened with undisguised distrust to the protestations made to him by the Seyed deputies ; and in reply to offers of alle- giance, to be sworn on the Koran, caused several exemplars of the sacred volume to be placed before them, bearing the seals of the Barukzye, Dourani, Kuzzilbash, and Kohistanee chiefs, with oaths of allegiance to his murdered father inscribed on the margin. "If there be any other Koran sent from heaven," he said bitterly, " let the Barukzyes swear upon it i this has been tried too often, and found wanting." The ambassadors were dismissed ; but Futteh Jung, unable to maintain his ground, soon fell into the hands of the chiefs he so avowedly mistrusted, and after being robbed of the treasure which his father had con- trived to accumulate, made his escape, and joined General Pollock at Gundamuck on the 1st of September, with only two or three followers. The next feature in the campaign was a joyful one — the recovery of the captives. The ladies and children were alive and well, but General Elpliinstoue had expired ia the month of April, worn out by inees^ sant bodily and mental pain. On learn-i. ing the approach of Pollock, AkberJ coa- fided his unwilling guests to the care of one them under his immediate protection. About this time an accident occurred which placed them in [ jeopardy. A servant in attendance on the chief, ' wounded him in the arm by the accidental discharge of a musket. No difference took place in the con- duct of Akber himself; and even when weak and wounded, he gave up his litter for the accommoda- \ tion of the ladies on their removal from Budeeabad. His countrymen, more suspicious, attributed the disaster to English treachery; and had the young Barukzye died, the lives of ail the male captives and hostages would probably have been sacrificed ».« an act of retribution. Ameen-ooUah Khan, especially^ i 446 RESCUE OF THE CAPTIVES AND HOSTAGES— SEPT., 1842. Saleh Mohammed, who was directed to deliver them to the charge of a neighbouring Usbeck chief, styled the Wali of Kooloom, who had proved a stanch friend to Dost Mohammed. Salch Mohammed had for- merly been a subahdar in the service of the E. I. Cy., but being (by his own ac- count) disgusted with the abusive language used towards natives by the European officers, he deserted with his company to the Dost. It was not a difficult matter to induce him to play the traitor over again, provided the risk were small and the tempta- tion great. Tidings of the progress of the English army calmed his fears ; and offers on behalf of government, backed by the written pledge of the captives to pay him 1,000 rupees a-month for life, and a present of 20,000 rupees, stimulated his hopes : from gaoler he turned confederate ; and the sol- diers (250 in number) were, by the promise of four months' pay as a gratuity, metamor- phosed from guards to servants. Eldred Pottinger assumed the direction of affairs, levied contributions upon some merchants passing through Bamian, and hoisted an independent flag on the fort the party said that he knew a reward of a lac of rupees had been offered by Macnaghten for his life. Moham- med Shah Khan, and a " young whelp," his son, took advantage of the absence of Akber to pillage the captives, and is said to have obtained from Lady Macnaghten alone, shawls and jewels to the value of £20,000; but the jewels were soon voluntarily re- stored (Johnson and Eyre.) Considering that the daughter and sister of the plunderers (Akber's wife) had been carried into exile by the countrymen of Lady Macnaghten, there was nothing very extra- ordinary in their thus seeking means to carry on the war. IJefore the late crisis, the captives had enjoyed advantages very unusual for even state prisoners in Afghanistan. Five rooms in the fort of Budeeabad, furnished by Mohammed Shah Khan for his own use, were vacated for their accommodation. During the three months s])ent here four European infants were born. The elder children passed the time in blindman's-buff and other games befitting their age ; their parents in writing long letters to India and England, carrying on a great deal of cypher correspondence with Sale's garrison, and playing backgammon and drafts on boards of their own construction, and cards, by means of two or three old packs preserved among their baggage. From " a Bible and Prayer-book ])icked up on the field at Boolhauk," the services of the established church were read every Sunday, sometimes in the open air ; and this observance was, we are told, not lost on their guards, wlio, wild and savage as they were, seemed to res])ect the Christian's thiy of rest, " by evincing more decorum and courtesy tluin on the working-days of the week." — (Kaye ii., 489.) Who that really desires the spread of vital Chris- tianity, can read this account without regretting that the captives of Budeeabad had not been ins))ired with more of the devotional spirit which burned so had entered as prisoners. To remain at Bamian was, however, deemed even more perilous than to attempt to join the army at Cabool; and on the 16th of September, the officers, ladies, and children set forth on their march. The next day Sir Richmond Shakespear, at the head of 600 Kuzzilbash horse, met the fugitives, who thus escorted, joyfully pursued their route, till, on the 20th, near Urghundeh, the column sent by Pollock to support Shakespear appeared in sight, and its veteran commander. Sir Robert Sale, came galloping on to embrace his wife and widowed daughter.* The objects of the campaign were fully accomplished : the beleaguered garrisons had been relieved, the captives rescued ; the last of them (Captain Bygrave) being volun- tarily released by Akber ; and the orders of the governor-general were stringent for the return of the entire English force to Hin- doostan without incurring any unnecessary peril. The various Afghan chiefs, whose blood-feuds and factious dissension had pre- vented any combined action, now earnestly deprecated the vengeance of the Feringhees. The hostages left at Cabool were restored, strong and clear in the bosoms of two other English captives, then dying by inches in filth and misery at Bokhara, but evincing such unmistakable indica- tions of true piety, that sorrow for the suffering is lost in veneration for the enduring faith of Colonel Stoddart and Arthur ConoUy. The former I deeply respected on the ground of personal knowledge; the latter I know only by the touching records made public since his execution. The history of both is yet fresh in the minds of the existing genera- tion. Colonel Stoddart had gone in an official position to Bokhara, and was detained by the Ameer, who had been angered by some real or apparent slight shown him by the British authorities; Conolly sought to procure the release of Stoddart, but was condemned to share his imprisonment. The touching letters written at this jicriod, and forwarded to India through the intervention of a faithful ser- vant, still remain to attest the patience in adversity of these illustrious sufl'erers. Stoddart, in a moment of weakness, after being lowered down into a deep dark well, tenanted by vermin, was forced into making a profession of bcHef in the false prophet; but Conolly never wavered. On the 17th of June, 18-12, the two friends were brought forth to die, clothed in the miserable rags which five months' in- cessant wear had left to cover their emaciated and literally worm-eaten frames. The elder captive was first beheaded, and an offer of life was made to his companion as the price of apostasy, luil without ell'cct. " Stoddart," he Siiid, " became a Mussulman, and you killed him: 1 am prepared to die." The knife of the executioner did its work, and another name was added to the glorious army of martyrs — the true soldiers of the Cross. — (Kaye, AVolfe, &c.) * The widow of Lieutenant Sturt, of the engi- neers, a very active ofiiccr, who was mortally wounded by tlie Khiijies in the Ki^ord Cabool Pass. PROCEEDINGS OF THE "ARMY OF RETRIBUTION"— 1812. 447 and bore testimony to the good treatment they liad received iVoni the nabob, /einauu Shah. The " };ucsts" of Akber Khan tohl tlic same tale ; and Colonel Palmer and Mohun Lai* were almost the only complainants ; — the one having fallen into the iiauds of the instigator of tiic murder of Shah Soojah, the unworthy son of Nawab Zemaun Khan ; the other having ])rovoked personal vengeance by repeated offers of l)lood-moncy for the heads of the leading Barukzycs. The prin- cipal Cabool leaders proposed that a younger son of the late king's, named Shahpoor (the son of a Populzye lady of high rank), should be placed on the throne ; and to this the British authorities consented. The object of the proposers was not accomplished; they hoped to turn away the vengeance of the invaders, but in vain. The military leaders )yonouneed that the destruction of the I'ortresses of Ghuznee, Jellalabad, Candahar, K.helat-i-Khilji,t Ali-Musjid, and many others of inferior note, — the sacrifice of thousands of villagers armed and unarmed, the wanton destruction of the beautiful fruit- trees (which an Afghan loves as a Kaffir does cattle, or an Arab his steed), with other atrocities almost inseparable from the march of an "army of retribution," were all too trifling to convey a fitting impression of the wrath of the British nation at the defeat, disgrace, and ruin which had attended its abortive attempt at the military occupation of Afghanistan. It is idle to talk of the savage ferocityj of tlie Khiljies, as dis- played in the horrible January massacre, siucc that very massacre had been wautonly provoked. The EugUsh originally entered those fatal passes as foes ; they marched on, • Moonshee Mohun Lai was educated at the Delhi college, where the experiment of imparting secular education, without any religious leaven, was being tried by the British government. The same system is now in force lliroughout India. Mohun liul was one of its first-fruits, and his cleverly-written work on Cabool is well worthy of the attention of all interested in tracing the effects of purely secular instruction, ijhahamel .\li (author of the Hilili.i and Afghans), the fellow-student of Mohun Lai, was a diflerent character, and not a Hindoo, but a Mo- hammedan. His new acquirements were not, there- fore, likely to have the effect of producing the same ilippancy and scepticism which was almost sure to be occasioned by proving to such men as Mohun Lai, that modern Brahminism was the offspring of superstition and ignorance, without inculcating a knowledge of those doctrines which Christians hold to be the unerring rule of life, tlie only wisdom. t Kaje, ii., 5'jy. Klielat-i Khilji, or"theKhilji Fort," situated between Candahar and Ghuznee, must not be confounded with the famous Khelat-i- Nuseer near the Bolan Pass, taken by Major-gen- iu the pride of conquerors, to rivet a rejected yoke on the ncek of a free, though most turbulent nation : their discipline and union were at first irresistible ; yet subsequently, strife and incapacity delivered them over into the hands of their self-made enemies. They had (to use an Orientalism) gone out to hunt deer, and roused tigers. What wonder that the incensed ])eoplc, heated with recent wrongs, should crush with merciless grasp the foe in his hour of weakness, under whose iron heel they had been trampled on so recently. It was a base and cruel thing to slay tlie retreating legions; but have civilised nations — France and England, for instance — never done worse things in Africa or the Indies, and vindicated them on the plea of state necessity ? The defeated in- vaders fell with weapons in their hands : they fought to the last — at a heavy disad- vantage, it is true ; but still they did fight ; and the physical obstacles which facilitated their overthrow, surely could not make the difference between the combatants greater than that which has enabled nations ac- quainted with the nse of cannon to reduce to slavery or deprive of their laud less-in- formed people. The English refused to surrender, and paid by death the penalty of defeat, which would, in all probability, have been inflicted by them in a similar case. The captives and hostages were, generally, remarkably well used ; even the little children who fell into the power of the Khiljies were volun- tarily restored to their parents. § Yet now the military authorities, not con- tent with the misery wrought and suffered in Afghanistan, II gravely deliberated on the most eral AVillshire in November, 1S39, and in the de- fence of which the Beloochee chief, Mehrab Khan, with hundreds of his vassals, perished. Several women were slain to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy : others fled on foot with their infants. I The author of one of the numerous Karratives of the war, relates an anecdote of an Afghan boy of six years old, being found by an English soldier striving to decapitate the corpse of a colour-sergeant who had fallen some time before when Pollock fought his way through the Kbyber Pass. The soldier came behind the child, " coolly took liim up on his bayonet, and threw him over the cliff." Lieut. Greenwood narrates this incident in "the war of retribution" as evidence of Afylian fero- city.— (176.) § The daughter of Captain Anderson, and the son of Captain Boyd, fell into the hands of the Afghans in the Boothauk Pass. II Lord Brougham sternly denounced the destruc- tion of the "hundred gardens" of Cabooi, by "our incendiary generals." 4-48 DESTRUCTION OF CABOOL BAZAAR AND MOSQUE— 1842. efficient mode of perpetuating in the minds of the Cabool chiefs the memory of deeds which all parties might have been glad to bury in oblivion. The peaceable inhabitants of the city had been induced to return and resume their occupations; and when they beheld the sou of Shah Soojali on the throne, and the English in daily intercourse with the leading chiefs, and making avowed preparations for final departure, they might well think that the worst was over. But it was yet to come. General Pollock con- sidered the death of the envoy still un- avenged, and resolved on the total destruc- tion of the Great Bazaar and the Mosque. These orders were executed, but with diffi- culty, owing to the massiveness of these magnificent buildings, which it was found impossible to destroy in any reasonable time without the use of gunpowder. As might have been expected, the victorious soldiery and licentious camp followers did not content themselves with fulfilling their destructive commission, but rushed into the streets of the city, applied the firebrand to the houses, and pillaged the shops; so that above four or five thousand people (in- cluding many Hindoos who had been enticed into the town by express promises of protec- tion) were reduced to utter ruin. The ex- cesses committed during the last three days of British supremacy in Cabool, were far more disgraceful to the character of Eng- land, as a Christian nation, than the expul- sion and extermination of the ill-fated troops to her military reputation. Popular feeling, both in India and in England, was strongly expressed against the needless injury done to the Afghans by the razing of the Great Bazaar, and espe- cially against the extensive destruction of trees, by order of the commander-in-chief, by deeply ringing the bark, and leaving them to perish. Lord Ellenborough ap- pears to have regretted these outrages; but this and all other drawbacks were for the time forgotten in the grand display with which he prepared to welcome the return- ing army. The homeward march com- menced on the 12th of October, and proved singularly peaceful and uneventful. The old blind king, Zeraaun Shah, with his nephew Futteh Jung, and the chief part of the family of the late Shah Soojah, accom- • Kayo, ii., 669. Among other authorities ex- amined, in writing the above sketch of the Afghan war, may be named Eyre's Ciibiml, llavelock's Nar- rative, Dennie's Campaiijm, Outram's livui/h Notes, panied the troops. The gates of Somnauth were not forgotten ; and the governor-gen- eral gave vent to his delight at their at- tainment in a proclamation, in which he declared the insult of 800 years to be at length avenged, and desired his " brothers and friends," the princes and chiefs of Sirhind, Rajwarra, Malwa, and Guzerat, to convey the "glorious trophy of successful war" with all honour through their respec- tive territories, to the restored idolatrous temple of Somnauth. For this strange " song of triumph," as the Duke of Wellington styled the effusion. Lord Ellenborough may perhaps be excused, in remembrance of the honest and manly recantation of error which he published on behalf of the Indian government on the 1st of October, 1842, when directing the com- plete evacuation of Afghanistan, — this an- nouncement being made from Simla pre- cisely four years after the famous warlike manifesto of Lord Auckland. The whole of the Afghan captives were released. Dost Mohammed returned to Cabool to take possession of the throne vacated by the flight of Shahpoor immediately after the departure of the British force ; Akber joy- fully welcomed home his father and family ; the Persians again besieged Herat ; and all things returned to much the same position they occupied before thousands of lives (in- cluding that of the forsaken Shah) and about fifteen million of money had been wasted, in an abortive attempt at unauthorised inter- ference. The only change effected was, that instead of respect and admiration, the Af- ghans (generally, though perhaps not justly, considered an unforgiving race) learned to entertain towards their powerful neighbours emotions of fear and aversion, excited by the galling memories inseparably connected with the march of a desolating army, whose traces were left everywhere, " from Candahar to Cabool, from Cabool to I'eshawur."* The annexation of Sinde — the next event in Anglo-Indian history — has been termed by its chief promoter "the tail of the Afghan storm." Such is the light in which Sir Charles Napier avowedly desires to place it; and his brother, General William Napier, in his account of the Conquest of Sitide, plainly declares the open encroachment on the in- Hough's Jliitish at Cahool, Fane's Five Years in India, Osborne's Court of liunj'eet Sitii/, Taylor's Scenes, Nasli's Afghanistan, IJarr's Cahoot, Burnes' Cabool, Allen's Diary, Thornton's India, ORIGIN AND POSITION OF THE AMEERS OF SINDE— 1771 to 1838. 449 dependence of the Ameers, made by order of Lord Auckland, to have been a measure of wliich " it is impossible to mistake or to deny the injustice. " Major (now Col.) Out- ram, the political Resident at Hyderabad, to some extent defends the procccdinjjs wiiicli, though occasionally under protest, lie was instrumental in carrying through ; and brings forward a considuraiile body of evi- dence to prove that Sir Charles Napier, when vested with complete military and diplomatic authority in Sinde, while de- nouncing the unauthorised aggression com- mitted by Lord Auckland, used the despotic power vested iu him by Lord EUeuborough to sap the resources of the Ameers, and then drive them to desperation ; the results being their ruin, the annexation to British India of a fertile and valuable boundary province, and the gain to the invading army of prize-money to an enormous extent — the share of Sir C. Napier (an eighth) amount- ing, it is asserted, to £70,000. Taken together, the admissions and accusations respectively made and preferred by the two leading authorities, cau scarcely fail to leave on. the mind of the unprejudiced reader a conviction that the Ameers were very illuscd men, especially the eldest and most influential of them, the venerable Mcer Roostum. They were usurpers ; but their usurpation was of above sixty years' standing: and the declaration of Lord EUeuborough is not equally correct, that what they had won by the sword they had lost by the sword ; inasmuch as their earliest and most important concessions were obtained amid " a sickening declamation about friendship, justice, and love of peace ;" which declama- tion was continued up to the moment when Meer lloostum, bending under the weight of eighty-five years, and his aged wife (the mother of his eldest sou) were driven forth into the desert, not by English b.iyonets, but by English diplomacy. Such at least is the account given by Napier of the opening negotiations with Sinde, and by Outram of their abrupt ter- mination. To enter into the various points of dispute would be manifestly incompatible with the brief sketcli of the leading features attending our occupation of the country, alone consistent with the objects and limits of the present work : even that sketch, to economise space, must be given iu small type. In the beginning of the 18th century, the Kal- lorus, milituiy fanatics from Persia, became domi- nant in Sinde, and though compelled to pay tribute to the iJourani conqueror of Afghanist<jn, retained their position as rulers until about 1771, when a conflict arose between them and the chiefs of the Iteloocliee trilic of 'I'alpoors, who had come from llie hills to settle in the fertile |)lains. .\fter some years' lif;htiiif; the 'I'alpoors became undisputed mas- ters of Sin(l('. Their head, Meer Kutleh Ali, as- signed portii)[is of the conquered territory to two of his relations, and thus gave rise to the separate slates of Khyrpoor and Meerpoor. The remaininjf part of Sinde, including the capital Hyderabad, he ruled until his death, in amicable conjunction with his three brothers. The Taljjoors, like their pre- decessors the Kalloras, evidently dreaded the en- croaching spirit of the powerful Keringhees, and quietly but firmly opposed their early attempts at commercial intercourse. At length, in 1832, the pertinacious resolve of the English to open up the navigation of the Indus, prevailed over their prudent reserve, and a new treaty was formed through the intervention of Colonel (now Sir Henry) Pottinger, by the filth article of which the contracting jiarties solemnly pledged themselves " never to look with the eye of covetousness on the possessions of each other." The very words betrayed the apprehensions of the Ameers; and that these were shared by their subjects is proved by the exclamation recorded by liurncs, as uttered in the previous year by the wit- nesses of his approach — " Alas ! Sinde is gone since the English have seen our river!" The prediction was soon verified. In 1836, the ambitious designs of Itunjeet Sing gave the Anglo- Indian government an opportunity of interference, which was availed of by the proffer of British media- tion. At this time the original Talpoor rulers were all dead, and their sons reigned in their stead. Noor Mohammed wore the puggree or turban of supe- riority, and was the acknowledged rais or chief at Hyderabad; Sheer Mohammed at Meerpoor, and Meer Koostum at Khyrpoor, in Upper Sincle. Meer Koostum was eighty years of age, and was assisted in the government by his numerous brothers. He was, howevei, still possessed of much energy ; and so far from fearing the hostility of Runjeet Sing, or desiring the dangerous aid of the English, he ex- claimed confidently — " AVe have vanquished the Seik, and we will do so again." It was, liowever, quite another thing to compete with the united forces of Kunjtet Sing and the English; and the intimate connexion so unnecessarily formed between these powers in 1838, proved pretty clearly that the choice lay between mediation or open hostilitv. The Ameers chose the former, and consented to the permanent residence at Hyderabad of a British poli- tical agent, with an armed escort. Two months after the conclusion of this arrangement, the Tripartite Treaty was signed at Lahore, and involved a new question as to the route to be taken for the invasion of Afghanistan. lijunjeet Sing, stimulated by his distrustful durbar or court, would not suffer his sworn allies to march through the Punjab. Advan- tage was therefore taken of the weakness of the Ameers to compel them to sanction the passage of the British troo|)s ; and the island-fortress of Bukkur was obtained from Meer Koostiim, to be held " dur- ing the continuance of the war." These concessions paved the way for fresh exactions, and the Ameers were next required to contribute towards the ex- penses of the expedition. The demand » as first urged on the plea of arrears of tribute claimed by Shah Soojah as their suzerain, but this was refuted by the production of a formal release made by the Shah . of all claims upon Sinde or Shikarpoor. The next pretext for oppression was, tliat the Ameers had tendered professions of submission to Persia, the evidence beinf; a document of doubtful authenticity, ostensibly addressed by Noor Mohammed to the Persian monarch, and which, when freed from Ori- ental hyperbole, contained little more than expres- sions of unbounded respect for the Shah of Persia as the head of the Sheiah sect of Mohammedans. It was so improbable that the Ameers would comply with the present demands, except under the sternest compulsion, that preparations were made to punish their refusal by the storming of Hyderabad, and the army of the Indus turned out of its way for the express purpose, and menaced Sinde at four different points. Sir John Keane designated the antici- pated siege of the capital, " a pretty piece of practice ior the army ;" and the oflicers generally indulged in sanguine expectations of pillage and prize-money. The Ameers were divided in opinion ; and one of them proposed that they should defend themselves to the last, and then slay their wives and children, and perish sword in hand — the terrible resolve car- ried out not many months later by Mehrab Khan, of Khelat-i-Nuseer. More temperate counsels pre- vailed. Meer Roostum confessed that in surrender- ing Bukkur he had given the heart of his country into the hands of the foe ; and the Ameers, with utter ruin staring them in the face, consented to the hard terms imposed by the treaty signed in February, 1839, wliich bound them to receive a subsidiary force, and contribute three lacs (afterwards increased to three and a-half) for its support, to abolish all tolls en the Indus, and provide store-room at Kur- rachee for militaiy supplies. In return, the Anglo- Indian government promised not to meddle with the internal affairs of the Ameers, or listen to the cum- plai/its of their subjects (a very ominous proviso.) These concessions, together with a contribution of £200,000, half of which was paid immediately, did not satisfy Lord Auckland. Kurrachee had been taken possession of during the war; and he now in- sisted on its permanent retention, despite the promises made by his representatives. The Ameers had no alternative but to sU|J)mit : yet, says General Napier, " the grace with which they resigned themselves to their wrongs, did not save them from the cruel mockery of being asked by Colonel (Sir H.) Pottinger, ' if they had the slightest cause to question the British faith during the last six months?' and the furtlier mortification of being told, ' that henceforth they must consider Sinde to be as it was in reality a portion of Hindoostan, in wliieh the British were paramount, and entitled to act as they considered best and fittest for the general good of the whole empire.' " Colonel Pottinger, created a baronet, continued Resident in Sinde until the beginning of 1840. He was succeeded by Major Outram, who, by the death cf his coadjutor, Mr. Ross Bell, became political agent for the whole of Sinde and Belooehistan. Major Outram found the Ameers in precisely the state of feeling which might have been expected ; — deejjly irritated against the English, dis])osed to rejoice at any misfortune which might overtake them, and ready to rise u)) and a.ssert their indepen- dence if the oi)])nrtunily offered ; but constantly let and hindered by the fear of consequences, and by the divided counsels arising from separate interests. With anxious care the Resident watched their feel- ings and opinions — warning one, counselling anottier, reasoning with a third ; and in the perilous moment when General England fell back on Quetta, after a , vain attempt to succour Nott at Candahar, Outram strained every nerve to prevent the rulers of Sinde from making common cause with their Beloochee countrymen against the invading army. " Even their negative hostility," he writes, " evinced by withholding supplies, would have placed us in a ])Osition which it is fearful even to contemplate." The recollection of past wrongs did not, however, prevent the majority of the Ameers from actively befriending the troops in tlieir hour of need ; but some of thera were suspected of being concerned in hostile in- trigues ; and though Meer Roostum behaved with accustomed candour, his minister, Futteh Moham- med Ghoree became implicated in certain suspicious proceedings. Towards the conclusion of the Afghan M-ar, Major Outram proposed to Lord Ellenborough (the successor of Lord Auckland) a revision of the existing treaties, which were very vaguely worded, urging that precautions should be taken against the possible machinations of such of the Ameers as had betrayed hostile intentions during the late crisis, and advised that Shikarpoor and its dependencies, with Sukkur and the adjacent fortress of Bukkur, should be demanded in complete cession, in return for the relinquishment of the yearly tribute of £350,000, and of arrears due of considerable amount. Lord Ellenborough was not content with this arrangement : he desired to reward the good service done to the forces in the late war by a neighbouring prince, the Khan of Bhawalpoor,* by the restoration of certain territories captured from him some thirty years before by the Ameers, who were consid- ered to have rendered themselves " most amenable to punishment." To this Major Outram assented ; but wlien his lordship proceeded to write denuncia- tory letters to the Ameers, threatening them with punishment for past offences, should any such be clearly proved, the Resident withheld these commu- nications, believing that their delivery would gravely imperil the safety of the troops still scattered in isolated positions in dreary Afghanistan. The gov- ernor-general admitted the discretion of this proce- dure ; but he had taken up, with the energy of a strong though often prejudiced mind, the popular notion of the day against political agents ; and the prudence displayed by Colonel Outram did not exempt him from the sweeping measures enacted for the super- cession of political by purely military functionaries. Sir Charles Napier had just arrived in India, and to liim was entrusted the task of gaining the consent of the Ameers to concessions amounting to their vir- tual deposition. t The sudden recall of the Resident, and the arrival of a military leader, at the head of a powerful force, alarmed the Ameers, and tlicy strove to deprecate the ini])ending storm by every means in their i)o\ver. The testimonies of many Britisli ofhcers and surgeons are brought forward by Major Outram, to confirm his own evidence with regard to the characters of the unfortunate chiefs of Sinde, whom he describes as decidedly favourable specimens of Mohannnedan princes, ruling after a very patriarchal fashion, — merciful, accessible to complainants, singu- larly temperate, abstaining not only from drinking and smoking, but likewise rigidly eschewing the accursed drug, opitmi, even as a mcdicine.| The * TV(/e ,Slial::'iiict Ali's History \if Bahawalpoor. f Thmnton's India, vi., 423. * Oiitram's Vimnncntarr^ i)20. Dr. IJurncs' Sinde, I'LIUIIT Oi' MEER ROOSTUM— BATTLE OF MEANEE— FEB., 18i;j. 451 mere fact of so manj' chiefs living nnd hcnrinp swny in llii! doiiirstic I'asliion (l('scril)eil by ]'()tlinf;c'r, liuniL's, uiiU Oiitram, was a stroiif,' argiiincnt in llieir favour; yet Sir C'luulus Naiiier uiiliappily lent a credulous ear to the niiscliiovoiis nimotirs which a longer residence in India would liav(' tau;jht him to sift narrowly, or reject wliolly : and Iiis entire conduct was in accordance with Iii,s iindisi,'uiseil opinion, that the Ameers were " thorou^'h rullians" and " villains," druidien, del>auclied, capable uf fratri- cide, "any one of them,"and determined to assassinate him and " Cahool" the troops. Accustomed to the courtesy of liritisli ollicials (one of whom had stood unshod in tlieir presence, some ten years before, to crave permission to open the navigation of the Indus), they were now startled by tlie tone of contemptuous distrust with wliieli they were treated by tlie dark- visajjed little old man, who, despite his untpiestioned courage in the field of battle, avowedly suffered per- sonal fear of treachery to ])revent his according a friendly hearing to the " benign and grey-headed monarch who had conferred the most substantial benefits on the English nation." Major Outran! states tliat Sir Charles Napier scrupled not to add exactions to the treaties not desired by ],ord Kllenborougli : and further, that he incited the most ambitious and able of the Khyr- poor brothers (Ali Morad), to intrigue against their venerated rais or chief, Mecr f'oostum, who, perceiv- ing the offensive and threatening attitude assumed by the Hrillsh forces, asked the advice of the general what to do to preserve peace, and offered to take up his residence in the camp. Sir Charles Napier advised, or rather commanded him to join hia brother. The aged rais complied, and the residt was his being first, as Sir Charles said, "bullied" into resigning the jniggree to Ali jSIorad, and then induced, by artfully-implanted fears of Knglish treachery, to seek refuge with his family in the wil- derness. This step was treated as an act of hostility, and immediate ])reparations were made for what was vauntingly termed " the conquest," but which was expected to be little more than the occupation of Sinde. The customary form of a declaration of war was passed over; and it being suspected that the fugitives had taken refuge in Eniaunghur, Sir Charles marched, with -100 men mounted on camels, against that fortress in January, 1843. Eniaunghur be- longed to a younger brother of Koostum — Moham- med of ]vhyr])oor,one of tlie reigning Ameers, whohad never "been even accused of a single hostile or iin- friendlyact,"* but who had the unfortunate reputation of possessing treasure to the amount of from £'J0(),()()() to £960,000, stored up in Emaunghur.t No such prize awaited the general ; lie founcl the fort witliout a living inhabitant, but well supplied with grain, of which the troops took possession, razed the walls, and marched back again. At this crisis. Major Outram returned to Sinde, at the especial request of both Lord Ellenborough and Sir Charles Napier, to aid as commissioner in settling the pending arrangements. Having vainly entreated the general not to persist in driving the whole of the Ameers of Ujiper Sinde to open war, by compelling them to take jiart with Meer lioostimi and his fugi- tive adherents. Major Outram centred his last efforts for peace in striving to persuade the Ameers * Outram's Conmieii/ary, 3!). t First Sinde B. B., 409. t Outrn-ni iWemcil himself " bound to vindir.ite his (Napier's) eonduet in my communieations with liis vic- tims." — (Cimimenlary, 325.) § Idem, 439. not yet compromised by any manifeotation of distrust, to throw themselves at the feet of the Knglish, by signing the required treaty. The task is best dc- seribed in the words of the negotiator : — " I wa» called upon to obtain their assent to demands against which 1 had soleniidy ])rote»ted as a positive rob- bery : and I had to warn them against resistance to our requisitions, as a measure that would bring down upon them utter and merited destruction J while I firmly believed that every life lost, in consequence of our ag- gressions, would lie chargeable on us as a murder."{ The arguments of Major Outram succeeded in procuring the signature of the cliiefs of Lower Sinde ; but the jirohibition he ha<l received against any promise of jiroteelion for Meer lto(jstum, however clearly his innocence might be proved, e.xeited un- eontrollable indignation on the part of the lieloochee fc;udatory chiefs; and but for tlie efforts of theAmeers, the commissioner and his party would have been massacred on their return to the Hesidency. Major Outram was warned to quit Hyderabad. The vakeels or ambassadors disi)atched to the liritisli camp to offer entire submission, failed to procure even a hear- ing; and they sent word to their masters — "The giMieral is bent on war — so get ready." In fact, Napier had been so long preparing to meet a con. spiracy on the part of the Ameers, that he seems to have been determined either to make or find one, if only to illustrate his favourite denunciation of — " A\'oe attend those who conspire against the power- ful arms of the eomjiany : behold tlie fate of Tippoo Sultan and the peishwa, and the Emperor of China!" Therelore he continued his march ; and the terrified Ameers, on learning their last and deepest humilia- tions had been endured in vain, gave the rein to the long-restrained fury of their followers, — ^just fifty- three days after the commencement of hostiliVies by General Najner. On the lolh of Eebruary, a horde of armed Belooehees attacked the residence of the liritisli commissioner. After a few hours' resistance. Major Outram and his escort evacuated the ])lace, and retreated in marching order to meet the ad- vancing army, which continued its progress to a village called Meanee (six miles from Hyderabad), which he reached on the 17th. Here the Ameers had taken up their position, with a force stated by Sir C. Napier at 25,802 Belooehees, hastily assembled and ill-disciplined ; but than w hom, he savs, " braver barbarians never gave themselves to slaughter." And very terrible the slaughter was; for, if General AV. Napier may be trusted, the Ameers " were broken like potsherds," and f),000 men "went down before the bayonets of his (brother's) gallant soldiers, wallowing in blood." The English lost 2')4 killed and wounded. Immediately after the battle, Meer Roostum and two others of the Khyrpoor family, with three of tlie Ameers of Hyderabad, influenced by the representa- tions of Major Outram, abandoned all intention of defending Hyderabad, and delivered themselves up as prisoners ; and on 20th of Feb., Napier entered the capital as a conqueror. Although there had been no declaration of war, and no sign of defence, — not a shot fired from the walls, — the prize. agents imme- diately set about the plunder of the city, in a manner happily unparalleled in the records of Anglo-Indian campaigns. The ladies of the imprisoned Ameers were exposed to the insulting search of one of the most abandoned of their own sex, the concubine of an officer on duty in Shide. Everything belonging to them, even to the cots on which they slept, were seized and sold by public auction ;§ and several of 452 ANNEXATION OF SINDE, 1843— GWALIOR CAPTURED -1844. these unfortunates, driven to desperation, fled from the city harefoot, overwhelmed with shame and terror. On the 24th of March, the army marched from Hyderabad against Sheer Mohammed, Ameer of Meerpoor,with whom a pitched battle took place near that city, in which the British were victorious, but lost 267"men in killed and wounded. Meerpoor was occupied without resistance, and the desert fortress of Amercot (the birthplace of Akber, conquered by the Ameers from the Rajpoots) surrendered at the first summons. The brothers Shah Mohammed and Sheer Mohammed were defeated in the month of June, by detachments respectively commanded by captains Roberts and Jacob ; and the success of these officers in preventing the junction of the brothers, and defeating them, materially conduced to the tri- umphant conclusion of the campaign ; for had their forces been able to unite and retire to the desert, and there wait their opportunity, heat, pestilence, and inundation (in a land intersected by canals), would have been fearful auxiliaries to the warfare of preda- tory bands, against an army already reduced to 2,000 efiective men, who could only move in the night, and were falling so fast beneath climatorial influ- ences, that before the intelligence of Captain Jacob's victory, orders had been issued for the return of all the Europeans to head-quarters. The Ameers were sent as prisoners to Hindoo- stan, and stipends were eventually granted for their support, amounting in the aggregate to £46,614. Ali Morad was rewarded for his share in sending his aged brother to die in exile, by an addition of terri- tory, which was soon afterwards taken away from him, on a charge of forgery urged against him, and it was thought clearly proved, by a vengeful minister. The rest of the province was annexed to British India,' and divided into three coUectorates — Shikar- poor, Hyderabad and Kurrachee. There is some consolation in being able to close this painful episode, by stating that the latest accounts represent the country as improving in salubrity, the inhabitants (considerably above a million in number) as tran- quil and industrious, canals as being reopened, waste land redeemed, new villages springing up, and even the very mild form of slavery which prevailed under the Ameers, as wholly abolished. This is well ; for since we are incontestably usurpers in Sinde, it is the more needful we be not oppressors also.* The sword had scarcely been sheathed in Sinde before it was again drawn in warfare against the Mahratta principality formed by Maliadajee Sindia. The successor of Dowlut Rao, and the adopted son of Baiza Bye, died cliildless in 1843. His nearest relative, a l)oy of eight years of age, was proclaimed Maharajah, with the sanction of tlie British government; and the regency was nominally entrusted to the widow of tlie late prince, a wayward and passionate, but clever and sensitive girl of twelve years of age. Great disorders arose in the state ; and the turbulence of the mass of 40,000 soldiers, concentrated at Gwalior, rendered them an object of anxiety to the govcnx r- gencral. The doctiine openly nioulcated by * Vide Napier's Sinde ; and Outram's Commentary. Lord Wellesley — of the rights and obliga- tions of the British government, as the paramount power in India — was urged by Lord EUenborough as the basis of his pro- posed movements with regard to Gwalior. An army was assembled at the close of 1843; and while one division, comprising about eight or nine thousand men, marched from Bundelcund, and crossed the Sinde river at Chandpoor, the main body, about 14,000 strong, under the command of Sir Hugh Gough, accompanied by the governor- general, crossed the Chumbul near the town of Dholpoor, and on tlie 26th of De- cember encamped at Hingona, twenty-three miles north-west of the fort of Gwalior. Marching thence on the 29th, the British force came in front of a Mahratta host, about 18,000 iu number, encamped fifteen miles from Gwalior, near the villages of INIaliarajpoor and Chonda. The details of the ensuing engagement are unsatisfactorilv recorded. That the British came unex- pectedly on the enemy, is proved by the fact tiiat Lord EUenborough (not a military man, as he sorrowfully said) was on the field, and also the ladies of the family of the commander-in-chief. The conflict was desperate, and the English suffered severe loss from the numerous and well-served artillery of the foe ; but they prevailed, as usual, by sheer hard fighting, marching up under a murderous fire to the mouths of the cannon, bayoneting the gunners, and driving all before them. Flinging away their matchlocks, the Mahrattas fell back on Maharajpoor, where they held their ground, sword in hand, until General Valiant, at the head of a cavalry brigade, charged the village in the rear, and dis- persed the foe with much slaughter. The survivors retreated to Gwalior, leaving on the field fifty-six pieces of artillery, and all their ammunition waggons. The total loss of British troops was 106 killed and 684 wounded. On the same day, Major- general Grey encountered 12,000 Mahrattas at Puniar, twelve miles south-west of (ivva- lior, captured all their artillery, and slew a large number of them, his own loss being twenty-five killed and 189 wounded. The victorious forces met beneath the walls of the ancient stronghold, which, on the 4th of January, 1844, was taken possession of by the contingent force commanded by British officers. At the base of the temple stood the Ijashkar, or stationary camp, where about 5,000 Mahrattas, being amply LORD ELLENBOROUGII SUPERSEDED BY SIR II. IIARDINGIi— I8ik 453 supplied with artillery, held out until the odor of ii(niidation of arrears, and three months' additional pay, induced them to surrender their arms and ammunition, and disperse quietly. The native durbar attempted no further opposition to the views of the f,'overnor- gcneral, and a treaty was concluded on tiie l.'kh Jan., \H\l, by which the Maharanee was handsomely pensioned, but excluded from the government; and the administra- tion vested in a council of regency, under the control of the British Resident, during the minority of the ^laliarajaii. The fortress of (rwalior was ceded in pcr[)ctuity, and the sum of twenty-six lacs, or ati eiiuivalent in land, was demanded by Lord lilllenborough, ia payment of long-standing claims; the subsidiary force was increased, and the maxi- mum of the native army fixed at 9,000 men, of whom not more than one-third were to be infantry. The good conduct of the young rajah led to his being permitted to assume the reins of power before the expira- tion of the stated interval, and at its close, in 1853, he was formally seated on the musnud, and confirmed iu the authority he had previously exercised on sufferance.* The hostilities carried on with China, however important in themselves, have no place in the already overcrowded history of India; but it would be unjust to Lord EUenborough, to omit noticing his vigorous and successful exertions for the dispatch of troops and stores to the seat of war. The reasons for his recall by the E. I. Directory in July, isy., were not made public; and it would be superfluous to speculate upon them in a work the object of which is to state facts, not opinions. IIardinge Administration: 1844 to 1848. — Lord EUenborough's successor. Sir Henry IIardinge, employed the brief interval of tranquillity enjoyed by the Anglo-Indian government iu promoting public works, in * Chunit Sing foiiiuled tlie fortunes of his family by establishing a sirdaree or governorship, wliieli his son, Maha Sing, consolidated by the capture of the fort and town of Hamnnggnr, from a strong Mo- hammedan tribe called Chettas. JIaha Sing died in 1780, leaving one son, a child then four years old, the afterwards famous llunjeet Sing. The mother and mother-in-law of the young chief ruled in his name until the year ll'Xi, when llunjeet became impatient of control, and sanctioned, or (according to iM.njor Smyth) himself comniittid the murder of his mother, on the plea of her shameless immorality — a procedure in which he closely imitated the conduct of his father, likewise a matricide. The conquest of Lahore, in 1798, from some Seik chiefs by whom it was conjointly governed, was the first step of the 3 N improving the discipline of the army, ameliorating the condition of the native troops, and ciuleavouring to produce a more friendly spirit between the military and civil services. The progress of much-needed reforms was soon arrested by the outbreak of war on the north-western frontier, wliieh was met by the governor-general in a firm ami decisive spirit. Upon the death of the old Lion of the Punjab — the mighty robber- chief who had raised himself from the leadership of a small Jat tribe to the rank of Maharajah of the Seiks, — the kingdom he had fuunded was shaken to its base by a series of durbar intrigues and midnight assassinations, exceeding in atrocity the worst crimes committed at the worst periods of Hindoo or Mohammedan history. Kur- ruck Sing, the successor, and, it was gen- erally believed, the oidy son of the deceased ruler, was deprived, first of reason and then of life, by the hateful machinations of the minister Rajah Dehra Sing and his profli- gate and abandoned son Hcera (the pam- pered luinion of Runjeet), the leading luembers of a powerful family, generally known as the Lords of Jummoo, a princi- pality eouquered from the Rajpoots. f The inercmation of Kurruck Sing was scarcely eiuled, when some loose bricks fell on the head of his son No Nehal Sing, who was placed in a litter and carried off by the arch plotter Dehra, before the extent of the injury could be ascertained by the bystand- ers, and kept froiu the presence of his family until the crime had been completed, and the young rajah was a corpse, ilurder followed murder: men and women, the guilty and the innocent, the vizier in the council- chamber, the general at the head of the army, the lady at her toilette, the babe in its cradle, were by turns the victims of un- scrupulous ambition, covetousuess of wealth, lust, cowardice, or vengeance. Dehra and ladder by which Kunjeet mounted to power. Moul- tan and Peshawur were captured in 1818; Cashmere in the following year; and Runjeet's career of plun- der and subjugation ceased not until a wall of Im- penetrable mountains closed its extension northward, in a manner scarcely less decisive than the dieck to his progress southward and eastward, previously given by the English, when their prudent interference com- pelledhimtoHnd in theSutlejabarrierasim.passableas the Himalayas themselves. — (Prinsep's&'iAs; Smyth's Jiiipiiiiif/ Fiimily (if Lahore : Shahamet All's Seiks and .■ifyhiins; Hiigei's Travels in Cashmere and the Punjab.) t The almost independent power which Runjeet Sing suffered the Lords of Jummoo and other favour- ite chiefs to assume, was one of the causes of the fierce civil war for which his death ga»e tlie signal. 454 WAR IN THE PUNJAB— BATTLE OF MOODKEE— DECEMBER, 1845. Heera Sing fell, each at a different crisis, while holding the office of vizier. Sheer Sing, the sou of one of Runjeet's wives, obtained for a time the throne; but was murdered in 1843, after which a state of wide-spread anarchy prevailed throughout the Punjab, the chief remaining semblance of authority being vested in the person of Ranee Chunda, a concubine of the late Runjeet Sing, and the mother of a boy named Duleep Sing, who, though notori- ously not the son of the Maharajah, had been in some sort treated by him as such. Dehra Sing, wanting a puppet, had drawn this child from obscurity ; and his mother, under the title of regent, became the head of a faction, the opposers of which took their stand by declaiming truly against the spurious origin of Duleep Sing, and the shameless immorality of Ranee Chunda ; and untruly, with regard to her alleged efforts to intrigue with the English against the inde- pendence of the Seik nation. Now, in fact, the only point upon which the various Seik parties had ever shown any degree of una- nimity, was that of enmity to the British ; and much evidence has gradually been brought to light of the actual treachery, as well as passive bi-each of treaty committed by them during the Afghan war. The in- temperate language of Sir Charles Napier in Sinde, and his undisguised anticipation of war in the Punjab, had been published, doubtless with exaggeration, throughout that kingdom ; and the general feeling of the Seiks was anxiety to assume an offensive position, and meet, if not anticipate, the expected invasion. The French officers iu the Seik service (Ventura and M. Court), appear to have borne little part in the past commotions; but their exertions, together with those of Allard and the Neapolitan Avitabile, on whom Runjeet conferred the government of Pesbawur, had been sedu- lously and successfully employed in casting cannon, organising artillery, and disciplining troops after the European fashion. The preparations made at Lahore for the passage of the Sutlej by a Seik army, could not long be concealed from the governor- general, who, with all practicable expedition and secrecy, concentrated 32,000 men and j sixty-eight guns in and about Ferozepoor, Loodiana, and Umballa. Towards the middle of December, the Seiks crossed their boun- dary, bringing with them large quantities of licavy artillery ; and one body of 25,000 regulars and eighty-eight guns, took up a position near the village of Ferozshah ; whilst another force of 23,000 men and sixty-seven guns, encamped opposite Feroze- poor. Both divisions commenced throwing up earthworks around their camps, and pre- paring for a vigorous contest. The governor-general had hastened to the frontier to superintend the necessary preparations at the various cantonments. On learning the passage of the Sutlej by the Seiks, in direct contravention of exist- ing treaties, he issued a declaration of war, and, in conjunction with the commander- ii-chief. Sir Hugh Gough, advanced with the main column from Bussean (the military depot) towards Ferozepoor. On reaching the village of Moodkee (18th December, 1845), tidings were received of a hostile encampment some three miles off, comprising a large body of troops, chiefly cavalry, supported by twenty-two guns. It was mid-day, and the English were weary with marching ; never- theless they started forward, after a brief interval for refreshment. The Seik artil- lery being advantageously posted behind some low jungle, fired briskly upon the advancing columns, but could not hinder the approach of the British horse artillery and light field batteries, which opened on them with steady precision, and caused a degree of confusion in their ranks, soon utterly broken by a sweeping charge of cavalry, closely followed by a continuous discharge from the muskets of the infantry. The Seiks were driven off by the bayonet whenever they attempted to make a stand, and fled leaving seventeen guns and large numbers of their dead comrades on the field. The slaughter would have been greater but for the weariness of the victors and the gathering darkness. The British returned to their camp at midnight, with the loss of 216 killed and 648 wounded, out of a force of 1,200 rank and file. Among the slain was Sir Robert Sale, who fell with his left thigh shattered by grapeshot. The victory was followed up by an attack on the intrenched camp of the enemy at Feroz- shah. The Seiks were estimated at 35,000 rank and file, and eighty-eight guns; while the British numbered less tlian 18,000 men, and sixty-five guns. The disparity was sen- sibly felt, for the Seiks had jiroved them- selves far more formidable opponents than had been expected ; and their artillery (thanks to the labours of Ventura, Allard, Avitabile, and Court, and to the policy of encouraging foreign adventurers to enter SlilK WAll— BATTLES OF FEROZSHAII, ALIWAL, AND SOBRAON. 455 the servicR of native princes, and prohibit- ing Englishmen from a similar ])rocec(liug) excelled ours in calibre as much as in number, was in admirable order, and thoroughly well served. The British advanced from iMood- kce, and reached the hostile encampment about eleven o'clock on the 2 1 st of December. The engagement commenced with an attack by the artillery on the Seik lines, which ex- tended nearly a mile in length and half a mile in breadth. An order was given to the infantry to seize the enemy's guns ; and the terrible task was (!lTeete(l with so much success, that the battle seemed almost gained, when the sudden fall of night obliged the combatants to cease fighting, because they could no longer distinguish friend from foe. The main body of the British forces was withdrawn a few hundred yards, and while resting under arms, some of the Seik guns which had not been taken possession of, were brought to bear on the recumbent troops. The governor-general mounted his horse and led the gallant 80lli, with a portion of the 1st Bengal Europeans, against the hos- tile guns, carried them at a charge, caused them to be spiked, and returned to his pre- vious station. The remainder of the night was one of extreme anxiety to the British commanders: their loss had been most se- vere ; and the reserve force, under Sir Harry Smith, had been compelled to retire ; while rciuforccments were believed to be ou their way to join the Seiks. The " mettle" of the troops and of their dauntless leaders was never more conspicuous : at daybreak they renewed the attack with entire success, secured the whole of the seventy-six guns opposed to them, and cleared the entire length of the hostile works; the enemy falling back on the reserve, which arrived just in time to prevent their total destruc- tion. Thus strengthened, the vanquished Seiks were enabled to reeross the Sutlej without molestation. The English found full and melancholy occupation in burying their dead and nursing the wounded. Nearly 700 perished on the field; and of above 1,700 placed in hospital at Fcrozcpoor, 600 died or were disabled from further service. The great loss thus sustained, and the want of a battering train, prevented the conquerors from marching on Lahore, and bringing the war to a summary conclusion. Many weeks elapsed before the arrival of reinforcements enabled Sir Hugh Gough again to take the field ; and in the iu- tervalj the Seiks threw a bridge of boats across the Sutlej, and encamped at Sobraon, on the left bank of the river, where, under the direction of two European engineers, they constructed an almost impregnable t'He- du-jiont. Arujther body crossed the river and took post at the vilhige of Aliwal, near Loodiana. Sir Harry Smith was dispatched from I'crozcpoor to relieve Loodiana, which having effected, he marched against Aliwal with a force of about 10,000 men, and ad- vanced to the attack on the 28th Jan., 18 IG, with his entire line. A brief cannonade and a cavalry charge was followed by the onset of the infantry : the village was carried by the bayonet, the opposing guns captured, and the foe driven with great slaughter across the river. Smith returned to Feroze- poor on the 8th of February, and on the following dav the long-expected heavy guns reached the British camp. Before daybreak on the 10th the troops marched forth to attack the formidable intrenchments of an enemy estimated at 54,000 men, and sup- ported by seventy pieces of artillery. The British numbered 10,000 rank and fde, with ninety-nine guns. They advanced under a murderous fire from cannon, muskets, and camel guns, and in more than one place were repeatedly forced back, but the charge was invariably renewed. Line after line was carried, in the accustomed manner, by the bayonet, and the victory was completed by the fierce onslaught of a body of cavalry, under General Thackwell. The Seik guns, camel swivels, and standards were aban- doned, and the retreating mass driven over their bridge of boats across the river, hun- dreds perishing by the fire of the horse artillery, and many more being drowned in the eonf^usion. The English lost 3.20 killed (including the veteran Sir Thomas Dick, with other oflBcers of note), and the wounded amounted to 2,063. The victorious army marched to Lahore; and there, beneath the city walls, dictated the terms of peace. The governor- general was disposed to recognise the claims of the boy Duleep Sing as ^laha- rajah, and 10,000 men were left at Lahore (under the command of Sir John Littler) for his support and the preservation of peace. The Seik government, or durbar, consented to defray the expenses of the war, amounting to a million and a-half sterling, and agreed to the disbaudmeut of their turbulent sol- diery, of w hom the majority had been already temporarily dispersed. Sir Henry Hardinge returned to England, and was rewarded for zealous and successful service by eleva- 456 ANNEXATION OP THE PUNJAB BY LORD DALHOUSIE— 1819. tion to the peerage; a similar mark of royal favour was conferred on Sir Hugh Gough. Dalhousie Administration: 1848 to 1855.— The recent Seik treaty was not carried out, and appears to have been merely signed as a means of gaining time. A new series of crimes and intrigues com- menced ; and, as before, hatred of the Eng- lish was the only common feeling of the various leaders of factions. The first signs of open hostility appeared in the ancient city of Mooltan, the capital of a petty state between the Indus and the Sutlej, conquered by Runjeet Sing in 1818. The British assistant Resident (Mr. Vans Agnew) and Iiieutenant Anderson of the Bombay army, were assassinated in the fortress by Mool- raj the governor, against wliom hostile ope- rations were immediately commenced ; the earlier of which were characterised by a remarkable display of energy and judgment on the part of Major Herbert Edvvardes, then a subaltern, " who had seen but one campaign."* The strong fortress of Mooltan was besieged in August, and would probably have been captured in the following month, but for the treacherous defection of a large body of Seik auxiliaries, which, with other unmistakable indications of hostility, left (in the words of Lord Dalhousie) " no other course open to us than to prosecute a gen- eral Punjab war with vigour, and ultimately to occupy the country with our troops." In November, 1849, a British army, under Lord Gough, again took the field, and marched from Ferozepoor to Ramnuggur, near the Chenab, where a Seik force lay encamped. The attack of the British proved successful, but their loss was heavy, and included the gallaut General Cureton, Co- lonel Ilavelock, and Captain Fitzgerald. The Seiks retreated in order towards the Jhelura, while Lord Gough prepared to follow up his victory by an attack on Lahore. The siege of Mooltan, conducted by General Whish, was brought to a successful issue on the 2nd of January, 1849. The fortress was most vigorously defended, until its massive fortifications were completely undermined, and several practicalile breaches effected. Orders had been given to storm the citadel at daybreak, and the troops were actually forming, when Moolraj presented himself at the chief gate, and proceeding straight to the tent of the English general, surrendered jthe keys and his own sword. • I'ca)' im tlic Punjab Frontier, pp. 381 -'2. A garrison was left in Mooltan, and the remainder of the army marched off to join the commander-in-chief, but arrived too late to share the peril and the glory of the much- criticised battle of Chillianwallah. Events so recent are hardly fit subjects of history. It is seldom until the chief actors have passed away from the stage that the evi- dence brought forward is sufficiently clear and full to enable the most diligent investi- gator to form a correct judgment on their merits and demerits. Early in January, Lord Gough proceeded towards the Chenab, and found, as he ex- pected, the Seiks strongly posted near Chil- lianwallah, with their artillery planted in a commanding and safe position, under cover of some low but dense jungle. The British marched to the attack, as they had often done before, amid a storm of grape and shell, and after a long and sanguinary engage- ment, which lasted till after nightfall, car- ried the murderous guns with the bayonet, and purchased victory with the loss of 757 killed and above 2,000 wounded. The carnage among the Seiks must have been yet more terrible; nevertheless, being joined by a body of Afghan horse, they prepared to renew the contest. The final struggle took place on the 21st of February, a few miles from the town of Gujerat. The battle was opened by Lord Gough with a fierce can^ nonade, which was maintained without inter- mission for nearly three hours. At the expira- tion of that time the Seiks made a retrograde movement, upon which the whole British force rushed forth on the foe, and with bayo- net, lance, and sword completed the over- throw commenced by the heavy guns. Chutter Sing, Sheer Sing, and other leaders, surrendered to the victors ; the Afghans fled across the Indus ; the Seik forces were dis- banded ; and there being in truth no legiti- mate heir to the usurpations of Runjeet Sing, the Punjab was unavoidably an- nexed to British India. Its present satis- factory and improving condition will be found described in an ensuing section. Second Burmese JFac— Nearly two years were passed by the governor-general in active usefulness, without any interruption of the general tranquillity; the only occa- sion i'or military interference being to sup- press the inroads of the Afiedees and otlier predatory tribes in the vicinity of Peshawur. The sole quarter from which hostility was anti('i|)atcd was Burinah, the very one from wbieli it was most earnestly to be depre- COMMODORE LAMBERT'S PROCEEDINGS AT RANGOON-1851-'2. 457 cated by all inclined to take warning by past cxjicrieiicc. The Earl of Dalbousio was deeply im- pressed with this convietion, and serii])le(l not, with rharactcristic (Vaiikiicss, to doelare luso])inion, that "eou(|iu'st in Hiirinali would be a ealaniity seeond only to the ealamity of war."* The deeply disordered fiiianecs of India had been rapidly improvinfj under his peaceful and able administration, and he looked forward with sincere rcpuj^nance to a continjicney which woidd assuredly jjro- duce " exhausted cash balances and reopened loans. "t Neverthelcss,a series of unfortunate events produced the renewal of war. The treaty of Yandaboo had been j)rcserved in- violate by the sovereign with whom it was made; but his deposition, in 1837, gave a new turn to affairs. His usurping brother, known to the English as a military leader by the name of Prince Thcrawaddi, mani- fested great annoyance at the presence of a political agent at Ava, and the residency was in consequence removed to Rangoon, and subsequently altogether withdrawn from Burmali. The British continued to trade with Rangoon for the following twelve years; and during that time many com- plaints of oppression and breach of treaty were brought against the Burmese govern- ment, but none of these were deemed of sufficient extent or significaney to call for the interference of the Calcutta authorities, until the close of 1851, when the com- manders of two British vessels laid before Lord Dalhousie a formal statement of op- pressive judgments delivered against them by the governor of Rangoon in his judicial capacity. Commodore Lambert was dis- patched from Calcutta with full and very clear instructions regarding the course to be pursued — namely, first to satisfy himself re- garding the justice of these allegations, and then to demand about .fiDOO as compensation. On reaching Rangoon, numbers of resi- dent traders (styled by Lord Ellenborough the Don Paeificoes of Rangoon) pushed off in their boats with a strange assortment of complaints against the governor; whereupon Commodore Lambert, without waiting to consult Lord Dalhousie on the subject, broke off al! intercourse with the local func- tionary, and commanded him, in very peremptory language, to forward a letter to the King of Ava, stating the object of the British mission, and demanding the disgrace * Further (Pari.) Papers on Burmese war, p. 44. f Idem, p. 87. of the ofTending intermediary. The letter was dispatched, and an answer returned, that the obnoxious iiulividual had received his dis- missal, and that the required compensation would be granted. A now governor arrived at Rangoon, whose conduct induced the commodore to doubt the sincerity of the professions made by the Burmese authori- ties; and so far he was probably correct. But, unfortunately, his pecidiar position as a Queen's officer,]: is alleged to have given him a sort of independence, which induced the violation of Lord Dalhousie's exj)ress in- junction, that no act of hostility should be committed by the British mission, however unfavourable its reception, until definite instructions had been obtained from Cal- cutta. The refusal of the governor to re- ceive a deputation sent by the commodore at mid-day on the fith .Jan., 18.J2, — offered by the Burmese atteiulants on the ])lea that their master was asleep, according to custom, at that hour (and afterwards ex- cused on the plea that the deputies were intoxicated, which has been wholly denied), — was immediately resented Ijy a notice from the commodore for all British subjects to repair to the squadron — an order which was obeyed by several hundred men, women, and children. No opposition was made to their embarkation, but those who remained behind were thrown into prison. The next and wholly unauthorised measure was to take possession of a painted war-hulk, styled the " yellow ship," belonging to the King of Ava, which lay at anchor a little above the British vessels. This procedure, which has been almost universally censured, produced a declaration from the governor of Rangoon, that any attempt to carry away the property of the king, would be forcil)ly resisted. The British persisted in towing the vessel out of the river ; and on passing the great stockade, or battery, a fire was opened on them, but soon silenced by a broadside from the squadron, which " must have done great execution. "§ Commodore Lambert declared the coast of Burraah in a state of blockade, and left in a steamer for Calcutta, to seek other instructions than those he had violated in ill-judged retaliation. The notoriously hostile spirit of the Bur- mese government, probably induced Lord Dalhousie to confirm the general proceed- ings of Lambert, despite his undisguised dis- approval of. the seizure of the "yellow ship." J Cobdon's Origin of Biinness IVnr, 7. § Lambert's Despatch. Further Papers, 41. 458 WAR WITH BURMAH— ANNEXATION OF PEGU— DEC, 1852. The previous demand for coinpensation was reiterated and received with a degree of evasion which was deemed equivalent to re- jection ; and both parties made ready for an appeal to arms. The British commander-in- chief, Lord Gough, was absent at Simla ; but though a brave soldier, he was a man of ad- vanced age; and the ability of Lord Dalhousie and his council abundantly sufficed to over- come all deficiencies, including those en- countered in the raising of the Madras con- tingent, through the insubordination of the governor, Sir Henry Pottinger, who tacitly opposed Lord Dalhousie at every point, — not through any conscientious feeling regarding the war, but simply from personal irritation, caused by some petty jealousy of office.* The Bombay authorities, aided by the head of the Indian navy (Commodore Lushington) and his able subordinates, captains Lynch and Ilewett, bestirred themselves actively in the preparation of the steam fleet, and on the 2nd of April the Bengal division arrived at the mouth of the Rangoon river; the previous day having been fixed by the governor-general as that on which the King of Ava was to decide whether he would avoid war by the payment of j£100,000 in consideration of the expenses iucurred by the British, and sanction the residence of an accredited agent at Rangoon, in compliance with the treaty of Yandaboo. The steamer dispatched to Rangoon to receive the reply of the Burmese government, was compelled to retreat under a shower of shot from the stockades lining the river; and the campaign commenced. Martaban was stormed with little loss, and occupied by a strong garri- son. The ]\Iadras division arrived soon after ; and the united forces amounted to about 8,000 men, commanded by General Godwin, an active and fearless veteran, who had served under Campbell in the previous, war, but whose projects were sadly fettered by an exaggerated respect for the proceedings of his predecessor. Rangoon was blockaded on the 10th of April, 1852, and the follow- ing day (Easter Sunday) witnessed a despe- rate and prolonged struggle. The intense heat, under which many officers dropped down dead, impeded operations; and it was not until the 14th that the fall of the Golden • See an able article entitled " Annals of the Bengal Presidency for 1852," Calcutta Berivw, Mar., 1853. t The assassination of Captain Latter, the deputy commissioner at Proine, in December, 1853, has been variously attributed to the treachery of the Burmese government, and to the vengeance of a petty chief, in whose subjugation to Britisli autho- Pagoda complc' d the capture of Rangoon, which was ob._ined with the loss to the victors of about 150 killed and wounded. Bassein (once the head-quarters of the Por- tuguese in Eastern India) vcas carried with ease in June, and strongly garrisoned ; but the dilapidated city of Pegu, which next fell into the hands of a British detachment, though evacuated on their approach, was abandoned by them, owing to insufficiency of troops. General Godwin sent to Cal- cutta for reinforcements, and especially for light cavalry, horse artillery, and a field battery. These were assembled and dis- patched with all possible celerity ; and the governor-general, probably dissatisfied with the progress of hostilities, himself visited the seat of war. Prome was taken posses- sion of in July, but abandoned, like Pegu, for want of men, upon which the enemy returned, and made preparations for its defence. The reinforcements which reached the British cantonments in September, raised the army under General Godwin to nearly 20,000 efiicient troops, and might, it was considered, have amply sufficed for more extensive enterprises than were at- tempted. Prome was recaptured, with little difficulty, in October, and Pegu in Novem- ber; and both places were permanently occupied. An effort was made for the re- covery of Pegu by the Burmese, which proved ineffectual ; and an engagement with a body of the enemy, near Pegu, was chiefly remarkable for the gallantry displayed by the irregular Seik horse, who proved val- uable auxiliaries to their late conquerors. In December, 1852, the governor-general declared the province of Pegu annexed to. the British empire, and intimated that na. further hostilities would be pursued by the Anglo-Indian government, if the Burmese were content to submit quietly to the loss, of territory which, it must be remembered, they had themselves acquired by usurpation. A new revolution at Ava, caused by the deposition of the king, Therawaddi, by one of his brothers (a procedure similar to that by which he raised himself to the throne), occasioned a cessation of foreign hostilities,t and it would appear that the Buiman court and people are really solicitous for the rity he was personally instrumental. The murder was committed in the dead of night, and nothing but life was taken. The assertion that a woman's garment was found on the body, tliough often re- peated, has been authoritatively denied; and of the whole mysterious affair nothing is certain but thft death of a brave, scientific, and energetic officer. REVIEW OF THE DALIIOUSIE ADMINISTRATION— 1855. 459 continuance of peace. Some disappoint- ment was occasioned l)y tlic cnit)asny vohin- tarily dispatched by tlie King of Ava to the governor-general, and tiie mission sent in friendly reeii)roeit,y to Ava, resnlting in no treaty of alliance or conuneree. Tlie gov- ernor-general, however, had from the first " deprecated the reconstruction of any treaty relations vvith the court of Ava at all ;" and at the close of his administration, he de- ciared, that he still considered " peace with Ava as even more likely to be maintained in the absence of all commercial or friendly treaties, than if those conventions had been renewed as before."* Saltara. — On the death of the rajah, on the 5th of April, 1848, the principality was annexed to the British territories by right of lapse, the rajah leaving no male heir. J/iansie, a small Mahratta state in Bnn- delcund, lapsed in a similar manner to the Rritish government on the death of its last chief, in November, 1853. Hyderabad.— On the 21st of May, 1853, the Nizam signed a treaty, which provided for the liquidation of his licavy and long- standing debt to the company, and for the maintenance of the stipulated military con- tingent, by the cession of the districts of Berar Payeen Ghaut, the border districts from thence down to Shorapoor, and the territory of the Dooab between the Kistna and the Toomhnddia.-j- Nagpoor, or Berar. — This kingdom, which liad been made over to Kajali Ragojee by the British government after it had been forfeited by the treachery of Appa Sahib, was left without an hereditary heir on the death of the rajah in December, 1853. There remained no male of the line, de- scended from the stock, and l)earing the nameof Bhouslah. The dominions of Berar, or Nagpoor, were tJierefore considered to have lapsed, and were incorporated in the Anglo-Indian empire. There were other annexations of less importance, such as the raj of Ungool (in the Jungle Mahals), and a portion of the land of the rajah of Sikkini (a hill chieftain, on the borders of Nepanl.) In Sinde, Ali Morad, of Khyrpoor, was accused of having forged a clause in a treaty, * Minute by the Marquis of Palhousie, dated 28tli Febiuaiv, 185G, reviewing his administration in India (Voni Januarv, 1848, to Marcli, 1856. — (Pari. Papers, 16th June, 1856.) whereby he had wrongfully obtained posses- sion of land which of right belonged to the British government; and his gudt being held to be proved, his lands were con- fiscated. Glide. — The closing act of Lord Dal- housic's administration was the annexation of On<le, the government of which country was assumed by his lordship, February 7tli, 1 85G. The reasons for this measure, and the mode of its accomplishment, have lieen so much discussed in connexion with the mili- tary mutiny of the Bengal army, which broke out in the following year, that it may perhaps best suit the convenience of the reader, to postpone the relation of the an- nexation until a subsequent section. The chapters immediately succeeding the present one will, it is ho|)ed, afford an insight into the physical and topographical character of the country — a view of the numbers and dis- tribution of the vast and varied population of India — the mode of government — extent of army — amount of commerce and revenue — the field of missionary and educational operations, &c. ; which will make the nar- rative of the mutiny, and its attendant circumstances, more easily understood than it could be without such previous informa- tion. In reviewing his eight years' administra- tion. Lord Dalhousio adverted to the rapid progress of civilisation in India; to the es- tablishment of railways at the three presi- dencies and in Sinde; of telegraphic com- munications between the chief cities; of cheap and uniform postage ; the improved ' means of conveyance by land and water ; encoin'Mgement to agriculture and irriga- I tion ; the reduction of impost dues ; the creation of a loan for public works ; niid the open discussion of governmental projects and ttcts. Before his departure, the insurrec- tion of the Sonthals (an aljoriginal race, located near the Rajmahal hills in Bahar), in 1855, was repressed, and precautions taken to prevent a recurrence. Finally, Lord Dalhousie took his leave, declaring, that he " left the Indian empire in peace witliout and within ;" and " that tiiere seemed to be no quarter from which for- midable war could reasonably be appre- hended at present."! t Pari. Papers — Commons, 26th Julv, 1854; pp. 34; 144. X Minute of 2nd of February, 1855. 460 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PRINCIPAL BATTLES AND SIEGES Date. Usual Name of Battle or Place. 14tli Nov., 1751 23d June, 1757 loth Jan., 1761 2nd Aug., 1763 6th Sept., 1763 6th Nov., 1763 23rd Oct, 1764 6th Mar., 1799 27th Mar., 1799 4th May, 1799 4th Sept., 1803 11th Sept., 1803 23rd Sept., 1803 1st Nov., 1803 28th Nov., 1803 14th Dec, 1803 13th Nov., 1804 24th Dee., 1804 9th Jan., 1805 2l5t Jan., 1805 20th Feb., 1805 21st Feb., 1S05 31st Oct., 1814 J7th Nov., 1814 27th Feb, 1816 fith Nov., 1817 Siege of Arcot — see p. 264. Plas-sy; inNuddea dist. — see p. 278. Battle of Patnas— see p. 293. Geriah ; near Soo- tee, Moorshedu- bad— p. 297. Oodwaiiulla X'"ort ; Bhaugulpoor dis. Patna taken by storm — p. 298. Buxar— p. 299 . . Sedaseer; nearPe- riapatam — p. 379 Malavelly ; in My- soor — J). o79. Seringapatam, Storm of, p. 381. AUyghur Fort, Sturm of, p. 396. Delhi— p. 396 .. . Assaye; in Hyder- abad ter.— p. 395. Laswarree — p. 397. Argaum — p. 398 . Gawilghur Fort — p. 398. Deeg ; nr. Bhurt- poor — p. 402. Deeg Fort— p. 401 Unsuccessful storm of Bhurtpoor. S' cond do. ) Third do. >,PP-,o Fourthdo. J'*"^"'- Unsuccessful at- tack of Kalunga Fort— p. 411. Do. assault, p. 412. Muckwanpoor — p. 413. Kirkee, nr. Poona —p. 417. Under ■whose Ad- ministration. Mr. Sander- son, Govr. of Madras. Clive." . . . Mr Yansit- tart. Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Marquis Wel- lesley. Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Marquis Hast- ings. Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . 5nemy against whom Fought. Reza Sahib, son of Chunda Sahib, the Nabob of Arcot. Surajah Do\vlah,Na- bob of Bengal. Shah Alum, Empe- ror of Delhi. Meer Cossim, ex-Na- bob of Bengal. 10 eight 6pds. and 2 howts. Ditto .... Ditto .... Vizier of Dude Tippoo Sultan Tippoo Ditto . Mahrattas, command ed by French otficer.s Ditto Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Ditto Mahrattas (Holcar) Rajah of Bhurtpoor . Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Goorkhas Strength of British Army. Europeans. Native. Artillery. Guns. 20 150 756 3,0 912 Ditto . Ditto . Mahrattas 200 850 750 00 857 4,608 750 918 1,766 2,726 20,000 Total. 300 2,300 L.500 5,297 11,061 GunL Nizam 500 3,300 3,000 3,000 7,072 6,420 41,649 ascars. 's Con. 20000" 3,000 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,048- 3,000- 3,382« 2,737 2,477 10,000' 2,800 ' In the fifty days during which the siege was protracted, the British loss in defeating the attempt to storm was only four Europeans killed and two sepoys wounded. I* This number includes the sick ; the number that actually repulsed the storm on the 14th November amounting to 80 Eurojjcans and 120 sepoys. ' On the 14lh November; there are no means of ascertaining previous casualties. '' Of these 150 were French. • 'I he powers of the governor and council of Calcutta, in civil and commercial affairs, were preserved to them, but in all military matters Clive was invested with independent authority. ' Some say 35,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry ; also forty Frenchmen with four light pieces of artillery. « One of the remarkable events of this battle was the capture of Monsieur Law, who, with a few French troops, had hitherto been the chief support of the native armies against the English. ** Worked by 170 Kurcprans. ' Exclusive of large bodies of irregular cavalry. J Of these 2,000 were drowned in the Cararanassa. ■• This includes sixteen missing. ' The number is stated between 40,000 ami 50,000. " This was the wh(}le force employed in the siege ; the two divisions which carried the place did not number more than 4,000 men. • These numbers include the casualties during the whole period of the siege, from 4th April to 4th May. "• The number estimated to have fallen in the assault. f Exclusive of the Kajah of Berar's infantry and Sindia'a irregular corps. UY THE ENGLISH IN INDIA, FROM TJIK VKAR J751 to 1852. 461 Eucmy. BritMi Army Kil ud und Wounded. Enemy. i Killed. Wounded. • a •S a Totul a >. 4> Name of 9 Kuropcaus. > rt Tutttl. Europeans. a Total. ■a 3 Of a 3 iJritinli Curauiandtr. om- c Offi cers. g )s cors. 'A ^ < y 3,U00 7,150'' 10,150 1 45 30 70- 2 22 5 227' 40 0' 8 Captain (afterwards LordJ Olive. 64 18,000 60,000 58,000' _ fi 10 22 2 10 30 48 GO 60 Clive. 244: 32- pds. - 10,000 10,000 20,000 - - - - - - - - - - — Major Carnoc. - 20,000 8,000 28,000 - - — - - - - - - - 17'' Major Adams. — CO, 000 CO.UOO — — — — — — — — — — 100 Ditto. - - 10,000' 10,000 - - - — - kill. & wond. - - — - Mojor Carnac — 40, 000 40,000 84 7 — 4,0 OOi 133 Major Munro. ~ 40, 000 40,000 — — 45'' kill, & wond. 98 2,0 00 " General Stuart. — 45, 000' 45,000 — — — — — 6 6 — 2,0 00 — General Harris. — — — 48,000 22 181 110 322" 45 G22 420 1,087° 8,0 00° — Lord Harris. — — — — 6 4 9 55 11 19 4 205 2.0 00 281 General (afterward* Lord) Lake. — — — 19.000 6 10 2 107 11 33 5 346 3,0 00 08 General Lake. Mis sinff 8 — 35,000 10,500 45,500p 23 40 Mis 3 sine 18 426 30 1,1 06 1,136 1,200« — 98 Gl.Wellcsley(Duke ofWelliiiBton.) General Lake. 72 4,600 9,000 13,600 U 16 1 172 25 62 6 651 7,000 . — 71 — — 4 6 9 29 kill. & 1 wond. 300 — — 38 General 'Wellesley. — — — — 1 — — 2 12 kill. & 3 wond. 125 — — 62 Colonel Stevenson. — — — 15,000' 5 — — — 17 02 1 638 2,000" — 87 Major-general Fra- ser. Lord Lake. _ „ 2 41 43 13 171 _ 184 _ _ 100 — — — — 5 38 42 85 23 183 kill. & 165 wond. 371 — — — Lord Lake. — 3 __ 16 67 3 588 — — — Ditto. — — — 1 48 113 162 27 4.66 656 732 — — — Ditto. — — fi fi3 5G 125 27 4.52 452 862 — — — Ditto. ~ — 400 5 4 23 32 15 60 163 228 *" — Major-general Gil- lespie. 550 4 15 18 37 7 215 221 443 48 Colonel Mawbcy. — — 12,000 1 n 34 40 I 19 1.56 176 80 — Major-general Uch- terlony. — — 25,000 — 17 2 19 1 65 11 67 50 Lieutenant - colonel C. B. Burr. ^ A large number of the wounded were scattered over the country. ' The amount of the British force is not stated ; it must, however, have b:^. a considerable, as a junction had been efiected between tlie forces of Geniral 'Wellesley and Colonel .Stevenson. Tl.e force placed at the disposal of the former, at the commencement of the campaign, amounted tc 9.000 ; that of the latter to 8,000 men, ■ Major-general Fraser's forte consisted of H.M's. 76th regiment, the Company's European regiment, and four battalions of sepoys, exclusive of two battalions left for the protection of the baggage. The strength of the four battalions and the two European regiments engaged in the attack, may be estimatei' at tlie amount stated in the Table. ' Thorn says twenty-four battalions of inlantry, besides a considerable body of horse. Captain Thornton states that the cavalry, swelled by numerous adventurers', amounted to 60,000, to which were added 15,000 well-disciplined infantry. The numbers specified in the Table arc those of the infantry alone. " Besides a large number drowned in a morass. ' This number has reference only to the strength of the storming party. Lord Lake appears to have been present with his whole army, which consisted of upwards of 10,000 men. " The enemy's extensive intrenchments were occupied hy a large force, but the numbers are not stated. The troops are represented to have consisted of several of the Kajah'of Bhurtpoor's battalions, and the remaining infantry of Uolcar. • This number comprises only the storming party. See Note to Detg. _ i. /.r v ' The Bombay division, consisting of four battalions of sepoys, H.M's. 86th regiment, eight companies of the 65tn, with a troop of Bombay cavalry, and 500 irregular horse, had now joined Lord Lake's force before Bhurtpoor. • Sir David Oehtcrlony had a force of near 20,000 men, including three European regimenU. He divided this force into four brigades, with two of which he marched to Muckwanpoor. 3o 462 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OP PRINCIPAL BATTLES AND SIEGES Dale. Usual Name of Battle or Place. 26th and 27th Nov., 1817. 21st Dec., 1817 1st Jan., 1818 20th Feb., 1818 27thFeb.,181S 17thApril,181S 20th Mav, 1818 18th to' 29th May, 1818. 8th to 10th June, 1818. 3l8t Jan., 1819 9th April, 1819 10th June, 1824 30th Oct., 1824 18th Jan., 1826 19th Jan., 1826 23ra July,1839 13th Nov., 1839 7th April, 1842 13th Sep., 1842 17th Feb., 1843 24th Mar., 1843 29th Dec, 1843 29th Dec., 1843 18th Dec, 1845 2l8t and 22nd Dec , 184.5. 28th Jan., 1846 10th Feb., 1846 2nd Jan., 1849 13th Jan., 1849 21st Feb., 1849 14th Apr., 1852 Sept., 1852 . . Dec, 1852 . . Under whose Ad- miiiistratiou. Sectabuldee; near Nagpuor — p. 418. Mahidpoor, p. 420 Corygaum, De- fence of — p. 418. Ashtee Combat — p. 419. Talueir, Storm of Soonee Battle . . Clianda Assault . Malligauni taken by Storm. Satunwarree Fort; unsuccessful at- tack. Nowah ; Hydera- bad. Asseerghur taken by Storm— p. 420. Kemendine, p. 424 Martaban — p. 425 Bhurtpoor Storm- ing — p. 427. Melloone Storm- ing — p. 427. Ghuznce Capture —p. 436. Kelat i in Beloo- chistan. Jellalabad Defence Tezeen Battle . . Meanee ; Sinde — p. 451. Hyderabad; Sinde —p. 452. Puniar ; Gwalior —p. 452. Maharajpoor — p. 452. Moodkee ; left bank of Sutlej— p. 454. Fcrozshah ; on the Sutlej — p. 4.54. Aliwal ; on the Sutlej. Sobraon ; on the Sutlej. Mooltan, Siege of . Cliillian-walla ; in tlie Punjab. Gujcrat ; in the Punjab. Rangoon Promc Pegu Marquis Hast- ings. Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto Ditto Lord Amherst Ditto Ditto Ditto . Lord Auck- land. Ditto Lord Ellen- borougl Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Enemy against whom Fought. Guns. M ah rat t as Lord dinge. Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Lord housic. Ditto Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Ditto . Har Dai- Ditto Arabs in pay of Peishwa. Peishwa . . . . Arabs Jlahrattas . . . . Ditto Arabs in Native em- ploy. jNlahrattas . . . Arab Garrison . . Sindia's Command- ant, Jcswunt Kao Laar. Burmese . . . . Ditto Kajah of Bhurtpoor Burmese Afghans Ditto . . Ditto . . Strength of British Army. Europeans. Artillery. 100 Ditto . . . Beloochces Ditto Mahrattas (Sindia) Ditto Seiks, under Rojah Lall Sing. Seiks Seiks, under Uun- joor Sing. Seiks Seiks, under Mool- raj. Seiks Ditto . Burmese . Ditto . . Ditto . . 40 C5 24 90 150 125 96 850 674 Native. 15, 000 8,5 00 .12,0 53 17,0 00 Total. 1,400 11,305 750 419 513' 6,500' 2,630 550- 20,000' 219« 25,000 4,863 1,261 1,360 2,600 2,000 14,000 12,350 17,727 10,000 16,224 32,000 22,000 25,000 ' In Col. Blaeker's Mcmnir, p. 18, Holcar's force is estimated at 20,000 horse and 8,000 foot. ' The numbers here given have reference to the strength of the cavalry, lu addition to tliis, there appears to have been a detachment of horse artillery. " The force consisted of 1,000 native cavalry, a ti-oop of horse artillery, a conijiany of European foot nrtillciy, 3,000 native infantry, 2,000 irregular horse, with three 18-pounders, four l}rass 12'.», sLt howitzers, and twelve 6-pounders. * Native garrison. BV THE ENGLISH IN INDIA, FllO.M TUl:: VEAll 17;-. 1 T<J 1852. 403 Enemy. British Army Killed and Wounded. Enemy. 1 3 < 1 O 1 I'otal. Killed. ■\Vounded. Name of Kuropoans. i > fntal. 124 174 04 F.uroponnB. > TuUil. H !i Urituih Commander. Offi- cers. d Offl- ccrn. 11 35 Men. M § 1 70 12,000 8,000 20,000 •i 3 '2 12 17 (1 ) 1 > 23 .50 11 J ; 3 241 (iOl 116 30 3,0 ) 30 63 Lieutenant - colonel H. Scot. L.-KCn.SirT.Ili»lop. Captain Staunton — 9,000 — 9,00(1 — — — 19 I — — — 20 ^ — Sir Lionel Smith - — — 300 2,000 2.30 2 1 5 1 6 1 2 1 2 ) 7 13 34 11 5 4 7 1 1 5 IG 7 3 1 3 I IS 55 175 75 25 1,0 20 1)0 ) 5 L.-Rcn.SirT.Hislop. Colonel Adams. Ditto. Lieutenant - colonel MacDowclI. Major Lamb. . — — — 501) — — — 22 17 I 180 40 — Major Pitman. - - — 1,3.'jO 1 ■i (1 47 9 0,"^ 7 2GG 43 95 119 Brigadier - general Uoveton. — — — 3,000 3,500 — CI 42 ~7 103 1 1 283 3 183 14 4GG 15 4,0 00 - Sir A. Campbell. Colonel Godwin. Lord Combermere — — — 10,000 3,000 — ^ — 5 17 3 1 7 20 170 514 — — .Sir Archibald Camp- bell. Sir John Keanc. — — — 2,000 fi,000 1 3 1 32 8 9 9 107 400 — — Major-general Will- shire. Sir Kobert Sale. 15 : : ifi.oon 35,000 G 2 C 32 GG 3 13 10 12 20 kill. & 25 7 1 wond. 5 130 214 5,0 00 : General Tollock. Sir Charles Napier Ditto. — - — 12,000 — - - 35 - - - 1S2 — — 24 Major-general Grey 100 — — 18,000 - - - 113 - — — G84 3,5 00 5G Lord Gough. 22 — — 12,000 16 20 216 48 GO 9 G57 — — — Ditto — — — 35,000 48 8 20G C94 1,1 03 G18 1,721 — — 88 Ditto. — — — 19,000 — — — 17G — — - 413 — — 68 Sir H. Smith. — — — 34,000 : — 320 — — — 2,0G3 — — — Lord Gough. General Whish. — — — G0,000 20 73 1 757 C6 1,4 4G 1,512 4,0 00 12 Lord Gough. o9 — — 00,000 6 8 7 92 24 G5 S GS2 — — 57 Ditto. General Godwin. " This was the number of men of which the storming party was composed. *■ The British force present at the conclusion of the siege, consisted of— horse artillery, one troop and a-half ; native cavalry, eight squadrons ; foot artillery, five companies ; European infantry, t\vo battalions and a-half; native infantry, eleven and a-half battalions ; irregular horse, 5,00U ; sappers and miners, thirteen compomes : and probably exceeded, m the aggregate, the amount stated in the Table. p The strength of the storming party. [The above Table wiis prepax-ed by order of the Court of Directors, at the request of the Author. The particulars which should appear in the columns left blank, cannot be furnished with perfect accuracy.] CHAPTER II. TOPOGRAPHY— MOUNTAINS AND PASSES — RIVERS— PLATEAUX — PROVINCES AND CHIEF TOWNS— CLIMATE AND DISEASES— GEOLOGY— SOIL— MINERALOGY. the largest and most diversified Asia, quarter of the globe, has for its central southern extremity a region of unsurpassed grandeur, comprising lofty mountains, large rivers, extensive plateaux, and wide-spread valleys, such as are not to be found within a like area in any otlier section of the earth. This magnificent territory, known under the general designation of India,* is in the form of an irregular pentagon, with an extreme extent, from north to south and from east to west, of 1,800 miles ; a superficial area of 1,500,000 square miles; and a well-defined boundary of 9,000 English miles. t The geographical position of India possesses several advantages. On the north, it is sepa- rated from China, Tibet, and Independent Tartary, for a distance of 1,800 miles, by the Himalayan chain and prolongations termed the Hindoo-Koosh, whose altitude varies from 16,000 to 27,000 feet (three to five miles), through which there is only one pass accessible to wheeled carriages (Baraian.) This gigantic wall has at its base an equally extended buttress, the sub-Himalaya and Sewalik hills, with, in one part, an inter- vening irregular plateau (Tibet) of 90 to 150 miles wide : on the PVest, the Hindoo-Koosh is connected by the low Khyber ranges with the lofty Sufied-Koh, and its conjoint the Suliman mountains, which rise ] 0,000 feet, like a mural front, above the Indus valley, and have a southerly course of 400 miles ; the Suliman are connected by a transverse chain with the Bolan mountains, which pro- ceed nearly due south for 250 miles, and be- come blended with the Keertar, Jutteel, and Lukkee hills; the latter terminating in the promontory of Cape Monze, a few miles to the north-west of the Indus mouth. This western boundary of 900 miles, sup- ports the table-lands which constitute a large part of Afghanistan and Beloochistan : to these there are four principal ascents — the Khyber, Gomul, Bolan, and Gundava passes, readily defensible against the strategetic * See p. 13 for origin of word: old geographers designate the country as India witliin (S.W. of), and beyond (S.E. of) the Ganges. f The reader is requested to bear in mind through- movements of any formidable enemy. On the East, an irregular series of mountains, hills, and highlands, extend from the source of the Brahmapootra, along the wild and un- explored re^ious of Naga, Munneepoor, and Tipperah, through Chittagong and Arracan to Cape Negrais (the extremity of the You- raadoung range), at the mouth of the Ira- waddy river ; to the southward and east- ward of Pegu and Martaban, the Tenasserim ridge commences about one hundred milea distant from the coast, and prolongs the boundary to the Straits of Malacca, along the narrow strip of British territory which fronts the Bay of Bengal. The length of this eastern frontier is 1,500 miles, and it forms an eflectual barrier against aggression from the Burmese, Siamese, or Malays, with whose states it is conterminous. On the South, the shores of the above-described ter- ritory are washed by the Bay of Bengal, the Straits of Malacca, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea, for 4,500 miles. The natural frontiers of this extensive region may be thus summarily noted : — north, along the Himalaya, 1,800; west, along Afghanistan, &c., 900 ; east, along Burmah, Siam, &c., 1,800: total by land, 4,500; by sea, 4,500 = 9,000 English miles. No pen-and-ink description can convey an adequate idea of India as a whole; the mind may comprehend separate features, but must fail to realise at one view a complete portraiture, especially if devoid of unity of configuration : in several countries a mountain ridge and a main conduit form an outline, around which the chief topogra- phical peculiarities may be grouped ; but the region before us contains several lines of great length and elevation, with diverse axis of perturbation, and declinations to three of the cardinal points, causing numerous rivers, flowing S.W. (Indus); S.E. (Ganges); S. (Brahmapootra and Irawaddy) ; W. (Ner- budda, Taptec, and Loonec) ; E. (Godavery, Kistnah, Cauvcry, and Mahanuddy) ; and in out this work, that round numbers are used to convey a general idea, easy to be remenihered ; they must be viewed as approximative, and not arithmetically precise. Indian statistics are still very imperfect GllANDEUR, BEAUTY, AND VAIUJITY OF INDIAN SCENERY. 463 other directions aceordinj; to tlie course of the mountain-ranges and th(! (lip of tlie land towards the ocean, l)y wliicli the river system is created and (h'fined. Irrespective of tlie circuniscrihinj; barriers, and of tlie bones and arteries (hills and streams) whicli constitute the skeleton of Hindoostan, three features, distinctively deli- neated, deserve brief notice. The snowy ranges on the north give origin to two noble rivers, which, as they issue from the lesser Himalaya, are separated by a slightly elevated water-shed, and roll through widely diverging plains — the cue in a south- easterly direction to the Bay of Bengal, the other south-westerly to the Arabian sea; each swollen by numei'ous confluents which, altogether, drain or irrigate an area equal to about half the superficies of India Proper. The Gangetic plain is 1,000, that of the Indus (including the Punjab), 800 miles in length ; the average breadth of either, 300 miles ; the greater part of both not 500 feet aliove the sea ; the height no- where exceeding 1,000 feet. Intermediate, and bifurcating the valleys of the main arteries, there is an irregular plateau, exteiid-- ing from north to south for 1,000, with a breadth varying from 300 to 500 miles, and a height ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 feet above the sea-level. jNIidway between Cape Comorin aud Cashmere, this table-land is bisected from west to east, for 600 miles, by the narrow Nerbudda valley : the northern section, of an oblong shape, comprising Malwa, East Rajpootana, and Bundeleund, has for its south-eastern and north-western buttresses the Viudhya and Arravulli ranges, and a declination towards the Jumna and Dooab on the north-east, and to the Guzerat plain on the south-west : the southern sec- tion, constituting what is erroneously* termed the Peninsula, contains the Deccaii, Mysoor, Berar, and adjoining districts ; forms a right- angled triangk'it supported on the north by the Sautpoora mountains, and on either side by the Western and Eastern Ghauts and their prolongations ; the declination is from the westward to the eastward, as shown by the courses of the Godavery and Kistnah. These prominent physical characteristics • There is no partial insulation — no isthmus. t The northern anil western sides are about 900 miles in length; the eastern 1,1(10. X A full description of the geography of India would require a volume to itself; but the tabular Tiews here given, and now for the Hrst time pre- pared, will, with the aid of the maps, enalile the reader to trace out the topography of the country. maybe thus recapitulated. Ist. The extensive mountain circuinvaliation, cast to west, from the Irawaddy to the Indus. 2iid. The two great and nearly level jilains of the (janges and Indus. 3rd. The immense undulating plateau, of 1,000 miles long, in a straight line from the Jumna to the Caiivery. To these may be added a low eoast-line of 4,500 miles, skirtfd on either side of the Bay of Bengal, and on the ^Malabar shore of the Indian Ocean, by receding Ghauts and other lofty ranges, backed by inland ridges of hills, and mountains traversing the land in diverse directions, such as the Yindhya, Sautpoora, and Arravulli. These salient fea- tures comprise many varieties of scenery; but for the most part wirle-spread landscapes extend on the east, — teeming with animal and vegetable life ; sandy wastes on the west, where the wild ass obtains scanty provender ; on the north, an arctic region, whose snowy solitudes are relieved from perpetual stillness by volcanic fires bursting from ice-capt peaks; on the south, luxuriant valleys, verdant with perpetual summer; a rocky coast at Katty- war, swampy sunderbunds at Bengal, jungly ravines in Berar, and fertile plains in Tan- jore; — here Nature in sternest aspect, — there in loveliest form, — everywhere some dis- tinctive beauty or peculiar grandeur : while throughout the whole are scattered numer- ous cities and fortresses on river-bank or ocean-shore, adorned with Hindoo and Mos- lem architecture, cave temples of wondrous workmanship, idolatrous shrines, and Mo- hammedan mausoleums, wrouglit with untir- ing industry aud singular artistic skill; Cyclo- pean walls, tanks, and ruins of extraordinary extent, and of unknown origin and date; but whose rare beauty even the ruthless destroyer. Time, has not wholly obliterated. These and many other peculiarities contri- bute to render India a land of romantic in- terest, which it is quite beyond the assigned limits of this work to depict : all within its scope J being a brief exposition of the various motintain-ranges and passes, the plateaux, the river system, coast-line, islands, &c., with an enumeration of the principal cities aud towns, which are more numerous aud popu- lous than those of continental Europe. § § Autumnal tourists, in search of health, pleasure, or excitement, and weary of the beaten paths of the Seine and Khine, might readily perform, in six months (September to March), the overland route to and from India, — examine the leading features of this ancient and far-famed land, judge for themselves of its gorgeiius beauty, and form some idea o! the man- ners and customs of its vast and varied populatioD. 466 EXTENT, POSITION, AND ELEVATION OP MOUNTAINS— INDIA. a t;w 3 »S eg - " f -T" CJ S "^ •'- j= "S -^ •5 3-: 1 o bo„ "H " 2 = rt S->*j o - G ^ ^ g « g ^7 =-■= o _ a^ cd a) - o +j 7-« M r- r- !-■ c '^ -S . a .. "= " p "^ .'r ^ V c 5 c- cS O a S o o .S -5 ja i- ■» ^ : 3 S ° «- •= o - c:. g =*g :S ■t_L2i ^ "^ " 3 '- i'h C •" --W SJ "r: 53-^5 CO «'S «s,- ^ o rt 2 JP-. g too-^.S s ...2^_■s ■3 s^J s r-? £ 2 " ^ s g & .^ ? C J jS ' E o'S to *^ o <='■*-' ci, S S^ o o . O g CJ-^ o 'o o _— . t-1 I ' c3 So j; . s^ ■= o _. •= T " ^ o >- 7i C •^ V 4. P S _ bD" O) (« g c?o rt . 5 >» o O j- ^ O) -J en ^ = s si -2 IB -. „ , — , „ „ „ k r-_,.3„j3.»; - CI i O GJ ■r CI c3 s w '^ gUno -c -3"t ;o » g^-^ i^'- 6j ^ a ---'do ..tS.ao S ■-J^;;^^ gg og;-£SMg?S-=^^S- S- -P-i?i~;'0 " -o - o to . "oi^ oo,.^• a -•C3«-3 ..-s" gc-: -s H«ia;gSE2|<.o« ■3 - ?, -bd ^ go-. CO mogf^S jools! . c^o.^-^-g-oi, g -o .-§".^?-;SogSoj g "2 -I .. i H "i r^tJM S =;=: 52 -5<M 5=^ '-'5 ?. - O O u O Ca -i- « g;0 ^ ,; . o o (- o PQ - ^ cr o. o c\ • 3-^ S-a" gj o o X cy '^ 't; fro ^ ^ S H 5 rt 2 - ° a ;||af§ ^ S '^ '' ^ .E ? CX! a o <y .2 - -M ^ 's. a . f^ 'o y^rs,: "o rt r^ r" O rt tn !— +J "^ aO e5 b-^^o a U3 "'^to p 3 o a s -— 3>3 S" o —^ ",5 S o CO ■S^'oosao ■^^ FL( S f^ j^ ■Jo^S2'5.S •3°"!' J ^ to O jj jj B-fog s - - -^.--So bo^o ^o-g,« •^ . - I-; _r "So ^ S o-i- rt t^ a c,< E 3 2" '5 o " *^^ >i*J ,*J 'o if ~~ c.~ s o o o ^ O -t< y o cc -i: 2 .a-3 . -^ aj ~ ri "O S 9"' c^ «i a cS « ^Sb S 2=5 SP.S a a tu Csr^g ^rja *^o to" _! ;i' P ■s.Sf's g O Q CD O O 'O E£sr to ^ o p |WS5 2.. "2 !<j:"2' ^ 3 ^ o cO>[i< a, tiiVto g I' 1"^ S'a-2 CD G^ O ^ ^j ^ CS — ^.5°.E 5n 'tf? ? ;-^ -^ s'S P a ~ a,a a a- a— rt S jala.l ;w- -^5 CO o ^ ? ■^M>2< 1^ o ^ 5^ p o St: 2 0Dg g o (» B W « ;§ CO oo o o <-) CO *J ?. s Oi r ^ Kg'S ° o o £ C oj O C 2 -J3 3 O r 'A . 111 EXTENT, POSITION, AND ]:hi:VATION ()!•' MOUNTAINS— INDIA. 1071 C o - d tfs 1 2 o.. a o ° i« = e " 3« •2 § S g 1^ go SS-a * - fc £ "" ^ Crj 003 SOS yOc* o £ w) tf) oj 2 g t* -S G.*^ 3 ^ w '^ i3 "S =! .is cj S ■- C <U CJ; tic to .2 V rt(d 6D ■^ (ft 0; C & C rt C O ^ 5 = o a* £1 a y P III (U v^ e3 s "^ i: £ ^ = O C > ^ ^ S^ aj CO sj (S *J 1 u o 35 c ^ o J" ^ a" " *3 o a eta Uj C O 4* O £ I Sj: 3 c o I c ar"- o-s •=■ -J .n ,. 5 3 ■S-3 £" • c £ 3 •'. £■ 'O — • 3 •* =- £ (M I i^M ,5 h" £ S I to bO <u II CO t4 2; •^ *j tt; c=^ cco o o o, - 0^ ■"He §=^ s«CO B 3ti - CO *^ II gx SIM 3 "la o -CQ 'cJ •T3 to > S e ■^•_5?i O^O' Si s O O ^ •Stf-S s =■ A. >» o c ^ c go .Coo SCO •E IS t- p "5 ^ o o a o CO .£P ? — o CO'-^ o a §2 OX d 13 3 — * ♦*-— — *- « -^ „ CO O c - S ^^ c s*- O ^ C 3 *— a i;"-i 3>o — '^ *« — c^ r a o S' i- " o-C a 5 >> 2 M- g. a > a S++ SO.S -M- ?^ -^ G S « « '^^ O.S >■ *J 3-^ 3 •° ?. if -3.? ^Z4 -e^« c o g fl'^ 3 3 a o 5 Ji • ; Ss § b" C^, • 2 -g « -s a _5 .•- o 2 "a go g.f W cfc. O )5 CO -T-' IS _ CO ■ O.TH 5P , >3h a \5^ i1 fe7 TZ O -C Cr 3 o ■— -3 .eStc-Sg^Si: Si:i etcSimoi.S c, . r: — ^ *- ., o tc s .££: S"s S ■ ^ a .5 13°.£j=3no^o ■^ C^o'^_rt*j 3t- o Sec "- 3 o -a .J o«aoCZ3<urtcortWM«3 CO . coco ';Ho1 .- 3 o o o .2 = 3: oo-to . e5,-aJto"o o- 3-i2 a5 °'i? "^ "^ - • « S ts :.W|o;, ^_£pq -i"-<H-rcc*-S2.3-S3-Jo . c = 3 2 5 S _ . 5-ra a ■'o 3 oc j£ Sq"M = .3-' (3 — ,w-r 03-'7 l^'V c »*- ^ "^ 3 c'-c^ ,t: - _ oco'c'-'e''a "'' Sf? a^- Jf-, ^o -=•-" = „_ -n c<,o.n3"-iioer)*-c^3-»-:ie^5£ccoaj:3y3- = at.? S 2 £ == •3 g g "j: O.M C5 •-■ to 1*5 « X S" ~ " I* H CQ P Q iE^ 468 EXTENT, POSITION, AND ELEVATION OF MOUNTAINS— INDIA. B |5^ c a- ' .FT t^ I- ^ rt 5 3 t^ "^ ' 0) _^ - C3 r£3 o ^ i3 ^ rf-5 '^ 5 2^.^ I Si " ^ c a a M is 'j' o ^ o ^ .- „ <- o a 85 g^ fl 2 g 3 g O C 3 ' ia!.«^i£| s.S' b o « n •^H B a «o53 u ; « c o 5 § ¥— _5 ^. S fc^ -d d -2 £ '^ rK ^ .2 r3 - 'O ? C3 ? Cj rt C3 ^- _ *- t ^ ■U 'O 0^ o 4 >^ W a, k.2 « = 135 S ° 5 §,0.3 a, « a3 »« Ift a) •r 3 Q. P o 3 a " a; 013 t^ fl o g <t ^ Is, SqS o ^ ca .S o SPo.iS ? a ^ C 2 o. = ►.-";£;» 3 , E ' a -^ .2 _ fr £ c g.2<r J! o-S -2 - c c » g^-gS^.s-3 ^ ^ r" I--; ^_ _ Q CO O § ^ a 3 i! -'S§te§ "S oc = ^^ " C cJ 'C = -:= £ " o S eO -Si's c S ^ a 3 ■3 o. ■b c a V »^ is ?" o; O fl 0* Z,i 2 > 5 r1 V ^ ja,a >^ H Pir M |i ..- §"3 •^ i; j3 _o Eh ii o CO . W(i<=t^ ^^ ^ rt o ._ oj _ o o C 1 J- § § S Fs § 5d 2^ i g I S 3 s a 3 3 C M_ g o 2 3 — t^ O « oi .- Ph o 2 ^ «J 3 ofr^.S ^ oco rO ^3* a -T.sas;; .' 3 C •—■0 41 9 5^-?- CO »-H U ,2 3 2^-1 II S.bpS c g 2 ^ >> " a ja fc. p bc-- a o a S'N 3 3 . o O =3 ^ o " - ^*r O CO 1! ■^ O "O 3 S.a *^ o H a-5 j3 2 ^ " 5 2 a S otS «.2"-2.3 . i'M ^s c a ^*^ tiDH o be - ^ ,._ o 3"= 3 5pa S3t^- 3^ aw B« o S > o 3 a °* a ...o 6 on c — "^ -> ~ CO El>^ ^ :w too a] a a Ph bu-" « ag ^ .^ fM Meg g S a bo _bD.*J ^ 'cj "" a "81 o apn «•- S: SC-) T E^°■§S|•J5 c^.Q a .3 .(f .2» « -JS o2 *-'— •ssgg To a to* o o ni a a 00 S P- " .- 2 a a .2 3 i " ;* o-g a fO 3 o o o « cu <1 ^ o P^ - - 3 d c rt at ^ o ^ 0'3.2'~ kj.a " ° ^"^^ 5 g „ S - o B °.S * « a ^_5 c f q'5 3 £ o a H. 25|S '= a^ » o ojo a 2- a •r oS ^ O is •I -2 §•3 ^W H P^ gSo 5^- - %^ a ■'^?^ • r- ai P fi , 30 O- C o 5^! ■ B ^r - e ^ Si a t QJ 4) « u t- «j ^ ^ p< S. St-.; ^gcoZ 3 (O 3^ C-» OJ o -■— ■ rt 00 b: iM B > 03 C3 « J3 ^ /" c £P a ^ « PQ "TJ =* a» ^ .3 M t^^--^ , O 3 ■ « *-> 3^ o • g^> .. 60 ?^ ^ '^ „■ -M O CM Oi lO o r> CO *-' Cm a , 1=^ 5 <u !>» S a ^-2 go a " a^s o^-So ag5|s5.2.c:^ ■1) I- ^ ■ J= [^ 3 ^ " :„ W t> 4, S.g £.=3 2 o S:S.S fl . c^i t. ^ S ■;; . J ij t; •-. 5 g 13 3 ..;»2 S.M - .0 a> o .5/- M "3 1^ +j ♦J e^ o a* oo<e> <aco 5 fc°o Moo Ol-J CO M a a o ■< H P e o a B 2 EXTENT, POSITION, AND ELEVATION OF MOUNTAINS— INDIA. 469 !.^ri M; ■S J ■* "u II gS o c^ a aj 2 0) aj be o fc- i; a i H .2 • o "^ i^.S =^ * 00 e8 ♦J S>5 Ceo o o ^ 4) a, ♦J 0) o £ aJ *^ _ S >■ c JSP a) 13 >5 a 5.3 ■^ Si s u. ^ (- S a.''- §■££ o a» o •" ? CO O *-• 4! cO ^ 3 fl - ,- 2 >■. a* r^> »- I- s .5^ j^ Si rt i> •a 'C B^ -^ ~ *ii ^ .■-* — »- cj r S S 2 S.s S „-g c s s : <° o.g M^ If i| CO ^ ., .2 ^ S « '-ill- ."9 2 " 60 vJ-O ^ '" o o i J - !i P p.. :; o o T! 3 ?> c -; r '^ S. K -S ,7 "c C 'S"Sj 2fS S'^.g .^«l?.s.i^l S.3«i O 3 - ^ ^ "^ = c •; t7 ^-2 to '«-=^ ' ■ony -> = '■ s •= S fe ^ ^ s S ' ^ -r a) ;: ( t, C O . -^ - 5 ^ M fi <3 3 a< ^ >* O O eS 2 ?^., = 5 -■" «'2 - £ S-3 3 *' S ■— » . o 111^ , '^ — •/ '-^ 1" 4^? — --■ — *"i ■sy-.-\ 3 3 . JS o bco'^ a <« c 3 2 g 5 - '.2 9 d 3 a l> C3 So -^3 £'-^ J2 >^ 7 r d 3 o c- •- a u.: a a-: o ^r3 w :; ■- ■= ? c '^ .£•5 Ji t a,- .as r— Z^ U S 3 d ^ o « « 3" B «| c3 O t; to rt r- <y rt „ CO e^3 o f* t. a 3 « o c i; d p. c o 5 e-^' 03 o JSS^ gua .0(N . Eh7 •f(.S^ bo <1> a (9 g At 3 j3 ol O u >o o (N 3 a) *-• o a - !U " -1 ^ •— jS " o i c* ii 3 '^ — _^ CO .„-Sc X .;: i rt •; **- 3 C 3„ d o >g a •§ 5 * aT o ^ g-1 a.- «.- o t^ o ^ '- E '^ "^ t, a r -• ^ c T ^ .S £S = S A ?. '5 "5 ..; 9 =0 £.3 ■9 t!i"lll *. n zj .^ n ii'Sa a a i2d|5§ § ^ s i - s c. 3 = =- o <! 2 a ^ ° i^ — ' .3 £ 3 0*2'^ § ■ =. = -^ ^ ^' .30 <S 5; c aji" 3 J .g, i ~ •= is I "• ai P I 3 *" ^' S -^ J3 a-3 6.i9 i 2 a|ii' S t- , t J. a, -55 '§-& K S-OO 3 «i£- .£-fi =H2 ?. ■.■^(n g S S.3 o a C.3.- •^ o - T c i 2 3 - 3 'H a 6 3. ^ £-g£2S - X m O ;i . tC 3 C = o ^ fi ^02 r: "^ o ^ = o *M es CO C „- i . "■ «- 2 2 >v^' *S c „- ' « = « iJ c^ < ■? -^ * w) ^ ! £S iiO > ~ is ; 2; ~ cv 3- . ^ ' O.^ £ 3 1-3 ;tc rS tn u »3 O 111:1 ls.e- : c^ >C s 3 r,-'x -r 2 5 = .5-s « :§•£■ 1-) ill if a-|5 ^.= i. 3 O H K s o «i p: o •3 = 3 < o n a * 1} ^ < 2 I .=^ :S ?; ot; 3p 470 EXTENT, POSITION, AND ELEVATION OF MOUNTAINS— INDIA. /, tr. .' " - r— rt s'-s ati- r-' K C3 . « r^ r; <y rt i C i; -S e X S c-sS 'S ? 5 s "y §g6 •-* 5 = 3 >-. ^ c J^ 1 a o ill ■33 g «S8 (^ ■5 f the m, in cr Ii-a 'T3 -0' S.2 — = a C3 > 3 ^ ^: 'n o<1 o o ■ill 'rt rt o — < = § 2 = ^ o Sc/i' w ^ 5* r3 C_2 i! t^O '-^ 8"~ w ^ — £; .2 « «-3 Xi rS 2 C^ O 25 = « a c c c 5 p 03 *- <y o t^ s O rj £) 5J <« " <^ ■ '^' ^ ^, ^ 1^ o ^ 3 CO c o* =< -S -^ o o . ^ V l:. ;= S cj c .C c^ ^■ ^^ >-:- -ii .- CO II ?s -r "^ £ - ^■3 ^- " <3 ^'"-2 o*« a ^ ■2 oM-s ^ - S3 O :- o _5r^^^ - ° ■" o a S " c -oo t^ ^ ^ -o '^ P^co -.2 ^ *:; >o S 'l^ =< c^ 5 t^'j^ <^ CO ^^ r'- t- O t^ i-H <1 tin c tc U s?< . ■S « 8 M r. CO ^ "3 £i 1 S x: P-S tt) a S 1^ a S rt J2 3 S S r a C c5o ^2 . 11 bo d a t) . c go CO tfj M ^ ^-^ ** 1^ 1-3 1-9 g 'A < H 6 R H *< >5 M H V, •-3 . §1 u 5 « to u iH =) H >. o o o r3 6^ 3 ty 5 i « o a> o — o C a ^ .S " 2 2 60 11° >>,,^ o ^ to •' t; to ^ 'CC t— bo r ^ o = S'= C3 a o 6 a a.J-|?35 -|o -="<:S-S£ §2-5 sS^-^al "|a I irg a 3 3^ o a -S a ti to 3 S o •f o g 2 f:=i <y ■*-' j:: -2 :r3 a rn t-.^ >> a. *^ O O !? C r^ t^ 'S ■^ = =|f-"2 ^ a^ occ „ >. jj "-JgS oOc^SiSo 2'3,„-" oaSSagd =S--2 ;-2^-3^:.a ^»gi5 oeSS.SS^ 2'a S 3 -••S-^^S-^-a ^.J o"- a. ''3 J a. t. Ill 11:" -5-3 B^ S°5- = o S 53. ^^ o ° 5^ a a ^ - j^ o - ^ 3 " -- 2ir';,5S'Si"S-5ft>.5S^g s55r-s:f2i.sjf«l!r:-Ss| ■^1-5 gf-fj^ si's S°li^l3xt. S tea °^£ " oir« 3 g^ J.2--~ = S"3 tf-3i •-gg.s-li^ -o^^^a^S-ag- |.o|l|P|ll: . . c. f-^ c .0 o rt fcr ' , S to ^ S " s « r-H rt S O >r-( "■ -^ t5 Sj-^ *"" -^ G -■ ^ - ., _ - 0^0^- — g-- ?:•=&. .5 tr= 2 t „-*- cJ3 = E 5 " = ' Si?t; i s|1.^-s-2'2f -s §1 '=-S-5,^-3 ■2 ^^2 13 i c -: o tj *-» — ■ 2'3-Ja 1-5:5:1 o-::; ° ti o 3 3 rt O " -? " -''^ ai ■= . >.■? £ o "S 3 a3"S^";; *-• .:^ o t«' o ^ ^^ c s^x °- - ^ c *-* t« ° ^ O 'C - o 3-2 !'£■£- 2:21 gs". -u> -r -a ^^ ■ j3 3^^^£^ S c'=.£ to a ^■p a o? 3 - a L-z 3 SO a,c "g:.g3-<of S ^•aT .-a _ " :J?-3 a S a o . O <y C3 ^-3 5,S c-a o< (u ^ o £a- 1? 3'^ .-.a -a *^ ^^r; a-^'^-t^i:; 3 ■r-2^fe-|si|5jpg^gi:So|§« ^ g- I «l C3 C ■ tc « ^ ? o -r- "■' .S 3 J-. o " B n -r S O 3 -.i^S toa.'-.S^ ,3 c .3 a > -= o o J- o ^ -.5;:: *- M *« 0'5 O *? l*-.b rt-« t,v* St C r; _- f- rt t- .ij" t. - r" tJ S to r to -■^^^=2£3-3 ;*, a. 3 a> ^^^■^ £3 S" Sj'o 3-'-§ 2 a.""? -•-"■2 i^ioif oC'a-is .V 5K'- : « 3 ^ 3 B ■:r-"|a.|S«|||g-|5,£2 oS-2£";„~3|fl^.2> £ o !- ci a. 5 ^ « k. J a E ^^ O " 'i' -" C ni J 3 oj "t; a ? 5 S 3 ' O S 00 B 3« X;^ 3 o SB .2 l.a 5m a^ LI. MOUMTAIN TASiiES ON J.SDIAN EllONTIEUS. 471 s t "a a e ■1 8 ►5 ^ 0. ^U I & i ^ 1^ »•=« dc «= :!■»:- :.sa u eio h fi ESC Qi S-S'^ -to <s2=l o*^ c s .s ''S s *.- a c-s O) V s t: "■S ^ "-<! o ** ^^ X •= r «2 2e2^- a» •S- S 3 5S " "<.•£ S X ». "•'r ■««o-S "S p „ tc to" . "■£ g. ft. «9'C ^•■'■°. 5W • ; i-^ o c J •a o S 3 =! S S B — ?= 5 S 9 - = K i £ C3 ^ 4, j3 "^ re O «* 3 i! ij S >.«'.,■ o ^•e ^ I Civ.-'O a. " P a « o ..».j=.a « „ o 5: a - B ** 5 _u, 5 = -i £* , £ oJ= P^ a H • - </. t> c </, c CI n ' >■ ^ P ri ---^ J^W CJ O o E w a 63 £-3 tj eijS S 5 ^2 1: 3 ^<d: SW o a - £S| ■•?« !?• "ga=2 = '2 5 gK S O fQ ^C to £<; cccS rt I- « F ?; o O y, ' 02 o o cfcT 6 o 00 <M OC »0 "^ O O «i^ .— -f O .— r- O 'O CO (do ^ titers oocj 0000 . 50 a <^ <i;4 o5 o — ' 02 fiC s o '^ *" ti "ti .--a ., "XI 2 So 5"^ to E.f^ ^ • O . fl) « *-'-^ *: ■ * a < a E a -J K^ J o -5 ^ § ,• ►- S "^ CC t 'O -< < ^ o go J '.- c S P '^ • . o c, c jn z c - ■ &~ ■" o _ - - lO >^ fc^ ^ ^ « ^ CO '3 "^ ^ ■ . . ■ • I t- »•- I— 1^ t-- t- CC I-- ^ X QC c c " " ■ " ' 10 •*-' j:. 5 eoco ^ „ c n c c O O O O O C OOOOOOOOOOO -f C^l 'M <— — ■ .-■ O C I - I - r-. cccoeococococofocjc-jn ■vcseo 000 OD 'J* -^ 000 M ^ r-« o c K C •< w ^ P-. I. J'PQ b 1 °;? 1 '^H-i J -< H ?5S £ « a \ii B M W« SP .0 ■ •►^^^ • -jg^ : < IJ *" i; • • 2 -< S 5s - - s '■•1 I « : .,. I "7 "7 .5 ^ "-^ " ° >■■«-< M^ = 2 !; ■ q^ss x^^ < = < .- O < U < « « o "a y. X. r C K .- Bi O •S-^ -H w •- s a ^ t >. ^ i I g; I « It « ^ c III! a £.21 a .2 c.e-» S K rt - »- ■— /: ■=.0 2 3-, ^ "^ ■-CP_ o 2iS o _r * 'rt o i/> o -i^rr o o "»■ Tl !:u;o 2 S ••>- c CJ ^ — ^ V.( *- lI '-" O ^ <« ?So J- I ° £ •3 f; Of o X. t^ ■^ V- c '' o „ .a ^ ;■« - .i; a ^ h o '^ S c C a =0 £"3 a .:i ■3 " cfc ci"^- .? .^5 c-s .*"J3 a I o -i« a r" ^ -" ^ o «;r3 if -- «':'"- /-r"g C^^ -.eS^ 2g=.22ss:gog to a jz-x r- -^ ^ ^"^ <=i c ^ « tJ_- ^ "S >-o— ax.^oS c K c ■= o . *^ r; r^-^ ^ e tH " .s o — "^ Er-" •"^— -OCt^_Q •3 tti: i^S .ii-=K "i-i = „ a ? =^;^ a--i £ I g-' tcfooS rC c . jr e •" « • .„ - e s s g *" a 5 o e - •■ f ■£ Q o '5 o A S.a<; is "3 C c t72 RIVERS OF INDIA— SOURCE, COURSE, DISCHARGE, AND LENGTH. 'w 2* ■«>a a ^ .t c CO Oi 05 :c) c:; ^ L « il ^ -*-> a '^ a •«a ^ O) qj ■^3 a "^ Q ■*-a & 1^ S *.* « >c li Co '^ •< a s •e>a fc; 53 ■v^ U •^ &^ s a i^ c-> c 's: ^> 05 s. !? s %. fr, S ■»sa « 1 ■"-I Q -^ ^5 4j s <i Sft f§ ^ 'S" ») V 4j » ' i « 22 5r3 isis O <l> Ol :=Z = S'^r^o c i:_- "" «, -2 --^ s; ? < -S a ' " 1 ;-, ■ O >■ O ^ ' -S o - e; « § ^ o "" ti ~ CI, - « •= o 9 01 to . " >^ g.-s 1. >' c 'o £ 2"" a I -s i s = r ■ ' j: S S '. ...2 &S : :: r= c o -^— i-~ t* '7: c: ^ " - c= ^ ; ? 3 « ,5 „• = C 0.-2 04: C ^; " s-s - 5 s 2 5se S5 j! a o o-a a 2 S o'a l.= £>- tt ^ S 9 "So - S? ^ P ^- -— . « ' , c ^ 5 *j ' , c c = cj ^-5 =*:^t; = c "^ — i r- I. " F 5 *^ S ■^ ■- c ea CC O ». K -T- et o *i X ^ c "i^ •*- 1 »'*< s- £-:£ = /^ "f ^ - o .- - - to c 2"^ 5 -S=" -s .. § : o "^co-:: : o -r^ — - " ^ CO ^ T. = itSo "-3 S3 CO ..«< s - O •- "7 I c .- o g •- VA 5 • "^ g a •-^ ,> . 00^ 03 o^ ". i." ..g £ -= -o o P4 5Po o o a CO o o c — „ci rC - «: • -. CJ - C Q o « ./o * O 03 « . c S3 Sj ^» sM. .. =^ = - to fo " '= 610 ,' " oQ -co o i^ CO '-' « a -O CO coo o 0-3 CO 5 3 iSSP g.iccg o ex-3 o - tt'2'? iPu, a "SCO '« ^ ■ r '"'cO ^-- ■> ^ a) ?* co^ ^-^ cctc a gro : §■« = o-i1a i ='5^ - •0:= g c "w — _; «t: £ c S - O 60 Sits en p i!^^ c- S ^ > -2-°^ 2 £■3 = 1 o S^u -S "■ s g 2 o a g J jf i 1.5 ?| gg S-o =3<2 U — ^ • .s C3 C "«:& c5 = a §5 cl" a i I, O O fl : *^ -^ S ;ws: = = ■ = c3 .a '^ . 03 °r<5 '-is c K O t- • "^..5|J ; CO *" 60 S ^ »j O r-^ C! 3 g ^ OS »- * rti ■« ^ ^ *" r>WS "^•^ ~ . S-.2 = >>2 =-c.B]B ■ »> — " ^ ■> ,c ac£5'-S=lw--_ — - is a o '•^Jl c-i ^ 03 o a> >' < ...a ''. o-a " •-C . ^■' CO w .. S = c 5 ^ ^ ■ Oth^ tL ^ I O I Ci a S cS e c a> x. ^ 00 »c 1 c 5ir-K CO c: s "5 3 :3 1 a ST ^ CL, -- pp OS* CQ >i 3 c w a a l.s « t- ^ c « I !>;• = § - -^ to '? £ — «^ ^ ¥S = a T El'SixSgi , £ • s a ■- W ^ g i:" ■« ^. to ■■' 60 ^tO S^ ■ K S« :gS a a s oj CD b u I o 1, « -3 o- a !5 »j oj < a a O o 00 « a 41 1^ «j ;^ =: ts •2 S ■V* CO it «»•<; BO e a ^"S. % RIVERS OF INDIA— SOURCE, COURSE, DISCMARGE, AND LENGTH. 473 = 1 §•3 3 5 S;^ S. , — ■" ■ Mil. ©•Si; «= *» S « •'J «* . -r- 2 ^ .. S = 1/ 2i « c» n .j:^ --.^ i ? o id C •C CO ec c — ' :■ — =♦* *rf ,* O 1* (- -Re ""3 ■=■:; a = 3 c -o o c = c :S o. S 5 -S .i I. is •^ bo £| 11 k a "^ fe S d *' *- O t- SI'S « o- J; 2 " S 2 5 ? H 11 •3 « □ ,3 a P S - .s *C -^ o F- - J! u i^ - Mr: y-S-r'a; 3 = 3 ^ 2 £ ? 3 E- fc •£ .t: I 2 Sx-a a ^■3 1 5 ^ r «- i« 3 «2§ ' » 3 c o 3 j: 3 So-- ^ c3 d & ='• s =2 ■r 3 £ .a.-"_ «,Og3 £ - S 3 C *■ ^ o a = o S o *- -, ■=§J' ^ C (^ . ad cc ,0 3 a) -^ i-«i2 •o' ° «. * ,: o _c- w 3 ". u S » g S' = « .« " 3 <y o. «Q j; »r a 5P - ■S, £•« = .! 33-53^3 g « c 2 = H o a ^■i to > . — o p* ^ rl^ ^ -3 a CO 2 I E'la •3 -'- U|0 a) S ^ H 11* ._ r-4'3 ■3 la PS 9 O :3 -< I a - ?^ ■3 a 03 — o OJ3 •SB a « 1;W I® .;; 3 r I R ■■'■ ■eg S'i C w. o ■ = ==. - ;= = c S a .2 a M a'S ia --=a rt oj 3 "^ P S a 3 =S S.S I iW 0-- a. (MP- .2, .^ u c d ."is 1 = ■6' S o ■ ? a "3 „ .- - - - E 3Sa:=^ 3 S a. <2i'-r*5 0J3 2 i: 2 3 ■" O CO ..H C .3 IN !i| s^- • ■M — c-i -i a> p— r 3^— j; 3 S £ -1 s I • '-' .a o ■- S a ^t, o _•""- o J ■^^'^-^ « 3 -?SoO 3 _-- S" _-!:C3 CO) ." C . . 6 « «■"« S5> S oo?-- 'T ^1 . • CO I T CO t^Ti - '-^ .■J.2 I- ; l.-o dr.- S — w = HO 3 J= .^'i-^'i is '"i ^5^55 5 U .-• -1- ".-r o = 2, -S ■X ^ T^ . •x i g^ 3:.. 9, . I O ■= _ — :3.''s> — 3 s— 3 3 H3 23S ■Bipuj JO apis nj3js3j\^ iz; o ^ C3 O a ^ ^ CJ 474 RIVERS OF INDIA— SOURCE, COURSE, DISCHARGE, AND LENGTH. ^^ C ' - ■" a "^ 'H — :3 o .^•■ O C <n a =^8 bo 2 "^ r^ rb CO r- ^ ?: £ 2i -r: C^ ""H s r3 d C r^ g-C8 ^ to 3 °S^ ^ 3 . P -5.0^ C S t g IdS -15 p:r= raft tl ndatio ooka, rt id's rt *^ <J ?N F= So «.a — ^-.5 H avigablc fo (luring tlie 370 ft. Bui a ?; o c2 ^ H H .2 K S O CO yd, 95 Cub- utty.— • u §-2 r3 s • «l •0 J3 rs .3::^ i"^ 2S •c a ..0^ o r-l C-^ - <* gS2.S S CO c - - c bo C- s c ^ r/i ^ 1 >^ "C 1 Iz; c — SIS .« bo . g ,0 3 is 1.5 aa OS 2 H ^^ '^ , rt Pi re M 5 E^ a d Cfi - 1 t> 03 tfi S 1 ^ » ^•0 > -f ,s ^ <NCQ ^^ I-^ rf aai?. „■ To .^ '^ rt ' Ere 2oo ^' ,1: hi d C rt .r' hJ „' ;3 1 3 rt c rt a ^ ...1 a; i-o S c s v--'- (J rt o d o I £o£.a Of*- c «*. c> O l-l O CO 5 e o c r " - =" E =- - 3 ^sa to d - O rt I ■ jO-s l.w - 2 i: be o 3-3.^ g o i rt W -f M bo C S btO ., C o g I — •^tr O? t coipq a 60 p=; I «^ d to -* c (M o O ^ o d o o o -^ *: s o |zi ^ bo W5 i"^a hS d dc-1 ^ ?; +- e ci o to a '■^^^^ a S. *4_ CO . bo~ :• "c i i IB S bp " P. O "^ '. "* 1»>S^ bo --pros "o^ 3 g. O O " c^ CO r- ; .b C 2 ■0"= btTa a p a ■0.5 £ tC^ O <!* O . 'So 2 .?= a 6 -re rt? I. rt'o,f^ PP ^ I M P O ° 3 o" ^" CI o I l-i CO O - ,-, -^ g rt rjc-l r '• ? .a . i a £ •.'•S'3 i g| ' 1-^ ^P5 ^•■;e cT I." as' EEw^ ° 9 r s « a :: 1 gCQ'g >^c3pq g a- ' VHH ^^ a g >=. rt a.&rt W M>-1 re i H h' >5 J-) «; re 'C e 'A •DipUJ «JO)SOj^\^ ■/" ■ripnj JO apis u.i3isiig; ■< o '/■■ u O < d- o s lUVEllS OF INDIA— SOURCE, COURSE, DISCHARGE, AND LENGTH. 475 \k h I- o '^ "1 (^ ■/> o w) -3 g « rt a, •- -^ S S £ ^-^ .2 •^ P c3 K o ^^ 3 is g.a S . g •§ "_ s ■- s •- c S £ . >- .5 3 .;: ' -3 B i5 «J - 5 ^ S-? s -' s « "^ M ■' •o 2 S tu>d SO &. « J- 4J • ■1^1:1 'I' "" 3 *- «■ «-5 ^ « g S'S § « H s ■- ." K •s^ •^'<2 c .ui "■ t, X « St:. ; i; .a " *j ^ a ^ i/i ■=■£■- I" ' rt w -c > '•■i S B •3 S ? §£•5 2 i! 2.5 t a o 3 * O lA <« _ ^ i5 Sii *» B ■-- o a i O O KH HH t-^ S <U H M I5I3 0) 3 ij a ►. '■'3'S s« .S-T3 O S « *- ^ ® = t; « i o O t> ^ o o to « ♦- c B2,S .a 3 a ♦^ a o c E S *•.- 5 :2 3 a 8 B a o gi: o-^- 1-3 M '3 U O "S 3 3'-' ii^ ■= o.a 03 ° a ^0= 5» ^W) y -5 JS S S ii js t, o ^ ^ a^l §.a ^a a ic^ j; Mod a £ CO _ S'i^ ^f S a P a »?■ »■ •a s s « g d ■ 3 a a -3 f o a •ffjs g,t/.a a-S d 25 a o i o 3 ..2. o a B^ g .3 055 a o C-^ ^ £i o « -^ .S S g^'£ « £ .^ £ is ^ ~ !PB o3 ■ a u > ■•-» MB •3 a •a u ■3 a" a o ^ .s ■— O a a »o CO iJ ^ a rt 2 S w s J^ -S.E. 80 m. °27', 160 m CO -=■'■= 1. M a n -S.E -Len nge, .— Le Wrj 2 ? r 1 a^M '^•slS ic ^S>ll |«><i ^s tabl ., in ntai ,int "^ ^ S7g«i ^ i> &p4'^'^ 2^ <3a0 So - 1 » Inl " a |WS = M 5 '»" CQ*' js to M B M 3 a.a ••^ •*'3'3 O 3 O d 4* b'o ..S S" ^ "^i o .0 .2 CO so ►-• a 1^.0" O 3 ^ "^ iJ "^ cca .- g I- o .a l-a [402 a c o a „ *• o 5 a •§-£| .-•3 'a" o BBS CO a ^ 1.- 3d 3 2 a a •a:? S. 3'-^ to (4 = _r'3 o ^ 3 " ciO 1—. O <;o ■-0 o -^ o .^ - ^ s - ti I sis . 7 ^ as X o -a o 3 = J ■3 S 3 2 c J - 5 rt o ' o § ^- H .^' •-« G c <„ o d ►- o o^ °'d'S <>» 5 -* W -5 ;? j -. >-.•;;; '-"•" a ■ •^^ CO o «- .a* c ^ ■"^ c -"-? = rt'^ rt rt c S3 a, c oi; s B._, .. o 3 s o c :u .So s;,-£ ^2 f^ c -^ "^ '^ ■— • g"xS5-. §-•-•^£•3 ■S'3 a CI *J CO a a a .20 a -;?, ^a . "a^fOJ fe.coS - "■•Z o a b O CO O . M "«c^ a *'CO <^o •.- 05a 00 a *J — CO f .a-3 . : " a tn c go... gSai Sire";: ^J I. e-*- E-2 3 f- ": ; ..^« a 'ws I..: 'o ^ EP I -5 •CO C 3 1^ io : .t~Kj=« a i^°ba iT' w fe ° 1 _t^ — • ~ J3 -O *- a o ta a Qo am . ■"— a »J - o . ci"aaa.= >» " o in ■- B .- O CO 'So 3 ^ H S 5 ■i2;aS.S . •- c.- to ^a Eo ■— • d a I '►-) a r B o 'i.g go-JjO " ^ I .a o ^ - r cj ^ ^ "2 tf 3.S a - .a « d o*^ |oS O M §"i do o o -5 a a-K'S cj o-^ .a o . 3=^*3 = a a o e.s "'isi? » rt •" • ,,■•2 = ^i^^ z.:^ g2 gco O ,-— .'^ a-* a ■ ^ a 2 £'0.2 3Ji a-'; S-S .:; '•^ « ai ; .2 "Xug piStiog opts isiiv[ a ■< O .a •c 47f) TRIBUTARY RIVERS TO MAIN STREAMS— INDIA. 3 ^■s CJ .5 >. ^ ^ w a ^x 3 g=£.S i-. ■^ O *J i -2 C c "?r« 0) 3 'f n i 5 " fe (i- ea •= g;, a o fee i^g-^ o t? "^ o o — o X — • ::-i s c3ja '^ — gi u uj 3 C) "3 d - ^-^ o C 3 -5 HI |2J C V^ ^ P ^ a ^ eg * o'S. -f ^ rO ■s -^ o <i> S " 3 « a t) -lis cc o _S X 3 T' ^— lO (3 ' c o ^ ■ oj cj g ) c o f=3S°.s:-^3'^2- Si- s'^'" °= •*-§•= = 2 Sa-; •«; m o 1-^ o •S-SP f -3 o « 05 J3 <y O o3 o «y §■3 . ^ S a o ° i •a « " c « S a I. S oj es CO ^ o O . Q> o -u >. t<S3 >- c ^ d ^ O C3 •s s -• . C «J *-■ — g-5 J a •-a ti! O «3 = ,■; r-i -O -.3 "2 -- m .§> c a to a oj 3 IP o •sill <S S S =5 5 ° Oi a ■MX ^CJ . 1 "^ (N Tj "^ SO ■- ^ t-< O J — =, o .t; c: -O cc^ a CO 5 rri ^ 3 rC < 00 tt C igs' 53-a >- o o 3 io»0 to IS g :a „-;. J = J^ £0 a Tro^ cj So" 5o <^ !a. J ~1 3 SCO I. -co Z •• £- I O - _ 3 •■^ S - W |to-=S I t-- jco £co 1 S I i' I. a =i3 £a 3 -^ CO •- CO la o tC c^ o CO o '— '^ C - Oi ^ a C5 — ^ 5 r«^&r 3 C-a CO > "f tJ «- • - Jr tc a ■- B° a'-2 . - r ~ 03 I" a' is Tyfz 9. "34 . I CO ^ o -^ 1-3 ^&5 t?co »: o K -5 -'. o |Sgco^^3S sgs^:a.sig -?2a3~' -"^ 3 a CO ^~' '^ j3 p3 3 2 a o J S I CO "74 CO o a^^^l'e-;<g O a.5 a I a CO CO h; >J n 1.5 CO tjD ^ I - >^ .^ _o 3 « <; sp i a O 3 -^^■S-2 ' ~ Si 3 "" ^1 ,~J3o'..B . 5 t: — ■ •■ c >.S 3 , -W >o ■o-6 , =o_ Co S O ^ E ttl3 go- ^ I— J ^ •■ ,■ H ■= ^ CO i S o>3 I ^ _-— ~ I- 3 g 3 - S ■J j: - I P ii " ig ^ a-a C 3 cKJ (^ - ■;2 •"> .- .3 3 -o-'". -a .' '^ ?"- 3S, ■- t^ 3 ^' O r3 CHH a _ "^2 -co I '^ ? o a r- a •rO £C0 - , •l|a 30 " S«D 5 3 ^1 C t^ ^o CO -^ t. - . a;? - 3 tl c 3 J 03 s .t,-^ to c; 3 fL,CO^ •A hJ 5o o a''.- g c?g'i^p .;£ a c .:^ I 2 " 2,2-. fc S c •i!3.- _, C OB M i; o 3 CCO la a.3 s == a "="«?:; ' j: ■■= o gcccn s'^K S^ 3 2 o S^zgd: ?,? = -Ja? S £ 2 =<' ,3<-B a ^ >» a o w lO 5 < " t5 m 30 =0 478 RIVERS IN AFGHANISTAN, AND COUNTRIES ADJACENT— INDIA. a S o 8 ■4: a £■►•■0 ss 03 S .^ J5 ^ S * 2-£ pi OJ '. So. S .5 - •- aj .2 ^ '- S c c .IT & 3 CO - " r— I— v^ ■*" S "H •= -.2 ■£ •'^ a> S £. ^ »> £ > t " ^ *j c s ■ - tJ E a " 2^:^ •£=> £"-_£■ ■ g 3 a S£ ^ '-■^ •;: o , ^ S » .So 9 2 O tit tL S S 3 .5 ^i; S - J- a. o-c O *J j= ^ o Sj 1-- p n ** 0) c In o r >-. p c n j» ^ ^ en •u c B O S -C 43 o G iQ >! ^ c X C f U « d *- (^ r^ C a> 2 o « — " c wr i£ S « i S-S-= g O ^ ■ S 3 i = III . ' C*^ .V. OS ^ : 1- s .c 3 " eic = •=^15 O „3 S-.^^ 1 •S = « S « o i S o 3 c - ^= c £ « g « I. S^ a S t- V- .i^ .^ ^ X « 5 .= Q (« -ie g = t-S j= o c „ — •£ o o s »r^^ ■■ 3.0 i! «Ph S S s o a ss s 8 « 3 o a .2 3 5" <; i f- ^ o ■« e S ^ " r-s T s » .g^-«1 s '. s ^ 5; ^ <ii «'T3 oa><US *'3 OC OS-J3— --1= = •£ 5 ^ j: • 3 . ? g o t- ;^ 3 a =-3 ■" <^'^ C a; C °° '-co ^^ « 3 ?n . g-s ^ 3 v .. . >■ * *i c o ^ CO CO— -g a < TO— a, - ? £ - 3" «> = « X>'5 j: o 1^ cc| •S 3 .-o *• C « C ^ u. ^* Ki « 3. ^ 4) S ^j^. '^ o^ « *. , 3 -"1- .3 2 O £'3 3 S ? 3 S-2-^-- i- »; — _ = a 3 E «3 ca 3 * I/; ■ .. SC a "T ..£3 -^ 1 p ^ > 3 .= O .3 O 3 3 ti - 5 o be a> 3ji o u ^ 4; .t; -i -r I J *j ea a 3 0; "3 (S^S : — « ?J^ !s a >. - ' t^.; _? ■ X.^ >- 3 = tt%s-~ "" S~ c^ a o " .So '^ 3 3 e ^^ C « "2 3 E « CS£ 3u; = .•31: 3c^t!S 'J ^ °^ 3 I s o -s <^ r ;- ::; GO a j^ J, 3 >,.5i: t . 3 ?i .20 s ^.3 |||- I S a 58 W'-3 I e :S I ^ i^ 3 c— P <2 a r « =-a a .. e , . a to c/i _ S o fcd ? - CO t 4* v< CO -d^ O cS 3 "«; I il « s_° -^ ^ o c S .60 c ,.H .5 « 3 3W3 TABLE-LANDS OF BRITISH INDIA— EXTENT AND HEIGHT. 479 I h. «1 s I 2 e O , " « r-^ ■^ — ■° £ ^ '■^ 3 > ** a I- g a, "r a, 2 -'• a 3 -a o — s = t. q a -T3 j= t; •" ^ s S oa 2 »g ° S a I c .2 s a e B fc'i = ^ a. H •a3"^8°fc-S •o 3 - ° a.2 ."S g £ g = o-co g aj &.•- <« a, PS a S S-a s ""^ n •- •= C "«■._ ° .S '2 - o t^— 1 ^ -T w kj »•= C - °^ S = 3 £ F. 3 I a c - a > - I. — ^ "— & ■ — ^ 1/1 _ , 3 tan u a.— S t" S - o 5 (« !s«Sr;;S?-c|^ (»„'"¥ aa ** ,- 3 ." * H ? (* .= ■=^3 a 3 aa tf-^JJ — . •- ^ a a c -S=i:J««; aa S^*'i'-ti2;*-3 11 = • _w a i-3 «•: ; a. = . . „ a • =.2 giiE'S 3 _ "^ t 3 g- ji :; ■- cu S S «; 1- tr'"»-^'*»aajC5a : u « a; )«)-3roo*;a3a4, £^ 2_e »> S'i'C^ H 53 = 1! c "2 r J S ■£ a 5 "13 = il a S o i o 0* , *i i 1 5 ^ E;s * ■/- S ( .2 S . S :^ a H O r- CC O w ^ •*" ~4"3 z3 '-- ^ ■'O 0; 5- ^ ^ = ^-c°^^ = 2- -S -^-^ ^o 2 '^ ^ C o 'S ? o a 2 S i -• c c , a c -»« s A o, = ; 480 TABLE-LANDS OF AFGHANISTAN AND BELOOCHISTAN. Pi « a O o ^ a o = ? C3 3 ' - -- rt O « ; sr.SfZ S ii t: <2 o g i i ♦^ Lj c- *" ^3 ""* S o 4» .'■ri oJ "^ a, :ij u ° o SEgOB ■=? s 3 o S c^ jj ,- O _£ ^ •^ o '^ C3 a; 0) a> o -^ C'^ - C CC ,— C 3 03 5 ^ °-S S^ £:^ o - as -r S S = I °i C 5J *. m O h O [O c-s: •5'2 i o S '■ o c ..^ £-2 5 : ^.0'> i t ==3 -.5 "S g 1 ^ J=v, en tv- •« c cs £^ g O Of S2 e s == s -s ■^ C3 o 3 e Illl n-r •- Si ..- e' S- " gSl is « " a o ■S ° g 5 >. „' S o g 2 . B= -a \, S-3.a ^ " -S yogxSS'S-a ^i g S-2 § = = "S ^ 8 s 52 R a <r> '^ rt ^1 o S ci ^ •--" -■:icoio •o ^ ^* ;z:>c^ O U J- 2 to so ^ 3 t^co^go J "2 ■- 3 O o OS 6 £« nr'Sa CD CO S; t-- HJO'^'O-QO*^- rlt 1 t, c^ O i>r e--i ■-- ' CO r^ . o t- C ^J . o 5e a s p o j!i Jc m . fe " .tM - -co'-' p ?>I^ W j: * "5 ;4 -3 e5 . ^ ^ tT . P2 t*, "-5 gd^g^^l^-JlDge^O . i-''i'°^=°dS'-'^t-^ •-■' S I .-«: o S 00 -o ;_ * Lfp o o Op Oc O-'Of^ 00 G ,-=^9:: 9?- 3 O 10 ^2g i2g§?522d £•3 g'»^'M«= •- *J O .C:^-w O c3 'Too o^ >C g n ■•;■ *L ►^ CO - "« -<^ CQ ■ fc- -^^ So^;S^o ^. *2 ^- C _ (M - "CO « <g d^ "^ .^ "H J"-"" 3 «' CO _ - ••J C^l CO o ^ t^ »*C CJ ^ "* o o o ■^ n (-i « rt "^ 'O »f? E4 £2 s ^^ oj *J O f- o *^ 3 O O o - xS"^ o«9 S 9. <c 00 » c^c C en d ^ OJ C ^ 9 " '•. - " « s tT .^-^ oj &^9 S c s 9 3 5 .^ O T3 3 a, -^^ o rl o . 5 c OK- Ot. >" o = o;W Sf S 2 . S So o S.C st^'i; £■- s a 15 « ■•i 3« S S.S2 £•<§ C <u o J3T3.? ^^ 3 t»i ^« o S Q* •a °J3 3 « *■ = 5 t: - <u lii e ;:« 3 o CO p OS B3.2 "I I*. n (O s n •a a & I e « / . w ; H tC CO g CAPITAL CITIES OF EACH INDIAN PRESIDENCY. 481 PitiNciPAi. CiTiKS.* — A dpsoriptioii of the cities ami towns in India would ()(,'fMi[)y scvcrid volumes : all that can here he f^iven is a l)ii(;f note on some of the hest known. f Calrutta, — on Uit; Icl'l Imiik of Uie llooglily, ahowt 100 111. from tlip sea; present sent of sii]iri'in(,' pnv- friiniciit; a village when acqiiirt-d by the Kriglish in 1700. Lengtli, nboiit 45 m. ; Ijrcadth, M in.j area, nearly 8 ,sq in. Hcyond the Mahratta Ditch (an intrenchmenl intended as a defence against the incursions of the Mahrattas), are the suburbs of Chitpoor, Ntmdenliagli, liaharSimlah, Scaldah, Eutally, Uallygunge, lih()wanee|)nor, AUiponr, and Kidder|)Oor. On the opposite side of the river lie the villages of Seebpoor, Howrah, and Sulkea. The city is defended by Fori W'iMiam, a large and strong fortress, built on a plain, of an octagonal form, some- what resembling that of Antwerp : it mounts 619 guns. In May, 1850, the population of Calcutta, ex- clusive of suburbs, was 4115,182 ; number of resi- dences, 62,505 ; of huts, 49,415. Among the public buildings are the Government-house, a magnificent structure ; the Town-hall, a handsome edifice ; the Supreme Court of Judicature, the Madrissa and Hindoo colleges, Metcalfe Hall, and the Ochterlony monument. About three miles below the city, on the Howrah side, there are extensive botanical gardens, laid out witli good taste and effect. The most elevated part of Calcutta (Clive-strect) is only thirty feet above the sea-level at low-water. It appears to me very probable that the whole city will some day be submerged by the shifting beds of the Hooghly or Ganges. 3/nf/rrts,— on the Coromandel coast, consists of three broad streets, running north and south, dividing the town into four nearly equal parts; they are well built, and contain the principal European shops. On the beach is a line of public offices, including the Simreme Court, the Custom-house, the Marine Board Omce, and the offices and storehouses of the princi- pal European merchants. The other buildings are, the Mint, the lloman Catholic Cathedral, the Church Mission Chapel, Armenian Church, Trinity Chapel, the General Hospital, and Medical School. Fort St. George is in form an irregular polygon, somewhat of a semicircle, of which the sea-face, which is well armed with heavy guns, is nearly a diameter. No part is probably more than twenty feet above the sea-level. Population, 720,000, including the Black Town and suburbs. S'.milMi;/. — The old town, built on the island, is about 2 m. in circuit, and strongly fortified; the recent increase of the calibre of the guns has com- pleted the means of defence. Few remarkable build- ings. There is a Government-house, an excellent dockyard and foundry for steam-vessels, a church within the fort, and one on the island of Colaba, where there are considerable cantonments : several banks, insurance companies, the Steam Navigation Company, Bombay branch of Asiatic Society, Bonibav Geographical Society, iVc. ; and the leading merchants have their offices within the fort. iPopulation, 666,119, including the widely-scattered suburbs. Affrii, — formerly a large city; the old walls remain, and mark out a space extending along the Jumna, * Tlie several positions of these places, and their eleva- tion, will be given in a Topographical Index. t Full details nil] be found in Tlioniton's excellent Gaietteer. about 4 m. in length, with a breadth of 3 m. ; the area is about 11 sq. m; but not one-half is at present oc- cupied. Th<-re is one wide street running from the fort in a north-westerly direction. The liouses are built chiefly of red sandstone. Within the fort is the palace of Shah Jehan, and his hall of audience ; the Motee Masjid or I'earl Mosque, and other structures. The celebrated Tajrnahal, or mausoleum of Shah Jehan, is outside the city, and about a mile east of the fort. Adjacent to the city, on the west, is the Government-house, the official residence of the lieu- tenant-governor of the North Western Provincei, Population, 60,000. A)n)icilalmd, — on the left bank of the Saburmuttee, 5' m. in circumference, surrounded by a high wall, M'illi irregular towers every fifty yards. The noblest architectural relic is the Jumnia Masjit or Great Mosque, built by Ahmed Shah of Guzerat, the founder of the city. Near the city wall is a tank a mile in circumference. Population said to amount to 30,000. Ajmere, — a city of great antiquity and celebrity — situate in a picturesque valley, surrounded by hills, on the base and slope of one of which the town is built. A wall of stone, with five strong gateways (all on the north and west sides), surround it. The town contains several large mosques and temples. Some of the streets are wide and handsome. The houses of the wealthy are spacious, and generally well built! the habitations of the poorer classes are more commodious than ordinary. The strong fort of Taraghur, with a walled circumference of 2 m., surmounts the hill rising above the city : it contains two tanks, and commands another outside. AUiilicihad, — at the confluence of the Ganges (here H m. wide) and Jumna, ( j of a m. in width.) The fort on the east and south rises directly from the water, and is in form a bastioned quinquangle, 2,600 yards in circuit, and of great strength. The town extends along the Jumna, to the west of the fort. Notwithstanding the advantageous position, it is an ill-built and ])overly-stricken place. 'I'he Jumma Masjit is a stately building, but without much orna- ment. Population, 70 000. [This ought to be the seat of Supreme Government for India.] Aliimra. — Principal place of the British district of Kumaon, situate on the crest of a ridge running from east to west, consists principally of one street, J of a m. long, secured by a gate at ea h end, and forming two bazaars, divided from each other by Fort Almora, and by the site of the ancient palace of the rajahs of Kumaon, now occupied by a gaol. Detached houses, chiefly inhabited by Europeans and Brahmins, are scattered along each face of the mountain below the town. Fort Moira is at the western extremity, anc} adjoins the military lines. Amritsir. — A walled city, about half-way between the Beas and Ravee rivers. It owes its importance to a Tiil(w or re.servoir, which Ram Das caused to be made here in 1581, and named it .\mrita Saras, or " fount of immortality." It is a square, of 150 paces, containing a great body of water, pure as crystal, though multitudes bathe in it ; it is supplied, appa- rently, from natural springs. f)n a small i.sland in the middle is a temple, to which are attached 500 or 600 priests. On this island Ram Das (the founder) is said to have spent his life in a sitting posture. City very populous and extensive ; streets narrow; houses lofty. Manufactures — cloths, silks, and shawls. There is besides a very extensive transit trade, and con. siderable monetary transactions. Most striking ob- 482 PRINCIPAL CITIES OF INDIA. ject, the fortress Govinghur; its great height and heavy battfries, rising one above the other, giving it a very imposing appearance. Population, 80,000 or 90,000. Bangalore. — Town tolerably well built, has a good bazaar, and is inclosed by a wall, a ditch, and a broad fence of thorns and bamboos. Fort oval, con- structed of strong masonry : within it is the palace of Tippoo Sultan, a large building of mud. Manufac- tures — cotton and silk ; but the present importance of the place results from its being the great British military establishment for the territory of Mysoor. The cantonment is nearly 2-, m. in length, and 1 m. in breadth. Population, 60,000. .BareiV/v,— situate in a pleasant and well-wooded country in the N.W. provinces. It is a considerable town, the principal street or bazaar being nearly 2 m. long, has a brisk and lucrative commerce, and some manufactures, of which the principal is that of house furniture, cotton- weaving, muslins, silks, jewellery, gold, silver, and metal working, besides numerous others. Population, 92,208. Cantonment at south side of town, near the new fort, which is quadrangular, and surrounded by a ditch : it is the head-quarters for the Rohilcund division. Baroda, — situate near the river Biswamintri, which is here crossed by a stone bridge. The town is sur- rounded by numerous groves containing many niosques, mausolea, and tombs of Mussulmen, which give an impressive solemnity to the scene. The for- tifications, of no great strength, consist of slight walls, with towers, and several double gateways. Town intersected and divided into four equal quar- ters, by two spacious streets, meeting in the centre, at a market-place. Houses, in general, very high, and built of wood. Population, 140,000. Beejapoor.—'We walls, which are of hewn stone and very lofty, are entire, but inside all is desolation. The deep moat, the double rampart, and the ruins of the palaces in the citadel, attest its former mag- nificence. The Great Mosque is a grand edifice, and the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah, remarkable for elegant and graceful architecture. The chief fea- ture of the scene is the mausoleum of JJohammed Adil Shah, the dome of which fills the eye from every point of view. ^ The fort has a rampart Hanked by 109 towers. The works surrounding it, and the citadel in the interior, are very strongly built; the parapets are 9 ft. high, and 3 ft. thick. ' The ditch 18 from 40 to 50 ft. in breadth, and about 18 deep : the curtains, which appear to rise from the bottom of it, vary from 30 to 40 ft. high, and 24 ft. thick. A revetted counterscarp is discernible, the circuit of which is 6i ra,, and its ground-plan deviates little from a circle. To the westward of the fort there is a vast mass of ruins, from the numerous edifices of every description scattered around. Beejapoor was evidently one of the greatest cities in India. It was formerly divided into several quarters, one of which is 6 m. in circumference. Among the various won- ders of this ruined capital, is tiie gun called .Malik- i-Maidan, or " the King of the Plain," one of the largest pieces of brass ordnance in the world. .Beefeneer,— capital of the Rajpoot state of the same name, viewed from without presents the appearance of a great and magnificent city. The wall, which is built of stotie, is 3^ m. in circuit, 15 to 30 ft. high (including parapet), 6 ft. thick, sur- rounded on three sides by a ditch 15 ft. deep and 20 ft. wide ; there are five gates and three .sally-ports. The interior cxhibiu a rather flourishing appeaiance ; many good houses, neat and uniform, with red walls, and white doors and windows. Eighteen wells within the city ; depth of each about 240 ft. Citadel situate 7 am. N.E. of the city, and quite detached from it; defences, about j of a m. in circuit, constructed of good masonry. The rajah's residence occupies nearly the whole of the inside. Population, stated by Boileau and Tod, 60,000. .B('i/a!<m, — Southern Mahratta country. Fort of an oval ground-plan, 1,000 yards long, 700 broad, and surrounded by a broad and deej) wet ditch, cut in very hard ground. In 1848, the inhabitants formed a committee, and in foui months recon^t structed all the roads of the town, extending to a length of between 9 and 10 m. Belgaum was selected as the site of the educational institution for the instruction of the sons of natives of rank : in February, 1853, the number of jiupils exceeded 50. Bellaiy. — The fort, or fortified rock, round which the cantonment is situate, is a hill of granite : length, 1,150 yards; height, 450 ft.; circumference, 2 m. ; eastern and southern sides precipitous ; western face slopes gradually towards plain. Lower fort, j a m. in diameter, contains barracks, arsenal, and commissariat stores, church, two tanks, and several on the top of the rock. Native population in 1836, exclusive of military, 30,426. Benares, — on the Ganges, 3 m. long, 1 m. broad, Streets very narrow, and access gained to the river by noble ghauts, extending along the bank of thj river, in the city. Numerous Hindoo temples, which render it a celebrated place of pilgrimage. PopuU- tion, 300,000. Bhiiyulpoor, — on the right bank of the Ganges here 7 m. wide during the rains. Though repre- sented to be 2 m. long and 1 broad, it is a poor place, consisting of scattered market-placi's, meanly built; it is, however, ornamented by European resi- dences and by mosques. Cavalry barracks, occa. sionally occupied ; 4 m. from them are those of a native corps formed of the highlanders (Sonthals or Puharees) of the Rajmahal wilds. There is also a court of justice, a gaol, and an educational institution, Bhoiij, — the capital of Cutch, at the base of a for- tified hill. When viewed from the north, has an im- posing appearance. Rajah's palace, a castle of good masonry. A large tank has been excavated at the west end of the city. Population, about 20,000. Bhnpal. — Town surrounded by a wall of masonry about 2 m. in circuit, within which is also a fort of masonry. O.utside, a large g>i>ije or market, with wide straight streets. The fort of Fultyghur is on a rock S.W. from the town. S.W. of the fort is Bhopal Tal, or Lake, 45 m. long, 1 im. broad: another tank, 2 m. long, is on the east. They are deep, and abound with alligators, but both appear to be arti- ficial. The Bess river has its rise in the former. Bhopal is the seat of the British political residency. Bhiirtpoor. — Town 3 m. long, 1 { broad, and about 8 in circumference. Its site is somewhat depressed j and this circumstance, in a military point of view, contributes to its strength ; as the water of a neigh- bouring jhil, being higher than the ditch of the town, can be discharged into it in such a volume, as. to render it unfordable. The defences are now shapeless piles of mud.* This measure of repair waa permitted to the young rajah, after attaining ma- jority, in 1844, and the walls allowed to be main- tained in a condition (in the rajah's words) " to keej> out thieves and wild beasts:" and the town itself in * See Historical Section, ISOS-'O, and 1821.'5. PRINCIPAL CITIES OP INDIA. 483 merely a (jrciit colli'ctioii of hovels ; hut it is a thriving |)hic(', luivinp a trnflc in ttic S.imliluir Luke Bait. I'opulation cstiinntcd at 1(1(1,000. Hitnlumn, — on the Icl't l)ank of the Damrnootliih. The niji»li'n residence is a j^reat collection of buildings of various sines and colours, and without symmetry or retfularity : the town an assenihla^e of crowded 8uburl)s, wretched huts, a few handsome houses, but no temple of strikinp effect. Conti(,'Uous to the town is an artificial |)iece of water, luivinf; nn esti- mated area of :iO acres, and much frequented by the natives for bathiiif;. liurdwan contains the civil estahlishnient of the district, and two Knj;lish schools. Catvnpoor, — on the right bank of the Ganges ; area of the city, 090 acres; contains about 11,000 houses, and nearly .O'J.OOO inhabitants. Population of cantonments, •l!),97J ; making a total of 10S,7it(), exclusive of the military. Commerce — busy and im- portant ; the Ganges (which is here 500 yards wide when lowest, and 1 m. wide when swollen by the periodical rains) being navigable to the sea, a dis- tance of 1,000 m., and ui)wards to Sukertal, a distance of 300 m. Ciiimhatoor, — situate near the left bank of the Noyel, a tributary of the Cauvery, in a dry and well- cultivated country, near the base of the Neilgherry group of mountains. Streets wide, airy, and neatly built; Kuropean quarter eastward of the town, and detached from it. In the time of Ilyder Ali it is said to have contained 4,000 houses, but it suffered muck in the wars between the British and .Mysoor. CiiUack, — situated on a timgue of land near the bifurcation of the Mahanuddy. Fortifications in a ruinous state, their materials fast disappearing, the stones being carried away, and used in various public works; among others, in the lighthouse at False Point, and in the macadamization of the cantonment roads. Within the fort is an old mosque. Town stnggling. and exhibits evident signs of decay. The Jumma .Nlasjit, and the "Kuddum Hiissool," Moslem buildings, are inelegant, and Hiahminical temples small and ungraceful. Manufactures — brass cooking- vessels and shoes. Population estimated at •lO.OOO. Dacca, — on the Burba Gunga, an offset of the Ko- niae or Jabuna; 4 ni. long, and 1{ m. broad. It is at present a wide expanse of ruins. The castle of its founder, Shah Jehangir, the noble mosque he built, the palaces of the ancient newaubs, the factories and churches of the Dutch, French, and Portuguese, are all sunk into ruin, and overgrown with jungle. The city and suburbs are stated to ])ossess ten bridges, thirteen ghauts, seven ferry-staticms, twelve bazaars, three public wells, a variety of buildings for fiscal and judicial purposes, a gaol and gaol-hospital, a lunatic asylum, and a native hospital. Population, 200,000. Delhi, — about 7 m. in circumference, is inclosed on three sides by a wall, and on the other, the river. Streets mostly narrow ; the principal one is j of a m. long, and 30 yds. wide, with good shops on each side. Population, 137,977. Dinapoor. — Important military station on the right bank of the Ganges. Ilemarkahle for the barracks, which are magnificent buildings, and of great extent. Church, spacious and handsome. Oolconda. — Fortress and ruined city, in the Nizam's dominions. Fortress on a rocky ridge of granite, is extensive, very strong, and in good repair, but is commanded within breaching distance. lieing the depository of the treasures of the Nizam, and also used as a state prison, it is very strictly guarded, and entrance cannot be obtained by any but officials. The ancient mausolea form a group about GOO vardn from the fort, the stern features of the surrounding, rocky ground heightening the impressivenessand grandeur of those astonishing buildings. These tombs were erected at great expense, some of thi'm being said to have cost £ISO,000. The diamonds of Golconda have obtained great celebrity throughout the world. (Siv Minerals.) Gwalior, — the capital of the possessions nf Sin- dia's family. The rock on which the celebrated Hill Fort is situate, is completely isolated : greatest height at the north end, 342 ft. The approach, by means of steps cut in the rock, is so large, and of such gentle acclivity, that elephants easily ascend. The passage, protected by guns pointing down it, has a succession of seven gates. Within the enclosure there are several tanks, capable of supplving an adequate gar- rison, though 15.000 men would be required to man the defences. The town lies along the eastern base of the rock; it is large, but irregularly built, and con- tains a cannon-foundry, and gun])Owder and firework manufactory. JIurJwar, or sometimes Gangadwara. the " Gate of the Ganges," — a celebrated place of Hindoo pil- grimage. Town evidently of great antiquity, is situate close to the western bank ; the foundations of many of the houses in the bed of the river. Jli/rlrtihad (I)eccan.) — The ground plan is a trapezoid, the longest or north-western side of which, extending along the river Mussi, is about 2j m. in length ; the south-eastern, 2 m. ; the southern, 1 ni. ; the south-western, If m. A suburb on the river side commtinicates with the city hv a stone bridge. Streets, some paved ; narrow ; houses close together, and disp'aying little or no taste. The most remarkable structures are the principal mosque, and the British residency. Population, probably not exceeding 200.000. Hi/ilrdlkid (Sinde), — on the Gunjah hills, 4 m. from the Indus Outline of fortress irregular, correspond- ing with the winding shape of the hills. Walls built of burnt bricks, thick at the base, but taper towards the top, and weakened by loopholes. There are about 5,000 houses ; bazaar extensive, formin;; one street the entire length of the town. Manufactures — arms, and ornamental silks and cottons. Popula- tion (supi)osed), 24,000. Indorc, — capital of the possessions of Ilolcar's family. Outline of city, nearly a square of 1,000 yards; area, about 21(5 acres :' ill-built, the houses disposed in irregular winding streets, constructed with sun-dried bricks, and covered with clumsy tiles laid on bamboos. It contains a few mosque's, but has no architectural pretensions. The British resi- dency, east of the town, has a pleasing scene. Jeasulmere, — built at the base of the south end of a rocky range of hills. Kamparts and bastions of uncemented stone; circuit, about 2j m ; height, 14 ft., including a parapet of 6 ft. ; thickness o? ram- parts, 4 ft. : these defences are in many places so obliterated by sand-drifts, that they may be crossed on horseback. There are four gateways and three sally-ports. Outline of citadel an irregiJIar triangle, about ;ths of a mile in circumference; interior occu- pied by the palace, and several temples and dwell- ings. At the time of Boileau's visit, in 1835, there were 6 guns, a large howitzer, and 3 field.pieces. Jei/poor, — in a small plain surrounded by hills on all sides, except the south. It is about 2 m. long, E. to ^^ . ; 1 m. broad, encompassed by a wall 484 PRINCIPAL CITIES OF INDIA. of masonry, with lofty towers and well-protected gateways, and considered to be the most regularly built of the cities laid down by native Indians. A main street, 2 m. long and 40 yards wide, extends from E. to W. ; this is intersected by several streets of the same width ; and at each point of intersection is a chaiik or market-place; and the whole is por- tioned out into rectangular blocks, the palace and royal premises being in the centre. Houses in the principal streets are generally built of stone, and, with the fine temples, add to the architectural splen- dour of the town. Population, 300,000. Joudpoor, — on the north-eastern edge of a cultivated but woody plain. Site striking, being at the southern extremity of a ridge 25 m. long, between 2 and 3 m. broad, and from 300 to 400 feet above the aver- age level of the plain. Built on an irregular surface, sloping upwards towards the base of the rock sur- mounted by the citadel, and inclosed by a rampart 5 m. in circumference. There are several tanks within the walls ; but all fail in long-continued droughts, except the Rani Sagur, which is reserved exclusively for the garrison, being thrown open to the citizens only on extreme emergency. North-east of the city is the suburb Mahamandir. Population, 60,000. Khatmandoo. — Capital of Nepaul, situate in a val- ley,* and on the east bank of the Uishnmutty river. Length, about 1 m. ; average breadth, scarcely j of a m. Streets narrow; houses brick, with tiled roofs, and though of several stories, are of mean appearance. Town adorned by several temples, the gilded pin- nacles of which have a picturesque effect. The river is crossed by two bridges, one at each extremitv of the town. Population estimated at 50,000 ; nuniber of houses, 5,000. Lahore, — surrounded by a brick wall, and defences 7 m. in circumference : fort at the north-west angle ; there are several large and handsome mosques, be- sides Hindoo temples. Streets narrow ; houses lofty; bazaars contracted and mean. Population, 100,000, or 120,000. Loodiana, — four miles from left bank of the Sutlej : town ill-built, and without a wall, but having a fort of no great strength, which was constructed in 1808, on the north side, situate on a bluff, rising about 30 ft. above the nullah or watercourse. It is a thriving place, the residents including several capitalists, among whom are corresponding bankers ; and as the mart lies on one of the principal routes between Hin- doostan and Afghanistan, it has a considerable transit trade. Manufactures — cotton, cloth, and shawls. Po- pulation estimated at 20,000; chiefly Mohammedans. Lucktww, — extends about4 m. along thebankof the Goomtee. Streets, with few exceptions, crooked and narrow ; number of brick-built houses small — palaces of showy architecture. The great ornament is the Imambarah, a Moslem cathedral, and the mosque attached to it. Population, .300,000. Masulipatam, — on a plain stretching to the base of the E. Ghauts. Fort built on a swamp overflowed by the sea at spring-tides. Gnnind-plan, an oblong rectangle, 800 yards long and GOO broad, with high ramparts and a wide and deep ditch. The native town is situated south-west of the cantonment, and has some wide and airy streets, tolerably straight, and well built. Population, in 1837, 27,884. Meerut, — situate in the Dooab, and nearly equi- distant from the Ganges and the Jumna. Ruined wall of the town extensive, inclosing a considerable * See Note at end of " Mountains." space. Streets narrow, and houses ill-built. Most important structure, the English church. Canton, ments 2 m. north of the town. Population, 29,014. Mhow. — In the territory of Indore. Its appear, ance is that of an European town, having a church with steeple on an eminence, a lecture-room and library, and a theatre. A considerable force is sta- tioned at the cantonments, which are situate Ij m. S.E. from the town. Mirzapoor, — consists mainly of three long, wide, straight streets, along the side of which are rows of trees and wells. The houses, seldom more than two stories high, are for the most part built of mud or unburnt brick : those of the Europeans, which are the best, occur only at considerable intervals. It derives its present importance principally from its being the greatest cotton mart in India; military cantonment situated three miles north-east of the city. Population, 55,000. Mooltayi. — An ancient city, 3 m. east of the Che- nab, whose inundations reach the fort. It is built on a mound of considerable height, formed of the ruins of more ancient cities. Bazaars extensive; about 4,600 shops. Manufactures — silks, cottons, shawls, loongees, brocades, tissues. Banking consti- tutes a large proportion of the business, and the merchants are considered rich. Population estimated at 80,000. Moorshedabad, — extends about 8 m. along both banks of the Ganges, with an average breadth of 4 m. Though a place of considerable commerce it consists but of mud buildings, lying confusedly to- gether. Unapproachable by cralt of above a foot draught, during the dry months of spring. Popula- tion about 150,000. Muttra, — extends along the Jumna in the form of a crescent, and, with its great ruined fort, has a very pic- turesque appearance; but its streets are steep, narrow, winding, and dirty. Population, in 1846, 49,672. Nagpoor. — About 7 m. in circumference, but very irregular in shape. There is but one good street, the others being mean and narrow. Throughout the town no specimen of fine architecture; the rajah's palace, which is the most considerable building, is devoid of symmetry or beauty ; it is merely a large pile of masonry, completely obscured by the en- croachments of mean mud huts built against its walls. Population, 111,231. Oodeypoor, Rajpoot city,— situate on a low ridge, in a valley, where extends an artificial lake 5 m. in circuit. Town ill-built; palace, a noble pile of granite, 100 ft. high, and overlooking the city. Oqfeiii, — in the territory of Gwalior, on the Seepra. It is of oblong outline, 6 m. in circum- ference, surrounded by a stone wall with round towers. Houses crowded together, and built either of brick or wood. Principal bazaar, a spacious street. There are four mosques, and many Hin- doo temples. City well supplied with water. The head of the Sindia family has a spacious palace here, but of little exterior magnificence. At the southern extremity of the town is the observatory constructed by Jai Sing, the scientific rajah of Jey- poor. Principal trade in cotton fabrics, opium, and the wares of Europe and China. It is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindoos, and the first meridian of their geographers. Palna. — City extends about 1 j m. along the Ganges, inclosed by a rectangular wall, and has extensive sut)urb8 ; the principal one, on the east, called Ma- rusganj, contams the chief market, and many store- PRINCIPAL CITIES OF INDIA. 48S houses for prain. This is joinefl by another, dcno- miii:itc'il (iiulir Kliaii. On llie t)tlicr sidu of the city is a li'iiK, miiTow siilmrl), (■xUMidiii); to ItuDkipoor, a ilisluncc (if abiiiit 4 111. ; tliis is ihc l'',iiin|)(;aii ([uar- tcr. Till' bctlcr class of houses in the city are liuilt of hrick, but the f;rt'atfr number of mud, and gene- rally tiled. Po]iidation, '>M,\:i2. I'eslmu'ur, — built by Akber, who fi.tcd the name, lifjnifying "advanced post," in reference to its bein^; the frontier town of Ilindoostan towards Afghanistan, is situate on a pl'iin about 18 m. east of the eastern extremity of tlie Khylitr I'as.s, and 44 m. from ttie Indus. In the early part of the present century, when visited by lolphinstone, it was a flourishin;; town, nbout o m. in circuit, and re|iorted to contain 100,000 inhabitant'^. Twenty years later, Hunjeet Sinfi; demolished the lialla Hissar, the state resi. dence, injured the city, and laid waste the surround, in;^ country. The fortress, erected by the Seiks on the site of the lialla Hissar, is a square of about 220 yards, with round towers at each angle, and sur- rounded by a wall of mud 60 ft. high, fausse-braie ;iO ft., and n wet ditch. The city is now improved under the Hritish government. Population, jC),045 ; lliniloos, 7,700; remainder, Mussulmen. Pooiui, — an ill-built city, witliout walls or fort ; bazaars mean, streets irregular ; recent improvements have somewhat changed its appearance. ISetween 1841 and 1846, 400 new houses were built, and seve- ral more were in the latter year in course of con- struction. A bridge over the Xagjurree Nullah was coni]ileted, and a stone one replaced for the old Mahratta bridge over the Moota Moola ; there is another called the Wellesley bridge j the streets in the eastern part of the city have been macadamized, and a full supiily of water .secured to the population. The most remarkable building is the palace, formerly the residence of the Peishwa; situation picturesque. Population, 100,000. Rangoon, or the " City of Victory," — situated about a mile from the river of the same name. Ground-plan, a square of about jths of a m., having at its northern side a ])agoda as a citadel. It has been twice burnt (in 1850, when it was entirely destroyed, and in 1853) ; but conditions have been prescribed by government for ensuring its protec- tion against future conflagrations. Satturii, — situate amidst the highlands of the Deccan, and where the country, though rugged, in- clines to the eastward. The fort, on the summit of a steep mountain, has an area extending about 1,000 by 500 yards. The town lies immediately under it, in a valley. Saui/or, — built along the west, north, and north- east sides of a lake nearly a mile in length, and three- quarters in breadth, which occupies the lowest ])art of a valley, or rather basin, surrounded by hills. There is a large fort, now used as an ordnance dejiot. The mint stood about a mile from the lake, but the busine.ss of the establishment has been transferred to Calcutta. In 1830, an iron suspension-bridge was erected over the Bessi, a river running near the town. Population, 70,000. Scn'»r/fi/i(ila>n, — a celebrated fortress (built "00 lears ago) and town, once the capital of Mysoor, situate on an island in the Cauvery. Town ill- built, having narrow streets ; houses ill-ventilated and inconvenient: water supplied abundantly from the river, which washes the walls on the northern and south-west sides. Ground-plan, an irregular pentagon, l.J m. by J of a m. Palace of Tippoo 3k Sultan within the fort, and is ourroundcd by a strong wall of stone and mud. The Shehr Gan- gam, a suburb detached from the fortified towni was demolished by Tippoo on the eve of the in- vestment of the place, but was afterwards built with consideralile regularity. Population of the island, during his reign, estimated at 150,000; in 1800 it was only .'51,895, exclusive of the garrison. tSUikarjtoor. — The most important commercial town in Sinde. It is situate 20 m. west of the Indus. A branch of the Sinde canal passes within 1 m. of the city. Circuit of wall, which is now in ruins, 3,8;il yards. The character of the place is thoroughly commercial, almo.st every house having a shop; mansions of the opulent Hindoo merchants large, inclosed and secluded by high brick walls; but the streets are narrow, and the bouses generally small. The bazaar extends about 800 yards through the centre of trie city, and contained, in 18-37, 884, an<i in 1841, 923 shops. Transit trade important, as it is on the route to Afghanistan through the Bolan Pass. Population estimated at 30,000 ; viz., 20,000 Hindoos, and 10,000 Mohammedans, of whom 1,000 are Afghans. The town was founded in 1(>17. Sarut. — Outline of town an arc, nearly semicircular, the river forming the chord; circuit, about 6 m. Castle, though small, has bastions, covered way, and glacis ; streets narrow and winding ; houses high, upper stories projecting bevond the base. Population, in 1838, 133,544. Tai'jore. — Town consists of two forts ; the greater, 4 m. in circumference, surrounded by a fortified wall and a ditch ; streets within it irregularly built. Ad- joining is the smaller fort, 1 m. in circuit, and very. strong; within it is the great ]iagoda, considered to be the finest of the pyramidical temples of India. Trichiimpu/i/. — Kock very .striking when viewed from a distance at any point, it being 600 ft. above the surrounding level. The fort is situate on part of the rugged declivity of the rock, and 2 furlongs from the Cauvery, which is embanked, but the works sometimes give way and inundate the countn'. The fort, with its strong and massive walls, bear the appearance of having been regularly and strongly built ; they are from 20 to 30 ft. high, of considerable thickness, and upwards of 2 m. in circumference. Within is an extensive petta or town, arranged into tolerably straight, wide, and regular street*, many of which have bazaars. On the rock is a pagoda. The natives manufacture hardware, cutlery, jewellery, saddlery, and cheroots. The cantonment is from 2 to 3 m. south-west of the fort, and the troops generally there form a force of between 4,000 and 5,000 men. Umhalla.- — On the route from Ilindoostan to Af- ghanistan. It is a large walled town, situate in a level and highly cultivated country. Houses built of. burnt brick, streets narrow. Fort at the N.K. of the town, and under its walls the jencamping ground of the British troops. Vcltore. — \ town in the Carnatic, with a strong extensive fort, on the south side of the Palar river ; ramparts built of large stones, with ba.stions and round towers at short distances. A deep and wide ditch, cut in the rock, filled with water, sur- rounds the whole. AVithin are barracks, hospitals, magazines, and other buiklings. Town situate be- tween the fort and some rocky hills on the east, is clean and airy, and has an extensive and well-sup- plied bazaar. Most remarkable building, a pagoda dedicated to Crishna. Government, in 1S46, sanc- tioned the erection of a church within the fort. 48G VARIETY OF CLIMATE IN INDIA, AND ITS EFFECTS. Climate. — A country extending through six-and-twenty degrees of latitude, and with elevations from the coast-level to the height of three or four miles above the sea, must necessarily possess great variety of tempera- ture. About one-half of India is inter- tropical, comprising within its limits the three principal stations of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay ; in fact, all the country south of a line drawn from Burdwan on the east, through Bhopal, to the gulf of Cutch on the west — a distance from Cape Comorin of about 1,000 miles. All the region north of this line, and extending 800 miles from Cutch to Peshawur, is outside the tropic of Cancer : the area of the inter and extra- tropical territory is nearly alike. Mere distance from the equator will not convey an adequate idea of the climate of any district : other circumstances must be taken ints account; such as elevation above the sea, — aspect in reference to the sun and the prevailing winds, — more or less vegetation, — radiation of terrestrial heat, — quantity of rain falling,* or siccidity of atmosphere, — prox- imity to snow-covered mountains or great lakes, — drainage, ventilation, &c. ;t — all these, varying in collateral existence or in degree of operation, cause a variety of climate and thermometrical range, which latitude will not indicate. Regions contiguous to the equator, at or near the sea-level, possess a high but equable temperature : the mer- cury, on Fahrenheit's scale, exhibits in the shade at Singapore, a flat island in 1° 17' N., a heat of 73° to 87° throughout the year. As we recede from the equator north or south, a wider caloric range is experienced, not • The quantity of rain in the tropical or tempe- rate zones is effected by the elevation of the land above the sea. In India the maximum fall is at 4,500 feet altitude ; beyond this height it diminishes. This is shown by the present scientific chairman of the E. I. Cy., Colonel Sykes, in his valuable Mcteoroloi/i- cal Ohservalions : thus, on the western coast of India the fall is at sea-level (mean of seven levels) — inches, 81 ; at 150 ft. altitude (Rutnagherry in the Concan), 114; at 000 ft, Dapoolee (S. Concan), 134 ; at ],7(tO ft. (Kundala Pass, from Bombay to I'oona), 141 ; at 4,500 ft. (Mahabulishv/ar — ^mean of 15 years, 254 ; at 6,200 ft. (Augusta Peak, Uttray MuUay range), 194; at 6,100 ft. (Kotagherry, in the Ncilgherries, one year), 81 ; at 8,610 ft. (Dodabctta, highest point of Western India, one year), 101 inches. The same principle is observable in the arid lofty table-land of Thibet, and in the contiguous elevated regions where rain seldom falls. So also in Chili and other parts of the Andes. The distinguished meteorologist. Dr. John I'^lctcher Miller, of Whitehaven, adduces evi- dence, in his interesting account of the Cumberland Lake JJistrict, to demonstrate the existence of a similar law in I''ngland, where he considers the only throughout the year, but within the limits of a single day. In the N. W. Pro- vinces of India, and in the S.E. settlements of Australia, the mercury not unfrequently rises in the summer season to 90' and even 1 00° Fahr., and shows a fluctuation, in twenty- four hours, of 24°: but this extreme torridity — when the circumambient fluid seems to be aeriform fire — is but of brief duration. Ani- mal and vegetable life are reinvigoratcd, for a large part of the year, by a considerably cooler atmosphere. Indeed, at New York and Montreal, I found the heat of June and July more intolerable than that of Jamaica or Ceylon; but then snow lies on the ground, at the former places, for several weeks in winter. Again, moisture with heat has a powerful and injurious eSect on the human frame, though favourable to vegeta- tion and to many species of animal life. Speaking from my own sensations, I have lain exhausted on a couch with the mercury at 80° Fahr., during the rainy season, in Cal- cutta, Bombay, and Hong Kong ; and ridden through the burning forests of Australia, on the sandy Arabian plains, and over the sugar-cane plantations of Cuba, with the mercury at 100"^ Fahr. So, also, with refer- ence to elevation : in the East and West Indies, at a height of several thousand feet above the sea, I have enjoyed a fire at night in June ; and yet, in April and September, been scorched at mid-day inEgypt,Northern China, and Eastern Europe. These observa- tions are made with a view of answering the oft-recurring inane question, without refer- ring to any locality, " What sort of a cli- mate has India?" In order, however, to maximum fall of rain to be at the height of 2,000 feet. t In 1829, I wrote and published in Calcutta a small brochure, entitled TIte Effects of Climate, Food, and Drink on Man. The essay was prepared in the hope of inducing the government to adopt sanitary measures for the drainage and ventilation of Calcutta, where cholera had become permanently located. I predicted that unless the nidus of this fearful malady were destroyed in the Indian cities by the purifica- tion of their respective atmospheres, the disease would be extensively generated and wafted with the periodical winds from Asia to Europe. The prog- nostication was ridiculed : sad experience may now perhaps ind\ice corporations and citizens of large towns to adopt timely-effective sanitary measures. By so doing a healthy climate may everywhere be obtained; but no altitude or position will avail for the prevention of endemic diseases, or for lengthen- ing the duration of life, wherever large masses of human beings are congregated, iinless complete drainage, free circulation of air, and the removal of all ])ulrescent animal and vegetable mailer be made an urgent and daily duty. TEMPERATURE & RAIN-FALL AT DIFFERENT DISTRICTS IN INDIA. 487 convey some idea of the tliermomctrical range, and tlic (juantily of rain falling at difTcrcnt stations, the following table liaa Ijcen collated from diU'erent sources : — Meteorological MoMtij Olixcrvatiunx for (lijferent 2>">'ls of India : nhou'inij the Latitude, number of feel abuee the level of the sea, average Theriiwiuctcr, and liain in inches. thbumumi TKU. riiiccs, Liititudc, anil Elu- Mean Jan. Feb. March April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. of Year. Culcuttu, 22' 31', 18 ft. . . 01) 73 78 87 88 83 82 82 82 82 71 67 79* Mudrus, 13° S', se;i-lcvel . 78 78 82 88 92 87 88 8G 86 84 82 78 83 liuinbay, 18° i)7', seii-k'Vflt 77 77 80 82 85 85 81 84 79 84 fH 80 84 Tirhool, 25' 2«', 20° 42', ) littlu cluvated ... GO CG 70 85 89 8G 84 85 81 73 — 61 78 Goorgtton, 28' 28', 817 ft. . 70 72 80 — 101 98 85 84 89 87 75 66 — Uulhi, 2S°41', 800 ft. . . M C2 70 70 82 82 82 80 80 73 62 66 72 Kajpootana, \ .tbout oOO ft. 70 73 82 82 74 90 85 — _ _ 90 66 — N:i){|)i)or, 21° 10', y30 ft. . OS 7.) 83 89 90 84 79 79 79 79 73 72 79 HyiliM-iibad, 17° 22', 1,800 ft. 1\S 70] 84 9U 93 88 81 80i- 79 80 76* 741 m. 13iiii({al(irc, 12" o8', 3,000 It. 71 73 79 78 79 75 74 74 74 71 71 70 74 IlawilbaRh, 29' 3S'.3,8,S7 ft. 47 ,5.) 01 GO 73 7G 78 79 75 G;t 60 62 — KotagheiTV, 11° 27', 6,100 ft. ,')!) GO 01 02 G2 Gl C4 65 G4 62 60 59 61 Ootacamuml, 11° 24', 7,300 ft. .'54 fiG GO 04 C4 69 50 50 50 50 55 .53 67 Miissnoric, 30° 27', 0,282 ft. 77 70 68 68 67 61 66 Landour, 30° 27', 7,o79 ft. . 41 40 .5.') G.5 68 CG 68 66 64 57 46 47 — Uarjccling, 27° 2', 8,000 ft. 40 42 60 55 67 61 61 61 59 58 60 43 53 IIAIN IN INCHES. I Total, Calcutta . Niigpoor . Bangalore K (It a:,' hurry Ootacainuud Darjccliug 005 0-48 1-77 3-52 12-86 3-04 12-44 8-15 8-19 3-68 0-OG 2-57 O-IO 60 3-84 1-01 0.21 6-25 14-93 7-51 16-32 2-89 0-13 35 4-lG 6-89 3-24 5-88 4-13 13-97 510 1-30 2 3 6 10 2 2 4 2 2 10 2 ii 1 2 fl 6 8 7 6 7 9 6 3 1 1 2 9 26 25 29 15 8 — — 5G-61 63-99} 60 GO 122 The monsoons or prevailing winds within the tropics, as on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, arc denominated the South- west and the North-east ; but owing to modifying circumstances, the direction is in several places changed : at Arracau, the S.W. blows more frequently from the S., and the N.E. more to the W. of N. Lower Bengal, including the country around Calcutta, has a climate more trying than that of any other part of Lidia. November, December, and January arc tolerably cool, and Europeans may walk out during the day. In Febru- ary, March, April, and ^May, the heat daily * Abstract of the mean annual summaries of a meteoro- logical register kept at Calcutta, for ten years ; — - Years. Sunrise. 2-40 P.M. Sunset. 1341 . . . i2-/ sy-0 8-2-4 18-12 . . . 73-3 88-0 82-1 1S43 . . . 73-3 87-G 82 5 IS 14 . . . 72-7 87-6 82-3 1845 . . . 73-7 869 82-3 1,S-IG . . . 71-3 8G-3 81-9 1817 . . . 73-2 86- 1 81-1 18-18 . . . 7-1-1 S7-4 82-5 ISi'J . . . 73-G 80-7 81-8 l.S.W . . . 731 86-1 81-4 Mean . . 73-4 87-2 S20 1'lie annual fall of rain at Calcutta, durins ..^ix years, commencing with 1830, averaged 04 inches. In the wet sea- son evaporation is \(:ry slight. increases, until, during the last month espeeially, it becomes almost intolerable; not a cloud appears in the heavens to mitigate the burning rays of the sun, which seem to penetrate into the very marrow of an European. I have known men and beasts to drop dead in the streets of Cal- cutta. "When the monsoon is on the eve of changing, before the chota hursaut (little rain) set in, the nights as well as the days are oppressive ; respiration becomes labo- rious, and all animated nature languishes : the horizon assumes a lurid glare, deepening to a fiery red ; the death-like stillness of the t Amount of rain at Bombay for six years : — Inches. [ Inches. 1S45 .... 64-73 1818 . . 73-42 1846 .... 87-48 1849 . . . 118-88 1847 .... 67-31 I 18.30 . . . 4778 Average annual fall during thirty years, 7608 inches. At Madras, averace for eight years, 6G-59 inches. + Between lat. 26° 54', and lat. 29° 23'.— (Boileau's Tour in liajicara, pp. 304 — 317.) ^ Situation, about 350 m. from nearest part of Bay of Bengal, and 420 m. from Indian Ocean. In 1826, and in 1831, the fall of rain slightly exceeded 65 inches ; the greatest registered fall was 72 inches, and that wa-s in 1809. Average fall of rain for eight years, 48-10 inches. Pro- ceeding west-ward towards the Ghauts and Indian Ocean, the rains become heavier until reaching Mahubulishwar, where the fall is probably unexampled in amount ; in 1849 it W.1S 294 inches. The mean annual quantity is 239 inches, of which 227 fell in the four monsoon months. The greatest annual fall was in 1834, when it amounted to 297 inches. Another report gives the mean annual fall, as de duced from the observation of ten years, at 229 inches ; and I the n-)niber of days on which rain falls, at 127. 488 CHANGE OF THE MONSOON— CHARACTERISTICS IN INDIA. air is occasionally broken by a low mur- muring, which is responded to by the moaning of cattle : dense, dark masses of clouds roll along the Bay of Bengal, accom- panied with occasional gusts of wind ; streaks of lightning, after sunset, glimmer through the magazines where the electric fluid is engendered and pent up ; the sky becomes obscured with mist, and lowring ; next, broad sheets of lambent flame illumine €ach pitchy mass, until the entire heavens seem to be in a blaze ; while peal after peal of thunder reverberates from cloud to cloud, like discharges of heavy artillery booming through cavernous hills, or along an amphi- theatre of mountains ; thin spray is scat- tered over the <;oast by the violence of the increasing gale, — the rain commences in large drops, augments to sheeted masses, and sweeps like a torrent from the sky ; the surf roars along the beach, — -the wind howls furiously, screaming or groaning piteously; and every element seems convulsed with the furious conflict : at length the S.W. monsoon gains the victory, and the atmos- phere becomes purified and tranquil. The monsoon is felt with varying degrees of intensity at different parts of the coast; but at ^ladras and at Bombay the scene is one of awful grandeur. During the rains the air is saturated with moisture ; and the pressure on each square inch of the human frame causes extreme lassitude and mental depression : along th:e sea-shore the pernicious effects are mitigated by a sea-breeze, called the "Doctor," which sets in about ten, a.m., and lasts until sunset. As the country is ascended above the ocean-level, varieties of climate are experienced ; but on the plains of the Ganges and of the Indus, and in some parts of Central India, hot winds blow nearly equal in intensity to those which are felt in Australia. In few words, some idea may be conveyed of the climate of several districts : — Bengal Proper, — hot, moist, or muggy for eight months — April to November ; remainder cool, clear, and bracing. Stiliiir, — cool in winter months: hot in summer; rain variable. Oi«le, — fluctuating temperature and moisture ; therm, range 28 to 112° ; rain, 30 to 80 inches. Benares, — mean temperature, 77°; winter cool and frosty sometimes ; therm, at night, 45°, but in the day, 100°; rain variable — 30 to 80 inches. Ai/ru, — lias a wide range of temperature ; in mid- winter night-frosts and hail-storms sometimes cut off the cotton crop and cover the tanks with ice; yet at noon in April, therm, reaches the height of 100° in the shade. Ghazeepoor, — range in coldest months, 58 to 71° — April, 8« to 90°; May, 86 to 95°; June, 85 to 98°; July, 86 to 96°. In the Dehra Dorm — range 37 to 101°. In the vear 1841, December mean heat, 60°; June, 88°; whole year, 74°. In 1839, total fall oi rain, 67 inches; of which in July, 15; August, 26. Cuttack and opposite coast of Bay of Bengal, — re- freshed by a sea-breeze blowing continuously from March to July. Berar, — moderate climate, accorfling to elevation. Madras, — cold season of short duration in the Carnatic. Mercury in therm, higher than in Bengal, sometimes 100° Fahr. Heat tempered by the sea. Arcot, — high temperature, 110° in the shade, sometimes 130° Fahr. Pew sudden vicissitudes; storms infrequent. Salem, — fluctuating climate — in January, 58 to 82°; March, 66 to 95°; May, 75 to 96°. Trichinopoly, — has a steady high temperature, a cloudless sky, dry and close atmosphere, with much glare and intense radiation of heat. Vizayapatam, — on the coast is hot, moist, and re- laxing; inland equally sultry, but drier. Bellary is characterised by great aridity; rain, 12 to 26 inches; therm, falls in January to 55 or 50°; thunder-storms frequent in summer months. Cadiiapah, — average max. temperature for several years (in the shade), 98°; minn., 65°; mean, 81°: mean temperature during monsoon, 77°; max., 89°. Madura, — on the hills mild and genial in summer; therm, seldom below 50° or above 75°; in the plains, reaching 115° and even 130°. Trarancore, — owing to proximity of mountains, humid but not oppressive. Mfjsorn; — table-land cool, dry, and healthy ; at Bangalore (3,000 ft. high), therm, range from 56 to 82°. The monsoons which deluge the Malabai and Coromandel coasts, have iheir force broken by the Ghauts on either side, and genial showers pre- serve the Mysoorean verdure throughout the year. Neikjherries, — the climate resembles that of the intertropical plateaux of America; at Ootacamund (height 7,300 ft.}, mean temperature rather above that of London, but ann. range very small; not sufficient sunshine to bring the finer European fruits to perfection, but corn and vegetables thrive. Lower down the vales enjoy an Italian clime; at Coimbatoor (height 4,483 ft.), during the cold season, max., 59°; minn., 31°; in April, average 65°; May, 64° Fahr.; there are no sultry nights, a blanket being acceptable as bed-covering in all seasons. In the higher regions, the air beyond the zone of clouds and mists is clear and dry, as evidenced by the great distance within which sound is heard, and by the buoyancy of the hu- man frame. Cuorff is a bracing mountain region. Daily range, 2 to 6°; ann., 50 to 80° Fahr.; annual rain, at Mercara (4,500 ft.), 119 inches; in June, about 40 inches. Malabar coaxf, — warm but agreeable ; therm. 68 to 8S° Fahr.; ann. rain, 120 to 130 inches. Caiiara and tlic Cancans, — beneath the Ghauts are not, tropically speaking, unhealthy, cxccj)t where marsh and jungle prevail, when malaria is produced. Jlonibai/, — tropical heat diminished hy sea-breezes. Broach, — December to March, cool ; average rain, 33 inches. In Gitzerat, which is the hottest part of W. India, the westerly winds are burning in May, June, and July; temperature high for nine months; average fall of rain, 30 inches. DECREMENT OF HEAT AT DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS. 489 MiihrnlUi cnnntry, — near tlip Ghauts the clouds are altr;u'li'il frnni the Indian Ocean, and a i)rofiisiiin of rain fulls for three or four weeks without inter- mission, hut often not extending ;i() ni. to thi.' K. or S. The Dtccan tiihle-land is saliihrious; at Sattara, mean nnn. temperature, 06°. ]Cven in Seplemher I enjoyed tlie air of I'oona, as a prcat relief from the sultry heat of Southern ('hina. Ann. range of thi'rm., .'57 to 91°; full of rain, li};ht and uncertain — 2i to IJO inches ; among the Ghauts, liOO inches. I'ro- ceeding westward towaids the (Janges, and north- ward through Central Iiiilin ]ilateau, there is a modified temperature (at Meerut, therm, falls to 'S'l° Falir.), with occasional hot winds, which prevail as far as Sinde and the Punjah. Sinde is dry and sultry; at Kurachee, or 8 inches rain; at Hydra- bad, 2 inches ; at Larkhana, farther north, there was no rain for three years. Mean max. temperature of six hottest mouths, 98° in the shade. Piinjiih, — more temperate than Upper Gangetic plain ; from November to April, climate fine ; fiimimer heat, intense ; hot winds blow with great violence, and frequent dust-storms in May and June render the air almost unbreathable. ]{ains com- mence in July ; August and September, sickly months. The Great Desert to the S. of tlie Punjal) has a comparatively low temperature ; at liickaueer, in winter, ponds are frozen over in Febr\iary ; but in summer the heat is very great; therm. 110 to 120° in the shade. Cniirleisli has a luxurious climate like that of Malwa. Ujippr Assam has a delightful tem|)erature; the heat bearable, and the cold never intolerable. Mean tem- perature of four hottest months, about 80° ; of winter, 57°; mean ann., 67°; heavy rains, which commence in March and continue to October. The quantity ■which falls is unequal; at Gowhatty, it is about 80; at Chirra Poonjee, 200; and in the Cossya country, 500 to (100 inches = 50 ft. At this latter place there fell in 18,^0, no less than 502 inches = 42 ft.; in .\ugust, 1841, there were 2G4 inches = 22 ft., in five successive days — ,30 inches every 24 hours. [Let it be remembered that the unnuul fall in London is 27 ; in Edinburgh, 24 ; in Glasgow, 32 inches.] The eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, to the Straits of Malacca, is more genial and agreeable than that of the Coromandel coast : the greatest heat is in April ; therm., at Mergui, 100°; the monsoon is mild, but violent to the northward. Lower Assam ami Arracan are similar to Bengal. This rapid sketch v ill iiidirate the variety of climates in India; but it is in the loftier adjoining regions that the greatest extremes exist. 2'he Himalayn and Ilinduo-Koosh slopes and val- leys exhibit a very varied temjierature, and corre- sponding diversity of products, from the loftiest forest trees to the stunted lichens and mosses, when the last trace of vegetable life disappears as effectu- ally as it does at the .\rctic or .\ntarctic Poles, snow being equally perpetual at an elevation of four to five miles (20,840 to 25,000 ft ) above the sea, as at the extreme northern and southern parts of onr globe. On the southern, or Indo-Gangetic side of the Himalaya, which rises like a wall from the sub-Himalaya, the snow-line commences at 12,000 to 13,000 ft. on some of the spurs or buttresses; on the northern side of the same range, — table- land of Tibet 10,000 ft. above the sea ; the snow- line commences at 16,000 ft., but in some places is not found at 20,000 ft. On the southern slope cultivation ceases at 10,000 ft.; but on the northern side, cultivation extends to 14,000 ft., where birch- trees fiourish ; the limit of furze-bushcH is at 17,000 ft. Vegetation, to some extent, indicates the more or less severity of this mountain clime: t)ie I)mdar has its favourite abode at 7,000 to 12,000 ft. — attains a circumference of 30 ft., and ol great stature, and the wood will last, exposed to the weather, for 400 years. Various species of magni- ficent pines liave a range of 5,000 to 12,000 ft.; the arboraceous rhododendron, every branchlet termi- nate<l by a gorgeous buneh of crimson flowers, s])reads at 5,000 to 8,000 It. ; the horse-chesnut and yew commence at 6.000 ft., and end at 10,000 ft. ; the oak flourishes at 7,000 to 8,000 ft. ; maple, at 10,000 to 11,000 ft.; ash, poplar, willow, rose, cytisus, at 12,000; elm, at 7,000 to 10,000; birch commences at 10,000, ceases on S. slopo at 13,000 ft ; on N. side fine forest.s of this tree at 14,000 ft. Juniper met with occasionally at latter-named height ; the grape attains great excellence at Koonawur, 8,000 ft., but does not ripen bevond 9,000 ft. ; the currant thrives at 8,000 and 9,000 ft. ; apricot, at 1 1,000 ft. ; gooseberry and raspberry, at 10,000 to 12,000 ft. The decrement of heat in ])roportion to latitude and elevation is, as yet, imperfectly ascertained. Dr. Hooker* allows one degree of Fahrenheit's thermo- meter for every degree of latitude and every 300 ft. of ascent above the sea ; at Calcutta, in 22° 34', the mean ann. temperature is about 79°; that of Darjeeling, in Sikhim, 27° 2'; 7,450 ft. above Cal- cutta, is 53°, about 26° hehno the heat of Cal- cutta. The decrease of temperature with elevation is much less in summer than in winter : in January, 1° = 250 ft., between 7,000 and 13,000 ft.; in July, 1° = 400 ft. ; the decrement also less by day than by night. The decrcmcntal proportions of heat to height is roughly indicated by this skilful meteo- rologist — • lo = 300 ft. at elevation 1,000 to 8,000 ft. 1° = 320 ft. „ 8.000 to 10,000 ft. lo = 350 ft. „ 10.000 to 14.000 ft. 1° = 400 ft. „ 14,000 to 18,000 ft. This must be effected by aspect and slope of eleva- tion ; by quantity of rain falling, and permeability of soil to moisture ; by amount of cloud and sunshine, exposure of surface, absence of trees, undulation of the land, terrestrial radiation, and other local in- fluences. Within the tropics, in the northern hemisphere, the limits of perpetual congetation is 16,000 to 17.000 ft. above the sea; in lat. 30°, 14.000 ft.; in 40°, 10.000 ft.; in 50°, 6,000 ft.; in 60°, 5.000 ft.; in 70°, 1,000 ft.; and in 80° and further north, at the sea-level. In the southern hemisphere, Georgia, which is in lat. 56°, exhibits perpetual frost. hX. Kumaon, winter rigour is moderated by great solar radiation, and somewhat tempered by con- tiguous snow-capped mountains, whence a diurnal current of air sets in as regularly as a sea-breeze on a tropical shore, and with a nearly equally in- vigorating effect. Snow commences to fall at the end of September, and continues until the beginning of Ajiril. During the absence of snow for five months, the mercury ranges at sunrise, 40 to 55°; at mid-day, 65 to 75° in the shade — 90 to 110° Fahr. in the sun. The heat of course diminishes as height increases, except during the cold season. At Almori town, in 29° 30', 5,400 ft. elevation, the therm, before * In bis valuable work, Himalayan Joumalt, ii., 404. 490 CLIMATE OF THE HIMALAYAN REGION AND AFGHANISTAN. sunrise is always lowest in the valleys, and the frost more intense than on the hills of 7,000 ft. elevation, while at noon the sun is more powerful ; extreme range in 24 hours, sometimes from IS to 51° Fahr. Snow does not fall equally in every season ; the natives say the greatest fall is every third year. On the Ghagor range, between Almora and the plains, snow remains so late as the month of May. At Mussoorie, 6,000 to 7,000 ft. high, the mean ann. heat is only 57° Fahr.; indeed, at 4,000 ft. hot ■winds cease, and vegetation assumes an European character. Annual fall of rain at Almora, 40 to 50 inches. The northernmost part of Nepaul valley, between 27 and 28°, and elevation of 4,000 ft., has a climate somewhat similar to that of the southern parts of Europe. In winter a hoar-frost commonly covers the ground, occasionally for three or four months, freezing the standing pools and tanks, but not severe enough to arrest the flow of rivers. In summer noon, the mercury stands at 80 to 87° Fahr. The seasons are very nearly like those of Upper Hin- doostan ; the rains set in earlier, and from the S.E. are usually very copious, and break up about Oc- tober, causing excessive inundations in some places from the mountain torrents. In a few hours, the inhabitants, by ascending the sides of the enclosing mountains, may exchange a Bengal heat for a Sibe- rian winter. At Darjeeling the atmosphere is relatively more humid than at Calcutta; the belt of sandy and grassy land, at the foot of the Himalaya, only 300 ft. higher than in Calcutta, and 3^° N. of that city, is, during the spring months, March and April, 6 or 7° colder ; and though there is absolutely less moisture in the air, it is relatively more humid ; this is reversed after the rains commence. The south wind, which brings all the moisture from the Bay of Bengal, discharges annually 60 to SO inches of rain in traversing 200 m. of land ; but the temperature is higher in advancing north-west from the Bay of Bengal : which may be caused from the absence of any great elevation in the Gangetic valley and plain, and its being walled in to the northward by the Himalaya mountains. Elevation causes in Afghanistan a corresponding diversity of climate : at C'abool, which is considered to be very salubrious, and 6,396 ft. above the sea, the air is warmer in summer and colder in •winter than that of England ; and the diurnal therm, range is great, amounting to 40°. June, July, and August are the hottest; December, January, and February the coldest months, — the mercury falling several degrees below zero Fahr. ; but the sun possesses sufficient power at mid-day to melt the surface of the snow, which, however, is again frozen at night. The seasons are very regular ; the sky is unclouded, the air bright and clear, with scarcely any rain ; in November a few showers are followed by snow ; and from the middle of March till the 1st of May, there is incessant rain, which melts the snow rapidly, and causes a sudden transition from winter to summer (with but little spring), when thunder and liail-storms occur ; earthquakes are not unfrequent during winter in the inunediate vicinity of the lofty ranges, l)iit are said to be unknown at Candahar. Prevailing winds, N.N.W. and W. ; K. seldom ; winter, calm ; variable at breaking up of the season.* * Notes of observations, 1st April, 1838, to 31st March, 1840, in Afghanistan. — (Calcuttu Jour. Nat. Hist. t The Choora district (valley of the Vabur, 4,800- feet) Cashmere valley, by its elevation (5,000 ft.), has a cool climate ; in winter the celebrated lake is slightly frozen over, and the ground covered with snow to the depth of 2 ft. ; hottest months, July and August, therm. SO to 85° at noon, when the air is sometimes oppressive from want of circulation. But it is in the loftier regions that the peculiarities caused by altitude are most observable : at — ■ Eussahir, — the climate varies from that of the intertropical at Rampoor, 3,260 ft.f above the sea, to that of the region of perpetual congelation : in parts bordering on the table-land of Tartary the air is at one season characterised by aridity greater than that of the most scorching parts of the torrid zone. In October, and later in the year, when the winds blow with the greatest violence, woodwork shrinks and warps, and leather and paper curl up as if held to a fire ; the human body exposed to those arid winds in a few minutes show the surface collapsed, and if long left in this condition life becomes extinct. Vegetation with difficulty struggles against their effects. Gerard found tracts exposed to them to have a most desolate and dreary aspect; not a single tree, or blade of green grass, was distinguish- able for near 30 m., the ground being covered with a very prickly plant, which greatly resembled furze in its withered state. This shrub was almost black, seeming as if burnt; and the leaves were so much parched from the arid winds of Tartary, that they might be ground to powder by rubbing them be- tween the hands. Those winds are generally as violent as hun-icanes, rendering it difficult for the traveller to keep his feet. The uniform reports of the inhabitants represent the year as continual sun- shine, except during March and April, when tliere are some showers, and a ievi clouds hang about the highest mountains ; but a heavy fall of rain or snow is almost unknown. The excessive cold and aridity on the most elevated summits cause the snow to be there so light, loose, and powdery, that it is continually swept like smoke through the air by the tempestuous winds. The limit of perpet- ual congelation ia Bussahir ascends to the north- ward. The direct rays of the sun are extremely hot at great elevations : insomuch, that Jacquemont found the stones on the ground on the table-land of Tar- tary, at an elevation of 15,000 or 16,000 ft., be- come so hot in sunshine, as to be nearly unbear- able by the hand; at an elevation of 18,000 ft., Gerard found the rays of the sun so oppressive that he was obliged to wrap his face in a blanket. At Jiulti or Little 'Tibet the atmosphere is very clear and dry. But though rain is almost unknown, snow falls, and lies from the dejith of 1 to 2 ft. The cold in the elevated parts is intense in winter ; on the high and unsheltered table-land of Deotsuh, it at that season totally precludes the existence of animal life. The heat in the lower parts in summer is considerable, the therm. :[ ranging from 70 to 00° in the shade at noon. .\t Lailakh the climate is characterised by cold and excessive aridity. The snow-line is so usually high in Spiti and lluphsu, at tlie south-eastern extremity of Ladakh, as to show the niter futility of altem])ting to theorise respecting the so-called isosthermal lines, in the ])re.sent scanty and im- perfect state of our information as to the data from is a beautiful and lirtile tract, with a delightful cli- mate. J Thornton's Gazcileer: Afi/hanislan, iifc, voh i., p. 120. DISEASES PECULIAR TO EUROPEANS AND TO INDIANS. '01 whicli they should be determined, (ierard says, rc- spectin^ Spili, in lat. .'J^", tliat tlie marginal limit of the snow, which, upon the sides of (;himl)orazo, occurs at 1.0,700 ft., is scarcely iiormancnt in Thibet at 1!I,0()0, and upon the soutliward asjiect has no well-delined boiiridary at 21,000 ft.; and one sum- mit, '22,000 ft. high, was seen by him to be free of snow on the last day in August. This absence of snow probably results, in part, from the very small quantity of moisture kept suspended in the highly rarclied atmosphere, in jjart from the intense heat of the direct rays of the sun, the latter cause being in some degree dependent on the former. " Wherever we go," observes Gerard, " we find the sun's rays oppressive." In one instance, in the beginning of September, at an elevation of 1 j,.500 ft., a thermo- meter, resting upon the rocks, marked 158°; in another, at ll,.'iOO ft., the instrument, placed on sand, marked l;iOo; and in a small tent, at an elevation of 13,000 ft., it indicated 110°. These phenomena he attributed to the rarefaction and tenuity of the atmosphere, from elevation and the absence of moisture, — circumstances which allow of such immediate radiation of heat, that at the same moment there will bo a difi'crenco of more than 100° between places only a few hundred yards asunder, occasioned by the one receiving, and the other being excluded, from the direct rays of the sun. At ituphsu, at the elevation of 1G,'000 ft, it freezes every night, even at Midsummer; but the heat of the day so far countervails the cold of night, that the Lake Chamorereil is free from ice during the summer months. At Le, having an elevation of about 10,000 ft., frosts, with snow and sleet, com- mence early in September and continue until May; the therm, from the middle of J'Jecember to rebruary, ranges from 10 to 20° ; even in June, the rivulets are often, at night, coated with ice. Moorcroft, during his Himalayan travels, found the therm., when ex- ])osed to the sun's rays at mid-day in July, to range from 134 to 14-lo. The atmosphere is in general dry in all ]iarts of the country. In the works of Gerard, Lloyd, Moorcroft, Vigue, Jacquemont, and Hooker, useful det.ails are given on the meteorology of these lofty regions. The climate of India is not inimical to the European constitution : that of Bengal and otiier low districts is very trying, espe- cially to those who do not follow a strictly temperate course in all things ; but there are many instances of Englishmen living for a quarter of a century at Calcutta, and on returning to England, enjoying another quarter of a century of existence, pre- serving, to old age, a vigoi'ous mental and bodily frame.* In the hot and moist parts of India, abdominal diseases, — in the warm and dry, hepatic action or congestion prevail. Exposure at night, especially to malaria or the cftlnvia arising from intense heat and decomposing vegetable and animal matter, causes a bilious remittent (popularly called * Jlr. AV. C. Blaquiere, for a long period police magistrate at Calcutta, died there in 18o4, tct. So: he arrived at Bengal in 1774. jungle fever), whicli operates as a poison on tiie htiinan system, and becomes rapidly fatal if not counteracted by mercury or some other poison, or luiless the morbific matter be expelled, and the patient have strength of frame to survive the fever. The direct rays of a nearly vertical sun, and even those also of the moon, cause ad'ections of the brain whieh are frequently fatal ; and when not so, require removal to the temperate zone for their relief. The establishment of sanataria at elevated and healthy positions, has proved a great benefit to Anglo-Indians, who at Darjecling, Simla, Ijandour, Mussoorie, j\Iount Aboo, the Neilgherries, and other places, are enabled to enjoy a Em-opcau temperature and exercise, — to check the drain on the sys- tem from the cutaneous pores being always open, — to brace the fibres and tone the nerves, which become gradually relaxed by the long continuance of a high temperature. As ludia becomes more clear and cultivated, and facilities for locomotion by railroads and steam-boats are augmented, the health of Europeans will improve, and their progeny will derive a |)roportionate benefit : but it is doubtful whether there is any part of the country where a European colony would pcrmcaicn/ly thrive, so as to preserve for successive generations the stamina and energy of the northern races. The diseases that prevail among the Indians vary with locality : low, continued fever is most prevalent in fiat, and rheu- matism in moist regions. Leprosy and other skin disorders are numerous among the poorest classes. Elephantiasis, or swell- ing of the legs ; berri-bcrri, or enlargement of the spleen ; torpidity of the liver, weak- ness of the lungs, and ophthalmia, are com- mon to all ranks and places : goitre is found among the hill tribes ; cholera and influenza sometimes decimate large masses of the people. Numerous maladies, engendered by early and excessive sensuality, exist among rich and poor, and medical or ehirurgical skill are consequently everywhere in great request. The inhabitants of India, generally speaking, except in the more elevated dis- tricts, have not the robust frames or well- wearing constitutions whieh result from an improved social state, or from the barbarism which IS as yet free from the vices and defects of an imperfect civilisation : the inhabitants of the torrid zone do not enjov a longevity equal to those who dwell iu the temperate climates of the eai"th. 492 GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OP INDIA. Geology. — It will require many more years of scientific research before au accurate geo- logical map can be laid down for India.* Immense tracts covered with impenetrable forests, — tlie few Europeans in the coun- try occupied with military and civil gov- ernmental duties, — the lassitude of mind and body which, sooner or later, oppresses the most energetic, — and the malaria which inevitably destroys those who attempt to investigate the crust of the earth, overrun with jungle, or immersed in swamp; — these, and other obstacles lender the prosecution of this science a matter of extreme difficulty. All that can be attempted iu a work of this nature is to collate the best known data, and arrange them in outline, for reference and future systematic exposition.! Rerepresentatives of all the series found in Europe and other parts of the world, are traceable in India. Mr. Carter has indus- triously noted the observations of various investigators ; and the following summary is partly abstracted from his compilation : — Olper METAMORpnic Strata. — Gneiss, Mica Schiste, Chlorite ScJiiste, Hornblende Schiste, Quartz Sock, Micaceous Slate, Talcose Slate, Clay Slate, Granular Limestone. Gneiss. — Most general and abundant, — occurring in different parts of tfie Himalaja ; Oodeypoor ; near Baroda ; Zillafi Bahar ; Rajmahal hills ; Phoonda Ghaut; Northern Circars ; and more or less through- out " peninsula" (? Deccan) to the Palghaut, and probably to Cape Comorin : it is frequently veined by granite, contains in most places specular iron ore : beds of garnets common everywhere ; corundum in BOuthern India, and beryl in Mysoor. Composition varied in texture, compactness, and with more or less mica ; colour — speckled, black, brown, reddish gray to white ; sometimes tinted green where chlo- rite replaces mica; when very fine-grained and de- composing, gneiss bears a close resemblance to fine- grained sandstone. Mica Schiste — Southern Mahratia country, and western extremities of Vindhja range, passes into micaceous slate at the Phoonda Ghaut: veined with quartz, but no granite : being associated with gneiss and hornl)lende schistes, they pass into each other. Chlorite Schiste. — Southern Mahratta country : it also contains garnets. * The late eminent geologist, J. B. Greraough, has made an excellent hegiiining by his large map on this Bubjent, and by the voluminous materials lie collected. t See a valuable Siimmari/ of the Geology of India, between the Ganges, the Indus, and Cnpe Comorin; by H. J. Carter, A.^st. Surg, linmbay Kstablishnient, Aug., IS.'J.I : reprinted from Journal of lionibay Uritish Asiatic Society, p. 156. i In the neighbourhood of Cjileutta a series of boring experiments to find water, were carried on at intervals between 1804 and 1833; the results were — artifieial soil at surface ; next, as follows : a liglit blue or gray-eoloured sandy i:l.-iy, becoming gradually darker fiom decayed vege. table mailer, until it i)asses at 31) ft. deep into a 2 ft. stratum of black peat, aj)parently formed by the debris of Sunderbund vegetation, which was once the delta of the Horiiblende Schiste, forms the sides of the Neil- gherries, where it is from five to seven miles in breadth : garnets found in it. Southern Mahratta country. Salem ; and often passes into mica schiste on the Malabar coast. Quartz Rock. — Hills between Delhi and Alwur, and between Ajmere and Oodeypoor; mountains around Deybur Lake, Chittoor, and at the western part of the Vindhya range, with mica slate ; south- i ern Mahratta country ; more or less in the granitic plains of Hydrabad, and in the drongs of Mysoor. , The rock is compact and granular in the Ajmere mountains ; and of a red, violet, gray, or brewn colour; brilliantly white in the Mahratta country. Mica is frequently disseminated throughout the rock in large masses ; talc and chlorite, occasionally. Micaceous Slate and Chlorite Slate. — Both at the Phoonda Ghaut ; and the latter in the Mahratta country. The micaceous occurs in the Indo-Gan- getic chain, Koonawur ; and in the Soolumbur range, Oodeypoor. Clay Slate, apjjears to be of great thickness, and considerable extent, viz., from the Arravulli range, the lower part of which is composed of this forma- tion ; thence to Oodeypoor, rid the Soolumbur range, across the Durgawud valley to Malwa, on the Ivist- nah j southern Mahratta country, Nellore; and in the Eastern Ghauts at Jungamanipenta, a ferrugi- nous clay-slate overlies the trap at Mahabulishwar, In the Arravulli it is massive, compact, and of a dark blue colour. The Soolumbur range is almost, entirely composed of this and chlorite slates. Alica- ceous passes into clay-slate at the Phoonda, and, farther south, the Saltoor passes (Western Ghauts.) This also occurs at the Carrackpoor hills (Bahar), where the clay-slate is about twenty miles wide, and extends in the direction of the strata. | Plutonic Rocks. — Granite,Diorite or Greenstone, Granite. — Himalaya ; Ajmere and around Jeypoor, traversing the mountains in veins and dykes; the Arravulli range consists chiefly of granite, resting on slate ; Mount Aboo ; from Balmeer across the sands to Nuggur Parkur; the Gir ; Girnar; between Oodey- poor and Malwa, are all varieties : it extends more- or less southward to theNerbudda; on that river be- tween Mundela and Amarkantak, Jubbulpoor, Ival- leenjur, Zillah Bahar, Carrackpoor hills ; iu Bha- gulpore and Monghyr districts ; near Baitool ; Nag- pore territory ; Cuttack ; Orissa ; Northern Circars ; Hydrabad ; between the Kistnah and Godavery ; Gooty ; Neilgherries ; Malabar coast at Vingorla ; Coromandel ; between Madras and Pondicherry; end- ing at Cape Comorin. The granitic rocks vary in structure and composition, as they do in colour : thus there are syenitic, peijmatitic, and protoycnic. It is gray at Hamteak in Nagpoor, red generally in Ganges; below the peat a Mack clay, and in this and the gray clay immediately above the jieat, logs and branches of yellow and red wootl, found in a more or le.ss decayed state. In one instaiu-e only bones were discovered, at 28 ft. deep. Under blue clays, at 50 to 70 ft. dcej), kunkur and bagiri (ap])arently small land shells, as seen in Ujiper India.) .\t 70 ft. a scam of loose reddish sand, — 75 to 125 ft. beds of yellow clay predominate, frequently stiff and pure like potter's flay, but generally mixed with sand and mica : horizontal strata of kuiiknr pass through it, resembling exactly tiiose ftnuid at Midiuipoor. Below 128 ft. a more sandy yellow clay prevails, which gradu- ally changes to a gray, loose sand, becoming coarser iu quality to the lowest depth yet reached (170 ft.), w hen^ it contains angular fragments, as large as j>eas, of quartz and felspar. DISTRIBTITION OF GliO LOGICAL STRATA IN INDIA. 403 the Ducciui, Imt at VenratiRherry (Mysoor), nii'^ at Viiigorln, gray: in the Ncil^'hcrrics it is syciutic. (Jreriis/iitir. — ]liizan'i'hii;,'ii. Miihralla (■(iiiiitry, Mysoor, Ni-llore, C'hiii;;lc'[nit, Madras, 'I'richiiKipoly, ISuli'iii, in thii gninilic ])lains of Ilydraljad; and extensively throiifjhout Southern India. In l)ie Dec- ciiri the (iyltes maybe traced eonlinnoiisly for twenty miles; idiout llydrubad they are I'rom 100 to ."500 feet broad ; about four miles from Dhonee, between Oooty and Kiiriiool, tliere is one 150 feet hij{h, and 200 feet l)road, passing; througli a range of sandstone and limestone mountains. SiLUUIAN ItiK Ks, — Greywacke. — Ghiddore, ]{aj- malial hills; ICuniaon. It is a quartzoze sandstone; yellow colour, resinous lustre, and compact splintery fracture. Trunsilion or CamOrtan Gneiss, is of great extent in Hhagulpore distiict, composing two-thirds of the country between the Curruekpore and Kajmahal liills, and the greater portion of the smithern ridges of the latter group. It consists of quartz, more or less, hornblende, felspar, mica, and garnet pebbles. Oolitic. — Limcsiuiie, — Cutch ; near Neemuch, Malwa ; liundelcund ; on the river Sone ; Firozabad, on the Bheema ; Kuladgee, in tho southern Mah- ralta country; on the Kistnah ; and as far south as Cuddapah. Though its principal characters are its uniform lithogra])hic texture, solidity, conchoidal smooth fracture, and hardness, — dendritic surface, smoky gray colour, passing into dark smoky blue ; and parallel thin stratification, — it differs when de- parting from its general composition, just as the shales differ which interlaminate it, the coal strata, and the saiulstone, as being more or less argillaceous, bituminous, or quartziferous ; of diflerent degrees of hardness, coarseness, and friability of structure ; and of all kinds of colours, streaked and variegated. It is occasionally veined, and interlined with jasper and light-coloured cherts, which, near Cuddapah, give it a rough appearance ; also contains drusy cavities, calcedonies, and cornelian, north of Nagpoor : in the btd of the Nerbudda between Lamaita and Beragurh, near Jubbulpoor, of a snow-white colour, ! and traversed by chlorite schiste. It is frequently denuded of its overlying sandstone and shales in Southern India, and in this state is not uncommonly covered by traj), as near Ferozabad on the lilieema. Thickness, y 10 feet near Kurnool ; 10 to ;iO feet on the Bheema, with strata from 2 inches to 2 feet thick. In the part of the Himalaya examined by Captain Strachey, the secondary limestones and shale-s were several thousand feet in thickness, the U])per ])ortion being in some places almost made up of fragments of shells. If the white crystalline marble generally of India is allowed to be metamorpliic strata, this limestone exists in the Girnar rock of Kattywar ; the litho- graphic form in Cutch, and between Neemuch and * The British Residency at Hydrabad (Decean) is a specimen; tlie Coriiitliiau columns, &o., being executed in white cbunam. t \oleanic tiies are said by the natives to exist among the loftier peaks of the Hinilno-Koosh and the Himalayan ranges, but earthquakes are of rare uecari-enee. \ severe one was, however, experienced throuijiiout a large extent of country on 2tjth August, 1833, — vibration from N.E. to S.W., with three principal shocks : first at 6'30 P.M. ; second, 11-30 P.M.; ami third, at five minutes to mid- ni'j;lit. It was most sirverely felt at and near Katmandoo, where about 3'JO persons perislied : the trembling of the earth commenced gradually, and then travelled with the rapidity of bghtning towards the westwa-d ; it increased a a C'hittore ; the white marble about OodeypoOr, and northwards in the neighbourhood of Nusseerabad, Jeypoor, liessona, and Alwar; a narrow strip about loO m. long in liundelcund; again about liidjyghur and KholaHyhur on the Sone ; white marble in the bed of the Nerbudda, near Jubbuljjoor; in the hills north-east of Nagjioor; near the junction of the Godavery and I'renheta rivers ; thence along the Godavery more or less to Kajahmundry ; Sholapoor district ; on the' liheema ; of every variety of colour, and greatly disturbed and broken up about Kalud- gee, in tho sonthern Mahralta country ; along the Kistnah, from Kurnool to Amarawa'tee; and more or less over the triangular area formed by the latter place, Gooty, and the Tripetty hills. Chunam, an argillaceous limestone, used for building in Bengal, liahar, Benares, &;c. ;* occurs in nodules in the alluvium, which, at Calcutta, is oOO to 000 feet thick. Near Benares, it cimtains fragments of fresh- water shells. South of Madras, a dark clay abounds in marine shells, used in preference for lime-burning to those on the beach, as beeing freer from salt. Sandstone, — ajjpcars to be composed of very fine grains of quartz, and more or less mica, united together by an argillaceous material. It exists in Cutch ; in the Panna range, liundelcund ; the Kymore liiUs ; Ceded Districts; in lat 18", 15 m. west of the Godavery; on the banks of the Kistnah; plains of the Carnatic, and the districts watered by the I'ennar river. It is present in the sub-Himalaya range, and in the Kajmahal hills. All the towns on the Jumna, from Delhi to Allahabad, appear to be built of this sandstone. The plains of lieekaneer, Joudpore, and Jessulmere, are covered with the loose sand of this formation. It borders on the northern and western sides of the great trappean tract of Malwa, and forms the north-eastern boundary of the Western India volcanic district. Its thickness varies, either from original inequality, or subsequent denudation. Its greatest depth, at present known, is in the eastern ))art of the Kymore range, where it is 700 feet at Bidjighur; and l,:i00 feet at Khotasghur ; at the scarps of the waterfalls over the Panna range, it does not exceed 3G0 or 400 feet; from 300 to 400 feet is its thickness near Kyel- cherroo and Sundrogam, in the Ceded Districts. Its greatest lieight above the sea is on the banks of the Kistnah, 3,000 feet. Organic remains are very abundant in this formation. It has been ascertained that the great trap deposit of the Western Ghauts, rests on a sandstone containing vegetable remains, chiefly ferns. Volcanic Rocks. t — Trap. — The largest tract is on the western side of India, and extends continuously from the basin of the Malpurba to Neemuch in Malwa; and from Balsar, about 20 m. south of the mouth of the Tajjtee, to Nagpoor. This is probably the most remarkable trap-formation existing on in violence until the bouses seemed shaken from their foundations, — large-sized trees bent in all directions ; the earth heaved fearfully ; and while the air was perfectly culm, an awful noise l)urst forth as if from an hundred cimnon. Probably in India, as in .\ustralia, subtcrraneaa igneous action, which was formerly very violent, is now almost quiescent, or finds its vent through mighty chim- neys at a height of four or five miles above the sea. The I Lunar Lake, 40 m. from Saulna, is a vast crater 500 ft. deep, and nearly 5 m. round the margin ; its waters are green and hitter, supersaturated with alkaline carbonate, and eoiLtaining silex and some iron in solution : the mud is black, and abounds with sulphuretted hydrogen ; the water is, ne.vertheless, pure and void of smcU. 494 GEOLOGICAL FEATURES AND SOILS OF DIFFERENT DISTRICTS. the surface of the globe ; its breadth is about 335 m. N. to S. ; length, about 350 m. E. to W. ; and covers an area of from 200,000 to 250,000 sq. m.* Another portion extends from Jubbulpoor to Amarkantak, thence south-westerly towards Nagpoor. It consti- tutes the core of the Western Ghauts, and predomi- nates in the Mahadeo and Sautpoora mountains. Its two grand geological features along the Ghauts, ^yhere it has attained the highest elevation, are flat summits and regular stratification. Fourteen beds have been numbered in IMalwa, the lowest and largest of which is 300 feet thick. These are equally numerous, if not more so, along the Ghauts, but the scarps are of much greater magnitude. Besides its stratification, it is in many places columnar ; as in the beds of the Nerbudda and Chumbul ; and the hill-fort of Singhur presents a surface of pentagonal divisions. Wherever the effusions exist to any great extent, they appear to be composed of laterite above, then basalt, and afterwards trappife and amyffdaloid. Basalt. — There are two kinds of this rock ; a dark blue-black, and a brown-black. Both are semi- crystalline. Their structure is massive, stratified, columnar, or prismoidal. Dark blue is the basalt of Bombay Island, brown-black that of the Deccan. To this general description, I may add what I have heen enabled to glean of the specific structure of some of the principal positions : — Himalayas. — Formations primary: the first strata, which is towards the plain, consists of limestone, lying on clay-slate, and crowned by slate, grey- ■wacke, or sandstone. Beyond the limestone tract, gneiss, clay-slate, and other schistose rocks occur ; granite arises in the mountains near the snowy ranges. The peaks are generally composed of schis- tose rocks, but veined by granite to a great eleva- tion. Kamet, however, is an exception, appearing to consist of granite alone. Greenstone dykes rise through and intersect the regular rocks. Strata fractured in all directions ; slate, as if crushed, and the limestone broken into masses. The soil is prin- cipally accumulated on the northern side. The formation of the Indo-Gangetic chain, in Koonawur, is mostly gneiss and mica-slate ; in some I places, pure mica. On the left bank of the Sutlej, ' granite prevails, forming the Kaldang peaks. Further north, it becomes largely intermixed with mica-slate; to the north-east changes into secondary limestone, and schistose rocks, abounding in marine exuvia?.t In Kuraaon, the Himalayas are composed of crystal- line gneiss, veined by granite ; the range forming the north-eastern boundary, is believed to be of recent formation. The mountainous tract south of the principal chain in Nepaul consists of limestone, * The rock in which the EUora caves are excavated is said to be a basaltic trap, which, from its green tinge and its different stages from hardness to disintegration, is sup- posed by the natives to lie full of vegetable matter, in a greater or less advance to putrefaction : the crumbling rock affords a natural green colour, which is ground up and employed in painting on wet chunam (lime jjlastcr.) t Dr. Gerard found some extensive tracts of shell for- mation 1.^,000 ft. above the sea. The principal shells comprised cocklts, mussels, and ]x'arl-fish ; nummulitcs and long cylindrical productions. These shells, of whirh many were converted into carb. of lime, some crystallised like marble, were lying upon the high land in a bed of granite, and pulverised state : the adjacent rocks com hornstone, and conglomerate. The Sewalik (the most southerly and lowest range of the Himalayan system) i.s of alluvial formation, consisting of beds of clay, sandstone with mica, conglomerate cemented by calcareous matter, gravel, and rolled stones of various rocks. The supposition is, that it is the debris of the Himalaya, subsequently upheaved by an earth- quake. The geology of the Sewalik is characterised by the occurrence of quantities of fossil remains. Punjab. — Near the north-east frontier, in the vicinity of the Himalaya, is an extensive tract of rocks and deposits of recent formation ; limestone, sandstone, gypsum, argillaceous slate ; occasionally veins of quartz. 2'he Salt-ranr/e. — Greywacke, limestone, sand- stone, and red tenaceous clay, with deposits of chlo- ride of sodium, or common salt. The Siified-Koh is primarn, consisting of granite, quartz, mica, gneiss, slate, and primary limestone. The Suliman mountains are of recent formations, principally sandstone and secondary limestone, abounding in marine exuvite. Central India. — ArravuUi range, generally primi- tive, consisting of granite, quartz, and gneiss. For- mation along banks of upper course of Nerbudda, trappean ; lower down, at jubbulpoor, granitic ; at Bhera Ghur, channel contracted between ichite cliffs of magnesian limestone ; at the junction of the Towab, there is a ledge of black limestone : at, and near Kal Bhyru, slate of various sorts ; basaltic rocks scattered over channel. Ranges enclosing Nemaur, banks of rivers, and eminences in the valley, basaltic. Saugor and Nerbudda territory ; eastern part, towards Amarkantak, generally sand- stone ; from here it extends westward, forming the table-land bounding Nerbudda valley on the north, and is intermixed with marl, slate, and limestone. The volcanic tract commences about Ion. 79°, and extends to about the town of Saugor, which is situate on its highest part. This (trap), with that of sandstone, further east, may be considered to belong to the Vindhya ; and the former to the Mahadeo and Sautpoora ranges. In some places, primitive rocks appear through the overlying bed. The Bind- yachal hills are of horizontally-stratified sandstone ; Panna hills, sandstone, intermixed with schiste and quartz ; and, to the west, overlaid by limestone. Western Ghauts. — The great core is of primary formation, inclosed by alternating strata of more recent origin. These have been broken up by pro- digious outbursts of volcanic rocks ; and from Alaha- bulishwar northward, the overlying rock is exclu- sively of the trap formation ; behind IMalabar they are of primitive trap, in many places overlaid by im- mense masses of laterite, or iron-clay. The A'lirra- gherry or Pulnai hills (Madura) are gneiss, stratified with quartz ; in some places precipices of granite. Nay2)oor. — North-western and western part, vol- posed of shell limestone, the large blocks composed of a multitude of shells of ditferent sizes, imbedded in a mass of calcareous tufa. Four classes of slicU formation were distinguished ; one in particular, a freshwater bivalve, re- sembling the unit), which exists in great abundance at the foot of the lower hills and throughout the Dooab. In the Neermal hills, N. of the Godavcry, on the road from Hydrahad to Nagpoor, many very perfect fossil shells, mostly bivalves, and evidently marine, have been dis- covered imbedded in a volcanic rock, together with the head anil vertcbrie of a fish : the formations around rest everywhere on granite ; and there arc several hot-springs holding lime in solution. Univalves and bivalves, particu- larly kuccinum, ammonites, and mussels, abound in Mabva. MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF INDIA, 405 canic, principally basalt and trap. Thia terminates lit the city of NuKJioor, and tliu primitive, mostly (;r.inite and pnoiss, rises to the surface. Mysnor. — The drnor/s, luif;e isolated rocks, scat- tered over the surface; vary in elevation from 1,(100 to 1,500 feet; bases seldom exoeedin;^ 2 ni. in cir- cumference ; generally composed of (granite, gneiss, quartz, and hornblende ; in many places overlaid by laterite. Soil, — mainly determined by the geological cha- racter of each district, except in the deltas, or on llie banks of rivers, as in tlie I'unjab, where an allu- vium is nccunuilated. The hind in Lower Bengal is of inexhiiustilile fertility, owing partly to the various salts and earthy limestone with which the deposits from the numerous rivers are continually impreg- nated : it is generally of a light sandy appearance, 'i'he alluvium of Scinde is a stiff clay ; also that of 'I'anjore, Sumbulpore, and Cuttack, by the disinte- gration of granitic rocks. A nitrous (saltpetre) soil is general in Bahar; in the vicinity of Mirzapoor town, it is strongly impregnated with saline parti- cles ; and at many places in Vizagajiatam. The rcijur, or cotton ground, which extends over a large part of Central India, and of the Deccan, is supposed i to be formed by a disintegration of trap rocks; it slowdy absorbs,* and long retains moi.sture ; and it lias produced, in yearly succession, for centuries, the most exhausting crops. It spreads over the table- lands of the Ceded iJistricts and Mysoor, ilanks the Neilgherry and Salem hills, and pervades the Deccan, but has not been observed in the Coneans. It is a fine, black, argillaceous mould, containing, in its lower parts, nodules, and pebbly alluvium. Kunkiir (a calcareous conglomerate)! fills up the cavities and fissures of the beds beneath it ; and angular frag- ments of the neighbouring rocks are scattered over its surface. It contains no fossils. In some parts it is from 20 to 40 feet thick. Kunkur is common in the north-western ])rovinces, the rocks often advancing into the channel of the Jumna, and ob- structing the navigation. In the western part of Muttra district, it is mixed with sand : in Oude, some patches of this rock, which undergo abrasion very slowly, stand "0 or 80 feet above the neigh- bouring country, which, consisting of softer materials, has been washed away by the agency of water. Its depth, in the eastern part of Meerut district, is from one to 1!0 feet. In the Dooab, between the Ganges and Jumna, and in many parts of the N.VV. provinces, there is a light rich loam, which ])roduces excellent wheat; at Ghazeepore, a light clay, with more or less sand, is favouralile for sugar and for roses. .■\s the Ganges is ascended before reaching Ghazee- pore, the soil becomes more granitic, and is then suc- ceeded by a gravel of burnt clay, argite, and cin- ders, resembling what is seen in basaltic countries. Assam, which has been found so well adapted for the culture of tea, has for the most part a black loam reposing on a gray, sandy clay ; in some places the surface is of a light yellow clayey texture. The soil usually found in the vicinity of basaltic moun- tains is of a black colour, mixed with sand. Disin- tegrated granite, where felspar predominates, yields much clay. A sandy soil exists in the centres of the Dnoals, of the Punjab; more or less in Pani|mt, Khotuck, and Ilurriana districts: Jeypoor, Macliery, and Kajpootana; and in some parts of Scinde; in Mysoor, a brown and rather sandy earth prevails; Trichi- nopoly is arid and sandy; and near Tavoy town, on the E. side of the Bay of Bengal, there is a large plain, covered with sand. The soil of Nagpoor, in some tracts, is a black, heavy loam, loaded with vegetable matter; red loam is found in Salem and in Mergui. Tinnevelly has been found well suited for the cot- ton plant, and the substance in which it delights looks like a mixture of lime, rubbish, and yellowish brickdust, intermixed with nodules of Kunkur.X A chymical analysis of three of the best cotton soils in tliese districts, gives the following result:?— Vct»e- table Saline ami Irou. Carb. Mas- Alu- Silex. Water and I'otton Soils. Kemarks. tor. tivc. Protox. Deutox. Tritox. lime. nesia. mina. loss. C No peat orlicnite; no- j thing soluble in eold < water; ^ilex in line Buudclcund 200 0-33 — <■(■) — U 90 1 trace 3-10 74-0 100 1 powder; kunkur in t_ the gravel. C Gravel, mostly silcx, Coinibatore 2-30 traces 400 ~ 7-50 trace 2-80 82-80 0-60 } with some felspar, but j no kunkur. fGravel, almost wholly J kunkur ; some carb Tinnevelly . OIJ 020 — — 28S 19i0 01.5 200 74-00 112 \ iron ; half the soil of \^ gravel. Guzerat is generally termed the Garden of Western India. With the exception of Kattywar, and to the eastward of Broach, it is one extensive plain, com- prising many different soils ; the chief varieties being * All the soils of India have, in general, a powerful ab- sorbing quality ; hence their fertile properties. •f Kunkur. — .\ calcareous concretion, stratified and in mammillated masses of all sizes, which contains 50 to 80 per cent, of carbonate of lime, some magnesia, iron, and alumina : these nodules are interspersed in large (juanti- ties tliroughoul extensive tracts of the alluvial and secondary formations, and are ascribed to the action of calcareous springs, which are of frequent occurrence. X It is curious to note, in dilierent countries, how plants the black or cotton soil, and the yorat, or light grain-producing soil.|| The former is chiefly confined to Broach and part of Surat N. of the Taptee ; the latter prevails throughout Baroda, Kaira, and part seem to vary in their feeding : thus, at Singapore, the best cotton soil apparently consists of laree coarse grains of white sand, mixed with something like rough oharcoal- dust, and with fragments of vegetables and mosses of all sorts. A somewhat similar substance, mingled with shells and decayed vegetable matter, is the favourite habitat of the Sea Island cotton of Georgia, U. S. § See .an interesting Essay on the Ayricullure ofHin- doosfnn, by (i. \V. Johnston. II See Mackay's valuable Report on V.'eitcm India, p. 41. 496 MINERALS OF INDIA— IRON, COAL, TIN, LEAD, COPPER, GOLD. of Ahmedabad, becominff more mixed with sand to the northward; black soil abounds to the westward of the Gulf, and in many of the Kattywar valleys. The numerous veg:etable products of India attest the variety of soils which exist there. Minerals. — Various metals have been produced and wrought in India from the earliest ages : the geological character of the ditfereut districts indicates their presence. So far as we have yet ascertained, their dis- tribution is as follows : — Iron. — Ladakh. — Mines in the north-eastern part of the Punjab,* a-nd in almost every part of kumaon, where the requisite smelting processes are performed; though on a small scale, and in a rude and inefficient manner. Mairwarra; in veins, and of good quality, believed to be inexhaustible. Kajma- hal-; in gneiss. Lalgang, 16 miles south-west of Mirzapoor city. Kuppudgode hills; in schistes, quartz, and gneiss : on the north-east side, one stra- tum of iron, 60 feet thick. Kamghur — liills abound- ing in iron, though not of the best quality. Haza- reebagh, in gneiss — flinty brown colour, pitchy lustre, and splintery fracture ; 20 feet thick. Various parts of Palamow district ; at Singra in inexhausti- ble quantities. Eastern part of IVagpoor territory. Mine of good quality at Tendukhera, near Jubbul- poor (were the navigation of the Nerbudda available, this would prove a most useful article of export for railways.) Western extremity of Vindhya ; in gneiss. Southern Mahratta country; in quartz: micaceous and magnetic iron-ore occur in the same district; in clay-slate. In all the mountains of the Western Ghauts; in Malabar; in veins, beds, or masses, in the laterite (here extensively smelted.) Salem, southern part (yields 60 per cent, of the metal fit for castings.) Nellore district. In many places in Masulipatam. Rajahmundry; in sandstone hills. Vizagapatam. Abundant in many parts of Orissa. Tenasserim provinces ; occurs in beds, veins, and in rocks. Between the Saluen and Gyne rivers, it is found in sandstone hills. Most abundant between Ye and Tavoy, approximating the sea-coast; the best is at a short distance north of Tavoy town : it is therein two forms — common magnetic iron-ore; and massive, in granular concretions, crystallized, splen- dent, metallic, highly magnetic, and with polarity. The ore would furnish from 74 to 80 per cent, raw iron. In various places the process of smelting is rudely performed by the natives, but they produce a metal which will bear comparison with the best Swedish or British iron.f Tin. — Oodeypoor, — mines productive. On the * Colonel Steiiibiioh says that the mineral wealth of the Punjal) is ronsicler.ible ; that mines of gold, copper, iron, plumbaKo. and lead abound, and that " properly worked they would yield an enormous revenue." t Tlie natives of Cutcli make steel chnin-armour, salires, and various sharp edge tools from their iron ; the liorse- shoes arc cxcelli-ut — the metal being more malleable, and not so likely to break as the English iron. X The pray ore found in Dohnjiur affords 30 to .^lO per cent, of copper ; it is associated with malachite, and con- tained in a compact red-coloured dolomite ; hence mining operations can be carried on without timbering or ma- sonry. § Mines discovered by Dr. Hej-ne, near Wangapadu. " A footpath, paved with stones, led up the hill to the place whieh wiis sliown me as one of tiie niiiies. It is situated two-thirds up tlie hill, nnd might be shout 4(10 ft. banks of the Barakur, near Palamow ; in gneiss. Tenasserim provinces. Tavoy, rich in tin-ore; generally found at the foot of mountains, or in hills: Pakshan river; soil in which the grains are buried, yields 8 or 10 feet of metal; at Tavoy, 7 feet : of superior quality in the vicinity of Mergui town. Lead. — Ladakh. Koonawur. Ajmere; in quartz rocks. Mairwarra. Eastern part of Xagpoor. In the vicinity of Hazareebagh. Eastern Ghauts at Jungamanipenta; in clay-slate — mines here. Am- herst province. Fine granular galena obtained in clay-slate, and clay limestone on the Touser, near the Dehra-Boon. Copper. — Ladakh. Koonawur, in the valley of the Pabur. Kumaon, near Pokree ; but these mines are almost inaccessible, and the vicinity affords no adequate supply of fuel for smelling: others at I)ohnpur,J IJhobri, Gangoli, Sira, Khori, and Slior Gurang. Mairwarra. Oodeypoor; abundant, — it supplies the currency. Southern Mahratta country, in quartz; also in a talcose form. Vencatigherry, North Arcot. Nellore district. § Sullivan's and Cal- lagkiank Islands, in the Mergui Archipelago. This metal is most probably extensively distributed, and of a rich quality. Silrer. — In the tin mines of Oodeypoor. In the lead mine, near Hazareebagh, and other places. Gold. — Sands of Shy-yok, Tibet. Ditto Chenab, Huroo, and Swan rivers, Punjab. Ditto ."Muknunda, Kumaon. Throughout the tract of country W. of the Neilgherries, amid the rivers and watercourses, draining 2.000 sq. m., this coveted metal abounds ; even the river stones, when pounded, yield a rich |iroduct: it is usually obtained in small nuggets. In the iron sand of the streams running from the Kuppudgode hills, and from the adjoining Saltoor range. Sumbulpoor; in the detrius of rocks. In moderate quantities in several places in the eastern ))art of Nagpoor. Many of the streams descending from the Ghauts into Malabar; and in Wynaad. Gold-dust in Mysoor.|| In the Assam rivers it is plen- tiful : near Gowhatty 1,000 men used to be employed in collecting ore for the state. Various parts of Tenasserim provinces, but in small quantities. The geological structure of India indicates an abundance of the precious metals. Coal. — The carboniferous deposits of the oolitic series in Bengal, west of the Ganges and Ilooghly, consist of coal, shale, and sandstone, but no lime- stone, and they appear chiefly to occupy the depi-es- siuns of the granitic and metamorjihic rocks which form this part of India, becoming exposed in the l)anks or beds of watercourses or ri\ers which have liassed through them, or in escarpments which have above the village (Wongapadu.) An open gallery cut into the rock, demonstrated that it had been formerly worked ; and as llie stones, whieh lay in abxmdanee near it, were all tinged or overlaid with mnxmtain green, there could be no doubt that the ore extracted had been copper." — (Heyne, JYarts on India, p. 112.) II In excavating the disintegrating granite in the vicinity of Hangalore, to aseert;tin the <*xtetit to whieh the decom- posing inlluence of the atmosphere will atieet the solid rock (viz., 30 to 35 ft.), the contents of soil were fre- quently auriferous. In blasting sieiiite at Chinapatam, 40 m. from Bangalore, on the road to Seringajjiitam, Lieutenant Baird Smith, B.IC, observed considerable q\i;intities of gold disseniiiuit'-d in sin;dl particles over tlu* frnetured surfaces. At M'ynaad this metal was ob- tained from rich yellow enrlh in sufiieient (luaulity to employ a number of labourers and to yield some return. DIAMONDS AND OTllEll I'HECIOUS STONUS IN INDIA. 497 been produced by iiphcftvnl of the rocks on which they were deposited. The coal iiccurs in strata from an inch or less to 9 or U) feet lliiekness, inlerHtratifiud with shah' nnil Hnndstone ; the wliole poasessinjj a (lark black or blue colour, of ii greater or less intensity. At l!nr<hv»n its cimracler is slaty: the genera of plants are partly J''nj;lish, some Australian, some peculiar. The deptli at the Curhurhalee field, situ- ated fiO miles south of the (ianijes, near Siiraj^ur- rah, is from 50 to 100 feet. I'roceedinjj westerly, towards I'alamow district, which contains many valuable and extensive fields, and where several shafts have been sunk, it has been seen about Hi m. from Chergcrh, in Sinjjrowhi; at the confluence of the Sone and Tipan, about .'JO m. E. from .Sohajpoor. Near Jeria, in I'achete district. Hills in Kamf;luir, aboundinj; in coal. Juhbulpoor, .'iO m. S. from Hoosungabad ; in Shahpoor in the same neiphbour- hood ; and abundantly along the valley of the Ner- budda. Traces of it are said to exist in the diamond sandstone north-west of Nagpoor, and it has been found in the Mahadeo mountains. In the I'unjab, at Mukkud, on the left bank of the Indus, and in the localities of .loa, Meealce, and Numniul. The extremes of this coal formation, so far as have yet been discovered in India, are: — the confluence of the Godavcry and I'renheta in the south, in lat. 19°, and the Salt range in about .'i;i° N.; Cutch in the west, and Iturdwan in the east ; and detached in Silhet, Pegu (recently found of excellent quality), and the Tenasserim ]n'ovinces (plentiful, and ])nsses- sing good properties.) There are many other places, no doubt, in the country between Bengal and lierar, where this valuable mineral exists ; traces of it have been observed in Orissa, but it has not yet been found available for use ; it is not improbable that it extends across the delta of tlie Ganges to Silhet, distant 300 miles. It also occurs extensively in the grits bounding the southern slope of the Himalaya ; it has been questioned whether this is the older coal, or only lignite associated with nagel- flue, — where the Teesta issues from the plain, its strata is highly inclined, and it bears all the other characters of the older formation. Analysis of Indian coal found in different jiarts, and near the surface, gave the following results: — Chirra Poonjee, slaty kind: specific gravity, 1'497; containing volatile matter, 30; carbon, 41; and a copious white ash, 23 = 100. Nerbudda (near Falehpoor), near the surface, — volatile matter, lOo ; water, 3'5; charcoal, 20; earthy residue (red), (M == 100. Cossyah hills: specific gravity, l''JTJ; volatile matter or gas, 38-5; carbon or coke, (JOT; earthy impurities, 08 = 100 — (ash very small.) Hurdwar: specific gravity, 1'968; volatile matter, SUA; carbon, 50; ferru- ginous ash, 146 =: 100. Arracan : specific gra- vity, 1'308; volatile matter, 66'4 ; carbon, 33; ash, 0-6 = 100. Cutch: charcoal, 70; bitumen, 20; sulphur, 5 ; iron, 3 ; calcareous earths, 2. * These mountains are bounded on all sides by granite, that everywhere njipears to pass under it. and to form its basis ; some detached portions have only the upjier third of their summits of sandstone and quartz, the basis or remaining two. thirds l)eing of granite. Deep ravines are not infreqiuMit. The diamond is procured only in the sandstone hreccia, wliich is found under a compact rock, composed of a heautitul mixture of rei! and yellow jasper, quartz, chalcedony, and hornstone, of various colours, cemented together by a quartz paste : it passes into a pudding-stone of rounded pebbles of quartz, hornstone, &c., cemented by nn argillo. calcareous earth of a loose friable texture, in which the diamonds are most frequently found. Sulphur. — Mouths of Godavery, and at Conda- pilly, on the Kistnah. Sulphate of alumina ol)- t lined from the aluminous rocks of Xrpaul; used by the natives to cure fresh wounds or bruises: yields on analysis — sulphate of alumina, 95 ; per- oxyde of iron, ;' ; ailex, 1 : loss, 1. Sulphate of iron is procure J in tlie Hehar liills, and used by the Patna djem: it yields sulphate of iron, .39; ])ert)xyde of iron, 3G ; magnesia, 23: loss, 2 = 100. HiiDiKini/x. — Sumbulpoor has been celebrated for the finest diam')nds in the world; they are found in the bed rif the Mahanuddy. Mines were formerly worked at AVyraghur, Xagpoor; Malavillv, in .Ma- sulii)atam (nearlOllore); and at I'anna, in Hundlecund. Mr. H. W. Voysey described, in 1H21, the diamond mines of the '\u'//a Mii/la mountains, north of the Kistnah,* which were formerly extensively worked. t Ilithies. — Sumbulpoor; in the detrius of rocks. Pearls. — Gulf of .Manaar, near Cape Comorin, and on the coast of many of the islands in the Mergui ArchiiJclago. Muriat of soda (common salt) is found in rock and liquid form at various places. A salt lake, 20 m. long by 1 1 broad, is situated in lat. 2fio 5.3', long. 74° 57'; it sujiplies a great portion of the neigh- bouring coimtry with salt after the drains are dried up. A salt lake in Berar contains in 100 parts, — muriat of soda, 20; muriat of lime, 10; muriat of magnesia, 0. Towards the sources of the Indus, salt lakes exist at 16,000 ft. above the sea. There are extensive salt mines in the Suit rauye of the Punjab. Natron and soda lakes are said to exist ig the Himalaya. Cornelian is found and worked in different places: the principal mines are situated at the foot of the western extremity of the Rajpeepla hills, close to the town of Ruttunpoor; the soil in which the corne- lians are imbedded consists chiefly of quartz sand — reddened by iron, and a little clay. A^'ates abound j in 'Western India : at one part of Cutch the sides of the hills (of amygdaloid)) are covered with heaps ', of rock crystal, as if cart loads had been purposely ' thrown there, and in many parts of the great trap- pean district the surface is strewed with a profusion of agatoid flints, onyx, hollow spheroids of quartz, crystals, and zoolitic minerals. There are evidences of several extinct volcanoes in Cutch. This is but an imperfect skctcli of the minerals of India : dotibtiess, there arc many more places where metals e.xist; but during the anarchy and warfare whicli prevailed j prior to British supremacy, the very know, ledge of their locality has been lost. At no distant day this subterranean wealth will be 1 developed ; and probably, when the gold- | fields of Australia are exhausted, tliose of j j India may be profitably worked. 1 The breccia is seen at depths varying from 5 to 50 feet, j and is about 2 feet in thickness ; immediately akore it lies j a stratum of pudding-stone, composed of quartz and hornstone pebbles, cemented by calcareous clay and grains of sand. The miners are of opinion that the diamond is always growing, and that the chips and small pieces re- jected ultimately increase to large diamonds. — Trati». A. S. Bengal, vol. xiv., p. 120. t The diamonds of Golconda have ot>tained great cele- brity througliout the world, but they were merely cut and polished there, having been generally found at Parteall, in a detached portion of the Nizam's dommions, near the southern frontier, in lat. 16° 40', long. 80° 28'. CHAPTER III. POPULATION— NUMBERS— DISTRIBUTION— DENSITY TO AREA— PROPORTION OF HIN- DOOS TO MOHAMMEDANS— VARIETIES OF RACE— DIVERSE LANGUAGES— ABORI- GINES— SLAVERY— PAST AND PRESENT CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. From remote antiquity India has been densely peopled ; but, as previously ob- served (p. 13), we know nothing certain of its indigenous inhabitants, — of accessions derived from immigration, or from success- ful invasions by sea and land, — of the pro- gressive natural increase, — or of the circum- stances which influence, through many generations, the ebb and flow of the tide of population.* There is direct testimony, however, that before the Christian era the country was thickly inhabited by a civilised people, dwelling in a well-cultivated terri- tory, divided into numerous floui-ishiug states, with independent governments, united in federal alliance, and capable of bringing into the field armies of several hundred thou- sand men. For more than a thousand years after the Greek invasion, we have no knowledge of what was taking place among the popula- tion of India, and but a scanty notice, in the eighth century, of the Arab incursions of the regions bordering on the Indus. Even the marauding forays of Mahmood the Ghaznevide, in the eleventh century, aiford no internal evidence of the state of the people, save that derived from a record of their magnificent cities, stately edifices, immense temples, lucrative trade, and vast accumulations of wealth ; the Hindoos were probably then in a more advanced state of social life, though less warlike than during * It is not improbable that some of the early im- migrants were offshoots of the colonists who are said to have passed from Greece into Egypt, thence travelled eastward, forming settlements on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris ; and ultimately reached the Indus and Ganges. In craniological and facial characteristics, many Hindoos present a striking si- militude to the ancient Greek, modified by climate, food, and habits ; and in several architectural struc- tures, of which ruins are still e.\tant, there is con- siderable resemblance to the ancient Iniildings of ICgypt, and those erected on the Babylonian plains. Bryant is of opinion that Clialdea was the parent country of the Hindoos ; Vans Kenncdey traces the Sanscrit language to Mesopotamia ; H. H. Wilson deems that the Hindoos connected with the Hi;! Veda were from a nortliern site, as in that work tlie worshipper on more than one occasion, when solicit- ing long life, asks for an hundn^d winters, which the Professor thinks would not liave been desired by the natives of a warm climate. This is not conclusive. the Alexandrine period : they had gradually occupied the whole of India with a greatly augmented population, and possessed a general knowledge of the arts, conveniences, and luxuries of life. During the desolating period of Moslem forays, and of Mogul rule, there appears to have been a continued diminution of men and of wealth, which Akber in vain essayed to check by some equitable laws. We have sufficient indirect and collateral evidence to show that whole districts were depopulated, that famines frequently occurred, and that exaction, oppression, and misgovernment produced their wonted results in the dete- rioration of the country. No census, or any trustworthy attempt at ascertaining the numbers of their subjects, was made by the more enlightened Mogul sovereigns, even when all their energies were directed to the acquisition of new dominions. The English, until the last few years, have been as remiss in this respect as their predecessors in power. An idea prevailed that a census would be viewed suspiciously as the prelude to a capitation tax, or some other exaction or interference with domestic afi'airs. In Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, which we have had under control for nearly a century, no nearer approxima- tion has yet been made to ascertain the number of our subjects, than the clumsy and inaccurate contrivance of roughly ascer- In Britain man frequently dates his age from the number of summers he has seen. There can, how- ever, be little doubt that many of the early invaders of India were of the type of Japhet, — some of them acquainted with maritime commerce, and all com- ])aratively more civilised tlian the itidiyenes who were driven towards the southward and eastward, and to mountain and jungle fastnesses. When this occurred it is impossible to determine. General Briggs says that the Vedax were written in India at the period when Joshua led the Israelites over Jordan into Canaan. The date wlien Menu, the lawgiver, lived has not been ascertained. Whatever tlie period, the Hindoos had not then occupied the country farther south than the 2;ird degree, as Menu describes the peo])le bevond as " barbarians, living in forests, and speaking an unknown language." Remote annals are lost in legends and traditions ; and the chrono- logy of Hindooism is an absurdity, e.xcept on the ]ninciplc of cutting off the ciphers attaolied to the apocry])lial figures. DENSITY OF POPULATION OF INDIA TO EACH SQUARE MILE. 499 taininfi; tlic liousos and liuts in a villaf^o or district, uiid tlicii supposing a fixed iiumljcr of moiillis in each liouso (say five or six.) The fallacy of such estimates is now ad- mitted, and rulers are bc{;inning to sec the value of a correct and full census, taken at stated intervals, in order to show the I'atcs of increase or decrease, and to note the causes thereof. I believe that the Anglo- Indian government have no reason to ap- prehend unplcasitig disclosures if a decen- nial census be adopted for all the territories under their sway : the natural fecundity of the Hindoos would lead to an augmentation where peace and the elements of animal sustenance exist ; and a satisfactory proof would be aflbrded of the beneficence of our administration, by the multiplication of human life. With these prefatory remarks, I proceed to show briefly all that is at present known on the subject. At pp. 3 to 11 of this volume will be found the returns collected by the inde- fatigable Edward Thornton, head of the statistical department of the East India House, with remarks thereon at p. 2. Evi- dently there must be erroneous estimates somewhere, otherwise there would not be so great a disproportion of mouths to each square mile, as appears between the British territories (157) and the other states (74) — * There have been several censuses of China, of which we have little reason to doubt the accuracy : that of ITo.", showed 102,328,258; that of 1792, 307,407,200; that of 1812, 361,221,900. In some districts, alons; river banks, the density is very great ; such as Kangsoo (Nankin) — 774 to the sq. ni. : in say U)r.,()00,f)Of) on r,(;r,,m<) sq. m., and r):5,()()0,()()() on 717,000 si], m. Estimating the entire area, as above, at ],.'W0,0()0 sq. m., and the population thereon at 158,000,000, would give IM to each sq. m. Viewing India as including the entire region, from the Suliman on the west, to the Youmadoun'i mountains on the cast, and from Cape Comorin to Pcshawur, and estimating the area at 1,500,000 sq. m., and the number of inhabitants to each sq. m. at 130, would show a population of 19.'5,000,000; which is probably not far from the truth. The Chinese census shows 3G7,G32,907 mouths on an area of 1,297,9'J'J sq. m., or 283 to each sq. m.* In England tlie density is 333; Wales, 131; Ireland, 200; Scot- land, lOO.f India, with its fertile soil, a climate adapted to its inhabitants, and with an industrious and comparatively civilised people, might well sustain 2.50 mouths to each sq. m., or 375,000,000 on 1,500,000 sq. m. of area. J The following table, framed from various public returns and estimates, is the nearest approximation to accuracy of the population of each district under complete British rule ; it shows (exeludiug Pegu) a total of about 120,000,000 (119,(530,098) persons on an area of 829,081 sq. m., or I-IG to each sq. m. : — others the density varies from 51.5 down to 51. {See vol. i., p. 29, of my report on China to her Majesty's government, in 1847.) t See Preface (p. xv.) to my Australian volume, new issue, in 1855, for density of population in different European states. X In illustration of tliis remark, the following statement, derived from the Commissioners' Report on the Punjab, — of the jjopulution of JuUundhur Zillah, situated between the rivers Sutlej and Beas, — is subjoined, with the note appended by the census officer, Mr. K. Temple, 25th of October, 1851 : — Hindoo. Mussulmcn. Total. Grand Total. Total Area in Acres. Area in Number of inha- bitants per sq. mile. Number Tcrgunnahs. Agricul- tural. Non- Agricul- tural. Agricul- tural. Non- Agricul- tural. Agricul- tural. Non- Agricul- tural. 57,802 100,220 06,228 45,530 of 640 Acres each. of Acres to each Person. Philor . . . -TuUundhur . Kahoon . . . Nakodur . . 41,997 48,967 42,7.39 28,787 ;!S,.591 49,6.52 47,201 19,349 20,442 46,049 25,145 44,085 19,211 60,568 19.027 26,181 62,439 9.5,016 67,884 72,872 120,241 19.5,236 134,112 118,402 187,001 250,397 199,472 225,031 299 391 312 351 412 499 430 337 1-52 1-25 ISO Total . . 162,490 154,793 135,721 114,987 298,211 269,780 567,991 861,901 1,346 422 155 Note. — This return certainly shows a considerable density of population. It may of course be expected that a small and fertile tract like this, which contains no forest, waste, or hill, should be more thickly peopled than an cxtcnsiTo region like the North-^Vestenl Provinces, which cmbrnces cverj- variety of plain 'and mountain, of cultivation and jungle ; we find therefore that in the provinces we have 322 ^nhabit.^nts per square mile, while here we have one-fourth , more, or 422 ; the population of this district proportionately exceeds that of tweatv-two out of thirtv-one districts of the North-Westem Provinces, and is less than that of nine. It also exceeds the average population of anv one out of the six divisions. It about equals that of the districts of Agra, Muttra, Furruckabad, and Cawnpoor, but is inferior in density to the populous vicinities of Delhi or Benares, and to the fertile districts of Juanpoor, .\7cemgurh, and Ghazeepoor. The comparative excess of Indian over European population hxs become so notorioiis, that it is superfluous to comment on the fact, that the population averages of this district exceed those of the most highly peopled countries of Europe. nOO POPULATION BY PROVINCES AND DISTRICTS. British Territories in Cmitinental India — Area, Chief Towns, and Position. Provinces, Districts, &c. Bhnuai, Province: — Calcutta, and 2-1 Pergunnas . . Hooghly . . . ■ - • Nuddea Jessore Backergunge and Shabazpore . . Dacca Tipperah and BuUoah . . . . Chittiigong Sylhet and Jyntea Myineiisiug RHJeshaye Moorshedabad Bcebhoora Dinagepoor Runspoor Burdwau Baraset Bancoorah Bhagulpore Monghyr Maldah Bagoorab Pubna Purneah Fureedpore, Deccan, and Jelalpore Dai-jeeling Singhbhoom Maunbhoom SovTH West Fro.ntier: — Chota Nagpore Palaraow Bahar Province : — Ramghur Bebar Patna Shahabad Tirhoot Sarun and Cliumparuu .... Sumbbulpoor Orissa Province ;— Midnapore and Hidgellee . . . Cuttack and Pooree Balasore Koordah Madras Presidency : — Ganjara Vizygapatam Rajatnundry Masulipatam Guntoor Belbiry Cuddapah North Arcot South Arcot Chinglcput and Madras . . . Salem Coimbatore Trichinopoly Tanjore Madura Tinnivelly Malabar Canara Nellore Kurnool Coorg Bombay Presidency : — Concan, North South Bombay Island Dliarwar Pooiia Knndci&h Sunit Br-iacb Ahmcdnuggur Sholapore Belgtum Area in Square Miles. 1,186 2,089 2,942 3,512 3,794 1,960 4,8.50 2,.560 8,424 4,712 2,054 1,8.56 4,730 3,820 4,130 2,224 1,424 1,476 5,806 2,558 1,000 2,160 2,606 5,878 2,052 834 2,944 5,652 5,308 3,468 8,524 5,694 1,828 3,721 7,402 2,560 4,693 5,029 4,829 1,S70 930 6,400 7,050 6,050 5,000 4,960 13,056 12,970 6,800 7,610 3,050 8.200 8,280 3,000 3,900 10,700 6,700 6,060 7,720 7,930 3,243 1,420 5,477 3,964 IK 3,837 5,298 9,311 1,629 1,319 9,931 4.991 5,405 Population. 701,182 1,520,840 298,736 381,744 733,800 600,000 1,406,950 1,000,000 380,000 1.487,000 671,000 1,045,000 1,040,876 1,200,000 2,559,000 l,8.54.1.i2 522,000 480,000 2,000,000 800,000 431,000 900,000 600,000 1,600,000 855,000 30,882 200,000 772,340 I 482,900 I 372,216 2,500,000 1,200.000 1,600,000 2,400,000 1,700,000 800,000 666,328 1,000,000 556,395 571,160 926,930 1,254,272 1,012,036 520,866 569,968 1,229,.599 1,451,921 1,4.85,873 1,006,005 1,283,462 1,195,367 1,153,862 709,196 1,670,068 1,756.791 1,269,216 1,514,909 1,056,333 935,690 273,190 f 65,437 1 1 in 1836 J 815,849 665,238 666,119 754,385 666.006 778,112 492,684 290,984 995,585 67.5,115 1,025,882 Principal Town. Calcutta . Iloi.ghly Kishnugtir J »-*sorp Burrisol Dacca . . Tipperah . Chittagong Sylhet . . Sowara . . Kamponr Berhampcre Sooree . . Dinagepoor Rungpoor . Burdwan . Baraset Bancoorah Bhagulpore Monghyr . Maldah . Bagoorah . Pubna . Purneah Fureedpore Darjeeling Chaibassa . Pachete Lohadugga Palamow . Ramghur . Gyah . . Patna . . Arrah . . Mozufferpoor Sarun or Chupr Sumbbulpoor Midnapore Cuttack . . Bdasore . . Koordah . . Ganjam . . Vizagapatam . Rajamuudry . Masulipatam , Guntoor . . Bellary . . Cuddapah . . Chittoor . . Cuddalore . . Madras . . . Salem . . . Coimbatore . Trichinopoly . Tanjore . . Madura . . Tinniveliy. . Calicut . . . Maiigalore Nellore . . Kurnool . . Merkara . . Tannah . . Kutnagheriah Bombay . . Dharwar . . Poona . . . Malligaum Surat . . . Broach . . . Ahmcdnuggur Sholapore . . Belgaum . . Position of Town. Lat. N. Long. E. 22 34 22 55 23 24 23 9 22 33 23 43 23 28 22 20 24 54 24 44 24 33 24 12 23 53 25 34 25 40 23 12 22 43 23 14 25 11 25 19 25 2 24 50 24 25 46 23 36 27 2 22 36 23 36 23 6 23 50 24 24 43 25 53 25 31 6 45 29 26 21 22 25 20 28 21 30 20 10 19 24 17 17 16 16 15 14 13 12 11 42 13 11 11 10 48 10 48 9 65 8 44 15 II 12 52 14 27 15 50 12 27 IS 67 17 18 57 15 28 18 31 20 32 21 21 19 88 26 88 23 88 28 11 90 90 91 10 91 55 91 .50 90 23 88 38 88 18 87 31 88 38 89 16 87 56 88 33 87 87 86 30 88 11 89 25 89 12 87 34 89 50 88 19 85 44 86 50 84 46 84 1 85 24 85 2 85 16 84 43 85 28 85 48 84 87 23 85 55 87 85 43 85 7 83 21 81 50 81 12 80 30 76 69 78 62 79 9 79 50 80 21 78 14 77 2 78 46 79 11 78 10 77 44 75 50 74 64 80 2 78 6 75 48 17 40 15 60 72 63 73 20 72 62 75 4 73 53 74 30 72 61 73 2 74 46 76 74 36 Date of Acquisi- tion. 1700 & 1757 1757&1765 1765 183.5 1765 1760 1760 1765 1835 & 1850 1765 1818 1765 1775 1765 1850 1760 1803 1765 1759 1788 1800 1751 1765 1792 1799 1801 1799 1801 1801 1792 1799 1801 1838 1834 1818 1661 1818 17.59 1803 1S17 ISls 1817 POPULATION BY PROVINCES AND DISTRICTS. fiOl British Territories in Continental India — Area, Chief Toums, and Position. rroviiico, Districts, &c. Bombay rv.v.siDZNC\— continued. Kiiira Ahnii'dabnd anil Nainik . . . Suttain Bekak Proyinck :— Dcdgur above ihe Ghnuts . . ^ „ ht'low the Olmuts "Wein-Ounpa Chotccs;;urh Chaiidnrponr - Nekmudua Disthicts : — Saupor .... Jul)lmlpnor Hoosungubnd . . . Seuiii ... Diiniuh Nursiiigpoor )Jnit()c)l ... AoiiA I'kes., on N.W. Prov. :— Benares Ghnzcepnre Azimghur Goruck])oor Jounpnur Allahabad Baiuhi Futtehpore Cawnpore Etawah yurrueUabnd . ' Shajehanpoor Allyuhur Bareilly Moradabad Agra Delhi Snliaruiipoor Paniput His^ar Rohtiik Goor^-aon . . MozuH'crnuggur Mierut ... .... Boolundshuhur . ... Bijnoie Bndadii M ultra Mynpoory Tlxinieerpoor Mirzapoor Jaloun Ajmcre Mairwarra Cis StTLEJ : — Umhnllah Loodiaimh Kythiil and Ladwa , . Ferozepurc Seik States PuNJAt): — Jhelum Lahore Lcia . . .... Mnoltan ... . . Jullunder . . Peshawnr , Knngra SciNDE Province: — Kurrachee Shikarpoor Ilydrabad Ui.tka-(jangetic Districts : — Arraean Assam. Lower Avsain, Upper Goftlpara Cossya Hills Caehar Tenasscrim, Mergui, Ye, &e. . Pegu Province Area in Square Miles. 1,869 9,331 10,222 76,432 1.857 6,237 1.916 1,4.59 2,428 .501 990 995 2,181 2,616 7,340 1,552 2,788 3,009 1,583 2,348 1.677 2,122 %m 2,1.53 3,110 2,698 1,8(;4 789 2,162 1.209 3,291 1,340 1,939 1,046 2,-.'no 1,823 1,900 2,401 1,613 2,020 2,241 6,1.52 1,873 2,029 282 293 725 1,538 97 1,906 13,9.59 13.428 30,000 14,900 1,324 4,836 I'opulatioii. 16.000 6,120 30,000 15,104 8,948 12,S57 3,.506 729 4,000 29,163 25,C00 Principal Town. 680,631 995,585 1,006,771 4,650,000-; 305,594 442,771 242,641 227,070 363,584 251,486 ■ 93,441 851.757 1,. 596,324 1,6.53,251 3,087,874 1,143,749 1,379,788 743,872 67W,7'i7 1,174,556 610,965 1,064,607 986,096 1,134,.565 1.37s,268 1,13S\461 1,001,961 435,744 i-0 1,325 389,085 3.30,S52 377,013 662,186 072,861 1,13.5,072 778,342 69.5,.521 1,019.161 862,909 832,714 648,604 1,104,315 176,297 224,891 37,715 67,1.34 120,898 164,805 1G,.890 249,686 1,116,0.35 2,470.817 1,. 500.000 600,000 569,722 f about ] 1 850,000} 185,550 3.50,401 651,811 .321 ,.522 710,000 260,000 400,000 10,935 60,000 115,431 650,000 Koira . Ahniedabad .Sattara . . Chindwarn Njig|ioie . Buiidara Kyepore Chauduh . Saugor . . .I-ubliuIpoor Hoo^iin^abad Seuui . . Dumoh Nursingpoor liaitool . . Benares Ghazeepore Azinighur Goruckpoor Jounponr . Allaliabad Baiida . . i'uttehpore (Jawnpore . I'",ta\vah Furruekabad Shajehanpoor Allvghur . Bareilly . Moraiiabad Agra . . Delhi . . ."ahMrunpoor Paniput lli-sar . . Kobtuk. . Gotu'yann . MozuilVrnugg' Meeiut. . Biirr\in . . liijuore . . Bud a on Muttra . . Mynpoory , Hurneei jioor Mirzapoor Jalnxin . . .■Vjmcre N\auugga. Umballnh . Loodianah ICythul . . Kernzcpore Patialah . Jhelum Lahore . Leia . . . Mooltan Jullunder . Peshawnr Kangra . . Kurrachee .Shikarpoor Hydrabad . Akvab . . . Gowhatty Seebpore . . Goaipara . Cllirra Ponjee Silchar . . . Mergui . Pronie . . . Position of 'I'own. Lat. N. Long. E 22 i3 23 17 40 22 3 21 10 21 11 21 II 19 67 23 50 23 10 22 44 22 1 23 49 24 21 60 25 17 25 32 26 26 42 25 44 25 26 25 27 25 67 26 29 26 46 27 24 27 62 27 56 28 23 28 50 27 10 2S 38 29 58 29 23 29 8 28 54 28 2 23 28 28 59 28 24 29 22 28 2 27 30 27 14 25 68 25 6 26 9 26 29 26 6 30 24 30 55 29 49 30 55 30 20 32 56 31 36 30 67 .30 12 31 21 .34 71 24 66 28 1 25 12 20 10 26 9 27 26 8 25 14 24 49 12 27 17 40 40 68 72 40 72 36 74 3 78 68 79 10 79 41 81 40 79 23 78 49 80 1 77 4i 79 40 79 30 79 28 77 58 83 4 83 39 83 14 83 24 82 45 81 45 80 23 80 54 80 25 79 79 79 78 79 29 78 61 78 5 77 19 77 36 77 2 75 .00 76 38 77 5 77 45 77 46 77 86 78 11 79 11 77 40 97 4 80 14 82 38 74 24 74 43 74 25 76 49 75 64 76 28 75 55 76 25 73 47 74 21 71 4 71 30 75 71 31 38 76 18 67 3 08 39 69 29 92 54 91 45 94 40 90 40 91 4-5 92 50 98 42 96 17 Date of Ai-quini* ti'.n. 1803 1818 184S 1854 1818 1775 1801 1775 1801 1803 1801 1817 UCl 1SC3 1803 1836 1803 1S02 1603 ; 1802 1801 1817 1847 1843 1835 1849 1816 1S49 1S43 1826 1765 1826 18,30 lS2ti 1853 502 DENSITY OF POPULATION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA. A more recent return (28th July, 1855) from the East India House, gives the popu- lation of India thus : — Briiisfi States.— Bengal, &c., 59,966,284.; N. W. Provinces, .30,872,766; Madras, 22,301,697; Bombay, 11,109,067; Eastern settlements, 202,540: total, 124,452,354. Native States.— Bengal, 38,259,862 ; Ma- dras, 4,752,975; Bombay, 4,460,370 : total, 47,473,207. Foreign States. — French settlements, 171,217; Portujjuese ditto, not known. Grand total, 172,096,778.* The varying degree of density of popula- tion to area forbids reliance being placed on any mere " estimates," or " approxima- tions to actual amount." Thus in Bengal, Behar, and Cuttack, the number of mouths to each square mile is stated to be — in Jes- sore, 359; Moorshedabad, .394; Bhagul- poor, 318; Patna, .506; Cuttack, 220; Dacca, 193; Chittagong, 324: average of all, 324.t These are high ratios ; but the soil is fertile, and the inhabitants very nu- merous along the banks of rivers. In As- sam, on the N.E. frontier of Bengal, and along the rich valley of the Brahmapootra, the density is placed at only 32 to the square mile ; in Arracan, at 21 ; Tenasserim pro- vinces, at 4; on the S.W. frontier (Chota Nagpoor, &c.) , at 85 ; in the Saugor and Ner- budda territories, at 109; in the non-regu- lation provinces, Kumaon, Ajmeer, &c., at 44. The census of the Madras Presidency (.«ee Appendix) shows, on an area of 138,279 sq. m., a population of 22,281,527, or 161 per- sons to each sq. m. In some districts the inhabitants are much more thinly scattered : for instance, at Kurnool, 84; at Bellary, 94; at Masuli])atam, 104; the highest is the rich district of Tanjore, with 430 to each • The surn of 124,452,.354 is a higher figure than the Anglo-Indian sulijects of the British crown have hitherto been rated, and is probably the result of a more accurate numbering of the people : thus, until a census now (July, 1855) in progress was made of the Punjab, the population was, as usual, under-es- timated. According to the Lahore Chronicle of ;?Oth of May, 1855, the returns then received show for Lahore, 3,4.58,322; .Ihelum, 1,762,488; Cis-Sut- lej, 2,313,i)G9 : which are higher figures than those given from the Parliamentary Papers, at previous page. The enumerations made up to May last, for llie Punjab, gave 10,765,478; and it was supposed that the grand total, when com|)Ieted, would be about eleven million and a-half, or nearly four niillion more than the official document pre- viously given for the I'unjab and Cis-Sutlej states. In my first work on India, twenty years ago, I assumed the population under British jurisdiction to be about one hundred million, which »omv. con- sq. m. Madras has a much less density than the British N. W. Provinces, which, according to the return of 1852-'3, shows the following results :J — • Districts. Square M. Population. Mouths to each sq. m. Agra .... Allahabad . . Benares . . . Delhi .... Meerut . . . Rohilcund . . 9,298 11,971 19,737 8,633 9,985 12,428 4,373.156 4,526,607 9,437,270 2,195,180 4,522,165 5,217,507 465 378 478 254 453 419 Total . . . 72,052 30,271,885 420 By the two full censuses of Madras and the N. W. Provinces, we gain at last a fair estimate of the small number of Moham- medans, as compared with the Hindoos, in India: the Madras census of 1850-'l, shows, on a total of 21,581,572, that the adult Hindoos numbered 13,246,509; Mo- hammedan adults and others, 1,185,654: the c/«7rf/r?i— Hindoos, 6,655,216; Moham- medans and others, 594,193: total census (exclusive of Madras city and suburbs, con- taining 700.000)— Class. Males. Females. Total. Hindoos . . . Mohammedans and others. 10,194,098 852,978 9,707,627 826,869 19,901,725 1,679,847 Total. . . 11,047,076 10,534,496 21,581,572 The proportion of Moslems to Hindoos in Southern India, is as one to ten. The N. W. Provinces return, in 1852-'3, shows — Class. Hindoos . . . Mohammedans ) and others. J Total . . . Males. 13,803,645 2,376,891 16,180,536 Females. 11,920,464 2,170,880 14,091,344 Total. 25,724,109 4,647,771 30,271,880 sidered an exaggeration ; the above augmentation of twenty-four million is accounted for by the ad- dition of new states, such as the Punjab. I have little doubt that an accurate census will show a larger aggregate than 124,000,000. fl obtained in India, in 1830, "a census," or rather estimate of these districts, showing an aggre- gate of area in .sq. m., 153,792; villages, 154,268; houses, 7,781,240; mouths, 39,957,561: or about one village to each sq. m. of 640 acres, five houses to each village, five and a-half persons to each house, and 259 mouths to each sq. m. (See my first His- tory of the British Colonies, vol. i., Asia ; 2nd edi- tion, p. 166: published in 1835.) I As regards the censuses of Madras and the N.\V. Provinces, I have seen no details given of the means adopted to ensure an accurate enumeration in a single day ; they mu.st, I think, be considered as " near approximations" to truth: they appear to be the best vet obtained. PROPORTION OF MOSLEMS TO HINDOOS— TWENTY LANGUAGES. 503 Delhi, Af;rii, and tlie adjacent |)roviii('cs, have for several centuries ijeen the strun^,'- liolds of the Moslems; yet even here tlieir numbers (ineludinf; "other" denominations not Hindoos) is only four million to twenty- five million. In IKIiO, I estimated the total Mohammedan popululion of In<lia at fifteen million, and recent iuvcstigatioiis justify this estimate. A census of Agra and its suburbs (ex- cluding inmates of bungalows round about the city, and the domestics attached thereto, about 3,000 in number, and also the inhabi- tants of bazaars and villages in military cantonments) was made in )8H— '45, after seven months' careful examination : the re- sult showed a population of 103,572, with an excess of 8,215 Hindoos over Moham- medans, iu this a former seat of Moslem rule; the grand total of houses was 15,327. A census, in 1829, of Moorshedabad city and district, the head-quarters of the former Mohammedan ruler of Bengal, showed — Hindoos, 555,310; Mussulmeu, 412,810 = 968,120: i)roportiou of sexes — Hindoo, males, 286,148; females, 269,162 : Mussul- men, males, 216,878; females, 19f),344 : number of houses, Hindoo, 123,495; Mus- sulmeu, 84,734. AUaliabad city census in 1831-'2, gave — of Hindoos, 44,110; Mussul- meu, 20,669. Allahabad district— Hindoos, 554,206; Mussulmcn, 161,209; iu the city, the Hindoos were in the proportion of two to one ; in the district, of more than three to cue. The population of Calcutta has been a matter of wide estimate, and is iu proof of the past neglect of statistical inquiries : iu July, 1789, the inhabitants of the Anglo- Indian metropolis were guessed at 400,000; at the commencement of the present century, about one million; in 1815, at half a mil- lion; iu 1837, an imperfect census gave a quarter of a million (229,714) ; and in 1850, a more complete census showed nearly half a million (413,182), comprising only those residing within the City Proper, bounded by the Mahratta ditch, or limits of the supreme court : the dense population of the suburbs, probably exceeding half a million, are not stated ; nor, I believe, the floating mass of * Principal languages : Knglish, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, German, Kuss, Polish, Turkish, Givek, Dutch, Danish, Srtede, Noi-wegian, Finn = 15. t This tongue was formed as a medium of collo- quial intercourse in 1555, by the Emperor Akber, out of llindee. the primitive language of tUe Hin- doos, and Arabic and Persian, which were used bv the Mohammedan conquerors : the character adopted people who pass into and out of Calcutta daily ; viz., 72, 125, of whom 10,9.'i6 cross the river (iiurM:illv in ferries. Uiisunic of CcnsuBM. 1850. Males. 1837. Femalpd. Europeans G,2;{;j G.479 Eurasians (mixed blood) . . 4,(>15 4,746 Armenians 892 636 Chinese 847 362 Asiatics and low castes . . . 15.342 21,096 Hindoos 274.335 137,651 Mohammedans 110,918 58,744 Total 413,182 229,714 It is usual to speak of India as if it were inhabited by a single race : such is not the case ; the people arc more varied in lan- guage, appearance, and manners, than those of Europe.* About twenty languages are extensively spoken ; viz., (1.) Hiudooslanee, in pretty general use, particularly in the N.W. Provinces, and usually hyMussulment throughout India; (2.) BenyaHee, in the lower parts of the Gangetic and Brahma- pootra plains; (3.) Fuiijabee or Seik, in the upper portion of the Indies ; (4.) Sindhee, in Cis-Sutlej states and Sinde ; (5.) Tamul, around Madras and down to the coast of Cape Comorin ; (6.) Canarese or Karnata, ia Mysoor and Coorg; (7.) Malyalim, ia Tra- vancore and Cochin ; (8.) Telooyoo or Telinga, at Hydrabad (Deccan), and east- ward to coast of Bengal Bay ; (9.) Oorya, ia Orissa ; (10.) Cole and Gond, in Berar; (11.) Mahratta, iuMaliarashtra; [12.) Hindee, in Ilajpootaiia and Malwa; (13.) Guse- rattee, in Guzcrat; (14.) Cutchee, in Cutch ; (15.) Cashmerian, in Cashmere; (16.) ^Ve- paulese, in Nepaul ; (17.) Bhote, in Bootau ; (18.) Assamese, Up. Assam; [19.) Biinnese, in Arracan and I'egu ; (20.) Bi-ahooi, or Bc\oo- chee, in Beloochistan ; Pi?rsian and Arabic sparingly, and numerous dialects in different localities. In Bengal and Orissa the majority of the people do not eat meat, and the abstinence is ascribed to a religious precept forbidding the destruction of life : but almost every Hin- doo eats fish ; several consume kid flesh (es- pecially when sacrificed and offered to idols), is sometimes the Deva Nagri (Sanscrit), but mora generally the Arabic alphabet. Although the great majontj- of the people of India are usually termed Hindoos as regards creed, there is as slight a bond of union among them on that account as there is among the professing Christians in Europe, and as much diversity in reference to practices supposed to be coniiectf'd with their religious faith 504 ANTAGONISMS OF THE POPULATION OF INDIA. md also birds. Numerous Brahmins and Rajpoots of the highest castes, in N. and W. India, partake of goat, deer, and wild boar ; while they abhor the domestic sheep iind swine: others who use the jungle cock, (similar to our game-cock), would deem the touch of barn-door poultry pollution. Some classes feed on descriptions of provender which are rejected by others: at Bikaneer, all the Hindoos profess an abhorrence of fish ; at Kuraaon, they will masticate the short-tailed sheep of the hills, but not the long-tailed one of the plains; people will buy baked bread, but would lose caste if they touched boiled rice cooked by these very bakers : an earthen pot is polluted past redemption if touched by an inferior caste ; a metal one suffers no such deterioration : some tribes allow a man to smoke through his hands from the bowl [chillum) which contains the tobacco, but would not suffer the same person to touch that part of the hookah which contains the water. Other instances of diversity might be multiplied. Even the religious holidays of Bengal are different from those observed in the N. W. Provinces. The barbarous ceremonies of Juggernaut, and the alrominations of the Churruk Poojah (where men submit them- selves to be swung in the air, with hooks fastened through their loins), are un- known in N. and W. India. In some parts, female infanticide is or was wont to be almost universal; in others it is held in just abhorrence : in some districts, polygamy prevails ; in others polyandria — one woman being married to all the brothers of a family, in order to retain property among them ; — here the marriage of a daughter is a great expense, — there a source of profit, as the husband buys his bride, and has the right to sell her, and even to mortgage her for a definite time as security for a debt. Independent of the division of the Hin- doos into castes — Brahmins, Cashtriya, Vai- syas, and Soodras, — and the subdivision of so- ciety into numerous hereditary classes, there are other diversities, arising probably from origin of race, and the peculiarities engcn- * A comparatively small portion of the Hindoo population live on rice ; the majority eat wheat and other f<i'ain, as also various species of pulse. t I" Calcutta, wheie a variety of races, or, as they may more properly be termed nations, are collected, the peculiarities of each are readily ascertainable, and their antagonisms quickly manifested. ."Vmong twenty persons in my service at one time in liin- gal, there were (excepting four Balasore palanquin- dered during a long cottrse of time by climate and food: thus the brave Rajpoot and the bold Mahratta are decided antago- nists; but both view, with something of contempt, the peaceful, subtle, rice-feeding* Bengallee, whose cleaidy, simple hal)its are outraged by the gross-feeding, dirty Mughs of Arracan, who object not to a dish of stewed rats or snakes, or even to a slice of a putrefying elephant. The Coromandel men have features and modes of thought distinct from those of the Malabar coast ; while inhabitants of the Kattywar peninsula differ essentially from both. The dwellers on the cool and dry hills and plateaux, present a marked contrast to those who reside in the hot and humid plains and valleys ; and the aborigines, such as the Gonds of Berar, present no similarity whatever to the fine mould and beautifully-chiselled head and face, arched nose, and olive hue, of the pure Hindoo, or to the large-boned, massive frame, and manly cast of the hard-featured, genuine iloslem. The variety of races in India are so decided, that an experienced officer will at once say whether a soldier belongs to the respective departments of the armv of Bengal, of Madras, or Bombay; and further, whether a Hindoo is from Rajpootana, from Oude, from the Deccan, from the coast, or elsev.'iiere.t With regard to the Mohammedans, irre- spective of their local aversions, they are divided into two sects — Soonee and Shea, — who abhor each other as cordially as the members of the Latin and Greek church do, or as the Romanists and Orangemen of Ire- land, and are equally ready to fight and slay on a theological point of dispute. Then, besides these two leading divisions of the population, there are several million per- sons under the denominations of Jains or Buddhists, who consume no animal food or fermented beverage ; Seiks, who eat the flesh of the cow, and drink ardent spirits; Parsees or Guebers (erroneously termed "fire-worshippers'"), Latin, Protestant, Nes- torians, or Syriac and Armenian Christians, — Jews,J and a mi.xed race sprung from the bearers, a tribe bearing a high repute for honesty), not two of the same race ; consequently much mutual distrust, frequent quarrels, bickering, and lighting. } Slavorinus adverts, in 1775 — '7fS, to the colony of Jews at Cochin, who, he says, " although most of them are nearly as black as the native Malabars, they yet retain, both men and women, those cha- racteristic features which distinguished this singular [jcople from all other nations of the earlli." — ABORIGINAL RACES OF INDIA— CHARACTER AND HABITS. 505 marital (inioti of all — some of one rrocd, some of anotlier : adilod to tliesn are the Eurasians, born of ICuropeaii fathers and Indian mothers; a rapidly increasiu'!; class, probably destined, at some future day, to exercise an important influence in the East. Before ])assinf; from the subject of the numbers and variety of the people, I would wish to draw public attention to a larije and most interesting section of them, to whom .•eferenee has been made previously, as the aborigines of India. They are scattered over every part of the country, generally in the hilly districts ; and although speaking ditt'ercnt dialects,* and of varying appear- ance, manners, and customs, they are con- sidered by General Briggs and Mr. Hodgson (who have studied their peculiarities) as having their origin from a common stock. Of their number throughout India we know nothing; they must amount to several million human beings, whose character is thus summed up : — " The man of the ancient race scorns an untruth, and seldom denies the commission even of a crime that he may have perpetrated, though it lead to death : he is true to his promise; hospitable and faithful to his guest, devoted to his supe- riors, and always ready to sacrifice his own life in the service of his chief; he is reckless of danger, and knows no fear."t It may be added, that he considers himself justified in levying " black mail" on all from whom he can obtain it, on the ground that he has been deprived of his possession of the soil by the more civilised race who have usurped the territory. The at)origines are distin- guished from the Hindoos by several marked (Voyiiffcs to Eaut Indies, vol. iii ,p. 220.) They had then "a very Ijeaiitil'ul ami aiitliciuic copy of the Pentateuch," Init know not when or where they derived it. Their own statement is, that ihey are of the posterity of the ten trihes carried away into captivity hy Shalnianeser, and wlio. after being liberated from their Assyrian bonds, came hither, where they have from time immemorial constituted a small but isolated community, and enjoyed for a series of ages valuable privile<;es, inciudini; the exercise of their religion without restraint. Their houses, in a separate town, are built of stone, plas- tered white on the outside, and they have three synagogues ; most of them are employed in trade, and some are very wealthy. How these Jews be- came black is not known; but according to Stavo- rinus, when they purcliase a slave he is immediately circumci.sed, manumitted, and received into the com- munity as a fellow Israelite. By intermarriages with such converts, the colour, in process of time, may have become perfectly dark, while the peculiar physiognomy was perpetuated in the race of mixed blood, as I have noticed i.s generally the case with the descendants, by male fathers, of the English, customs : they have no castes ; cat beef and all sorts of animal food ; drink, on every possible occasion, intoxicating beverages (no ceremony, civil or religions, is deemed complete without such drink) ; have no aversion to the shedding of blood ; atone for the sins of the dead by the sacrifice of a victim ; widows marry and do not burn ; they arc ignorant of reading or writing, and usually live by the chase and by pastoral pursuits. Some tribes take their designa- tion from the country they inhabit: Gonds, in Gondwana ; Koles or Kolis, in Kolywara; Mirs or Mairs, in Mainnaia ; Bhccls or Bhils, in Bliilwara and lihilwan; Benjecs, in Bengal, &c. Other tril)es, such as the Todawurs of the Neilgherrics, have designa- tions of which the origin is unknown. The men are nearly naked ; the women wear a cloth wrapper round the waist, carried over the left shoulder and under the right arm ; they live mostly in conical thatched hovels, apart from the dwellings of the Hindoos, by whoin they are treated as outcasts, and have no valuables but asses and dogs. As watchmen and thief-takers they are of great use, from their fidelity, sacred regard for truth, and the skill evinced in following a foot-track : they are entrusted with the care of private projicrty to a large amount, and convey the public revenue to the chief towns of districts — a duty which they perform with scrupulous care and punctuality. An ui;seen deity is worsliipped ; prayers are ofiTcrcd to avert famine and disease, and for preservation from wild beasts and venomous reptiles : to propitiate the favour French, Spanish, and Portuguese. There is a colony of white Jens at Mattacherry, or tlic Jiirs' lotcn, a suburb of Cochin ; they regard the black Jews as an inferior caste : the former say that tliey came to Cranganore after the destruction of the second temple, and tliat they have a jjlate of brass in their j possession since the year A.D. 490, which records the i grant of land and ]>rivilege9 conceded to them bv ' the king of that part of India : a copy of it is now in the ])ublic library at Cambridge. By discord and meddling in the disputes of the natives', the Cranga- nore Jews brought destruction on themselves at the hands of an Indian king, who destroyed their strong- holds, palaces, and houses, slew many, and carried others into captivity. The Jews have a never-ceas- ing communication with their brethren throughout the East. For fuller details of these white and black Israelites, see Hough's History iif Christianity in India, vol. i., 464. • 'i'hey seem to be connected with the Tamul and other languages of Southern India, and have no affinity with the Sanscrit. + Lectures on the Ahori^nal Race cf India ; by Lt.-General liriggs : lSo2, p. 13. r,06 VALUABLE QUALITIES OF THE ABORIGINES OF INDIA. or appease the anger of the object of adora- tion, living sacrifices (in some cases human beings) are deemed essential ; and the blood of the victim is retained in small vessels by the votaries. x\ll social and religious cere- monies are accompanied by feasting, drink- ing, and dancing ; the latter performed, sometimes, by several hundred women (their hair highly ornamented with flowers) grouped in concentric circles, each laying hold with one hand on her neighbour's cincture or waist, and beating time with the heels on the ground. In figure they are well made and sinewy ; rather low in stature ; face large or flat, and wide ; eyes black and piercing; nose- bridge depressed, nostrils expanded, mouth protruding, lips large, little or no beard : altogether presenting a marked contrast to the Apollo-like form of the genuine Hindoo.* Several benevolent governmental servants have undertaken the civilisation of diflFerent tribes, and by kindness and tact effected considerable improvement in their habits and condition. When disciplined, they make brave and obedient soldiers, are proud of the consideration of their European officers, to whom they become ardently attached, and are ready to follow them abroad, on board ship, or wherever they go. The aborigines of the Carnatic formed the leading sepoys of Clive and Coote ; and at the great battle of Plassy they helped to lay the foundation of the Anglo-Indian empire. t The Benyies, who are found in all parts of the Gangetic plain, when serving in the Mohammedan armies, claimed as indigenes the honour of leading storming I parties. In the defence of Jellalabad, under the gallant Sir R. Sale, the Pariahs (out castes, or low castes, as the aborigines are termed) evinced the most indomitable courage and perseverance, as they have done at Ava, or wherever employed in the pioneer and engineer corps. These hitherto neglected races may be turned to beneficial uses. The tribe termed Ramoosees, or foresters, became the active and indefatigable infantry, who enabled Sevajee to conquer from the Moguls the numerous hill forts which formed the basis of the Mahratta dominion. The Bheels have long been celebrated in Western India annals, and • Some of the gipsy tribe of the aboiiginps whom I saw in the Deccun, were like their European brethren of the same chiss, and the women equally handsome : in the form of their cncumiimcnt — asses, c»rt.s, and dogs — the tribe might have been con- their deeds recorded by Malcolm, Tod, &c.: as a local militia, they rendered good service in Candeish. The Southals of Bhagulpoor, reclaimed by the noble-minded civilian Cleveland, have now one of the finest regi- ments of the British army, recruited from their once despised class. The Mairs of Mewar are selected to guard the palace and treasury of the Rajpoot rajah, and form the only escort attendant on the princesses when they go abroad. Hyder Ali had such confidence in the Bedars of Canara, that a body of 200 spearmen ran beside him, whether on horseback or in his palanquin, and guarded his tent at night. Slavery in India. — During the early Hindoo sway, the aborigines were, as far as practicable, reduced to servitude ; those who could not find refuge in the hills and jungles, were made adscripti gleb(E, and transferred as predial slaves with the land. Under Moslem rule, this un- happy class was augmented by another set of victims of man's rapacity. Per- sons unable to pay the government taxes were sold into servitude ; others who were reduced to extreme poverty voluntarily surrendered themselves as bondsmen, either for life or for a term of years, to obtain the means of existence : in many cases the children of the poor were bought by the wealthy for servants or for sensual purposes. Eunuchs and others employed in the harems and as attendants, were imported from Africa and other places. Hence slavery, domestic and predial, now exists in almost every part of India. Our government, even during the administration of Warren Plastings, were aware of the fact ; but it was deemed politic not to interfere, for the same rea- sons that induced the long toleration of widow-burning and infanticide. In 1830, I applied to Mr. Wilberforce on the subject, and urged the anti-slavery so- ciety to investigate the matter; but he con- sidered it then most advisable to give all his attention to the West Indies. Evidence adduced before the East India parliamentary committee, in 1832, disclosed a dreadful state of human sufl'cring among East Indian slaves, which was confirmed by subsequent investigations, when it was ascertained that the Anglo-Indian government were large sidered a recent migration from Devonshire. Some gipsies, whose location I vi.sited in China, presented similar characteristics. t .My authority for these statements is Lt.-general Briggs. < ^^" SLAVERY IN BRITISH INDIA— PROGRESS OF ABOLITION. 507 slaveholders in rifjlit of lands hel possession. Pailianient, in IHIil- 111 netual 'i:>, li<f,'an to disenss the matter, and several eminent civil servants of the E. I. Cy. exerted them- selves to cliieidate the evils of this nefarious system. In Deeenibcr, 1838, I laid before tlie Marquis Wellesley a plan for the ;;radiial bnt efTcctiial abolition of slavery in India: it was liif^lily approved iiy his lord- ship, who iirj^ed the adoption thereof on the Indian authorities. Some part of the plan* was adopted : the government relinquished their right to slaves on eseheated lands ; reports were ealled for from the eolleetors and other public officers ; and, on the 7th of April, 18 1-3, an act (No. 5) was passed by the President of India in council, which declared as follows : — " I. Tliat no public officer sliall, in e.tPCution of any decree or order of court, or for the enforcement of any demand of rent or revenue, sell or cause to be sold any person, or the right to the compulsory labour or services of any person, on the ground that such person is in a state of slavery. " II. That no rights arising out of an alleged property in the person and services of another as a slave shall be enforced by any civil or criminal court or magistrate within the territories of the E. I. Cy. " III. That no person who may have acquired property by his owti industry, or by the exercise of any art, calling, or profession, or by inheritance, assignment, gift, or bequest, shall be dispossessed of such property, or prevented from taking possession thereof, on the ground that such person, or that the person from whom the property may have been de- rived, was a slave. " IV. That any act which would be a penal offence if done to a free man, shall be equally an offence if done to any person on the pretext of his being in a condition of slavery." Much, however, still remains to be done, until slavery be as eftectually extinguished in the East as it has happily and beneficially been in the Jf'est India possessions of the British crown. There is no difficulty among the Hindoo population, as slavery is not a * My chief recommendations were — (1.) A com- mittee of inquiry. (2.) A registry in each collectorate of male and female slaves, agrestic and domestic. (3.) District magistrates to report on the laws and j customs in force. (4.) All children born after a certain date to be declared free, (5.) Slaves to have the same protection of the law as freemen ; their evidence equally receivable in a court of jus- tice. (6.) Ill-treatment to be followed by manumis. sion. (7.) Masters no power to punish. (8.) Wife and children not to be separated. (9.) Slaves on government lands to be at once freed. (10.) No voluntary sale of individuals or of their children to be lawful. (11.) Transfers of slaves only in their respective districts. (12.) Slaves to be entitled to acquire and possess property, and to purchase manu- mission : magistrate to arbitrate in cases of disputed price. (13.) Magistrate to attend to the condition question of raxle ; and with re{;ard to Mo- hammedan laws, a Christian {government cannot be expected to recognise that which is repugnant to the first ])rineipl(!s of hu- manity. We know nothing certain of the number of slaves in Hindoostan ; the esti- mates made arc but guess-work : in Malabar,t Canara, C'oorg, 'I'innevelly, and other parts of Southern India, the estimates are from a half to one million ; for IJengal, or the N. W. Provinces, we have no estimates. In fact, we know not whether there be one or ten million slaves under the British govern- ment in Asia. The foregoing illustrations sufficiently indicate that there is no homogenity of population in India, no bond of union, — no feeling of patriotism, arising from similarity of origin, language, creed, or caste, — no common sentiment, founded on historic or traditional associations : there is therefore more security for the preservation of British authority; but there is greater difficulty in ameliorating the social condition of the mass of the people, which was deteriorated under Moslem tyranny, and is still, as compared to some past period, at a low ebb. The discussion of this theme is beyond my appointed limits, and I can only ofl'er a few passing observations. The Hindoos speak of having experienced three ages, — 1. Gold and silver; 2. Copper and brass; 3. Earth and wood, — which form the com- ponent parts of their domestic utensils ; but when these ages commenced and ended, there are no means of ascertaining.! Ere Tyre became a place for fishermen to dry their nets, the Hindoo-Phcenician com- merce had an Asiatic renown : the spices of India were sought in the time of Solo- mon ; the gossamer muslins of Dacca, the and complaints of slaves, to pass summary judgment, and to report his proceedings annually to govern- ment, who were to send out queries, and call for reports on the nature and extent of slavery in each district, from the officers entrusted with supervision- ment. t Mr. Peggs and others estimate the number of slaves, in Malabar alone, at 147,000; in Canara, Coorg, Wvnaad. Cochin, and Travancore, at 254.000; in Tinnevellv, 324.000; Triehinopolv, 10,000; Arcot, 20,000; Assam, 11,300; Surat, 3,000. According to Buchanan, the number must be very large in Behar and in Bengal: and all authorities describe their con- dition as truly miserable ; — stunted, squalid, and treated with far less care than the beasts of the field. X The third age is still extant, as illustrated by the earthen water and cooking pots — chatty. 508 PROSPERITY AND SPLENDOUR OF INDIA IN PAST AGES. beautiful shawls of Cashmere, and the bro- caded silks of Delhi, adorned the proudest beauties at the courts of the Caesars, when the barbarians of Britain were painted savages. Embossed and filigree metals, — elaborate carvings in ivory, ebony, and san- dalwood; brilliant dyed chintzes; diamonds, uniquely set pearls, and precious stones; embroidered velvets and carpets ; highly wrought steel; excellent porcelain, and perfect naval architecture, — were for ages the admiration of civilised mankind : and before London was known in history, India was the richest trading mart of the earth. Ruined cities, such as Gour, the ancient capital of Bengal, which covered an area of seventeen miles, — Beejapoor, with its million of inhabited houses; Mundoo, with a wall twenty-eight miles in circuit; Raj- mahal, tlie dwelling-place of an hundred kings; Palebothra and Canouj, — indicated a large urban class, who required to be fed by a proportionately numerous agrestic population. Hundreds of cave temples,* equal in interior-size and architectural beauty to the iiol)lest cathedrals of Europe, attest the depth of religious feeling among the worshippers; while gorgeous ceremonials and sensuous luxuries indicate the highest staire of Pagan refinement: but all afford a melancholy contrast to the poverty which now pervades the mass of the people, and to the dull intellectuality and idolatrous routine that at present extends over social life.t An extensive study of Indian records leads to the conclusion that the decay of Hindoostan dates from the period of Mo- hammedan incursions and conquests. Af- ghan, Tartar, Patan, Mogul, Persian, Arab, * Such as those of Karli, Kllora, Elephanta, &c. Dr. Biii-t, of Bombay, in his eloquent advocacy of the claims of India, says — "These have been hewn out in tlie absence of gunpowder, and, fashioned without natural adjunct or addition of masonry into their present form, covered with rich and elaborate struc- tures by the hand of man. The caves are grouped together so as to furnish places of worship, halLs of instruction, and domiciles for the professors and their pupils, exactly on the plan of the universities which came into existence in Kurope tiro thausdiid i/cars after those of India were forgotten; indicating an amount of civilisation atid demand for knowledge in the Kast twenty-lour centuries ago." — {Xofi.i on India: London, 18.5:!, p. 10.) The number of tem- ples in India is as yet imperfectly ascertained. Mount Aboo, 5,000 feet high, is covered and surmounted by these singular structures. t See ])r. liuisl's Ndcfi <in Imlhi. I The desolating effect of Moslern sway over the fairest portion of Kaslern Europe for nearly 400 years, notwithstanjin;; the influences of surrounding and other Moslem adventurers, here found the richest spoil and the most fertile field : swarming like locusts, and equally rave- nous, successive hordes crossed the frontiers, slew all who opposed, and, by their tyranny and sensuality, pauperised and demoralised all -whom they subjected to their sway. Hence entire regions became desolate, and famines frequent in the inhabited parts. One of these afflictions, prolonged frooi 1640 to 1655, was felt throughout India, but principally in Bengal and in the Deccan ; another occurred in 1661, when Aurungzebe was endeavouring to collect fifty per cent, of the produce of the land : other famines, re- sulting from poverty and exactions (not, as is alleged, from nnpropitious seasons), occurred at different times, followed as usual by sicknesses, and swept off millions of the inhabitants. Then the fierce and long-continued strug- gles of the Rajpoot, Mahratta, and other Hindoo races in refusing to bow their necks to Islamite yoke; the frequent rebel- lions in distant provinces necessitating the maintenance of large armies for the support of imperial power at Delhi; the internecine contests between several Mogul viceroys for the extension of dominion ; and the desola- tions of the Carnatic and of Southern India by those jNIoslem scourges Hyder Ali and his son Tippoo, must each and all, together with other collateral circumstances which cannot here be examined, have contri!)uted to the rapid decay and impoverishment of the people of India, in a manner not dis- similar to the destruction and demoralisa- tion of the Greeks, and the desolation of the fair regions of Asia Minor by the Turks. J That the Moguls have left traces behind civili.salion, and with an active, intelligent, impres- sive character in the millions of Greeks subject to its sway, proves the incajiabilily of .Mohammedanism for that progressive improvement in society which pre-eminently marks Christianity as the true religion adapted for man. The Turks for three centuries lived among, yet apart, from the Greeks; dm-ing their intolerant rule, there was no social intercourse between the dominant and subject races; and, in matters of dispute, all law or justice was set aside, as the word or oath of a Christian was not recognised in their legal tribunals. The taxes levied were enor- luous; in the local country, where resistance to fiscal oppression was im])ossibk', four-fifths of his produce was exacted from the agriculturist, independent of minor phuiderings, of " presents," forced tribute to each new ])asha or jirovincial governor, and of end- less extortions by his satellites, which was required from nil who had accumulated any wealth. As in India during the Mogul sway, ao in Greece: there was no security for life, honour, and pro])erty ; the virtue of woman, the labour of the ]ieasant, the skill EFFECTS OF MOSLEVI RULE IN ASIA AND IN EUROPE. 509 tlicm of some groat works is undonljtfdly truo, but tlipy were tlic work of Hindoo artificers, atid such as coiiquorors exact from slaves ; — palaces and fiirtresses, nios(iuea and mausoleums, canals and tanks — the latter indispensable fur the ])roduction of territorial revenue, which would fail without irrigation of the land : but the IMohamniodans took as little root in India as the Romans did in Britain; and their power crumbled to pieces of the artisan, were all at the mercy of sensual, barharous, and cruel tyrants, from the sulian at Constanliiioplo to the janissary in the smallest village ; the whip and the bastinado, the sword and the rope, were tlie prime instruments of Turkish rule. As financiers and penmen, the Greeks, like the Hindoos, were entrusted sometimes with liigh ofliccs, which the Molianimedans were incnpable of executing. The Hindoos, especially tlie Mahrattas, made several attem]its to destroy Alnslem sway, but tliere was no effectual combination. Tlie Greeks were successful by their union in 1821. After seven years of secret organisation, they commenced tlieii' efforts for independence. Instead of beinjj met by any concessions, Gregory, the patriarch of their church, — although he had, at the bidding of the sultan, e.\communicated and anathematised the strugglers for liberty, and released the I'liiUkni (members of the Secret Society) from their oath, — was seized on Easter eve, dragged ignominiously through the streets of Constantinople, and then strangled at the door of the church in which he recently officiated ; the body was left hanging three days to be pelted at and made the jest of the popu- lace, then cast into the Bosphorus. Three suffragan archbishops were hanged by a black executioner at different jiarts of the city, and many hundreds of the clergy were massacred by the populace. Then began a series of atrocities wliich ought to have caused the entire expulsion of tlie barbarians from Europe. Throughout every part of the wide-spread Turkish dominions there was an indiscriminate slaughter of the Christians; savage brigands from Anatolia and Kurdistan were brought across the Bosphorus, under a firman calling on all true Mo- hammedans for defence: a few wealthy Greek mer- chants, fearing what was coming, fled to Odessa, but for the mass of their countrymen there was no refuge or hope of escajie; houses were broken open, and the inmates torn from their hiding-places and carried to slaughter; every Christian seen in the streets was instantly slain as if he were a mad dog; " the European ships in the harbour, and the houses of the foreign consuls were thronged by the un- happy Christians, but their asylum was disregarded; and the decks of British and Ereneh merchant ves- sels were deluged with tlie blood of those whom their captains had vainly endeavoured to protect. In a few days 10,000 Christians perished in that one citv; the remnant of the Greek iiojiulation there was scat- tered to the four winds of heaven ; they wandered as beggars through the streets of Odessa, or starved in the ditches of the Byzantine suburbs." — (See London Times, iith October, 1853.) In Adrianople and Smyrna the streets were smeared w ith blood ; and from the Danube to the Nile, wherever the Moslem held sway, the life of a Christian was not worth one hour's purchase. "Within the short space of its own accord, leaving the sceptre which liaber, Akber, and Aurungzebc had wielded Ijy military force, to be scrambled f(jr by the strongest arm. We found the people of Bengal and of the Carnatic impoverished and oppressed; the oppression has been removed, but the poverty is as yet only slightly mitigated. On this topic I lioi)e to offer, at the concluding section (if space permit), some points for consideration. of a few weeks, in the year 1821, it is estimated that '10,000 Christians were slain ; and during six years' struggle for life and liberty, at least 100,000 perished. Perhaps of all the massacres, the fiendish character of the followers of the false prophet is best exem- plified bv that which took place in the beautiful and fertile island of Scio, of which an account is given in the columns of the Annual Regider, 1822-'3. Suflice it to say, that a population which at the beginning of the year numbered 120,000, was in the month of July reduced to 000, and even these were in danger of jierishing from the pestilence which ensued on the fearful slaughter of their countrymen. How many such scenes may have been acted in Hindooslan tliere were none to recoid. During the debates in parliament, pending the war between Kussia and England, fearful illustrations were pro- duced of the cruelty, oppression, exaction, and re- morseless spirit whicli characterise the Mohammedans even at the present day. The consequences of Turkish rule, and the condition of a Christian villaj;e after an Osnianli invasion, are thus stated by Mr. Layard : — 'Their church was in ruins; around were the charred remains of the burnt cottages, and the neglected orchards overgrown with weeds. A 'oody of Turkish troops had lately visited the village, and had destroyed the little that had been restored since the Turkish invasion. The same taxis had been collected three times — and even four times over. The relations of those who had run away to escape from these exactions had been compelled to pay tor the fugitives. The chief had been thrown, with his arms lied behind his back, on a heap of burning straw, and compelled to disclose where a little money that had been saved by the villagers had been buried." — (Times, Hth March, 18ol.) On the 4th July, 1853, Lord Stratford de Kedcliffe wrote to his government that he was necessitated of late, and indeed for some years back, to bring to the knowledge of the I'orte atrocious acts of cruelty, rapine, and murder, for which no effectual redress «as provided. Doubtless there are many high- minded, trustworthy, and amiable men among the disciples of the Crescent Asiatic travellers can record numerous instances of good offices received from Mo.slems — whether designated as Turks, Arabs, Persians, or Hindoos. Under the .\nglo-Indian gov- ernment, there are thousands of Moiianimedans as " true to their salt," as brave and kindly in their nature, as those of any other form of religion: but for civil government, the creed of the Koran is utterly unfit ; indeed, Mohammed never designed it for aught but military power and despotic sway, which naturally corrupts the minds of those who long use these means to preserve their dominion, — to keep men morally and politically in bondage, — instead of fitting them in this world, by freedom and the exer- cise of their faculties, for an eternity of happiness. 510 PHYSICAL ASPECT OF DISTRICTS AND PROVINCES. Locality and Physical Aspect of Districts, Provinces, and States of India. Punjab, or region of the *' iive rivers ;** adjoining Afgiianistan on the E., — A plain, sloj)ing from N.E. to S.W. ; north part, near Himalayas, hilly and moun- tainous. Pasturage and grazing-grounds. Cis-SuTLEJ Territory, — Between Sutlej and Jumna, and a strip of land between the Ghara river and Hajpootana. Bhawulpoor and Sirhind, a plain ; hill-slates on Hima- laya ridges, mountainous and richly wooded. Cashmere, — Western Himalaya. Cashmere Proper, a fertile valley, enclosed by mountains. Elevation of bottom, 5,500 to 6,000 ft. : lofty snow-clad ranges, N.W. to S.E., constitute the general configuration. BussAHiR, — Wonderful maze of some of the highest mountains in the world ; general rise from S. to N. Gurhwal, — Ranges of enormous height, with several valleys ; the whole drained by the Ganges. Slope from N. and N.E. SiNDE, — Lower course and delta of Indus; between Belooehistan mountains and Great Desert. Low and fiat. Some short ridges of hills in the W. part ; to- wards the E. a desert. Mouths of Indus continually changing. CuTCH, — S.E. of Sinde. Two parallel hilly ranges nearly intersect province. Western Rajpootana, — Between Sinde and Bhawidpoor and ArravuUi range. Mostly a plain, interspersed with sand-hills : rocky ridges extend in various directions. Eastern Rajpootana, — Between ArravuUi mountains and Malwa. Near the ArravuUi a table-land, declining to N.E. : continuous parallel hUly ranges extend N.E. to the vicinity of Delhi. Guzerat, — S. of Cutch and Rajpootana. Very rugged, especially in Kattywar ; bills connected with Vindbya, and part of W. Ghauts. Malwa (Central India), — Between Guzerat and Bundel- cund. A plateau, supported by Vindhya range ; eleva- tion diminishing towards Northern Gangetic valley. Bhopal, Malwa, — Greater part a table-land, resting on N. side of Vindhya; declivity to N. .A few streams find their way, through gorges in the chain, into Ner- budda, which flows along the S. frontier. GwAHOR, or SciNDiAH, — Central India. N.E. part level, bare, and much cut up by ravines ; S., the country becomes hilly ; middle part, a plateau ; slope to the N. ; S. part crossed by Nerbudda valley. Ahmedabad ami Kaira, — Head of the Gulf of Cambay. Almost a perfect level ; appearing as if the sea had abandoned it at no very remote period. Kandelsh, — Both banks of Taptce river. Valley of Taptee, enclosed by bUls 1,000 to 1,800 ft. high. Tracts formerly cultivated ; now covered with jungle and in- fested with tigers. Northern and Southern Concans, — Along the sea from lat. 10° to lat. 20', including Bombay. Valleys enclosed by spurs from W. Ghauts, through which a clear stream flows, until influenced by the tides. Ravines and gorges filled with jungle, harbouring beasts of prey, especially tigers. Poona, — Deccan. High table-knd ; slope from N.W. to S.E. Intersected by numerous spurs from W. Ghauts : elevation diminishing towards S.E. Sattara, — Deccan. High table-land ; slope from N.W. to S.E. Gradual but rugged declivity from W. Qbauts to S.E. Dharwar, Belgaum, and Sholapoor, — Deccan. Un- dulating plains, elevated from about 2,000 to 2,500 ft. ; slope to the E. and N.E. HyueraBad, or Nizam's Dominions, — Deccan. For the most part an undulating plain ; declivity from W. to E. : many isolated hills and ranges, of moderate ele- vation. Western Division : Madras Presidency, — Malabar coast. Low sea-coast, rising towards culminating ridge of W. Ghauts. Numerous narrow shallow rivers flowing E, to W. from Ghauts. Country hilly. Travancore, — Malabar coast. Low sandy sea-coast; behind the W. Ghauts ; attaining in some places an altitude of 7,000 ft. Southern Division : Madras Presidency, — Between Mysoor and Travancore, and Coromandel coast. E. parts level ; towards the W. rising into mountains : NeUgherries and E. Ghauts supporting table-land of Mysoor. Mysoor, — S. of Deccan. High table-land ; here and there huge masses of rock, apparently thrown tumul- tuously together. Central Division : Madr.^s Presidency, — Between Mysoor and Coromandel coast. Bellary and Cuddapah district; a table-land, resting on stupendous wall of mountains. Coast districts low, interspersed with bUls. Northern Division : Madras Presidency, — W. side of Bay of Bengal. Low sea-coast (except a ridge ex- tending along sea-shore in Vizagapatam district), hilly and mountainous to W. delta of Godavery and Kistna rivers. CuTTACK,- — Orissa coast. Low sandy shore; delta of Mahanuddy ; inland, the Moghalbandi, a dry tract ; then rises the hill country, closing down to the sea neai- Chilka lake, and near Balasore. CuTTACK Mehals, — Inland of Cuttack province. Very hiUy. Forests of fine timber. South-West Frontier of Bengal. Table-lands of Chota-Nagpoor, Sirgooja, and Mynpat ; and mountains of Palamow, &c. Orissa, — Inland of Northern Circars. Table-land, sup- ported by E. Ghauts : slope to W., to Godavery ; toS., to Bay of Bengal, the rivers flowing through ghats, or passes ; and to N. and N.E., to Mahanuddy. Nagpoor, or Berar, — Between Saugor and Nerbudda, and the Circars ; and the Godavery and Wein-Gunga, and upper course of Mahanuddy. In general of con- siderable elevation ; slope from N.W. to S.E. Lanjhee range divides the territory into two basins — one into Mahanuddy, and the other into Godavery. N. part rugged and mountainous ; S.E. part hilly and woody. Saugor and Nerbudda Territory, — On each bank of upper course of Nerbudda river. Considerably elevated tract : E. part a table-land, declining to W., to valley of Nerbudda ; to the S. are the Sautpoora and Mahadeo mountains ; to the N. the Vindbya, which is but the brow of a rugged plateau ; elevation diminishing towards theN. Rewah, — Adjoining Nerbudda territories on the N.E. W. and N.W. mountainous, rising in three successive plateaux : intersected by valley of Sone from W. to E. S. of this a table-land, contiguous to that of Sirgooja. BuNDELCuND STATES, — Between Nerbudda territory and N.W. Provinces. Plain, little elevated above valley of Jumna ; on the W. and S. a continuous range of hills ; to the E. they close down upon the Ganges. Some of the rivers flow through the plain, or are precipitated in cascades over tlie brow of the high land. Allahabad, — N. W. Provinces. Plain, sloping from N.W. to S.E. Banks of Jumna high in some parts of Banda district. Aqua, — N. W. Provinces. Plain, sloping from N.W. to S.E. A slightly elevated ridge extends along the Dooab, about midway between the Ganges and Juuma. Bhurtpoor, — Gangetic plain. Level; slope to E. Small detached hills in N. part. Meerut, — N. W. Provinces. Plain ; slope in Suharun. poor, Mozufl'urnuggur and Meerut districts, from N. to S. ; in Boolundshuhur and Allyghur, N.W. to S.E. Delhi, — N. W. Provinces. Mostly level. Ridges in Gonigaon district lOO to COO ft. above surrounding counti'y. KuMAON, — N. W. Provinces. Well defined mountain system. S. limit, Ghagur mountain ; successive ranges rise liighcr and higher, until ullimatdy crowned by the culminating ridge of the stupendous Himalaya. Roiiii.cuND, — N.W. Provinces. Level; slope from N.W. to S.E., and from N. to S. ISLANDS ON THE COAST OF INDIA— LOCALITY, &c. 511 OuDK, — GimKctii^ pliiin. Plain ; ilcilivity (iivg. 7 in. per in.) from N.W. to S.E. Sutj-lliinalayu range on N. frontier. Ni:r\rL, — S. of Himalaya; sustained by Hub-Himalaya. Tableland Bvera);e about 4,000 ft. Valleys, cmlo^ied by lofty cbains ; sides eovrrrd witli forests. Murmounled by eubninatinp ridge of stKuv-elad Himalaya, SiKKiM, — Himalaya. Sjiurs from Himalaya j enclosing tleep valleys. ^^:^:AKI';s,■ — N. W. Provinces. Plain on eitlier side of (lungefl. I^eelivity from N.W. to S.K., and from VV'. to I*j. In S, part n\' Mirzapoor (list., surface rises into a rug- ged table -land, being a eon tin nation of tlie \'indbyaeliain. l*ATNA, — (i.'ingeti)' plain, liengal. Sarun and Patna dis- tricts ; and along tiangcs, level ; table-land in S.W. part of Slialial).id, descent very abrupt j a roeky ridge in S. part of Uehar district. BiiAGUi,i>oi)ii, — (iangetie plain, Rengal. Generally flat : slope from \V. to E. Uajmahal bills ri.se on river bank of Ganges, and stretch .S. and S.W. through Bhagulpoor district. Tirhoot diversifietl by undulations. MooRSHKDAUAD, — Bengal. KuuKpoor and Pubna dists. low ; Rajeshaye (bit ; hilly to W. ; W. parts of Moor- shedabad and ISeerbhoom billy. Jn.ssuRK. — Delta of Ganges, and river bank of Hooghly river (Calcutta district.) Greater part level ; even de- pressed in Jessorc district ; in W. parts of Hooghly, Burdwan, and Baneoora, rises into slight eminences. Dacca, — E. Bengal. Declivity from N. to S. ; inter- sected by Urahniipoolra. ,Iyn(ca, billy ; Silhet, a hollow, swampy basin, eni-losed on three sides by mountains. G arrow aiul CossvAii .States, — Assam. Hilly and mountainous ; numerous strean\s. Coocii 1!i;hab, — Bengal. Level; slope to S.E. N.E. Krontikr: Assam, — N. of Burmah. Intersected by Brahmapootra, which receives the drainage of the sub-Himalaya from the N. ; Garrows, Cossyab.s, and Nag.'is from the S. : numerous clumps of abrupt liills. Bhotan, — Foot of E. section of Himalaya. Imperfectly known: a table-land resting on the sub-Himalaya, which rise from .'i.OUO to 6,000 ft. above Assam. Naga Triiies, — Upper Assam. Range of mountains dividing Burmah from the British dominions. TirPERAii, — Bengal. Wild hilly regions: fertile tracts on Mcgna. MuNEEpooR, — Burmese frontier. Valley, enclosed by precipitous mountains. Chittagong, — Mouths of Brahm.apootra, and N.E. side of Bay of Bengal. Sea-coast : plains, — backed by parsdlel ranges of lofty mountains, throwing off spurs in a W. direction. Drainage from E. to W. Arracan, — E. side of Bay of Bengal. E.itensive flats, interscctt;d by numerous navigable salt-water creeks : ranges of mountains extending N. and S. Islands and tine harbours. Pegu, — Lower course and delta of Irawaddy. Gradual slope from N. to S. N. of Prome, billy : range skirting E. shore of Bay of Bengal, diminishing in height to- wards C. Ncgrais. Numerous passes. Tenasserem Provinces, — E. side of Bay of Bengal. Generally rugged : parallel ranges N. and S., and E. and W. : iilso extensive plains. High, bold islands, with many harbours. Islands on the Coast of Inilia — Xame, Locality and Position, Extent, Pliysicai Features, and Remarks. Karoomba,— Gulf of Cutch ; lat. 22° 27', Ion. 69° 47'. H m. broad, and 3 m. long. Beyt, or Bet,— Gulf of Cutch ; lat. 22° 28', Ion. 69° 10'. About 3 m. long, and greatest breadth about i m. On the banks are situate a castle or fort, compact and im- posing ; lofty massive towers, mounted with iron ord- nance. Many temjiles and shrines in honour of Crishna. Dit',— Kattywar; lat. 20° 42, Ion. 71°. About 7 m. long; breadth, varying from 14 to 2 m. (See Diu — " Ports and Havens.") Pkrim,— Gulf of Cambay; lot. 21° 38', Ion. 72° 19'. About 2 m. long, and J m. broad. Numerous organic remains embcddird in conglomerate : TariouH antic|uitiea extant. Bashkin,— Concans; lat. 19° 2.1', Ion. 72° .'jO'. About 11 m. long, and 3 m. broad ; 3.*) sq. m. Irregular sur- face ; amongst other eminences a high hill of tabular form, and a conical peak not (juite so elevated. Sai.seitk, — Concans; lat. 19°— 19° 18', Ion. 72° 54' — 7303'. IH m. long, 10 m. broad; about 150 sf|. m. Diversified by hills, scimc of considerable elevation. Keneii comtnands an extensive view, Bomkay, — Concans; lat. 18° 57', Ion. 72° 52'. lycngth, 8 m. ; average breadth, 3 m. Two parallel rang(?s of rocks of unequal length are united at their extremities by hills of sandstone. Malabar, Mazagon, and I'arell hills are the principal elevations. Ei.ei'Hanta, or fiARA-i'oni, — Bombay harbour; lat. 18° 57', Ion. 73°. Rather less th;m 6 m. in cir- cumference. Composed of two long hills, with a narrow valley. Famed for its excavated temples. Koi.ABAH, — Concans; lat. 18° 38', Ion. 72° 56'. Long neglected, as a barren rock, but fortified by the Mah- ratta, Sevajee. Mai.wu.v, — Concans; lat. 1C° 4', Ion. 73° 31'. Little elevated above the sea, and not easily distinguished from the main-land. Ramiseram, — Gulf of Manaar; lat. 9° 18', Ion. 79° 21'. 14 m. long, and 5 m. broad. Low, ?ondy, and uncul- tivated. Sa(Ted in Hindoo mythology ; great pagoda. Saugor,— Mouths of Ganges; lat. 2i'° 42', Ion. 88° 8'. 7 or 8 m. long, and 4 m. broad. Salt manufacture formerly carried on. Island held in great veneration by the Hindoos. Don Manick Islands, — Mouths of Megna ; lat. 21°55', Ion. 90° 43'. Flat. Labador,— Mouths of Megna; lat. 22° 22', Ion. 90° 48'. Low. Deccan Shabazpore, — Mouths of Megna ; lat. 22° 30', Ion. 91°. Flat. Hattia,— Months of Megna; lat. 22° 35', Ion. 91°. Level. Sundeep,— Mouths of Megna ; lat. 22° 30, Ion. 91° 32'. About 18 m. long, and 6 m. broad. Level ; fertile, and abounding with cattle. Kootubdea Islands, — Chittagong; lat. 21' 50', Ion. 91' 55'. About 12 m. long. Low and woody. MuscAL, — Chittagong; lat. 21' 35', Ion. 92. 15 m. long, and 7 m. broiid. Some small elevations. Smaporee, — .\rracan ; lat. 20' 46', Ion. 92' 24'. St. Martin,— Arracan ; lat. 20' 36', Ion. 92' 25'. Two divisions united by a dry ledge of rocks, Bolongo, — Arracan ; lat. 20', Ion. 93'. Mountainous, woody, and rugged. Peny kvouNG, — Arracan ; lat. 20', Ion. 93' 4'. 26 m. long; 6 m. broad. Mountainous, woody, and rugged. Angey Kyoung,— Arracan ; lat. 19' 50', Ion. 93' 10'. 20 m. long ; 3 m. broad. Mountainous, woody, and nigged. Ramree,— Arr.acan ; lat. 19° 5', Ion. 93° 52'. About 50 m. long; extreme breadth, 20 m. CiiEDUBA,— Arracan; lat. 18'40— 56', Ion. 93'31— 50'. .\bout 20 m, long, and 17 broad ; 250 sq. m. Hill and dale ; some parts picturesque. Hills in the north part covered with jungle. Flat,— .\rracan ; lat. 18' 37', Ion. 93' 50'. About 4 m. long. Hii;h towards the centre. Negrais, — Peg\i ; lat. 15' 58', Ion. 94' 24'. Circum- ference, about 18m.; area, 10 sq. m. Rendered con- spicuous by a hill forming the E. high land on the coast. Pelkw Gewen, — Mouth of Saluen river; lat. 16' 20, Ion. 97° 37'. Kalegouk, — Tenasserim ; lat. 15' 32', Ion. 97° 43'. 6 m. long ; 1 m. broad. Moscos Islands, — Tenasserim; lat. 13' 47' — 14' 28', Ion. 97' 53'. Safe channel between them and the coast. Tavoy,— Tenasserim ; lat. 12' 55'— 13' 15', Ion. 98' 23'. About 20 m. long, and 2 m. broad. Of moderate height. 512 HARBOURS AND HAVENS ON THE COAST OF INDIA. Cabossa, — Mergui Archipelago j lat. 12'48', Ion. 97° 58'. Moderately high. King— Mergui Archipelago ; lat. 12° 31', Ion. 98° 28'. Length, 26 m. ; breadth, 10 m. Elphinstone, — Mergui Archipelago; lat. 12' 21', Ion. 98° 10'. 13 m. long; 4.| m. broad. Ross,— Mergui Archipelago; lat. 12= 54', Ion. 98' 12'. Benti>'CK, — Mergui Archipelago; lat. 11' 45', Ion. 98' 9'. 20 m. long; 6 m. broad. DoMEL,— M'ergui Archipelago; lat. 11° 40', Ion. 98° 20'. 26 m. long ; 5 m. broad. KissERANG, — Mergui Archipelago; lat. 11° 34', Ion. 98' 36'. 20 m. long; 10 m. broad. Sullivan's, — Mergui Archipelago ; lat. 10° 50', Ion. 98° 20'. 36 m. long, and 3 m. broad. Clara, — Mergui Archipelago; lat. 10° 54', Ion. 98° 4'. High ; liaving small peaks, one very sharp, like a sugar-loaf. Harbours and Havens on the Coast of India — Name, District, Position, Dimen^iojin, Soundings, and Remarks. Kdbrachee,— Sinde ; lat. 24° 51' N., Ion. 67° 2' E. Spa- cious; about 5 m. N. from Munoora point, and about the same from town. Entrance, l:v fath. at low-water; 3 ft. at spring-tides. W. side, from 2 to 4 fath. at low-water. Position of great importance : the only safe port in Sinde. Population, 22,227. Railway from port to navigable part of Indus. PooRBUNDER,— Kattywar ; lat. 21° 37', Ion. 69° 45'. Entrance obstructed by a bar. Much frequented by craft from 12 to 80 tons burthen ; trading with Africa, Sinde, Beloochistan, Persian Gulf, and Malabar coast. Exp., grain and cotton. Imp., various kinds. NuvvEE-BuNDER,— Kattywar; lat. 21° 28', Ion. 09° 54'. Available otdy for small craft. River Bhader, navigable for 18 m. above town. Diu, — Kattywar (on an island) ; lat. 20° 42', Ion. 71°. Good haven, 3 and 4 fath. Small harbour E. of Diu head, from 2 to 3f fath. A Portuguese town, well for- tified ; little traffic. MowA,— Kattywar; lat. 21° 3', Ion. 71° 43'. 7 to 10 fath. Anchorage without shelter from the S. ; with the flood-tide a vessel must lie with a reef of rocks right astern ; considerable traffic. GoGO,— Kattywar ; lat. 21° 39', loD. 72° 15'. Excellent anchorage ; safe during S.W. monsoon ; water always smooth. Ships touching here may procure water and refreshments, or repair damages. Bhowndggur,- Kattywar; lat. 21° 45', Ion. 72° 10'. Good and safe harbour. Place of extensive trade. Broach,— Bombay; lat. 21° 42', Ion. 73° 2'. River (Nerbudda) 2 m. wide, but shallow ; at flood-tide there is a deep but intricate channel. Navigable only for craft of 50 tons burthen at all times. Town walled. SuBAT,— Bombay ; lat. 21° 10', Ion. 72° 52'. A barred harbour. Roadstead dangerous in spring, when S. and W. wind.s prevail. * Damal'N,— Bombay ; lat. 20° 24', !on. 72° 53'. 2 ft. on bar at low-water; spring-tides, 18 or 20 ft. inside. Rise of tide, 17 or 18 ft. Outside bar, a roadstead 8 fath. Excellent place for small vessels during S.W. monsoon, and for repairs. Portuguese town fortified. Bombay, — Concans ; lat. 18° 57', Ion. 72° 52'. Excel- lent and extensive haven. Continuous breakwater for nearly 10 m. Lighthouse, 150 ft. above sea, at S. ex- tremity of Colaba Island. Great facilities for ship- building. Large docks, and strongly fortified. JiNJEEB.\, or Rajapoor, — Concans; lat. 18' 18', Ion. 73° 1'. 4 to 5 fath. at entrance, and same dcptii inside at low-water. No bar ; shelter from all winds. Fortified. Bankotk, — Concans; lat. 17° 58', Ion. 73° 8'. 5 fath. low-water. Small haven at the moulh of the Savitree. Fort Victoria, on a liigh barren hill, S. side of entrance. Gheriah, or ViziADROoG,- — Concans; lat. 16° 32', Ion. 73° 22'. 5 to 7 fath. entrance, and 3 to 4 fath. inside at low-water. Excellent harbour ; land-locked and sheltered from all winds. No bar. ViNGORLA,— Concans ; lat. 15° 50', Ion. 73° 41'. Small bay ; sheltered from every point except the S. About 2 m. from the main-land are the Vingoria rocks, — dangerous. Goa,— W. coast, S. India ; lat. 15° 30', Ion. 74°. Fine harbour, formed by an arm of the sea, into which flows a small river. Ancient Portuguese city, now falling into decay. Sedashevaghur, — Malabar coast; lat. 14° 52', Ion. 74° 12'. Entrance to river 25 ft. at high tide ; hazard- ous and intricate. Anchorage outside in Carwar Bay, sheltered by several islets. Fortified. Honahwar, — Malabar coast; lat. 14° 17', Ion. 74° 30'. 7 m. long; 3 m. broad; 15 sq. m. ; 5 or 6 fath. Though not a good haven, it can receive large ships. Moolky, — Malabar coast ; lat. 1.3° 6', Ion. 74° 51'. Place of shelter for coasting and fishing craft. Mulki rocks outside. Man-galobe,— Malabar coast; lat. 12° 52', Ion. 74° 54'. Estuary, a fine expanse of water, separated from the sea by a beach of sand. The utility of the haven is greatly impaired, as the depth at the entrance is liable to vary. Cananobe, — Malabar coast ; lat. 11° 52', Ion. 75° 26'. Small bay, open to the S., but sheltered on the \V. 5 and 5i fath. abreast of the fort. Water-shoals and rocky bottom near the fort. Tellicherry, — Malabar coast ; lat. 1 1° 45', Ion. 75° 33'. Abreast of the fort is a ledge of rocks, between which and the land small craft may anchor. A shipping-place for produce of coast. Make, — Malabar coast; lat. 11° 42', Ion. 75° 36'. 5 or 6 fath. from H to 3 m."from shore. Vessels of con- siderable burthen must anchor in the road. In fair weather, small craft can cross the bar of the river safely. A small French possession. Calicut, — Malabar coast; lat. 11° 15', Ion. 75° 50'. 5 or 6 fath. from 2 to 3 m. from land. No river or haven. A capacious haven said to have existed for- merly ; now filled up by drifted sand. PoNANY,— Malabar coast ; lat. 1 0° 48', Ion. 75° 58'. 3 or 4 m. to sea is a shoal, but anchorage between it and land. 4 fath. on shoal, 6 fath. inside between it and shore. River navigable only for small craft. A railway from Madras is contemplated. Cochin,— Malabar coast ; lat. 9° 58', Ion. 76° 18'. Out- side the mouth of the Backwater there is a bar with 14 or 15 ft., inside about 25 or 30 ft. Injuriously aflected by the S.W. monsoon. QuiLON,— Malabar coast ; lat. 8° 53', Ion. 76° 39'. A bight where ships may anchor, under shelter, at about 2^ or 3 m. from the fort. Formerly a place of note. TUTICOBIN,- Gulf of Manaar ; lat. 8' 48', Ion. 78' 12'. Safe roadstead ; good anchorage, sheltered on all points. Pearl oyster banks exist in the vicinity. Nagoee, — Coromandel coast; lat. 10° 49', Ion. 79° 54'. 8 ft. on the bar at high-water. Several vessels of 200 or 300 tons burthen belong to this place. PoRTO-NoTO, — Coromandel coast; lat. 11° 31', Ion. 79° 49'. Ships must anchor 2 m. otf shore, in 6 or 7 fath. River small at its mouth; admits only coasting craft. CuonALOBE, — Coromandel coast; lat. 11° 43', Ion. 79" 50'. River small, and mouth closed up by a bar. Admits coasting craft; good anchorage off shore 1^ m. PoNDiCiiERBY', — Coromandel coast; lat. 11' 56', Ion. 79° 54'. 7 or 8 fath., about 3 of a mile from land ; 12 or 14 fath. in the outer road. Mouth of a small river, capable of admitting coasting craft. French posses- sion ; lighthouse, 89 ft. Maoras,- Coromandel coast; lat. 13° 5', Ion. 80° 21'. Anchorage 2 m. from shore, 9, 10, or 11 futh. ; 300 yards fjom bench, varj'ing from 12 to 25 ft. Vessels obliged to anchor 2 m. from shore, exposed to a heavy swell rolling in from seaward. Surf at all times suffi- cient to dash to pieces any European boat. During the .S.W. monsoon no communication with the shore can be held without great danger. Fort St. George, strong. MILITAIiy STATIONS— SEATS OF GOVERNMENT— SANITARIA. 513 NlXAMPATVAM, — Coromntidcl roiitft; Int. 15*^ ti^\ Ion. S0° 'M'. No vessel ot prcnt biirtlieii can approach the place. A eoii.sidcrable ('ousting traile. Masui.ipatam, — Golcondtt coast ; lat. IC 10', Ion. 81' 13'. Very nhallow, h fath. for nearly a mile. Ships must anchor 4 or 5 m. from the land, and abreaut of the town. CoiiiNOA, — Oolconda const; lat. IG" 19', Ion. fi2° 19'. Bar at entrance, with I2or I 1 ft. at spririp;-tiiles. Within, from 2.V to -1 fath, Ilest place on thi« coast for building or repairing small vessels. ViZAGAPATAM, — Orissa coast ; lat. 17° 11', Ion. 8:1° 21'. Bar at entrance passable for vessels of from l.'>0 to 200 tons burthen. H or 10 ft. on bar ; anchorage off land, 8 fath. In the S.E. monsoon, ships anchor S. of the Dolphin's Nose j in the N.E. monsoon, from li to IJ m. from land. Jugguhnath, or Pooixee, — Orissa coast; lat. 19' 49', Ion. 85' by. No harbour for town. Surf here very violent ; landing can be effected only by boats similar to those used on tlic Coromandel coast. Balasokk,— Orissa coast; lat. 21° :tO', Ion. 87°. 12 to 15 ft. on bar at .spring. tides. Large ships cannot enter the river ; they must lay in Bala.sore-roads, where they are in some degree sheltered. Dry docks, to which vessels may be floated during spring-tides. Kkdjkuj'.k, — Bengal; lat. 21' 5.'i', Ion. 88'.- 6 or 7 fath. ; a bank has reduced the depth to 2 or 2V fath. at low-water. Telegraphic communication with Calcutta, to announce arrivals and intelligence. DiAMO.N'D Harbour, — Bengal; lat. 22° 12', Ion. 88^10'. So called as a part of Ilooghly river. Formerly the resort of the large *' Indiameii." Cnn-rAOo.NO,— Bengal; lat. 22° 29', Ion. 91° 54'. For- merly a place of considerable trade, but now declining j other ports having sujiphintcd it. Akvaii, — Arracan ; lat. 20° 10', Ion. 92' 54'. Good bar- hour. Suited for a commercial town. KnvouK Phvou, — Arracan; lat. 19° 24', Ion. 93° .34'. Harbour said to be one of the finest in the world. Safe ingress for largest-sized ships at any season of the year. GwA, or GoA,— Arracan ; lat. 17° 33', Ion. 94° 41'. Barred. Harbour for vessels of 200 tons burlhen. Bassf.in,— Pegu; lat. lf)'45'. Ion. 94' 50'. Deep river channel affords a safe pa.ssage for large ships. Rangoon,— Pegu; lat. 16° 40', hm. 90° 17'. Anchor- age off the town in river. Rangoon river, a branch of the Irawaddy river. MouLMKiN, — Tenas.scrim ; lat. 16° 30', Ion. 79' 42'. An e.vcellent well-sheltered haven. Fine seaport town. Forests in the neighbourhood, with other advantages favourable for ship-ijuilding. Amhekst, — Tenasserim ; lat. 16° 4', Ion. 97° 40'. Har- bour large, difficult of access, and, during the S.W. monsoon, dangerous. Tavoy, — Tenasserim; lat. 14' 7', Ion. 98' 18'. Ob- structed by shoals and banks. Inaccessible for large ships within some miles of the town. Mkiigui, — Tenasserim; lat. 12' 27', Ion. 98' 42'. Har- bour sjiacious, secure, and easy of access and egress for ships of any size. Town inaccessible for vessels of large burthen, as a bank obstructs the stream. Militarii Stations.* — 1. Apra ; 2. Ahmedabad : 3. AhmedmigKur ; 4. Akyab ; 5. Allahabad; 6. AUy- ghur; 7. Allypoor; 8. /Vlniora; 9. Arcot ; 10. Arnee ; U. .\sseerghur ; 12. liaitool ; 13. Bareilly ; 14. Bar- rackpoor ; 15. Bancoorab ; 16. Bandah ; 17. Ban<ja- lore; 18. Balnier; 19. Baroda; 20. Broacli ; 21. Beawr; 22. Benares; 2.'i. IJerhampoor ; 24. Bellarv; 25. Belgaum ; 26. Bbaf,'ulpoor ; 27. Bhooj ; 28. Bhopawur; 29. Bhurtponr ; 30. Bishnatb; 31. Bom- bay; 32. Burdwan ; 33. Buxar; 34. Cannanore ; 35. Cawiipnor; 36. Chicacole; 37. Cliinsurah ; 38. Chirra-poonjee ; 39. Chittagong ; 40. Chunar; 41. Cuudapah ; 42. Cuttack ; 43. Dacca; 44. Dapoolec; 45. Delhi; 46. Dehra; 47. Deesa; 48. Dharwar ; 49. Dinapoor ; 50. Dindigul ; 51. Doruiida ; 52. Dumdum; 53. Durrumgaiin ; 54. Etawah ; 55. Fra- zcrpett ; 56. Ft. William ; 57. Futtehghur ; 58. Ghazeepoor J 59. Gonickpoor; 60. Gowhatty; 61. Giirrawavra ; 62. Gwalior; 63. Hansi ; 04. Hawil- Bngb ; 65. Hazareebagh ; 66. Hoosungabad ; 67. Hursole ; C8. Hydrabad (Deccan); 60. Ilydrabad (Sinde); 70. ICaini; 71. Khyou-phyou ; 72. Kirkee; 73. Kidladjee ; 74. Kurnaul ; 75. Kurrachee; 76. Joiinpoor; 77. Jubbnlpoor ; 78. Jnmalpoor ; 79. Lahore ; 80. Lohooghaut ; 81. Loodiana; 82. Lucknow ; 83. Malligaum ; 84. IMangalore ; 85. Ma- sulipatam ; 86. Mecrut; 87. Midiiapoor; 88. Mirza- poor ; 89. iMhow; 90. Moradabad ; 91. Moorsheda- bad ; 92. Mndduckray ; 93. Mullye ; 94. Mund- laisir ; 95. Mynpnoree ; 96. Nagpoor ; 97. Nee- much ; 98. Noagaum ; 99. Nussr erabad ; 100. Oota- camund ; 101. I'alamcotta ; 102. Halavera ; 103. Palgatcheri ; 104. Peetoragbur ; 105. Peshawur ; 106. Poena; 107. Poonamallee; 108. Prome ; 109. Quilon; 110. Kangoon; 111. Rajkote; 112. Riis- sell-Kooiidab ; 113. Samulkotta ; 114. Sattara; 115. ■* Seats of Gorcmmenl. — 1. Agra ; 2. Bombay ; 3. Cal- cutta, or Fort William ; 4. Hydrabad (Sinde) ; 5. Lahore ; 6. Madras, or Fort St. George. Saugor; 116. Seerolee ; 117. Seetapoor ; 118. Se- eunderabad; 119; Suliarunpoor ; 120. Seroor ; 121. Shahjflianpoor; 122. Sholapoor; 123. Siihet; 124, St. Thoma.s's Mt. (Ft. St. George) ; 125. Subatboo; 126. Sultanpoor (Benares); 127. Sultanpoor (Oude) ; 128. Sural; 129. Trichinopoly ; 130. Vellore ; 131. Vizianagrum ; 132. Vizagapatam ; 133. Wallajahbad. Pihiripal Native Cities. — 1. Ahmedabad ; 2. Aj- mere ; 3. Amritsir ; 4. Azimghur; 5. Bandah; 6, Banswarra ; 7. Bareiliy ; 8. Baroda ; 9. Beejapoor ; 10. Beekaneer; 11. Benares; 12. Bhawulpoor ; 13. Bhooj; 14. Bhopal ; 15. Booiulce ; 16. 13urdwan; 17. Burranpoor; 18. Calcutta ; 19. Calpee; 20. Cud- dapah ; 21. Culna ; 22. Cuttack; 23. Dacca; 24. Dliolpoor ; 25. Dinajepoor ; 26. Dohud ; 27. Dut- teah ; 28. Ellichpoor ; 29. Ellore ; 30. Etawah ; 31, Ferozabad ; 32. Furruckabad ; 33. Futtehpoor ; 34. Fyzabad ; 35. Garakota ; 36. Gayah ; 37. Goruck- poor ; 38. Guntoor ; 39. Gwalior; 40. Hnrdwar; 41. Hydrabad (Deccan) ; 42. Hydrabad (Sinde) ; 43. Indore; 44. Kashmir; 45 Ivhatniandoo ; 46. Kola- poor ; 47. Jamoo ; 48. Jansi ; 49. Jeypoor ; 50. Joud- poor; 51. Lahore ; 52. Leia ; 53. Lucknow; 54. Luk- kur ; 55. Madura ; 56. Midna])oor ; 57. Mittun- kote ; 58. Moor.sbedabad ; 59. Muttra ; 60. Nag. poor; 61. Oodeypoor; 62. Patna ; 63. Putteeala; 64. Rangoon ; 65. Sattara ; 66. Sikri j 67. Siihet ; 68. Tanjore ; 69. Trichinopoly. Principal Maritime Stations. — 1. Akyab ; 2. Am- herst ; 3. Arracan ; 4. Balasore ; o. Broach ; 6. Bombay ; 7. Calcutta ; 8. Cambay ; 9. Cannanore ; 10. Cochin; 11. Coringa; 12. Dalhousic; 1.3. Diu ; 14. Kedjeree ; 15. Kurrachee ; 16. Madras ; 17. Mangalore ; 18. Masulipatam ; 19. Mergui ; 20. .Moulniein ; 21. Poorbunder; 22. Quilon; 23. Ra- moo ; 24. Rangoon; 25. Sural; 26. Vizagapatam. Sanitaria. — Aboo, (Mt.) ; Chunar; Darjecling; Ootacamund ; Laudour ; Simla ; Mahabuhshwar ; Murree (on a spur of the Suttee hills in the Hazara district) ; Chumba (at the bead of the Baree Dooab.) 514 LAND REVENUE, AREA, AND POPULATION Statistical Retitrn of Land Revenue^ Area, and Population in Districts. Paneeput - - Hi'sar - - - Delhi - - - Rohtuck- - - Goorgaou - - Total - Saharunpoor - Mouzufferuuggpr Mcerut - - - Booluiidshahur Allyghur - - Total - . Bijnore - - - . Moradabad - - Budaon - - - Bareilly - - - ■ Shahjehanpoor Total - • Muttra - - Agra - - - Furruckabad Mynpnory - E taw ah - - Total - - - Cawnpoor - Futtehpoor - Hunieerpoor Banda - - Allahabad - Total Goruckpoor Azimgurh - Jounpoor Mirzapoor - Benares - - Ghazeepoor Total S^3 538 653 568 300 1,274 3,333 1,904 1,138 1,638 1,576 1,997 8,253 3,030 3,484 2,232 3,563 2,785 15,094 1,019 1,143 2,017 1,344 1,495 7,018 2,257 1,617 997 1,257 4,003 10,131 15,714 6,270 3,431 5,280 2,296 5,088 38,079 1,269-9 3,2942 789-7 1,340-4 1,939-1 8,633-3 2,162-3 1,6463 2,200-1 1,823-6 2,153-4 9,985-7 1,900-0 2,698-8 2,401-9 3,119-1 2,308-4 12,4282 1,6134 1,8649 2,122-9 2,020-2 1,677-0 9,298-4 2,3480 1,5831 2,241-6 3,0096 2,788-7 11,9710 7,340-2 2,516-4 1,552.2 5,152-3 995-5 2,181-0 19,737-6 Area in Acres. 812,745 2,108,279 505,320 857,885 1,241,017 5,525,246 1,383,898 1,053,641 1,408,063 1,167,094 l,378,-204 6,390,900 1,216,005 1,727,216 1,537,191 l,996,-2-24 1,477,359 7,953,995 1,032,542 1,193,537 1,358,685 1,292,946 1,073,276 5,950,986 1,502,699 1,013,171 1,434,651 1,926,112 1,784,780 7,661,413 4,697,706 1,610,498 993,383 3,297,472 637,107 1,395,808 12,631,974 MalgooKaree or assessed land. ^< 407,051 988,923 263,208 641,792 895,940 3,196,914 774,2.53 670,468 907,758 715,587 961,076 4,029,142 590,622 839,919 928,299 1,056,961 716,201 4,132,002 733,362 747,536 749,023 687,098 557,804 3,474,823 800,438 509,793 770,2.54 S46,.S31 971,558 3,898,874 2,232,901 798,707 573,616 768,296 420,069 924,884 5,718,473 Granrl Total - I 81,908 72,054-2 46,114,514 24,450,228 7,942,491 3,267,203 10,454,592 40,654,410l 14 I 3 o 261,747 864,099 76,585 147,18: 168,428 1,518,042 211,449 1.53,173 236,021 143,260 77,725 821,6-28 175,553 308,851 286,055 394,810 453,032 1,618,301 87,224 118,104 178,.345 114,.526 69,927 558,126 149,2.32 131,895 316,504 .561,281 247,255 1,406,167 1.268,024 213,729 .58,121 293.394 35,791 151,108 2,020,227 Minhaee or unas- sessed land. ^< 19,398 85,528 91,402 22,7.30 16,352 235,410 64,597 76,287 82,028 88,036 41,070 342,018 42,626 256,086 69,734 83,630 33,067 485,143 97,649 84,460 69,985 8,510 29,143 289,747 61,992 9,417 14,.531 82,9.34 28,240 197,114 160,7.32 41,027 23,497 1,421,412 29,571 41,632 1,717,771 124,549 169,729 74,1 46,180 160,-297 574,8 343,599 163,713 182,256 220,211 298,333 1,198,112 407,204 322,360 2.53,103 460,823 275,059 1,718,549 114,307 243,437 361,332 482,812 426,402 1,628,290 491,03' 302,066 333,362 435,066 537,727 2,159,268 1,036,040 567,035 3,38,149 814,370 151,676 278,224 3,175,503 Demand on act. of land re venue 1851-'55 in Rs. 10 827,123 465,760 456,48" 631,132 1,047,231 3,427,736 1,064,513 1,107,538 1,693,046 1,056,8.35 1,986,136 6,907,068 1,197,695 1,340,312 1,097,329 1,769,610 1,060,318 6,466,264 1,657,283 1,622,980 1,333,011 1,267,079 1,272,086 7,152,439 2,144,075 1,426,205 1,277,864 1,. 591, 377 2,141,221 8,680,742 2,133,931 1,489,619 1,254,095 839,73: 903,3.58 1,600,426 8,121,161 U 1 3 3 6 14 5 11 9 13 6 9 11 12 4 1 10 I 3 3 14 6 1 7 1 1 1 13 12 U 14 11 13 1 9 9 1 5 9 15 8 15 8 1 3 1 3 3 1 6 10 16 6 14 3 13 3 1 3 2 1 1 11 7 3 14 10 1 4 2 4 1 1 6 8 1 1 2 10 3 JV' iM- Retjulution Districts, from Census of 1S47-' 48, the latest date. Divisions. Districts. Area in S(j. Miles. Population. No. to each Sq. Mile. . Saugor 1,857 305,594 166 Dumoh 2,428 363,584 149 Jubbulpore 6,237 44-2,771 71 Seonee .... 1,459 227,070 156 Saugor and Ncrbudda Territories . . . Mundla .... Hoshungabad .... Baitool . . . . 6,170 1,916 990 225,092 212,641 93,111 36 1-27 94 Nursingpore .... .501 251,486 60S Jaloun 2,313 2-10,'297 106 Jliansi 1,394 300,000 215 Chundeyreo .... 556 87,260 1.57 Jawud Ncemuch . . . Jawud Ncemuch 443 84,860 191 Nimar Nimar, British 269 26,727 96 Ajmcro Ajmcrc, including allMairwarra 2,891 287,290 99 Kumaon Kumaon— Gurwhal . 1 11,972 605,830 50 Total, Non-Regulation Districts .... 41, .396 3,791,9.10 91 ]N N0RTII--WESTE11N PROVINCES— 1852-'53. 513 the District: of Iha North Wettern Provinces, prepared ■;» 1852-' 53. S3 I'UI'ULATION. la S 2 ^3, Hiuduos. Muhainmedaii and uthers not liinduu. •3 1 = t Agricultural. Non-Agricultural. Agricultural. Nun-Agricultural. % g Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. Mule. Female. Y, " 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 3 9 4 1 5 6 12 10 15 9 2 6 7 6 1 11 9 15 9 1 2 8 9i,;!ri0 113,971 93,U6:i 117,168 174,457 73,397 93,170 77,731 102,275 147,726 49,252 23,655 78,912 61,770 73,138 38,802 17,207 65,459 60,010 65,453 20,411 33,638 10,030 11,890 85,314 16,869 28,189 8,881 12,059 73,057 61,643 12,041 62,292 11,451 22.107 44,351 9,075 48.470 9.790 21,234 389.085 330,852 435.744 377.013 602.486 306 100 552 281 342 209 6-37 116 2-27 1-87 11 8 1 1 2 593,922 494,299 286,627 237,631 161,289 139,055 149,537 132,920 2.195.180 254 2-52 1 1 3 1 6 6 1 7 8 1 3 8 1 14 7 1 C 1 10 10 1 13 10 1 7 8 2 1 1 155,176 i:t.),17,s 237,105 182,783 273,368 I0n,M6 105,76S 190,680 152,925 229,145 165,789 133,273 2 15,81 1 154,.520 269,663 125,829 115,6.52 211,639 113,468 241,198 53,281 44,336 43,996 24,512 15,475 44,833 39,i;07 38,354 23,259 14,047 79,840 51,672 88,386 49,164 47,369 67,431 47,075 79,098 47.711 44,300 801.325 672.861 1.1.35,072 778.342 1.134.565 370 409 616 427 527 1-73 1-66 1-24 1-.50 1-21 1 6 9 1 U 5 983,910 787,664 969,059 837,786 181,600 160,100 316,431 285,615 1..522,165 453 1-41 1 9 1 2 8 14 6 1 3 6 14 6 2 3 2 19 1 2 11 1 10 9 1 7 8 126,819 273,881 386,(197 402,647 380,372 98,796 228,450 321,094 3'.)8,761 317,803 128,377 139,417 92,372 110,7.57 85,589 110,802 124,246 77,946 97,169 74,768 25,613 95,925 40,792 75,510 27,434 22,811 86,842 36,678 67,921 25,099 96,425 97,249 33,674 84,481 36,354 85,878 92,451 30,508 80,989 38,677 695..521 1.138.461 1,019.161 1,378,208 986,090 366 422 424 442 427 1-75 1-52 151 1-45 1-50 1 2 1 9 1,629,816 1,364,907 556,512 484,931 265,304 239,351 348,183 328,503 5,217,507 419 1-52 2 4 1 14 1 7 1 9 3 2 11 2 4 2 2 2 9 1 12 G 1 13 6 2 4 6 274,2,S5 315,239 389,191 317,819 225,376 231,893 256,987 306,376 271,840 175,991 152,4.52 177,098 i:i(),824 89,681 96,249 134,.329 146,714 IJ 0,3.58 71,738 80,542 14,004 13,,551 24,861 10,637 4,843 11,909 11,.521 20,747 9,456 4,481 23,226 42,533 41,013 16,738 12,166 20,811 38,318 41,239 14,802 11,314 862,909 1,001,961 1,064.607 832,714 610,965 535 537 501 412 364 1-20 119 1-28 1-.55 1-76 1 12 4 2 1 1,551,910 1,243,087 646,307 543,679 67,896 68,117 135,676 126,484 4,373,156 1,174,.55G 679,787 648,604 743.872 1.379,788 465 136 2 4 1 2 3 7 1 2 10 1 2 1 1 12 1 2 10 10 2 12 i) 1 10 7 1 14 1 2 3 3 361,396 195,857 205,018 258,153 421,873 316,720 108,302 175,086 232,162 375,459 213,925 127,100 67,863 105,8,35 208,282 193,091 121,172 60,618 97,541 194,313 10,1.58 14,435 7,595 11,872 33,454 9,7.32 13,571 7,084 11.175 31,8.57 36,614 19,904 13,102 14,298 69,189 32,920 19,440 12,238 12,836 55,361 600 428 245 247 495 1-28 1-49 261 2-59 1-29 1 9 11 2 3 3 1,442,297 1,207,729 723,011 666,735 77,514 73,419 143,107 132,795 4,526,607 378 1-69 9 9 1 7 6 1 15 9 12 6 1 15 9 1 6 4 15 3 1 13 10 2 3 1 1 6 2 2 5 1 9 11 1,184,951 616,084 442,429 336,134 220,243 516,593 1,082.559 552,356 378,734 312,986 197,909 467,738 236,681 120,288 108,690 193,985 181,768 231,525 212,.581 107,302 101,735 186,793 169,196 222,229 136,121 64,922 22,3.56 7,906 4,515 17,527 126.012 50,781 20,992 7,458 4,612 17,523 67.234 62,940 34,732 30,724 38.252 6.3,218 51,7.32 57,678 34,081 28,329 35, -562 60,061 3,087,874 1,6.53,251 1,143,749 1,104.315 8.51.757 1.596.324 421 657 737 214 a56 732 lo2 •97 •87 2-98 •75 •87 1 9 1 6 9 3,347,337 2,992,282 1,072,937 999,836 243,347 227,278 287,010 267,243[9.437.270 478 134 1 4 1 1 8 2 9,549,192 8,149,963 4,254,453 3,770,498 996,950 897,320 1.379,941 1,273.660 130271885 42a ^62 Bombay — Population. Districts. Hindoos. Ahmedabad . . Kaira Broach .... Surat Taimah .... Caiuieish .... Uoiubay aiul ('ulaba Islaud.s. including City <>t" Bombay . Tuoiiali .... Ahmeduuggur . . Sholapoor . . . Kutnagherry . . Uelgaum .... Uharwar .... Total . . . 363,980 289,060 1-22,.52S 256,535 640.821 566.56: 296,931 514,.596 722,818 427,501 549,960 543,762 357,055 Wild Trii.fS, 129,363 182.138 81,429 131,728 83,413 83,725 38,470 67,910 12,170 90 58,631 44,909 5.652.109 913,976 Low Castes. 61,402 48,806 23,570 34,317 70.099 68,622 8,007 70.347 131,0.59 86,148 61 ,093 76.375 46,158 782,003 Shraw- iiiks. Liugayetsi 32,766 7,010 3,583 10,687 1,468 4.154 1,902 2,780 13,607 4,.331 675 35.977 9,658 128.798 3.204 24 2.354 4,078 8,871 8,299 83,529 5,381 235,729 213,978 09,275 53,541 57.272 46,608 39.624 50,879 124.155 24.604 51,520 61,202 46,023 72,322 82,239 665,447 , 779,264 Parsce: 156 8 2,552 12,663 2,213 2o 114,698 107 65 18 19 35 7 132,.563 2,440 4 1.132 3 29 3,608 Chris- tiaiis. Grand TotaL 77 650,223 71 580,631 26 290,984 146 492,684 32.138 874,570 63 778,112 19,294 666,119 228 666.006 307 995.58.5 16 675.115 1,968 66.5J38 3,051 1.0-25.882 381 754.385 57.766 9,015^34 516 POPULATION OF MADRAS AND CALCUTTA. :^ 'fe^ "fe^ ^ 1*. c o Persons to each Square Mile. coco 'O CO "1 CD Area in Square Miles. oooooooooooooooooooco O 'C "t- O O 70 'O 1^ -1 O — ' O O O C O Xi -M tS 'J" '-T-'X'OOOClOO O^QO O C^_C1,0 1- t- n r- o -M <;o~ t< o o TjT i< « cQ CO o" IT- CO « cc o" «5 c» tC o co" C5 01 CO CO o H C 2 O o OC-Tj;OODOa:^C-l':0'OI--00-^0'MCOCiO cot— coOO^CiC-lOl-^OtDOOOO — tOrcoCi •M 'C ^ <ri CO CO 'M uti cc a: o o; t^ o >o tc ic'fs ■— ' r^ Ci (N O »0 »Q C7J (N^-^iC -^O^-^CO f- ^^'^i— ^C3 iO_C* 100 CO Ol CO lOClCOfMiC'MCCOr—CCCCif^O— 'COCO-f-f't— ^ CDfCOOOI— -MO'O'O — OCDI— CDC^COtOt— O rj^ Ci_ CO 0_ 'O -T-i r3_ 00 t^ -— _^ Ci_ "^^ Oi^ iX_ -^^ -r t^ "O 05^ O .— ' OO' 1-^ ■-'" Cl' O* O C'l Ci CO" ;o" iC -J"* Od' CC oT O co" O C'f •oom'*'r^icicocrit— c-^r— oocot+'i-,coi--^icco -^(£3t*«Mc<1"*iOOCN^-'^'OC0C0C0O*O>C'I:^--h 1-H CD C3i ■*" CO 'd »OCOCO"rticOCO--— "'O'Cir-'MO'ft'COCOCOOSOlCi -# -M O O CD — ' t- C<1 O ^ 33 t- *1 -M -M C<I C^ O CO C-l vo" to" -th^cT o' I !i io oT co' ol o7 ci" ■— ' cT co' v> t^ rN* co" o" ■^iXnCiMC^'<ptDE--C0l-'Ci'^000000O'O«it-~.rH CO CD CO •i* £ tn d £ CO O O CO -- O t— CO Ol — "M OJ 0-1 >o >o OC O Ol o r- 'C -H -f -- CO Ct -r CS -t< -rti O O l~ O — 1- "O --0 O O O ■^.•— , ■^,^^<^iO---^'— ,<^^0_--^01_iO_'-q C'^'--^01_0I.'-}^ M* co' co' o o* ■^' t~r co" --^ o" ic o" -,o' -t-' o r ■^'' cc o' r^ 1. Cl, 5 OOCOCiCOr^tOCO^OOlOCOO— '03-TpcrcOif3— ' t- CO -^^ o oi ■r^ oi 'O t^ oi I— o 'C o: c^ cc C5 0,0,30 co'cft- V"-^''CGC co;D -yJh^t^-ro'o^'to'oi "CT— CD lOCC-^COCncOtD — COCO(MCO<Mr'-COI--QO'*COCO ^- 1 •-- CD ' CO CO CO 1^ '0 001»ti.-'OCOdCO-*"i^O-3 0Cr>CD-*'*COCOCO -fOiODCDCO-M^COr— f-OlCDOOCDOOT-'O— '■* OO O t-; O tC^h^ ^ CO CD CD r- (N w t^ c^_ 05, Ol, CC CO^ Ci, co" CO'^-Si'lCiCt^o' CO CO ^0«5 CO oT CO h>."<*« 1-hOJ » CO CO CO CO CO n3 -t*Cioicico«0':D^a;ococ=>-t"C.coco-+>ccot-. cvj^i-^-t-ciOi-f — ^cDcnocoo-iOicco — oico CC__0 "^^^O^O^^, Tt-__0, CO 0,C^_l-^ O-^-*, CI ---,'0^1^00 0' 0' — ' "" CO*" — '' o-f — ■' rM' — r of o-i" CI* cc" cc I - cd" — T co' Cl-fQ0OO>OOCDOCC'0— '-fOOCDOOt^O-.** CO GO 1 CO co" 'a B 1^ d c -+'>Oi— 'CicDcDi:rico-y"Cioioir--co-+'.-'t^oco-f* CO on— CO GC -H — t^ -M -o -f CD '- CO ic -j: r— -^^ .-- CD «o^ c^_ co_ t~3. :\ <— _ r^ CI, -^ -+1 ro, 0, 0, cc CD, co^ ^ ui' t-^ ^^ 0' of ■» co' 10 -*' of 0* r--' cd" ■ c* 00* ■-»•" x' V ^ f— tN M CS i-H »C "O iC -^ CO Ol r-i Si "5 -i* o o a ci-ocor— — ocicot— cDcccc— 'h-r— omcocoos — -- — Ciccoi«C'a:-T'0:iO>-'COOicoeocooocoi^ — t— CD -*" C^ -t< 01 CI CO »0 Tf 1— r— CO (M CO CJ CD^ >o -TcT CO GO -t^ -f 0' co'o' t-T co"orco o-f t^^^ ^"co o^cococDO^nr-cocciooaco-foo'Ocooo.— t— r* CS'*C0.-lr-.<MCOTt*rH-<J<COC0lCn-.»CpCOCOCOCO TO I to CO CD co" id 1° -SI cD'OcDeocoo'+(M-f^^-looo'(^'<:'^-'Cte^O) —..-.Ol'Mr— COOCO-i'CDCOCDCOOOOOOI^CO.-* CO 30 i--;^eo 'O o^-^^t^t-H co_,cD_c-;,o^co t— t— CM_r-. ^,0, ^■^tStr^<^ -^ jrcrcD'o-fco'"or'l'*t~-reo'"os"x"'^ 'O'-p rHi-iC^(N W rH -^ iC iO W CO Ol t-H 0' CO ' 3 CO o o B OCOCDI-.--COCOC5C10-<'CO^^COCO^-"0 i(OCD^COCO^OUOC0 01CO'+*l-'^^-*'l-OICO'M CD ■>I^__CO^r- -^OJ_.— ,0 OJ_CD -J^Oi Oi t— 0»,Ci Tf«^C>_CO lO of t^ c^' cd' !»* of M*' r -T ^ • rf CO -^ of --' tC -*•*" 05 ■** CO C71 0» 1- CD •— 01 'f as CO 'O OO 7-1 CO CO CD 110 --H If? I-. oJcocor-ii-icocOr-.p-.'^coeoiCf-nococococo CO o* i' «5 CO co" s CD c 1 n 1 1 3I d 1. Ganjara . . 2. Vizagnpatam 3. Riijahmundry 4. MasuUpatain f5. Guntoor . . 6. Nellore . . 7. Bellary . . 8. Cuddapah . 9. Chineleput . 10. North Arcot 11. South Arcot . 12. Salem . . . 13. Tanjore . . 14. Trichinopoly 15. Madura . , 16. Tinnevelly . 17. Coimbatoor . 18. Canara . . 19. Malabar . . 20. Kurnool . . SB c s 15, ■ CO 'C 0» ^-!M 'f5 00 H C-J CD GO 00 C-j CO, 0^ '^ ■^" iC ■^" r-l CO OJ CO CO CO 01 CD CO -f CO' 01 -f (— I- CO CO c3 "J- r- ;o r-« ^: CO CD =0 Ci"c^* t>rcO*QQ cs ■o H CO CO —• T. -- -f CO ■H- M* rH r— M <-i CO I— a> C-l > (M C^ -0 ■< tfj &c -f Cl CO CO CO CO CO ^ Cf r-'-S'' CI < 3 g ^H r- CD CO ■>»< r-t CO CO ? I- cot— rH «D -tf IC C-l rH ■* < S CO 00 CO 'JS I-. "<f fl« rH M" (M CI r- M* »c CO rH <N x: oi rn'^^CO" co^ co" f V- rH c t:- — ' C5 CJ C?l O OS O-l CTi "^ C: Oi r- *0 CO t~-^ -ij^ "* CO 01 CO CO CO cf tdo' of CD t^ CO C^ rH to 'C O^ CD r-. iO rt" -th OC t— CO CO rH ir-o ^ CO CI ic rH o C2 en t— I— eo c^i OJ r* W5 Tf t— rH Tj- O 1^ I— o -*" rH (^ c. r— o ^O CO >C 00 C» O X5 O rH l^T. "^ CO^ rH i-To'cT O I— -^ O 'C h- rt< O — t- UJ O c; -f CO "<f rH "5 01,«q, rH co'tC ■3 S a--: o VI : W W ■< U < =5 S BRITISH TERRITORIES UNDER THE BENGAL rRESIUENCY. 517 Arcii, Dintricts. Snuuru MilcB. I'upulatioa. DKNGAL. Jessore — • Jessore .... 3,512 381,744 24 l'erf,'unnahs 1,1 S(i 288,000 Hurihvaii 2,224 1,804,102 llcc-lv. 2,0.S!I 1,020,840 Nuddi.'a 2,012 298,736 liaiicoorah 1,476 480,000 Burasel .... 1,424 522,000 14,803 5,345,472 7th(iit(/iil/>(>t'e — l!liauf;id|KU-e . 0,806 2.000,000 Dinajporc 3,820 1,200,000 Mun^jlivr 2,558 800,000 I'oonu'ali 5,878 1,000,000 'i'iilioot .... 7,402 2,400,000 Maldali .... 1,000 431,000 26,464 8,431,000 CiUtack— Cuttack with Pooree: — Cuttack. . . .'i.OOl 1 Poorec . . . 1,768/ 4,829 1,000,000 Balasoie 1,876 506,395 Midnapore and Hidgellee 5,029 606,328 Koordah 930 571,160 12,664 2,793,883 Moorshedahad — Moorshedabad 1,850 1,010,000 Uagooraii 2,160 900,000 llungpore 4,130 2,009,000 1 Kajsliahyc 2,081 071,000 Pubiia .... 2,606 600,000 Beerbhoom . 4,730 1,040,876 17,566 6,815,876 Dacca — Dacca .... 1,060 600,000 l''unced])ore, Dacca Je- 1 lalpoi'c . . J 2,002 855,000 MvmeiisiMg . 4,712 1,487,000 Sylhet, including Jyntea 8,424 380,000 Bakurgunge, including 1 Deccau Shabazpore. J 3,794 733,800 j 20,942 4,055,800 Patna— Shahabad 3,721 1,600,000 I'atna .... 1,828 1,200,000 Beluu- .... 5,694 2,500,000 Saiun, with Chumparan 2,560 1,700,000 13,803 7,000,000 (Jhdtngong — Cliittagong 2,500 1,000,000 Tippcrah aud 1 BuUoah J 4,850 r 800,900 1 600,000 7,410 2,400,950 Saui/or and Xerbudda— Jidoun and the Pergun- 1 iialis ceded by Jhaiisie J l,8i3 176,297 Saugor .... 1,857 305,594 1 Jubbuli)ore . 6,237 442,771 i lioshungabad 1,916 242,641 . Area, Districts. Squuro Mile<. Populutioa. Sconce .... 1 ,459 227,070 Dunioli .... 2,428 363,584 Nursingijore . 001 204,486 BaitDoI .... 990 93,441 British Maliairwarrah 282 37,710 15,670 1,967,302 Vis-Snllfij— Unitiallali 293 67,134 Loodianali, includ.Wudni 720 120,898 Kythul and Ladwa 1,538 101,805 Ferozepore . 97 10,890 369,727 Territory lately belong- "1 ing to Seik chiefij. J 1,906 4,559 249,686 North-Hast Frontier (As- som) — Cossva Hills . 729 10,935 Cachar . . . . 4,000 60,000 4,729 Caniroop, Lower 2,788 "i — 300,000 Nowgong, do. . 4,160 > 8,948 70,000 Uurrung, do. . 2,000 J — 80,000 Joorhat (Seeb- I)oor) Upper . 2,905 — 200,000 Lucikmpoor, do. 2,900 ^ 12,857 30,000 Sudiva, including .Mutruck . . 6,942 J — 30,000 21,805 780,935 Goalnara 3,506 400,000 Arracan 15,104 321,522 Tenasserim, Tavov, Ye, . 29,168 115,431 Pegu no returns. Sout?i- If'est Frontier — Sumbuli)ore . 4,693 800,000 Kanigurh or Uazarcebah 8,524 372,216 Loliur-jChota Nagpore i dugga (and Palamow j 5,3081 3,468 i 482,900 Singbhoom . 2,944 200,000 Maunbhoon,{|;-|;-„^ 4,792\ 860/ 772,340 30,589 2,627,456 The Punjauh, inclusive of the Julundur Doab and Koolo territory — Lahore . . i Ihelum Mooltan Leia . . . ! 78,447 4,100,983 Peshawur . lluzara and Kohat j The Sunderbunds — Mouths of Ganges. 6,500 unknown. Total, Bengal . 325,652 47.958,320 NOKTH -WEST. PROV. Delhi— Pauecput ! 1,279 283,42C 518 NOUTH WEST PROVINCES— MADRAS, BOMBAY, AND SINDE. Districts. Hurreeanah . Delhi . Khotuck Goorgaon Meertit — Sahanir.poor . Moziiffernuggur Meerut . Boolundshuhur Allygurh Hohilcund — • Bijnour . Moradabad . Budaon . Bareilly and Pillibheet Shajehanpore Agra- — 'Muttra . Agra . Furruckabad Mynpoorie Etawah . Allahabad — Cawnpore Futtehpoj-e . Humeerpore and Calpee Banda . . . . Allahabad Benares — Goruckpore Azimghur Jounpore Mirzapore Benares . Ghazepore The Butty Territory, in-l eluding Wuttoo. J Perguiinali of Kote Kasim JauMsar ai.d Bawur . Jjeyrah Dhoon . Kumaon (including Ghur- 1 wal. ... J Ajnieer . . . . British iSimaur . Total, N. "W. Provinces Area, Squaru Jliles. 3,300 602 1,340 1,942 8,463 2,165 1,617 2,332 1,855 2,149 10,118 1,904 2,967 2,368 2,937 2,483 12,659 1,607 1,860 1,909 2,009 1,674 9,059 2,337 1,583 2,240 2,878 2,801 Population. 225,086 306,550 294,119 460,326 1,569,501 547,353 537,594 860,736 699,393 739,356 3,384,432 620,546 997,362 825,712 1,143,657 812,588 4,399,865 701,688 828,220 854,799 639,809 481,224 3,505,740 993,031 511,132 452,091 552,526 710,263 11,839 j 3,219,043 7,346 I 2,520 I 1.552 I 5,235 I 994 I 2,187 1 2,376,533 1,313,950 798,503 831,388 741,426 1,059,287 19,834 I 7,121,087 3,017 112,274 70 13,767 579 24,684 673 32,083 6,!»G2 166,755 2,029 224,891 269 25,727 13,599 600,181 Districts. Area, Squiire Miles. MADRAS. ' Rajahniundry . Masulipatam Guntoor, including Palnaud Nellore .... Chingleput Madras, included in Chin- \ gleput. J Arcot, South Division, in- 1 eluding Cuddalore. J Arcot, North Division, in- "I eluding Consooddy. j Bellary .... Cuddapah .... Salem, including Vomun- i door and MuUapandy. j Coinibatore Trichinopoly Tanjore, including Najore Madura, including Dindigul Tinnivelly . Malabar . Canara Gangaiu . Vizagapatam Kurnool . Total, Madras L;ur, including Sub-toliector- 85,571 I 23,800,549 BOMBAY. Sural Broach ."Vhrnedabad Kaira Kandeish . Tan n ah Poonah Ahmedniig Nassick ale. J Shoiapore .... Belgaum . . . . Dharwar . . . . Rutnaghcrry Bombay Island, including i Colaba Island. J Sattara .... Colaba . . . . (Shikaporo Sinde -JHydrabad ( Kurrachee . 6,050 5,000 4,960 7,930 2,993 7,600 5,790 13,056 12,970 Population. 1,012,036 520,860 570,089 935,690 583,462 720,000 1,006,005 1,485,873 1,229,599 1,451,921 8,200 1,195,377 8,280 1,153,862 3,243 709,196 3,900 1,676.086 9,535 1,756,791 5,700 1,269,216 6.060 1,514,909 7,720 1,056,333 118,987 ! 19,847,305 6,400 7,650 2,643 135,680 1,629 1,319 4,356 1,869 9,311 5,477 5,298 9,931 4,991 5,405 3,837 3,964 18 10,222 318 6,120 30,000 16.000 926,9.30 1,254,272 273,190 22,301,697 Total, Bombay . 120,065 11,109,067 492,684 290,984 650,223 580,631 778,112 81 5,84 !» 666,006 995,585 675.115 1.025,8-82 754,385 065,238 560,119 1,005,771 58,721 350,401 551,811 ]S5,.550 Total, Madras and Bombay | 255,745 I 33,410,764 The foregoing districts arc under the sole control of the British government ; the suc- ceeding tables exhibit the locality, area, population, rcventic, subsidy or tribute paid by, and military resources of, each of the protected and subsidiary native states ; several of these, liowevcr — Mysore, for instance — are entirely under our gov^'mnicut, aUliougli the administration is carried on iu the name of tlie legitimate sovereign. TABULAll VIEW OP THE TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES. 519 Native Slates, not under direct Rule, but within the limits of Political Supremacy. ' Name. Locality. Area, Popula- Revenue. Annual Subsidy, Tribute, Military Rcsourcct." in square . ■ nnlcM. or other payment. Artil- lery. Cavalry. Infan- try. Bengal. Rupees, Rupees. Alice Mohun or Kajpoor Al Cent. In. (Malwa) 703 69,384 35,000 12,000 — 30 100 Amjlicrru .... Do. . . flSl 67,232 100,000 35,000 — 400 604 buhaUuorgurU . . | N.W. ProT. (adja- cent tu Delhi dist. 1 .8 14,400 130,000 — — 70 80 Berar {vide Nagpoor). Bhuwlj)oro Cis-Sutlej . 20,003 600,000 1,400,000 — 3,127 10,048 lihopal^ .... Cent. In. (Mahvo) C,7(il 603,'i5G 2,200,000 — 117 442 2,457 Blivirtpore . . ] Cent. In. (adjacent to city of Agra) 1,978 600,000 1,700,000 — 200 1,500 3,700 Doriu {vitU Jabooa). Bullubgurh N.W. ProT. (adja- cent to Delhi d.st. lyo 57,000 100,000 — ~ 100 350 Bundlecund — „ Adjyghur . C. In. (Bundlecund) 3Ki 45,000 325,000 7,7.:o 18 200 1,200 „ AUypoora . Ditto 85 9,000 45,000 — — — 75 „ Uandu Ditto — — . 69 167 207 „ Behree Ditto . ' . 30 2,500 23,000 2 25 100 Bchut Ditto 1.5 2,.5(10 15,.500 1 10 60 „ Beniunda . Ditto 275 24,000 46,000 — 1 40 200 „ Baonce Ditto 127 18,800 100,000 — — 50 300 „ BiiyHcmda . Ditto S 2,000 9,000 — 11 125 „ Bijawur Ditto 920 90,000 225,000 4 100 UOO „ Bijna . Ditto 27 2,800 8,000 " — 2 15 125 „ Chirkarce . Ditto 880 81,000 460,8.30 9,484 30 300 1,0()0 „ Chutterporu Ditto 1,240 120,000 300,000 ■ — 10 100 1,000 „ Uuttcah Ditto «oO 120,000 1,000,000 _ 80 1,000 5,000 „ Uoorwac . Ditto 18 3,000 16,000 — . — 8 230 „ Gurowleo . Ditto 50 6,000 14,000 4 35 257 „ Gorihar Ditto 76 7,500 65.000 3 60 225 „ Jignee Ditto 27 2,800 15,000 — 1 19 51 „ Jusso Ditto 180 24.000 13,000 1 8 60 „ Jhansi Ditto 2,532 200,000 611,980 74,000 40 200 3,000 „ Kainpta Ditto 1 .■;oo 1,500 — . — — Logaseo Ditto 29 3,500 12,680 — 14 40 „ Mukrce Ditto 10 l.CuO 6,000 — — — — „ Nowagaon or ) Nygowan J Ditto 10 1,800 9,100 — 4 12 100 „ Nyagaon ,, Oorcha or Tehree Ditto 30 5,000 10,600 _ — 7 100 Ditto ■2,160 192,000 701,000 — 100 627 7.283 „ I'unna Ditto ■ 688 67,500 400,000 10,000 18 250 3,000 „ Paharee or Puliaree Ditto 4 800 800 .— 50 Puhrah . Ditto 10 1,600 8,000 — 4 99 Paldeo Ditto 28 3,500 21,000 — 10 60 „ Poorwa Ditto 12 1,800 9,500 — — 5 40 „ Sumpthur . Ditto 175 28,000 450,000 — 45 300 4,000 „ Surchlah . Ditto 35 4,500 4.5,000 — — 25 75 „ Tohrec Futteporc Ditto 36 6,000 36,830 2,650 12 20 251 „ Taraon or Turaon Ditto 12 2,000 10,000 — 3 5 40 Burwanee .... Cent. In. (Malwa) 1,380 13,800 30,000 — — 25 60 Caaliuiere (Gholab Sing's Dominions) . Punjab . 25,123 750,000 — — 1,200 1,972 20,418 Cooch Behar Cossya and Garrow Hills— N. E. frontier, Ben- gal • 1 1,301 136,400 132,000 66,000 — 342 108 The Garrows . / 2,268 \ Ram Rye 323 K ustung 300 Muriow . 28:i Wolyong Ditto / 110 , 65,205 — — — — 2,282 M ah ram 102 Osimla . 350 Kvrim, and other petty Chiefs . . ) 4SG J iS'otes. — * Some of these states are protected ami tributary, others protected but not tributary ; scTersl, under sub- sidiary allianc??, arc bound to maintain a body of troops in readiness, when required, to co-operate with the British army ; a few small states nrc jjrotcrtL'd by England, but tributary t<t larger states. Nepaul is not protected, trilmtarj-, or subsidiary, but the rajah is bound by treaty to abide in certain cx^es by the decision of the British government, and, like all the other rulers, prohibited from retaininij in his service subjects of any European or American state. ' In some states the troops are olhcered by Europeans from the British army ; in many there are police corps nnd irregular feudal forces — corresi>onding in some measure to our militia. In scTcral instances there is a road police, &nd an organized corps for the collection of the revenue. =* Under the treaty of 1S18 the Nabob was to furnish a contingent force of 600 cavalry and 400 infantry ; but in 1824 the num'jcrs were reduced to 2j0 cavalry, 52-' infantry, and 48 artillery, and placed under European command. The contingent is excluiive of the Nabob's trot.ps. There is also a feudal f-irce. consisting of 30 artillcr)-, 'JOO cavalry, pnd 1,000 iniwiiVry .^[Statistical Papers relatimj to India, laid before Variiamt^nt^ \^oi.\ 520 TABULAR VIEW OF THE TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES. Annual Area, Popula- tion. Subsidy, Military Resources. Name. Loeality. in square Revenue. Tribute, miles. or other payment. Artil- lery. Cavalry. Infan- Bengal — ccmtinued Cuttack Mehals — Rupees. Rupees. „ Angool . — — — 1,550 — 5,000 „ Autf^ur • — — — 6,718 — 1,500 „ Banky . • — — 4,162 — 1,500 „ Berumbah . • — — — 1,310 — 1,.300 „ Dhenkanaul . > — — — 4,780 — 7,000 „ Hindole * . — — — 516 — . 250 ,, Kundiapurra * • . . ■ 7,605 346,275 — 3,948 — 2,000 „ Neelgur . — — — 3,617 — oOO „ Nursingpore Cuttack, in the • prov. of Orissa. — — — 1,364 — 1,500 „ Nyaghur — — — 5,179 — 7,000 ,, Kunpoor — — — 1,313 — 1,500 „ Talchur — — — 974 — 500 „ Tiggreah — — — 826 — 300 „ Autmallik . 648 29,160 — 450 — 500 „ Boad . 1,377 61,965 ^ 750 — 2,000 „ DiispulJa . 162 7,290 — 620 — 500 „ Koonjerry . 5,022 225,990 — 2,790 — 15,000 „ Monurbunge 2,025 91,125 i 1,001 — 8,000 Deojana . North- West Provs. (near Delhi dist.) 71 6,390 — — 50 150 Dewas .... Cent. In. (Malwa) 256 25,088 400,400 — — , 175 500 Dhar Do. . 1,070 104,860 475,000 — 47 '254 798 Dholpore ... Hindostan (banks ofChumbul). 1,626 550,000 700,000 — 40 177 1,600 Furruckabad . North- West Provs. (Lower Dooab). _ — — — 2 lOS 294 Furrucknuggiir . North-West Provs. (adjacentto Delhi). 22 4,400 — - - - 25 Gholab Sing's Dominions, vide Cashmere. Gwalior (Scindia's Pos.)* Central India .33,119 3,228,512 6,000,000 1,800,000 314 0,548 2,760 Hill States— Cis-Sutlej— Bhagul Bujee or Beejee . Northern In. (Cis- Sutlej) 100 70 40,000 50,000 3,600 — 3,000 Ditto 25,000 30,000 1,440 — 1,000 Bejah . . Ditto 5 3,000 4,000 ISO — 200 Bulsun Ditto 64 5,000 6,000 1,080 — 500 Bussahir Ditto 3,000 150,000 150,000 15,000 — — 1 300 Dhamie Ditto 25 3,000 3,500 720 — 100 Dhoorcatty . Ditto 5 200 400 — — — — Gliurwal . Ditio 4,500 100,000 100.000 . — — — — Hindoor or Nalagarh Ditto 233 20,000 80,000 — — — 30a Joobul Ditto 330 15,000 14,1.30 2,520 — — — Kothar Ditto 12 4,000 7,000 1,080 — 400 Koonyhar . Ditto 12 2,500 3,500 ISO — — 1 200 2,690 Keonthul . Ditto 272 26,000 33,500 — — Konmharsiu Ditto 56 12,000 10,000 1,440 — 1,000 Kiihloor . . . Ditto . .j 150 32,250 110,000 — — — 1 400 Mangul Ditto 15 1,000 1,000 72 — 50 Jluhlog Ditto 50 13,000 10,000 1,440 . — 500 Mance Majrah . Ditto 80 16,7'20 00,00(1 — . — — — Sirmoor or Nahun Ditto 1,075 62,350 100,000 — — — 400 Hill States— Trans-Sutlej — Mundi JuUunder Dooab . 759 113,091 3.50 000 . — — 500 Sonkeit Ditto . 174 25,926 80,000 — — — 300 Holcar's Vm.,ivide Indore). Hyderabad (Nizam's do- ) minions* . . J Indore (Holcar's Pos.) Hindostan . 95,337 10,066,080 15,500,000 3,500,000' — 4,521 12,369 Cent. Ind. (Malwa) 8,318 815,164 2217,210 642 3,145 3,821 < Is'otes. — * The revenues of Gwalior amount to 60 lacs of rupees per annum, exclusive of the districts assigned fox the paymont of the contingent force (18 lacs of rupees). The contingent consists of 8,401 men, commanded by British officers The military force of the Maharajah, exclusive of the contingent, is not to exceed 9,000 men. ' In addition to those troops the Niztim maintains an irregular force, composed of Arabs, Sikhs, Turks, &e., amounting to 9,811 men. The State is itlso entitled to the services of 4,7-iO nrmcd retainers, maintained by the Feudal (.'liiefs from revenues assigned by the Government for their support. The total military force of Hyderabad comprises tive separate bodies, viz.: — 1. British Subsidiary Force, 10,G'28. 2. Nizam's Auxiliary Force, 8,094. 3. Nizam's Irregulars, 16,890. 4. Force of Feudal Chiefs, 4,749. 5. Miscellaneous Force of Arabs, Sikhs, Turks, &c , 9,811. Total, o0,172. Under the Treaty of 1800, the Nizam's Contingent was to consist of 6,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry; but the Anxiliarij Force, organized untbtr British officers, and paid by the Nizam, has been substituted for the Contingent, and consists of 8,094 cavalry, infantry, and artillery. The British subsidiary force amounts to 10,628 artillery, cavalry, and infantry. * The cost of the Nizam's Auxiliary Force. * This force is inclusive of the contingent of cavalry, which Holcar is bound to furnish. This prince contributes 11,000 rupees per annum towards the maintenance of the Malwa Bhcelcorps, and also a further sum in aid of the United Malwa contingent. TABULAR VIEW OF THE TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES. 521 Namo Locality. Area, Po|)ula- Revenue. Annual .SuljHidy, Tribute, or other payment. Military Rciourccs. ins(niarc milts. tion. Artil- lery. Cavalry. Infan- try. n K.NOA h—conliniied. Rupees. Rupees. Jabooa .... Central India 1,318 included 1.32,104 included 144/)30 ) 39,000 40 m Borai or Borco . Cent In.(Mahva) in that nf Jiihooa. in tliat of .Taltrxia. [ M.OOO — — 16 30 Jucknowil.i Ditto Ditto . Ditto . 10,000 — — 15 25 .Ihujur ... North- West Provs. fadjaccnt to Delhi) I,'j:i0 110,700 600,000 — 180 1,280 1,700 Jobut Cent. In. (.Malwa) — — 10,000 ._ — ■ 15 2.5 Jowrn .... Ditto 872 8.5,466 800,000 — 50 60 7!0 Jucknowda (vide Jabooa) Koorwaco .... Ditto 200 19,600 75,000 — — 40 1.50 Loliaroo . . . j North- West Provs. (near Delhi.) 1 200 18,000 — — — 60 260 Muoherry {vide Alwur, un- der Rajpoot States). Mminccpoor N. Eastern Frontier (Hengal). Dcccan . J ~,m 75,840 — — 452 — 3,1.58 Napporc or Berar * 711, W2 4,650,000 4,908,560 800,000 372 2,424 4,163' Ncpaul .... Northern India . .51,500 1,910,000 3,200,000 — 1,100 — 8,400" Nizam h'ide Hyderabad). Nursinghur [vide Omut- warru). Omutwarra — Ilajyhur Nursinghur Cent. In. (Malwa) Ditto I 1,34S 132,104 f 200,000 \ 275,000 — 10 20 50 1.50 150 3.50 Oude .... North-West Provs. 23,738 2,970,000 14,473,380 — 5,304 4,08S 41,707 » Patowdee ... North-West Pi-ovs (near Delhi dist.) I ^* 6,660 60,000 ^__ — 75 280 Rajghur (ride Omutwarra) Uajpnor Ali (cidc Alice >Iohun). Rajpoot States — Alwur or Macherry, } including Tejarra. j Rajpootana . 1 3,573 280,000 1,SOO,000 — - 4,000 11,000 Hanswarra . Ditto l.UO 141,000 95,000 ' 25,000 — 150 225 Bikaneer Ditto 17,070 539,250 6.50,380 — — l,.58l 2,100 > Ditto 2,291 229,100 .500,000* 40,000 150 1.000 520' DooTigerporo Ditto 1,000 100,000 109,000 8 — 125 200 • Jcssulmcro Ditto 12,252 74,400 84,720 30 754 252 Jvepore or Jyenagur . Ditto 15,251 1,891,124 4,583,950 » 400,000 692 2,096 18,377'» Jhall.iwur . Ditto 2,200 220,000 1.500,000 80,000 500" 450 3,010 Joudpore Ditto 35,672 1,7.S3,600 1,7.52,.520 223,000 — 2,630 5,8.50'» Kerowlce . Ditto 1,878 187,800 506,900 — — 248 546 Kishcngurh Ditto 724 70,952 — — — — — Kotah Ditto 4,339 433,900 2,800,000 384,720 601 710 2,140 Odcypore or Mewar . Ditto 11, 6U 1,161,400 1,250,000 200,000 — 1,200 4,200" Xotes. — ^ The Rnjah is hound by treaty to furnish 1,000 horse to serve with the British army in time of war. Hi» military force, as here stated, is exclusive ot a police corps of 2,'i74 men. * In addition to this body of infantry there is an irregular force of 5,000 men, and a police corps amounting to 2,000 men. An accredited minister from the British Government resides at the court of Ncpaul, with an escort of 94 rank and tile, officered and paid by the British. ' The oblif^ation of the British government, under the treaty of 1798, to maintain a force of 10,000 men in Oude, was superseded by the treaty of 1801. Under the provisions of the latter treaty, the British Government are bound to the defence of the kingdom against all enemies, but exercise their own discretion as to the requisite number of troops. The strength of the British subsidiary force amounts at the present time to 5,578 men. By the treaty of 18.'?7, the limit on the number of troops to be maintained by the king was removed, and hi^ majesty may employ such a military establish- ment as he may deem necessary for the government of his dominions — -power being reserved to the British government to insist upon reduction in case of excess, A police corps of 100 horse and 460 foot is also maintained by the King of Oude for the protection of the British frontiers of Goruckpoor and Shahjehanpoor, bordering ou the territory of Oude. * Irrespective of the revenues of feudal grants and religious endowments. * The militai-y force is irrespective of the quotas to be furnished by the Feudal Chiefs amounting to 1^00 horse^ but inclusive of a mounted police, numbering 535 men. " Irrespective of feudal estates and religious endo^rments. ' Irrespective of a police force of 2,000 men, and also of an irregular feudal force of 2,500, " The tribute is not to exceed three-eighths of the annual revenue. The force is exclusive of a poUco force^ amount- ing to 100 men. ' The revenue, as here stated, is independent of feudal jaghircs and charitable endowments, producing 4,000.000 more. The amount of tribute payable by Jyepore, under the treaty of ISIS, namely, 800.000 rupees, was rcdaced, in 1842, to 400,000 rupees. '" The military force here stated is exclusive of the troops maintained by the Feudatory Chiefs, amounting to 5,690 men, and exclusive of the garrisons of forts, amounting to 5,267. *' There is also a police force of 1,500 men in Jhallawur. *' This force is irrespective of tlio Joudpore legion, which w.as embodied in 1347, in lieu of the Joudpore contingent, and consists of— artillery, 31; cavalry, 251; infantrj-, 739 ; Bhcel companies, 222. Total, 1,246 men, commanded by British otHcers. There is also a force of 2,000 men maintained by the Feudal Chiefs. " Irrespective of the Kotah contingent, which consists of— cavali-y, 283; artillery, 66 j infantry, 799. Total, 1448 men, commanded by British officers. There is also a police force consisting of 2,000 men. 522TABIJLAR VIEW OP THE TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES. Name. Bexgal — contiriued. Rnjpnot States — continued. Pertabgurh & Dowlea Serohee Rampore . . j Rutlam .... SauEjor and Nerbudda Ter- ritories — ■ Kothee , . ] Myheer Ocheyrah . Rewa and Mookund- { pore. j Sohawul Shahpurh . Scindia's Dominions {vide Gwalior). Seeta Mow Sikh Protected States— ^ Boorea (Dealpurh) Chickrowlee (Kulseah) Furreedkote Jhecnd JIulair Kotla . Mundote . . Nabha Puttiala Rai Kote . South-AV est Frontier of Bengal — * Bnmbra Bonei .... Jiora Samba Burgun Gangpoor . Locality. Jushpore Keriall or Koren, in- *) eluding Bhokur. J Korea. Nnwagur or Bindra) Nowagur. J Odeypore . Patna . . . , Phooljee Rhyghur . Sarunghur . SingboomJ States in Kursava ^7'.'^ f'"' \ tript or Scrickala -' Singboom. Sirgooja Sohnpoor Suctce Rikkim .... Tijarra {vide AhvTir, Raj- poot States). Took, and other Dopcn- ilcncics of Ameer Khan viz. — 1. Chuppra; 2. Nim l)cra ; 3. Perawa 4. Ilampoora ; 5. Se ronjee. Rajpootana . Ditto North-West Provs (Barcilly). Cent Iu."(Malwa) Cent. In. fSaugor and Nerbuddaj. Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Cent. In. (Mahva) Cis-Sutlej Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Area, in square miles. Popula- tion. Orissa . Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Nortliern India Central India 1,4.57 3,024 [ 720 936 '. 100 1,026 436 9,827 179 676 208 SO 63 308 376 144 780 541 4,448 6 1,224 1,0.57 622 399 2,493 617 1,.512 2,225 1,512 2,306 1,1.58 890 1,421 799 14-5,700 1.51,200 320,400 91,728 30,000 100,000 120,000 1,200,000 80,000 30,000 20,384 11,920 9,.387 45,892 66,024 21,4.56 116,220 80.609 602,752 894 55,980 47,565 27,990 17,9.55 112,185 27,705 68,040 100,000 08,040 133,748 52,110 40,050 63,945 35,955 Rcvt Included in British dist. of Singboom. 5,44! 1,467 268 1,670 1,864 316,252 66,015 12,060 61,766 182 Annual Subsidy, Tribute, or other payment. Rupees. Ruppi 175,000 I 57,874' f 3-8ths of 74,060 1,000,900 450,000 47,000 64,500 66,320 2,000,000 32,000 90,000 50.000 105,000 45,000 300,000 300,000 400,000 5,500 10,000 6,000 4,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 20,000 10,000 5,000 15,000 25,000 6.000 20,000 6,000 4,01 10 6,000 10,000 60,000 60,000 4,000 820,000 1 An. Rev. 66,150 Military Resources. Artil- lery. 47,2.50 ,340 200 160 320 500 (Included I in Sir- f-gooja. 1,095 1,600 'Included in .Sir- ' gooja. 600 440 170 I 1,400 : 107 I 3,200 6,400 240 29 Cavalry. Infan- try. 250 200 497 225 10 25 i 842 1.50 130 400 [ — 300 600' 1,387 600 50 300 7,291 SCO 225 20 50 10 50 60 100 250 500 168 200 100 60 400 500 1,500 1,500 12 20 ,Vor«».— ' The tribute is received by the British Government, but paid over to Holcar • These troops, as well as the force maintained by feudatories, amounting to 905 cavalry and 5,300 infantry, are employed also in revenue and police duties. _' The Sikh Stales were taken under British protection by treaty with Runject Sing, ruler of the ruiijab, dated 25th April, 1806. All but those above mentioned have been deprived of independent authority, in consciiuenee of failure in their allegiance during the war with the Sikhs. ' These States are comprised within the territory ceded to the British by the Rajah of Nagpore, under the treaty TABULAR VIEW OF THE TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES.r>23 Annual Area, Popula- tion. Subsidy, Military Rcwiurcoa. Namo, Locality. in nquare miles. Rovenuo. Tribute, or other payment. Artil- lery. 1 Cavalry. Infan- try. B K s a Ki.— continued. Tonk, &c.— continued. Rupees. Rupees. Tipporali ' Eastern India, ad- jacent to Burmah. 7,632 - - — — — — Tiilcrnm (Sonaputtjr's Territory). j Eastern In. (Assam) 2,000 30,000 — — — — — MADRAS. Cochin • . . . . Coast of Malabar . 1,988 288,176 480,000 240,000 _ , __ Jcypore, ami the Hill Zo- ) mindurs. j Orissa . 13,011 391,2.30 - 16,000 — — — Mysoro .... Southern India . 30,886 3,000,000 6,931,870 2,450,000 2,472 roodoocr)ttali ( RajahTou- diman's Dominions), j Southern India \ (Madura). J 1,165 01,745 — — — — — Travancoro Southern India . 4,722 1,011,824 4,158,075 790,130 — BOMBAY. Balasinoro .... Guzerat 2.58 19,092 41,548 10,000 8 50 Bansda ... Ditto 32.5 24,050 47,000 7,S00 — — 77 Bavoda (Dominions of tho ) Guicowar. j Ciinibiiy .... Ditto 4,399 325,526 6,687,440 — 03 5,9 12 > 3,0.54 Guzerat . . 500 37,000 300,000 60,000 200 1,500 CiiUiporc, including its de- ) pendencies, viz. — j Southern Mah- ) ratta country, j 550,000 — 27 450 3,848* Bhowda — 51.662 . 16 468 Inchulkunjco Khaf-ul — • 3,445 500,000 • 75,000 72,700 — — 50 25 1,051 672 Vishal^ur . — 123,140 — — 5 164 113 Surinjams.ormi- ) nor dependencies. J — ) . 631,628 — Cutch .... Western India 6,764 600,536 738,423 200,000 — — — Daung Rajahs . Guzerat 950 70,300 — — _ — — Dhurrumpore ( Ditto (coUecto- ) 1 rate of Surat). J 225 16,650 91,000 9,000 — IC 5 Guzerat (Guicowar's Do- minions), vids Baroda. Guzerat Petty States— ' Chowrar* . Guzerat 225 2,500 9,000 25 Pahlunpore Ditto 1,850 130,000 298,838 50,000 10 110 429 Radhunporo Ditto 850 45,000 165,000 20 285 197 Bauhier Ditto 120 500 1,206 Charcut Ditto 80 2,500 2,524 Deodar Ditto 80 2,000 3,650 — — — . Kankrej Ditto — — 12,895 . „ Merwara Ditto included nThurrauc 4,230 — 6 1 Santulpoor . Ditto — — 11,346 — — __ Soegaum Ditto 64 4,500 5,404 — . — — . Therwarra . Ditto 48 800 2,303 Thurra Ditto — — 6,460 — 24 ! 8 Thurraud . Ditto 600 23,000 11,335 ^_ 20 18 Warryc Ditto 299 20,000 16.770 _ — AVow . . . . Ditto 364 10,000 7,300 — — 15 S 'I'he military force in Guzerat is thus composed of— Ut. British suh^idiary, 4,000 infantry; 1 1 company of artillery. 2nd. Guicowar's Ucpular Troops, 6,0o9. 3rd, Guicowar's Contiugeut, Notes. — * This distinct is hilly, much covered with jungle, and vcrj- thinly inhabited. * In Cochin, in consequence of the misrule of the liujah, the affairs of the State have been conducted, since 1839, by a native minister, in commvxnicatiou with the llritish resident. ^ This force includes a continijent of ."i.OOO cavalry, which acts with the British subsidiary force, but is supported at the Guicowar's expense, and paid and equipped agreeably to the sugi^stions of the British Oovernment. There is aho another body of troops (the Guzerat Irrecjular Horse), consistintf of /-^G men. paid by the Guicowar, but commanded by British oflu'crs, and st;itioned in the British district of Ahincdabad. In addition to the foregoing there is a police force, consisting? of 4,000 men. T' ' " " ' " ' " . - . - 2 resiments of cavalry, and ' 3,000 cavalry. 4th. Guzerat Irrci;ular Horse. 7'>G. 5th. Police Corps, 4,000. * The Colaporc force here specified consists of native troops, uncontrolled as to discipline; they are a!«embled under the orders of the jiolitical superintendent whenever required. There is, however, an efficient force (the Colaporc Local Cori>s), commanded by Brili'^h olHrers, and consisting of— cavalry. 30;^; infantry, 004 ; total, 907. The military force of the lour l-'oudiil Chiefs is shown under " Military Resources." They are hound to furnish a contingent for their JeudaJ superior, consistini; of — cavalry. 'i4() ; infantry, oSO ; total, S'ifi. Besides the above there is a regal ar police corps of 674 men, »nd a body termed extra tighting-men, av;ulablo for police duties, amounting to o,U3 men. ^ Quotas of horse and foot are furnished by chiefs in the petty States of Guzerat to their feudal superiors, whicl have not been included in the military resources of each State. TUey amount, in the aggregate to 1,496 horse uo. 16.9.)4 foot. ^ The petty State of Chowrar is divided among a numlier of chieftains. , 524 TABULAR VIEW OF THE TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES, Area, Popula- tion. Annual Subsidy, Military Resources. Name. Locality. m square miles. Kerenue. Tribute, or other payment. Artil- lery. Cavalry. Infan- try. Bombay — continued. Rupees. Rupees. Guzerat Petty States— co7i- tinued. Hiirsool {vide Pelut). Guzerat 19,850 1,468,900 4,501,723 1,047,396 102 3,888 8,122 Kattywar* Pettv Chiefs , Scinde 5,000 105,000 — — 47 727 : 105 Khvrpore . . . • Wyhee Caunta* is dis- 1 tributed into Six Dis- tricts— 1st. Nance Mar- ■vvar— comprisiugEdur, Alimeduuggur, Moras- sa. Ilursole, Byer, Tin- toiie, Dauuta, Malpoor, Pole, Pall, Posuna, Gudwaria, 'S\'a]la>uu, and Ilunole. 2ad. Beh- v,'uv — fonipri&ing Gore- varra. llunassiim, Mo- liuup()ur,Surdooe,lluo- pal, Boroodra, Wurra- i paon, and Dhudulea. 1 3rd. Sabur Cawnta — composed of Cooly pos- Guzerat 3,400 150,000 600,000' 138,400 — 291 630 « sessions on the easttjrn bank of the Sabur Mut- tee, with the Rajpoot districts of Wursora, Maunsa, and Peetha- pore, ou the western bank of that river. 4th. Kuitosun, — composed exclusively of Cooly possessions. 5th. By- ul. or Baweesee— com- prising Wasna and Sa- dra. 6th. Watruck — comprising Amleyara, Mandwah, Khural, Bar Mooarah, & Satoomba. Feint and Hursool . Collectorate of | Ahmeduuggur. J 750 55,500 29,724 3,360 - — 100 llewa Caunta, comprising 57,651 12,000 43 168 1st. Barrcea or Deog- hur Burreea. 870 64,380 2nd. Loonawarra . Ditto . 500 37,000 40,000 19,200 — 50 100 Notes — * The province of Kattywar is divided among a considerable number of Hindoo chiefs. Some of them are under the direc-t authority of the British Government ; the remainder, though subject to the Guicowar, have also been placed under the control and management of the British Government, which collects the tribute and accounts for it to the Guicowar. The following Table exhibits the divi.^ion of the province into talooks, or districts, with the number of chiefs, the amount of revenue and tribute, and the military resources of each ; — Number ofChiefbiu eiich Talooka. Revenue. Tribute. Remainder. Sebundy Foj-ce. Artil- „ , 1 Infan- lery. Cavalry.j t^y_ Boruth llaUar Muchookauta Babriuwar . Ond Surna . Jhalawar . Gohelwar . Kaltcewar . Burda . Okamundel, &c. . 3 26 2 32 23 51 27 47 1 4 Rupees. CJS.OOO 973,100 151,000 30,200 32,923 831,900 7'.i.i.:iOO S.').J,SOO 200,000 73,500 Rupees. 99,959 322,461 06,358 8,127 10,307 238,143 140,492 121,113 34,1.30 Rupees. 528,041 650,639 84,642 22,073 22,616 593,757 578,808 734,687 165,564 73,500 30 25 20 ~~7 20 903 827 102 40 2 472 015 480 100 47 1,930 '1,702 175 65 5 717 1,720 895 400 513 Total . 216 4,501,723 1,047,390 3,454,327 102 3,888 1 8,122 » The province of the Myhee Caunta is divided among several petty chiefs, tributary to the Guicowar. The whole province has been idaicU under the control and management of the Britisli Government, whicli collects the Guicowar's dues, and pays over the amount to that prince. » Revenue of Edur and Ahmednujjgur, 231,000 rupees ; of the remaining states, 206,000. Total revenue of Myheo Cflunta, 600,000 rupees, ' I'ix: force maintained by the other oliicfs of the Myhce Caunta is stated to consist of about 6.000 men MILITARY RKSOUIICKS OK INI) [A- -I5IUTISII AND ALLIED. 525 Namo. Locality. Area, 1 Annual Subsidy, .Military Rciourcci. inkouari milos. or other payment. Artil- lery. Cavalry. Infan- try. noMW w—conlitmerl. Kupoes. Rupees. Rewu Cuuntu — cottfiriui'iL 3rd. Mtiwiissfo Cliicfs.j 1 residing (in tho biiiiUs ( of tho Ncrbudda and ( till! Mylu'c. J CJuzcrat 375 27,750 — 67,613 - - — 4th. Odcyporo (Chutu) or Mohun. J 5th. Uiypoi'iilii Ditto . 1,059 78,300 74,000 10,000 — 70 368 I'itto . 1,650 122,100 203,960 60,000 — 98 286 6tli. Simutli . Ditlo . 425 31,450 20,000 7,000 — 40 100 Sattani Jaj^'hirus — 1. Akulkoto . Suttnra . "> Tho area and po- — 122 493 2. lihoro .... Ditto . puIati<mof tliese — 20 908 3. Juth .... Ditto . States cannot be — 10 202 4. Ounde Ditto . f given separately Z — 25 2.55 6. rhuUim Ditto . from theprinci- — 15 173 Wyhoe Ditt •' pnlit f of Sattura — — — Sawunt Wiirree South Concan 800 120,000 200,000 — . — 611 Sindc {cuic Khyrporo). Suuthcrn Mahralta Jag- hires — IlaWeo . 1 f 10,024 \ — 14 75 Jhunikundeo . 270,246 — 102 785 Kooiiwiir 167,392 — 43 682 The two chiefs of Meeruj Moodliole Southern Mah- ) rattu country. J 3,700 410,700 275,343 94,645 , 01,720 — 87 35 1,053 420 Nurgoond 51,609 103 643 dangleo .... 468,044 — 675 3,900 Savunore 29,670 — 25 431 Shedbal .... 123,599 68 212 Sueheen .... Guzerat 300 22,'200 89,000 — — 18 Wusravee (Bheel Cliicfs) | Ditto (southern boundary of Uaj- [ 450 33,.3O0 — — — — — peeplu. ABSTRACT— Native States. IJongal .... — 907,949 44,255,517 84,151,785 7,995,471 12,593 54,671 287,309 Madras .... — 51,802 4,752,975 4,1.58,075 796,430 _ — 2,472 Bombay . 57,375 4,393,400 18,670,820 1,862,990 369 13,632 27,872 717,126 53,401,892 106,980,681 10,654,891 12,962 68,303 317,653 ' Notc.^ii will be seen from the above that the military resources of the native princes of India comprise a force of 398,018 men. Where no distinction has been made in the official records between the cavalry and infantry of a native state, the whole armed force has been included in this statement . -^der the head of infantry. In reference to this enor- mous force it is proper to observe, that considerable portions of the regular troops of native States are described in the official returns as fitted rather for police purposes than as available for regular military duties. Where the military force of ft native prince is not under the command of European officers, it rarely happens tnal there exists any regular system of payment ; and, under such circumstances, a native army is invariably found to be badly organised and inefficient. The figures above given do not include either the police corps or the quotas of troops which the military chiefs are bound to furnish to their feudal superior. ' Including officers attached to native regiments. Abstract of Population, Area of British and other European States, and Army of British Government in India, exclusive of H. M. European Cavalrp and Infantry, comprising 30,000 men. AllSTllACT OF POPULATIO.V. Army op British Govebxment in India. Area. Population. Description. Euro- pean. Company's Troops. Sq. Miles. 325,652 85,571 135,680 120,065 1,575 47,958,320 23,800.549 22,301.697 11,109,067 202,540 British States— Bengal Natives. Total. North-AVcsteru Provinces .... Madras Bombay Eastern Straits Settlements Engineers. Artillery . Cavalry Infantry . Medical . Warrant Officers Veterans . Total . . 321 2,248 7,436 9,004 469 30,8.51 9,648 193.942 1,111 652 243 — 700 3,424 2,.569 16,440 34,9,84 229,406 1,763 243 4,124 Foreign States — French (Pondicherrv, Mahe, &c.) Portuguese (Uoa, Dm, Demaun.) 668,543 188 800 105,169,633 171,217 not known. Total . . . 988 171,217 19,928 240,121 289,529 The Contingent Troops of the Native States commanded by British officers, and available, under treaties, to^ the British Government, amount to about 32,000 men, viz. : — Hyderabad (Nizam's) .\uxiliary Force, 8,094 ; Gwalior (.Scin- dia's) Contingent, 8,401; Kntah Contingent, 1.148; Mysore Horse. 4.000; Guzerat (Guicowar's) Contingent, 3,7.56; Bhopal Contingent, 829 ; Malwa United Contingent, 1.617 ; Malwa Bhccl Corps, 648 ; Joudporc Legion, 1,246; Meywar Bheel Corps. 1,054; Colapore Local Horse, 907 ; Sawunt Warree Local Corps, 611. Total, .32,311. Holkar and tho Rajah of Nagpore arc bound bv treaty to furnish contingents, ihe former of 3,000, and the latter of l.OCO horse. 3 Y 526 OFFICIAL STATEMENT RESPECTING SUBSIDIARY SYSTEM— 1853. Therelationbetween the Anglo-Indian gov- ernment and native states, is thus described : " The states with which subsidiary alliances have been contracted are ten in number :— Cochin ; Cutch ; Guzerat (territoi-v of the Guicowar) ; Gwalior (pos- sessions of Scindia) ; Hyderabad (territory of the Nizam) ; Indore (territory of Holcar) ; Mysore ; Nagpore, or Berar ; Oude ; Travancore. In some of these states, enumerated in the above list, the charge for the maintenance of the subsidiary force has been commuted by various cessions of territory at the undermentioned dates, viz.: — Guzerat (Guicowar), ceded districts in Guzerat. in 1805; and Ahme- dabad farm, &c., in 181": Gwalior* (Scindia), Upper Dooab, Delhi territory, &c., 1803: Hy- derahad, (Nizam), Northern circars, 1766; Gun- toor, 1788; districts acquired from Tippoo, 1800; Indore (Holcar), Candeish and other districts, 1818; Oude, Benares, 1775: Goruckpore, Lower Dooab, Bareilly, &rc., 1801. The Rajah of Nagpore, or Be- rar, in addition to the cession of territory on the Nerbudda and parts adjacent, pays to the British government an annual subsidy of £80,000. The four remaining subsidiary states pay annual subsidy, as under :— Cochin, £24,000 ; Cutch, £20,000 ; My- sore, £245,000 ; Travancore, £79,643. The British government has reserved to itself the right, in the event of misrule, of assuming the management of the country in the states of Cochin, f Mysore,}: Nag- pore,§ Oude,§ Travancore.|| The other subsidiary states — Cutch, Guzerat, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Indore, are not subject to control in their internal adminis- tration ; yet so oppressive in some instances have been the rule of the chiefs, and, in others, so lawless the habits of the people, that the interference of the British government has been occasionally rendered absolutely necessary, in some of the above subsidiary, as well as in several of the prutected states. Indeed, a clear necessity must be held to confer the right of such interference in all cases, as the prevalence of anarchy and misrule in any district must be fraught with danger to all around it ; while its long continu- ance would lead to the dissolution of the state itself where it prevailed, and, consequently, interference would become essential to the effective exercise of that protection which the British government has engaged to afford. Besides the native states having subsidiary treaties, there are about two hundred^ others which acknowledge the supremacy of the Bri- tish government, and which, by treaty or other en- gagement, are entitled to its protection. The rulers of these states are of various creeds, as shown in the * " By the treaty of 1817, funds were set apart for the payment of a continp;ent to be furnished by Scindia, and commanded by British officers. These provisions were moditifd liy treaty in April, 1820, and by a new arrange, ment in 1830. liy the treaty of Gwalior, concluded in 1814, certain distriots were assigned to the British goveni- nient for the maintenance of an increased force, to be commanded by British officers, and stationed within Scin- dia's territories." t " In Cochin, in consequence of the mismanagement of the rajah, the aflairs of the state have been conducted, since 18.19, by a native minister in communication with the British resident." t "In respect to Mysore, the administration was assumed by the British government in 18.'i4, in consequence of the ndsrule of the rajah. The claim of the rajah to he rein- stated was deemed inadmissible in 1847, on the (rround of his incompetency to govern." j " Oude and Nagpore remain under the government of their respective rulers." following list: — Mussulman; Hindoo, or orthodox Brahmins ; Mahratta, Boondela, Rajpoot, Jaut, Sikh — all professing Hindooism, with some modifi- cations ; Bheel. In some of the petty states included in the above enumeration, the chiefs are not abso- lutely independent, even as to matters of ordinary internal administration. In several states on the south-west frontier of Bengal (Sirgooja, and other districts), civil justice is administered by the chiefs, subject to an appeal to the British agent, while in criminal matters their jurisdiction is still more strictly limited.** Somewhat similar is the position of the southern Mahratta jaghiredars, who are required to refer all serious criminal matters for British adjudi- cation. In two of the protected states, Colapore and Sawunt Warree,tt the administration has been as- sumed by the British government, and carried on in the names of the native rulers, who are in the posi- tion of stipendiaries. In respect to Colapore, the re- transfer of the government to the minor chief is made dependent upon the opinion which may be entertained by the British government of his cha- racter, disposition, and capacity to govern. In Sa- wunt Warree, the heir apparent, having forfeited his rights, the country, upon the death of the present chief, will be at the disposal of the paramount autho- rity. In some other states, as those in Kattywar, the Myhee and Rewa Cauntas, and others which are tributary to the Guicowar, or ruler of Guzerat, arrangements have been made, under which the Guicowar abstains from all interference, and the British government undertakes the management of the country, guaranteeing the Guicowar s tribute. In carrying out such arrangements, the British gov- ernment has conferred important benefits upon the country by abolishing infanticide, suttee, slave-deal- ing, and the marauding system, termed bharwut- tee,|J: as well as by the introduction of a criminal court for the trial of the more serious off'ences, through the agency of the British resident; the native chiefs of the several states within the jurisdic- tion of the court acting as assessors. From 1829, when the practice of suttee was abolished through- out the British dominions, the British government have laboured to procure its abolition in the native states of India, and to a great extent succeeded. This success has been attained without either actual or threatened coercion, resort to such means having been deemed indiscreet; but by vigilant watchfulness for appropriate opportunities and per.severance in well-timed suggestions, the desired object has been effected in almost every native state where the rite was practised." — (Thornton's Offioial Report, 1853.) II " In 1805, the entire management of the state of Tra- vancore was assumed by the British ; but in the year 1813, the minor rajah, upon attaining his sixteenth year, was admitted to tlie full enjoyment of his rights." ^ " This number does not include the petty rajahs in the Co>isya and (iarrow Hills, those of the Cuttack Mchals, or the chiefs in the province of Kattywar. The addition of these would more than double tiie number given in the text." ** *' The power of passing sentence not involving the loss of life is exercised by them ; but where the punishment is severe, it is under the control of the British ugriit, while sentence of death can only be passid by him in cases regularly brought before his tribunal ; and each infliction of i)unishnicnt must be included in a monthly report to the government." •f-f *' These two states were long ennvidscd hy internal disorders, which at li-ngth burst ijito a general rebellion." XX " Ucsort to indiscriminate plunder, witli a view to ex- toi't the favourable settlement of a dispute with a feudal superior." ClIAlTEIl IV, RELIGION— CIIUISTIAN MISSIONS— EDUCATION— THK I'UESS— AND CRIME. India exemplifios tlic truth of the asser- tion,* that religion is iiisoparaljlc from the nature of man : tlic savai;e and the saf^e ahke frame some system of theolo(;ical be- lief, — some mode of comraunieatiiig with the Deity, — some link of spiritual connexion between the created and the Creator ;t but every attempt to invest humanity with the attributes of Divinity has ended in the deification of stocks and stones,! — in the concoction of monstrous frauds, and in the practice of the grossest sensuality, vvhich corrupt alike the souls and the bodies of the worshippers. In Iliiidoostun the principle of a universal religion is illustrated in every conceivalile form, from abstract Monotheism to complex Pantheism, — from the wor- ship of the sun, as the representative of celestial power, to the rudely-carved image which a Urahmin * See Preface to second edition of my Anah/sts of the liihle with reference to the Social Duty of Man. + From the hiffhest to the lowest link in the chain wtiicli connects in one genus every variety of the human race, all believe in a spiritual jjower that is superior to man, — in an invisible world, and in a resurrection after death : this is manifested by dread of an unseen good or evil deity, — by a persuasion of the existence of fairies or ghosts,- — by the sepulture of the body, — and by placing in the grave things deemed necessary in another stage of existence. I The Rev. William Arthur, in his admirable work, A Mission to Mijsoor, refers to the arguments he was in the habit of having with Brahmins, and says — " They frequently look strong ground in favour of idolatry, urging that the human mind is so unstable, that it cannot be fixed on any spiritual object with- out some appeal to the senses ; that, therefore, to worship by mere mental effort, without external aid, is impossible ; but that, by placing an image before the eye, they can fix the mind on it, and say, ' Thou art Go<l ;' and by this means form a conception, and then worship." It was probably this idea that un- lui])pily induced the early Christian church to admit images, pictures, and represintations of holy men, into places of putilic worsliip ; thougli it is not so easy to account for the introduction of Maryolatry. 'i'lie necessity of engaging the usually wandering mind by some visual object is, I believe, the plea used by Romanists and Greeks for the frequent elevation of the crucifix ; and it is quite possible that many pious persons deem its l)resence essential : the danger is not in the crucifix, or the figure of the Redeemer thereon, but in the representation degene- rating into formalism. On the other hand, it is to be feared that many professing ])rotestants have few ideas of vita! Christianity, and consider its solemn duties fulfilled by an hebdomadal public worship. § Thus acknowleds;ed in one of tlie Hindoo prayers : — •' We bow to Him whose glory is the (ier|Mnii;U theme of every speech; — Him first, Him last. — the tjiipremc Lord of the boundless world ; — who is primeval Lifc'Ut, who is ' is supposed to endue with nentient existence, — from the sacrificial offering of fruit and Mowers, to the im- molation of human victims: here, also, we see this natural feeling taken advantage of by artful men to construct Brahminical and Huddhistical rituals, which, embracing every stage of life, and involving monoto- nous routine, completely subjugate the mass to a dominant priesthood, who claim peculiar sanctity, and use their assumed prerogatives for the retention of the mass of their fellow-beings in a state of moral degradation and of intellectual darkness. Yet, amidst this corruption and blindness, some rays of truth are still acknowledged— such as a supreme First C'ause,§ with liis triune attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnijjresence ;|| creation, preservation, destruction; the immortality of the soul, individual responsibility, atonement for sin, resurrection to judgment, heaven and hell ; and a belief in unseen beings pervading space, and seeking to obtain a directing influence over probationary creatures for good or for evil.^ But these cardinal points are mingled with pernicious doctrines, supersti- without His like, — indivisible and infinite,— the origin of all existing things, movable or stationary." II The Hindoo expression meaits att-pervasive. % The Hindoos believe the Deity to be in everything, and they typify Him iu accordance with their imaginations. Brahm or Brihm is supposed to have had three inearna. tions, viz., Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver ; Siva, the Destroyer .■ — who have become incarnate at dif- ferent times and in various forms, for many objects. To these are added innumerable inferior gods, presiding over earth, air, and water, and whatever may be therein. Temples and shrines are erected to a multitude of deities, to whom homage or worship is tendered, and tribute or otferings made. The I'agan deities, in every country and in all ages, have more or less an affinity to each other; they refer, generally, to the powers of nature, and to the wants or civilising appliances of man ; but they all merge into, or centre in, one Supreme Being : thus there was an intimate relation between the Greek and Indian mythology. The Brahminical and the Magian faith had many points of union: the sun was the ostensihle representation of Divine power ; the fire-altar of both may be traced 1% that of the Hebrews ; and the idolatry of the calf, cow, #r bull, have all a common origin. Ferishla states Jk^t, during the era of Roostum, when Soorya, a Hindoo, reigned over Hindoostan, a Brahmin persuaded the kmg "to set up idols ; and from that period the Hindoos be- came idolaters, before which they, like the Persians, wor. shipped the sun and stars." — (Vol. i., p. (J8.) The Mythrae religion at one time existed in all the countries between the Bo^phorus and the Indus ; vestiges are still seen at Persepolis, at Bamian, and in various parts of India. In all Pagan systems there is a vagueness with reference to the Deity ; for it is only through the Savinur that God c^in be known. \Vith regard to the soul, it is thus negatively described by the author of the great Hin. doo work, entitled Mahabarat : — *• Some regard the soul as a wonder : others hear of it with astonishment ; but no one knoweth it: the weapon divideth it not, the fire burnetii it not, the water corrupteth it not, the wind dryeth it not away ; for it is indivisible, inconsumable, in- corruptible : it is eternal, universal, permanent, immov- able ; it is invisible, incomvivable, and unalterable." The sh.iiitras, or •* sacred" books, ctuitain also manv remarkable and even sublime passages ; but theu: character 1 528 HINDOO RELIGION, ITS CRUEL RITES AND SUPERSTITIONS. tious observances, cruel riles, and carnal indulgences; hence the pure, merciful, and loving* character of God is unknown, the innately sinful nature of man imperfectly understood, the positive necessity of a Kedeemer unappreciated, and the urgent want of a Sanctifier unfelt. It is not therefore surprising, that in the yearn- ings of the spirit for a higher, holier enjoyment than this world can afford, that sincere devotees in India, as in other countries and in every age, devoid of the light of Christianity, deem suicide a virtue ;t torture of the body a substitute for penance of the soul ;| ablution sufficient for purification ; solitude the only mode of avoiding temptation ; offerings to idols an atonement for sin ; pilgrimages to saintly shrines a is well summed up by the Rev. William Arthur, who has attentively studied the subject. This Christian writer says — " Taking those books as a whole, no works of our most shameless authors are so unblushing or so deleterious : the Sama Veda treats drunkenness as a celestial pastime ; all the gods are represented as playing at will with truth, honour, chastity, natural affection, and every virtue, run- ning for sport into the vilest excesses, and consecrating by their example all hateful deeds. Falsehood, if with a pious motive, has a direct sanction. Menu declares that * a giver of false evidence from a pious motive, even though he know the truth, shall not lose a seat in heaven : such evidence men call divine speech.* Vishnu has often preserved the gods by the most wicked impostures. Lies flow familiarly from divine lips, and thus lose all dis- repute in mortal eyes. The amours of the gods are so de- tailed as to corrupt all who read and admire them ; while they argue, on the part of the writers, a horrible familiarity with every variety of debauch. In the lofty poetry of the sacred books are musically sung expressions of a coarse- ness that would be spurned from the vilest ballad. Part of the retinue of every temple consists of priestesses, who are the only educated women in the country, and whose profession it is to corrupt the public morals. In some of the temples, excesses are at certain times openly com- mitted which would be concealed even in our lowest dens of vice." — ( Arthur's 3/iSA70K to Mysoor, p. 489. London: Hamilton, Paternoster-row.) Such is the system ; and this is but a faint shadowing of its fearful wickedness, against which Christianity has to contend. Simple aboriginal tribes have an indefinite notion of an Almighty superintending providence. Thus the Todawar of the Neilgherries, on first seeing the sun daily, or a lamp, uses the following prayer, with his face turned to the sky : — *'Oh! thou the Creator of this and of all worlds — the greatest of the great, who art with us as well in these mountains as in the wilderness, — who keepest the wreatlis that adorn our heads from fading, and who guardest the foot from the thorn — God among a hundred — may we be prosperous." They beheve that the soul, after death, goes to tlie Om-nor (large country), about which they have scarcely an idea; they sacrifice living animals, and burn them on a rude altar: the dead are buried in a dark, secluded valley. A blood sacinfice is deemed essential by all these tribes, to procure rejiiission from sin. The relative antiquity of Brahminism and Buddhism, — their common origin and separation,— their points of unity or dissonance, — and the various other forms of religion in India, are subjects beyond my limits in this work. * The only love that I can find recognised in rcferejve to the Deity, is similar to that acknowledged by the Greeks : hence Sir William Jones thus apostrophises the Hindoo Cameo or Kjuua Deva (Cupid) : — '* Where'er thy scat, whate'er thy name, Earth, sea, and sky, thy reign proclaim : W'realhy smiles and rosy treasures, Are thy purest, fiweetest pleasures ; All animals to thee tiieir tribute bring. And hail tliec universal king 1" I quote from memory this beautiful version uf Indian stanzas. means of obtaining peace or rest ; the maintenance of perpetual fire the highest privilege ; contemplation of God the nearest approximation to communion ; and human sacrifice a propitiation of Divine wrath.§ "With such creeds and such worship, perpetuated for centuries, the votaries, both priests and laymen, must necessarily be sunk to a depth of degradation from whence no mere human efforts can elevate them, and which the untiring perseverance of Chris- tianism, with the guidance of the Spirit, can only hope to meliorate in the existing generation. Among the numerous creeds which pervade India, tlie most prominent are Hindooism, or worshippers of Brahm ;|| Buddhists, devoted to Buddh ;% Parsees, disciples of Zoroaster ;** Moslems,tt followers of t See section on crime for the number of suicides com- mitted annually at Madras. X The self-inflicted torture which Hindoo fanatics undergo, with a view to the remission of sin, and to obtain the favour of their deity, is revolting ; but it indicates strong feelings on the subject. Among them may be mentioned : — standing for years on the legs, which become swollen and putrefying masses of corruption ; keeping an arm erect until the muscles of the humerus are attenuated and the joint anchylosed (fixed in the socket) ; lying on a bed of spikes until the smooth skin is converted into a series of indurated nodules ; turning the head over the shoulders, and gazing at the sky, so tliat, when fixed in that posture, the twist of tlie gullet prevents aught but liquids passing into the stomach ; crawling like reptiles, or rolling as a hedgehog along the earth tor years ; swinging before a slow fire, or hanging with the head downwards, suspended over fierce flames ; piercing the tongue with spits ; inserting an iron rod in the eye-socket, from which a lamp is hung ; burying up to the neck in the ground ; clenching the fist until the nails grow through the back of the hand ; fasting for forty or the greatest practicable number of days ; gazing at the sun with four fires around, until blindness ensues. These are some of the practices of the Yogis or Sanyases, and other devotees, § The Ganges is considered sacred by the orthodox Hindoos, and its waters everywhere, from their source iu the Himalaya to their exit in the Bay of Bengal, are regarded with peculiar sanctity. It is supposed that, at the moment of dissolution, a person placed therein will have all his transgressions obliterated. Should a Hindoo be far distant, the Brahmins enjoin that he should think intensely of the Ganges at the hour of death, and he will not fail of h\s reward. To die within sight of the stream is pronounced to be holy ; to die besmeared with its mud, and partly immersed in the river, holier still ; even to be drowned in it by accident, is supposed to secure eternal happiness. Until the close of the 18th century, the Brah- mins, taking advantage of this superstitious idea, per- suaded tens of thousands of Hindoos to assemble in Jan- uary annually on the island of Guuga Saugor, at the sea mouth of the Ganges, to perform obsequies for the good of their deceased ancestors, and to induce many hundred children to be cast living into the torrent by their parents, as a means of atonement for the siu of their souls. Lord Wellesley abolished this wickedness. — (Baptist Mission, vol. i., p. 111.) Among some aboriginal tribes, a child is not unfrequently slain when the agricultural season is comm(;ncing, and tlie fields sprinkled with the blood o( the innocent, to propitiate the earth god, in the expecta- tion of procuring thereby an abundant harvest. II For a description of Hindooism, see Maurice's Indian Antiquities, in 7 vols. 8vo ; Ward's Mytholngy of the Hindoos, 4 vols. 4 to ; Moor's Hindoo Pantheon; Cole- man's Mythology of the Hindoos; Vans Kennedy's /ie- searchcs ; various volumes of the Asiatic Society; the Asiatic Journal of London ; and the Journal Asiatique of Paris. ^ Vor IJuddhism, sre the works of Upham and Hardy. ** ycc the ZendarcHta, or code of Zoroaster. ff Sec Sale's Koran: and Taylor's Mohamviedanism, EARLY STATE OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 529 Moliaiiimpil ; Sciks, altarticd to Naiiik;* Oonds, Kolos, lilu'ifls, SonthalK, I'uliarocs, and otlier abori- ginal tribes, distinct from all tlie prccfdinj;; Jews (while and lilnck), Syriac, Armenian, and Latin Christians ( rciin'sfntalni'S of the cluirches of Kng- land, Denmark, and (iermany ; Scotch Preshyte- rinii, Haptist, Wesleyan, Con);ref;ational, and Nortli American missions. t Kacli |)ersuasinn or sect would require one or more volumes for elucidation : all that is practicable, is n very brief description of the rise ana progress of jirotestant missions in Hin- doos tan. Christianity prevailed to some extent in India from an early date ; but we have no certain know- ledge of its introduction under the denomination of Syriac, or any other chureh.J The ]'ortiif,'uese, soon after their arrival, attemjrted the conversion of the Hindoos, with wlioni they were brought in contact, to tlie lloniish form of Christianity, by Jesuitism and the inquisition ; and necessarily failed, as they did in China and in .Japan. The Dutch, engrossed with commerce, made little or no attempt to extend ihe Calvinistic creed ; the French were equally indifferent; but the King of * Tins reformer, at the hcgiiuiing of the 1 Gth century, attempted to construct in the Punjab a pure and peaceful system of religion out of the l}est elements of ilindooism and Mohammedanism : his i'ollcwcrs (the Seik-s) became devastating contiuerors ; and infanticide and t)ther abomi- nable crimes still fearfully ))revail among this warlike race. f See Hough's valuable l!intory of Chrintianity in India, 4 vols. 8vo, 1839; Co.v's Hislory of liaplist Missions, 2 vols. ; Pearson's Lives of Dr. Claudivs Buchanan (2 vols.) and of Schwartz, 2 vols. 8vo ; Arthur's graphic Mission to the Mysoor, 1 vol. ; Duff on Jitdia Miss-ions; Hoole's Missions to South of India ,■ Pcgg's Orissa, 1 vol. ; Memoir of U'. Carey; Life of Judson ; and other interesting missionary works. J Thomas Herbert, author of Some Veares Travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique (published in London in 1638, and who began his voyaging in 1026), speaks of there being Christians in many places ; and refers especially to several maritime towns in Malabar. He says — " Tlie Christians in these parts ditler in some things from us, and from the Papacie yet retaine many principles of the ortho- dox and catiiolic doctrine ; their ehurdies are low, and but poiu'ly furnished ; their vassalage will reach nc iurther, whether from their subjection, or that (so the temples of their bodies bee replenisht with vertue) the excellency of buildings eontVrre not holinesse I know not : neat they are, sweetly kept ; matted, without seats, and instead of images have some select and usefull texts of holy writ obviously writ or painted. Tliey assemble and baste to church each Lord's day with' great alacrity : at their entering they shut their eyes, and contcmi>late the holiness of the place, the exercise they] come alumt, and their own unworthi- nesse: as they kneele they look towards the altar or table near which the bi>hop or priest is seated, whom they salute with a low and humble reverence, who returns his blessing by the uplilting of his hands and eyes : at a set houre they begin prayers, above two houres seldom con- tinuing : first they have a short generall confession, which they follow tlie priest in, and assent in an unanim amen : then follows an exposition of some part or text of holy Scripture, during wliieh their attention, dejected lookes, and silence, is admirable ; they sing an hynine," &c. Herbert tlien proceeds to observe that they have the Old and New Testaments ; they baptize commonly at the fortieth d.ay, if the parents do not sooner desire it ; they observe two days' strict preparation for the holy communion, eatijig uo flesh, and having no revelry ; in the church they confess their sins and demerits with great reluctance : aftcj' the arrival of the Portuguese they shaved their heads. The clergy marry but once, the laity twice ; no divorce, save for adultery. Lent begins in spring, is strictly ob- Di'umark, in the spirit of Luthcranism, encouraged, in 17(Ki, the Tranquebar missionaries in their merito- rious efforts to ])reach the gospel of Christ to the natives in the vernacular tongue ; and for more than ft century many devoted men, including Ziegenbajg, Schwartz, Gericke, Scliull/,c, and others, laboured jiatiently in the south of India for the extension of the Divine mission of truth and peace ; but tailed, by permitting the intermingling of heathen customs with the juirity of life which admits of no such toleration. The lirilish church § and government for many years made no response to appeals on behalf of Christianity. The latter was not merely negative or apathetic j it became positive and active, in resistance to the landing of missionaries in the territories under its control ; anil when, at the close of the 18th century, the ])aiiish and other conti- nental churches had almost retired in despair from the field, and the liaptists (under the leadership of (^arey and Thomas) sought to occupy some of the abandcwicd ground, they and their able coadjutors, Marshman and Ward, were compelled to seek an asylum at the Danisli settlement of Seramjiore, on the banks of the Hooghly, 1.5 m. above Calcutta. || served for forty days; they "affect justice, peace, truth, humility, obedience," &c. When dead, the bodies are placed in the grave looking west towards Jerusalem, and they "believe no purgatory." St. Thomas is their ac- knowledged tutelar saint and patron. — (Lib. iii., on East Indian Christians, p. 304-'5.) § The E. I. Cy's. charter of 1098 directed ministers of religion to be placed in each " garrison and superior fac- tory," and a " decent and convenient place to be set apart for divine service only :" the ministers were to learn the Portuguese and the native languages, " the better to enable them to instruct the Gentoos that shall be the servants or slaves of the said comjiany, or of their agents, in the protestant religion." By tlie charter of 1098, the company were required to employ a chaplain on board of every ship of 500 tons' burthen. This regulation was evaded by hiring vessels, nominally rated at 499 tons, but which were in reality, by building measurement, 600 tq 6.^)0 tons. — (Milburn, i., p. Ivi.) .Some clergymen of the Church of Englanrl were sent out to India from time to time ; but with a few exceptions (whose honoured deeds are recorded by Hough in his History of Christianity in India), such men as Dr. Claudius Buchanan, Dr. Kerr, David Brown, Corrie, and Henry Martyn, had not many imitators : they " performed duty " on the sabbath ; looked after money and other matters during the week ; and, at the termination of their routine official life, returned to Europe with fortunes ranging from i.20,000 to i.'';'iO,000 each. Kicrnander. the Danish missionary, mentions, in 1 793, three of these misnamed ministers of the gospel (Blanshard, Owen, and Johnston), then about to return to England with fortunes of 500,000, 350,000, and 200,000 rupees each ; which (Mr. Kaye observes) shows, accord- ing to their period of service, " an annual average saving of X2,500."— (//i*/. ofAdmn. of E. I. Cy.,p. 630.) II During its early career the E. 1. Cy. paid some at- tention to leligion, and a church was built at Madras; but as commerce and politics soon absorbed all attention, the ministrations of religion were forgotten, and not in- aptly typified by the fate of the church erected at Calcutta by pious merchants and seamen, who were freemasons, about the year 1716. when the E. I. Cy. allowed the young merchants jt50 a-year " for their pains in reading prayers and a sermon on a Sunday." In October, 1737, a destiTictive hurricane, accompanied by a violent earth. quake, swept over Bengal, and among damages, it is re- corded that " the high and magnificent steeple of the English church sunk into the gi'ound without breaking." ■ — {Gentlejnans Magazine, 1738.) Christianity certainly about this time sank out of sight in India, without being broken or destroyed, and it is now rising into pre- 530GOVERNMENT PERSECUTION OF THE MISSIONARIES— 1800— '09. The Marquis Wellesley gave encouragement to devout missionaries of every Christian persuasion ;* but during the administrations of Lord Minto and of the Marquis of Hastings, there was direct oppo- sition to the ministers of the Cross, who were obliged to proceed from England to the United Stales, and sail in an American vessel to their desti- nation. Some were prohibited landing on British ground, others were obliged to re-embark ; ships were refused a port entrance if they had a missionary on board, as they were deemed more dangerous than the plague or the invasion of a French army : and the governor of Serampore, when desii'ed by the Calcutta authorities to expel Drs. Carey, Marshman, and others, nofely replied, — they might compel him to pull down the flag of the Danish king, but he would not refuse a refuge and a home to those whose sole object was the temporal and spiritual welfare of their fellow-beings. Despite the most powerful official dis- countenance, the missionary cause ultimately tri- umphed. The Church of England became an effective auxiliary. Calcutta, in 1814, was made the see of a bishop, under Dr. Middleton ; and his amiable suc- eminence by the aid of that very E. I. Cy. who, a cen- tury ago, were so indifferent, and half a century since, so hostile to its introduction or discussion in Hindoostan. In 1805, the Rev. Dr. Claudius Buchanan, government chaplain at Calcutta, issued a Memoir on the Expe- diejicy of an Ecclesiastical Establishment for British India, both as a vicans of -perpetuating the Christian Re. ligion among our own Countrgmeji, and as a foundation for the ultimate Civilisation of the Natives. 'J'he me- moir was dedicated to the Archbishop of Canterbury ; and the appendix comprised a variety of instructive mat- ter on the superstitions of the Hindoos. Tlie work was in fact a forcible appeal to the Christians of Britain for the evangelisation of India, and was exceedingly well re- ceived by the bisliops of London (Porteous), Llandaff (Watson), Durham, Exeter, St. David's, and other emi- nent divines. In India the memoir caused great excite- ment among that portion of the government who " viewed with sensitive alarm, for the security of our empire in the East, the circulation of the Word of God." — (Hough, iv., 179.) Contrasts were drawn between Hindooism and Christianity, to the prejudice of the latter, by Euro- peans who still professed that faith ; and in November, 1807, Dr. Buchanan memorialised the governor-general (Lord Minto), on the change of pohcy from that which the Marquis Wellesley had pursued. Among the points complained of were — First, withdrawing the patronage of government from the translation of the Scriptures into the Oriental languages ; secondlg, attempting to suppress the translations ; thirdly, suppressing the encomium of the Court of Directors of the E. 1. Cy. on the character and proceedings of the venerable missionary Schwartz ; and fourthly, restraining the Protestant missionaries in Bengal from the exercise of their functions, and establishing an imprimatur for theological works. Sermons which Dr. Buchanan had delivered on the Christian prophecies, he was desired by the chief secretary to transmit to govern- ment for its inspection, which he properly declined to do. In 1813 Several missionaries from dittcrent societies were ordered to quit India without delay ; one in particular (Mr. Johns), was told if lie did not take his passage im- mediately, he would be forcibly carried on hoard ship. Two mcmbrrs of the American hoard of missinns, on arriving at Jiombay, were ordered away by SirE. Ncpean, and directed to proceed to England ; they left in a coast- ing vessel, landed at Cochin on their way to Ceylon, and were sent back to Bombjy as prisont;rs. Sir E. Nepean was a religious man, and ultimately obtained permission for the missionaries to remain. * The oppo.>,ition of ihe home authorities to the college of Fort William, whicli was fciuiuled by the Marquis Wellesley, had reference chiefly to the religious design of cesser (Heber) removed many prejudices, and paved the way for a general recogniiion of the necessity and duty of affording to the ])eople of India the means of becoming acquainted with the precepts of Chris- tianity. The thin edge of the wedge being thus fairly inserted in the stronghold of idolatry, the force of truth drove it home : point by point, step by step, the government were fairly beaten from posi- tions which became untenable. It was tardily ad- mitted that some missionaries were good men, and did not intend or de«ire to overthrow the dominion of England in the Ea.st ; next it was soon acknow- ledged that they had a direct and immediate interest in upholding the authorities, as the most effectual security for the prosecution of their pious labours. Soon after the government ceased to dismiss civil and military servants because they had become Chris- tians ; then came the public avowal, that all the Europeans in India had not left their religion at the Cape of Good Hope, on their passage from England, to be resumed on their return ; but that they still re- tained a spark of the living faith, and ought no longer to be ashamed to celebrate its rites.f When the noble founder. Dr. Claudius Buchanan pointed out that it was a mistake to consider the sole object was merely to "instruct the company's writers." Lord Wellesley's idea, as Dr. Buchanan correctly states, was " to enlighten the Oriental world, to give science, religion, and i)ure morals to Asia, and to confirm in it the British power and dominion." The Doctor adds — " Had the college of Fort Wilham been cherished at home with the same ardour with which it was opposed, it might, in the period of ten years, have produced translations of the Scriptures into all the languagei from the borders of the Caspian to the Sea of Japan." — (Pearson's Zife of Dr. C. Buchanan, i., 374.) t The Rev. M. Thomason, father of the late excellent lieutenant-governor of the N. W. Provinces, was dismissed from the governor-general's (Earl Moira) camp, in June, 1814, because he remonstrated against " the desecration of the sabbath, and other improprieties of conduct." — (Hough, iv., 383.) At Madras, a collector (civil servant of high standing) was removed from the service for dis- tributing tracts on Christianity among the natives. In Bombay, the state of Christianity at the commencement of the present century was indeed very low ; immorality was general. Governor Duncan, a kind and benevolent man, rarely attended divine service ; and rhe late lamented Sir Charles Forbes told me, that tliough educated in the sabbatical strictness of the Scotch kirk, the effect of evil example on youth carried him with the stream, and that Sunday was the weekly meeting of the " Bobbery hunt" | (a chase on horseback of jackals or pariah dogs), and its ' concomitant, drinking and other excesses. Henry Martyn, when visiting Bombay in 1811, on his w.iy to Shiraz, speaking of the Europeans, says — " I am here amongst men who are indeed aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and without God in the world. I hear many of those amongst whom I live bring idle objections against religion such as I have answered a hundred times.*' At the cantonments and revenue stations, marriages and bap- tisms were usually performed by military and <-ivil ser- vants. Many English officers never saw a church or minister of the gospel for years. Earnest representations for the erection of even small chapels were disregarded by the goverimient, and the young cadets soon sank into drinking, debauchery, and vice. In 1807 not a Bible was to he found in the shops at Madras — it was not a saleable article ; religious books were at a similar discount : tlie first purchasable Bible arrived in 1809. The observation of thoughtful old natives, for many years, on the English was — " Christian Man — Devil I\laii." If Charles Grant, who laboun-d so laiiicslly and elicctively half a century for the inlrodut.-tion of Christian principles into India, were now aiivc, he would perceive that the abonre reproach ABOLITION OP WIDOW-BURNING— SCRIPTURES CIRCULATED. 531 this vantn*(p-j;roiin(l was f^ainrd, olhcr triumphs necessarily followed.* The Scriptures, which the Ikitish nnd Foreign Bihio Society, and also the Jiuptists, had heon enj^nj^fd in translating and nrint- inj;, were now openly distrihuted. " Toleration ' was no loiif^er conceded only to Hindooisni and oilier idolatries; it wiis extended to Christianity : and the ])rinciple was ur^jcd boldly, that the Ktatc should re- nounce all interlerence in the shameful orgies of Juggurnant and other P;if;an abominations ; — that the car of this idol and its obscene priests should cease to be annually decorated with scarlet cloth and tinsel, specially ])rovided by the K. I. Cy. ; and that the troops, p<nglish and Mohammedan, should no longer have their feelings outraged by being com- pelled to do honour to disgusting rites which were a mockery to the true and living God.f The demoniac practice of suttee (widow-burning), was formidably assaulted by the missionaries ami other good men. To sanction the crime of suicide was admitted to be repugnant to the character of a to his countrymrn was removed, and there would be found many co-operators in the cvaiigelisinj; work. * Up to 1851 the operations of tlic society, as regards India, were: — Sanscrit gospels and acts, 8,200; llin- doostunec Testament (Roman), [\\ ,000 ; Urdu Persian por- tions of Ohl Testament, Urdu Persian gospels nnd acts, 82,000. Northern and Central India. — Bengallee portions of Old Testament. Bengallee and English St. Mattlicw and St. John, liengallee Testament {Rontan)^ liengallee. with English Testament {Roman), 130,8-12 ; Uriya Bible, 16,000; Hinduwee Old Testament, 4,000; Harrottee Testament, 1,000; Bikancera Testament, 1,000; Moul- tan Testament, 1,000 ; Punjahce Testament, 7,000 ; Cash- merinn Testament, 1,000 ; Nepaulese Testament, 1,000; Simlheo St. Matthew, 500. Sotit/iem India — Telinga Testament. I^.I.OOO ; Canarese Bible, 10.000; Tamul Bible, 105,000 ; Malayalim New Testament, Malayalim Old Tes- tament, 32, 06'>'; Tulu Testament, 400; Kunkuna Testa- ment. 2.000; Mahratta Testament, 30,000; Guzcrattee Testament, 20,100; Cutchee St. Mattiiew, 500. t In August, 183G, the Bishop of Madras, the clergy of every denomination, several civil and militar)' servants, merchants, &c., addressed a memorial to the governor of Madras, the summary of wliieh prayed, that in accor- dance with the instructions laid down by the Court of Directors, 2Ht!\ February, 1833, g\iarantcping toleration, but aftbrding no encouragement to Mohammedan or hca- tlien rites — "That it be not hereafter required of any Christian servaiit of the state, civil or military, of any grade, to make an oflering, or to be present at, or to take part in, any idolatrous or Mohammedan act of wor- ship or religious festival. That the tiring of salutes, the employment of military bands, and of the government troops in lionour of idolatrous or Mohammedan proces- sions or ceremonies, and all similar observances wlneh in- fringe upon hbrrty of conscience, and directly ' promote the growtli and jiopularity of the debasing superstitions of the country,' be di^eontinued. That such parts of Kegu- lation Vll. of 1817, as identify the government with Mo- hammedhuism and heathenism, be rescinded, and every class ot persons let"t, as the honourable Court of Directors have enjoined, entirely to themselves, to follow their reli- gious duties according to the dictates of tlieir conseiences." The governor (Sir Frederick Adam) administered to the bishop and to the memorialists a sharp rebuke, saying, he did not concur in their sentiments, which he viewed with '* the deepest |)ain and concern," «s tliey manifested the ** zeal of over-heated minds," and that the " commu- nication " (worded in a (guarded and Christian ^pirir) ** was fraught with ilanger to the peace of tlie conntry, and de- structive ol" tiie harmony which should prevail amongst all classes of the c<mimunity." — (Pari. Papers — Commons, No. 357 ; 1st June, 1837 ; p. 5.) The E. I. Cy. and her Majesty's government thought differently: the praytT of professing Christian government, which had already forcibly suppressed infanticide ; and notwithstanding many forcd)odings of danger, and considerable oppo- sition by the enemies of missionaries, J self-murder was, on Dec. 4, 1S29, during the administration of Lord William lientinck, suppressed throughout Bri- tish Inrlia, by a prohibitory edict of the supreme government; under which all persons aiding and abetting .sr/^/^e were liable to the penalty inflicted for culjjable homicide. There was not the slightest op- position to this ordinance throughout India. § Widow- burning, however, still continues in several provinces which are not under our immediate government. Many other advantages accrued from the course of Christian ])olity now fairly begun ; — the government ceased to hold slaves, and passed a decree mitigating some of the evils of the system ; churches were erected at the principal civil and military stations ; and chaplains were appointed for the celebration of })ublic worship at P^uropean stations. j| In 1834, bishoprics were founded at Madras and Bombay. the memorialists was ultimately granted ; and the peace of India and the harmony of its people was never for a moment disturbed. But previous to the final concession. Lieutenant-general Sir T. Maitland resigned the command of the Madras army rather than be a participator in offering honom's to idols by sending the troops to assist at tlie Hindoo celebrations. Colonel Jacob, an old artillery officer, stated before the House of Commons' committee, 4th August, 1853, when referring to the attendance of British troops at idolatrous ceremonies — " I was myself in that position at Baroda, on the occasion of the I)us- serah festival, when we were waiting for six hours in the sun at the beck and bidding of the Brahmins, who an- nounced the fortunate hour, as they apprehended, for the Guieowar to go and sacrifice a fowl to the Dusserah. The whole of the force was under arms, and the British resi- dent attended on the same elepliant with the prince. Upon the Brahmins cutting off the head of the fowl, the signal was given, and I had to lire a salute." This Christian officer adds — " M'ithin oiu* own presideucy, under the British flag, there can be no sort of excuse wliatever for forcing British officers to take part in an heatiien or idolatrous procession or worsliip, such as the cocoa-nut offerings, annually at Surat, by the governor's agent. At Madras, when I was there some years ago, the govern- ment sanction was directly given to idolatrous practices by presenting offerings of brcidcloth to the Brahmins, for them to pray to the idol deity to save the Carnatic from invasion." — (Pari. Papers — Commons; 6th August, 1853; p. lol.) * The Brahmins, who had originated suttee to prevent their widows remarrying, declared it was a religious rite, and on this ground several English functionaries objected to its foreible suppression ; but the doctrine laid down by Menu, the great Hindoo lawgiver, does not sustain the assertion. The texts referring to the subject run thus : — " A faithful wite, who wishes to attain in heaven the man- sion of her husband, must do nothing unkind to him be he living or dead. Let her emaciate her bodv by living voluntarily on pure flowers, roots, and fruits; but let her not, when her liusband is deceeised, even pronounce the name of another man. Let her continue until death for- giving all injuries, performing harsh duties, avoiding every sensual pleasure, and cheerfully practising the incompar- able rules of virtue which have been followed by such women as have been devoted to one only husband." § I was happily enabled to be of some use in preparing the public mind for this great event by writing artides on the subject, and addressing them, when translated into dif- ferent languages, to the Hindoo population. j] Until recently the spirit under which the Anglo-Indian government was administered, was the protecuon and en- couragement of Brahminism and Mohammedanism, and the disavowal of any connection with Christianity. Thus, as 532 TRIUMPH CF CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES IN INDIA. Gradually the state, so far as is alleged to be com- patible with pledged faith, ceased to interfere in the temporal concerns of idolatrous shrines ; the for- feiture of property by Hindoos who had become converts to Christianity, was no longer recognised as the law ; native Christians became equally eligible with their fellow-citizens to public offices. Finally, several of the highest functionaries have openly avowed, that the best means for effecting an improve- ment in even the physical condition of the people, is by the diffusion of Christianity; and that the main- stay for the security of British dominion in India, is the inculcation and practice of its divine precepts. Such are the glorious results of nearly half a cen- tury* spent in peaceful but unceasing efforts on behalf of truth ; and I now proceed to show the means in operation for conlinuing the great work which has been so signally blessed in its course. The following data show the state of the Church of England establishment,! and that of the principal protestant missions in India, at the present pe- riod : — Tahular Tietc of the Church Missionary Society's Operations — 1855. a UrdaiiiLtl Lay Teachers, &c. ° 2 Scholars. j^ St 3 O aries. 0) TS . 2 6 sa Natives. rt 3 1 B Principal Stations. p 3 S 6 Is- ■Ml o Total. St o 3 o o > •a 3 S B o O si .|l m lale. male. Total. S3 1 Bombay & "W. India + Bombay .... — 1 2 2 1 11 16 22 64 12 22 1,354 236 1,590 — Nasik , — 3 — — — — 5 78 17 177 16 193 ^ Junir and Malli- [ gaum ... J 1 2 _ _ 1 _ 1 4 45 19 4 179 179 Sinde mission . . — 3 1 1 — — — 1 5 14 4 2 34 — 34 — Calcutta & N.India + Calcutta .... — 4 — 1 1 13 26 41 45 716 181 15 1,220 59 1,279 Burdwan district — 2 — — i 3 21 25 27 206 51 9 586 60 636 Krib^haghurh dist. — 9 — 3 — 31 95 129 138 5,069 465 62 3,558 508 4,066 — Bhagulpoor . . . — 1 — — 1 3 5 9 10 105 29 4 160 150 310 — Benares .... — — 1 1 6 31 38 43 321 91 3 569 . — 589 Jaunpoor . . . — 1 _ 1 — 2 19 22 23 '>2 9 5 467 32 499 Gonuckpoor . . — 3 — — — 6 14 19 22 217 30 3 100 117 217 — Jubbulpoor . . . — — — 1 — — 1 2 2 — — 1 — 6 6 Agra _ 4 — 2 3 7i 24 36 40 544 173 11 538 67 605 — Meerut .... — . 3 — 1 — 6 7 14 17 247 99 7 226 17 243 . Himalaya . . . — 2 — — — 2 9 11 13 21 11 7 111 15 126 Punjab mission . . — 3 I — — 3 i 6 10 50 20 2 46 7 62 Pesbawur . . . — 2 — 1 — — — 1 3 — — — — — Madras & S. India Madras .... 4 2 3 2 3 4 20 29 34 606 199 12 279 297 576 Tinnevelly dist. ;i53 14 7 7 4 187 37 b 576 597 27,920 3,565 327 5,131 3,020 8,151 1 Travancore district 26 9 2 2 — 36 96 133 144 5,007 1,242 83 1,802 442 2,244 1 Teluga mission . . 2 3 I — 2 1 24 27 31 131 14 5 76 143 219 — Totals . . . 384 79 18 25 18 312 783 1,138 1,235 41,373 6,231 589 16,632 5,182 2,1814 2 t No returns. stated by the Rev. J. Lechman, In his evidence before par- liament (8th August, 1853), *' the govcrninent have main- tained for thirty years an institution for the instruction of its Mohammedan subjects in tlieir erect), but has not maintained any college or school for the exclusive instruc- tion of its Christian subjects." * The Rev. W. Mullens thus sums up the progress of missions during the present century : — " \Vitliin a few years stations were established in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and began to push outward into all the pre- sidencies of Hindoostan. The beghinings were slow but 8ure. One society, then another— one missionary and then another, landed on the coast, and took up their posts on the great battle-field of idolatry. The London Missionary Society sent mii^sionaries to Chinsunih, to Travancore, to Madras, Vizagiipatam, Bellary, and to Surat. The American board, after some opposition from the government, occupied Bombay. The Church Missionary Society entered first on the old missions at Madras, Tranfiuebar, and Pulamcottah ; but soon began an altogether new field among tiic Synan Christians in Wctft Travancore. They planted a station at Agra, far in the north-west, and maintained the agency which Corrie had employed at Chunar. A native preacher began the work at Meerut, while two missionaries were stationed in Calcutta. The Baptist Missionary Society soon occupied Jessore, Chittagong, Dinagepore, and other places. The We^leyans speedily obtained a footing in P.Tysoor ; and to them succeeded the missionaries of the American board. North, south, east, and west, the Cluirth of Christ was pushing forth its men and means into the land with vigour and earnestness of purpose." There is ro»w:h wanting for India a Medical Missionary Society, similar in its working to the institution (rom- posed of Americans and British) under this title which is now accomplishing so much good in China. t There is a large Roman catholic establishment con- sisting of bishops, virurs-geiter'il, and inferior clergy, not only at Goa and Poiulicherry, hut also at the British stations: their number is alleged to iiave been, in 1853, about 303, of whom 200 were Europeans ; and of these forty are British. The Roman catholic community throughout India is estmiated at 090,000, exclusive of a'jout 10,000 soldiers. ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS— BENGAL, MADRAS, BOMBAY. 588 Stateinent shnwiiu/ the Number and Expense of the EccleniiiHlieal Establishments under each Presidency, in the Y'ear "iS-'iL'-'SS, and in 1851 -'2. 1832-'33. BEnoai, ; — 1 nislwip 1 Ari-lulcacon 2 Sciiifir Chuplaina ... ... 35 Chjiplains 2 ditto (at Straitii RCttloments) . . . 1 Officiating ditto . . . Visitation and travcllint^ allowances, cs- ) tablishmcnt, and contingencies ... J Total church establishment . . . Scotch Kirk — 2 Chaplains Roman Catholic — ■ Allowance to priests at Straits settlements Total Bengal Madras: — 1 Archdeacon ... 2 Senior Cllaplains 21 Chaplains, at.7,875 rupees each .... Travelling allowances, establishment, and ) contingencies J Total church establishment . . . Scotch Kirk — 2 Chs^>lains Estabh'shment Total Scotch Kirk Roman Catholic— Allowance to priests T«tal Madras [^^^ Bombay : — 1 Archdeacon 2 Senior Chaplains 13 Chaplains Travelling allowances, establishment, and 1 contingencies \ Total ckurch establishment . . . Scotch Kirk — 2 Chaplaina . . Establishment, &c Total Scotch Kirk lioman Catholic — Allowance to priests . . . . . Tot-l Bombay { f ^ • g^ Grand Total . . . . Ss. Rupees cr £ stg. >. Rupees. 4.3,103 17,241 2«,724 317,006 18,372 2,871 54,908 480,825 22,414 6,254 608,493 Ms. Rupees. 19,091 26,160 165,375 32,576 243,202 19,635 1,050 20,685 5,744 269,631 252,889 By. Rupees. 17,778 28,660 104,000 36,047 180,985 20,382 1,389 21,771 4,440 213,196 202,158 963,540 96,354 1851-'52. Benoal: — 1 Bishop 1 Archdeacon (also a Chaplain) , . . . 2 Senior Chaplains 19 Chaplains, at 9,600 francs each . . . . 40 Assistant Chaplains, at 6,000 frano each 2 ditto ditto at 9,600 „ „ (ftntional in Straits settlements) . . Visitation and travelling allowances, cs- tablishmcnt,& contingencies in 1849-'50 Total church establishment . . Scotch Kirk — 2 Chaplains Establishment Total Scotch Kirk Roman Catholic — Allowance to priests . . Total Bengal Rs Madras : — 1 Bishop 1 Archdeacon (also a Chaplain) . . . , 2 Senior Chaplains 9 Chaplains, at 8,400 rupees each . . . . 18 Assistant Chaplains, at 6,000 rupees each Visitation and travelling allowances^ es- ) tablishmcnt, and contingencies . . , j Cog. Rupees, 45,977 3,200 27,912 1,82,400 2,40,000 19,200 47,761 Total church establishment Scotch Kirk — 2 Chaplains Establishment Total Scotch Kirk Roman Catholic — Allowance to priests Total Madras Rs. Bombay; — 1 Bishop , 1 Archdeacon (also a Chaplain) . 2 Senior Chaplain.s 5 Chaplains, at 8,400 rupees each 10 Assistant Chaplains, at 6,000 rupees each Visitation and travelling allowances tablishmcnt, and contingencies . , Total church establishment . Scotch Kirk — 2 Chaplains Establishment r] Total Scotch Kirk Roman Catholic — Allowance to priests . . Total Bombay Rs. Grand Total . . , Cos. Rs. or £ 5,06,450 23,112 676 23,688 21,840 6,11, Of 8 25,000 3,200 26,160 75.000 1,08,000 60,460 289,020 19,035 1,.323 20,958 10,320 3,20,298 25,600 3,200 26,160 42,000 96,000 30,127 223,087 20.160 948 21,144 22,800 2,67,031 11,99,307 112,435 Abstract Years. Church Establishments. Scotch Kirk. Roman Catholic. Total. lS32-'33 185i-'52 No. of Persons. « 82 SS,623 118 101,114 No. of Persons. 6 £ 6,240 0,103 £ 1,485 6,153 £ 90,.354 112,435 534 WESLEYAN AND BAPTIST MISSIONS IN INDIA— 1855. ti 1 t [ ^ 1 1 ~s a ^3 •iS.5;.5- r »"•? * » * ^CO c^ i-t -5 »^S: S CO 10 'o 00 OOIO •-' H ^ ti-5-^ III 3 •a CO ( t^* * * 4jt * -o ■Sg." ph 12^ 0- § ^ -f'O r- * * * « « « o w s cr, JT-S'lS -H lO-rl i— CO If-, 4> s sJ £3 C-l ^ .-( -^ --- O-l 2; ^"i -^COr-*(M^ rH (N '■t* cS i. if:i -+ <^ psi ^ ci I 1 1 I 1 C-J •- <^vi " Vi ?; Ss .?j s% CO I I -f 1 1 I -t" ^ •« tSl Si # « •a a a s ^^1 1 1 O^DiM 1 1 -+* 0,2 -a Cl -f Ci CO r- CO C/D .-< CO -f [ CD rn t* 7 <-o| <o « ■^ S to j2_ « « III *••■*! 1 1 -^ 3 '5 p. ill » * # coco CO C-l CI V Is ..„ S^ i. * * * C-1 1 ^ 1 CO ^^ K* t/j I- ^. 'Kltltl^lSSV V -* (N <M •* CI 1 i-H »o -Ci SOJ.ICIIOISSII^ ■^ t^ 111 "■^-' 1 1 I ^ '^ u ■N - «i a ■a CS H 1 3 5f-S5£.?-S ■3 2 H 11^ 1 7y,-T'»7.o OP cq "fe^ t^ I I TOOC-lOiM'-fCCiiM I loD ?§ I I I 1 I- I- i?J (N CO i-i C» — < O* I 1"^ I I 100 ICOO Oi-^ fOOCMt^OOOC50'C)--0 liMO loo ilMlM \ -i^<n l't*<0.-<'£.d-^iOCO?Sci'X!»0 IS^ [ CO^ I ^^ ^CO-HiCC^'O'**— <OCO^t-i li-no I I I I I <M O O UMD O I 01 'C 'I' CO O CO --< t^ ^ I 12 •SI (JO I I I I I <N -3< ■<*« I-t I |r-it^C^ l-^cotO I eO*MtD7^>OCO-^-^<M.-H I— < l"rj< I 'M o 22 I I I I I I 12 I I 1^ 1< I 1 I I I'- U I I I lO ■-! Oi I f-( H f-iCI I I I .a w ■ss I I I I- I I I I' I 1 1- I I 1-^ I" n-^ CI I -fj* ^ r-i W I I I I I t>-N I I lo^ I I U I M 1 1- I I 1 M r 1 I I I" I o cfl.-< 10 I" I I I I I I u I I- I. I I I I I I I M I I I I I I I' I" I I M I I -^ I I I I I I I I I t-H CD -J^ W3 Ut O — I CI ! I I I I I "" 3 • a b ^ ■ be • spa 3:= « i^-a 2^ §13 a- r^S ^ ^ ■ f~^ .jX r^-^ .- ■■ *!? (-^ -H ^ ■'IVMVMit ^§ — -^'M^CIM l-fHOJOOO-* — Cl — ^ — ^D -f-t'OUJ ccooccoDOx^^-^y^ |a;i--a)C)cr)':o(»cr>oca>ccoo Icoobcoco OPKRATIONS OP CHRISTIAN BRITAIN IN INDIA— RESULTS. 635 Statistics vf the London Missionary Society's Stations — 1855. Com- menced. laie 1821 1819 1838 1850 IWo ISOS 1852 1805 1852 1822 1820 1810 1820 1S27 is:i6 1819 1829 1838 1838 Stations. NdKTHKKN l.N 1)1.4 ;— Calcutta litiranipore Benares Mirzapoor Alm!)r:iti Miihi Kantha (near Baroda) . . Penin.sulau India: — Madras Tripassore Vizngapatam f Vizianujnrum (including Chica- 1 \ ciile J f'uiklupuh BelRauin Bellarv Bangalore Salem Coirnlmtoor Sol'TU TllWANCOIlK : — Nagercoil Ncyoor Piircjchaley Trevandrum ^including Quilon) MiH^ioniiries (in addition to nearly 301) Native Agents.) "Worship- pers.* 800 9fi !)'.) 97 120 400 100 700 180 151 287 300 8,247 2, 7 OS 1,335 1,514 Cominuni- cant-H. 210 30 20 14 20 110 40 40 00 ,33 55 84 44 45 COl 39 98 82 Schools. 18 9 11 12 7 14 93 44 Gl 17 Scholars. Printing I'reuci. 1,089 144 — 524 — 531 1 141 — 30 — l.tOI __ 3UI) — 250 1 2U(; — 4.W __ 410 351 1 ;,sl — 854 — 3,850 1 1,209 1 1,8'Jl — 586 — * The numbers in this column represent the nominal convert.s ; but do not include the heathen, whose numbers, by reason of the irregularity of their attendance on the public services, cannot be reported. In the beginning of 1852, the number of native ("hristian churches in India (including Ceylon), was 'A'A\ ; of recorded members (communicants), 18,-101 ; and of worshipping Christians, 112,191 : number of missionaries (inclutling forty-eight ordained natives), was 44^!, together with 398 native catechists belong- ing to twenty-two missionary societies, who have established 1,347 vernacular day-schools, 93 board- ing, 347 day-schools for girls, 120 girls' boarding- schools, 12G superior English scliools, throughout the country (sec Mission returns.) There are eight Bible societies in India, which published, in 1850, no less than 130,000 copies of the Bible, or selections from it, in thirteen languages, and distributed 185,400 copies. There are also fifteen tract societies engaged in supplying works for native Christians — short tracts, or expositions of Bible truth, and school-books for missionary schools. Tlie entire Bible has been translated into ten lan- guages, the New Testament into five others, and separate gospels into four other languages ; besides numerous works of Christians; — thirty, forty, and even seventy tracts, suitable for Hindoos and Mus- sulmen, have been prepared in the vernacular. The missionaries maintain twenty-five printing establish- ments. The cost of all tliese operations, for 1851, ■was £190,000, of which £33,540 was contributed by European Christians in India itself t This is but a very small beginning of the great work to be accomplished by ])hilantlir(ipists of all classes; the Urgent Cltiims of India for more Chris- tian Missions\ has been forcibly set forth by Mr. Muir, of the Bengal civil service : he shows that some of the fairest portions of India have no mis- sionary ; that others are su])plied in the proportion of one to one million people; — a " long range of fertile. t Results of Missionary Labour in India, by Rev. W. Mullens; reprinted from Calcutta Rniew, October, 1851. London : Dalton, Coekspur-street X Published by Dalton, Coekspur-street, London. populous countries as much neglected as if they were districts of Japan." — (p. 12.) Formerly the Hin- doos would not listen to the missionaries; now they attend to hear, discuss, and dispute : and, what is still better, they buy the books issued from the mis- sion presses, in large quantities. § Undoubtedly there is a great change coming over the Indian jiopulation, especially of the educated class : the little leaven is fomenting the vast mass. Idolatry cannot long stand before truth, when presented in the manner in which its Divine Founder ex- plained it to His disciples ; but the unbeliever must be born again before he can see God, — he must be born of water and of the Spirit before he can dwell with Him. The Hindoo is as yet only born of the earth — earthy, with every corruption of our nature in its pristine strength ; he is also surrounded and entangled by the meshes of a Satanic .systim, from which he cannot extricate himself It seems to be a part of the Divine scheme for man's redemption, to make his fellow-man an instrument in the work of regeneration ; for thus both the giver and receiver of good are blessed. Hence, to liuman eyes, the operation appears slow. But we cannot penetrate the designs of Omnipotence. We cannot tell why millions of Hindoos have been left steeped in the mire of idolatry for ages, and that they should now be raised from darkness into light by a handful of men from the remote isles of the western world ; all this, and much more, is a mystery : but may not this singular communion between F.ngland and India be as much for the benefit of the former as for that of the latter ? May not Britain need, nearly as much as Hindoostan, not only| the quickening in- lluence which is able to save and make wise, but also the renovation of the flickering tlame of celestial § These are not solely religious trarts. For instance, at the \Vesleyan press in Bangalore, Robinson Crusoe has been printed in the vernacular language, with woodcuts ; it has an extensive sale. 536 PAST EDUCATIONAL STATE OF INDIA— CONFLICTING OPINIONS. life, which, until the last few years, burnt dim and fitful here, and needed kindling into a bright and cheering light,— a light whose expanding, vivifying rays may, ere long, spread to the darkest and re- motest corners of our globe ? Be this as it may, the Anglo-Indian Christian mission is now fairly com- menced ; a wide and encouraging prospect is open for its meritorious labours. In a mere worldly point of view, an extension of operations is of the utmost importance. Every Hindoo or Moslem converted to the gospel of peace, is an additional security for the permanence of British power. Mere secular men ought therefore to aid this great cause. The day is past in England for attempting to rule a nation by brute force, as if men were beasts of burthen or irreclaimable maniacs. Kindness, consideration, and reasoning, are the instruments of conversion which the missionaries employ, and they are happily in accordance with the dictates and policy of govern- ment. There is therefore, in a new sense, a union between church and state in India, devoid of patron- age or pecuniary relations, but based on the prin- ciple that what is good for the spiritual, must be equally good for the temporal interests of the people. Education. — Under both the Hindoo and Moslem governments, the education of the people was, at va- rious times, deemed a matter of public importance ; many of the temples now devoted to idolatry and paphian rites, were originally schools and colleges for instruction, endowed with lands for this purpose, and conducted somewhat after the manner of the monastic institutions of Europe : but in both regions the teach- ing of the young fell into desuetude. The setting apart of a body of men as more sacred than their fellow- mortals, — investing them with peculiar privileges, — furnishing them in abundance with not only the ne- cessaries, but also the luxuries of life, for which they were not required to labour, — enjoining celibacy, — and placing them under an ecclesiastical, instead of a civil law applicable to all, — was as pernicious to the scholastic system of Hindoos and Mohammedans as it was to that of the Latins: the funds allocated for the temples and mosques became appropriated solely to the use of a lazy, sensual priesthood ; the minds as well as the morals of the people were neg- lected ; and but for the village schools, sustained by each little agricultural community, and the town seminaries, supported by paying pupils, the people of Hindoostan would not even have had the primary elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic, which we found to prevail pretty general among the better classes of the community. For a considerable period, the Anglo-Indian authorities gave no thought to the subject. In 1781, a Mohammedan madrissa (college) was established at Calcutta, under the patronage of Warren Hastings ; and in 1792 a Sanscrit college was founded at Be- nares by Jonathan Duncan ; but the main idea in connexion with these institutions — with the Hindoo college at Calcutta, founded in 1816; colleges at Agra and Delhi, in 1827; and a few seminaries in various provincial towns — was the propagation of Oriental literature, and the inculcation of the Hin- doo and the Mohammedan religion. The extension of the English language, and of the arts and sciences, * The Riglit Honourable T. B. Macaulay deserves credit for tlie efforts he maile in favour of the extension of the Englisli language in India. t Pari. Papers on India, submitted by E. I. Cy. in 1853. % Of the course of education in this institution, that of which it might become the medium, was an inno- vation ; and as such, dreaded by those whose opiiiions then ruled. A watchmaker at Calcutta, David Hare, about 182.3-'4, established a British school there : he saw that the efficacy of Lord Wellesley's policy in founding the college at Fort William, as a means of incorporating the English on the Asiatic stock, was sound, and that no material improvement could take place in the mass of the people by endeavouring to communicate knowledge through twenty different tongues instead of by one, which would form a com- mon medium of intercourse for all. The thought began to be " ventilated" — some advocating the English, some the vernacular, some both. The latter was partially adopted, as a compromise between the two former systems : but it ultimately gave way ;* and now sound-thinking Indian statesmen are con- vinced that the foundation of education ought to be the English, whatever may be the vernacular ; so that in due time it may become the ordinary dialect of about 200,000,000 in Hindoostan. In 1813, attention was directed to the necessity of something being done towards the education of the people ; and under the then charter act it was decreed lliat a lac of rupees (£10,000) should be annually appropriated out of the revenue of India for the " revival and improvement of literature. "t It was a small sum for such an object : yet it remained unem- ployed for ten years ; and then the accumulated funds were appropriated to the Hindoo collegej at Cal- cutta, which was placed under the superintendence of government, and to such other Oriental seminaries as a Committee of Public Instruction (appointed in 1823) might recommend. The Court of Directors early foresaw the inefficiency of mere Oriental literature as a means of improving the people. In a despatch to India, WTitten in 1821, the Court warned the local governments thus : — • " In teaching mere Hindoo or Mohammedan learn- ing, you bind yourselves to teach a great deal of what is frivolous, not a little of what is purely mis- chievous, and a small remainder indeed in which utility is in any way concerned." Bishop Heber also justly remarked — " The Mussulman literature very nearly resembles what the literature of Europe was before the time of Copernicus, Galileo, and Bacon. The Mussulmans take their logic from Aristotle, fil- tered through many successive translations and com- mentaries ; and their metaphysical system is pro- fessedly derived from Plato. Both Mohammedans and Hindoos have the same natural philosophy, which is also that of Aristotle in zoology and botany, and Ptolemy in astronomy, for which the Hindoos have forsaken their more ancient notions of the seven seas and the six earths." The Court of Directors had to contend against the prejudices of distinguislied Eng- lishmen, who clung pertinaciously to the idea of educating the people in the Oriental tongues. Thus, in a despatch of September 29th, 1830, the Court says — " We think it highly advisable to enable and encourage a large number of natives to acquire a thorough knowledge of English, being convinced tliat tlie high tone and belter spirit of European literature can produce their full effect only on those who become familial- with them in the original lan- aceurate observer the iate Rammohun Ray, said — ** It can only load the minds of youth with grammatical nice- ties and nietaiihysieal distinctions of no practical use; the pupils will acquire what was known 2,000 years ago, with the addition of vain and empty subtleties." In fact, its pupils became deists and atheists. IMPROVED SYSTEM OF EDUCATION FOR INDIA— 1854r-'55. 537 guii<;e. AVhilc, too, we ngrce that, the higher branches of science may lie more advantaf^eouhly stiKlied in tlie hinfjtiapes of Kiiropc, tlian in translations into the Oriental tonyues, it is also to be considered, that tlie fittest persona for trnnslatinfj Knglish scienlidc books, or for ))ntting their substance into a shape adapted to Asiatic students, are natives who have Rtudied profoundly in the original works." — (Des- patch, Sei)tcmber 29tli, 1830.) These sound views were not immediately adopted by the Indian government, who absurdly perse- vered for several years attempting to instruct the people who attended the public seminaries by trans- lating Knglish literature into Sanscrit and Arabic — the one not spoken, and the other a foreign language in Iiidia. liefore a Hindoo could study the best masters in Knglish, he must waste precious time in becoming an Oriental scholar : in effect, it would be paralleled if boys in the national schools of liritain were required to learn Latin and Greek, and then study English literature from translations into these languages. The pedantry and inutility of such a system was at length exposed j and, with broader views of statesmanship, there came a recognition of the necessity of making English the classical and jiredominant language. On tlie 7th of March, 1835, the government abandoned the Oriental scheme of education, and the comprehensive and adaptative tongue of the ruling power was gradually substituted by attaching Knglish classes to the Hindoo and Mohammedan colleges which had been established in different cities ; to these were added scholarships, with sti- ])ends attainable after a satisfactory examination, and terminable at a central college to which the school was subordinate. In October, 184-1, gov- ernment passed a resolution, promising prefer- ence of selection for public employment to stu- dents of distinguished ability. Model schools have been ado])ted in several districts ; suitable books prepared ; an organised system of inspection main- tained J* and Christian instruction thus extended : — Missionary Schools in Continental India. Male. Female. Stations. Vernacular Day- Schools. Boarding-Schools. English Schools. Day-Schools. Boarding-Schools. Schools. Boys. Schools. Boys. Schools. Boys. Schools. Girls. Schools. Girls. Bcnjral, Orissa, and Assam N. W. Provinces . . . Madras Presidency . . Bombay Presidency . . 127 5.5 852 Co fi,369 3,07 S 61,;JGG 3,848 21 10 32 4 7C1 209 754 64 22 16 44 9 G,0o4 1,207 4,l.i6 984 26 8 2*^2 28 690 213 6,929 1,087 28 11 41 6 836 208 1,101 129 Total .... 1,099 74,6G1 67 1,788 91 12,401 284 8,919 86 2,274 In the parliamentary discussions relative to India, in 18o2-'3, tlie subject of educating the people by a general system, was fully recognised as one of the most important duties of government; and accord- ingly, in July, 1854, an admirable despatch was for- warded to Bengal by the home authorities. t In this document the Court of Directors declare that " no subject has a stronger claim to attention than education ;" and that it is " one of our most sacred duties, to be the means, as far as in us lies, of con- ferring upon the natives of India those vast moral and material blessings which flow from the gener»l diffusion of useful knowledge, and which India may, under Providence, derive from her connexion with England. For although British influence has al- ready, in many remarkable instances, been applied with great energy and success to uproot demoralising practices, and even crimes of a deeper dye, which for ages had prevailed among the natives of India, the good results of those efforts must, in order to be per- manent, [losscss the further sanction of a general sympathy in the native mind, wliich the advance of education alone can secure. ^Ve have, moreover, always looked upon the encouragement of educa- tion as peculiarly important, because calculated ' not only to produce a higher degree of intellectual fit- ness, but to raise the moral character of those who partake of its advantages, and so to supply you with servants to whose jirobity you may with in- creased confidence commit oflices of trust' in India, * In September, 1845, I attended an annual e.\amin.i- lion of the Poena schools, and was agreeably surprised by the intelligence and proficiency of the pupils. where the well-being of the people is so intimately connected with the truthfulness and ability of offi- cers of every grade in all departments of the state. Nor, while the character of England is deeply con- cerned in the success of our efforts for the pro- motion of education, are her material interests alto- gether unaffected by the advance of European know- ledge in India: this knowledge will teach the natives of India the marvellous resuluof the employment of labour and capital, rouse them to emulate us in the development of the vast resources of their country, guide them in their efforts, and gradually, but cer- tainly, confer upon them all the advantages which accompany the healthy increase of wealth and com- merce ; and, at the same time, secure to us a larger and more certain supply of many articles necessary for our manufactures and extensively consumed by all classes of our population, as well as an almost inexhaustible demand for the produce of British labour." These are noble sentiments, ■worthy of England, and of incalculable benefit to India. With this pre- amble, the Court of Directors proceed to state the main object thus: — " We emphatically declare that the education which we desire to see extended in India is that which has for its object the diffusion of the improved arts, science, philosophy, and literature of Europe ; in short, of European knowledge." Pecuniary aid is to be given to vernacular and Anglo-vernacular schools. The study of law, medi- t It is nnderstood that the preliminary draft of this valuable State Paper was drawn up by Sir Charles Wood, then president of the India Board. 538 GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS— EXTENSION OF EDUCATION— 1855. cine,* and civil engineering to be encouraged ; and all the higher branches of sound education. The expenditure for these great designs will be large, and can only gradually be employed : at present it amounts to about £150,000 a-year, -which, it is to be hoped, -will ere long be largely augmented.f Kumher of Gnccrnment Educational Institutions, of Teachers and of Pupils therein, with the total Expense thereof, and the Number and Value of Scholarships in each Presidency, in the Year 1852-'53. Presidency. Nature of Institution. Institu- tions. Teachers PupUs. Expense. Scholarships. Number. 152 284 84 Value. Bengal . . < N A\'. Provinces . English and native tuition . . . . Vernacular tuition Grants in aid to charitable and other ] scholastic institutions J English and native tuition Vernacular 109 36 / 8 3 15 235 336 36 125 21 64 190 9,116 1,904 1,835 448 2,492 12,384 £ 51,000 1,192 6,306 14,577 5,437 3,789 766 1 17,143 £ 3,137 2,814 Madras .... Bombay .... English and native tuition Vernacular English and native tuition Vernacular Total I English and native tuition . . -J Vernacular Grand Total 5,880 134 279 546 226 13,891 14,288 — 520 11,831 «3 772 28,179 100,210 520 11,831 Note. — The above return is founded on the information received for the year 1852-'o3 ; but as the state of educa- tion in India is at present one of transition, it is probable that considerable alteration has taken place. By the despatch to the goveninicnt of India, dated the 19th July (No. 49 of 1854), a plan for the general extension of education was laid down, and when the instructions therein contained shall begin to be carried out, the changes made will be of a wide and sweeping character. For the reasons already assigned it is impossible to afford any precise information on the subject of Vernacular Schools. It is known, however, that these schools are increasing in number and improving in character. In October, 1849, sanction was given by the home authorities for the establishment of one government vernacular school in each of eight tehsildarries, or revenue divisions of the North-West Provinces, to afford a model to the native village school- masters. The experiment proved highly successful ; the number of village indigenous schools, within the eight tehsildar- ries, having increased in three years, from 2,014 to 3,469 ; and that of the scholars therein, from 17,169 to 36,884. The plan has now been extended to the whole of the North- Western Provinces, and also to portions of Bengal and the Pun- jab, The expense of the measure is estimated at £60,000 per annum. Under the present system there is an educational department at each presidency, with an official of talent, largely remunerated, at its head ; qualified district inspectors report periodically on the colleges and schools supported and managed by government, and statistical returns are to be annually sent, with the reports, to England. Universities are to be established, under charter, in different parts of India, and to he managed by senates, consisting of * In 1829, I laid before Lord Wm. Bentinck, then governor-general, a plan for estabhshing a medical and surgical college at Calcutta, and pointed out the great benefits which would accrue from such an institution. I also offered to deliver gratuitously a course of lectures on anatomy, for which there was an abundance of '* sub- jects," the Ganges being the jtlace of sejjulture for many million Hindoos whose bodies daily floated in thousands past Calcutta. Lord Vvm. Bentinck warmly commended my proposition ; but subsequently informed me that he found such a decided opposition to it in the council that it would be hopeless to get the sanction of those who feared every innovation, and deemed that the Hindoos would never attend a dissecting-room. In a few years after my plan was effectively carried out by others, and it has produced the most beneficial results, Hindoos even come to England to study and qualify themselves for the position of surgeon in the service of government. I know of no branch of science so urgently needed for the people of India as that of niedirino and rhirurgcry ; and it is to be hopfd that public ho.>^pilaIs and lf(aurers will be estab- lished in the large cities for the benefit of thi* native population. The Friejid of hnHa thus alludt's to the good done by the establishment of medical institutions in Malwa : — " In 1H47, throughout the grtmt provinces over which the authority of the resident at Indore extends, there was not, we believe, one single dispensary. Tliere are now nine, all supported by funds derived from sources the chancellor, vice-chancellor, and fellows of each ; periodical examinations to be held in the different branches of art and science, and degrees conferred, unconnected with religious belief, on qualified per- sons who may be educated at the university college, or at affiliated institutions conducted by all denomi- nations, whether Christians, Hindoos, Mohammedans, Parsees, Seiks, Buddhists, Jains, or any other reli- gious persuasion, if found to afford the requisite independent of the British government, and all frequented by the people with an eagerness not always manifested in our older provinces. The nine are stationed at Indore, Oojein, Rutlan, Manpoor, Dhar, Dewas, Sillanah, and Bhopawur, the central station having two. From these establishments no less than 20,223 new patients have re- ceived medical relief, of whom about a thiid, or 6,465, were women and children. The number of females, in itself a sixth of the whole, deserves especial remark. No less than 2,468 surgical operations were performed ; a number which appears enormous, unless very slight cases are inrluded. When it is remembered that a few years since this vast amount of human suffering must liave been unrelieved, or relieved only by the superstitious quackery of the Yedic doctors, the good which has been accomplished by Mr. Hamilton, and the energetic resi- dency surgeon, will be readily ajipreciuted. The whole expenses of these estabiislimcnts amount to 16,032 rupees j and the receipts, chiefly from native chiefs and princes, have been a little above that sum. There appears to be no probability of any falling oft'; and in S]iite of their hereditary aputhy, the neighbouring chiefs appear to be desirous of imitating a system which, under their own eyes, produces so excellent an t'ffert." t The reorganisation of village schools would bring instruction home to the mass of the jieople : they might be made industrinl institutions, and combine agrieuUurc with rustic mechanics. NEWSPAPER PRESS, ENGLISH AND NATIVE, IN INDIA— 1854.639 course of study, and suliji-ct to the inspection, pe- riodically, of goviTiimenl inspectors. A people who have been suhjecl, for several cen- turies, to a rigid political despotism, and sunk for aj^es in a gross system of idolatry, which, while it involved n slavish subjection to ii dominant caste, encouraged the development and exercise of every sensual passion, must necessarily have both intellec- tual and moral faculties darkened to a degree almo.-it surpassing Ix^Iief. If it bo a ho[)eless task to re- generate a human being, of whose originally small glimmering of soul scarcely a scintilla is left, and whose frame, diseased by debauchery, is returning to its original mire, how much more difhcult must it be to raise a hundred million from the inert state in which the mass now vegetate through existence ! Far easier is the task of elevating the New-Zea- lander or KalKr ; nay, the efl'orts making for the civilising of liheels, Gonds, Mairs, Sonthals, and other aborigines in India, may be attended with earlier success than can be expected from the Hin- doo, whose mind is still under the dominion of a Gooroo, or 15rahmin. It is only, therefore, by great and long-sustained exertions on the part of govern- ment, aided by all its servants, tliat the literary, moral, and industrial education of the people of India can be accomplished.* The 1'kess. — The rise and progress in India of this potent engine of civilisation requires to be briefly noted. During the administration of Warren Hastings, the first English newspaper was established at Calcutta : it was styled llicketjs Gazette, and is described as a low, scurrilous, immoral publication ; it soon died a n,atural death. In 1814, the Gorern- ment Gazette vias the only jjublication extant. With the increase of Anglo-Indian residents the number of newspapers augmented, and their character im- ])roved. In 1820 there were three weekly journals and one monthly periodical in Calcutta. In 1830, the number of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual periodicals issuing from the Bengal press was thirty- three. In 1834 the numbers stood thus: — Daily, political newspapers, four; commercial advertisers, four. Tri-tceekbj, political, two; commercial, one. Weelihj, political, four; commercial, four. Mimthly, * Government do not seem to have as yet given any attention to the liiglily important subject of female educa- tion. The character of the men of any country may be readily inferred l)y the intellectual progress and moral teaching of the women. Tiie barbarous system of the Mohammedans is to keep the fair sex as ■mere sensual toys or household drudges : this cruel policy lias, in some places, been adopted by the Hindoos from their Moslem conquerors ; but it belongs not to their serial ethics, as Menu enjoins reverence and respect ; and there have been several distinguished female sovereigns and personages in Hindoostan. A London institution for promoting the education of the women of liulia is now in full operation, under the direction of a ladies' committee, who send out carefully-trained schoolmistresses, and superintend the working of the society at home and abroad. If tlie day have not arrived when girls* scliools can be formed by government in India as well as in England, then to such a body as " the Society for promoting Female Educa- tion in the East," the work of educating the women of India might be temporarily entrusted by the state. f There were t'khbars, or Court Circulars, containing such scraps of official news, or y»p, as tlie ruling power permitted to be made known. X In 1S29, in conjunction with Rammoimn Roy, Dwar- knnaut Tagore, Prussuna C<miarTagore. and other Hindoo gentlemen, I established in C!aleutta a wceklv journ.il, and printed it, under my own roof, in English, iiengallee, and general, six. Quarterly, reviews and Army Lint, four. AnnuaU and almanacs, five. In the N. W. Provinces, Agra, Delhi, (Jawnpoor, and Meerut, had each an iMiglish newspaper. At Madras there were nine, and at Bombay ten Knglish newsi)ap('rs and other jjeriodicals ; there was no stamp or advertisement duty, but [)ostage wag levied on the transmission of journals through the post-ofiice. A registration of the name and resi- dence of proprietors, and a lodgment of a copy with government of each issue of a publication, were re- quired. Until Sir Charles Metcalfe, when acting governor-general in August, 183o, declared the press of India free, and its conductors subject only to the civil law, and trial by jury for libel, the government exercised a vigilant censorshij), and could at any moment destroy an obnoxious journal by the depor- tation of its conductors to Europe (as w.is done in the case of the late Mr. Silk Buckingham); but since 183j, the newspaper press of India has been as free as that of England. The native periodical press is of recent formation. During Hindoo and Moslem sway, no such thing a.s a newspaper with freedom of discussion existed. t Even in 1820 there were no journals in the verna- cular : a few subsequently arose. ^ In 1834 there were fifteen newspapers published weekly in Bengal, some in Bengallee, others in Persian, and some with translations into English. At the same period there was in Madras one native newspaper published in Hindoostanee and in English ; and in Bombay, four — -in the Guzerattee, Mahratta, and Persian languages. With the establishment of these journals, English and native, there came into operation several printing- presses for the publication of books, pamphlets, &c., which were of essential service to the spread of edu- cation and literature. The latest data before me (1853) of the news- papers and periodicals in the English language at each ])residency, show: — Calcutta — Daily, seven ;§ bi-weekly, three; weekly, eleven; bi-monthly, five; monthly, eight ; quarterly, nine ; yearly, eight. This is a larger issue of periodical literature than Edin- burgh, Dublin, or any city in the United Kingdom Hindoostanee (Persiiin) characters, in parallel columns, with a hojie of improving the tone of the native mind, and preparing it for a temperate discussion of public affairs. This journal was acknowledged to have been eminently instrumental in aiding Lord Wm. Bentinck in the abolition of snttee, by appeals to the humane feelings of Hindoo Imsbands, fathers, and brothers. When widow. burning was suppressed, attention was directed to other prevailing pernicious practices, such as duelling among Europeans, and flagellation in the army. Some very mild comments on a court-marti.al sentence, dated 20th .luly, 1S29, of "one thousand lashes on the bare back of gunner Wm. Comerford, of the 1st company ."ith battalion of Bengal artillery" (whose wife had been sedu(^ed by the captain of his company, and the seducer's life threatened by the aggrieved husband), led to the con. demnation by the government of India of the journal, and its ultimate destruction, with the large property embarked therein. It is now unnecessary to advert to the injury sustained ; the circumstance is mentioned as a fragment of histor)'. The sacrifice was made for great objects, and it is seldom one is privileged to witness the beneficial results by tlie attainment of the end in view. § Englishman, tlurkani {Messenger), Citizen, Morning Chronicle, Evening Mail, Commercial and Shipping Ga- zette. Exchange Gazette. The Englishman and Hurkam, for instauce, are of the size of the London Times without its supplement. 540 RAPID EXTENSION OF PRINTING IN INDIA— 1854-'55. but London can exhibit. Somhai/^DaWy, three ;* bi-weekly, two ; weekly, five ; bi-monthly, four ; monthly, three; quarterly, one; half-yearly, one; annually, two; and occasionally (transactions of scientific societies), four. Madras — Daily and weekly, nine ; bi-monthly, two ; monthly, eight ; quarterly, three ; annual, six. Throughout different parts of India there are also English newspapers, journals, ite., viz., at Agra, four ; Delhi, four ; Simla, one ; Lahore, one ; Serampoor {Friend of India), one; Rangoon, one; Bangalore (bi-weekly Herald), one; Poona, one; Kurachee (Sinde), two. Of the native press I can find no complete returns : in Bengal it has largely increased ;t as also at Bom- * Times, Gazette, and Courier, each nearly equal in size to the Calcutta newspapers. f The Baptist Mission Press is distinguished in Ben- gal above all others for the accuracy and excellency of its work ; it does a large amount of business, the profits of which are all devoted to the mission. By the aid of this active society, the Scriptures have in whole or in part been translated into, and printed in, forty-four Asiatic languages, which may be thus enumerated : — • Statistics of Translations (in the Languages of India) of the Holy Scriptures, Languages or Dialects. No. of Copies. WhoUy. In Part. 3,500 1 3,000 2,790 6,509 Battak (numbernot known.) Beloochee ditto. 341,655+ 67,060J 1,000 1,000 BhogTilcundi 6,400 Bhutueera 1,000 Bruj 6,000 16,500 3,000 9,100 Cingalese (about) Guzerattee Gurwhali or Shreenagur Haroti 6,000 5,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Hindi 76,000 Hindoostanee or Urdu Javanese (about) Jumbu ... 132,033 3,000 1,000 Juyapura (number not known.) Kanoj . , 1,000 Khassi 500 1,000 K.unkunu , , . 2,000 KusoU (number not known.) 1,000 Mahralta 11,465 1,500 1,000 Mueuclh 1,000 Multani 1,000 Munipura ^epaulcse .... 1,000 1,000 Oodeypoor (number not known.) Oojin 1,000 14,000 Palpa 1,000 37,500 Sanscrit Sikhi 71,580 6,000 Sindhi (number not known.) Telinga or Teloogoo 1,000 Total number of Vols. . . . 14,900 833,180 X New Testament. § Old Testament. (Pari. Papers — Commons; Cth August, IB.'iS; p. 16.').) The London Misaionary Society have translated the wliole bay, where there are two daily newspapers in Guze- rattee; five bi-weekly, four w-eekly (Marathi, Guze- rattee and Persian), one bi-monthly (Marathi and English), one monthly (in Portuguese.) The activity of printing may be judged by the number of establishments in full operation at Bom- bay, viz., English, seven; Guzerattee, eleven; Ma- rathi, four; Persian, four; lithographic presses, five. In the N. W. Provinces, the number of native presses in operation during the year 1853, was forty; and the number of native newspapers issued therefrom, thirty-seven : some of these, though containing cur- rent news, supply information useful for schools, on subjects connected with geography, zoology, history (chiefly modern), education, popular errors, transla- tions from Shakspeare, influence of the moon on animal and vegetable creation, and various scientific matters. The official report to government (19th No. of Selections) on the subject of these native presses, states — '■ Of the forty presses at work, five were established within the year, and four discon- tinued during the same period ; in the same manner, five new newspapers were issued, and five old ones discontinued. The books published at the presses were 195, and the approximate number of copies of the same struck ofi' for general use, 103,615. Two of the principal presses, viz., Gobind Pughonath's at Benares, and the Moostufaee press at Delhi, have not furnished us with the number of copies they have published of each work issued by them : for these, therefore, the lowest average, viz., 200 to each work, has been taken ; but it may confidently be assumed that a far greater number of copies were struck off, more especially as the last-named press is noted for its success in the publication and sale of books." The report adverts commendingly to several of the newspapers, viz., the Koh-i-Noor, at Lahore ; the Noor-ool-Absar, ai A^ra.; the Quiran-oos-Sadi/n, at Delhi ; the Soodhakeer, at Benares, " which ranks very high among the native journals of these pro- vinces." One newspaper deserves special note, owing to its patronage and source: — "Another well-eon- ducted periodical is the Blalwa Ukhbar, under the patronage of the Maharajah Holkar and Sir R. N. C. Hamilton, and published at Indore. The paper is edited by one of the teachers of the Indore school, and contains intelligence relative to the native neigh- bouring states, which have been personally visited by the editor, and with the condition and general afiairs of which he would appear to be thoroughly con- versant." It is to be regretted that there are no government reports on the state of the native press in Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. Very little fore- sight is needed to perceive the vast importance, \ici\\- tical, social, and moral, which this rapid extension of printing is calculated to produce on the native mind throughout the length and breadth of Hindoostan ; for weal or for woe our government is now com- mitted to the principle of free discussion on every topic which the discursive faculties of the Asiatic may choose to examine. Some publications of a decidedly deistical and even atheistical character Bible into two languages — the Canare.«e and Teloogoo ; aided tliat of tli(; Oordoo, Guzerattee, Bcugallee, Tamul, and Maliyalim. Of .£03,963 annual incnnie, X26,130 is expended in India. The Church Missionary Society spends in India i.'45,000 per annum, and has eighty- eiglit ordained clergymen engaged in its glorious work. Tlie excellent Moravians are "breaking ground" in the Himalaya, and the Scotch church are effectively occupy- ing Western India. THE PURE HINDOO AND THE ANCIENT GREEK COMPARED. 541 linve iilienily appcnn-d.* Piiinc's A(jc of Reason and Voliicy's liuitis iif Kmpin'S, not lonf; since found a nioif rcudy Mile llinn any othor inijinrled books; for, in tlie Ininsition stiilf from I'iiijunism to Cliris- li.misni, the j,'ulf of inlidclity must, it is to be feared, be passed with ruin to many souls. f The pure Hindoo mind, p;enprally sneaking, re- sembles very much that of the ancient Greek: it is loffical, yet fond of romance — acute iu perception, but wanlinj^ in ])rofundity ; deligliting in subtleties, and eager for disputation; more vain than proud,— prone to exaggeration, — given to fine sentiments rather than to noble actions,! — with a keener relish for the beautiful than the true, — physically brave, but morally pusillanimous, — -sujierstitious, impulsive, ardent in love, bitter in haired, — of vivid thoughts, bright imaginings, and lolly aspirations. With sneli a people, whose natural character has been subdued by centuries of despotism, great results may be produced by example and precejit. If left uiiguided, the bias of (allien man must lead to evil; but with the powerful engine of the printing-press, government may exercise a i)ermanent inlluence for good. 'I'here is no time to be lost: the school in- spectors, European and native, now being ap])ointed over every district, may become ellicient instruments for the guidance of the native press in the inculca- tion of truth, the discussion of ])olitical economy, and the ditl'usion of virtuous principles. Crimk. — For want of regular returns and a uni- form system, it is not possible at ]U'esent to show the e.\lent of crime among the population generally ; the nature of offences peculiar to the Hindoos or to the Mohammedans; the increase or decrease for several years; or the ratio that it bears to the number of inhabitants: such statistics would be very valuable, and might be obtained. Some returns prepared for * I obtained in 1845, at Bombay, one atheistical book, written by a I'arsee, in reply to the Scotch missionaries, which was of such a blasphemous character that I burnt the work to prevent its falling into the hands of any young person in England. t One of the ablest newspapers published in India, termed the Ciitcuttii Itir^uirer, was edite<l by a Hindoo named Khrisluia I\b>huu Bantiajee. a man of brilliant abilities, perfectly well accpiaintecl with the English lan- guage, which he wiehled with great power against the government as a thorough " radical :" liis infidelity was for a time complete. About the year 1834 he became acfpminted with the missionaries ; his sce])tieism was shaken, and he soon ('mhraeed Christianity — ceased to oppose govermnent, "sounded the alarm to his country- men and the authorities on the danger of imparting a merely intellectual education, as inevitably leading a large mass of the population into hostility to the British rule ; and declared his entire conviction, both politically and morally, tliat the government would do well not to exebule Christianity from tlicir seliools." — {See valuable evidence of CoUjucI Jacob, of the artillery, before pailia- ment, 4th August, ISo.'i.) While in India, I invited the presence of many young Hindoo gentlemen to my cham- bers in the evening, and usually had large soirees : they quoted Shakspcare. Byron, and other j)opular works with remarkable memory, but almost invariably scoft'ed at the Bible and all religion ; they had kiekeil .iway the cnUchcs of Hindouisin, and leeeived no substitute; hence they sturuhU'd through dark and fearful regions of atlu'ism. J There are many exce]Hions to this, especially in Raj- poot annals ; and the devotion of the Hindoo sepoy to his European offteer, has often been exhibited by the sacrifice of life to save that of his commander ; hut heroism is not, in the present age, the characteristic of the mass of the people, § Of this number but 46, SSI were punished. The 4 A the judicial department of the Madras governmfait, furnishes useful details for the year 1 800. It appears, that among a population of 22,'281,o27, there were in one year l(i7,U0.'J alleged cases of as»ault,5 2,-'iOS of cattle-hteuling, 9,135 of theft, and 5,424 of varioun other olfenees : total, 183,930 cases of crime, for which summonses were granted by the district magis- trates. The vitttKjc police cases included 11,087 charged with petty assault, and 1,580 of petty theft. 'J'he offences against the person in the Madras Presidency, show that the Hindoo is not the peace- able person that he is generally represented.)! The murders in 1850 were 275; homicide, 87 ; wounding with intent to kill, 25 ; .assault with wounding, 412; ra])e, 75 : total, 804. The otfenees against property in the same year, were : — -Robbery, with aggravating circumstances, 4SG ; robbery, without ditto, 828; housebreaking, 5,959; theft, 2,350; cattle-stealing, killing, or wounding, 922; arson, 377; embezzle- ment and fraud, 205: total, 11,127. Forgery, 80;^ perjury or subornation, 11; various, !,742: total, 1,839. This is a heavy catalogue of known crime, which, it is to be feared, forms but a small propor- tion of the amount actually perpetrated. The crime of murder varies in different districts: — Malabar, 32 cases ; Canara, 30 ; Cuddapah, 24 ; Salem, 23 ; Bellary, 20 ; in Gangam, Kajuhmundry, N. Arcot, Coimbatoor, Madura, and Tinnevelly, the number of cases ranged from 12 to 16. The number of persons charged, in 1850, with abuse of authority as police-officers (principally jjeons, or constables and village police servants), was 1,410, which indi- cates grievous maladministration among the lowest officials.** In jjroportion to the population of the whole presidency, the number of persons summoned for petty offences was one in eighty-three inhabit- ants, and the crimes and misdemeanours one in 1,000. disproportion of persons punished to those summoned is a great evil. In Jlajahmundry, for instance, 1,422 out of 14,.')7i, or nine per cent. Thus ninety-one out of every hundrid persons brought before the magistrates are ae- knc)wledged to be innocent : this indicates a very bad state oi society. II Murder and attempts to kill are awfully prevalent in every part of India: the nature of the assault varies with the character of the i)cople, and is more manifest among the hot-blooded Mussulmen tliau the cooler Hin- doos ; the former slaying, the latter poisoning. Disputes regarding women are often the cause, and a blood feud is transmitted from father to son. Abstinence from animal food does not seem to indispose the vegetarian from taking the life of Ids fellow-man. ^ Forgery, perjury, and coining, were deemed trivial oflences under Pagan and Moslem rule. Coiinng base money was turned to advantage by local functionaries, who levied a tax from the coiners. ** The native police throughout India (excepting the Punjab) is notoriously incflicicnt and corrupt. There can now be no doubt that tortures of the rao.-'t atrocious and indecent character have been, and are still inBicted, for the purpose of extorting confession from alleged cri- minals, and stdl more with a view to obtain money from the suspected or the accused. This, in a great degree, accounts for the large number of persons summoned or apprehended. In Bengal, dacoiti/, or gang-robbery, is nearly as bad as in the days of \Varren Hastings. No branch of our Indian administration demands reform more than the police ; and perhaps in no department is it more difficult, owing to the unprincipled and profligate class of the community from whom the police are selected. The remedy elsewhere suggested — of erecting municipalities, and leaving the matter in the hands of corporations dependent on the ratepayei-s, apjjears to afford the best means of obtaining an honest and vigdant police. 543 AMOUNT AND NATURE OP CRIME IN INDIA. The number of suicides and accidental deaths reported to the magistracy in I80O, within the limits of the Madras Presidency, is very remarkable : — Cause of Death. Men. Women. Children Total. Suicides ; — Drowning . . 195* 536 13 744 Hanging . . . 171 72 — 243 Poison 4 25 1 30 Various 28 10 — 38 Total .... 398 643 14 1,0.35 Accidental deaths: — Drowning in wells . 573t 913 662 2,148 Do. in tanks or rivers 468t 270 521 1,2.59 By burning . . . 48 29 47 124 „ liglitning . . . 99 27 16 142 „ sunstroke . . . 15 9 1 25 „ wild beasts . . 85 21 13 119 „ landslips, &c. 67 26 35 12s Various 497 1,852 87 64 648 Total .... 1,382 1,359 4,593 General Total . 2,2o0 2,025 1,373 5,648 The recklessness of life which this table exhibits is awful ; upwards of a thousand suiciclesj and 4,500 alleyed accidental deaths, constitute only those known to or reported by the police; and probably many of those are murders. Bombay, 1850. — The returns of crime for this presidency vary in form, and are not so full as those of Madras, neither do they appear to be so accu- rately prepared. Number of persons apprehended for crime by the district police, 60,G73 ; by the village ditto, 2,398 -= G3,071. But here, as at Madras, and owincr most probably to the same sause — a corrupt police — the number apprehended or summoned is no actual test of crime. For in- stance, of 60,673 persons apprehended, 17,765 were discharged without trial, and 16,564 acquitted after investigation. § The following official specification of crime for two years, throughout the Bombay Pre- * In the year 1849 — men, 328 ; women, 527. t lu 1849. + In India, as in China, suicide very frequently results from the use of opium and other intoxicating drugs, the constant use of which (as an aphrodisiac in the first in- stance) tends to the prostration of all vigour of mind or body, and ultimately to self-murder, as a relief from the torment experienced. Unhappily, our Indian government, for the sake of obtaining a revenue, have encouraged not only the growth of opium for exportation, but also for private use. The late Henry St. George Tucker, a respected and able chairman of the E. I. Cy., recorded in 1829 his sentiments on this point. "The supreme government of India have condescended to supply the retail shops with opium for domestic consumption, I believe that no one act of our government has appeared in the eyes of respectable natives, both Mohammedan and Hindoo, more questionable ; nothing, I suspect, has tended so murli to lower us in their regard. Was it becoming in a great government to cstablisli shops for the retail sale of the drug? Is it desirable that we should bring it to tlie very dnor of the lower orders, who might never otherwise liave found the article within their rcacli, and who are now tempted to adopt a iiabit alike injurious to hciilth and to good morals." — [Memorials of Indian Gox'cnniieiit ,■ Selectiona from the Papers (f Henry St. Geurijc Tucker ^ p. 154. Edited by J. \V. Kuye : London, 1 853.) g In Madras, out of 183,930 persons summoned or uppreliended tor alleged criminal onVnccs, oniy 51.UG7 were puniMhcJ, sidency, will confirm the remark made under Madras^ as to tlie immoral state of the population : — Crime throughout the Bombay Presidency in 1850, contrasted ivith 1849. Offences. Adulteryll Assault with homicide Ditto, with wounding or other violence Ditto, simple Arson Child-steahngIT Forgery, or counterfeiting the coin Homicide . ...... Murder ....... Ferjury ....... Rape Receiving stolen goods Gang-robbery, with murder Ditto with violence Ditto unaggravated Robbery, including burglary and cattle- \ stealing, with murder . . ■ • J Robbery, including burglary and cattle- t stealing, with violence , . . • j Robbery, including burglary and cattle- ) stealing, unaggravated . . • ■ J Theft, with murder, iuchiding that of chil- I dren for the sake of ornaments . . j Theft, simple Treason, rebellion, and riot Thuggee Miscellaneous Offences, viz. : — Abuse of authority Abusive language Abortion, procuring and attempting, orl assistant at ditto j Attempt at theft ur robbery Breach of contract Breach of religious law - . . . Breaking or destroying boundaries . Bribery, and attempt at ditto . Conspiracy Concealment of robbery or theft Concealment of murder .... Dhurna Embezzlement Escape from custody, and attempts and ) connivance at ditto . . • . J Fraud Failure to furnish security Infraction of police rules . . . , Jhansa Neglect of duty and disobedience of orders Return from banishment or transportation Sxncide, attempts at . Traga, and attempts at ... . Uttering base coin and using false weights Not included in the above Total 45,351 1849. 1850. 213 201 15 26 503 499 13,5M 14,022 677 570 20 27 95 103 33 39 165 146 155 167 69 84 374 421 18 13 221 204 56 81 13 9 2,087 2,211 3,667 4,334 11 14 7,276 8,406 5 1!' — 1 25 69 9,342 9,481 70 76 639 783 67 84 153 124 30 60 120 192 130 112 17 19 / 3 6 8 53 83 49 71 3)L' 277 ';■' 30 999 729 431 509 916 950 30 36 27 22 73 103 159 263 2,408 2,301 47,982 II This is a prevalent crime in India. The Punjab eom- missioners report that " the men of the Punjab regard adultery with a vindicliveness only to be appea.sed by the death or mutilation of the parties ; yet in no louiitry are inst.inoes of female depravity and conjugal infidelity more frequent." The natives hate any system of law which will not give such redress as their vengeance may demand, and murder the aggressor when in their power to do so. \ Child-stealing was extensively practised under the native rule ; and, desi)ite our vigilance, is still practised in every part of India. While slavery existed and was encouraged, tlicre was of course a premium olfercd for the abduction of infants from their parents. I'n tin' Punjab, for instance, *' children of both sexes, esj)i*cially ieniales, were openly bought and sold." — (Report, p. 44.) Tliere the crime is now imnisl]<d with teu or fifteen years' iui)>ri3onment. STATE OF CRIME IN BENGAL, MADRAS, AND BOMBAY— 1850— '52. 545 The supposed niinibcr nC ofTi-ndiTS for thi.' year is 96,591, of wlioMi 7H,:!()(i only were apprelieiuled. Of llie prisoners tried, no more lliaii 8,l'2-'i coidd read and write ; the nutTil)er tried for second offences was 2,503. Tlie punishments are tlius shown of 4.2'22 prisoners who were in the fjaols on ^Ist ])ecemher, 1850: — Imprisonment for hfe, with lalioiir in irons, 131 ; ditto, without irons, 05 ; imprisonment, ten to fourteen years, 270 ; ditto, seven to ten years, .195 ; ditto, less than seven years, 2,702; ditto, without hibour, 499. The number of deatlis in prison throujj;hout the year was 318: the avernge mor- tality bein}( aliout six ])er cent. The sentences of death by the Sudder Foujd:iree Adawlut, or highest criminal court, was only 13, wliicli marks a very limited extent of capital punishment. l'"ines seem to be the most usual mode of dealing with offenders : of 20,352 sentenced by district police, 22,079 were mulct in money, or imjjrisoned in default of pay- ment, 2,482 confined without lal)our, and 1,191 placed in the stocks ; of 4,792 sentenced by magis- trates, 2,535 were fined, 40 Hogged and discharged, and the remainder imprisoned for various terms under a year. The session judges' sentences on 1,258 tried before them, comprised 151 fined, and the others imprisoned for various terms of one to live years. The returns for liombay,* as well as Madras, note that petty crime prevails most in those districts where there is heavy taxation, faslure of crops, general distress, and want of remunerative emjdoy- ment ; also assaults with woundingf where the men still go abroad on all occasions armed. Where the inhabitants are employed in constructing tanks, wells, and other public works, crime has diminished. The Persons apprehetiiled, convicted, acquitted, and comi sums reported lost by robbery throughout the presi- dency, ill 1S50, is not large, viz., rupees, 558,345 =• £55,854 ; and recovered by the police — rupees, 150,500; lost by arson — rupees, 24,034. NdUTii-WKSl' I'uovi.sCES. — The details of crime for lH19,t in this large section of India, are very meagre. The number of jiersons apprehended dur- ing the year was 82,957; and, with the addition of 1,135 prisoners under examination 1st January, 1849, and 1,071 received by transfer, total disposed of, 85,103 : of these only 45,80.3 (barely more than one-half) were convicted, and 32,842 were acquitted ; the remainder died (51), escaped (65), were trans- ferred, ice. No statement of crimes or of suicides, and no trustworthy returns from Hengal appear among the papers laid before |)arliament ; but the following significant expression by the governor- general (l)alliousie), when examining the " Keport of the Punjab," will, to some extent, show the state of the country. His lordship says — " I will boldly allirm, that life and property are now, and have for some time been, more secure within the bounds of the Punjab, which we have only held for four years, than they are in the province of Bengal, which has been ours for very nearly a century.''§ According to a police report, it is stated that in 1854, out of a [lopulation estimated at 35,000,000, spread over 31 districts, 84,536 persons were arrested for 82,925 separate charges: one ])erson accused in every 414 inhabitants — less than a fourth [ler cent. The con- victions are quoted at 48,127, or one-seventh per cent, on the population. Value of property stolen during the year — rupees, 600,000 ; amount recovered — rupees, 74,111, or nine per cent. A military police, like that of Ireland, would be useful. lifted for Trial, in each Presidency, from 1850 — '52. Classification of Cri- Bengal. N. W. Provinces. Madras. Bombay. minal Cases. 18.50. 1851. 1852. 18.50. 1851. 1852. 1850. 1851. 1852. 18.50. 1S5!|I 185211 rending on 1st nf .Tan. Ucoiivfil hy transfer . Apprehended during the year .... J 2,634 440 107,967 2,496 529 107,718 2,805 441 104,474 1,356 758 83,059 1,.527 947 82,112 1,505 1,010 94,747 1,984 202,506 3,024 192,609 3,298 194,514 1,068 78,588 — Total 111,041 110,743 107,780 85,173 84,586 97,262 204,490 196,233 197,812 79,056 — — Convicted Acquitted Discharged without 1 trial Committed .... Died Escaped ■ Transferred .... Peuding, in gaol . . „ on bail . . 6,3,407 40,092 3,962 93 503 490 765 1,729 61, .583 40,799 4,080 1.34 540 734 994 1,879 03,316 35,804 4,417 184 614 632 913 1,840 46,170 32,580 4,300 59 32 .505 707 820 46,012 32,283 4,079 67 45 597 740 754 55,904 34,677 4,369 1 764 |1,S48 57,684 78,929 64,107 \ 146 3,624 51,463 78,255 63,144 73 3,298 52,300 78,018 63,544 86 3,864 33.S65 20,882 22,804 I 960 1,085 Total . ... 111,041 110,743 107,780 85,173 84.586, 97,262 204,490 196,233 197,812 79,656' — 1 — Returns not yet received. Punjab. — It is refreshing to turn from the crime and inefficient jiolice of Southern India to the con- dition of tlie Punjab Projier, where, previous to the assumption of British sovereignty(29th March, 1849), crime and deeds of violence were rife. Under the sway of Kunjeet Sing, the penal code was unwritten. There were but two ])enallies — mutilation and fine : * Within the last two years, military officers have been made assistant magistrates, and plaeeil in eharp:e of the police. The re^tilt lias been satisfacti^ry : the policemen have been broui^ht uiuler discipline, and rendered effective. ■f In the Punjab Proper, a complete disarming of the capital punishment wa.s rare ; imprisonment almost unknown ; mutilation reserved for seduction and adultery — sometimes inflicted for violent theft and robbery ; but for every offence from petty larceny to murder, impunity was purchased by money. From one to ten thousand rupees was the price of human life ; occasion.ally a noted murderer or population recently took place with the happiest results ; 119,796 weapons of various kinds were seized or sur- rendered to the police. t Dated Agra. 13th September, ISaO. § Minute 'by Governor-general, 9th May, 1353. 544 DIMINUTION OF CRIME, AND EXCELLENT POLICE— PUNJAB. robber was enlisted, on high pay, as a cavalier or 1 a foot soldier; if he were a notorious villain, he was made an officer. When a district became disturbed, Runjeet Sing left the matter to his lieutenants, and did not object to the Draconian code of General Avitabile,* in which hanging was the penalty for everj' crime, small or great. Considering that 60,000 men were let loose over the Punjab al^ter the surrender of the Seik power, and that the neighbourhood contained hosts of lawless mountaineers, on a frontier line of 500 miles, apt at all times to make forays, and prey on the more civi- lised and wealthy communities of the plains, the organisation of an efficient police became a matter of the first consideration. A territory extending over an area of 10,000 miles, between the Beas and Indus, peopled by several million warlike Seiks and fanatic Mussulmen, — by Rajpoots, Patans, Jats, and Goojurs, — by devotees and renegades of every faith in India, — required a preventive police with military organisation, and a detective force under civil control : the former consists of six regi- ments of foot (5,400 men), and twenty-seven troops of horse (2,700), regularly armed and equipped, and commanded by four British officers as police cap- tains. The infantry guard the gaols, treasuries, frontier posts, and city gates, furnish escorts for the transit of treasure, and other civil duties ; the cavalrv are posted in small or larger numbers as a mounted patrol along the grand lines of road. Both horse and foot are ready at a moment's notice to aid the civil police, the infantry to crush resistance, the cavalry to expedite pursuit. The civil police supported by the state (and inde- pendent of the city watchmen and rural constabulary paid by the people), consists of 6,900 men of all grades, divided over 228 jurisdictions, in each of which a police-officer is stationed, with one or two depu;ies and policemen. Each tchsihlar (native collector of land revenue) is invested with defined police powers within his circle, with authority to overawe the police when corrupt, to animate them when negligent, and to aid the police-officers by infusing honour and vigour into the men. Unknown and suspicious characters are prevented prowling about; curfew penalties are imposed on those found wandering outside the villages between sunset and sunrise ; parties not registered as public workmen or camp followers, and found within cantonments, are punished ; armed travellers must deposit their arms at the police-station nearest to the pass, and receive them back on their return ; all large bodies of men are watched ; wayfaring men who put up at the village inns, must report themselves to the village chief; and any inn or hotel proved to have sheltered enemies to the public peace, is destroyed. The city watch and village police form an im- portant link between the executive and the people. The rural detectives here, as in other parts of India, form admirable trackers; among the middle and lower parts of the Donahs, amid the wild tract of forest and brushwood, there is a scattered population, who * At Pcshawur, where Avitabile (a Ncaiiolitan) was supreme, the code w.is blood for blood, especially if the murdered man was a .^lik ; hut " his objort was the s.irri- fice of a victim rather than the punishment of guilt." — (Report of Commission, 1851 ; p. 11.) t General Report on Administration of Punjab, p. 39. X Infiinlii-ide imhappily prevails extensively in the Pun- jab. In llajpootana it has existed for years ; but here the Rajpoots arc free from that crime which is committed Jiicfly by the Beaces or priestly class among the Seiks, hitherto subsisted chiefly by stealing thousands of cattle, which once carried thither, never emerged thence with life. Roads have been cut through these haunts, and the professional trackers will follow a thief with stolen cattle for fifty to one hundred miles, although the ground may be over- grown with grass, or too hard to he susceptible of footmarks. Dacoity, during the first year of our administration, attained an alarming height ; gangs of armed and mounted robbers scoured the roads at night, and attacked the houses of native grandees by day, after the fashion of the bush- rangers, as described in my volume on Van Die- men's Land. These gangs have been dispersed, hunted down by men braver than themselves, and the leaders have suffered death or been outlawed : those who escaped have been chased into perpetual exile among the fastnesses of Bikaneer and Raj'- hasthan, or the wilds of the Great Desert. Now the Punjab is as free from dacoity as any part of Upper India. Tlmggee, which was practised hy a low class of Seiks, who, however, had not " the supple sagacity, insidious perseverance, religious faith, dark superstition, sacred ceremonies, peculiar dialect, and mysterious bond of union which dis- tinguished their Hindoo brethren," has been sup- pressed, and an organised body of ferocious and desperate murderers destroyed. Finally, in no part of India is there more perfect peace than in the Punjab. t The returns show a moderate amount of crime,! especially when the recent habits of the population be considered. The ratio, in proportion to the population of the Lahore district, as compared with other parts of Western India, is thus stated :— •r'^ '^^ Districts. ill c a C u .2 §2 Ph '^.c ^t Qji" Lahore division . lS49-'50 9.009 .5,144 274-41 480-32 Do. do . . 1860-'.51 9,998 .5,423 247-13 4.5.5-61 Delhi district . lS-19 2,179 1,653 140 68 186-66 Agra do. . . 4,070 2,313 203-3 308-6 Allahabad district 3,476 1,424 204-33 498-78 Benares do. 3,620 1,776 204-81 423-10 Under the native laws, punishments for crime were exceedingly cruel ; but except in extraordinary eases of treason or sacrilege, the poor w-ere alone the sufl'erers, as the administration of justice was corrupt to the core. Torture was applied to both principals and witnesses, and by the gaolers also, to extort money from the prisoners. Flogging, mutilation, decapitation, drowning, burying alive, casting to wild beasts, and disembowelling, constituted the successive grades of sentences for those who were unable to buy off the infliction. Under our rule capital punishments are restricted to murder; all other heinous offences are visited with transportation to Sincapoor or other places across the sea, with imprisonment and hard labour, on the roads or at public works, either for life or for a term of years. who consider their order sacred, and that if their daughters lived and married, the fathers would be degraded : the children arc consequently doomed to an early death. Other tribes also commit this unn.-itural and foul crime, viz., "some of the Mussulmen sects, and some sub- divisions of the Khastree caste.** The British officials, at the suggestion of some excellent missionnrics, have hud a public meeting of the chiefs, who have ngrced to rj>-opc- rate in the abolition of this unnatural crime. The pur. chase of slave girls is also decreasing. CHAPTER V. CIVIL GOVERNMENT— JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION— MILITARY POWER— AND PRO- TECTED STATES AND PENSIONARIES. TlTE cnrliost knowlcdfjc we possess nf India, inclines me to think that tlie country was divided into Bcveral forms of government, some as military monarchies, others as aristocratic olij;archies,* and many with republicanf or democratic institutions; hut all, more or less, conihined the hereditary element in their constitutions, and were required, on great occasions, to unite for mutual defence against a foreign foe. Individual freedom was prized by the jieople ; and when overcome by an enemy, many fled into the deserts and jungles, preferring solitude to subju- gation. The village or municipal system of India, which has outlived all dynasties and changes, combines the hereditary witli the democratic : tlie potail or mayor, in virtue of his birth, would succeed his father; but if unfit for his ])osit;on, the commonalty might elect their chief. Among the Hindoos there is a strong tendency to office-succession in the same family — not so much in reference to feudality or clanship, as to the transmission of property from one generation to another, in an unbroken line, for a long series of years; a feeling tenaciously held by some races of mankind, and especially by several of Asiatic origin. This idea would doubtless tend to mould the form of governmpnt.| As a general rule, it maybe stated that the Hindoo polity was monarchical, with some republican prin- ciples, a territorial feudal aristocracy, and hereditary rights and privileges; the Mohammedan rule (ac- quired by the sword) was styled imperial, and upheld * .\t the city of Nysn, during the Alexandrine period, the rhitf authority resided in a senate of 300 members. When the Portuguese first saw the RajpnoLs, they de- scribed them as living under aristocratic republics. — (Uanos — Asia, iv., p. 51.').) The re.-ider desirous of in. vestigating the frngnientnry information and legendary lore derived from tlie Paranas. Maharabat, Cashinerian annals, and other documents relative to the Hindoos, uj) to the period of the maraxiding invasions of the Moham- medans in the 11th eentury of the Christian era, will find abundant scope for inquiry in the works of Sir W. Jones, Colebrook, Wilkins, AVilson, Deguignes, Tod, Bentley, Heeren, Bird, Wilford, Moore, Elphinstone, Dow, Stewart, Masson, and other writers, who have praise- worthily devoted tlicmsflvcs to anti<piarian researches con- nected with the history of the East. A summary of the scanty facts thus obtained would lead to no useful result, as scarcely two authors agree in their general conclusions, excepting in so far that about the period above-named India was divided into many separate states, with nume- rous tributary or indepentlent rajahs or feudal chiefs. f This word is used in reference to tlie prevailing idea of its signification. I do not myself think that any form of republic, whether carried on by an oligarchy or by a democracy, can long exist except under Christian polity, when each member of the commonwealth not only governs himself, but subjugates or directs his passions and desires for the promotion of the public weal. In pro- portion to the fulfilment of tliis duty, and so far as it ae^'ords with the Divine law, in such proportion will be the duration, prosperity, and happiness of aptate, whatever may he the designation given to its form of government. % Mr. George Campbell, B.C.S., in the first chapter of his useful work (^Modern India, 1S52), shows the difficulty of arriving at any definite conclusion as to the early form by despotic sway; no aristocracy but that of office or service was tolerated; no local institutions were encouraged ; everything became, as far as possible, centralised; and all persons and property were at the mercy of the emperor, whose position, though to some extent hereditary, was only so after the manner of the CiTsars ; for the large standing army at Delhi (as at Rome) could make or unmake the chief ruler.§ After the marauding Moslem hordes from Tartary and Afghanistan had consolidated their conquests, ' the empire was divided into sotibahsU or provinces, such as Bengal, Rahar, flude, Malwa, Lahore, &c., over each of which there was a creature of the court, with the style and position of viceroy ; most of whom, on the break-up of the Mogul dynasty, declared themselves sovereigns in their respective localities, although they preserved the formality of obtaining the investiture of office from the nominal emperor at ]_)elhi. When the English appeared in India, they fol- lowed the example set by the Arabs and Portuguese, — erected factories at places convenient for trade, and gradually turned them into forts for the protection of their goods and the security of their lives, during the lawless slate which ensued consequent on the breaking up of the imperial government at Delhi. Until 1707, the affairs of the factory of Calcutta were under the superintendence of Fort St. George or Madras : in that year a presidency was formed for Bengal, consisting of a president or gov. ernor, aided by a council of varying number — of of government among the Hindoos. He thinks the Raj- poots conquered the greater part of India, and although democratic or feudal at home, they were absolute sove- reigns abroad, and that under their sway, previous to the arrival of the Mohammedans, India "enjoyed prosperity and wealth."— (p. 12.) § At the beginning of the 18th century, the emperor had .'JO, 000 cavalry and 400,000 infantry in constant pay. Merit, not birth, gave precedence, and largesses were fre- quently distributed. — {Gemetli.) II ^ee p. 117 for the souhahs of the empire, and their administration at the period of Akber's death in 1605. Peter Heylin, in his Cosmographie, 2nd edition, Lon- don. 1657, p. 883, says that India was then, according to the latest observations, divided into forty-seven king- doms, "whereof some few have still their own national kings, the rest all subject to the power of the Great iVlogul." By joining many lesser territories, he arranged the whole of India within the Ganges into twelve divisions, vnz. — 1. Dukinda (W. of the Indus) ; 2. Pen- gab (E. of the Indus, more inclining towards the S.) ; 3. Maiidao, lying between the Fengab on the N., Agra on the S., Delhi on the E., and the Indus on the W. ; chief city, Mandao ; well fortified, and said to be 30 m. in cireunifeRmee ; also Mooltan and other cities ; 4. Delhi or Delia ; 5. Agra, including Gwalior ; 6. Sanya, on the E. of .\gra, and S.W. of Cambaia ; 7. Cambaia, S. of Dulsinda and part of Mandao, lying on both sides of the Indus, and containing Guzerat, &c. ; 8. Deccan ; 9. Canara ; 10. Malabar; 11. Xarsinga (N. of Travaneore and S. of Orixa) ; 9. Orixa or Oristan : 10. lioianler, the petty kingdoms N.E. of the Ganges river; 11. Pa- tanaw (Patna) ; 12. Bengala. The extra Gangetic terri. tories were divided into Braraa or Banna (Burmah), Chav- Chin China, Cambaia, Jangoma or Laos, Siam, and Peg\». 546 rORM OF ENGLISH GOVERNMENT IN INDIA— 1707 to 1833. nine to twelve members of the civil class,— chosen according; to seniority, and generally head factors, who held their lucrative situations at the will of the governor. In 17o8 the government was remodelled by order of the directors of the E. I. Cy.: instead of one governor, four were nominated, each to hold office three months, and follow in rotation ; these quarterly governors to be aided by a council of ten members. This extraordinary scheme was set aside by the four newly-appointed governors themselves : they saw it was not jjossible to work out such an absurdity, and they invited Clive to accept the un- divided office of ])resident ; which was done. In 1765, another form was devised by the home authorities, to remove existing disturbances in the executive, viz., a governor and four councillors, called a select committee. Before this body arrived, the disturbances had ceased to exist; but the gov- ernor and committee assumed the whole civil and military authority. In 1769, a new plan was de- vised, with a view to check the corruption, and procure the funds which the E. I. Cy. expected from India ; a Board of Commissioners was to supervise the proceedings of the governor and council, and to exercise abroad almost the entire power which the Court of Directors were authorised to employ at home. The ship in which the supervisors embarked was never heard of after leaving port, and the plan was abandoned. The Crown began, in 1772, to take an interest in the administration of India, which up to this period had been exclusively vested in the E. I. Cy. In 1773, parliament passed a "Regulating Act," under which, as previously stated (p. 313), a supreme gov- ernment was established at Calcutta, Warren Hast- ings was appointed governor-general, and several changes were made defining the constitution of the company, as regarded both Courts of Directors and ])roprietors, and the jiowers to be vested in the subordinate governments at Madras and Bombay.* In 1781, another act (21 Geo. III., c. 95) was passed, referring to the exclusive privileges of the company, which had hitherto been considered perpetual, but which were now^ fixed for a period of ten years, at the end of which the company was entitled to a three years' notice of the intention to resume the conceded privileges ; and another step was taken to abridge the power of the company, or, at least, to associate it with that of the Crown. By a clause in the Charter Act of 1781, copies of all letters and orders relating to the civil or military government of India, were to be delivered to one of her Majesty's secretaries of state; and all documents relating to the revenues, to be forwarded to the lords of the treasury; and "the court should be bound by such instructions as they might receive from her Majesty, through one of the secretaries of state, as far as re- lated to the conduct and transactions of the company and their servants with the country powers of India, as well as to the levying war and the n-.aking peace." Henceforth the company ceased to be solely respon- .sible for the good government of the territories ♦The president and coiiiicil, at each of these stations, were also liencetbrth proliibitcd commencing hostilities, or declaring or making war against any Indian princes or ])owers, or negotiatnig or eonchiding any treaty of peace, or other treaty, witliout tlic consent or approbation of tlie governor-genenil in council being first obtained, except in sueli cases of imminent necessity as would render it d:in- gcrous to jiostponi! li,)stilities or treaties until tlic orders from the governor-general in council might arrive, or unless special orders be sent from the E. 1. Cy. in England, entrusted to its care. Censure for omission or com- mission ought to be applied to the double govern- ment. In 1783, a committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire and to consider how the British possessions in the East could be best gov- erned. In the succeeding year, Mr. Fox introduced his celebrated " India Bill," which was very adverse to the company,! " on the assumption that they had betrayed their trust, mismanaged their afi'airs, op- jjressed the natives of the country, and broiight themselves to the verge of bankruptcy."! By 'he bill, it was proposed to place the territorial govern- ment, for four years, in the hands of seven directors, to be nominated by parliament: the commercial affairs (then of great magnitude) to be confided to nine "assistant directors," elected by proprietors of E.I. stock, but to act under the instructions of the seven nominated directors, who could remove the nine assistants. The company strongly protested against the bill ; the measure became one of violent party feeling ; the king wanted to be rid of Fox as his Majesty's prime minister, and called the youthful Pitt to his aid, who denounced the measure, which, however, was carried through the Commons on the 8th of December, 1783, by a majority of two to one ; but was rejected, after several debates, by the House of Lords on the 17th of December, by a ma- jority of nineteen.§ The ministry, also, was thrown out; Pitt succeeded Fox, and early in 1784, moved for leave to introduce a bill for the better govern- ment and management of the affairs of the E. I. Cy.: leave was refused by the Commons; parliament was dissolved ; a new house, on the 6th of July, adopted the views of the minister; an act (24 Geo. III., c. 25) was passed constituting the Board of Control, or India Board of Commissioners, consisting of certain mem- bers of the privy council, including two of the secre- taries of state and the chancellor of the exchequer for the time being; the first-named person, in the letters patent, to be styled the President. A secret committee (chairman, deputy chairman, and senior director) Avas formed out of the Court of Directors, through whom the Board of Control could commu- nicate on all state matters of importance which it might not be deemed advisable to divulge to the Court, and who were to be compelled, if necessary, by ma)nlainus from the Court of Queen's Bench, to transmit the orders of the Board to India. A secre- tariat and staff were organised for the Board, before whom were to be laid drafts of all despatches for inspection and revision ; and if the Court failed, within fourteen days, to prepare despatches on any subject required by the Board, it was empowered to transmit the orders to India, without the concur- rence of the Court. On this basis, subject to some alterations of detail in the renewed Charter Act of 1813, the government of India was administered, with slight modifications, until 1833, when the com- mercial character of the company ceased, the func- tions of the Court became entirely territorial ond political, and subject still more to the supervision of f In the caricatures of the day. Fox was represented as a carrier, with the India House on his back, with which he was proceeding along Leadcnhall-street towards West- minster. X Kayc's History of the Administration of the E. I. Ci/., p. 126. § Government, nndrr the leadership ol' the Duke of rortlKiul, l.^d lil'ty-siven peeis lucsent, and iiiiieloen j-i-oxies ; the opponents, scvent} -live present, and twtnty liit»> jes. iroME ADMINISTRATION OF BRITISH INDIA— 1855. 147 the Orown by llu! nomiiiiitioii of a fourtli itienibcr of the council of India (.Mr. T. I!. Macnuhiy), who wa.s also to be a law cnninii.ssioncr for the revision iiiul (•odilicaliiiii of the Indian laws. Agru and the N. W. I'rovincra wcro i'oinicd into a licntenant- (fovernorsliip, under the immediate .su])ervi.sion of the {{overnor-general. In every matter, the authori- ties in the lOast were .subordinate to tlie Court of twenty-four Director.", elected by the shareholders of the K. I. Cy., and to the India Board or Board of Control, whose authority was made more absolute at each ]iarlianientary interference. In ISJIi C-'Oth of August), on the termination of the twenty years' tenure of ])ower* granted in 1833 to the K. 1. Cy., a new act of parliament was jiassed, "to provide for the government of India." Under this enactment, tlie usual lease of India for several years to the K. I. Cy. was abolished, and the com- ])any became tenants at will, in trust for her Majesty, her heirs and successors, as a supervising autluH'ily in Kngland ; subject in all things to the Board of Con- trol as representative of the Crown, whenever that Board might clioose to exercise paramount ])Ower in the government of Indian affairs. By this act, the number of directors chosen by the proprietaryt was reduced from twenty-four to fifteen ; and the Crown was empowered to appoint six directors — the first three immediately, the second three as casual vacancies occurred, — all to have previously served oflicially in India for at least ten years. The Court of Directors, " under the direction and control of the Board of Commissioners for the affairs of India," were empowered to ajipoint a separate governor, or lieutenant-governor, for Bengal, and llius release the governor-general from nnich detail (which has since been done.) Every aii])ointment by the Court of Directors of ordinary members of council at each presidency, now requires the sign -manual and counter-signature of the president of the India * See p. 1, for changes in 1833. f The number of proprietors of E. I. stork in April, 1852, entitled to vote in the election of directors by llie possession of jLT,000 stock, was 1,705; number having two votes, 311; three votes, GO; four votes, 42: total number of votes, 2,322. Number of voters in service of the coTuiKiny — civil service, 93: military, IGO ^= 253. Of twelve chairmen of the Court of Directors, between 183-1 and 1852, nil but three had served ten years in ludia; one had never been in the East; and two liad (■ommanded company's ships. Viewed as a whole, the Court of Directors, since the commencement of the nreseut century, has contained many able men perfectly conversant wilii the aflairs of India, and deeply interested in its welfare. At the jiresent jieriod, the Court j)ossesses a high range of talent among fifteen mend)ers, all ac- quainted Ineidly with Inilia, — whose public character is identitied with its good government and prosperity. X The India Board consists of a president, who ranks as a secretary of state — salary, ^5,000 ; parliamentary secretary. .11,500; perniauent ditto, £"1,500; assistant ditto, il.200; tive ^enior clerks, i. 900 to XI, 150; six assistant ditto, i.500 to i.800 ; twelve junior ditto, i.150 to i550 ; librarian, i-lOO ; and other officials. The se- cretariat establishment of the E. I. Cy. is large and well iiaid ; but a government like that of India, where every transaction of the most trivi;d ch;iraeter is recorded in writing, and all correspondence and desjiatches, whieii are very volununous, are transmitted in duplicate or tripli- cate, necessitates a large executive. The heads of depart- ments are gentlemen of known talent and great experi- ence ; especially the secretary, Sir James Cosmo Melvill, who. by bis administrative abilin', inform;itiou, and tact, is entitled to rank among the most eminent men of his Board.f A Lci/inlutive Councilhas been coniitiluted, for making law« and regulations ; the council to consist of one member from each ])residency or lieutenant-governorship for the time being, of not less than ten ycar.s' (dllcial bervice in India. The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature, one other judge of the Queen's courts, and two other jiersons of ten years' standing in the service of the company, to be selected by the governor-generaj, whose assent is requisite to the validity of all laws. The discussions of this council are carried on in ])ublic, with reporters of the press in attendance, as in the Englisli House of Commons. Under this act, the patronage of appointment to the civil and medical service of India, which had heretofore been vested in the Court of Directors, ceased, and the nominations henceforth were thrown open to public competition under certain regulations, and examiners ordered by the Crown. The patronage of military and naval ofttcers and chaplains still remains with the Directory, who, in lieu of the advantages deriv- able from civil appointments, receive — cliairman and deputy, £1,000 each ; directors, £,0OO each, yearly.§ Such, in substance, are the leading features of the act of 18j3: it makes no mention of the trading charter of the company, which is in abey- ance ; and it leaves ])arliamenl at liberty to decree, from time to time, whatever changes may be deemed advisable in the administration of Indian aflairs at home or abroad. The nomination of the governor- general, governors, commander-in-chief of the army, and other high functionaries, remains, as before, a matter of arrangement between the Board and the Directory ; the former with a controlling power. The Court claims the right of recalling a governor-gen- eral, as it did in the case of Lord Ellenborough : but there can be no doubt that the ministers of the Crown tacitly consented, for certain reasons, to that stretch of prerogative, which is unnoticed in the act of 18J3. age. Edward Thornton, the historian of India ; Professor Horace Hayman Wilson, the celebrated Orientalist; Mr. John Mill, son of the great historian (celebrated himself as an economist writer) ; Professor l''orbes Royle, and Mr. Peacock, are among the emplot/e's at Leadenhall-street. § The jialronage of the Court of Directors, previous to the act of 1852-'3, was undoubtedly large. I am also bound to add, that with a few exceptions, it was equi. tably distributed. From 1790 to 1835, the number of writerships (in civil service appointments) ranged from 20 to 25 a year; and from 1835 to 1851, the number at the disposal of the directors (exclusive of 40 at the nomi- nation of the president of the India Board) was 34G, or, per cent., 30. The cadetships for the army, and assistant surgeonries and chaidains, were also very numerous between 1790 and 1837: the total was 9,446; averaging 224 per ann. From 1835 to 1851, the number of cadets ap- 1 pointed (including 34 7 by the India Board president), j was 4,916, or 289 per ann. Into the distribution of this I patronage we have some insight, which is creditable to the I distributiu-s. Between 1813 and 1833, the number of ' cadets appointed was 5,092 ; of these, 409 were given to ) sons of military officers in the royal military, and 124 to ^ those in the nav:d service ; 224 to sons of company's civil servants; 491 to ditto in company's military servants ; 40 to ditto of company's maritime service; 390 to sons of j clergymen; and 1,1 19 to orphans and sons of widows. In t the parliamentary returns of 1852-'3, the information is ! not so precise : of 546 writerships at the disposal of the , directors, 164 were given to the sons of civil officers, and ' 96 to those of military = 260. Of 4,569 codetships within the same date — 342 to civil, and 1,100 to mihtary officers of the company = 1,442. — (See Thornton's Stalittict Kaye's Administration of E. I. Cy. — Indtaii Proffresi.) 548 ADVANTAGES OP MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS FOR INDIA. It is not within my province or limits to criticise the changes that have been made, to say whether too much or too little has been done ; time alone can now determine the wisdom of the policy adopted. The government of India is termed an " enlightened despotism." At Madras and Bombay, the governors are each aided by a council of three members, hold- ing high office ; the lieutenant-governors of Bengal and of Agra stand alone. The Supreme Council of India, with whom all power resides, consists of three or four members, of whom the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Indian army is generally one : the other members are civil servants of the highest standing. Each governmental department — such as foreign, home, financial, military — has a secretary of state, who is in fact its head, and responsible only to the governor-general, or, in the subordinate govern- ments, to their respective administrators. There is, however, no uniformity: in some places there are departmental boards ; in others, a single civil or military officer is entrusted with all power. The patronage of the governor-general is immense ; for although seniority is the general rule, the exceptions are very numerous. The administration of Indian affairs may be con- sidered as in a transition state ; the natives must, sooner or later, be admitted to a share in the e.xecu- tive and legislature of their country.* In Jamaica and the AVest India colonies, I recently saw negroes, of pure African blood, sitting as "honourable mem- bers of her Majesty's council," and as representatives of white and black men in the legislative assemblies. Shall we deny to educated and trustworthy Hindoo, Mohammedan, Parsee, and other native gentlemen, those rights which are conceded in other parts of the empire to Africans who, a few years since, were slaves in the lowest stage of servitude ?t I do think the time is arriving (if it have not already come), when intelligent men, of every creed and colour, pecuniarily independent, of good moral character, and whose loyalty to the British govern- ment is unquestioned, should sit in a general Legisla- tive Assembly for all India. They might be selected — as in other transmarine dependencies — by the Crown, nominated for life (quam cliii se bene gesae- rint), and enjoy some honorary rank or privilege: * Of late years, the number of natives of India em- ployed in the civil administration of the country, has been largely increased. The following official return shows the augmentation in twenty years : — Positions held. — Revenue and Jvdicial — Principal Sud- der Aumeens (native judges of tln-ee grades, who dispense civil justice)— 1828, 64. Sudder Aumeens— 1828, 157 ; 1849, 81. Moonsifls— 1828, 80; 1849, 494. Deputy magistrates — 1849, 11. Deputy and assistant collectors — 1849,86. Sub-collectors' assistants— 1849,27. Abknree superintendents — 1849, 75. Tehseeldars — 1828, I55G ; 1849, 276. Sherishtcdars — 1828, 367 ; 1849, 155. Mamlutdars— 1828, 9; 1849, 110. Dufterdars— 1828, 2; 1849, 19. Camavisdars- 1828, 57. Adawluttees— 1849, 5. Meer Moonshees — 1849, 1. Educational — 1828,14; 1849,479. Fttnoiu— 1828, 149; 1849,990. Total, 1828, 1,197; 1849, 2,813. (Indo-Ikitons or Eurasians — as persons of mixed colour are designated — tiot included in these numbers.) Before 1828 there were only two grades of native judges, viz., the Sutliler Aumeens and Moousitis. Tlie oflire of Principal Sadder Aumeen was instituted in 1837, tliat of do])uty eollect(jr in IH33, and that of deputy magistrate in 1843. In 1827, no native of India eiuplojed in the judicial or revenue de- partment in IJcngal received more than 250 rupees jier mensem, or .£300 per annum. 'J'he ullowauces now rc- this would prepare the way for a representative assembly and freer form of government.! In addi tion to this general council, municipal bodies might be formed in all the large cities, for cleansing, light- ing, and police, erecting and supporting hospitals, and other useful institutions, and superintending generally the peace and welfare of the several com- munities. A general act might be passed, empower- ing the formation of these corporations in all cities having at least 10,000 inhabitants : the people would thus become familiarised to self-government, by managing their own local affairs ; and the Hindoos would recognise, in an improved form, one of their most ancient and cherished institutions, and look to the re-establishment of the punelimjet, or trial by jury, as an indispensable adjunct for the administra- tion of justice. In a sanitary point of view, — in the sup])ression of crime, — in providing for the poor, in- firm, and diseased, — and in organising the elements of civil life and social concord, the formation of mu- nicipalities throughout India would be attended with the most beneficial results. For executive purposes, British India is divided into districts, each of which, on an average, § contains the annexed area and population, and yields a land revenue as estimated : — Presidency. Bengal . . . . N. W. Provinces Madras . . . . Bombay . . . Area sq. m. 3,200 2,300 6.600 4,200 Population. 1,000,000 730,000 800,000 600,000 Land Rev. £ 103,000 130,000 16-5,000 160,000 Each of these districts in N.AV. Provinces, Madras, and Bombay, is under the charge of one European official, styled " Magistrate and ('oUectur." In Bengal Proper, the magistracy and coUeclorship are held by separate persons. These covenanted officers are of the iiighest class, and consist of those who go out as " writers" (the old designation.) The prize of these high appointments is now obtained by undergoing a public examination in languages and elementary branches of knowledge. The range of emoluments varies from £600 to £3,000 a-year and upwards; if the lieutenant-governorship or governor- ceived are as follow, at 2s. the company's rupee. One receives iri, 560; 8 receive i:840 to ir960 ; 12— i;720 to iS40; 68— i.'600 to .£"720; 69— i;480 to i,'600 ; 58— .£\j60 to i.M80; 277— i.-'240 to i.360; 1,173— ^'120 to i.'240; 1,147— £24 to i.l20per annum. Since 1849, the number employed has been largely increased. f Europeans and natives employed in India. Bengal (in May, 1830, and 1850.) — Judicial branch — Europeans, 114 and 218; native, 11,161 and 22,800. Salaries, &c., 2,100,052 and 3,225,625 rupees per annum. Revenue ditto — Europeans, 112 and 2U4 ; natives, 3,447 and 6,806. Salaries, 651,962 and 1,601,810 rupees. Ciintorna — lairo- pcans, 82 and 146: natives, 1,652 and 271. Salaries, 290,490 and 340,835 rupees, b'alt — Europeans, 41 and 32; natives, 8,569 and 4,786. Opium — Europeans, 15 and 42; natives, 1,638 and 2,066. Salaries, 157,433 and 378,620 rupees. Various other departments — Political, educational, &c. — Europeans, 375 niul 573; natives, 16,247 and 32,076. Salaries, 2,642,437 and 4,932,356 rupees. ('unimcrcial — Europeans, 33 unil 9 ; natives, 2,026 and 39. Sahnies, 261,666 and 22,438 rupees. PiiNJ.\n, (1H50.) — Europeans, 185 ; natives, 10,98C. Salaries, 1,619,54 6 ru]icis per annum. t Natives of Ceylon sit in the Legislative Council there. § Modern India; by George Campbell, B.C.S. : Lon- don, 1852, p. 239. COVENANTED AND UNCOVENANTED CIVIL SERVANTS IN INDIA. 649 ship of a presidency be obtiiined.* The unmvcnanlcd consist (jf JCuropeaiis, or Kurasiaiis (i,'<-iitlemen of colour born in liiiliii), who liold sulKinliniite posi- tions, and cannot rise into the covenanted class : their emoluments are good, but scarcely equal to tlieir deserts. The number and |>o.silion of tliis class are being augmented and iniproverl ; and many soldier-oflicers now find active employment in magis- terial and other civil <luties. The number of covenanted orof uncovenanted civil servants at each presidency in IS.'J'l and IHiil, the number on the retired and on the active list, and on furlough respectively, is thus officially stated in June, 1852 :— Civil Servant*. 1831. Covenanted : — Active list (including thosa on ' furlough) On furlough Kctircd us annuitants (other i retirements not known) . J Vncovcnantetl : — Active list On lurlough Ilutii'cd (pensioners) . . . , 1851. Covenanted: — Active list (us above) . . . , On furlough Retired as annuitants (other 1 retirements not known) . . j Uncovenanted : — Active list On furlough Retired (pensioners) .... Who haire served ten years : — 183-1. Covenanted : — lletircd (those only who arc an- nuitants being shown on the books) On furlough Uncovenanted : — Retu'ed (pensioners only being 1 shown on the books) ... J On furlough 1851. Covenanted : — Iletired (as above) On furlough Uncovenanted :— Retired (as above) On furlough Ben- g"bt 506 63 37 1,013 None. 102 49S •15 135 2,014 None. 78 37 43 102 None. 135 None. Mudras 225 32 20 430 None. UG 188 27 9G 838 None. 113 20 24 116 None. 06 16 113 None. Bom- bay.t 152 29 10 108 None. 25^^ 12G 16 49 120 None. 10 19 2511 None. 49 13 None. The duties of the European civil servants in India, are thus described by the E. I. Cy. in their state- ments laid before paiiiamont in 1852-'53: — ■ " Civil servants arc prepared for the higher offices in Bengal by previous instruction in this country. At Haileybury the basis of education is European lite- * Governors of Madras nnd Bombay, and Lieutenant- governor of Bengal, .i'10,000 a-year each, and an official residence, ijtc. ; memiuTS of council, iS.OOO per annum ; secretary of government of Bengal, jL.3,t)00 per annum. Such are a few of the prizes now thrown open to public comjietition throughout the British empire. ■f- Including Agra, the newly-acquired Cis and Trans Sutlcj territory, and the Punjab. X Including Sinde. § E.Tclusive of the pensioners on " Warden's OflScial Fund," whii-h cannot be shown, as the accounts received j from India do not thstinguish Europeans from natives. II Exclusive of pensioners on "Warden's Official Fund." I 4 B ratiire and science (classics and mathematics), to which is added, the study of the general principles of law, together with political economy, liistory, and the rudiments of the Oriental languages. " At the college of Calcutta the studies of the civilian are resumed, and directed to the mastery of the vernacular languages, the acquisition of tho principles of Mohammedan and Hindoo law, and a familiarity with the regulations nnd the legislative acts of the Indian government ; the object of the two institutions being to combine the education of an English gentleman with the qualifications of the native law odicer. " Upon passing his college examination, the civilian commences his career in the public .service as assis- tant to a collector and magistrate. He is thus engaged alternately in the judicial and the revenue line. In his magisterial capacity, he takes the deposition of witnesses, and jircpares cases for the decision of his superior; or he hears and determines, subject to revision, cases specially made over to him by the magistrate. His jiower of jjunishment extends to two months' imprisonment, a period which, when he is entrusted with special powers by the govern- ment, is enlarged to twelve months. As assistant in the revenue department, he decides petty claims relating to arrears or exactions of rent. " After this apprenticeship of several years, the assistant is regarded as a candidate for promotion. He i.s then subjected to a further examination, with the view of testing his knowledge of the languages and the laws of the country ; and his promotion is made dependent on the success with which he passes the test. That the examination is severe and search- ing, may be gathered from the fact, that of twenty civilians who came up in 1852, seven only were passed. A successful candidate is then deemed qualified for the office of collector or magistrate. " As magistrate, he directs the police operations of his district, and takes cognizance of all criminal matters. The law provides for his dealing with cer- tain classes of offences, but limits his power of pun- ishment to three years' imprisonment. Parties charged with graver crimes are committed by him to take their trial before the sessions court. 5| In certain cases the magistrate may inflict corporal punishment, not exceeding a few stripes, and no other punish- ment is then superadded. Ajjjieals from his sen- tences, or from those of his assistant, when vested with special powers, lie to the sessions judge. " As collector, he has charge of the district trea- sury. He superintends the collection of the govern- ment rental ; puts in execution coercive measures against defaulters; sells estates for arrears of revenue and manages tho.se escheated or bought by govern- ment. He superintends the partition of estates, and regulates the distribution of the government assess- ment among the several subdivisions. He also exercises judicial powers in settling, by summary ^ " British subjects guilty of felony or other grave offences, are committed for trial before the Queen's Court. In eases of assault and trespass, tliey are sub- ject to tlie jurisdiction of the magistrate (European or native), which extends to the imposition of a fine of 509 rupees, and to im]>risonment for two months if not paid. An appeal from the decision of the magistrate bes to the sessions judge, and the case, if so appealed, is not liable to be removed to the Queen's Court by a writ of certiorari. Further, Europeans, by being rendered sub- ject to penal recognizances for the maintenance of the peace, are virtually amenable to the jurisdictioa of the mofiissil police." 550 MODES OF ADMINISTERING JUSTICE IN INDIA. process, disputes among the agricultural community regarding rents. " After further experience, the civilian is promoted to the judicial chair. " The civil judge presides over the civil courts in his district, and supervises the dispensation of justice by his native functionaries. It is competent to him to withdraw suits from the courts below, and to try them himself.* He hears appeals from the decisions of his principal native judge, when the matter in dispute does not exceed the value of £500; but he may transfer appeals from the decisions of the other subordinate courts to the file of the principal native j^dge. " In the sessions court the judge is required to try all persons committed for heinous offences by the magistrates. He has not the power of life and death, but his jurisdiction extends to sixteen years' irapriscnment.t All capital cases, after trial, must be referred for the disposal of the Nizamut Adawlut ; as also those cases in which the sessions judge dis- sents from the opinion of his Mohammedan law officer. Persons not professing the Mohammedan faith are not to be tried under the provisions of the Mohammedan law, but under the regulations, the judge being assisted by a ptmchayet or assessors, or a jury, but having power to overrule their opinion. The sessions judge holds a monthly gaol delivery, though in fact he may be said to be constantly sit- ting. He sits in appeal from sentences passed by the magistrates and their assistants. "The Sudder Dewanny Adawlut, the highest of the company's courts, is composed of the judges se- lected from the civil and sessions judges. It has ceased to exercise any original jurisdiction. It is the court of final appeal in the presidency, and con- trols all the subordinate civil tribunals. Besides regular appeals from the original decisions of the European zillah judge, and in certain cases from those of the Principal Sudder Aumeen, the court is competent to admit second or special appeals from decisions of the courts below on regular appeals. The grounds for special appeal are when the judg- ments shall appear inconsistent with law or the prac- tice or usage of the courts. The power thus given to the Sudder Court of hearing special appeals ex- tends their means of supervision, and brings judicially before them the proceedings and decisions of all classes of judicial officers, and affords opportunity for correcting errors and insuring consistency, it being one of their duties to regulate the practice * " In the trial of civil suits, original or appeal, it is com- petent to tlie European judge to avail himself of the as- sistance of natives in one of tlie three following modes ; — - 1st. By a pmichayet, who conduct tlieir inquiries on points submitted to tlicni apart from the court, and malce their report to the judge. 2nd. By assessors, who sit witli the judge, make observations, examine witnesses, and offer opinions and suggestions. 3rd. By a jury, who attend during the trial, and after consultation deliver in their verdict. But under all the modes of procedure de- scribed in the tliree clauses, the decision is vested solely and excUisively in the judge." t *' The great Icngtli of the terms of imprisonment in In<lia is one of the vestiges of a barbarous law, or rather a consequence of its abolition. In 1793, tlie punishment of mutilation was abolished, and it was then ordained tliat if a prisoner be sentenced by the fntva of the Moham- medan law officer to lose two limbs, he should in lieu thereof be imprisoned for fourteen years, and if sentenced to lose one limb, to seven years. Under a later law, it is competent to the judge to impose two years' additional and proceedings of the lower courts. Moreover, each judicial officer is required by law to record his decisions and the reasons for them in his own ver- nacular tongue; and this affords the Sudder Court extended means of judging correctly of the indi- vidual qualifications of their subordinates. The Sudder Court sits daily except during the Dusserah and the Mohurrum,| when all civil proceedings are suspended. In the trial of appeals, the proceedings of the lower tribunals are read before one or more judges. A single judge is competent to confirm a decree. Two of three sitting together must concur for its reversal, whether the appeal be regular or special. Decisions of the court in suits exceeding in value £1,000, may be carried by appeal before the Queen in council. Monthly reports are received of the state of business from every district, and an annual report is made to government of the admin- istration of civil justice, both in the Sudder Court and in its subordinate courts. " The Nizamut Admchit. — The judges of the Sudder Dewanny are the judges also of this court. The Nizamut has cognizance in all matters relating to criminal justice and the police of the country ; but it exercises no original jurisdiction. Appeals from the sessions judges lie to this court, but it cannot enhance the amount of punishment, nor reverse an acquittal. The sentences of this court are final. In cases of murder and other crimes requiring greater punishment than sixteen years' imprisonment (which is the limit of the sessions judges' power), all the proceedings of the trial are referred for the orders of the Nizamut. The Mohammedan law officer of this court (unless the futwa be dispensed with) first records his judgment, and all the documents are then submitted to the judges of the Nizamut. If the case be not capital, it is decided by the sentence of a single judge. Sentences of death require the concurrence of two judges.§ Trials before the ses- sions judge for crimes punishable by a limited period of imprisonment, are also referred, as already inti- mated, for the disposal of the Nizamut, in cases where the sessions judge differs from the opinion of the Mohammedan law officer. As in civil matters, monthly abstracts of all trials are laid before the judges of the court sitting together, when the pro- ceedings of the sessions judges are reviewed. In sentences of acquittal which may be disapproved, though the Nizamut cannot interfere so as to affect the sentence, the judge is admonished. " Sevenue Commissioners and Board of Revenue. imprisonment in lieu of corporal punishment. A reduc- tion in the terras of imprisonment has been repeatedly urged upon the government of India by the home authorities." X " The Dusserah is a Hindoo festival continuing for ten days, which are appropriated to religious ceremonies. The Mohurrura is a fast kept by Mohammedans in commemo- ration of the death of Hossein and Hassein, the two sons of Ali by his cousin Fatima, the daughter of Mo- hammed." § " If the judges of the Nizamut concur in the verdict of the lower court, and the prisoner be considered deserving of a higher degree of punishment than could be awarded by the sessions judge, he may be sentenced to suffer death, or to undergo imprisonment for twenty-one years; but if sentenced to imprisonment for life, then transportation for life, either to the penal settlements of Singapore, Penang, or Malacca, the Tennsserim provinces, Arracan, or Aden, would be substituted ; but no native of India can be transported to New South Wales or the adjacent islands." MODE OF ADMINISTERING JUSTICE IN INDIA. 551 — In Bengal and the North-Western Provinces there arc revenue commissioners, a class of otliciTs superior to collectors, each of whom lias authority extending over a divisi(m comprisiiii,' several collectorates ; liis duty being that of watching the proceedings of the collectors therein, and ascertaining that in every respect they are regular and consistent with just principles of administration. "All matters relating to the settlement, collection, and administration of the revenue, ullimately fall under tlie sujieriutendence and control of a Hoard of Ilevemie, which exercises a general supervision over the proceedings of commissioners and collectors. Some arrangi'ments, not dissimilar, exi.st for the like purjioses under the other presidencies. Appointments to the Revenue Hoard, and al.so to the oflice of revenue commissioner, are made by selection from civil ser- vants employed in the revenue department." The average period of service of the Bengal civil servants is stated to be — Judges, Sudder Court, Cal- cutta, 3-1 J members of Board of Revenue, .'50 ; secre- taries to supreme government, 25 ; magistrates and collectors, 18 to 26 ; magistrates, 7 to 19 years; other grades varying in proportion. Administration of Justice. — Within the limits of the cities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, there are supreme courts of judicature, vested with all the powers of the courts at Westminster, and presided over by chief and puisne judges nominated from the British bar. In these courts, trial by jury takes place ; in civil and criminal cases, the law ad- ministered is in conformity vvilh that of England, and there is a regular " bar" and solicitors. Beyond the limits of the three principal cities there are "company's courts," viz., at each presidency a supreme civil and a supreme criminal court; the former being one of appeal from numerous zillah or district courts, of which there are in Bengal, 32 ; in the N. W. Brovinces, 21; in Madras, 20; in Bombay, 8. The European judges who preside in the company's courts are not educated for the " bar." There is no jury to assist in deciding on the facts of a case; the law is a compound of Hindoo, Moham- medan, and English principles, and a decision rests with the varying feelings and prejudices of the judge. This great defect will, it is expected, be corrected. Civil justice is now almost wholly dispensed by native judges, styled I'rincipal Su(lder Aumeeni, Sudder Aunieens, and Moonsifl's. 'I'lie first-named are divided, in Bengal, into two classes, who receive each £720 and £'180 [ler annum. Sudder Aumcens receive £.300, and Moonsiffs £100 to £200 per annum.* 'I'beir functions are thus officially de- scribed :— " The jurisdiction of the two lower grades is limited to suits in which the matter in dispute does not exceed a certain value, the limit being of course higher in regard to the upper of these two grades tlian to the inferior. To the jurisdiction of the highest native judge there is no such limit. To these different classes of native judges is entrusted the original cognizance of all civil suits; and no person, whether British or native, is exempt from their jurisdiction. " The first grade of native judges (Principal Sudder Aumeens) may sit in appeal from the decrees of the two inferior courts; and as the law, except in spe- cial cases, allows but one trial and one appeal, the power of final decision in by far the larger number of suits rests with native judges. t " Further, suits wherein the amount in dispute ex- ceeds £o00 may be tried either by the I'rincipal Sudder Aumeen or by the European zillah judge, if he so ])lease. But in either case an appeal lies only to the highest company's court, the Sudder Adaw- lut.J Here then the native judge exercises the same extent of jurisdiction as the European functionary. Native and British qualification and integrity are jilaced on the same level. The suits now entrusted to a head native judge were confided, before me passing of Act No. 25 of 1837, to no officer below a European provincial judge. " The number of appeals affords evidence of the feeling of the people in respect to the administra- tion of the law. The number affirmed and reversed is evidence of the qualifications, intellectual and moral, of the native functionaries as estimated by their superiors. The proportion of appeals to origi- nal decisions in the suits disposed of in the N. W. Provinces, for seven years, is about fifteen per cent. ; the proportion of decisions reversed in the original suits is little more than four per cent., as shown in the following table : — Years. Original Suits decided on Merits. Appeal Suits. Reversals. Proportion of Reverses to By Zilliih Judges. By Native Judge.s By Europ. Judges By Native Judges Original Suits. 1843 31 39,181 4,.505 3,083 2,301 55 per cent. 1844 17 40,213 4,397 2,902 2,020 6 1846 10 40,579 3,980 2,809 1,895 4i ., 1846 3 41,775 3,900 2,392 1,676 4 ., 1847 8 43,169 3,608 2,-559 1,673 3J ., 1848 11 41,340 3,977 2,916 1,736 4 1849 20 44,933 3,802 3,674 2,042 4J „ * Mr. Kdward Tiiornton, in referenre to these salaries, says — " If tlie value of money be estimated by the wages of labour in the two countries, it would appear that its worth is about seven times greater in India than in England. The rate of wat;es issued to 2,000 men employed on the Calcutta and Bombay mail-road is three rupees, or 6*. per month rai'h ; and assuming the rate of wages in England at \0s. per week, jL'Zi in India is equal to jtl68 in England." t " A. sues B. for a debt of i.10. The suit is instituted in tlie Moonsiti''s court, and conducted by a vakeel or pleader. Tlie pleadings and motions may be submitted in writing, llie pleader merely examining the witnesses, or he may have recourse also to oral pleading. The judge is required by law to record his decision, and the reasons for it, upon the face of his decree. The dissatisfied party may appeal from the decision to the European judge o^ the district, who either hears the appeal himself, or refers it to his Principal Sudder Aumeen. The decision in either case is final, except upon a point of law, when a special appeal lies to the Court of Sudder Adawlut ; thus the subor- dinate courts* proceedings are brought under supervision." ^ "The course of proceeding in such cju-esis as follows: — C. sues D. for i. 1,000. The suit must be instituted in the court of the head native judge ; and if not withdrawn by the European judge of the district, it is tried by the native judge. The appeal in either case lies to the Sudder Adawlut, from whose decision, however, there is an appeal to the Queen in council, in all cases where the value in dispute amounts to ;t 1,000.'* 652 PROPOSED CODIFICATION OP INDIAN LAW. " By a more recent enactment, natives of India are eligible to the office of deputy magistrate. They are competent in that capacity to exercise the powers of the European covenanted assistant, and even under orders of the local government,, the full powers of magistrate. When entrusted with the latter, their power of punishment extends to three years' im- prisonment, and they are also competent, in cases of assault and trespass committed by Europeans on natives, to inflict a fine to the extent of 500 rupees, and to imprison for the period of two months, if the fine be not paid. Natives are frequently invested with full powers of magistrates. " Native deputy collectors are subordinate to the European collectors, but they are competent to transact any of the duties of the collector. Their proceedings are recorded in their own names, and on their own responsibility. " The selection and promotion of native judicial functionaries are regulated as follows : — Vakeels or pleaders, before obtaining diplomas, must have passed an examination before a committee, consist- ing of the European revenue commissioner, the European judge of the district, the Principal Sudder Aumeen, the principal of the college or other educa- tional establishment at the station, and such other officers as may be appointed by the government. " The examination may be presumed to be of stringent character, from the following results : — In 1852, at Agra, twenty-seven candidates presented themselves for examination, — none passed. At Ba- reilly, forty-eight candidates, of whom ttco passed. At Benares, seventy-two, of -whom four passed. The Moonsiffs (the lowest grade of native judges) are selected from the vakeels, and appointed by the Court of Sudder Adawlut. The Sudder Aumeens are selected from the Moonsiff' class by the Sudder Adawlut, and appointed by the government. The Principal Sudder Aumeens are selected from the class of Sudder Aumeens, and appointed by the gov- ernment. The service is one of gradation, but not of seniority, the superior ranks being filled up by the most efficient men of the inferior."* A reform is needed in this important section of our civil government of India. By the Charter Act of 1833-4, it was intended to remedy the defect; and it was mainly with this object that a distin- guished person (T. B. Macaulay) was then nominated fourth member of the council of India. Indian law commissioners (T. B. Macaulay, Macleod, Ander- son, and Millett) were subsequently appointed, and in June, 1835, laid before the governor. general a draft penal code to be applied to all India ; and in October, 1847, it was finally printed for distribu- tion, examination, and discussion at home and abroad. The code contains twenty. six chapters, will) notes on each, occupies 124 folio pages, and is undoubtedly a philosophical production. The prin- cipal sections refer to offences ayuinst, or in relation to, the state, army and navy, public tranquillity, government servants, justice, revenue, coin, weights * Statistical Papers relating to India, laid before par- liamont by E. I. Cy., IS.'iS. t Pari. Piipcrs, No. C73— Commons ; 3rd August, 1838. X In 17G1, there were eighteen battiilions of native infantry, perhaps about 15,000 men. In l/C), Clive found the army of Kenpal (the principal forces) con. BJstcd of four conipanics of artillery, a troop of liussars, about 1 ,200 irregular cavalry, twenty. four companies of European infantry, and nineteen battalions of sejioys, with' a due pioportion of European officers. The aggre- and measures, public health, safety and convenience, religion and caste, the press, offences against the human body, property and property marks, docu- ments, illegal pursuit of legal rights, criminal breach of service contracts, marriage, defamation, criminal intimidation, insult and annoyance, abetment and punishment.f This code has been much criticised; but nothing has been done towards carrying it into effect, or amending its provisions. Anglo-Indian Army.— It is usually said, that the tenure of British power in India is held by the " sword :" this tenure is, however, changing into one of " opinion," i.e., a conviction of the justice, honesty, and advantage of our rule ; it will, however, require many years before the latter be fully acknowledged, and before the motley, unsettled, and in many parts turbulent people subjected to our sway, can be left to the simple administration of a purely civil gov- ernment. The army of India (as was recently that of Ireland) must be considered a police force for the preservation of internal tranquillity, and, by means of its well-educated 6,000 European officers, as an efficient means of promoting the civilisation of the people. The formation of a body of armed men had its origin in the necessity of protecting factories in which valuable goods were stored, after the manner previously adopted by the Portuguese, and their predecessors (the Arabs) on the coasts of Asia and of Africa. When once a selected class are set apart, with weapons in their hands, to protect the lives and property of others, discipline becomes imperative, and for this purpose a few Europeans were sent from England. In 1747, an act of parliament provided for the regulation of the E.I. soldiers; and in 1754, articles of war, comprised in fifteen sections, were founded on the above act, and promulgated " for the better government of the officers and soldiers in the service of the company of merchants trading in the East Indies." Dupleix organised a brigade, with French officers; the English, in self-defence, did the same. Hindoo and Mohammedan rulers sought the aid of foreign mercenaries, and assigned territorial revenues for their support ; interference with the disputes of native states created the neces- sity for more troops ; Hindoos and Moslems were ready to enlist under French or English banners, and made good soldiers; they fought against each other, irrespective of caste or creed, — were faithful and attached to their European leaders ; and, in due process of time, an Anglo-Indian standing army was formed and brigaded (seep. 304), which grew from year to year, until it has now attained the following proportions : — Aggregate strength of the Indian army in 1851,| 289,525: component parts — Queen's regiments — five of dragoons, twenty-four of infan- try = 29,480 men ; E. I. Cy's. European infantry, six regiments = 6,266 men ; company's artillery, 16,440, divided into European horse and foot, and native foot or Golundanze; engineers, or sai)])ers and miners, 2,569. Natives — cavalry, regular, twcntj-one gate strength of the Anglo-Indian army, in 1799, was — licngal, .')3,U0, including 7,280 Europeans; Madras, ■18,839, inrliiding 10,157 Eunijii'ans ; lioniliay, 22,761, including 4,713 Europeans: total, 12t,7tO; of these, 22,150 were Europeans. The above comprised — of her Majesty's troojis, dragoons, four; infantry, eighteen — regiments. In May, 1804, the numbiT of her Majesty's troops serving in India, was — oav:dry, 2,072; infantry, U,91I = II, 983. The number of troops has varied from time to time, according to the exigencies of war. ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY-NUMBERS AND DISTINCTIVENESS. 5-,3 rcRimonts = 10,18G; irregulars, thirty-four corps = 21, KM; infantry rfgular rej;iments, 155= 157,711; ditto irregular regiments, O'.i — ;}y,Gl.'J; veterans, or native invalid corps for garrison duties, 4,124 men. Among the natives, proportion of Mohammedans to natives, one to four. European commi».sioncd olli- ccrs, 5,142; warrant ditto, 24.'{. Medical cstahlish- menl—K. doctors, 824; native ditto, 652; apothe- caries, kc, 287. Aggregate cost per annum, ahout £ 10,01)0,(100. 'I'he army of each presidency is kept distinct under the governors and councils, but all un- der the control of the governor-general and council. La7id Farces in 1854.* In India. European Commissioned Officers. European War- rant and Noii- Com. and Rank and l''ilo. Native Com., Non-Com., and Itank and I'ile. Total. Queen's troops Company's troops, 35aropean .... „ „ Native .... 896 688 3,644 25,930 14,061 3,122 233,699 26,826 14,649 240,46.3 Total 6,128 43,113 233,099 281,940 Puiijnb subsidiary troops and contingents 1 from native states J Police, militarily organised .... 80 3.5 30 30,882 24,016 31,004 24,050 Grand total .... 6,249t 43,149 1 288,596 336,994 The company's European and native troops are under the disei])linc of articles of war granted by parliament; the officers hold commissions under the sign-manual of the Queen, and have been recently authorised to rank in England on the same footing as H.M. troops of the line. The company is em- powered to employ in India 20,000 European sol- diers, irrespective of the Queen's troops, but not to have at one time in Hritain more than 4,000 men. The sepoys of the Indian army consist of men of all castes and creeds : the Bengal troops, which are considered the highest caste, are recruited princi- pally from Oude, Hajpootana, and the N. AV. Pro- vinces (a mixture of Hindoos and Mussulmen) ; the men are hardy, bold, powerful — good materials for sol- diers : the Bombay force has its recruits from Oude, Deccan, Concan, &c. Hindoo, Moslem, Jew, and Portuguese, all contribute to make hardy, efficient troops, who will dig trenches (to which the Bengal soldiers object), and fight in them with as much courage as the Kajpoots. The Madras, like the Bombay troops, are termed " low caste," but quite equal to their compeers in any other part of India. It is said that the Bengal troops do not stand being " knocked about," or, in other words, " rough" it so well as the other divisions. In the Punjab force there are now many Seik soldiers. The pay and advantages of the three presidencies have been equalised : the sepoys get a higher and more certain remuneration than is known in any other oriental service ; and a scale of pensions is fixed adequate to native wants. The period of enlistment is fifteen years : no bounty * House of Commons' Return, 17th April, 1855. f In 1760, the number of European officers in the Bengal army was sixty; viz., nineteen captains, twenty- six lieutenants, and fifteen ensigns. X As an illustration of the fairness with which the appointments are made, the following ease may be cited. Sir Henry Willoek, with commendable public spirit, placed a nomination to Addiscorab at the disposal of the Kensing- ton Free Grammar Sohool. Several youths started for the prize ; it was given, after a hard contest, to a friendless youth whose competitors were all seniors to himself, and sever.il of them possessed of family connections. The lad went to Addiscomb, and determined to stand for an engineer ap- pointment : he worked hard night as well as day, knew no vacation, and soon outstripped cadets of older stand- ing than himself; the second year he obtained the honour of the corporal's sword, and the third year, after a neck- is paid ; the service being popular, there is always abundant offers of recruits. T/ic artillery, horse and foot, is unrivalled by that of any European power, save in its draught cattle ; bullocks and elephants being still partially employed for the siege or field artillery, which number about 400 guns. There are five brigades of horse artillery ; twelve battalions of European foot artillery ; and six battalions of native foot artillery. The horse artil- lery is considered the " crack" corps of the Anglo- Indian army. Its cadets at Addiscomb rank next to the cnt/ineers, the prize for which is obtained by those who attain the highest position after three years' hard study and competition ;f the young engineers are subsequently instructed for a year at Chatham, along with the royal engineers, and are also required to possess a knowledge of the civil branch of their profession. Their pay and advantages are higher than those of the artillery, and their ser- vices much in request for the development of the resources of the country. The cavalry is divided into two departments — the regular and irregular; the latter term being given to those corps where the trooper provides and feeds his own horse, and supplies his arms and equip- ments, for which he receives an allowance from the government of twenty rupees = 40.«. a-month ;§ in the regulars, the state provides the horse, arms, and clothing, and gives the soldier pay and batta for his subsistence — about nine rupees = 18s. a-month. There are also regular and irregular infantry re- giments, the diflference consisting chiefly in the former and-neck struggle, reached the goal, and became Liea- tenant Julius George Medley, of the Bengal engineers. He is now in a high and responsible position in the Punjab, a credit to the service, and a honour to his respected parent, the late William Medley, the eminent banker and financier, to whose generous and patriotic spirit several of the best of our monetary institutions (such as the Provincial Bank of Ireland, and the Bank of Briiish North America) owe their origin. § The irregulars, whose numbers have recently been increased by the addition of twenty-eight regiments, making altogether 21,000 men, arc very useful. Ca- valry thus formed are not half the expense of a regular corps ; the service is liked, the discipline is not strict — (it may be termed " free and easy") — there are more native and fewer European officers, and the men can march without baggage at a moment's warning. 554 EFFICIENCY, DISCIPLINE, & ORGANIZATION-ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY. always receiving half a batta (3s. a-month), which is only allowed to the latter when on service or escort duty. This, however, is very often, as the transmis- sion of treasure from one part of India to another gives employment annually to about 30,000 soldiers. In the Punjab several Seik and other local corps have been organised since the disbandment of our former antagonists : among them is one called the Guide corps ; it consists of both cavalry and in- fantry, officered by Europeans. Most of the wild or warlike tribes in Upper India are represented in its ranks; the men unite all the requisites of regular troops with the best qualities of guides and spies, — thus combining intelligence and sagacity with courage, endurance, soldierly bearing, and a presence of mind which rarely fails in solitary danger and in trying situations. Men habituated from childhood to war and the chase, and inured to all the dangers of a ■wild and mountainous border, are freely admitted into its ranks. To whatever part of Upper India the corps may be marched, it can furnish guides con- versant with the features of the country and the dialect of the people : it is thus calculated to be of the most essential service in the quartermaster- general's department, as intelligencers and in the escort of reconnoitring officers.* This excellent force was raised in 1846, at the suggestion of Colonel H. M. Lawrence, and was of great use in the second Seik war, and on other occasions. The corps has been recently augmented to 800 men, who receive rather higher pay than the ordinary soldiers. Promotion is slow in the Indian army. In Jan- uary, 1844, the Bengal artillery had ten colonels, whose period of service ranged from forty to fifty- three years ; ten lieutenant-colonels, thirty-five to thirty-nine years ; ten majors, thirty-one to thirty- five years ; captains, eighteen to thirty years : engi- neers — four colonels, thirty-three to forty-eight years ; four lieutenant-colonels, twenty-ssix to thirty- one years ; four majors, twenty to twenty-six years ; captains, fourteen to twenty years. Cavalry- — ten colonels, twenty-four to forty-eight years ; ten lieu- tenant-colonels, thirty-five to forty-two years ; ten majors, twenty-five to thirty-five ; captains, eighteen to twenty-four years : other ranks in proportion. Retirements are effected by the juniors purchasing out the seniors ; that is, paying them a certain sum of money to induce them to retire on the pension due to their rank :t the money for this purpose is procured by loans from the Indian banks, for the security of which all officers below the party retiring are expected to become bound, or be " sent to * Report of Punjab Commissioners, 1851, p. 27. t The buying-out amount varies ; a senior captain or junior major of the Bombay artillery would receive jt3,f)00 to ji-1,000 for retiring on liis pension. X In August, 1782, the Bengal army had reached a position to entertain, and subsequently to carry into effect, a project for the maintenance of the orphans of European officers ; which is still in operation. A fund was provided by a monthly contribution, deducted from the pay of the several ranks under colonel, viz,, subal- terns and assistant-surgeons, three ; captains and surgeons, six ; and majors, nine — rupees each. Governors and managers were appointed by the subscribers, and the foundation laid of one of the most useful institutions in the Kast, which promptly and liberally at once received the suiijiort of the Indian government. — {Original Papers, i(c.: London, 1784 j «vo. p. 5fi.) § This experienced officer, whose sanitary measures for the health of the troops in the West Indies I noticed in the volume containing that section, thus refers to tlie Coventry." This is said to be one of the causes of the pecuniary embarrassments which prevail among the juniors of the Indian army : the buying out of old officers is, however, deemed essential to efficiency ; and it is proposed to legalise the procedure by act of parliament. A liberal spirit pervades all ranks ; and a handsome provision is made for the children of brother-officers who die in India. J: The Indian commissariat is well managed ; the troops are continually on the move, well fed, at- tended and provided with hospital stores. The ex- ecutive of this branch consists of a commissary- general, deputy, and joint-deputy ditto, first and second-class assistants, &c. — all Europeans, chosen from the company's European regiments. When an army takes the field, there are about three registered camp followers to each fighting man. The peace establishment of carriage cattle is large : of elephants, about 500 ; of camels, 5,000. Knapsacks, of forty pounds each, are carried for the men. A subaltern, on the march, is allowed one camel (which costs about three rupees a-month) to carry his bag- gage ; other officers, of higher rank, in proportion. During war, a doolie or litter, with six bearers, is appointed to every twenty Europeans ; among the native corps there are two doolies to each company. Supplies are procured by tenders and contract. The feeding of the troops is excellent ; the sepoys get two pounds of flour daily. Porter and ale are sent out from England for the canteens. Punkahs, to keep the air cool, are supplied to the barracks and hospitals; regimental libraries are established in European corps ; and of late years (particularly during the command-in-chief of Sir William Gomm)§ large barracks, better bedding, improved ventila- tion, and plunging baths for daily ablution, have been adopted throughout India. By these and other judicious measures the mortality has been greatly diminished : recently, among European troops, it amounts to — for Madras, two ; Bombay, three and a-half ; Bengal, five and a-half — per cent. The invalidings are heavy : to keep up 100 soldiers, it requires ten annually to supply the decrement by death, invaliding, discharges, and staff appoint- ments. Each European soldier costs, when landed in India, not less than £100. The entire expense of her Majesty's troops serving in Hindoostan is de- frayed from the Indian revenues. The discipline of the Anglo-Indian army is excellent, || the morale good, and its efficiency as an armed force has been repeatedly proved.^ It is said by some, that the cordial feeling between the European officer and same subject in a recent letter to me from Simla : — " With regard to improved barrack accommodation for the Eu- ropean troops, I may report to you at once very satisfac- torily, the government has promptly attended to all my representations made to it with this view, and acceded invariably to all my requisitions made upon it in further- ance of this most desirable object. Thus the quarters at Peshawur, Uawul-Pindee, and Meean Meer, have been pre])ared with all jiracticable expedition ; those of Um- ballft have been essentially improved ; while at Ferozepoor anil Cawnpoor (in healthy sites), an entirely new set of barracks have been recently sanctioned." II The number of officers dismissed from the service by sentence of court-martial, between 1835 and 1857 (in- elusive), was — for Bengal, 47 ; Madras, 45 ; Bombay, 10 = 108 : which is certainly not a large number among four or five thousand men during seventeen years. ^ The Anglo-Indian officers are, as a class, superior in military knowledge to the junior officers of similar rank in the Queen's service. ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY SMALL COMPARED TO i'OPULATION.555 hia men does not now exist in the some decree as it did in the linirs of (Mive and Coote, or even at a later period ; Imt he this as it may in the refiiilar regiments, there must l)e a considera!)le degree of attaehnient still prevailin}; in the " irref;iilars," where the few officers are so intimalc-ly dependent on the feelinj^s of the men for their militnry success. The nature of the climate, which renders the luxuries of the temperate zone absolute necessaries, — the habits and caste of the people, which require several men to do the work that one would perform in Kurope, and the wear and tear of life, make the Anf;lo-Indian army a heavy expense on the revenue. The following shows the comparative cost of a regi- ment of each arm of the service in India, Queen's and Company's:" — Her Majesty's dragoons, eight troops — 701 non-commissioned and rank and file, £'79,().S() ; native cavalry, six troops — f<()() native commissioned, non-commissioned, and rank and tile, £lil,840; brigade of horse artillery, consisting of three European troops and one native — 'Ml Kuro- pean non-commissioned and rank and fde, and 218 native commissioned, non-commissioned, and rank and (ile, including gun Lascars, .t'.OOj.'ilO j battalion of European foot artillery, consisting of four com- panies — 336 European non-commissioned and rank and file, and 140 native commissioned and rank and file, gun Lascars, £31,020; battalion of native foot artillery, six companies — (i30 native commissioned, non-commissioned, and rank and file, £22,330; regi- ment of her Majesty's infantry, nine companies — 1,0G8 non-commissioned and rank and file, £61,120; regiment of company's European infantry, ten com- panies — 970 non-commissioned and rank and file, £52,380 ; regiment of native infantry, ten companies — 1,100 native commissioned, non-commissioned, and rank and file, £25,670 ; regiment of irregular cavalry, of six ressalahs — 584 native commissioned, non-com- missioned, and rank and file, £18,770; regiment of local infantry, of ten companies — 940 native commis- sioned, noncommissioned, and rank and file, £13,700. In 1851, the total charges (including military buildings) of 289,529 soldiers, Europeans and na- tives, was £10,180,615, or £35 per head. The dis- tribution of cost for the year 1 84 9-'50, which differs but slightly from that of the year 1851, is thus shown: — Iler Majesty's cavalry, £188,651 ; her Ma- jesty's infantry, £771,148; engineers, £76,104; artillery, European and native, H. E. L C, £576,318; regular native cavalry, £479,075; irregular, £728,247; company's Europeans, £175,954; regular native in- fantry, £2,880,054; irregular, £431,857; veterans, £128,257; medical department, £142,038; ordnance, £154,813; staff, £415,862; commissariat, £1,248,986; buildings and miscellaneous, £1,701,562. Grand ; total, £10,098,926. Taking the number of the Anglo-Indian army, regulars and irregulars, at 330,000, of whom about 50,000 are Europeans, or one Englishman to about six natives, it cannot be considered a large force for the maintenance of peace, and the protection of a country which extends 18,000 miles from north to * Parliamentary Endcnce, 14th December, 1852, p. 9, of P. Mclvill, the experienced chief of military dcpt. f I do not take into account the irregular troops in the service of native states ; they are very ineffective, unless when disciplined by EngMsh ofticors. { Officers on furlough 30/A April, 1851. — Military, private afTairs, 146; sick certificate, 542 = 688. Mcdi- i cal, private atTairs, 18; sick certificate, 93 = 111 ; total, 799. These figures do not include colonels of regiments, south and from cost to west, and comprises a popu- lation of about 200,000,000, of whom, not long since, ten men at least in every hundred were armed, and most engaged in some internecine strife, but now all subjected to the dominant sway of one power. Add to these considerations a land frontier of 4,500 miles, and the necessity of being at all times ready to repel invasion, and to preserve the mass of the people from plunder, and we may not be surprised at the extent, but at the smallness of the force emjiloyedon an area of about 1,500,000 sq. m. : the result shows one soldier to about COOf inhabitants; whereas, in France, there is one soldier to seventy inhabitants; Austria, one to seventy-two; Russia, one to sixty; Prussia, one to fifty-six- In most of the old civilised countries of Europe, the standing armies, in pro])ortion to the population, are ten times larger than those of India. T'he garrison in and around Paris exceeds in number that of the European troops in all India. The number of officers removed from regimental, and employed in civil and on detached duties, is large. In 1851, it consisted of — colonels, 37; lieu- tenant-colonels, 47 ; majors, 48; captains, 479; lieu- tenants, 400; cornets and ensigns, 29= 1,040.J The complement of regimental officers in 1851, con- sisted — European infantry, one colonel, two lieu- tenant-colonels, two majors, twelve captains, twenty lieutenants, and ten ensigns; native infantry, one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, one major, six cap- tains, ten lieutenants, and five ensigns ; cavalry, one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, one major, six cap- tains, eight lieutenants, and four ensigns. It would seem advisable to organise an Indian staff corps — a civil department of the army — of a strength in accordance, from time to time, with the necessities of government. A good discipline, educa- tion, and moral training, under military surveillance, where the Christian principles predominate, is an effective school for preparing young and intelligent men for the exercise of their powers on a large scale. At present, owing to the want of civilians, the government is allowed to drain off one-third of the officers of the line ; military men are extensively em- ployed in political duties, and the regiments are denuded of their officers to an extent which often seriously damages the efficiency of the corps. Double the number of officers might be appointed to each regiment, and after they had passed examination in the native languages, and had served three years in regimental duties (as now prescribed), the option should be given of retiring from the military to the civil branch of the army, or for employment as magis- trates, superintendents, electric telegraph, geological surveys, and in other functions, for which peculiar talents might qualify. IxDi.\.N Navy. — There is a small maritime force under this designation, consisting of about thirty, three sailing and steam-vessels, which have rendered good service in the Persian Gulf during the China war, and in surveys of the Indian coasts and havens. The steamers are now chiefly employed as post-office of whom the number on furlough, in 1851, was — Bengal, 70; Madras, 50 ; Bombay, 29 : total, 149. Number ojf officers of each army employed, in 1851, on detached service, civil and political and military respectively, — Bengal, civil and political, 151 ; military, 430. Madras, civil and political, 44 ; military, 208. IJombay. civil and political, 42; military, 165. Officers of engineers not included. A corps of civil engineers, trained for Indian service, would be useful. 556 PROTECTED STATES, AND STIPENDIARY PRINCES OF INDIA. packets between Bombay, Aden, and Suez. A few of these are of large burthen ; the vessels are well armed, manned with Europeans and Lascars, and altogether thus officered : — One commodore, eight captains, sixteen commanders, sixty-eight lieute- nants, 110 mates and midshipmen, fourteen pursers, and twelve captains' clerks : a surgeon, detached from the army, is placed on board the larger-sized vessels. The pay is good. Commodore, £250 a- month, with an official residence ; post-captains, £80 to £90; commanders, £50 to £70; lieutenants, £12 to £15 (and £2 5.s. a-month table money while afloat); pursers, £25 to £30; clerks, £5 — a-month. Retiring pensions, after twenty-two years' service ■ — captains, £360; commanders, £290; lieutenants and pursers, £190— pec annum. The above ranks retiring from ill-healtli, after ten years' service, £200, £170, and £125 per annum. In 1852, there were fifty-three officers on retired list and nine on fur- lough. There is an excellent pilot establishment, main- tained by government, at the Sand Heads, off the en- trance of the Hooghly river, where it is much needed. Subsidiary and protected States and Pen- sionaries, — At pp. 5 — 12 will be found a tabular view of the states of India not under our immediate government, with their area, population, soldiery, and revenue. The British relations with protected states are entrusted to officers selected from either the civil or military services, according to their abilities, and denominated Residents, Governor-general's Agents, or Commissioners, as the case may be : at the larger political agencies there are European assistants to the Residents, who have, in some cases, charge of deposed princes. Practically speaking, the " Resident" is, or ought to be, a check on the native ruler when he does ill; a guide and supporter when he does well. Civil independence, with military superiority, is in reality a nullity ; and although the Resident does not inter- fert except in extreme cases, with the general admin- istration of affairs, he expects to be consulted in the selection of a minister of state; and a system, founded on precedent, has grown to have almost the force of law, though a wide discretion is necessarily left to the British functionaries, who have, by remonstrance and persuasion, rather than by direct interference, put down, in several states, suttee, infanticide, and other inhumanities. This system, which answered well at an earlier stage of our dominion, has now nearly outgrown the purposes for which it was de- signed. Power in the chief, without responsibility, has worked ill for the subject: relieved from external danger in war, and from internal rebellion caused by misgovernment, — indolence, sensuality, and crime found full scope ; and we have been obliged to assume the duties of lord paramount where princes have died without heirs, or where it became a positive obligation to prevent the misery and ruin of the people of an entire kingdom. The stipendiaries who receive annually political payments from the British government, are thus stated :* — The King of Delhi (a lineal descendant of the Mogul emperors, but now totally divested of power), £150,000; Nabob of Bengal (a descendant of Meer Jaffier— see p. 291), £100,000; families of former Nabobs, £90,000 ; Nabob of the Carnatic (a descendant of a former Mohammedan viceroy), £116,540; families of former Nabobs of Carnatic, £90,000; Rajah of Tanjore (descendant of a petty military chief), £118,350; Rajah of Benares (a de- posed Zemindar), £14,300 ; families cf Hyder and Tippoo (both usurpers — see pp. 316-'17 — and bitter enemies of the English), £63,954 ; Rajahs of Malabar, £25,000; Bajee Rao (deposed Peishwa), £80,000; others of Peishwa's family, £135,000; various allow- ances, including political pensions, compensations, &c., £443,140: total, £1,486,284. It would cer- tainly seem advisable to exercise some surveillance over the recipients of these large sums : most of them are usurpers and upstarts of yesterday, and really have no claim to these extravagant pensions ; the more so, as in several cases these large annui- tants avail themselves of the means thus provided to bad lives of debauchery and idleness, pernicious to themselves and to all around. The main plea for the continuance of the pensions is the large families and harems of the stipendiaries. CHAPTER VI. FINANCE— INCOME AND EXPENDITURE— INDIAN DEBT— MONETARY SYSTEM. Dt'RING the early periods of our intercourse with India, tlie profits derived from commerce mainly furnished the means for maintaining the necessary establishments. After the acquisition of Bengal (1765), an income was derived I'rora land, customs, * Modem India; by G. Campbell, B.C.S. : p. 150. f The oppressive ta.\es levied by the Mohammedans have been abolislicd, including^ the inland transit dues. Among the e^.actions during the Mogul rule, which are not now collfctetl, the following may be enumerated; — Jestjch, ov capitation tax, paid by Hindoos or other " in- fidels ;" meer behry, port duties (probably similar to our custom duties) ; kerrea, exaction from each person of a multitude assembled to perform a religious ceremony ; gau'shcmary, on o.vcn ; sirdentkhty, on every tree ; peisk- ctishf jjrescnts ; fernk-aksam-pecHheh, poll-tax coUcctt^d from every workman ; daroyhaneh (police) ; teeseeldary and such other sources as contributed to fill the ex- chequer of our Mohammedan predecessors.f Subse- quent additions of territory furnished revenue to defray the charges attendant thereon : and thus, from time to time, the finances were enlarged. (subordinate collector) ; fotedary (money-trier), taxes made for those officers of government ; M'vjeh keryeh, lodging cliarges for the above ofiirers ; kfiertjtehj for money-bags; scrqfi/, for trying and exchanging money; hassil daazar, market dues ; tiekass, tax on the sale of cattle, and on hemp, blankets, oil, and raw bides ; also on measuring and weighing, and for killing cattle, dressing hides, sawing timber, and playing at dice ; raArfsry, or pass- port ; pvy, a kind of poll-tax on salt, s|iirituous li(|Uors, storax, niul lime — on tisbcrmeu, brokerage, hearths, buyer and seller of a house, and other items coir.prised under the term of serjerjehat. — (See Ayeen Akbery, for details.) REVENUES AND CHARGES Oi-' BENGAL, AIAURAS, AND BOMiJAY, Revenues and Indian Chmjc • (independent of home expenses )t of each Presidency.— \i2i. the Sicca Rupee. Years. henoal. MAD HAS. DOHBAY. Hevcnuo. Charge. Surplus. Revenue. Charge. Surplui. £ Deficit. £ Ilevcnuc. Charge. Deficit £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ 1811 11,237,198 8,870,581 2,360,917 5,322,164 5,189,412 132,762 857,080 1,717,144 860,004 ISl;-. 11,115,791) 9,487,038 1,928,101 5,100,107 5,201,401 — 165,297 872,040 1,980,444 1,114398 LSIC. ll,!l(i7,25!i 9,790,974 2,170,285 6,360,220 5,142,553 217,667 — 895//J2 1.946,118 1,050,626 1817 ll,7(i9,552 10,281,822 1,487,730 0,381,307 6,53.5,816 — 154,509 1,392,820 1,960,.527 663,707 1818 12,399,47.1 10,077,015 1,722,460 6,361,432 6,006,420 — 644,91b 1,720,537 2,597,776 877,239 1819 12,221,220 10,820,734 1,397,486 5,407,005 5,825,414 — 418,.109 2.161,370 3,204,785 1,043,416 18^0 1.3,518,9118 10,088,439 2,830.529 6,403,506 6,700,466 — 296,960 2,438,960 ,3,299,170 860,210 1821 i;i,3(;i,2(il 10,350,409 3,004,852 6,557,028 6.500,876 66,192 — 2,883,042 3,607,332 784,290 1822 M,lG9,li!ll 10,317, li)0 3,852,495 5,585,209 6,229,202 356,007 — 3,372,447 4,276,012 202,567 1821! 12,'.)50,:ii)8 10,912,710 2,037,598 6,498,704 6.398,8.56 — 900,092 2,789,550 3,2Gt,.509 454,959 1821 13,484,740 12,0211,179 804,561 6,400,742 6,789,333 — 348,591 1,785,216 3,.306,982 1,620,765 1825 13,121,282 13,793,499 X 6,714,915 6,056,967 — 342,052 2,202,393 4,032,988 1,770,695 1820 14,707,238 13,405.1-52 1,302,086 6,981,081 6,634,322 347,359 — 2,618/)49 4,000,552 1,382,003 1827 14,944,713 13,480,879 1,457,834 6,347,838 0,1.S8,127 — 840,289 2,679,905 4,002,506 1,482,661 1828 10,125,41(5 7,747,.834 2,.377,582 3,591,272 3,671,111 — 79,839 1,300,311 2,421,715 1,121,404 1829 9,858,275 7.015,097 2,212,.578 3,455,008 3,499,283 — 44,215 1,310,044 2,318,054 1,002,010 18:iO 9,883,892 7,340,050 2,543,242 3,41.5,759 3,388,028 27.131 — 1,304,300 2,218,6.37 914,337 1831 9,474,084 7,035,974 1,838,110 3,322,1.55 3,239,261 82,894 — 1,401,917 2,060,499 658,582 1832 9,487,778 7,687,229 1,800,549 2,909,956 3,174,347 _ 204,391 1,497 ,.309 2,034,710 637,401 18;i3 8,844,241 7,018,419 1,825,793 3,235,233 3,258,995 — 23,762 1,600,081 1,908,045 367,354 1831 9,355,289 7,322,30:: 2,0.32,980 3,308,948 3,017.676 361,272 — 1,503,782 l,90,s,092 404,310 183.5 10,057,302 7,085,079 2,972,283 3,590,052 2,830,549 759,503 _- 1,805,940 1,953,568 147,622 183G 10,203,012 6,914,973 3,318,039 3,2.35,117 2,817,.533 4I7,.584 — 1,704,213 1,980,763 276,5.50 1837 9,904,438 7,001,451 2,899,987 3,612,813 3,022,1.38 490,675 — 1,649,051 1,954,9.50 305,899 1838 10,375,426 8,070,034 2,304,792 3,533,803 3,082,652 451,161 — 1,418,464 1,940,729 622,265 1839 9,501,444 8,437,736 1,123,708 3,635,876 3,581,405 — 45,530 1,445,296 2,083,222 637,926 1810 9,741,240 8,943,099 798,141 3,503,343 3,352,075 211,268 — 1,827,922 1,966,380 138,458 1841 10,437,801 9,307,408 1,070,453 3,593,910 3,350,993 236,917 — 1,750,884 1,995,073 244,189 1812 10,829,014 9.934,751 894,863 3,028,919 3,380,783 24,8,166 — 1,960,683 1,991,.530 30,847 1813 11, .523,933 10,122,149 1,401,784 3,001,997 3,342,.573 259,424 — 2,046.728 2,204,121 157.393 1811 11,801,733 9,575,083 2,286,050 3,512,417 3,479,580 32,837 _ ^1,918,607 2,496,173 677,566 184.5 12,174,338 10,170,220 2,004,118 3,589,213 3,523,598 65,615 — 2,047,380 2,.569,910 622,530 181f) 12,900,251 10.445,969 2,454,285 .3,631,922 3,449,018 182,304 — 2,120,824 2,662,100 641,276 1847 11,947,921 10,516.089 1,401,835 3,038,589 3,373,445 265,144 — 1,990,395 2,553,'286 662,891 1848 12,083,930 10,336,367 1,547,569 3,667,235 3,221, .195 449,740 — 2,475,894 2,929,520 453,626 1849 ||14,243,51! 11,033,835 3,209,076 3,543,074 3,138,378 404,696 — 2,489,246 2,999,119 609,873 1850 13,879,900 10,818429 3,061,537 3,62.5,015 3,212,415 412,600 2,744,951 3,086,460 341,519 1851 13,487,081 10,970,120 2,516.961 3,744,372 3,244,598 499,774 3,172.777 3,161,870 f 20,907 1852 14,01.5,120 11,239,370 2,775,750 3,766,150 3,307,192 458,958 — 3,166,1.57 3,279,118 112,961 • In the above statement, from the year 182R, the allowances and assignments payable to native princes and othcra under treaties (amounting to upwards of a million and a-half per annum), and the charges of collecting the revenue, including the cost of the opium and salt (amounting to upwards of two millions and a-half more), have been excluded in order to arrive at the real produce of the revenue. In the tabular statement, down to the year 1827, the gross revenues are shown; and tho rate of converting the Indian money into sterling is 16 per cent, higher than the rate at present used. t The Territorial Payments in England^ in lS49-'aO (latest return made up), were : — Dividends to proprietors of East India stock, £02!), 4oo ; interest on the home bond debt, £173,723 ; purchase and equipment of steam-vessels, and various expenses connected with steam coramuniciitirm with India, £50,ol3 ; her Majesty's government, on account of tho proportion agreed to be bnnie by the company of the amount payable under contract between her Majesty's govern- ment and Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company for an extended communication with India and China, £70,000 ; transport of troops and stores, deducting freight charged in invoices, £36,418; furlough and retired pay to military and marine officers, including off-reckonings, £614,393 ; pa}Tnents on account of her Majesty's troops serving in India, £200.000 ; retiring pay to her Majesty's troops (Act 4 Geo. IV., e. 71.) including an arrear, £75,000. VhardcSy general^ comprising: — Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India'; salaries of the president and officers of the board, including superannuation allowances granted by warrant of the Crown under Act 53 Geo. III., cap. 155, sec. 91, £30,523; salaries of the Court of Directors, £7,000 ; contingent expenses of the Courts of Directors and Proprietors, consisting of repairs to the East India House, taxes, rates, and tithes, coals, candles, printing, stationery, bookbinding, stamps, postage, and various petty charges, £28,S29 ; salaries and allowances of the secretaries and officers of the Court of Directors, deducting amount applied from the fee fund in part payment thereof, £93,794 ; annuitants and pensioners, including compensation annuities under Act 3 & 4 "Will. IV., cap. 85, and payments in commutation thereof, £198.109; Haileybury College, net charge, £9,074 ; military seminary at Addiscombe, net charge, £4.057. Recruiting charges : pay of otticers, non-commissioned officers of recruiting rstablishmentii, and of recruits previous to embarkatiim, bounty, clothing, arms, and accoutrement,*, £43,438 ; passage and outfit of reconler. Prince of Wales' Island, Bishop of Madras, aides-dc-camps, chaplains, company's officers in charge of recruits, officers iu her Majesty's service proceeding to join their regiments, and volunteers for the pilot service, t<:c., £22,655; charges of the store de- partment, articles for use in inspection of stores, labour, &c., £'j,201 ; Lord Clive's fund, net payment for pensions, &c., £36,519 ; law charges, £12,215 ; cultivation and manufacture of cotton, &c. in India (expenses incurred in view to the improvement ofj, £547 ; commission to agents at the outports on realisation of remittances, £260 ; maintenance of lunatics, £6,466; miscellaneous — consisting of expenses of overland and ships' packets, maintenance of natives of India, donation to the Bengal Civil Fund and to widows' funds for the home serv-ice, donations for services and relief, &c., £7,657. Interest paid upon sums deposited by Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company, £1,722 ; East Indian Kailway Com- pany, £2,083 ; absentee allowances to civil servants of the Indian establishments, £32,383 ; annuities of the Madras Civil Fund of 1818, £15,3SS ; retired pay and pensions of persons of the late St. Helana establishment, not chargeable to the Crown, £5,795. The total territorial payments, including invoice value of political stores (£378,100), and some smaU items not above enumerated, was £2.750,937. ^ Deficit of £852,217. ^ In this and following years, the receipts and charges of Sinde are included in Bombay. I In this and following years, the revenues and charges of the Punjab are included in Bengal. H Surplus, 4 c 558 RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS OF INDIAN REVENUE— lS52-'3. The receipts for the year 1852-'53, were — Land- tax, £15,365,000. Sayer (stamps, &c., on land) and ahkarree (excise on spirituous liquors), £1,185,000; moturpha (tax on houses, shops, trades, and pro- fessions),* £118,000 ; salt, £2,421,000 ; opium, £5,088,000; custom or import duties, £1,430,000; stamp-duties, £491,000; post-office receipts, £200,000; mint ditto, £150,000; tobacco, £63,000; tributes and subsidies, £571,000; miscellaneous (com- prising arrears of revenue, marine and pilotage dues), £1,522,000: total gross receipts, £28,610,000. The dishurscments for the same year were — In- terest on India and home bond debt, £2,503,000 ; charges defravable in England, viz., dividends to proprietors of E. I. stock, £650,000 ; E. I. House and India Board establishments, half-pay and pensions, stores, &c., £2,697,000; army and military charges, £9,803,000; judicial establishments, £2,223,000; land revenue collection and charges, £2,010,000; general charges and civil establishments, £1,928,000 ; opium charges and cost of production, £1,370,000; salt, ditto, £350,000 ; marine (including Indian navy, pilot service, lighthouses, &c.), £376,000 ; post- office, £213,000 : customs — collecting import duties, £189,000 ; mints. £60,000 ; stamps, £32,000 : mis- cellaneous (including sayer, excise, moturpha, public works, &c.), £4,223,000': total charges, £27,977,000. The Indian Debt requires a brief elucidation : it was originally created to meet the temporary ■wants of commerce, and subsequently those of terri- tory ; money was borrowed in India, in such emer- gencies, at high rates of interest. In April, 1798. the debtamounted to £8,500,000 ;t of this,£l,300,000 was at twelve, £4,000,000 at eight, £1,700,000 at six — per cent. ; the remainder at various lesser rates, or not bearing interest. In April, 1803, the debt stood at £17,700,000; of which £10,200,000. was at eight, £3,000,000 at ten, £600,000 at twelve — per cent ; remainder as above. In April, 1804— debt, £21,000,000; of which £3,000,000 at ten, £1,200,000 at nine, £12,000,000 at eight — per cent. ; remainder as above. In April, 1834 — debt (exclusive of home bond), £35,000.000; in April, 1850, £47,000,000; in 1855, about £50,000,000. Annual interest of debt, at five and four per cent., about £2,000,000. There is a home India debt, which has been created from time to time to meet deficiencies in remittances required for home charges : it now amounts to about £2,500,000. Proportion of debt due to Europeans and to na- tives, in 1834 — Europeans, £20,439.870 ; natives, £7,225,360 = £27.665.230. In 1847, Europeans, £21,981,447 ; natives,t £12,271,140 = £34,2.32,587. The India debt has been mainly caused bv war :§ that with the Burmese cost, from 1824 to 1826, at least £13,000,000. The debt was augmented by it from £26,468,475 to £39,948,488, or £13,500,000. During the ten years from 1839-40 to 1848-49 (which was almost uninterruptedly a period of war- fare in Afghanistan, Sinde, the Punjab, and Gwalior), the aggregate charges exceeded the revenues of India bv £15,048,702, showing an annual deficiency of £1,500,000. There was a noyiiinal reduction of the debt be- tween 1830 and 1834, by an alteration of the high rates of exchange, previously used, to the rate of two shillings the sicca rupee, adopted after the passing of the act 3 and 4 William IV., ch. 85 : by this the debt appeared reduced from £39,948,488 in 1830, to £35,463,483 in 1834. There was a real reduction to £29,832,299, between 1834 and 1836, by the applica- tion to that purpose of a portion of tea sales and other commercial assets, derived from a winding up of the mercantile business of the E. I. Cy. The progress of the debt bearing interest in India is thus shown : — Years. Value. Years. Value. Years. Value. £ £ £ 1834 35,463,483 1841 32,051,088 1848 43,085,263 1835 33,984,654 1842 34,378,288 1849 44,204,080 18.36 29,.832,299 1843 36,322,819 1850 46,908,064 1837 30,406,246 1844 37,639,829 1851 47,999,827 1S38 30,249,893 1845 38,627,954 18.52 48.014,244 1839 30,231,162 1846 38,992,734 1853 49,043,526 1840 30,703,778 1847 41,798,087 1854 — There is in India, as well as in England, a constant tendency to increased expenditure. In fifteen years the augmentation stood thus : — Total Revenue. Charges. Debt. India. England. India. Home. 1834-'35 1849-'S0 £ 18,650,000 25,540,000 £ 16,080,000 23,500,000 £ 2,160,000 2,700,000 £ 35,460,000 47,000,000 £ 3,523,237 3,899,500 This increase has taken place in addition to £8,122, 530JI appropriated from commercial assets, in 1834, towards liquidation of India debt, and £1,788,522 applied to reduction of home bond debt: total £9,911,055; and notwithstanding a reduction in the interest ef the India debt from six and five to five and four per cent. An annual deficit of up- wards of a million sterling, for about a quarter of a century, does not appear satisfactory, and requires * This tax, a relic of the Moslem system, still exists at Madras : its abolition is under consideration. •f- Instead of giving rupees, which pcqilex an English reader, I give the sum, converted into sterling, at 2*. the rupee. J Between 1834 and 1846, the sums invested by Indian princes in the India debt, has been — King of Oude, i;l, 200,000; rajah of Mysoor, ^84,000; Bajee Rao, not merely vigilance to keep down expenditure, but still more, the utmost efforts to raise revenue by increasing the paying capacities of the people. Assuming theBritish India population at 130,0(10,000, and the annual revenue at £28,000,000, the con- tribution per head is about fifty-two pence each ])er annum. A people in prosperous circumstances would yield much more than four shillings and four- pence each yearly. je50,000 ; rajah of Gurhwal, ;eiO,000 ; Chimna, Indore, £25.000; Pretaup .Sing, Tanjore, .£0.000. § During the jircsent year (IHS.*)), a five per cent, loan has been created, to be applied solely to the extension of ])ublic works. In November, 1840, a similar proposition was submitted by the author to the E. I. Cy. II Of this sum, £2,677,053 constituted the principal of the Carnatic debts. MONETARY SYSTEM— COINS MINTED-INDIAN BANKS. 559 The debt due to the ¥,. I. Cy. is provided for. In US.'il till' Slim of £2,000,0n0 was set apiirt from the coiiimerciul assets of tlie company to he invested in the JmikHsIi funds (three pereents.),andlo arciinnihite at compound interest, at forty years (until 17'^2), in order to pay off the K. I. Cy's. slock of £(j,00(),()()n,* at the rate of £200 for every £100 stock ; makinfj the totalamount to he litpiidiited in 1874, £12,000,000. In May, 18,52, the £2,000,000 liad increased, by the annual reinvestment of tlireo per cent, int., to .£'.'!, 097,018. The tanfjible commercial property sold under the net of IWM, realised £1.5,223,180, which was thus disposed of: — £8,191,3(iG towards discharge of In- dia debt; £2,218,831 was applied in payment of territorial charges in England; £1,788,(525 was ap- plied in liipiidation of part of home bond debt; £2,000,000 was paid into the liank of England, for invest nient in the funds, to ])rovide a "security fund," at compound interest, for the ultimate rc- denii)tion of the capital stock of the company (£0,000,000) in 187-1 ; £oGl,600 was ap])lied in com- pensations to ship-owners and other (lersons ; and the remainder, of £-103,13.5, w\as retained in London, as an available cash balance for the purposes of government in India. Tlie unavailable assets claimed as commercial by the company — viz., the India House in Leadenhall-street, one warehouse retained for a military store department, and house property in India, — the whole, valued at £G3o,4-J5, — remains in the hands of the company, but applicable to the uses of the Indian government. f MoNETAUY SysTi-;M. — Silver is the standard of value : the coins in circulation are — the rupee of silver, value two shillings; the anna of copper, three- halfpence ; and the pice, a base metal, whereof twelve represent one anna. The rupee contains 1C5 grains of fine silver, and fifteen grains of alloy: when silver is worth five shillings per ounce, its value is one shilling and ten- pence farthing; the average rate of remittance, by hy))othecation, from India, has been at the rate of one shilling and elevenpence three farthings ; bul- lion remittances have averaged one shilling and ten- pence, four per cent, over tlie metallic value of the rupee. It is usually converted into sterling, ap- proximatively, for nominal purposes at two shillings. Gold coins, termed pagodas and mohurs, are now seldom seen. There are no means of ascertaining the amount of the circulating medium, in metal or in paper : government possess no returns on the sub- ject. The quantity of specie (value in rupees) issued from the mints, in several years, has been : — Mints. Calcutta, 1847-'4S . . lS4S-'49 . . 1849— 'o3,4yrs, Madras, 1848— '5.3, avg. I of the 5 years . . \ Bombay, avg. of same 1 period J Total . . . . Gold. lliipeos. 10,'.'S6 46,980 151,299 208,565 Silver. Rupees. 12,1.58,939 la,211,.580 84,534,529 3,271,189 17,264,598 132,440,835 Copper. Rupees. 35,116,331 47,724,328 116,571,391 6,159,671 f none 1 coined. 205,571,721 * This capital consisted originally, on the union of the two companies in 1708, of iS, 200,000 (see p. 230); between 1787 and 1789, this sum was increased to ^£4,000,000; from 1789 to 1793, to £5,000,000; and from 1793 to 1810, to i6, 000. 000. t Evid. of Sir.T.C.Melvill.— (Pari. P.apers; May,18.-)2.) J An admirable memoir of this distinguished Indian statesman, and selections from his valuable paocrs. have PuiiLic Banks i.n India. — Until within the la«t few years, there was only one public joint-stock bank (Ilciii/al) in India. This institution owed it« forma- tion, at the commencement of the present century, to the financial ability of the late Henry St. George Tucker,! and was eminently successful. In 1829-'30 I projjosed and assisted at the organisation of tiie U>non Bank of Calcutta. It was soon taken out of my liands by the leading merchant bankers, who used its cajjital and credit to prop up their insolvent firms : it did not, however, prevent their failure for £20,000,000 sterling, leaving a dividend of not many pence in the pound. The Union Hank held iu< ground for a few years, but it ultimately fell with another great crash of Bengal traders, and was then ascertained to have been, for the last few years of its existence, a gigantic swindle. In conjunction with Sir Gore Ouseley and other friends, I tried to establish in London an East India Bank, which should act as a medium of remittance between Britain and India. The government and several members of the E. I. Cy. were favourable, but private interests, connected with individual banking and agency, were too powerful at the Vj. I. House. A charter ofl'ered was clogged with re- strictions which would defeat the object in view; and after an expenditure of several thousand jjounds, and five years of untiring perseverance, the project was abandoned, when I went to China, in her Ma- jesty's service, in March, 1844. Since then a local bank, formed at Bombay, established a branch in London — has now its head-quarters (Oriental U ink) there, with branches in India and China, and ap- pears to be doing a large and profitable business. Acting on my su^'gestions, banks were established at Bombay and Madras, on the same governmental basis as that of Bengal ; their notes being received as cash by government, and remittance operations prohibited. There are now about a dozen public banks in India, whose aggregate capital is only about £5,000,000 : but no returns of their position are made to the E. I. House. There are numerous governmental treasuries in different parts of India. To meet current expenses, and to provide against contingencies, large cash balances are kept there. In 1852, the coin ready for emergencies was £12,000,000.§ The Hindoos have no joint-stock banks among; themselves ; the shroffs, or money-changers, is,sue huondeci, or bills of exchange, which are negotiable according to the credit of the issuer ; the leading nhroffs in the principal towns correspond not only with their brethren in all parts of India, but also in the large cities of Asia, and even at Constantinople: by this means important European intelligence was wont, before the establishment of communication by steam, to be known among the natives in the bazaar at Calcutta, long before the government received official tidings. been recently prepared by Mr. J. ^V. Kaye, who has at- tained a high reputation as a biographer. § In June, 1855, the assets of the general treasuries was —Bengal, 15,200,000 rupees ; Madra.s, 2,000,000; Bom- bay, 9,200,000 = 26,400,000 rupees, of nliieh 22,300,000 was in specie. The assets of each of the three govern- mental banks was, in April, 1855 — B. Bengal. 27,682,636 rupees; B. Madras, 6,062,163 rupees; B. Bombay, 12,077,566 rupees. Excess of assets over liabilities of each, 10,863,264 rupees; 2,996,958 rupees; 5.340^490 rupees. Coin in these three banks, 10,660,000 rupees. Uank notes outstanding, 17,500,000 rupees. GovernmwUt bills and debentures, 6.400,000 rupees. CHAPTER VII. COMMERCE— IMPORTS— EXPORTS— SHIPPING— VALUABLE PRODUCTS— CAPABILITY OF GREATLY IXCREASED TRAFFIC. 1'he commerce of India has, for many ages,* been deemed of great value ; but considering the extent and resources of the country, it was not until re- cently carried on with England to any large extent. In 1811-'12, our dominion was firmly established in Hindoostan, and there was general peace : a con- trast between that year and 1851-'2, will show its progress in forty years : — Total Commerce. Value of merchandise imported 1 from the United Kingdom . . J Ditto from other countries , . . Total Imports Merchandise exported United Kingdom Ditto to other countries Total Exports to the 1 1811-'r2. £ 1,300,000 160,000 1,460,000 1,500,000 600,000 2,100.000 1851-'o2 £ 9,300,000 3,100,000 12,400,000 7,100,000 12,700,000 19,800,000 Thus, exclusive of bullion, coin, or treasure, there has been, in merchandise alone, an increase of im- ports from £1,460,000 to £12,400,000, and of ex- ports, from £2,100,000 to £19,800,000. The treasure transit, at the two periods, has been: — 1811-'12 — im- ported, £230,000; exported, £45,000: 1851-'52— imported, £5,000,000; exported, £910,000. The shipping of all nations entering at the two periods, * Three hundred years before the Christian era the India trade was a tempting prize to Alexander, and it continued to be an object of solicitude to Europe and to Asia. In 1204, the Venetians, assisted by the soldiers of the fourth crusade, obtained possession of Constantinople, and retained the occupation for lifty-seven years, mainly by the advantages of Indian commerce : these were, in tlie 13th and 15th centuries, transferred to their rivals the Genoese (whose colonies extended along the Euxine and towards the Caspian), in return for assistance given to the Greeks. The Venetians then entered into a treaty with the Moliam. medans, and conducted their commerce with the East via Egypt and the Red Sea. The discovery of a maritime route by the Cape of Good Hope, destroyed the over- land trade by Egypt and Asia Minor. The construction of a ship canal through the isthmus of Darien, would give a fresh stimulus to the commerce of the East. f For many years, great commercial injustice was done by England to British India. High, indeed prohibitory, duties were laid on its sugar, rum, coffee, &c., to favour similar products grown in the West Indies : still worse, we compelled the Hiiuloos to receive cotton and other manu- factures from Enghind at nearly nominal duties (two and a-half per cent.), wliile, at the very same time, fifty per cent, were demanded here on any attempt to introduce the cotton goods of India. — {See Commons Pari. Papers ; No. 227, April, 184G ; called for, and printed on the motion of one of the oldest and most independent members, Ed- ward Stillingflcet Cayley, M.P. for N. 11. Yorkshire.) The same principle was adopted in silk and other articles : the result was the destruction of tlie finer (lass of cotton, silk, and other manufactures, witliout adopting tlie plan of Jcstrailbrd, in Ireland, during the reign of Charles I. — nam.'ly, the founding of the linen trade as a substitute for tiiat of woollen, which was extinguished in order to appease the English hand-loom weavers. To remedy the was— 1811-'12, 600,000 tons; 1851-'2, 1,700,000 tons. In 1811, it was gravely asserted before parliament, by several witnesses, that the trade of India could not be extended ; that it was not possible to augment the consumption of British manufactures; and that the people of Hindoostan had few wants, and little to furnish in exchange. The answer to this is an extension from one to nine million worth. Yet the trade of India is still only in its infancy ; and but for the unjust prohibitionsf to which for many years it was subjected in England, it would now probably be double its present value. A,ssuming the popula- tion of all India at 200,000,000, including about 60,000 Europeans, and the exports of our merchan- dise at £10,000,000,J there is a consumption of only one shilling's worth per head. Our exports to the United States of America, in 1834, amounted to £21,400,000, or, for 25,000,000 inhabitants,§ about seventeen shillings per head of the population ; to Australia, for 700,000 persons, to £1 2,000,000, or about £17 per bead durmga year of diminished trade. Even the negro population in the AVest Indies, under one million in number, take off nearly £2 sterling per head of British produce ; and the colonists of British America, £5 each yearly. The exports from the United Kingdom to India, in the year 1834, already, however, equal in amount those sent in the same year to France (£3,175,290), Spain evil of treating India as a foreign state, I appealed to the common sense of the nation, through the public press, to a select committee of parliament, by voluminous evi- dence, and, aided by Sir Charles Forbes and other eminent merchants, on 11th May, 1842, carried the principle of the following motion in the General Court of Proprietors of the E. I. Cy., as the sequel of a resolution laid before the Court on the previous 22nd December, *' praying that parliament, in the exercise of justice and sound policy, will authorise the admission of the produce and manufactures of British India into the ports of the United Kingdom, on reciprocal terms with the produce and manu- factures of the United Kingdom when imported into British India — that East India vessels be entitled to the pri- vileges of British shipping, and that the produce of sub- sidiary states, whose maritime frontiers we have occupied, be treated as that of British India." — {See Asiatic Journal for January, 1842.) " That in the opinion of this Court, tlie territories under the government of the E. I. Cy. ought to be treated as integral portions of the British empire ; and that as a revision of the English tariff is now taking place, this Court, in fulfilment of its duty to their fellow-subjects in British India, do again petition both houses of parliament, praying for a comjilete recipro- city of trade between India and England, which, if fully and fairly established, will confer mutual and extensive benefits on both countries, and materially contribute to the security and |)crmanence of the Bi'itish jjower and influence in the eastern hemisphere." — {See (Icb.-ite thereon in Asiatic Journal, May, 1812.) The late Sir R. Peel admitted the injustice, and adopted measiu'es for its redress, which merged into the low import system, by a misnomer designatcd/?"ce trade, which does not exist with any country. Jin 1854, i.l0,025,9Cy. § Census of 1800, 23,351,207, including 3,178,000 slaves. IMMENSE VALUE OF INDIAN COMMERCE TO ENGLAND. 561 (£l,270,0(;i), I'orliiKal (£l,:i70,(;f):!), Sardlnin (£l,0.'il.oi;i), Lomlianly (£(i;!.3,'j:il), Napl^s (£j(i;i,0;i;i), Tuscany (£.J05,852), Papal States (£149,8UJ), Denmark (£7J9,718), Sweden and Norway (£730,808.) Tlu! export of liritlsli manufactures and produce to India ought to amount to at least twenty shillings per head, which would be equal to £26(),O0(),l)()(l sterling, or twice the value of our present exports to * Export of British and Irisli produce aiul manufactures to every part of the world, in !«:> l~-.i!)7,2!)8,900. ■f- India couhl su])ply ("(Htou ior all Europe. For some years e.\i)i'rinit'uts have been made, and considerable expense iucui-red, by sending out seed from America, aiul American agents to superintend the culture and cleaning: no corresponding residt has ensued; the main elements of skill, energy, and en))ital are still wanting. Western and Central India, csjiccially the provinces of Guzerat and J5erar, afforil the best soils and i^limate for the plant ; but roads, railways, and river navigation are needed ; and it is a delusion to think that India can rival the United States until they are supplied. With every effort that government and individuals have made since 1788, when the distribution of cotton-sccd commenced, the import of cotton wool from India was, in 18")!, no more than 12(),()00,0U0 lbs. — not one- seventh of the United States' sujiply. Improvement of the navigation of the Godavcry and other rivers, will probably cause an extension of production. Silk has long formed an article of Indi.-m commerce: it was pro- bably introduced iVom Cliina, but was not largely pro- duced until the midiUe of the ISth century, when the E. I. Cy. sent (in 1757) a Mr. Wilder to Bengal, — urged the planting of the mulbi'rry ; and granted, in 17G5, reductions of the rents of lands where attention was paid to the culture of the tree, and in 1770 — '75, introduced the mode of winding ])ractised in Italy and other places. When Napoleon, in 1808, stopped the ex- portation of silk from Italy to England, tlu; Court made successful exertions to furnish large su]iplies of filature wound in Bengal, and to augment the supply of silk goods, which is an increasing trade. An unlimited quan- tity of the raw and manufactured material can be pro- duced in India. Wool of every variety, from fine down adapted to the most beautiful fabrics, to the coarse, wiry, and long shaggy hair which makes excellent carpets, is procurable, and now exported to tlie extent of several million lbs. annually. Tlie plateau and mountain slopes of India sustain vast herds of sheep in a favourable climate, with abundant pasture. It is a trade susceptible of great development. Jniligo is a natural product of many parts of India. Until the close of last century, Europe derived its chief supjilies from South America and the West Indies. About 1779, the Court of Direc- tors made eftbrts to increase the production by contracting for its manufacture. In 1786, out of several parcels con- signed to London, one only yielded a profit: the aggre- gate loss of the company was considerable. Improve- ments took place in the preparation of the dye : and, in 1792, the produce of Bengal was found superior to that of other countries; in 1795, tlie consignments amounted to 3,000,000 lbs. Several civil servants of government established indigo factories ; private Europeans came into the trade ; capital was advanced by the merchant bankers of Calcutta, who sometimes lost heavily, and sometimes actjuired immense gains. Happily, low duties were levied in England, and the cultivation and manufacture largelv augmented, and now it is spread over about 1,200,000 acres of land in Bengal and Bahar, employing 50,000 families, and requiring an annual outlay of more than a million and a-half sterling. Sinde is now becoming a competitor with Bengal, and is said to have the advantage of immunity from heavy rains, which wash the colour from the leaves when ready to be cut. Siiijar is an indigenous product of India; it was carried from thence into Sicily, tlie south of Eiu-ope, the Canaries, and subsequently to every part of the world.* Let not tliis be deemed an extravagant as.'ierlion : the capacity of Hindoo- Htan lo receive our goods is only limited by that which it can furnish in return ; and, happily, the country yields, in almost inexhaustible jirol'usion, wherever capital has been applied, all the great staples which ICngland requires, such as wheat, rice, sugar, coffee, tea, cotton, silk, wool, indigo, flax and hemp, teak, and timber of every variety,! tjiUow, America ; the cane is grown in every part of India, and its juice used by all cl.isses. For many years the export to England was discouraged by the imposition of hiuh duties to favour the West India interest; and in 1840, I was under examination for several days before a select committee of the House of Commons, adducing evidence of the necessity of admitting East India on the same terms as West India sugar into the Uinted Kingdom, The tpiantity exported has increased of late years, but again fallen off. In the year ending June 30th, 1855, the sugar imported from the East Indies amounted to 739,MI ewt. ; Mauritius, 1,237,078 cwt. ; West Indies, 3,139,209 ; foreign produce, 3,117,665 = 8,233,696 cwt. Duty received, ,£'5,330,907. Average price of Muscovado, for the year, per cwt. — East Indies, 23*. id. ; Havannah, 22s. 9rf. ; British West Indies, 20*. llrf. ; Mauritius, 20j. 2d. Thus it will be perceived, that the imports from all India are little more than one-half of the small island of Mauritius, and that the price is higher (despite labour wages at \\d. a-day) than in any other country. The eonsum})tion of sugar in the United Kingdom, in the vear ending30thJune,1855,was— 8,U5,180cwt.=9r2,2G0;i60 lbs., which, for 27.000,000 people, shows 31 lbs. per head annually, or about 10 oz. a-week for each individual. In the Taxation of the British Empire, published in 1832, when the consumption was only about 5 oz. a- head weekly, I endeavoured to demonstrate that by re- ducing the duty, and extending the market of supply, the consumjJtion would be doubled ; whi(-h has taken place : now, by aflbrding encouragement to sugar culti- vation in India, the consumption in the United Kingdom would probably increase to at least 1 lb. a-week per head. The tea shrub has been found growing wild in Assam, and contiguous to several of the lower slopes of the Himalayas : it delights in sheltered valleys, the declivities of hills, or river banks with a southern exposure, as in Gurhwal, Kumaon, and at Katmaiuloo (Nepaul), where a jilant ten feet high has been seen. In 1/88, it was announced officially that this remarkable herb was indigenous to India; but no attempts were made to encourage the cultivation, lest the China trade should be disturbed. In 1835, Lord Wm. Bentinck brought the subject under the notice of the E. I. Cy. and of the public ; a committee of investigation was appointed, who decided in favour of an experimental culture. In 1839, an Assam tea comjiany was incorporated in London, with a capital of .£'500,000 ; the directors went to work energetically, and have spent i.200,000, a large part of which, however, was wasted. Experience has been dearly bought ; but under the able supervision of Mr. Walter Prideaux, a large crop is at present secured, and annually increasing. The tea crop for three years, in Assam, amounted to— in 1852, 271,427 lbs.; in 1853, 366,687 lbs.; in 1854, 478,258 lbs. The yield of Ig.^iD is ex- pected to realise £'50,000, and the expenditure half that sum. The Assam tea is of excellent quality, so also is that of Kumaon. By perseverance and judgment, we may hope to be less dependent on China for this now indispensable and cheering beverage. Coffee, a native of Yemen (Arabia), has long been naturalised io India : it is grown, of excellent quality, in Malabar, Tellicherry, Mysoor, and other contiguous places. Tobacco was in- troduced in 1605, during the reign of .\kber, — is now cultivated in every part, and in general use ; but as a commercial article, is inferior to the .-Vmerican weed. Care only is required to produce the finest qualities. This is the case at Chunar on the Ganges, Bhilsa near Nagpoor hides and horns, vegetable oils, tobacco, peppers, cardamoms, ginger, cassia, and other spices, lin- seed, saltpetre, gum and shell-lac, rum, arrack, caoutchouc and gutta-percha, canes or rattans, ivory, wax, various dyes and drugs, &c. These constitute the great items of commerce; and the demand for them in Europe is immense — in fact, not calculable: 200,000,000 Europeans could consume twenty times the amount of the above-mentioned products that are now supplied ; 200,000,000 Hin- doos would consume, in exchange, an equal proportion of the clothing, manufactures, and luxuries from the Woodanum in the Northern Circars, in the low islands at the mouth of the Kistna (from which the famed Masu- lipatam snuff is made), ia the delta of the Godavery, in Guzerat, near Chinsurah, Bengal, at Sandoway in Ar- racan, and at other places. The Court of Directors pro- cured from America the best seed from Maryland and Vkginia, which has thriven well. Tobacco requires a fertile and well-manured soil. The best tields at San- doway, Arracan, show on analysis — iron(pevo.xyde), 15'G j ; sahne matter, I'lO ; vegetable fibre, 3'7.') ; silex, 76'90 ; alumina, 2 ; water and loss, 60 = 100. Flax and Hemp are furnished by India in larger varieties than from any other country in the world. The nuiij properly cured and dressed, is equal to Russian hemp ; otlier varieties are superior, as they bear a strain of 200 to -100 lbs. ; while that of St. Petersburg breaks at IGO to 200 lbs. ; the Icote-kangra of the Punjab is equal to 400 lbs. ; jnie is also excellent ; the khiar, made from cocoa-nut husk fibres, is used principally for maritime purposes, as the specific gravity is lighter than sea-water, in which it does not decay like hemp. Any amount of plants adapted for cordage, coarse cloths, and the manufacture of paper (for which latter there is a greatly increasing demand througli- out the civilised world), are procurable in India. Linseed was only recently known to abound in India, and is now shipped annually to the extent of many thousand tons. The greater part of the oil-cake used for fattening cattle in Britain is derived from the fields of Hindoostan. Salt is supplied in Bengal by evaporating the water of the Ganges, near its mouth, and by boiling the sea-water at different parts of the Bay of Bengal ; at Bombay and Madras, solar evaporation is used. This indispensable condiment is found pure in different parts of the interior ; the Sambhur Lake, in Rajpootana, supplies it in crystals of a clear and fine flavour, when the water dries up during the hot season. The Punjab contributes a quantity of rock-salt, from a range of hills which crosses due west the Sinde-Saugor Dooab ; it is found cropping out in all directions, or else in strata commencing near the surface, and extending downwards in deep and apparently in- exhaustible fecundity. The mineral, which requires no preparatory process but pounding, can be excavated and brought to the mouth of the mine for two annas (three- pence) the maund (80 lbs.) ; it is of excellent flavour and purity, — of transparent brilliancy and solid consistency ; when, as is sometimes the case, veins of iron lie adjacent to the saline strata, it assumes a reddish hue. In this latter respect the salt of the cis-Indus portion of the range differs from that obtained in the trans-Indus section. Common bay-salt is made in many adjacent localities, and in all parts of the country the ground is occasionally im- pregnated with a salin{; efHorcscence resembling saltpetre. In tlie Alpine principality of Mundee an imjmre salt is produced, but it is strongly mixed with earthy ingredients. In Sinde, a coarse kind of salt is everywhere procurable in large quantities ; some ship-loads have been sent to Bengal, and sold well. Saltpetre (nitre) is derived from the soil of Bengal, Oude, and other places ; the average quaniity annually exported is about 20,000 tons. Sul- ])hate of soda (glauber-salt.s), is fomid near Cawnpoor; carbonate of soda, at Sultanpoor, Ghazcepoor, and Tir- hoot ; and other salines ore procurable, in various places, to any rcijuired extent. Rice, — widely grown in Bengal, Rahur, Arracan, As^am, Sinde, and other low districts, western hemisphere. The tariff of India offers no impediment to the development of such barter : internal peace prevails, there are no transit duties, land and labour abounds ; but capital and skill are wanting. How these are to be supplied, — how Britain is to be rendered independent of Russia or of the United States for commercial staples, — how such great advantages are to be secured, — how India is to be restored to a splendour and prosperity greater than ever before experienced, — I am not called on to detail. Let it suffice for me to indicate the good to be sought, and desire earnestly its successful attainment. and also at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 feet along the Himalayas and other places, without irrigation, where the dampness of the summer months compensates for ai-tificial moisture. Bengal and Patna rice are now, by care and skill, equal to that of Carolina, though the grain is not so large ; that from Arracan and Moulmein is coming exten- sively into use. Pegu will also probably furnish consider- able supplies. W/ieat, from time immemorial, has been a staple crop on the plains of Northern India, in the Punjab, Nepaul , and other places. The soil is well fitted for this cereal, but owing to defective cultivation, the crops are not good : it is, however, the main food of many millions in Hindoostan ; and yet, a few years since, when I placed a small sack of excellent Indian wheat on the table of the Court of Proprie- tors of the E. I. House, wbde urging its admission into England at a low rate of duty, it was viewed with astonish- ment, it being generally supposed that rice was the only grain in the East. Oils, — that expressed from the cocoa- nut is the most valuable, especially since it has been converted into candles. This graceful palm thrives best on the sea-coast, the more so if its roots reach the saline mud, when it bears abundantly at the fourth year, and continues to do so for nearly 100 years, wheu it attains a height of about 80 feet. The planting of the cocoa-nut is considered a meritorious duty. Castor-oil is extensively prepared for burning in lamps, as well as for medicinal purposes. Rose oil {attar of roses) is produced chiefly at Ghazeepoor on the Ganges, whcie hundreds of acres are occupied with this fragrant shrub, whose scent, when in blossom, is wafted along the river a distance of seven miles. Forty pounds of rose-leaves in CO lbs. of water, distilled over a slow fire, gives 30 lbs. of rose-water, which, when exposed to the cold night air, is found in the morning to have a thin oleaginous film on the surface. About 20,000 roses = 80 lbs. weight, yields, at the utmost, an ounce and a-half of attar, which costs at Ghazeepoor 40 rupees (.£'4.) Purity tested by the quick evaporation of a drop on a piece of paper, which should not be stained by the oil. Opium, — this pernicious drug is extensively prepared in Babar (Patna) and Malwa. The cultivation of the poppy (from whose capsule the poi- sonous narcotic is obtained) began to attract attention in 1786; the trade was fostered as a means of obtaining a public revenue, there being a great demand in China, where its use has rapidly increased within the last forty years, and hastened the decay of the Tartar goverument of that vast country. The Patna drug is procured by the Anglo-Indian government making advances of money to the cultivators, and stipulating for a certain amount at a fixed price ; that of Malwa yields a revenue by tran- sit-permits on its ])assage to Bondjay. The revenut; to the state, from botli these sources, is ujiwards of five million sterling. Among the timber woods may be mentioned — teak, sandal-wood, mango, banian, dhak, babool, different kinds of oak, p ne, holly, maple, plane, ash, horse, chesnut, juniper, leodar or llimalajan cedar, fir, sal, sissoo, peon, michelia, syzygiuni, arbutus, bay, ncacia. beech, chesnut, alnus, suppan-wood. cassia, toon, cedar, laurel (four to six feet in diameter), mulberry, willow, tulip- tree, indigo-tree, bandjoo, and a variety of other timber adapted for ship and house-building. In the Madras Presidency alont; there are upwards of a hundred dif- ferent kinds of timber, and iibout 500 specimens have been collected from Nepaul and the Uitra-Gangctic country IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OP INDIA SINCE 1884. 503 3 cc -f -fri « CO 'Ci 'O t^ -»"0 -M cj O«'M-f-'»>.'-^f0CT'r 'OO — ■ r . - r> • n 7 1 1^ C-r *^ « cc -t* -O r - v^ V5 r -. 'O 1 - — -t« t , -D -o -jO CO — c: 7 1 7 1 1 - . CO 0^— CO l-^CD^r-C% 7» 'C "t, C, J. o q'^1'1"^'t^_'^^ o^a^t-ro :o^v: c;. Ci^i^ri_-r CO H «'■^:) ^ 10 '!? -o -^ 31 CO •»• -o •^''T-' ^ cc 'Ci "t. <c 71 1 1 13 1 a-^, »,M„c-j.-to,7i^C)^<^5Ti.'X> Tc -JS-« ?v'.o o-ri^-ri^ | <»-n-*m'?i^.'^i^.'---.«-.r ^. '. . .-. . . 3 'i-S CI 1^1—11^ 1—0 "M -tT^ 'jC IC 1- -f" ?, i^ r; CO — CO CI CO 71 •*• CO cr- C* -r- -r- ;- -. ; y, - -. — p^ ^^oi^'^i^fij.Ti^t'^c-LtiiCitO'f^-^y'^'O 't^^'-^^co Tf^^i^ -7|t0^.C.-C0,.0C0^r--jCD.V-^Oi-'0Cii-i-'0 00 — CO — CI — CO -fCOI^I-i-'-D-fX XC^O — « (o'co'i— t-^ 00 i-^ooT^co -*-*"— —'0 t\c6*ot-~ fS § e4 cS ,-, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ _, « — . -^ r-. ^ ^^^^^^^^_4^,^_^^.M^.^I-'I CO C-l 3i 1 - -O I - ^ 01 -O C-l C>? «J n ''-/> T. Oi m t-~ -CT. -f I--I- 'X- ly) --^ 'O CO -M r-CO ■— OCI CC 'Al^-H CO —1 -*" 1^ CO CO CO 'O 01 — CO 1 - CS 1 - Ci CI CO c m &■ I--0 CO coco — CJCftCI CO C0'07ll,0 CO -»•l-l- "s *»1 mtD^Oi-r,— 1^0'C^q6^0C^C^J^<^^,0^--.'-',I-COO l^ -f 1 - 30 1 - — CO CO T CT. cr> CO d •»• C/ I - '-D CO ^ CO 'i! I'. ^^ '■A'f'fy -f -f'^— 1 r- oi <o -r 71 Ci GO ^ t or-T-Tcr-o -f co'^crro'fCcT— CT."— i>r-r 71^7 , 1- t- :7 -f CO CO — — C^CI — -f'O CI 71 'C C. CO 1 03 s CH'^l'f^^-tt,l'I^.'^l_":i,•-l,'^|.«i■of- 1-^:^-1" ^"v'- 1 H 3 'Q ZD -M of^iO rO 71 — 'O r? 'O •*■ ^ 1^ Cl c^ p^ ^6 -»j. ' -^^ -JD ""J*^ «^ '^^ X, 'O 1 - co^ ^. 0_ r^ •-^ ^^ -i^_ 0, Co''D'o ■c'l-X oCe ^riC-J 'Dt^CD'cO CO -r -^ r, < -f ."7 CD r- -r '^ C. 'D 1-71 CJ CO CO -ri-71 — 1^ 71 :0 CO CO CO CI CO CO -f '0*-'3 -f' -t< -*"0 '^ 'o"'^"l^ co' -»-" ■ 0' ^^ -r c r -f -j; .0' -J .0 -f-"" -»■' to CO co' 30 CO t'. to r* — — ' CO t-- 'O 01 'O -t< 01 r— ^ CI t>- •0 -^ r-- CO CT CO — CO — CO 1^ CI CI CI CO CI •o CO -r CO -r CO -o CD — CO CO — on'» CO CD "5 M ■ '7 'J^ -O 'X- -tl Oi W CO -t" 'T* ^ ^5 1^ — ^ C^ 1< 'O ?; c: r) O; CO ^ w » cr. '.-^ ^ ^ I-- -f CO CO OQ, a Ul rt ,►1 * Jr. — ' o"ri"-f'''orCo'oo'.'f "f:j"-^7i"o"vror-f"'c>''yrco ■ -J-'ClT- CDl^O --OC0CI tiT-TTcO'iOrf tfO — 'C , 2 c,-; '■^n•^!,co../^.t-_.o,o.l- 'iT 7i.c-i co 'C •- 1 -^j - CI.C1_— CJ.— ,'0 C7.i';_l^C^ -ii -J -Jf^ — "^ ^^•'" '"T. 1 o (A M rt 3 "0 'jo 1- CO h~ cs CO -t" CO 71 71 '-3 71 to c; r-t f:^ !;o iJi CO 1- 1^ r- 00 1^ « t^ c-1 0, 0, --_ 0^ 0. --^oj, -r CJ'O'Ci- — '.0 CO CI CI co' 01 -xcr -•"--'(, 1^.0 S c^ •-I'^-O^— CO — •1'^co 71 1-; —^■c -r C-.CO CO c»:>^— ^^^^rH^^-^^ ^,„__„„_„„^„„„„„„„,-, •O m «5 01 -t* t^ 10 C3S CO 01 -.0 CO *0 -*- CO OI 00 'O — -*<t^'ocicicoco<o'0 — i^ci 'f tr:: yz ■^ t-^ 1^1 . '6 CO CO CO CO CO 1^ (•- VD '.0 CO — -f CO to -O I-- — 1 CO CO I-. crv — CO — C; Ci -r -O r- :0 01 -T- 1 - Ci Ci 1 "^ 3'O_C7__7l^00c4f-^'-OOI.C:i_-t.-OOJ_l-^'y:iOl.CO_'J0i-;^CO CJ CI M -f t^ CO CD -r 'C Ci 7 1 — -r '.0 'O C 1 bo 4) '^S'O't r--^— ' CO 'o 'O CO CO CO CO 'X"--:) to CO CO CO . C1.'0 I-- '6 Ol — • CO C-I CO CO 'O CO CV ai^i CO -*• C7 1^ 'o'cc"'oco"co*"criCc co'c-ri-riCr~c--i-7rx''o'cr , CO CO 'C ■^ CD "O CO CO X CI C! CD C CI rO -- -r 1 ■T* V - '„ r. •■ ^ ^ -, ' J V ^^ V •« - • ^V - c • •• 1 ^ ^ fL -r- *» * ^ f. a 9 * *K V fc Vii V fc •^ 1 Ot 3 -f'O Oi ^ 'O CD '(^ CO 01 ^ oj -f — ' r^ c~. c: ci VI. 'O Ci -^ 'O CI CO r-- — — CD — r^ r^ — S P P^ CD CO C^ ' f^, C(5_ ' f^ K-:;^ c\ ' f^ 01 ' (^ Oi CO -1^ t - -i; CO_ CO CO — 'fO C0_O_CiO CI,Ci-Jl,0 CI — 'O C(q_X CI CC CI •<: c-1 cfco CO CO "<*' >c-'5 'O CO I-- ;o CO "(^ CO t^ c> «r -^ ic CO cs CO w CO « t^ o"o"o'xcr<3o=r— CO— <01COW3 01COCOCO^COCO-^-t<CO-fy. O'-O h-coococo — or-cococi-i-coo'O — — c-ci . CO "O r- — « -+< CO 'lO « CO ^ CO 01 ^ CO r- CO cr. I— OC>-fCO'OCOiO<OCOCOOCOCiCOCI — CicOCJ 5 2 71 -^ CO — CO "C CO r- t^ 'O 01 a> e 'O i'- S d^'-^-T-Toorof co^of *-o*-t<'crrcrco*'o oo'v^o co' , -i* CO 'O c^uot^ci i^-f CI coco — ' —• CO as 71 •» 'rt iC— cr^D"cr<o -t^oc^o" CO o:K"criCcrcro 7* , a D.^? 'O CO 'O CO ^ CO -f M '.0 OI^CO Tf CO -H 01 — "t."^— ^=1'^'=^'-^''^"^'^..'^''^— ►'A^-'t.'n.^l'^ 1 % ^ 3 c-r-j-~co •-r^"-jr:o -tT-^-cT'O cTc? rCc'of— '"O co CJCD'D-^-^h-CO- — -?0 — — CIf7t--f — '/3 3 P^ CC^— _0_CDO_0>,I^CO -J^l-^t-- Tf"_31^CS C^^.^i^. •'^ r- — cicoeo-3'co'ocii^— GOt^ -»'."v^ ws m V 1-^'^ C^' iN ci" CO' r-^ i-h" rt" Co" •^'" Co" cf S -f ^* ■^ Co' CO ift CO r-T — CJ r-7 (A >(j d CO -^ -- CO 05 CO ci CTs >c 71 CO I- c r-1 . CO CO — « '0 -^ — t ro CO CO 'O 10 -f -^ 'O -O -f -^ CO CI X CO 1- .-0 :o «io CO CO "O « -f CO f^ 'f5 m -f t^ CO — — CO X 'O — ' CO -^ lO -t"0 X ct CI > »JCC^7Q0I-'CI:^0^'OC0CO-t"f:>Cn — C50— "CICO Ci C(!^ 0_ C5. 1 0_ t^ CO -^^^ » -i^ 00, CJ. 0, — _ 0. — , CO 1 -- (U ^^ V ^ - V ^ " 1. V - ^ m. - - - ^ - " , « 1 d) CO -o CO --O i~- 01 -H ^ -o CO -t" CD 1^ CI -H .-:> , co" cT cD~i^cr 0" cs" -*■" '•'3 CO cf—'cfi^cT—'x i-T— r , ^ H a.CO CD I- 71 O.CD,Ci Tf^'O (^ 71 Cl_CO^Tr C1.0 71 cO o ( — CJ.o CO CO c^Cj.'C^t-^cc^'O^co o_-o 'O -« q_ci.ci | S3 1 ^ 3 cr-t'"TiH'"-o"cO cTtD -^"cf Co"?r t-- -.D'co'-r CO W r-i CO cTo -fl-COt^— CO-fOC00 7l — CO tO-l-' CJ pq QJOCOCO-^COCOl'-C'-t'-CiCi rT^i-^o^co^c;:-^-!- so ^^-^'^^ ^cq" ^r- ^ ^ d CI CI cfcf ^^^^.OO-CCOCO O^tjO — -3< »0 ^ CI Ci 71 >o n C5 ca CO -*" CO CI — ' -^ CO ^. X X — -^ 'O l^ 71 CO — CJ CO ^0 X 1 - ^ CO •< 04 .'ooxci-f"cocooc70'-'i--cTico<nt-~o ^ 't* t^ X .,0 — r-- CO — 1^ CO — c CI X r^ X CI r3 "^ H rt 2^CD'C-t*COO-:t-CO.-rr' tO C^ =:> -O Oi C7 ^ O 'O r-. c I — _ co_ :o_ tt-_ 0. x, — o_ - 0, co^ co, cd -r co_ f_ cq x. ^ Qj-^i-^cr»io-^-f"-^'o H^cf-c or— ---rT*.-;ro -^ , CO 10 '-D —■ CI — CO — CO -o'c r— — 7i X CO — "r- co" , ■^ CCO 71 'O X — 7^ CO 1^ C--- '-0 '/:: CI l^ Ct t^— _0 t^ CD ^-'t'^l'-^ — -'^=^_=l"^_'-t"v'-'^-^-.'^— .'^L-^'-'^.'-^ 1 C3 e 3 -O — "tCof CO -^cd o"t-r«"cc"tC-*rco — * CI COCrj iC o"cOt^o"o"ci"cOX"crcrcO CDCD — cot— — ^0 c 1 .^ Q^^rl ir->^r1 »-Hr-l— .--ir-.^.-.C4CIO ^ ,_«^,^ Mt-— CI CO r^-fOfi-^mcoi— CO — SO 1- — ** — cod-^o <7j -^ ..f r, -r — »o — t^ -»* CI CO — '.0 X -o -*• ^ . -t" -» t-- CO — CD 1- t^ r- CD 'f? Tj CO CO Ci 'C •- r-- — en CD CO (^ CO "O -i' -t" CO CJ -f — X 'O CV X 'O G rt ^ CI CD CJ_O0 COOOOi— — t^COOClClOCDCOt^CO «7CJ — coco — OiOCOCJ"Tt^Ot-t^OCIXr~ tD cf-Tio co''o'r-^oa~cD"r-rco"co"o"crcrcD'oc'"-f ■* cf , »C'Oco-»'"i^o*cf— "ci"rC'.c"cr-r"o"x~crc7''C co" , □ C-CD I^CICOOCDCOC^CCCI — — COI^-t'-fClCOrO CT- CD — C^ CI CD CJ 7-1 '.C CD t^ "O '-0 — CO CO [ O 3 — yj' _r -jT ^ 7-1" -^ go" -f^ ' 0^ CO -rT co" ^ --" -T CO 0" cT ^ CD CO CO o_c),ci,c: cj cd^i^>o Ci co^(— •^^l-;.^co_ CD <c" CD" -<* CO -*-" ' c r-T co" c-r x" x' 0' x" ■ c" i~^ ■ c' t-T 'a •fi CQ ^,_,^^l,_^ — COCJCICTt^COClCI-? 2 ^^^ ^^^ ^ .— ^^Cvf;^ i a> «0 GO CI — ' h- CO «C CO -^ Ci -H 'C CI CD GO CI CD CO to CI — CO CO CI CO CO CI -f CD 'C X -0 CO I-- ■a COt^O'—COCDO'OCir^'CC73-+l^-t'X)3:iO— ■ 'O CO Cj 'O -^ t- — !• 1- CI CO r^ I-- — c; CJ ?o CO c ■^ wO^mt^t^CO-^COOCSCDt-^CD — OCOCO en CO CI Ci X X CD -f X — ci.t-:,— t>;co_c5_o.c; — ■ '-c co c CO "7; a ^ -."oo'cT-f cD-cfcTic co"iCo -^To -o'yfco r-- -»- 00 . — r— ■-TrCrCtC^'f 7-1 X — ci cD — co -o ci"— cTco" A .^ rt ^ — cocio — 'Occc7t--Tfr^cot^^cj;x) 1—^0 CO CO c; CI Tf 71 to -o — ec o,x_'0.ci x_ci_— c. — t; 3 cD"co"eo"co -*r?c — ■GOo"-H"^ccocro"--''cr'o -r t-^ ' cro'-t""-^r-r'o»-o"x"to ^ 7|t.0— 'x — co"(C--D* ' ^ CI 1- 'O O^Cl GO-^l-^COaO^-OOO '17^ CO CI_'0 71 O CJ — CI CH-- X f — w^ci,to,o CO^CO CD CO — X — <; « tC— "co'— -."o CO co"co r- CD r-Tuo co co t^c^di':^ c. s ,_. ^ ,_ ,_, — t-l,-,,-,^,-,,-.,-.- — — — — — — — — — 01 s Ci 71 GO 1-^ CD t^ "7 r h -* Cti CD GO 01 Ci t-^ 10 CO I-- r- — CI X CJ r- CO CO '7 I - CI 'c CI .-Ht~-CDt^C0f-OO — COCOCOOCOCOI-->COCO t-* — C0XOC0C0CJXX71O — O7IXC0r-.X 1 a; t-.i 2 CO_ CO_ 00^ 0_ Tf'^ -Tti 0_ 0^ 0, Tf GO C7_ CO^ CO_ 01 0_ CD CO '^_^_— -"^-•-".^-'^::.'-^^"t.-l^-^.'-vt^*v^l^— ^ oco'-f'-fxr-t-^coot^-fcococicococ^r-^r-rt-^ — ~— ~t-^Cj'cO t— — *— X CO to rCl^ "O to X — lo'h^ 1 »-H C-GC CD_'--^rf'_^^— -^CiCO 0^^_0 CO l--_Ci.C5^0 CO GO 1 ^ "t-GO^— Ct^— _-r 0_CO.CJ, Ci CO_X, CD_tC 0^0 CO_ 1 = 3 rC—^o'cfco^-f^'cT'^'-f^r-ro"— 'i-Co'co'cfco"— 'co CO co" cf x" co"" ctj" 0" c' C7* Cj' -f' cd' —' 7 !" cT x" to" — -" x" I- O 2 p:j'-c__:o i-^oc t-^»c^-i^^5_ci_--^oc_co_-r GO oc t-^71 1-- CJ — CO X CI X -^<-i^-t.— _<^ x_co_x CI or-o »i o O „"^"^^^,_rcicrcfcacfcicfcrcrcf CO co"c^ '^"t-Tof cD~w^*o co'r-ci Ci X r- cTo'e'cro" o i OCDC1COOC1COCOC10»IC — >0-t<-ft--C:>'Ci-H OXCt- COCTJ — -*"COCO(--COi.Ch-COCO'>^'"*X ^ H ll -.-.O-HCOOOSCTi'-'r-.ClOCO-MCOOO'MOiOO cOtOOClCi — XX'-CXOCOOCOCJOCDX--« ^ ^ w 2 CI — . CD_ CO GO CO CD Tj._ |>- ^ CI ^ G0_ CI r-- |--Ct~-Cl'.Oi.OX-^COCN — -S-XCliCr-— xco :^ 7^-f«"»o*co'a^-1^co•c"cfco'-^.--^-t^'^^.-^c^c^^-^o , cTco'— 'co—"cj"c7*tCd'— CO cTco'x'cT— "ox" ao , s S •3 SP CLCi «0 00«.OOS-S*Ci^t^Clt-OOCl«t~-CDW7 I CO'CCCOCOCJ-rOOOOX — CO — CD — XI^ 1 J' ;5 acco"c7*"--*o~co-H~co'0 •*'''CtCofcr--'tCorcr«' irTrC— .0 ^"o'tocrcfco"— '0~— "x"cj"cf occ!"t-r Jj P^ !^ — GO CI 'C CI -f CO CO 0^ -^ -*■ I— liO -C r7 CI C) C_Ci.cn_CO^'0_Cl,C_— ,X_t-^Cl.CD_»0 CD^— 0_— — CO ^ •< o ci CO co' CO CO ^" CO 'c 10 CD t-T CD -0' »o t-C t-T 00" cT t-T co' co" -t"' --'* "^' to" b-T »C »c t-^ t-^ co' co' 1 0*" CO* r--' x' r^ -*" COOOCO-^-fCl-fCD— •^^CD^O'OCOCiCOCD^- xcococcooco — C7cocO'Ococ^O•T^7CJ•r' >> . 'O CO CD CI CI h- CI GO CD — ■— 00 t:~- — ' 1-- C? -r t ~ 'O cr CJ — 'O 'C CI C? — t— CI CI C^ t— ?7 -O CD -O -^ -f* vt u S G'^''C^CO^-^Cl_CO '0_C1^C0 CD^GO ■•1'^.--'__C5,^^t--_CO -*■ to cD^ i-o I-- cj_ cd_ to. >o_ '0_ CJ_ — _ t-c, x_ CJ_ -f_ t-^ t^ — t^ fr> ^ cd''-— "o"co i--»'co cf^o CI o"'-'"cr-*"'.c'"r^rCr-ro"cD' , cf t-T- '— 'cd"co x'crco'rdo'rCcfTcf — "co'o — — r , c rt a o cc/D o,t-^-^_'-'_cD^co r-;_t^— _c7^-f^--«_a:_o^o,'0 co co »Ot— CO — CiCOOCOtDCOCD— — ■cor— — CCOf 1 ^ 3 io'cO*tC~CC'"cC O^'O -1^0" C^^-^o"o-^'" -*"•-«''-*''" -"jT CO — "--"iC— co'io'— "x'-o'cfcTo't- co'cTo'cTo C^ t^— _^^Cft_C^0C_O GC_— _CD__t^O_t~^D^_^ ~__— _^to CI CI 0_'-^C1_'0_CJ.X^CO_^>C_CC — _— _X_CD__0_X_X^iO t- CO f^ — " cf cf ^" .-T r-T CO cf co" CO co" co" cf cf co" ^ '^ *-•* -#*" CO -i"' to" co' CO cf ■'t'' — "— " cd"'o'«c" —' — " t-o i.o*co t-^ r-^ OiOCDCO— •OCOCOtOr^O'-^ — — CD— .00 — Cl 'O -O X X X —• CD — I— 71 X CO Cj CI •" 71 Cl ■^e _• on r^ CO CI t— CI CO CO ■-' CO -* -f CI -- CO '.-' — I-- CJ X CJ T-. to CJ — <0 CI t^ CD CD CI -^ CD X CO rt S CI CI CI O^C^CO Cl^CO CD C^ — --ri-- CI r7 CO ofco"o'cr^ CO cTco — "craTcrTGc cD'o"o'QcrTjr'o , ci.:ocn^C7.t^cooq.ce — cicoo — cDcocof-lS I '^---'.2^-^-^-^.'^'^"' — . X — — cof-cj c'l i; X — I rt ^ r-TcTo T CO CD t^ GO "O -tr-.^"oc r-r-ro'cfo'-H' cocir^-iTCiCJ — — 00-f — — iC—'h-T— *■-'•'" a P^^O^tOCDCOCOl^COtOCO O_00 CO CI 00 00 X -^Cl^CJ Cl_0 Cl_CO_71.CD_-r_lCiCl_CJ_CI_'.7 :d — t--COiOOC1«0'iO — 0CCOCl'#«d-f-f — -iJ-X^iX) CDt-^OOtOX — — t--X — CJ — — CJI— XCDt- ►^ ■ O-— CO'OCl — iOO«7CIO^-CI— .-fjHO — co-?< COCO- CO— •Oto— 'ocnt— tocOr~-:0 x(-c; — __• »J CC O_0i,O,":i.w:_«C — » l^Ci,— -j-_to --^t^ t-- '^^ CJ_ — _ r^ CJ. C). CD x__ co_ o_ c;_ r^ CJ. '0_ '-T co_ ci_ t~^ 'O "to rt <U— CO CO CI — 'O I^Ci — ■ -f cTcD -* c7'o"--rr^r-J^CD . CI cf CO CO cf'Oco^--:?"^—— ^ CD co^xx'cTto cT 10 . ■<: bo Cl.Cl_O^CiCO^Cl — _0,C1_10_-^_CO_C1_CO — CD CO ib t--CO [ 3 cTr^orrcD^co -rfTc^'o"— ."r-^co"co'— -'rCio oo'^TiKcr rj*0'-ifT.'^cq^coi,cci_CJ''?'Cicicocococi — c^ Cit—XtO- OOCDCO — CJ'O — — xxr^cox 1 ?. Cj'c7'x"cD"cfocOCD*COCj'cf— 'co"co"^7'— 'cj'cfcO <=i'^^-'-^'^«lC:5.C5.CO X^X X_C)_CJ 0.— _Ci -- t^ (2 rH CS d d CO Tt* -* CO ■* 10 »0 »0 '^jT-sTiO cotC-qT M-vococococoooxr-ocjcj'cft-^cTo'ci'o'o" x'^StrCSSS:::^^'^*'^^^'^'^*^© — cico'^ «>ccor-.xcjo— •C]co-*<iocDr--xcrso — cic^-« at o-K«ccDr— GOcio»-'cico'?t'«ooi--GOc:iO — -!ico 5;cOWCOCOCO;rj.Tr<^;^;»«;f-f^^^».0'CJto%6iO ;::; "1 *"' "i 'r "i "i *i "i "i *« *r "i '1 *i 'i "1 "1 "r ~i "i — lOCOr-XCTJO — ClCO^»OCDt-XCJO — CJCO fH £^CO^OCOCOCO^O■T*•--•-+<^■-J^-*^-*"■— • -*•-"^o^.'>l.-■l,'^ «COOOQOCOCOOOGOaoCOOO«5COOOQOCOaO<^o6o^30 fcicocococococo-f — — — — -* — — — it 10 lOioS yXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXOOXXXJODOO 564 MARITIME PROGRESS OF CALCUTTA, MADRAS, AND BOMBAY. Numher and! onnage of all Vessels ei tered and cleared at the Ports in each Presidency — 1840 to 1 i52 :— Years. Entered. Cleaved. Tc tal. Years. Entered. Cleared. Total. Bexgal Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Bombay Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. 1840 686 234,808 689 233,300 1,375 408,108 1840 19,322 444,435 19,173 469,.301 38,495 913,736 18il 913 295,-596 882 279,688 1,795 575,284 1841 19,804 578,716 15,051 462,226 34,915 1,040,942 1842 655 231,672 726 263,436 1,380 495,108 1842 19,237 611,271 16,980 477,539 .36,217 1,088,810 1843 772 254,519 813 271,754 1,585 526,273 1843 20,629 527,626 19,201 689,836 39,730 1,117,462 1844 729 252,491 773 267,058 1,.502 519,549 1844 19,227 624,8.50 20,4851 674,206 39,712 1,099,056 1845 1,045 282,674 1,052 292,315 2,097 674,989 1845 17,274 494,469 19,856 089,969 37,130 1,184,438 184G 996 274,634 1,024 289,587 2,020 564,221 1846 18,143 5.30,011 14.610 430,929 32,753 960,940 1847 1,117 332,688 1,108 326,972 2,225 6-5»,660 1847 18,199 659,276 19,201 692,777 37,400 1,1.52,0.53 1848 862 308,347 845 301,157 1,707 609,604 1848 24,441 685,165 21,487 652,265 46,928 1,337,4.30 18 19 1,020 349,614 1,046 362,290 2,060 711,904 1849 29,714 804,193 28,981 779,241 58,695 1,5!53,434 1850 1,033 356,502 1,029 357,799 2,062 714,301 1850 32,126 804,956 33,130 829,873 65,256 1,634,829 1851 998 393,322 980 373,330 1,978 766,652 1851 36,706 867,514 37,694 893,005 74,400 1,760,519 1852 839 433,739 811 414,795 1,650 848,534 1862 42,241 907,447 42,218 908,328 84,459 1,815,775 Madras Totals 1840 5,879 371,644 6,727 427,872 12,606 799,516 1810 25,887 1,050,887 26,589 1,130,473 52,476 2,181,360 1841 6,271 368,924 6,781 432,474 13,052 801,398 1841 27,048 1,243,236 22,714 1,174,388 49,762 2,417,624 1842 6,016 400,728 6,476 441,803 12,492 842,536 1842 25,908 1,243,671 24,181 1,182,783 50,089 2,426,454 1843 5,680 375,375 6,790 479,046 12,370 854,421 1843 26,881 1,157,520 26,804 1,340,6.36 63,685 2,498,156 1844 6,181 430,295 7,292 490,588 13,473 920,883 1844 26,137 1,207,636 28,550 1,331,852 54,687 2,539,488 1845 6,495 456,854 7,818 533,564 14,313 990,418 1845 24,814 1,233,997 28,726 1,515,848 53,640 2,749,845 1846 6,168 475,038 7,405 534,935 13,573 1,009,973 1846 25,307 1,279,683 23,039 1,2.55,451 48,346 2,535,134 1847 5,868 448,712 6,531 486,316 12,399 935,028 1847 25,184 1,340,676 26,840 1,406,065 62,024 2,746,741 1848 5,711 441,891 7,108 528,781 12,819 970,672 1848 31,014 1,435,403 29,440 1,482,203 60,454 2,917,606 1849 6,876 439,807 7,693 649,573 13,569 989,380 1849 36,610 1,.593,614 37,720 1,691,104 74,330 3,284,718 1850 6,813 488,800 7,780 620,465 13,593 1,109,265 1850 38,972 1,650,258 41,939 1,808,137 80,911 3,468,395 1851 6,136 435,153 6,687 557,409 11,823 992,612 1851 42,840 1,695,989 45,361 1,823,794 88,201 3,519,783 1852 6,787 490,276 7,184 620,948 12,971 1,111,224 1852 48,867 1,831,462 60,213 1,944,071 99,080 3,775,533 Shipping entering these Ports between 1802 and 1835. Years. Calcutta. Madras. Bombay. Total. Vessels. Tons. Vessels. Tons. Vessels. Tons. Vessels. Tons. 1802-'3 620 1.50,154 1,476 149,571 105 49,022 2,101 348,748 180.3-'4 594 171,229 1,851 198,218 143 62,635 2,588 432,082 1811-'12 601 151,224 5,826 267,888 79 32,161 6,506 451,273 1812-'13 527 14S,Sfi0 6,691 410,894 139 64,953 7,3.57 614,653 1823--24 498 139,773 8,094 485,297 122 52,720 8,714 677,790 1824-'25 539 157,0.39 6,642 305,422 129 64.239 6,310 616,700 1830-'31 475 134,805 5,157 262,127 149 60,379 5,781 457,311 1831-'32 492 110,767 4,885 255,296 145 66,051 5,459 422,114 18.32-'33 478 r21,.544 4,826 256,344 165 71,929 6,469 449,827 1833-'34 830 183,471 6,031 318,417 170 69,803 6,031 571,691 lS34-'35 643 104,485 6,012 306,727 181 73,175 5,841 644,387 1835-'36 522 151,019 6,379 311,694 204 75,830 6,105 638,543 Number and Tonnage of f^essels of each Nation entered and cleared at Ports in British India, since 1850-'51. Entered. Nationality of Vessels. 1S.50-'51. 1851 -'52. 185: -'53. 1850-'51. lS61-'52. 1852-'53. Under — Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. Ves. Tons. British Colours . 1,861 682,762 1,778 683,179 1,789 722,035 2,339 764,254 2,202 726,807 2,277 820,707 American , . . 67 33,299 74 34,888 89 57,207 66 33,860 79 33,782 37 24,358 Arabian . . . 296 36,623 230 32,461 252 37,476 430 4.5,621 259 43,841 284 36,491 Austrian . . — . . — 1 522 1 425 — . — 1 506 — — Belgian . . . — _ — — 3 1,380 — — — — 3 1,380 Bhownugger — — — — — — — — 1 170 — — Bombay . . — — 121 6,691 164 7,632 — — 219 12,027 240 12,208 Bremen . . — — 6 2,846 4 1,165 — — 1 573 1 600 Burmese . . — — — . — — — — 1 220 Danish . . 4 1,328 2 1,070 6 2,274 4 1,171 1,338 4 2,071 Dutch . . 6 2,284 3 1,790 6 3,232 t 2,469 2 1,474 4 1,969 French . . 1.39 42,682 146 44,210 263 65,647 148 47,518 176 67,031 295 66,606 Hamburg . 5 1,668 9 4.179 3 875 3 886 4 1,489 6 2,681 Korwefjian , .^ 1 35C — — — Portuguese . 130 2,039 234 4,179 179 3,692 180 ,3,171 238 3,772 168 3,463 Russian . , 3 1,682 4 1,348 1 475 1 350 Sardinian . — — — 1 601 — — — — 1 604 Spanish . . 1 405 — 1 800 — — — — Swedish . . 6 1,.358 6 2,466 10 3,339 6 2,012 3 1,023 8 4.045 Turkisll . , — _ — 1 65C — — — — — Native . . 36,424 822,692 40,181 842,610 46,019 859,566 38,71C 893,076 42,122 905,824 46,821 919,722 Steamers . . 33 23,118 46 33,224 82 62,665 38 22,794 51 33,660 63 47,046 Total . . . 38,972 1,650,253 42,840 1,696,989 48.867 1,831,462 41,939 1.808,137 45.301 1,823,744 60,213 1,944.071 INDIAN BANKS— COINS, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 565 Anglo-Indiiin Arm y.— Total Number of Etirnpeant and Natives employed in all India,/ rom the Year 1800. Ycari. liuropcans Nntivcs. Total. Years Kuropcans. Natives. Total. Years. Europeans. Natives. Total. 1800 22,832 115,.300 138,1.32 1817 31,0.56 195,134 228,190 1834 32,310 15.5,550 187.806 1801 23,012 132,801 155,870 1818 32.161 211,079 243,240 18.35 30,822 152,938 183.700 1802 24,341 r22,50(! 140,.S17 1819 29,494 21.5,878 245,372 1836 32,733 153,300 180,039 1803 24,930 11.5,211 110,141 1820 28,045 228,050 257,295 1837 32,.502 154,029 186,531 1804 23,042 1.55,(;71 178,713 1821 28,9M 228,008 250,982 18.38 31/)26 153.780 185,300 1805 24,891 l(i7,(!74 192,505 1822 29,065 216,175 245,240 1839 31.132 176,008 207,140 180C. 20,4^1.5 1.50,421 182„SG0 1823 30,933 200,799 237,732 1840 35,604 199,839 235,443 1807 26,4G0 1(5.3,023 180,083 1824 30,585 212,842 243,427 1841 38,400 212,616 251,022 1808 29,798 151,120 180,918 1.825 30,423 246,125 270,548 1842 42,113 212,624 254,737 1809 31,387 1.54,117 185,504 1.826 30,872 200,273 291,145 1843 46,726 220,947 267,673 1810 31,9.52 157,202 189,214 1827 32,073 240,942 273,015 1844 40,240 216,-580 262,820 1811 34,479 100,005 201,144 1828 34,.557 224,471 259,028 1845 46,IU 240.310 280,121 1812 33,83,5 105,022 199,457 1829 35,786 207,662 213,448 1840 44,014 240,733 284,747 1813 34,171 105,900 200,07 1 1830 36,409 187,067 22.3,476 1847 41,323 247,473 291,796 1814 31,051 102,787 194,438 1831 .35,011 101,987 190,998 1848 44,270 220,891 205,161 181.5 31,011 195,572 227,183 1832 34,707 158,201 192,908 1849 47,893 229,130 277.02.? 1816 32,399 198,484 230,883 18.33 33,785 150,331 190,116 18.50 1851 49,280 49,408 228,448 240,121 277,728 289,529 East India Hanks.' Name. Date of Establish- ment. Capital. Notes in Specie in Bills under Subscribed. Paid up. Circulation. Coffers. Discount. Bank of Bengal .... 1809 £1,070,000 £1,070,000 1,714,771 851,964 12.5,2.51 „ of Marlras'' .... 1843 300,000 300,000 12.3,719 1,39,960 69,871 „ of Bombay' 1840 522,500 622,500 .571,089 240,073 19.5,836 Oriental Hank'' .... 1851' 1,215,000 1,21.5,000' 199,279« 1,146,529 2,918,.399 Agra and U. S. Bank''— head office, Calcutta . 18.33 700,000 700,000 — 74,362 — N. \V. Bank'— head ofRce, Calcutta 1844 220,.5flO 220,000 — — — London and F.astern Bank . 1854 250,000 — 325,000 — — Commercial Bank'— head office, Bombay .... J ncUii Bank'— head office, Delhi . 1845 1,000,000 450,000 — — — 1844 180.000 — — -~ .Simla Bank 1S44 — 63,850 — — — Dacca Bank 1840 30,000 — — — Mercantile Bank" — head officei Bombay .... Bank of Asia .... India, China, & Australian Bank — 500,000 328,826 777,156" 77,239 109,647 1853'-4 not commc need business yet. • The accounts of most of these banks are vngue and unsatisfactory, there is a niy.stilication which renders it ditiicult to ascertain their solvencv. s* Last dividend, 8 per ct-nt. " Last ilividend. 9 per cent d Lrist dividend. 10 per cent. "Corporation date of charter, 30lh nf Aiii,'iist, issi. f At 27th Sept., 1S55. s Bills of exchanpe and prnmissory notes not hearing interest. *• A lending hank : and from its accounts in June, 1855, I ffan dtiive no delinite view of its assets and liahiliiies. Braiiches.—A^Ta, Madras, Lahore, Canton, and London. ' Branches.— 'Bomhuv. Simla, Mussouri, Aura; and they draw on Delhi and Cawnpoor. k Apents in London. Calcutta, Canton, ami Slianphae. ' Aijents in London. Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. m linirichrf.— London, Calcutta, Colombo, Kandy, Canton, and Shanghae. Last dividend, 8 per cent. n Drafts and bills in circulation. CoMMF-Ri-iAL Tariff of Ixdia.— The chief provisions of the tarilT of 1855 may he thus stated: — British impor/i— Cotton and- silk piece (;nods and manufactures, woollens, marine stores, metals, porter, beer, ale, cider, and similar fermented liquors, and aU manufactured articles not named, 5; foreign imports of above, 10— per cent. Cotton thread, twist, and yam, British, 3| : foreign, ? — per cent. Bullion and coin, grain, coal, ice, horses and other animals, free. Books. British, free ; foreiiin. .1 per cent. Coffee, 7i per cent. Alum, camphor, c.issia, cloves, coral, nutmeg and mace, pepper, vermillion, and tea, 10 per cent. Spirits (London proof). 1 rupee 8 annas per imperial pallon; wine and liqueur. 1 rupee per imperial gallon. There are a few export duties: riz., indigo, 3 rupees per maund (about s21bs.): lac, 4 per cent.; silk wound, 3 .innas; silk, raw Olature. 3^ rupees per seer; sugar and rum to foreign ports, 3 per cent, j tobacco, 4 annas per maund. These duties refer to Bengal : there is little difference at Bombay and Madras, except in the export dues. With regard to salt, the duty on import into Bengal, is 2 rupees S annas per maund of SO tolas ; at Madras, 12 annas per maund; at Bombay, free; salt exported'from Bombay to Madras, pays J anna per maund; salt exported to Malabar, Cochin, and Travaneore, 1 anna per maund ; and it may be exported free to foreign or British ports not in Indiaor Ceylon. Salt exported to Bengal pays excise duty, hut receives credit for amount in adju'^tment of local duty. The shipper exporting salt lo M.idras has to give security for payment of full duty failing to produce certificate from place of import. All port -to-port trade throughout British India, except in the articles of salt and opium, w.is rendered free by Act 6 of 1848. and Act SO of 1854. Coins, Weigkts, and Measures. —B^-n^n/ Coint. — 2 double = 4 single pysa; 12 pie small = 1 anna; 16 annas =^ 1 rupee; 16 rupees = 1 gold moluir. When accounts are kept in sicca rupees, they use the imaginary pie of twelve to an anna. Small shells, called cowries, are also made use of for paying coolies, S:c.. which are reckoned as follows : viz., 4 cowries = 1 gunda ; 20 gundas = 1 pun ; 5 puns = 1 anna. These rates vary from time to time. Gold and Silver Wrights. — 4 punkhos or quarter grain = 1 gram or dhan : 4 dhans = 1 rutty; G 3-Sths rutty = 1 anna; 8 rutty = 2 massa: 100 rutty, or 121 massaor Ift anna = 1 tola or sicca rupees; 1061 rutty, or 13, 2S, 152 massa, or 1? annas = 1 gold mnhur. A gold mohur weighs "22 and nine-tenths troy weight, containing IS7.G51 fine goid and 17,051 alloy. A sicca rupee weighs 7. 11 and two-iliirds ditto, containing 175.928 fine silver and 15,99.1 alloy. Cloth Measure.— 3 corbe = 1 angualw; 3 angnal:? = 1 gheriah ; S gherries = 1 haut, or cubit, 18 inches; 2 haul= I guz or yard. Memorandum showing thk State and Prospects of Railways is India up to July, 1857.-3.648 miles of railwaj have been sanctioned, and are in course of construction, viz.:— Bv the East Indian Railway Company, from C.ilcutta to Delhi, with branches from Burdwan to Ranecgunge. and from Mirzapore to Juhbulpore, 1.400 miles, By the Madras Company, from Madras to the Western Coast at Reypore, 43ii miles ; and From Madras, via Cudd.^pah and Bellary. to meet a line from Bombay at oc near the river Krishtna, 310 miles. By the Great Indian Peninsula Company, from Bombay to Cillian 33 miles, with extensions. North East to Juhbulpore. to meet the line from Mirzapore, with a branch to Oomrawuitee and Xappoor, SiS miles; and South Kast, n'J Poop.ah and Sholaporc, to the Krishtna River, to meet the line from Madras, 357 miles. By the Sinde Company, from Kurrachee to n point on the Indus, at or near to Kotree, 120 miles; and By the Bombay, Baioda, and Central India Company, Uom Sural to Baroda and Ahmedabad, 160 miles. 4 D 566 LAND REVENUE OF EACH INDIAN PRESIDENCY. j» i 3 w 5 t^ ■ •'i^ V^M CO CO a o CO CO i 3 5 o ■^ V® OS o :z: eo ^ o c-l CO CO c-l »o CO >^ !n 03 -* 'O o" cd" CO i-d" ;;. S" 5 CD co" ^. w C-l_ o 2 O CO CO cf JM CO o CD <Zi c^ V*M CO o ■^ S5 >o II o" 2 cd" CO 'l CD g. o to g(^ cf 00 cd" g o C-l_ o o CO CO CI* CO CD CO V.„- cs -T< CJl CO t-- oo '-'^ 'O ss o CO' 1 Ci "5. o o oM lO" f-T co" cf •o^ «? Cl_ o o CO CO cf r-l CO t^ «c v,„- CO oo g as. s* s 1 CO oi CO -i o t^ CO '"' t— o Vim 'O o CD CO § I =5 S3 Oi-l CO C-i O 1-^ 1 2 a i>r -^ CO ^ > ' ^ — — * -^ --( to CO ■^ CD -^ CD --0 -^ l^ » 00 t— CO >0 (N CO r^ lo 'O CO o -J. — o •o U~l CO CO O :0 0_t^ CO Ci O "O^ '.■^_ t^. CO a>^ "t o o tT-*" CO *0 cT o" -^ "O cc' t^ ef ^^ cT o iC O -^ f-t ic CI "O CO CM CO cT oo ct 1-H T»< cf(0 52 CM co" ^l 1 CG OlO '-t o lO CO t-^ CO CO •^^ t:^_ CO cT CO C'S CO . — ' — . — ■ — ^ — ' — ^^ — ■ — , CO CO CO o 1-1 CO 00 o CO>C. CO >o •o CS --I CD c::^ CO-^-- CT. --t-OO CO Tf CO CO -^ O "O ■o ^ CT- CTi CS .-lOlCOCOIMCOiO-- o ^co C5 CO';:) ■^ -7^ CD t^ CO CI CO <>^c^ t-^ 1-. CO IC_ (>J^ O CO CO o^ CM »d — CD CC CO t^ ^l -t c:^^ CO ■+"■—' CO C-1 CC CO o CO ic"c-f cd" -i* CO co' CO cT rC cT 1 o ccT t-^ t^cf ci" cTor of CO o CO , "l >§. .-'_iO_'Ci C-l CO CD CM C<1 -t*- CO^C- O «o CD CO ■^ — •^C'l -i^ ci^ oo ==- C35 00 Co^'r^rjT CO co'io ctT ^CD^W "O i-T ctT a^i-^ 'ff'-jT cT -r^" OO CO CD CO o ■^ rj. C-l^iO >-» f-l o o» CD CO rH CM^ Oi CO •— ■"• CO i-T *-* c^ ,_. r^ lo CN .— < 02 t— CD COI^ I'O'-'-fOCO CO t^'f cote CO CO CO to r— iC 'O o CDGOOOOOCO-HCO t- vttiC-J 00 >0 CO Ol -« CS CO o o_ ^OC^I t^ GO_C)^i-i_COO ■-^'M_l-^ CM_ COO GO CO^CTJ^ C-1^ o t-^ «5, C-* <» r-.co^co. -ji" o" co' cT 'O* co' r-^ oT—T -iT h^ ^~»o "^ •d" cT — "^^ CD*" r-T -i^r "l ^_ OD CO CO w? C-J, 'O C^J^ *M_ CO^ CO^ CO CO CO co^co c-l CO oi ^^ ^l S ' o o co" c-l" -r^ t~^ CO r-T r-T -h' >fi cs'cm" c-r ^-Tir CD CO o CO o "^ -?< CO ^_ •"• cs l^ t-- c^ * • -m" CO *"■ ■"* CO ""■ ^ CO r- 1- 'O CO CO' CO ■-+< .-■?J(MCO_ CO "-** CO CO 'O C-J CO -H CDCC-*r-iCO— '-l^'M <7i CM O c^ CO ^ l~ CO o CO ■-J- o r— iM CiCO'COOO-fOCO C5 CD— < t-- CO CO c^ »o —1 lO d ol_ •^i--rcr O »0 CO Cf^Ci lO O 1"- >o_ f-T CO*" CO*"cD — * C^* CD*tC o" O 'C co"cd" •o CO o_ cd" co' J. 'O ^.^^i"^. CO <N CC CO,t- Tj. O ^ ^^ CM Ol o co ^-Cri o C5 t-T- "^- i 0^(-H co" t-TrH c^ O'crTrJ-'o" rH CM o CO id" >o >o CO o" TfT ' §;=i l^ CO CO ^cr- — i-« o CI t^ 00 CO CO ci CN r-T ci" lo ■»+* CO n O Cl_ VO rH_ -t* O r— CO ira CN CO o £?^ lO -^ 92 o o •M OC' CO -^ —.00 o CJ^i »C «o CD O o o CO O CO C/ I— CD O.CO t^ f CO t-- r~ c-f CO CO CO CO >io" to- CO 00 t-^ UOGO S?J O* CD p 1 to 5;"^ o CO^C^^-*" co i i M 1 1 11 1 iCi >o CM O c-t t~^ CO, ^- 1 CO ■— Tcf CO cfTii t^ id'id' o^ cT c-» o CO CO CO^ CO CO ■-' c-l c-l c-l •^ C^l c4" tM* O CT) '-' to CO CO ^ 'tH t-^io s:^ O CO ^1 o> o <M Tt< CD t^CM o o OS CO CO COOI^ ^^ 1 O i M 1 I I 1 t 1 -* CO 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Oi CO to O) r-T.-I' QO CD CO ' o" c-fof 'C If? CD CO "* ■"• •"^ cT rf m Ol [ft 'i Cj • cj O O) •"' o o o f^66 q; ^ Cjf-'OOODOOO 1- 1^ , 2t o U 0) 1 ^-3t;-3 • «■«■« . P 3 . . , -""^ddddddo ,' _ ; • 1 J 1. ■ . '^ O-^ r^ rd rS • ■ 2 •> 2 1 li •< • 3 : wH-i o CJ <y 0) ^-3 E'^ S.-^ 2,-^ S« B • ■ ; 1 • ; . (U o • O'TO'Sc'Sc'^C 65 • • a * rt " • 3 CjoOcjCajOc>0 s s . . s ^" 'd 1 . rt as 1 d ".J o H S fl ■^t ■ ■ ■ ^ ■ ^ ■ (So • • -I •§ • -« « /. ^. o H m 3 « s est o K "= 5 =3 '. c» S o ;-. 3 5 3 5 c = a £ t- 5; 1* 5 «)-§ «> o H . w i5 « K| Pt| CHAPTER VIII. THE LAND-TENURES OF lilUTISH INDIA.— ZRMINDAH, SETTLEMENTS. KYOTWAH, AND VILLAGE An important feature in the condition of ' British India still requires elucidation, before entering on the details of the fearful } strife wliich, conimenein>; iu the fortu of a partial and purely military mutiny, speedily [ assumed a more general and formidable cha- racter. The tenure of laud in India is a subject intimately connected with that of annexa- tion, and (if the question regarding the mode in which our subjects in Oude and other provinces, have been, and arc to be, dealt with. The defects and inequalities of the existing land-tenures have long becu viewed by the author as calculated to pre- vent the English government from taking deep root in the affection and confidence of their native subjects; so much so, that, in the spring of 1857, he framed a brief exposition of the leading facts of the ease, intending to publish it in the form of a pamphlet. While the proof-sheets were passing through the press, the tidings of the first outbreak of the mutiny reached England, and each mail brought intelligence more alarming than its predecessor. It was no time to discuss proprietary rights and landed tenures when fire and the sword were raging throughout India, and the publication of the pamphlet was abandoned; but now that the first tcrriiile excitement is over, these questions become more important than ever, because the in- quirj' into them is essential to the unravel- ling of the reasons of the partial disafl'eetiou of the people, and to the establishment of a policy better calculated to secure their allegiance for the future. There is no branch of political economy more deserving of attention than the relation in whieli man stauds to the soil from whence the elements of subsistence and other useful products arc derived. Hitherto the science, whoso elementary rules Adam Smith but partially defined, has been considered chiefly applicable to commerce ; but trade, or the bai'ter of commodities, is secondary in im- portance to production ; and the laws which regulate the application of labour and capital to land, constitute the most cirectivc basis of social organisation, and form a faithful index to the sources of wealth and physical coiulition of a nation. These re- marks have peculiar reference to IJritish India, where the wellbeing of about one hundred and fifty million jjcoplc, depends in great measure on the territorial laws under which they are governed. This subject has been a fertile theme for discussion during the last half century, though avowedly less with rcgaid to the con- dition of the vast Indian jjopulation under the supreme control of the sovereign of England, than by reason of its influence on the large amount required by the state, viz., about £17,000,000 per annum, out of a gross revenue of £30,000,000. j\Iany theories have been propounded, and some experiments tried, for the ame- lioration of a system confessedly defective, and even oppressive in operation; but in general, the first principles of justice and common sense have been neglected, or so overlaid with words, and encumbered with contradictory and pernicious conditions, that no permanent benefit has accrued therefrom. Hundreds of volumes of theories and speculations have been printed under the titles of" Landed Tenures" and " Reve- nue Systems;" while honest energy and precious time have been frittered away in profitless discussions, or in futile endea- vours to bring impracticable or injurious projects into beneficial operation. Unfortunately, English statesmen, per- plexed with controversies on the relative merits or demerits of the so-called Zemin- dar, Ryotwar, and Villaye revenue set- tlements, and confused with Oriental no- menclature, seem tempted to abandon iu despair, as a problem too difficult for them to solve, the adjudication of a question simple in principle, and unembarrassed by details — How may a government tax be levied on land with the least detriment to the proprietor or cultivator ? xVnd the ad- ministrative authorities, fearful of a dimi- nution of annual income, and often urgently pressed for more revenue, have been un- j willing to consider the matter on broad prin- ciples, dreading to jeopardise theu' power I of arbitrarily assessing the tillers of the 568 AMOUNT OF LAND-TAX IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. soil — a power which has been exercised in accordance with the temporary exigencies of the governors, rather than with the means of the governed. It is true that the volu- minous despatches of the Court of Directors have teemed with injunctions to their ser- vants in India to be moderate in assess- ment, to avoid oppressing the people, and to encourage agriculture;* but all such orders, however well intended, were little better than nugatory, so long as the pecu- niary requirements or demands of the state were unconditional and unsettled ; and must remain so, at least to any satisfactory extent, until the fee-simple of the land be vested in a proprietary class, and the annual taxation levied bear a just and uniform proportion to the cost of cultivation, the necessities of the cultivator, and the means of laying by yearly a clear though small profit, to accumulate as capital in the hands of the landowners. Until this be done, we shall have, as at present, a nation of peasants, not a prosperous community of various grades and occupations. The allegation that revenue derived from land is not a tax, scarcely needs refutation. No state can stand with its subjects in the relatioii of landlord and tenants, either in sympathy, in pecuniary matters, or in general copartnery of interest. Whatever share the government takes of the gross or net produce, be it little or much, is an abstraction from capital, and a tax on the industry and skill of the farmer. The gov- ernment might as well assume the rights of a AoM*e-lord, as those of a latid-lord, and levy a tax on habitations. In the case of India, it is manifestly impossible for a few European functionaries to superintend the operations of several thousand small — minutely small — farmers ; or prevent the systematic tyranny and injustice of subor- dinate (native) officials — evils which the British government have the strongest possible interest to eradicate as one of the worst legacies of Moslem misrule. In Asia, as in Europe, land, at an early period, constituted the main source of public revenue ; the amount of taxation varied in different countries, according to the number and wealth of the population, • l^x r/r., Letter of 13th August, 1851, which oc- cupies lilty printed folio pages. t Lib. r.i, c. 2. \ S(m; Essay oti Money, by John Taylor, Esq., 2nd ed., p. 12. and their power of resisting oppression; but, generally speaking, the proportion of the gross or net produce claimed by the state, did not exceed the Egyptian fifth de- vised by Joseph. We read in Genesis, that, in anticipation of famine, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, at the suggestion of the inspired Hebrew, stored in granaries one- fifth of the total produce; and before the seven years of dearth passed, the cultiva- tors parted with everything — cattle, silver, and land — for food. Pharaoh gave back the land on condition of the cultivators paying one-fifth of the produce in per- petuity. The Romans, on their occupation of Egypt, found this tax still existing ; and it remains, probably, to the present day. The land-tax varied in different countries. Among the Jews, Greeks, Romans, and ancient Persians, it was one-tenth ; in Sicily, the Romans levied one-tenth, and Cicero indignantly protested against the " infamous Verres" taking more. Accord- ing to Livy,t Spain was taxed at one-twen- tieth. The Greek authorities, previous to the time of Solon, took a sixth of the yield from the owner of the soil. J In England, the land-tax, calculated on a very moderate valuation of estates by the government of William III. (a.d. 1692), ranged from \s. to 4s. in the pound sterling. France had its "rent fonciere" fixed at one-fifth of the net produce, and this was generally complained of as too high ; Tus- cany, one-fifth of the net rent ; Venetian tei-ritories, one-tenth the rent; Milanese, £8 18*. per cent, on valuation, or I*. Qd. in the pound ; Parma, 9d. per acre ; Bologna, 2d. per acre ; Persia (government share), one-tenth ; Bokhara, one-fourth ; China, one-tenth, but assessed so moderately as not to exceed one-thirtieth of the ordinary produce; Java, one-fifth; Birmah, one- tenth ; Cochin China, one-sixth. In Ceylon, during the twelfth century, on arable lands, one-tenth ; high grounds, free. Whoever were the first colonizers of India, they probably settled in village com- munities, and introduced, for the further- ance of those measures of general utility and protection which are the primary ob- jects of all legitimate government, munici- pal taxation on the chief commodity they possessed — land. Scanty as are the records of ancient India, which even the indefatigable re- searches of modern scholars have disen- tombed, they arc decisive on the point of PROPRIETOUiillii' OF LAND IN INDIA— b.c. 880. 569 the actual proprictor.sliii) of tlic laud being vested iu the people ; tliouf^li it was iu)uii- nally attributed, in pul)lie docuiueuts, either to tlie iinniediate superior of the addressiuf^ parties, or to tlieir king; who, whatever the extent of his territory, or nature of his power, appears to have been cqunlly styled, iu the maguiloqneuce of Eastern hyperbole, Lord of the Eartli, Sea, and Sky. The most ancient, and least controverted, authority on tiiis matter, is found iu the famous Instilules of Menu. Orientalists have ascribed to this code at least as early a date as the ninth century before Christ (880 B.C.), and they regard it as alTordiu^ a true and graphic picture of the state of society at that period, before the torture of witnesses or criminals was sanctioned by law, or widow-burning and infanticide crept into custom, with other horrible and de- filing practices of modern Brahminism.* The Insiitutes set forth, as a simple matter of fact, that cultivated land is " the property of him who cuts away the wood, or who first clears and tills it." The state is declared entitled to demand a twelfth, an eighth, or a si.\th part " of grain from the land, according to the difference of the soil, and the labour necessary to cultivate it." Tliis refers to times of peace ; but " a military king, who takes even a fourth part of the crops of his realm at a period of urgent necessity, as of war or invasion, and protects his people, commits no sin. Serv- ing-men, artisans, and mechauics, must assist by their labour (twelve days per annum), but at no time pay taxes." One of the ancient commentators (for there were several) declares, that " the king who takes more is infamous iu this world, and con- signed to Nareka (the infernal regions) iu the ne.\t." And it appears to have been pretty generally the case, that Hindoo sovereigns received from their subjects, during peace, one-sixth, and during war one-fourth, of the produce of their fields. Some took nmch less thau this. For instance, iu the mountainous region of Coorg (an ancient Hindoo principality, which, until very recently, retained its in- dependence), the tax demanded by the native government was only a tenth. t But under all Hindoo governments, individual • See ante, p. 14. t Wilks, vol. i., p. HI. I Wilks' 6'o((i;/i of India, vol. i., p. 111. § Ibid., vol. i., p" 19G. I| Asiatic liiscarchcs, vol. i., p. Vli. ^ See ante, pp. SI and 179. proprietors of land appear to have uniformly possessed a "dominion so far absolute as to exclude all claims, exee|)tiug those of tlic community who protected it ;"% the in- fallible criterion being, that it was saleable, mortgageable, and in every respect a trans- ferable commodity, where the laws of hereditary tenure were not concerned. The law seems to have been regarded aa incontestable, that " lie who has the tribute from the laiul, lias no property iu the land ;" nor could the state or sovereign, iu any ease, be the heir to the landed pro- perty of its subjects. Personal effects might fall to, or be seized by the king; but according to the Hindoo law, land could "only escheat to the township,"^ excepting iu tlic little state of Tatijore. Mortgages, deeds of sale, and free grants for religious and charitable purposes, as well as to private persons, exist, of various dates, iu many Indian languages. One of the oldest and most curious of these title- deeds, engraved on copper, bearing date BC. 23, is minutely described aud trans- lated by Dr. Wilkius, iu the opening volume of the Asiatic Researches.\\ The Greek accounts of the invasion of the Punjab by Alexander the Great (b.c. 333), tend to prove the people of Western India to have then possessed an acknow- ledged proprietary right in the soil ; in common phraseology, the land belonged to the people — the tax to the king. When the Mohammedans invaded, aiul gradually subjected, the majority of the states which previously existed in India, they were ostensibly guided in their deal- ings with the subjugated people by the rule of the Koran, wliich holds forth, iu such cases, conversion, with the dismal alterua- tives of death or confiscation of property. But the Moslem rule was spread over the greater part of India more by intrigue, and constant ititerference in the quarrels of the native princes, than by any concerted and systematic scheme of conquest ; aud, with the exception of a few great battles (espe- cially those on the plains of Paniput, in Northern India^), their usurpations were very gradual, and were rather the contests of a powerful sovereign against petty neigh- bouring [irinces, whose territories he de- sired to absorb, thau the deadly struggle of creed aud race, of Mohammedan against Hiudoo. Had utter confiscation of pro- perty, and total annihilation of all terri- torial rights, beeu the habitual, or even 570 TAXATION UNDER HINDOO AND MOSLEM RULERS. the frequent practice of Mohammedan sove- reigns, it is evident tliat the Hindoo chiefs who swelled their ranks, and the Hindoo financiers wlio invariably levied their reve- nues, and were entrusted with the manage- ment of their treasuries, would have of necessity acted a different, and according to European notions, a more patriotic part. General Briggs, wlio has bestowed much study on the subject, declares that no Mohammedan prince claimed the ownership of the soil. It must, however, be admitted, that the despotism exercised, neutralised the territorial rights of proprietors, and was a source of cruel oppression. Thus Alla-u-Deen, who reigned at Delhi from 1294 to 1315 a.d., spread misery and desolation among his subjects, both Mus- sulman and Hindoo, by his insane and ferocious avarice. We are told that, a.d. 1300, he " ordered a tax of half the real annual produce of the lands, to be raised over all the empire, and to be regularly transmitted to the exchequer." " The far- mers were confined to a certain proportion of land, and to an appointed number of servants and oxen to cultivate the same. No grazier was permitted to have above a certain number of cows, sheep, and goats, and a tax was paid out of them to the gov- ernment. He seized upon the wealth, and confiscated the estates, of Mussulmans and Hindoos, without distinction, and by this means accumulated an immense treasure."* On the establishment of the famous dynasty of the Great Moguls by Baber in 1526, some attention was paid to a regular territorial assessment ; but it was not till the reign of Akber, the grandson of Baber, and son of the fugitive and long-exiled monarch, Humayun, that effective measures were adopted for the systematic assessment of the revenues, and especially for the com- mutation of produce into money ; a very delicate and difficult measure in a country like India, which, throughout its vast ex- tent, is remarkable for the extraordinary variations in the quantity and in the value of its annual produce. Akber, who reigned from 1550 to 1005 (cotemporary with l^lizabcth of England), has been held up as the model of Indian * Fcrislita's li^in(?oos<«ii, translated by Dow, vol. i., pp. 291-2. t Rickards, vol. i., p. 31G. t Gladwin's Translation of the Ayccn Akhery, vol. i., 2-1 5— 278. § Kickards, vol. i., p. 19. II Stewart's Jkiii/al, pp. 166 — 176. financiers, chiefly on the strength of the records of his measures and opinions con- tained in the Atjeen Akbenj, the famous \ work of his gifted and confidential minister, the ill-fated Abul Fazil. Tlie tone of the writer is too much that of indiscriminate panegyric for the facts related by him not to be open to suspicion ; but even on his evi- dence, the revenue system adopted by Akber, though full of intricacies and impracticable classifications, is, as Rickardsf and others have clearly shown, founded on computa- tions based on the produce of the soil. Evidence that the ordinary assessment of Hindoo sovereigns did not exceed one-sixth of the produce, is given in the Aijeen Akbery itself f Among other instances to this effect may be cited that of the king of Cashmere, one of whose earliest acts of power (a.d. 1326) was the confirmation of the ancient land-tax, which amounted to 17 per cent., or about one-sixth of the total produce. Akber appears to have exacted first a fifth, and afterwards a third of the produce of his territories ; or, if commuted into money, a fourth of the net income. The attempts to enforce these latter de- mands are said to have "endangered the stability of the imperial throne. "§ One of Akber's most active instruments, Mozuffer Khan, then governor of Bengal and Bahar, was besieged by the oppressed landowners in the fort of Tondah, compelled to sur- render, and then put to death. Rajah Todar Mul (the famous Hindoo financier, whose mode of collecting the revenue in the silver coin called Tunkha, gave its name to the "Tunkha system") was appointed to succeed Rajah Khan ; but he failed in sub- duing the insurrection, and was super- seded. || Anrungzebe (a.d. 1658 to 1707), the most powerful, and, until blinded by ambi- tion and bigotry, the most astute of the Great Moguls, was successful in his career of aggrandisement up to the period when his subjects became worn-out and well-nigh ruined by the excessive taxation needed to meet the exigencies of the immense armies occupied during a long series of years — under the simultaneous command of the emperor himself, his sons, and at length his grandsons — in Central and Southern India. It was probably as much to supply a failing treasury, as from a more fanatical motive, that Anrungzebe imposed the hated Jczia, or capitation-tax, on infidels, which so heavily 1 weighed down the whole Hindoo popula- TYRANNICAL ASSESSMENT BY HYDER ALI IN MYSOOR. 571 tion ; but let tlic cause have been what it would, liis unjust and oppressive exactions strcuj^tliencd the arms of those (l(;adly fucs whom the (lcs])isc(l Hindoo, "the ^Nfountaiu Rat" Sivajec, had formed into a nation, despite the efforts of the miglity man of war, wJio eventually, in extreme old age, but still in possession of marvellous physical and mental power, was well-nigh hunted to death by the j\Iahrattas.* After his decease the huge empire fell rapidly to ruins ; and, tlirougliout its pro- vinces, Mogul and ]\Ialiratta delegates vied in exacting triljute from the wretched cul- tivators, sometimes on their master's ac- count, sometimes on their own. It would, of course, be folly to look for precedents in a state of society in which no general rule prevailed beyond — " The simple plan ; That they shall take who have the power, And they shall keep who can." Comparatively happy were those districts in which some eliicf or governor contrived to maintain his own real or assumed rights, and protected his people against all oppres- sion but his own. It was at this time that so many of the nominal servants of the weak and short-lived Mogid emperors con- trived gradually to make themselves inde- pendent sovereigns, playing, however, fast and loose with their nominal master, for fear of the Mahrattas, and further kept in check by frequent strife with their neigh- bours and their subjects. The English East India Compatiy now began to assume the position of a territorial power. The service rendered by a pa- triotic medical officer, named Hamilton, to the emperor Feroksheer, in 171G,t secured the mttch-coveted imperial firmaun, or war- rant, to become landowners in Bengal, by the purchase of thirty-eight villages from private proprietors.:]; This purchase in fee-simple formed the nucleus of the Calcutta pre- sidency. The only considerable state which, con- temporaneously with the East India Com- pany, could boast any continuance of a strong or even settled government, was the ancient Hindoo kingdom of ^[ysoor, over which the Mohammedan adventurer, Hyder Ali, by mingled force and fraud, obtained undisputed sovereignty. One of his early acts of power is said to have been to decree • See a7}te, p. 153. t Idem, p. 210. J Stewart's Ilent/a/, p. 399. § Wilks' South of India, vol. i., pp. 155 — 21S. tlic appropriation of the profits of the land ia the following proportions: — Cultivator, 5^; pr()[)rietor, Ih; government, :{ = ]0. According to ('olonel Wilks, H\'der ex- acted a full third of the whole produce, instead of the ancient rate of assessment, which had not exceeded a sixth : and the same authority states, that the usurper's entire system of " government was a series of exi)eriments how much Ik; could extort from the farmer without diminishing cidti- vation."§ In the records of his administra- tion, abtmdant facts for warning may be found ; but few, indeed, worthy the imitation of Christian rulers, excepting his energetic and discriminating measures for the execu- I tion of public works, especially for the pur- i poses of traffic and the irrigation of the land. We are imperfectly informed as to the i period when, or the extent to which, the ' JMohammedans broke down the ancient Hindoo Village system of petty municipali- i tics, under whose regulations the revenue, assessed on separate communities, was de- livered over to the state through the inter- I vention of a headman chosen by the vil- j lagers, the government officers not being I brought in contact with the cultivators. ' In many places, officers, called by the vague and general name of zemindars, were ap- pointed by the ]Moguls ; and these " mid- dlemen" either farmed the revenues some- what after the old French system, or re- ceived grants of territory, on condition of making certain pavments in the ibrm of peishciis/i, or tribute, or of reudering stipu- lated services to the state. When the zemindars or talookdars — as they were called in Bengal and Baliar ; or polygars, as they were termed in Southern India — were | introduced, the Village system underwent considerable change by reason of a superior proprietorship being set up by the govern- ment officers, who exacted tlie claims, and exercised the rights, of feudal barons ; and the ryots, or cultivators, paid each their pro- portion of the produce, or its money equiva- lent, direct to the zemindars or polygars; but the system was too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people to be entirely eradi- cated. It still exists, more or less per- fectly, over large districts ; and its pecu- liar features are in tlie main invariable, I though the names and even duties of the functionaries employed dift'er accord- ing to language and local circumstances. Each village forms a distinct society, and its affairs constitute the chief concern of 572 THE ANCIENT VILLAGE SYSTEM OP INDIA. the individuals residing witliin its limits. As tlie revenue is furnished to the state (or, it may be, to a zemindar, or to a talookdar or feudal chief, as in Oude and N. W. India) by all in relative proportions, each man is interested in the industry and prosperity of his neighbour. By an equal apportion- ment, taxation falls fairly on the whole; by a division of duties, general advantage is j obtained : instead of all going to market, one man is deputed to proceed thither, and the rest to attend to the crops or other special duty : the little corporation ap- points its mayor or chief (Potail) ; there is also the registrar (Putwarree), the clerk and accountant, and surveyor [Bullaee) ; the policeman [Choivkeedar) , the minister [Pursaee), and the schoolmastw of the parish ; the carpenter, blacksmith, barber, washerman, &c.; the tracer [Puggee), hun- ter or wild beast destroyer (Byadhee); — and each receives a stipulated portion of the produce ; some of which is set aside to maintain the hospitalities of the village. The Potail is the medium between the officers of government and the villagers : he collects their dues, enforces payment by snch means as are sanctioned by usage ; in some instances rents the whole of his vil- lage from government. Whether this be the case or not, the Potail, besides a tract of rent-free land — varying from 10 to 200 beegahs (a beegah is about one-third of an acre), according to the size and population of the village — receives certain established fees, and also dues, generally in kind, such as from tvio to eight seers (a seer is about 21b.), from each beegah, of grain cultiva- tion, and a share of the sugar and other produce. The Potails generallj' maintain a respectable position ; though not exempt from much occasional bickering, jealousy, charges of favouritism, and corruption, such as are common to all small communities. The Putwarree, or village registrar, does not always hold his office by hereditary right : he is sometimes elected ; sometimes a government servant ; but enjoys rent-free land and dues under the Potail, who recom- mends to the office when it is vacant by death or from malversation : there arc, however, many instances of ■■ ery old heredi- tary tenures. The Bullaee, Bullawa, or Dher, ought to know every inhabitant of the village and his possessions; the landmarks, bounda- ries, tanks, and the traditions respecting them, arc expected to be within his cog- nizance, as his presence and evidence are essential in all landed disputes. When travellers pass, he is their guide to the pre- cincts of the village, and is responsible for their safety and for that of merchandise in its transit : in this and other matters he is the representative of the Potail, for whom he acts as spy, messenger, and newsmonger. The Pursaee, or priest, is also the village astrologer, and, with the aid of some old books, professes to announce good or bad seasons, fixes the hour for putting the seed corn into the ground, and is consulted on divers occult matters. He is, however, generally poor, and not held in much esteem, and is supported by a few beegahs of rent-free land, and by petty fees for offi- ciating at marriages, births, naming of chil- dren, and funerals. The Chowkeedar watches over the lives and property of the villagers ; and in some places, as in Guzerat, is assisted by a detec- tive police, named Pugyees [pug meaning foot), who trace the flight of thieves or murderers from one village to another, by their respective footprints, with extraordi- nary sagacity. The Byadhee, or hunter, fills an hereditary office for the destruction of wild beasts, in villages surrounded by uncultivated tracts, where tigers, elephants, and other animals abound. Sir John Malcolm observes, that in most parts of Central India the Potail held what was deemed an hereditary office, with a de- fined quantity of land in the village rent- free : he says, these men, in many cases, can support their claim to the rights and lands they enjoy, for eight, nine, or ten generations.* Grant Dutf furnishes much forcible evidence to the same effect, espe- cially with regard to the Mahrattas. " The greatest Mahratta commanders, or their principal Brahmin agents, were eager to possess their native village ; but .although vested with the control, they were proud to acknowledge themselves of the family of the PatcU [Potail], or Koolkurnee ; and if heirs to a Miras field, t they would sooner have lost wealth and rank than been dis- possessed of such wutun or inheritance. Yet, on obtaining the absolute sovereignty, they never assumed an authority in the interior village concerns beyond the rights and privileges acquired by birth or pur- • Central India, vol. ii., p. 14. t Dcnotini; a Held lielil by liereditary or proprie- tary tuMure, as distinct from tliat of un Oopree, or iiieru Icnuiil at will. VILLAGE REPUBLICS OR MUNICIPALITIES IN INDIA. 573 chase, according to the iuvariable rules of the country."* Sir Thomas Muuro, in a report dated 15th of May, 1800, says—" Every vilhif;e is a little republic witli the Potail at the head of it, and India a mass of such republics. The inhabitants, durinj; war, look eliiclly to their own Potail. They give themselves no trouble about the breaking up and division of kingdoms ; while the village remains entire, they care not to what power it is transferred. Wherever it goes, the internal management remains unaltered. The Po- tail is still the collector, magistrate, and liead farmer." Lord Metcalfe ol)serves — " Village com- munities are little republics, having every- thing they want withiu themselves, and almost independent of any foreign rela- tions. They seem to last where nothing else lasts. Dynasty after dynasty tumbles down, revolution succeeds revolution, Hin- doo, Patau, Mogul, Mahratta, Sikh, Eng- lish, all are masters in turn ; but the vil- lage communities remain the same. This (inion of village communities, each one forming a separate state in itself, has, I conceive, contributed more than any other to the preservation of the people of India throughout all the revolutions and changes which tliey have suffered, and is in a high degree conducive to their happiness, and to the enjoyment of a great portion of freedom and independence." The natale solum principle is very strong among the Hindoos, and they resemble, in this respect, their alleged Scythie or Celtic ancestors. During the ravages of the Piu- darrees, numerous villages in the Ncrbudda districts had been laid waste, and were tenantless for more than thirty years ; but the Potails, and other hereditary village officers, though scattered, and residing many hundred miles from their native homes, maintained a constant communica- tion with each other, strengthened their links of attachment by intermarriage, and kept alive the hope of restoration to the home of their youth. When tranquillity was restored, they flocked to the ruined villages, bearing sometimes the infant Potails (second or third in descent from the expelled) at their head, amid songs and rejoicings; the roofless houses were soon reoccupied by the former proprietors, or their heirs ; each field was taken possession of without disptite by the rightful owner; - History of the Mtihrattus, vol. !., p. 46 1. 4 K and, in a few days, everything was settled as if the internal relations of the community had never been disturbed. f Rightly to understand the full bearings of the <iuestion, the circumstances must ije understood which led to the formation of what is vaguely termed the Zemindar System in Bengal and Bahar. — When the E. I. Company suc- ceeded the usurping servants of the Great Mogul in the possession of these provinces, the Village system had ceased to exist ; the land was parcelled out among Moslem tax- gatherers, who plundered the people, hin- dered tillage, and annihilated the proprietary rights of stnall cultivators : these, in many cases, fled from the oppressors, who forced them to cultivate, not for themselves, but for the state. The very extent of the evil deterred the representatives of the Com- pany from grap|)liug with it; and they all temporised and theorised until the appoint- ment of a governor-general, whose inde- pendence of position and character enabled him to form sounder opinions regarding the great interests committed to his charge, and gave him courage to act upon them. Lord Cornwallis did not, as Warren Hast- ings said his predecessors had done, regard the highest seat in the council-chamber as "a nest to hatch fortunes in," Neither did he consider the exaction of the largest possible immediate revenue as an advantage to be procured at any cost. He saw a crisis was at hand, and that some decided measure was needed to avert it : ruin seemed approaching from many quarters; there was no capital — no fixity of tenure; the annual and capricious assessments involved endless detail and general con- fusion, wath the iuvariable consequence — wrong, injustice, and plunder to the pea- santry. Hopeless of disentangling so complex a subject, the governor-general cut the Gor- diau knot by resolving on the elevation of a landed proprietary to an independent posi- tion. He was told that no persons of this class remained : he answered that it was necessary, then, to create them. The materials which he chose for the formation of territorial gentry, consisted of the official functionaries, whether Mohammedan or Hin- doo, employed under the ^logul government, in connection with the land revenues. In Bengal these officials were termed zemindars; but, as has been stated, they existed under I f Malcolm's Central India, vol. ii., p. 21. 574 ZEMINDAR SYSTEM ESTABLISHED IN BENGAL— 1792-'3. other names in various parts of India. Their elevation to the rauic of proprietors, as an iutermediate class between the government and the actual cultivators, was certainly not based on any inherent claim, for centuries of ]\Iohammedan exactions had nearly obliterated all individual title to property in the soil : but the measure was one of sound policy, and has contributed to the stability of British dominion by benefitinpj a large portion of the popula- tion of India.* lu accordance Avith the views of the governor-general, the lauds of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, were divided into estates of various dimensions, and vested hereditarily in the zemindars; the produce was divided into fifths ; and it was estimated that, after deducting the expenses of cultivation, two-fifths would be left to the cultivator, and the remainder would consti- tute the rent of the estate : of this, ten- elevenths were taken as tax by government, and one-eleventh went to the; zemindar. Mr. Rickards says, that if the rent were 60 per cent, of the produce, the share of the zemindar would be 5^ per cent.f The assessment was ordered, by the Court of Directors, to be equal to the average collection of a certain period ; it was fixed at this rate for ten years, and then declared to be permanent,! the government pledging itself never to exact any higher land-tax from the territories thus settled : but no remissions were to be made; in bad or good seasons, the same amount of tax was to be paid — one year must balance another; and government was freed from all pecu- niary liability for public works available for irrigation, maintaining the banks of rivers, &c. It was therefore an excellent bargain for the state. Such a project could not have succeeded if waste or uncultivated lands had not been attached to each estate, on which no future tax was to be levied, and unless the proprietors had been left perfectly free to grow any description of produce, without having to pay an enhanced revenue on every acre redeemed from waste, as was the ca^e under the Mogul rule. Moreover, the collection of the revenue was much sim])lified and facilitated for the government: if the zemindar failed in his yearly obligations, the f^uropcan collector I'cceivcd power to proceed against him for • Malcolm, wiiting in 1S02, expatiates on the happy operation of Lord Coi-iuvallis's system of re- venue and judicature on the condition of the people, and on its tendency " to fix upon the fiiniest basis the British government in India, by securing the at- the recovery of his stipulated tax, by sum- mary process; and in default of payment, not only was the estate liable to confisca- tion and sale by the government, but the zemindar was subject to imprisonment, and forfeiture of any property he might possess. Oir tlie other hand, the zemindar could only proceed against his teuants or ryots (to whom lie might sub-let the land) by a regular, expensive, and tedious process, in the zillah or local court, presided over by an European judge, in the dis- trict wherein the estate was situated. In IZQ^, the law agaiust the zemindar was modified by the abolition of the power of imprisonment, but the government assumed the right to confiscate and sell the estate immediately, if the tax were not paid each month. The country was then only partially recovering from centuries of desolating rule and repeated famines : it had been drained of specie by Moslem conquerors, Mahratta plunderers, and European tax-gatherers ; the price of grain was low, the interest of money exorbitant ; and there was little or no foreign demand for agricultural produce: added to this, the waste lands attached to each zeraindarree or estate, were so ill-defined, that litigation soon commenced, and added to the expense of the proprietors. Many ze- mindars found themselves unable to comply with the stringent terms under which they became landlords, and the Gazette abounded with notices for the sale of confiscated es- tates. Several ancient families were ruined; and in about fifteen years, few of the original zemindars, with whom the permaneut set- tlement had been made, retained their properties ; which were sold and resold to native merchants and others, who brought capital into productive employment. But the misfortunes of the original proprietors cannot be charged on the plan itself, tlie result of which is shown in the experience of half a century. No famines have occurred ; other sources of revenue have been created; land has become a saleable commodity worth ten years' purchase, which it is not in any other part of India; and an influ- ential class arc bound, by the tie of self- interest, to siijjport the British government, which guarantees them tranquil possession of their paternal acres. tachment of their subjects." — Kaye's Life of Sir John 31alcnlm, i., IVG. t Filtli Heport, jip. 13—29. I See " lieiigal Government llcgulationn ;" Xos. 2— H, and 44, of 179;). RYOTWAR TENURE IN MADRAS. 675 The countries under tlic poimancnt settle- ment in tiie Bengal prcsidciiey, comprise an area of li!),7S2 .sfinarc miles, iind include the whole of 15i'iif;al, 15ahiir, IJcnares,* and Orissa (Oiittack cxceijtcd), with a jxtpulation of about 40,()()(),()()(). The auiiu;il revenue from this fixed huul-tax is about ii3,500,000, or about 21 jjence per head.f The s\'stem now in force under the Madras presidency, known by the name of THK Ryotwaii Tknuue, nuiUcs each petty holder responsible to government for the ))ayment of the tax levied on the produce of liis field or plot of land ; there is no common or joint responsibility, as iu the Village plan, and no landlord or government middleman, as under the Moslem ride. When the liast India Company first became interested in the afl'airs of the Carnatic, the Ilyotwar system was in general operation, under zemindars or polygars, and continued so until 17G9, when boards or councils were established by the East India Comjiany, and the lands placed under the supervision of stipendiaries employed for the manage- ment of llic revenue. In 1789, the receipts of the zemindars with whom a fixed settle- ment was made were estimated, and they were required to pay one-third of their rental to government; the country was divided into sections called mooltahs, and the tenures sold by public auction, lu 17U9, Lord Mornington (afterwards Marquis AVel- lesley), desired to introduce the permanent settlement which had been adopted in Bengal; but the project of Colonel Read, which required the ryot to rent land direct from government under a fluctuating and arbitrary assessment, and which practically discouraged the cultivation of waste lauds, found favour with the home authorities; and out of twenty collcctoratcs under the pre- sidency of I\radras, seventecu are managed under this disastrous and desi)otic system. % Colonel (afterwards Sir Thomas) IMnnro was entrusted, in 1803-'(5-'7, with the forma- tion of the Ryotwar system at j\Iadras : he laid down the monstrous principle that half ' Tliis ])roviiico was " permanently settled'' by Mr. Jonathan ])uncan (subsequently governor of Bombay), nnder instructions from the Marquis Cornwallis, in 1795. t A parliamentary return, in 1827, estimates the land-tax in Bengal at I'i., Madras, 52, and Bombay. 60 pence per head annually. A recent statement makes the land-tax of Bengal (permanent settlement) on ninety-seven million acres, about 5 annas = 7s pence per acre; assuming a cultivated area of thirty-two million acres — 21 pence per acre : the total atsess- the produce, or at least 45 per cent., was to be th(! government sjiare : this he arbitrarily converted into money; but on what data has never been ascertained, nor is it ex- plained in any of his rc])orts. Up to 18r>2, as declared by the Madrns Nalire Associa- tion, no fixed system of commutation on various kinds of land ha,s been adopted : different modes are practised, not onlv in different districts, but even iu sub-divisions of the same district. The assessment was soon found to be exorbitant : in Dindegul and in other places, the demand of government was discovered to be beyond the resources of the people; tidded to which, a great fall iu the price of grain necessitated the ryot to part with 70 per cent, of his produce, to pay the money-tax required by government. Under IMunro'a plan, the umbrageous mango-tree was taxed, as well as the land beneath it : the poor farmers in many places, unable to pay the double tax, cut down these useful trees; their absence caused drought, and famines ensjied, by which thousands of humaa beings perished. In 1808, the evils of the field Ryotwar system became so unbearable, that the Madras authorities tried the partial intro- duction of the A'illage system, first for a triennial, and subseiiuentiy for a decennial jieriod. The average collcetion from the lands having been computed, thej' were rented out to contractors, lunf the highest bidders accepted. On this })lan, all duties, or responsibilities as alleged landlords or sovereign proprietors of the soil, were aban- doned ; the sole idea was the obtainment of a given sum of money for three years, lieed- less of the condition of the cultivators, who were farmed out with less consideration than would attend the letting of a gang of negro slaves to a contractor. It was soon ascertained that such a project could not succeed ; and then the vilhiges were assessed at a fixed sum for ten years, the waste as well as the arable land being given over to each community, aud a distinct settlement ment at Madras for the entire area — culturable, cul- tivated, and barren — is 10 pence; but on the land actually cultivated, it is -12 pence. I A correct survey (which is an indispensable preliminary to the just and successful operation of the Kyotnar settlement) has not been made of the cultivated lands : the measurements are of the rudest description ; and a separate valuation of the fields of every petty farmer is manifestly impos- sible. — (Petition from Madras Native Association, 1852.) 576 RUINOUS EFFECTS OF THE RYOTWAR SYSTEM. made with each collective body of ryots, or with the heads of a village. In 1818, the home authorities determined to send out Sir T. Munro as governor, to re-enforce the Ryotwar plan, under some modifications, such as a reduction of assess- ment, varying from 12 to 25 per cent., where found most exorbitant, with remissions of taxation on failure of crops. — Several parts of the plan were undoubtedly marked by benevolence, and read well on paper; but in general, they were either imprac- ticable, or depended so much on indiiddual judgment and energy, as to afford little prospect of extensive utility. As a whole, the system proved very expensive to the state ; full of intricate and harassing details for collectors, it abounded in motives for falsehood on the part of the ryots, and in opportunities for chicanery and malversation by the native subordinates ; while it ne- cessarily proved a complete barrier to the growth of an independent landed proprie- tary. The latter was, indeed, a main feature in Munro's project : he openly asserted that the best security for our prolonged and quiet rule, was to keep the cultivators in the con- dition of vassals or serfs to government :* and he speaks of short leases as necessary to prevent the growth of a spirit of inde- pendence, which would be dangerous to British authority. The practical working of the Ryotwarree is too truly conveyed in the following hypothesis, suggested by Mr. FuUarton, a member of the Madras government : — " Imagine the whole landed interest — that is, all the landlords of Great Britain, and even the capital farmers, at once swept away from off the face of the earth ; imagine a rent fixed on every field in the kingdom, seldom under, generally above, its means of payment ; imagine the land so rented, lotted out to the villagers according to the number of their cattle and ploughs, to the extent of forty or fifty acres each. Imagine the revenue rated as above, leviable through the agency of one hundred thousand revenue officers, collected or re- mitted at their discretion, according to their idea of the occupant's means of paying, whether from the produce of his land or his separate property ; and, in order to encou- rage every man to act as a spy on his neigh- bour, and report his means of paying, that he may eventually save himself from extra demand, imagine all the cultivators of a village liable at all times to a separate de- • Glcig's Life cif Munro, vol. ii., p. 108. mand, in order to make up for the failure of one or more individuals of the parish. Imagine collectors to every county acting under the orders of a board, on the avowed principle of destroying all temptation to labour, by a general equalisation of assess- ment; seizing and sending back runaways to each other ; — and lastly, imagine the col- lector the sole magistrate, or justice of the peace of the county, through the medium and instrumentality of whom alone, any criminal complaint of personal grievance suffered by the subject can reach the supe- rior courts. Imagine, at the same time, every subordinate officer, employed in the collection of the land revenue, to be apolice office); vested with the power to fine, confine, put in the stocks, and fioff any inhabitant within his range, on any charge, without oath of the accuser, or sworn recorded evi- dence in the case." The annual exaction by government of the last shilling from the small cultivators, is similar in effect to taking the honey every night out of a hive ; when a rainy day arrives, the bees make no food, and they perish : thus has it been under the Ryotwar system at Madras, where not one- fifth of the land fit for tillage is under cul- tivation. During the last half century, several million people have perished from famine and its concomitant, pestilence : thus was it in Ireland when the potato crop failed, and so must it be wherever the population are reduced to the lowest scale of diet compatible with the prolongation of existence, and devoid of resources where- with to supply a temporary exigency. The collection of the land-tax from some thousands of miserably poor peasants, living from hand to mouth, has led to another enormous evil, by engendering a systematic plan of cruelty on the part of the native officials. The European collector is ex- pected to realise annually a certain amount for the government, otherwise he will be deemed negligent, and stand little chance of favour or promotion : on the other hand, if he can screw out of the ryots a larger sum than his predecessor — the means un- scrutinised — his name stands high at Ma- dras. He tells his native subordinates that so many rupees must be obtained, and leaves them to manage how : the iehsildm; knowing that torture is a part of the Moslem system, and that it was recognised under the Mogul rule, not only for com- pelling suspected persons to criminate them- TORTURE EMPLOYED IN THE COLLECTION OF THE REVENUE. 577 selves or others, but also to enforce the payment of the money cl.aimcd ,is due to tlio state (the non-|)ayniciit of which is (loomed a crime of f^rcat magnitude), and finding torture the easiest and most effec- tual mode of ])rocnriiig the money reriuircd by his immediate superior (the European collector), he resorts to its use in every form ; the most usual at Madras being — (1), tying tiie neck and feet together, placing a heavy stone on the back, and compelling the sufl'crer to remain in a stooping position, exposed to a tropical sun, until he satisfies tlie demands of the tehsildar; or falls — it may be, dies — from cxliaustion : (2), fastening in a cocoa-nut shell, over the navel, the pool-lay insect, or ■worms, which cause exquisite torture: (3), twisting women's breasts : (4), putting chil- lies and other hot peppers into the eyes, and into the most sensitive parts of both sexes : (5), thorns driven nnder the nails : (6), surrounding the person with red ants, whose sting is maddening : (7), tying coir ropes to the muscles of the thighs and arms, and then pouring water on the ropes to produce gradual and extreme tension : (8), application of the kittie — two sticks (like a lemon-squeezer), between which the fingers are jammed and squashed : (9), flogging : (10), standing upon one leg in mud or in water, with a large log of wood on the head, muler a burning sun. Such are some of the distressing revelations of the Madras Torture Commission in 1854. The European collectors, generally, allege their ignorance that torture was used for the collection of the revenue, although they acknowledge its application for police pur- poses. But admitting the truth of the de- nial, they are then placed on the other horn of the dilemma — that is, gross igno- rance of the condition of the people com- mitted to their charge : otherwise, they must have discovered the means adopted to squeeze ten rupees out of a man who had only five. The Torture commissioners, in 1854, re- mark, that the infliction of physical pain, in connection with the collection of the reve- nue, is quite unknown in Malabar and Canara ; and the reason assigned corrobo- rates the above remarks, which were written previous to a knowledge of the following significant fact : — In those districts " the land-tax is generally light, the people are flourishing ; the assessment easily, and even cheerfully paid — the struggle more often being, who shall be allowed, than who sliall be made, to pay the government dues; land has acquired a saleal)le value, and allotments of wsiste arc eagerly contended for." If anything could 0|)en the eyes of those who uphold the Kyotwar system at Madras, these torture revelations ought to do so. The late Mr. Sullivan, member of council at Madras, declared to the author, that when he saw the cartloads of silver leaving his cutchcrry (treasury) for Madras, and remembered the poverty of the jjcople from whom it was collected, he shuddered at the thought of their prospect during the en- suing year, as the demands of the govern- ment were inexorable, and a certain amount of money must be forthcoming. The mere lowering of the assessment or tax, though not an cfl"ectual remedy, is a great boon. Mr. John Bruce Norton, of the Madras bar, in his valuable letter to the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, on the state of Madras, referring to the heaviness of the assessment in his presidency, says, that the land belonging to the French at Pondi- cherry, is assessed at four pagodas ; while English land, " of precisely the same quality," pays 1\ pagodas: and "in Feb- ruary, 1852, the wise French government reduced its land-tax 33 per cent., as well as abolished all its petits droits." It is not, therefore, surprising that the land is there all occupied, while millions of acres lie waste in the English territories at Madras. Mr. Norton has fully exposed the evils of the Ryotwarree, and shown, independently of the duration of the tenure (whether an- nual, leasehold, or permanent), how heavily it presses on an agricultural people. He says, that in Bengal, where the land is ex- ceedingly rich, the tax averages one shilling per acre on the whole cultivated area ; in the North-West Provinces, the average on 22,340,824 acres of cultivated land, paying assessment direct to government, is about 2s. od.; in the Dcccan it varies from less than 1*., at Poonah, to 1.9. 9rf. for the famous black cotton soil at Darwar ; the very highest being let at less than 3s. per acre. In contrast, Madras, on 14,000,000 acres, wet and dry cultivation, shows an average of 5*. per acre ; 2,500,000 acres, 10s. per acre. The results are thus summed up : — " A people impoverished and de- graded ; irrigation neglected ; land un- saleable ; good land thrown out of cultiva- tion from its enormous assessment ; mil- 578 BRITISH GOVERNMENT NO PROPRIETARY RIGHT IN THE SOIL. lions of acres lyiug waste ; the revenue not improving."* Theoretically, the home authorities con- curred witli the sound policy laid down by the Marquis Wellesley :— " It can never be desirable that the government itself should act as the proprietor of land, and should collect the rents from the immediate culti- vators of the soil." In a despatch to Ben- gal, dated January 6, 1815, the Court of Directors say—" We do not wish to revive the doctrine of the sovereign of India being proprietor of the soil, either de facto or de jure." Practically, this doctrine was re- vived, and is still enforced, except under the permanent settlement of Bengal. The granting of leases in the North-West Pro- vinces, is an assumption of proprietorship ; the assessment of land in Madras from year to year — in other words, the decreeing the amount of rent or tax to be paid — is the prerogative of the landlord ; and, with regard to Bombay, Mr. A. Mackay has shown that "the fee-simple has no exis- tence : there are, in fact, no fees-simple ex- cept the monster and all-devouring one of the government, and the faint reflections of it which are found in the hands of owners of alienated lands : but no cultivator has, in reality, any permanent indefeasible tenure of the soil."t The Anglo-Indian government loses by the Ryotwar system. For twenty-four years — viz., from 1820 to 1813 inclusive, during which it has been in general opera- tion throughout a large part of the J^Iadras territories — no increase of revenue has ac- crued to the state under the Ryotwar system ; and, it may be inferred, no ex- tended cultivation or improvement taken place in the condition of the country. The Ryotwarree is an expensive system in various ways — in the charges of collec- tion, in the very large stall" of ollicials required to supervise minute details and hold one auotiier in check, and in the lieavy disbursements for irrigation, keeping in repair tanks, &c. ; whereof no small proportion goes to the enrichment of public servants, instead of being used in fostering agriculture. The charges for irrigation and tank repairs, from 180r,-'6 to 1843-'4, are stated at 24,300,000 rupees. Sir G. R. Clerk, tiie late experienced governor of Bombay, and present perma- nent secretary of the Board of Control, • Letter, &c., pp. 100—101. t Keport on Wentern India, 1S53, p. 87. in his evidence before parliament (5th April, 1853), speaks forcibly of the Ryot- warree : — " Of many systems, it is the most objectionable ; * * -f: it certainly does not work well either for the government or the natives; they are as we foimd them, still paupers; there is nothing between them and the government ; they have no head landholders over them to acquire capital : in case of any sudden visitation, such as damage to a village by a hail-storm, a famine, or disease among the people or their cattle, there is nobody to support them, or to prop up a falling village : they have no inducement to amass capital ; in fact they cannot ; it is not to be obtained upon these small jjieces of ground : they live from hand to mouth." North-West Provinces. — Over the large extent of India comprised under this designation, and including Agra, Delhi, and other valuable territorial divisions, there is happily no Ryotwar settlement. During the latter period of Mogul rule, the Dooab, or region lying between the Ganges and Jumna, as well as other tracts, were greatly impoverished : the Village system was al- most annihilated by bauds of predatory horsemen who dashed at everything ; and not many years ago, lions prowled up to the very gates of Delhi. The peace secured by British rule has caused a reclamation of waste lands; and the construction of the noble Ganges canal, for irrigating the Dooab, has materially aided in the exten- sion of cultivation. In part of these provinces, where the assessment was onerous and uncertain, especially in the Delhi district, there have been severe famines, as those of 1834 and 1838. On the 22nd of September, 1841, the author of this work moved, in the Court of Proprietors, at the East India House, a scries of resolutions: \\z. — "1. That the ]5ritisli government is neither de facto nor de jure the proprietor of the soil of Britisii India. 2. That periodical assessments on the produce of the land, at the sole will oi the government, defeat the jiroprictarv rights of tlie occupiers and cultivators of the soil, and, by preventing tlie hereditary possession and transmission of landed pro- perty, diminish its value, deteriorate the revenue of the state, inipoTcrish the people, and render the government of India un- stable and insecure. 3. That the occupiers and cultivators of the soil of British India LONCr LEASES CHANTED IN THE NORTH-WEST PROVINCES. 570 are entitled to obtain from the British gov- eriiraenta fixed iisscssmcnt and a f^uarantoe of liereditary occupancy, unmolested by arbitrary demands and periodical claims, either by annual or more extended leases." In reply to tlu; aif^uments urged ia su[)- port of these resolutions, the mover was asked to suspend any further discussion, and the government woxdd grant leases of thirty years' duration; and it was inquired, if this measure would satisfy his views ou the subject? He replied, that long leases were a great improvement on annual assessments; but notliini; would be so good as granting the fee-simple to the people. Government then adopted the long leases; and to this important step iu the right direction, England owes the ])reserva- tion of many of her sons and daughters iu the North-West Provinces. A writer in the Times of the 23rd of July, 1857, re- ferring to the flight from the massacre at Delhi to Mcerut, of several officers and their families, says — " The\' were, however, neither murdered nor, as it would appear, personally maltreated, although there was ample opportunity fur both during their wanderings, especially after they had been robbed of their arms. With the exception of the Goojurs, who are hereditary marauders, the zemindars have behaved well to us, which is a great encouragement to good government ; for there cannot be a doubt that it is mainly owing to the thirty years' settlement, which has secured them against the uuhmited exactions of the old revenxic system." The plan adopted is thus described iu the "Directions for Revenue Oflieers," issued by the late Licnt. -governor Thomason. " First. All the inhabited part of the country is divided into portions with fixed boundaries, called mehals or estates; ou each mchal a sum is assessed for the term of twenty or thirty years, calculated so as to leave a fair surplus profit over and above the net produce of the land ; and for the punctual payment of that sum the land is held to be perpetually hypothecated to the government. " Secondly. It is determined who are the person or persons entitled to receive this surplus profit. The right thus determined is dechircd to be heritable and transferable, and the persons entitled to it are considered the proprietors of the land, from whom tiie engagements for the annual payment of the sum assessed by the government on the mehal are taken. " Thirdly. All the proprietors of a mehal arc, severally and jointly, responsible iu their persons and property for the payment of the sum assessed by the government ou the mchal. When there are more proijric- tors than one, it is determined according to what rule the}' shall share the jirolits, or make good the losses on the estate. If the proprietors ai'C numerous, engagements are only taken from a iow of the body, who, on their own parts, and as repre- sentatives of the rest, undertake to manage the mehal, and to jjay the sum assessed upon it. " The rate of assessment was in the first instance limited to two-thirds of the net produce of each mehal or estate ; but, ou the revision which is about to take place on the expiration of the thirty years which formed the first term of settlement, it has been determined to restrict the demand of the state to one-half of the average net assets."* A " permanent settlement" was promised to these provinces at the commencement of the present century; the land-tax was screwed U[) to the hij^hest pitch, iu order that it might then be "fixed for ever;" but good faith was broken with the people by " orders from home," and the promise has never been redeemed. A parliamentary paper (Xo. 181), issued in return to an order of the House of Commons, dated 26th ^lareh, 1858, gives some insight into the results produced by our "revenue system" in the North-West Provinces; including, among others, the districts of Barcilly, Shahjehanpoor, Fur- ruckabad, Scharanporc, &c. It is acknow- ledged in the official "Narrative of the Pro- ceedings of the Government," dated Agra, 18th July, 181'2, that "the assessment of a fair and moderate revenue ou the land might be so combined with an ascertain- ment of private rights, and the constitution of the village communities, that such records might Ik; framed, such principles fixed, and sucii sanitary ])rocesscs put iu action, a* w ould cwrect the evils which had eaten like a canker iuto the very vitals of landed pro- perty and agricultural prosperity." In sub- sequent passages of the same document, the violation of proprietary rights is thus ad- mitted : — I " Tlie proceedings in the resumption department, ' his Honourt observed, had in these, as in the Lower • Pail. Papers, Xo. 112; 22iid June. 18j7. t The Lieut.-governor of the N.AV. Provinces. 580 PROPRIETARY RIGHTS VIOLATED IN THE N. W. PROVINCES. Provinces, been marked at the outset by a hard and harsh dealing with individual rights, gradually but reluctantly yielding to the tempering influence of the orders which, from time to time, have issued from superior authorities, especially the Honourable Court. The settlement officer swept up without inquiry every patch of unregistered rent-free land, even those under ten beegahs, exempted by a sub- sequent order, and which did not come out before five-sixths of the tenures had been resumed. In one district, that of Furruckabad, the obligations of a treaty and the direct orders of government were but lightly dealt with ; and in all, a total disregard was evinced for the acts even of such men as Warren Hastings and Lord Lake. * • • "The rajah of Mynpoory, whose predecessor had received the highest acknowledgments from the British government for his unshaken loyalty, when the district was overrun by Holkar's army in the year 1804, was, without a reference to government, under construction put on the right of a talookdar, deprived entirely, he and his successore in perpetuity, of all power of interference in 116 of 158 villages included in his talooka, which had descended to him in regular succession, before the introduction of the British rule. * • • " In Alighur, Teekum Sing, the rajah of Moor- saun, had his talooka curtailed by the severance of 138 of the 216 villages which it contained. The village proprietors, with whom the settlement was made to the exclusion of the rajah, proved in many instances unequal to meet the obligation they had incurred. • • • " His Honour, in his remarks on the policy of thus roughly handling these tenures, whence all that remains of an aristocracy in the land derives its support, observed, that there is a striking inconsis- tency in the imposition of eighteen per cent, on villages severed from a talooka as a compensation to the talookdai. If that personage has not a title, such as it is found impossible entirely to reject, why saddle the land with this cess on his account; and if he has a title, ought it not to rest with some more impartial authority to set it aside, than a zealous settlement officer, bent upon the realisation of schemes to which those very talookas are a serious obstacle ? " The demarcation of the component portions of every village, and the recording of the several rights comprised therein, is what is technically called the ' khusreh' survey. It is a necessary preliminary to a settlement that had better, perhaps, been kept separate from the scientific survey. The khusrehs done in connection with that operation have many of them been found inaccurate, and have had to be entirely revised by the settlement oflTicers. " To keep up a record of the circumstances of every field, there must be a constant interference of the executive in the affairs of every village, or, it may be said, of every villager, which would be irksome to any people, and will prove intolerable to the natives of India. Already has it been found necessary in many quarters to get rid of the old putwarrees, and emi)loy in their stead more efficient accountants ; but even with these, an almost un- attainable vigilance will be required to pre\'ent the progressive illa]ise of error and confusion. " In conclusion, the Lieutenant-governor observes, that it is a fearful experiment, that of trying to govern without the aid of any intermediate agency of indigenous growth, yet it is what the measures now in progress have a direct tendency to bring about. In a short time all may stand on a new basis; the village watchman and the village ac- countant may be persons in the direct service of that government, of which the village proprietor may appear but the nominee, while every trace of su- perior existing rank will disappear under the three- fold agency of the parcelling of talooks, the resump- tion laws, and that late act, regarding sales, by which the government has placed a restriction on the exercise of its own prerogative of mercy. " Far ahead, as in movements like the present, the real objects often are of the avowed, there are yet many who candidly admit the fall of what may still be called the aristocracy and gentry of the country, to be a not improbable consequence of the system now pursuing, but who look forward with confidence to the regeneration that is to spring from this decay. "Such spe'tulations may be safely indulged in by individuals, but it is not for a government thus to seek to escape from the practical duty of endea- vouring, in giving content to the people at large, to avoid giving disgust to particular classes, or of pre- venting property from being dealt with in disregard of the remark of a profound politician, ' that a rnan will sooner forgive the death of his father than the loss of his inheritance.' " It is in this respect that the settlement appears most open to exception : assuming the absolute correctness of its own principles, and acting upon these with a speed that ill accorded with its ju- dicial character, it too often refused to pause to weigh the various merits of any claim tnat pre- sented an obstacle to the high-pressure pace of its progress. " It was impossible that those employed should not have their minds somewhat tinged by the colour of the work they were engaged in ; and it may not be a mistaken belief that a disposition to look upon men (natives) as mere units of the mass about which alone it is becoming to feel any interest, has of late grown very prevalent among the junior portion of the civil service. " Conducted upon somewhat arbitrary principles, the settlement has not encouraged much indepen- dence of mind among its agents; and the uniformity that pervades all the reports which his Honour as yet has perused, is very remarkable in the productions of a service whose most prominent characteristic used to be a free and fearless expression of opinion on the part even of its youngest members." It is not surprising, that the proviuces where this system was pursued, are the chief seats of tlie present revolt. In Central India, under the Mahratta government, leases were granted for long periods, some extending to even seventy years, which, says Malcolm, "gave the renter an interest in the improvement of the country beyond what he can have un- der a short lease. The respect for some renters has been so great, tliat large dis- tricts have been, tliroughout the most troubled jicriods, rented to their families." It was the usage of tlic just Princess of Indore, Ahalya Bye, to grant long leases ; and many districts, " to this system owe their prosperity."* In confirmation of its value, it may be remarked that, in the regions thus situated, the inhabitants were exempted from famine, except, as in 1803-' t, when tiie desohitinf? incursions of myriads of armed horsemen trod down all cultivation, and prevented the tillage of the soil. Bombay. — There is no " permanent set- tlement" — in fact, no defined revenue system, in the territories under the adminis- tration of this presidency: in sonic places there is a settlement, with villages ; in others, with individual chiefs; or there is a Ryotwar modification ; but no proprietary right has been conceded ; the fee-simple in the land does not exist. The result is im- perfect cultivation, extensive wastes, much poverty, and comparatively small exportable produce. Some years since, when discuss- ing tlie snbjcct in the Court of Proprietors, the author found that the assessment in Guzerat was equal to 7s. 6d. a beegah = 22s. 8rf. per acre. Since then the govern- ment have found it necessary to reduce the amount. Punjab. — Under Seik administration, the government assessment of the land varied from two-fifths to one-third of the gross produce ; the exaction was less in the distant and imperfectly conquered terri- tories : in the peculiarly rich lands round Peshiiwur, the " government share never exceeded one-third, and usually averaged one-fourth or one-fifth, and fell even lower — down to one-eighth of the crop,"t paid in kind. In 1847 the revenue was thus collected : — From kirdars (answering, pro- bably, to the word zemindars), 2,549,873 rupees ; from heads of villages, 1,823,556 ; by division and appraisement of crop, among coparcenary communities, 8,944,658 ^ 13,318,087 rupees. In addition, there were various other imposts^extra cesses, capitation-taxes, village artisans' fines, graz- ing taxes, and custom duties innumerable. Since we became possessed of the country, the land revenue has been reduced in amount, but collected in money. Owing to a great fall in prices, too high an assess- ment, and want of fixity of tenure, there lias been considerable distress among the cultivators ; and the report on the state of the Punjab, up to 1850, is the least favourable section of that important and generally satisfactory document. • Malcolm's Political India, vol. ii., p. 41. t Ollioial Report on the Punjab, l.S50-'ol, p. 5G. 4 F Wc could not take a more effective step for the security of British power at these gates of India, than by announcing to the people that the laud is theirs in jiorpetuity, subject to a reasonable tax. If this were done, the Seiks and Scindians would guard warily against the ajiproach of ilussia or any other power that might attempt to molest the rulers who guaranteed them in the secure possession of their homesteads ; and with a brave and hardy population, enjoying for the first time the advantage of just and merciful rule, Kngland might bid defiance to all external aggression via the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, Herat, or Cen- tral Asia ; secured by a better bulwark than even the sandy wastes and barely traversable mountains which skirt our northern and western frontiers. The exact pecuniary burthen imposed by the land-tax of India cannot be defined : the pressure on the cultivator depends on various circumstances — such as perpetuity or uncertainty of tenure ; quantity of waste land available to the farmer ; richness or poorness of soil ; density and prosperity of population, or the reverse ; proximity or remoteness from remunerative markets ; good or bad roads, or water carriage ; means of irrigation ; and, above all, the quantity of money in circulation (of which there is a lamentable deficiency), which materially influences the range of high or low prices for produce. A parliamentary return, in 1827, shows the following re- sults : — Bengal. Madras. Bombay. Pop. per sq. mile — number . 244 77 76 Land-tax per sq. mile — pence . 23 17 19 Ditto per liead annually — pence 22 52 60 Accurate conclusions cannot be drawn from this statement. Viewed according to area, it appears that Bengal, under a pro- prietary system, pays more to the state, per square mile, than Madras or Bombay under a fluctuating and uncertain tenure. Pros- perity, by causing an augmentation of population, spreads the assessment over a larger mass, and Hghtens the burthen. But although Bombay and Madras nomi- nally contribute twice and three times as much per head as Bengal, yet the frequent recurrence of famines, the constant neces- sity for remissions, and the expenses which a landlord who grants no leases is bound in justice to bear, reduces the amount, and renders the regular payment of the lesser sum — cheaply collected, and without draw- 582 LAND SHOULD BE GRANTED IN FEE-SIMPLE. backs — a much more reliable revenue to government.* Au iujurious land revenue system has so completely impoverished the presidencies of Madras and Bombay, that neither of these large territorial possessions — the one com- prising an area of 138,000 square miles, with 23,000,000 inhabitants ; and the other 73,000 miles, with 12,000,000 inhabitants — furnish an income adequate to their an- nual expenditure : the deficiency is pro- vided from the financial surplus of Bengal, where a just land-tax has been in operation since 1790. In the fertile districts under the adminis- tration of Madrasf and Bombay, there is great, and, it is to be feared, increasing im- poverishment. There are but two classes of society — the few are money-lenders ; the many, poor and borrowing agriculturists. The great bulk of the people live from hand to mouth, and have their numbers almost periodically thinned by famine and pesti- lence. A strong and despotic government cannot be acquitted of blame, if there be no improvement in the physical condition and moral position of its subjects — if life be a mere daily struggle for the lowest means of existence, and all hope of amelioration be denied. If the British Crown had refused to grant the laud in fee-simple in America, Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa, how few colonists would have gone thither. If the government had annually exacted 30 to 50 per cent, of the produce of the soil in those settlements, who would have felled the forest, drained the swamp, or tilled the ground ? — and if no change of rulers could deteriorate the condition of the agricul- turists, what interest would they have in upholding exi.sting governments, or in re- sisting foreign invaders? The subject is one of vital and pressing interest. In Hindoostan, as well as else- where, man will convert a rock into a garden, if it be his own property ; but he will suffer a garden to become a desert if he be deprived of that right, and subjected to an arbitrary, indefinite, and often over- whelming weight of taxation. In the former case, he will support the government that secures him in the peaceful enjoyment ot his territorial rights ; in the latter, he will be induced to wish for a change of masters, under whom his condition may be improved, especially if the tempting bait be held out of the concession of a fee-simple tenure of the soil. Recent events have done much to bring conviction to many minds, of the necessity of grappling with the complicated difficulties of this question. Confiscation has been going on in various parts of India during the whole century of British su- premacy ; but the mode has been indirect and insidious : the sufferers have been for the most part peasants, unable to set forth the rights and grievances which few of their foreign rulers could justly appreciate. Yet the very idea of wholesale confisca- tion, even as a measure of retribution, is scouted by the British public ; and it foUows, that if proprietary rights are to be respected as the groundwork of the settlement of Oude, much more should they be sedulously investigated and guarded in other provinces where no right of conquest can be pleaded. Of Oude itself, nothing has been said in the present chapter ; its recent annexa- tion, and the mode of its occupation, neces- sarily forming an important feature of the narrative on which we are about to enter. * A Meturnfor the Year 1855-'56, shows the proportion which the Revenue derived from Land, bears to the other sources of Taxation. Divisions. Land. Sayer, &c. Moturpha. Excise. Total. Salt. Opium. IPost-Office Stamps. 1 Mint. Bcni^al . . . N.W. Provinces Madras . . . Bombay . . . Punjab . . . 4,668,156 4,999,497 3,642,251 2,845,723 954,344 499,190 302,715 247,033 115,630 78,990 108^81 45,147 6,212,493 6,302,212 3.997,965 2,961,,i53 1,033,334 1,081,034 549,235 541,584 275,402 203,601 4,171,718 1,024,258 44,864 87,282 59,222 22,129 23,956 223,552 118,853 169,224 — 71,312 18,640 68,496 58,493 20,167 — £ 17,109,971 1,243,558 108,681 45,147 18,507,357 2,651,456 5.195,976 237,463 852,751 1 195,986 Customs . £2,106,657 Miscellaneous £1,369,892. Gross Total £30,817,528. t The president of the Board of Uevenue at Madras, in a minute dated June 16th, 1854, declares that "portion.s of the richest and finest lands under the presidency have been thrown out of cultivation, in consequence of the impos.sibility of paying the excessive assessment charged on them ;" and Lord Harris, the governor of Madras, laments " a condition of affairs so unnatural and so hostile to the best interests of the government and of the entire population." — (Pari. Taper, No. 83; June 8th, 1857.) END OF VOL. I. TABLE OF DISTANCES BETWEEN DIFFERENT To find the Distance between two places, sucli as Bombay and Poonah, look along the column parallel to the word In the intersection show Agra. 1 4C0 GGo] 200 — 1 — ' 2'.I6' 120.5 02. 579 1019 1207 125 379 705 848 839 185 1104 1473 1060 980 984 400 120 794 830 70 98 rco 104S 1052 200 83' Alimcdabad ... 388 1 280 02.5 8.50 32( 800 040 921 000 080 245 321 1234 600 740 1183 888 681 1304 104 570 1085 903 500 550 840 078 798 490 OIC Alimednuii^ur ] 610 73.5 602 6f 1047 340 530 875 700 027 181 1033 040 400 883 440 270 321 523 905 1000 370 040 090 070 260 350 810 2«l Ajmere 5041214 54. 787 973 1101 335 587 400 050 1035 395 1058 1407 1058 870 1194 220 220 997 930 200 304 963 995 977 210 811 ABahalad ....|lll0 63- 279 975 1096 283 80 805 977 498 143 1000 1391 965 905 690l 010 429 493 934 190 238 510 1030 1099 509 73.1 1 Arcot 6« 1392 202 135 1312 1180 1198 722 1850 1105 273 390 14.5 300 1227 1125 1329 1252 323 1115 1230 685 530 209 1409 37.5 A uvurgabad. . 980 428 010 782 704 596 2C0 963 638 513 882 513 412 1275 492 749 1210 523 610 700 630 423 440 750 315 Baliar 1207 1455 509 196 1121 1230 297 400 1352 1673 1247 1237 407 889 703 230 1115 502 407 430 1312 1201 510 1017 Ballary 176 1110 1045 977 455 1090 030 85 454 149 130 1192 863 1143 1288 325 1000 1079 450 240 53 1118 240 Bangalore. 1324 1162 1141 032 1161 147 138 317 155 260 1327 1011 1331 1352 423 1107 1242 753 390 176 1252 361 BareUly...'. ... 345 830 1030 910 177 1195 1023 1135 1105 904 525 142 7 37 1175 120 82 830 1215 1151 322 967 Benarca 875 950 428 226 1130 1461 1035 995 559 090 503 410 873 270 321 460 1100 989 589 745 BhooJ 5.5C 1415 1301 749 939 985 494 1510 780 1109 609 888 364 1639 1475 219 452 609 1748 1148 880 1400 779 699 710 747 950 1085 851 923 292 1043 487 1017 974 20 600 790 1049 3S9 1268 1632 856 430 902 790 325 650 nmhiiv . . ' Calcutta... 700 1173 1498 997 1172 177 1226 976 233 719 708 369 1300 975 257 407 Cawnpoor. . 111.5 1446 1020 980 833 530 309 636 655 80 95 053 PhlftlnHrnnrr 397 190 130 1348 923 1228 1373 444 490 1164 784 1 Cochin 472 442 1073 1306 1697 1695 76'l 1390 1541 1070 472 Cuddapah .... 279 1172 1005 1184 1197 268 970 1085 008 389 96 1171 820 DISTANCE S Dharwar. 1344 084 1105 1260 420 1022 1112 720 80 1505 730 1172 1620 173 1192 873 1125 1217 1080 1148 430 80 991 205 1112 630 900 1137 Dacca ....*... 1140 1108 190 904 829 880 546 FROU Deesa 450 Unnl sin 450 500 870 CALCUT TA, Dplhi U 960 .. 919 175 091 185 692 880 .544 1 Dinajepoor.. EUore. ...'.... 808 923 340 601 288 1010 209 Etawah 55 660 1033 924 210 740 DifitAnces from CiilcuUa (contd.) Adoni ... 1030 FulTuckabad.. 748 1134 1069 265 885 AUygliur ... 803 Comorin Cape 1770 Ganj; m 843 590 900 460 n^r. 293 1055 1020 393 187 Almora ... 910 Catmandoo 560 Gooty .... Anjengo ... 1577 Dinapoor 411 DISTANCES FaoM Han ll .. 880 Hydrabad Arracan ... 557 EUichpoor 700 MADRAS. Islamabad AzLmghar ... 448 Feroepoor 1181 Adoni 270 Arnee 74 Backergunge ... 125 Futtj-ghur 703 Azinigliui- 1220 Distances ftom Uadrai (coat*!.) Balaiore ... UC Ghazecpoor 431 Backergunge 1210 Balasol-e 922 NagRCry 57 Bancoorah ... 101 Golconda 907 Bandah 1102 KeemiuU 533 Banda ... 5<;o Guntoor 607 Beder 470 Bednore 300 Negapatam 160 Kundidroog 106 Barrackpoor ... 16 Gwalior 772 Belgaum 519 Oojein 1009 Beder ... 980 HoosunRabad 924 BimHpatam 518 Broach 9)7 Oude 1228 Taniput 1428 Bcdnore ... 1290 Indore 1030 Burdwan 1066 Tonany 404 Beerbhoom ... 127 Jej-poor 850 Cabool 2131 Calicut 335 Pubna 1211 Pulicat 22 Beltool ... C77 Lahore 1356 Cannanore 345 Quilon 385 Bijnour ... SCO Lassa _ 650 Cashmere 1882 Raichoor 319 Broach ... 1228 Midnapoor 69 Chinglcput 30 Cliunar 1140 liamnad 275 Hhotiik 1422 Bhiugulpoor ... 2CS Miizapoor 448 Com&rin Cape 440 Kungpoor 1322 BUopol ... 790 Monghyr 304 Condaptlly 2S5 Ruttiinpoor 903 Conjevcram 42 Sutiarunpoor ... ... J477 Burdwan ... 74 Moorshcdahod 124 Cuddalore lOO Sadraa 42 Buiar ... 398 Muttia 831 Dindigul 217 Dowlutabad ... w. C55 Socunderabad 308 Shcrgliotty 12S8 Cabool ... 1815 Jlyeoor 12lfi ElIicliiKior COO Slialiabad 1307 Calinyapatam ... 480 Oude 562 Golconda 358 Guntoor 225 Tattah 1«7 Slronj 905 Ciilpco ... C48 Pumeah 283 Gwalior UBl Indore ., 975 Tinncvelly 360 Tilvandium 305 Cambay ... 1253 SironJ 619 Juggumattth 695 TraiKuicliar 147 Candalmr ... 2047 Sumbulpoor 309 Kamptee 722 Kumool 289 Tlilicorin 325 Vencataglierry 132 Caslimcns ... 1504 Tattah 1002 Lahore 1675 Wai'ungiil 414 Chuiiar ... 4.17 Vclloro 1029 Moorsheilatiail 1138 Yelwall 293 PLACES IN IllUTISlI JNDIA.-IHUITISII MILES.) Bombay until It IntorBecte the vertical column Ininiodialuly over the termination of the word Foonata. The figure* the number of Mllea. 1 21 r,2« .300 910 4H0 1.50 777 202 11.5K 1109 1288 081 ,538 210 1305 451 1372 790 918 1,115 921 8,50 2'.0 lOo IS19 901 778 380- 1 080 1 (00 1279 1 ' 1 1406 1173^ 9C0| ^ ISH 340 C85 1145 24 480 1032 040 1040 1177 BOO 820 440 280 1021 820 1101 413 770 1001 800 478 400 015 941 1285 671 075 1,58 1161 999 1131 840 648 "^ 1350 90 785 1000 384 540 853 COO 013 720 503 470 300 00,5 580 90,' 082 70 620 010 5,50 120 410 790 600 1180 120 COO 2C2 700 698 680 W7 20O 1270 f)50 480 1037 290 310 900 445 11,52:1421 1242 075 553 20 1205 747 1297 730 903 1201 910 700 309 304 1186 1197 710 680 495 1403 11,50 1331 I'2I4 920 9^' 80) 070 .50 020 025 140 484 127 1055 1.175 1244 979 405 430 1220 213 1,07 788 050 1175 052 856 320 180 1149 760 736 70 769 1314 1239 1246 1079 935 '.•: UIO COl UOO 121k 980 1025 798 1215 73 205 300 305 705 1134 210 1340 81 036 383 120 413 942 919 12.19 210 1305 402 1170 870 169 290 170 9 498 1272 35 085 1033 353 510 774 088 089 824 097 533 293 400 720 804 730 144 470 710 490 200 380 726 G40 1347 171 094 231 668 CIO 828 639 349 .54? 917 190 271) 810 400 455 353 1237 1057 1530 1100 717 709 1508 40 1326 1138 640 11,50 030 1147 440 3C0 1431 410 10.57 170 lOOO 1444 1627 1666 1390 1077 'V 1338 300 915 1210 008 890 834 1080 317 390 200 345 400 830 202 1205 313 3,57 370 288 400 265 770 1090 212 1413 200 1035 640 430 260 393 220 2.10 4- 13U2 .543 1140 1203 014 1011 808 1197 208 202 198 .178 087 1000 1.10 1382 170 531 473 100 .503 403 891 1181 C5 1477 388 1162 809 200 ICO 165 no 360 .',:. 10511 753 270 772 005 210 940 1.50 1297 1,577 1345 1185 575 335 1498 472 1380 940 070 1310 935 081 3,10 69 1381 927 810 321 842 I5IC 1328 14091235 1020 1210 009 705 40 420 085 220 430 189 1103 1445 1314 748 475 510 1290 1,55 12.0 930 660 11,55 COO 915 280 234 1170 COO 815 10 905 1.184 1309 I286II80 1035 570 1701 ,565 855 1319 234 Olio 1277 779 1107 1281 1110 1008 085 410 1125 1044 1279 020 1065 1300 1105 085 049 805 1180 1475 778 805 30.5 1383 1196 1306 1188 820 Il2i> 1531 220 1037 1312 313 OtiO 1034 923 774 8G2 518 080 652 500 000 1143 805 08 709 730 740 146 555 8,59 022 1605 258 1120 177 074 016 849 076 270 761 2511 9.52 500 214 1200 GOO 251 049 1030 1330 1313 704 722 UOO 1208 341 1130 1208 009 1102 019 1232 800 094 1170 325 934 455 1238 1230 1312 1238 1029 ,2.52 557 92.5 570 100 703 540 8H 027 40 1182 1430 1100 700 400 340 1281 2.^0 1271 841 793 1200 820 780 220 82 1204 903 700 210 738 1309 1290 1383 1120 98. 1076 1423 41-5 1110 1383 784 975 919 1105 345 400 184 432 055 973 220 1200 354 300 404 228 5:4 310 850 1196 152 1498 200 1120 071 380 188 303 23fl 226 CI4 1700 710 1441 1.580 11C.5 1314 1244 1400 450 150 252 751 980 1.170 110 1121 300 770 790 180 820 622 1224 1,524 190 1794 655 1451 1015 310 140 180 290 482 900 1233 430 ,015 1108 730 880 743 1070 105 410 380 223 560 900 285 1105 220 507 318 205 348 414 760 1000 231 1308 300 1025 725 340 331 250 110 379 438 1452 320 055 1308 045 G5K 948 020 440 490 100 478 520 875 340 1475 200 208 470 300 500 180 070 970 260 1492 100 985 623 .502 270 485 340 I0<J 580 110 1241 590 110 1120 090 429 748 1211 1492 1488 931 1011 1000 1445 447 1310 1377 842 1202 812 UOO 720 818 1403 130 UOO 606 1413 1438 1495 1377 1215 1462 716 1470 380 6GH 1130 110 450 10,52 560 1120 1250 890 848 470 220 1103 845 1205 416 840 1044 1057 581 420 600 1023 1260 G64 080 201 1134 994 II00II20 611 680 1202 748 415 800 500 2711 882 280 1295 1504 1412 1109 6C2 230 1435 001 448 900 1022 1402 1022 058 370 210 1359 1103 808 605 675 1933 1323 1473 1230 1098 1072 330 070 410 80 1050 030 4,54 581 1230 1517 1513 904 740 020 I0;!8 234 1324 1325 824 1317 794 1170 050 031 1428 190 1080 420 1258 1443 1,528 1422 1240 1300 714 0C9 400 913 840 758 718 475 705 314 588 584 45 398 838 558 045 395 081 60 425 80 610 .598 1U4 490 1044 378 8G3 735 614 W9 61K 3|n 490 160 904 50O 240 008 470 90 707 110 1114 1180 1070 853 410 200 1231 400 1220 754 765 1.50 770 810 210 110 10,55 870 COO 205 540 1310 1240 1 1»9 1070 969 1156 1042 COS 223 727 530 140 858 HI 1105 1495 1348 0C8 4e5 280 1376 481 130.5 858 870 1295 790 909 250 65 1290 921 730 312 760 1434 11,55 1434 1215 1049 936 1283 600 498 579 8,0 .570 90 037 097 938 800 370 400 040 855 445 735 720 290 813 2G0 742 510 690 830 604 610 455 800 880 939 656 060 800 170 1M.5 340 1080 1389 C02 933 1070 1025 680 020 215 Oil 025 825 375 1200 Oil 266 C,51 410 681 100 803 1148 .193 1020 2i0 1090 469 638 30.5 618 487 30 761 1.5,50 300 1041 1128 734 834 703 1024 204 438 322 205 514 830 300 1140 290 360 338 250 368 310 714 954 230 1342 230 979 652 418 280 320 190 ;73 448 1313 GOO 495 970 .500 3,50 902 300 1358 1514 1313 1181 738 230 1410 741 1300 790 1083 1412 1098 930 450 290 1336 1183 024 584 065 1449 1360 .17, 1344 1070 1148 1 1.52 250 785 11.57 550 050 083 840 388 610 509 218 330 070 401 901 480 387 226 410 250 302 530 770 417 1227 170 735 505 569 900 540 330 350 320 .. •. 1202 739 250 1450 919 501 888 1280 158G 1503 1014 740 1 100 1518 500 1380 1458 915 1442 809 I4H2 10-.6 033 1429 190 1184 704 1488 I486 1562 1468 1279 1502 807 Juulntiti . . 620 900 300 480 090 1000 008 750 535 408 230 470 052 805 082 108 430 013 500 210 350 050 ,572 1277 155 695 247 70O 580 713 540 370 500 Juanjioor.. 400 075 100 470 13' 1143 1425 1294 788 410 517 1276 100 1233 861 700 1195 705 810 270 185 I20i 003 750 40 815 1354 1285 1334 1116 970 CIO Juiimlpour.. 1110 040 400 009 1210|l483 1000 974 760 030 1303 300 1340 1211 830 1.507 810 UOO 740 6,59 1434 143 1120 430 1160 1446 1667 1388 1223 1340 720 Kalia. ...... . 460 1033 580 1025 11,53 872 708 410 270 907 840 1077 377 740 1037 700 443 400 620 917 12,53 513 675 122 1064 911 1064 981 572 908 Eallah... 583 137 1024 1200 1040 703 .130 308 1147 37.' 1140 054 075 1070 085 690 130 170 1077 783 COO 210 539 1219 10,50 120'. 990 869 670 1 KuUack 619 812 1003 10,59 520 682 790 1028 .570 870 1002 3S0 900 350 779 860 490 004 074 570 080 430 1042 988 1074 903 785 1033 260 LuL-kno\T. 1232 1480 1249 750 510 380 1331 310 1321 807 777 12,50 897 S,50 50 1251 752 730 105 78S 1410 118 1389 1170 979 1060 MiiJl-oa....' 1 289 440 265 704 1058 283 1261 88 672 370 219 394 610 918 I28i 284 135. 4C5 1091 903 206 403 207 67 56« 498 UuUura 30i! 570 970 1226 148 100,5 20O 704 &18 137 678 070 1170 1410 230 1601 600 143-5 103. 105 241 80 445 660 709 UuDgaloi'C 572 839 1108 108 1471 480 480 034 210 604 370 800 Ilea 130 1038 380 1304 765 376 90 355 316 230 744 Mosullpatitm . . 443 883 51.5 1000 378 546 80 428 100 520 6.3 800 404 1004 388 738 745 496 561 475 290 533 190 Nflimnftr . 440 d... 821 1122 035 07.1 1391 811 1..50 200 451 560 608 374 814 003 740 H76 88 388 828 633 430 725 520 200 300 lO.M 542 3-0 1201 744 llOli 80 1047 1073 1.593 340 034 492 380 602 1288 460 435 782 909 1260 165 720 1070 105 879 1183 660 1010 560 755 405 410 Nussc cral) 850 Ootacamand. . . 135 209 723 DISTANCES Patnl I ...... .. 1201 ly.. 1007 073 704 445 1400 121 093 482 1005 008 440 lOlO 300 1371 1217 231 443 1413 975 543 105 1270 1020 953 1.544 116 1400 308 1481 118 1265 91 1196 3C<' 027 Ponaic'uc 986 BOMBAY. Pool lah. . 012 ,lry.. 628 475 637 30 05 527 524 574 809 1230 525 549 1408 984 158 306 920 656 26.5 790 776 648 504 0.9 750 553 .577 380 196 .540 6«6 ICi^ahmiin 120 AJinl 754 AssMrt'hur 200 Allmgliiu- 077 Salem .. . .505 540 »10 1180 110 1515 488 1145 028 90 195 70 121 435 6-21 SanmlcottiilL.. 552 510 832 579 954 420 695 721 678 679 583 411 570 8C !>afctA "a ... 500 86U 300 140 982 1477 640 132 480 904 265 320 450 706 1099 450 930 6.56 485 135 729 G21 1079 860 1 Sauffor ........ 57C Bcltool 3".l0 Di.taiie4B from Bouil.y (conld.) lutlovo 377 LoodiuM 1077 MuUipaum 175 Mir7iip,or 800 Mbiuw - ... 3C0 Mvsoor OOG Ka-3iok ICO Ouiio i013 Cjiia 408 kjao^vt ........ Scctapoor.. 1386 802 780 236 820 1339 1262 1319 1100 1063 1113 Bccjiiyoor 215 Bdgaum 318 Blioptd 449 Bioiich )00 Cal)>ee 803 Chuoar 952 Daniaun 101 Ellichpoor 345 Gokonila 475 Gwalior 680 Scringapata SiUict . Sbo m... 1633 412 1256 1160 606 806 702 1507 391 710 S49 I5C0 630 1336 1051 lOO 1633 425 1235 789 270 225 176 1666 1395 541 420 1264 1170 927 611 33 165 U0\ 276 330 1577 220 940 455 .575 335 625 517 6.5! 861 apoo Suit; r, .. . 52* npo«r(iic Sural.... 6g; 74( C"- DUtasces tnm Dombsy (eimld.) Ruttunpoor 778 Tatt-oh 773 lailjore .. Tdlic hrrr ^... Tricll Jnopt Vrllo TC... .... 165 67; 5o; 1 "Ingprl. . 6T( J lOOSU eypo ngau or 41U 41>U 745 1% r Hjko utua, e ;hen ah 458 108 S V roni ziail rocs 245 Vila,.-'; :ain i 4ir 4m m m \w «e. 1 •fir' ^f» W«lr |*T , t-tff^iS 1/ 'X .>•!*' .•''VV'.'i'vv;'.':