UC-NRLF ITS 2 El THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. FIRST SERIES. BY ' HENRY MORRIS, (MA j;iAs G. S. RETIRED.) Author */ u ^4 Manual of the Godavery District^ &c. PlffT EDITION, 3,000 COPIES. MADRAS: THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY. S. P. C. K. PRESS, VBPEEY. 1894. Price 4 Annas. Post-free 5 As. " 1 ^we/ ^ <z~. *- WAEKEN HASTINGS. * THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. FIRST SERIES. BY HENRY MORRIS, (MADRAS C, S. RETIRED) Author of "A Manual of the Godavery District," First Edition, 3,000 Copies. THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY. S. P. C. K. PRESS, YEPERY. 1894, [All Rights Reserved.] Page 1. WARREN HASTINGS ... ... ... 1 2. LORD CORNWALLIS ... ... 27 3. SIR JOHN S-HORK ... ... ... 49 4. MARQUIS WELLESLBY ... ... 67 5. EARL OF MINTO ... ... ... ... 89 6. MARQUIS OF HASTINGS ... Ill HENRY MORSE STITPH-ENS THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF LWARREN HASTINGS. A. D. 17721785. BORN, 1732; DIED, 1818. " What constitutes a state P Not high-raised battlements, or laboured mound, Thick wall, or moated gate ; Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned. No ! men, high-minded men, Men, who their duties know, But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain." 8ir William Jones. ONE lovely summer's afternoon, as the sun was lighting up the sparkling rivulet that flows through an estate in the west of England, a little boy, about seven years of age, lay dreaming on its grassy bank. His ancestors had owned this beautiful estate ; but, owing to ill-fortune or to poverty, it had slipped from their possession. The idea that he would recover it flashed through his childish mind. This was, however, no mere passing dream. The resolve, thus early made, clung to him all through his career, and, in the evening of his life, it became an accomplished fact. He purchased the estate, spent his last years in possession of it, and there his eyes closed in death. The estate was Daylesford in the county of Worcester, and the childish dreamer was Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal. 512332 2 , , , , ; , , THB -.GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. Warren Hastings was born at Churchill, a village in the adjoining county of Oxford, on December 6, 1732. His mother died soon after his birth, and his father deserted him during his infancy, leaving him to the care of relations. He was poorly educated in childhood; but, when twelve years of age, he was placed at the great school of West- minster, where he showed an intelligence and acuteness which speedily placed him among the most promising of its scholars. At this time he passed into the charge of a distant relative, who, being a Director of the East India Company, very naturally determined that he should go to India in the Company's Civil Service, much to the disap- pointment of the Head Master of Westminster School, who strenuously pleaded that he might not be deprived of one of his most brilliant students. His guardian, however, turned a deaf ear to this appeal. Warren Hastings landed at Calcutta, the scene of his future greatness, in October, 1750, a few months before he was eighteen. The English factories in Bengal were at that time mere trading establishments, and the civilians were busily engaged in buying and selling merchandise with not a thought or idea of anything better or higher. For the first three years of his Indian career, Warren Hastings was employed in the Secretary's office at Cal- cutta as a clerk. He was busy in the day-time with the ordinary mercantile avocations, and he seems to have occupied his leisure hours with learning Hindustani and Persian. He led an orderly and a quiet life, keeping himself aloof from the extravagance and open profligacy which unhappily disgraced too many of his contempora- ries, while, on the other hand, he does not appear to have exhibited any particular brilliancy as a student. At the end of three years, he was sent to the factory at Cossim- bazar, about two miles from the capital, Moorshedabad. He soon rose to a higher position, being appointed to a seat in the Factory Council. His life there was for the first two years and more quiet and peaceful; but, in April 1756, Alivardi Khan, the powerful Nawab of Bengal, died, and the tranquillity which under him the English traders had I. WAREEN HASTINGS. 3 enjoyed past away like a morning cloud. His grandson and successor, Suraj-ud-Dowla, early showed his dissatis- faction with them, and then followed the well-known his- torical events which led to the tragedy of the Black Hole and the retreat of the garrison from Calcutta to an island on the Hooghly, named Fulta. Hastings was taken prisoner at Moorshedabad at the outbreak of hostilities ; but was released on bail at the request of the Superinten- dent of the neighbouring Dutch factory. Negotiations be- tween the fugitives from Calcutta and the Nawab were carried on through him ; but, after a time, fearing detec- tion in a plot which was being carried on against the Nawab, he fled to Fulfca, where he joined his fellow-country- men. During his brief sojourn there, he became attached to a lady formerly the wife of Captain Campbell, whom he married. They had two children, both of whom died young, and within three years he was deprived of her society by death. Early in 1757, Colonel Clive arrived from Madras, Calcutta was retaken, and in June the battle of Plassey was won, by which the sovereignty of Bengal was virtu- ally placed in English hands. Warren Hastings served at first as a volunteer in Clive's army ; but the keen eye of the great leader detected his value as a diplomatist and negotiator, and he was sent to Moorshedabad, first as assistant and afterwards as Resident, at the court of the Nawab. At that juncture this position was one of peculiar difficulty, but Mr. Hastings filled it with special fidelity and tact. His duty was to keep himself thoroughly ac- quainted with all that was going on at Court, to offer, when needful, his counsel to the Nawab, and to watch over the interests of the English traders. On the departure of Clive for Europe, Mr. Henry Vansittart succeeded him as Governor of Bengal, and ere long Warren Hastings was promoted to a seat in the Council at Calcutta. During the dark time that followed, which, owing more to the corruption of most of his colleagues than to the new Governor's weakness or incapacity, has been rendered infamous in the annals of Bengal, Warren 4 THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. Hastings was his right hand ; but their united efforts were insufficient to stem the torrent of peculation and misrule. The sore spot in the administration was private trade. The Nawab, who owed his throne entirely to the English, was liberal to the Company's officials even to a fault ; but his liberality was abused and his revenue defrauded. The principal act to which the Nawab very naturally took excep- tion was the defrauding the revenue by free passes being sold to those who had no right to receive them. The goods conveyed in boats flying the Company's flag were permitted to pass up the river free of custom ; but this privilege was openly and illegally sold to enrich the English traders of Cossimbazar and Calcutta. This privilege was not in- tended to cover the private trade of the Company's servants, much less to benefit the subjects of the Nawab. We need not enter into a narration of the political troubles that en- sued . Hastings did his best to keep his colleagues straight, and to uphold Mr. Vansittart's authority ; on one occa- sion so strenuously that a fellow-councillor struck him, for which indignity the offender had to offer an ample apology. Finding all his efforts fruitless, Mr. Hastings contemplated resigning the service ; but, as war had followed, he thought it his duty to remain. As soon as peace was restored, how- ever, he returned to England, where he arrived late in 1765, after a continuous service of fifteen years. Mr. Hastings spent four years in England. He had been exceedingly generous and kind to his relations, though he was at this time a comparatively poor man ; and, as it proves that in the midst of the general corruption in Bengal he had remained honest and upright, it is right to mention the fact that, on his return to India, he was obliged to borrow money for his outfit. At the close of his sojourn in Eng- land, the Court of Directors appointed him to a seat in the Council at Fort St. George next to the Governor. He embarked to take up his new appointment on board the ship Duke of Graf ton early in 1769. Among the passen- gers were a German portrait-painter, Baron Imhoff, and his young and accomplished wife. During the voyage Warren Hastings was dangerously ill, and the lady helped !. WARREN HASTINGS. 5 to nurse him in his sickness. An intimacy arose between them, and it was agreed that the husband should procure a divorce in Germany. The suit was preposterously long, but the divorce was at last procured ; and, in the year 1777, after both the parties had gone to Calcutta, Warren Hastings married her. Charity demands that little should be said about this sad episode in his life. It was a clear breach of the divine command, and, as such, must openly be condemned by every Christian man; but it must be added, in justice to the memory of both, that they were most devotedly attached to each other, and lived together in the greatest earthly happiness until death parted them in mature old age. During the recent years of political turmoil at Madras, the commercial interests of the Company had been greatly neglected, and the chief objects the Directors had in view in sending Mr. Hastings thither was for him to put their financial affairs there on a more satisfactory basis. In announcing his appointment the Court of Directors de- scribed him as " a gentleman who has served us many years upon the Bengal establishment with great ability and unblemished character/' He applied himself to this special work with all his wonted energy and zeal. The invest- ments of the Company were considerably improved ; the purchases of silk and other goods were made directly with the weavers themselves, and not through middlemen ; and the finances generally were placed on a better footing. The Court were so gratified with the judicious arrangements that were made under his supervision and advice that they appointed him President of the Council and Governor of Bengal in the hope that he would be equally energetic and judicious in reforming abuses and in checking malprac- tices there. He assumed charge of the government at Calcutta on April 13, 1772. He threw himself heart and soul into his new duties in Bengal. That Presidency was then in the transition state between the period of the East India Company's purely commercial position, and the coming period of their political governance and rule. The President was in those days merely the senior mem- THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. ber of Council in which he had, however, a casting vote, that is, an extra vote when the votes of the members on each side of a question were equal. For the first two years Mr. Hastings was able to carry with him the majority of his Council on most of the important measures which he desired to pass. Some of these measures may here be mentioned. The principal questions related to the gov- ernment of the province and the collection of the revenue. Since the conquest of Bengal and Behar, the nominal sovereignty had rested with the Nawab, but it was really in the hands of the Nazim or Deputy, who had been appointed by the English. In Bengal this power was ex- ercised by a Muhammadan, named Muhammad Reza Khan : in Behar by a Hindu, named Raja Shitab Rai. Just a fortnight after Warren Hastings had taken his seat as President of the Council, a despatch was received from the Court of Directors announcing that they had determined to take into their own hands the sovereignty of these provinces, or, in the language of that time, " to stand forth as Dewan." The double government was to be abolished. The Company's officers were to have the entire manage- ment of the revenues, and the direct administration of the affairs of state. Mr. Hastings was at the same time order- ed to remove both Muhammad Reza Khan and Raja Shitab Rai from power, and to place them on trial for embezzle- ment and oppression. The chief witness against the for- mer was a Brahmin named Raja Nuncomar, hereafter to become still more notorious ; but his evidence completely broke down, and Muhammad Reza Khan was acquitted. The charge against Raja Shitab Rai also failed. The proclamation whereby the Company assumed the direct government of the country was issued May 11, 1772. Three days afterwards certain regulations for the settlement and collection of the revenue were passed, and thenceforward the chief duties of the Company's civil servants were the collection of the revenue and the administration of justice, the title of ' collector/ since so well- known, being then first employed. The very first duty which engaged the attention of the Government was to I. WARREN HASTINGS. / place the revenue settlement on a firm basis and to evolve something like a system from the confused procedure of the past. The members of council, with Mr. Hastings at first at their head, went on a tour through the country to ascertain facts for themselves, and the result was that, in a few months, a scheme was prepared by which the land was farmed out to the Zemindars on a five years' lease, and this was the foundation on which, a few years later, the Permanent Settlement of Lord Cornwallis was erected. The good of the ryots themselves was steadily kept in view. It is pleasant to read in a despatch from England, only three years before, that the Director wished that "the ryots should be impressed in the most forcible and convincing manner that the tendency of all measures is to their ease and relief," and that all changes were intended " for the im- provement of the lands, the content of the ryot, and the general happiness of the province in every consideration and point of view." The purity of the Company's officials was the all impor- tant matter to be next considered. They were forbidden to accept presents or to hold land. They were to cease all connection with trade. Warren Hastings quietly but firmly carried out the Directors' orders against illegal trading. No free passes or illicit evasion of customs duties were to be permitted ; at the same time the order of the Court for the punishment of offenders was not executed, it being thought advisable not to press the matter, as so many high in authority were implicated. The illegal action was forbidden, but the offender was ignored. Equal vigour was shown by Mr. Hastings in his judicial arrangements. Courts were created in the provinces, a civil and a criminal court in each district. The collector was to preside over the former, while the old Muhammad- au judicial authorities were to sit in the latter. Two chief and appellate courts were similarly established at Calcutta. Warren Hastings made arrangements also for the preparation of suitable codes of Hindu and Muham- madan law. The former was translated by learned pun- dits from Sanskrit into Persian, and Mr. Halhed, of the 8 THE GOVEENOES-GENEEAL OF INDIA. Civil Service, was commissioned to translate it into English. Warren Hastings, in sending a copy of the earlier part of this treatise to his old school-fellow, the learned Chief Justice of England, Lord Mansfield, justly remarked that it was " a proof that the inhabitants of this land are not in the savage state in which they have been unfairly represented." On the affairs of state being thus re-arranged, it became necessary to determine the future position of the household of the Nawab The young Nawab was himself placed under the guardianship of Manni Begum, once the fa- vourite wife of Mir Jaffier. .His state allowance was reduced, but was of sufiicient liberality to enable him, in the altered circumstances in which he was placed, to main- tain his position with dignity, and the son of Nuncomar was appointed his Dewan. To Nuncomar himself Warren Hastings entertained the strongest feelings of suspi- cion and distrust; but, as the Court of Directors had desired that attention should be paid to him, Mr. Hastings thought it wiser to show this attention by promoting his son. All these arrangements received the approval of the Court. The internal government of the province had thus been placed in a tolerably satis- factory condition, far better than at anytime since the conquest of Bengal, and very much like what it afterwards became when deficiencies had been detected and irregu- larities adjusted; and half-a-dozen years of Warren Has- ting's vigorous rule would, if subsequent events had not intervened, have most probably put affairs in such a posi- tion as to give satisfaction to the people of the country, to the Court of Directors, and to the Government of England. We do not think it necessary to treat of the policy of the Bengal Government with regard to foreign affairs at this juncture with the exception of the negotiations with the Nawab Vizier of Oudh and the invasion of Rohilkhand, the controversy about which so considerably affected Warren Hastings 5 future career. The provinces of Korah and Allahabad had been assigned to the unfortunate Emperor of Delhi by Lord Clive in 1705, " as a royal demesne for I. WARREN HASTINGS. 9 the support of his dignity and expenses." The Emperor had first abandoned these provinces, and then granted them to the Mahrattas, who were at this time spreading all over the country, in the search for plunder and rapine. Warren Hastings, supported by his Council, considered this incompatible with the honour of the Company and the safety of the English dominions. He himself went to Benares, where he had an interview with Sujah-ud-Dowla, the Nawab Vizier of Oudh, and it was agreed to bestow these provinces on him on his consenting to pay forty lakhs of rupees, and to maintain the English battalion stationed there for defence. He was of opinion that he was doing the best for all parties in thus strengthen- ing the English alliance with the Nawab Vizier, and in raising a compact barrier against the incursions of the Mahrattas. The treaty of Benares was executed on Sep- tember 7, 1773. The negotiations leading up to it were conducted by Mr. Hastings and the Nawab alone, and the following extract from the account of the interview written by the former gives us a deeply interesting peep behind the curtain, and his own estimate of his proficiency in Urdu. " Every circumstance of the negotiation, " he says, " required that it should be managed by that familiar and confidential intercourse which can take place only between two persons unembarrassed by interruption, and unchecked by the reserve which always attends a conversation held between strangers and before many witnesses. For- tunately, too, the habit which I had acquired of speaking the Hindustani language, though imperfect, yet aided on the part of the Vizier by a very clear and easy elocution, and an uncommonly quick apprehension, greatly facilitated this mode of communication, and not only forwarded the conclusion of our debates; but,. I am persuaded, left him much better pleased with what had passed than if it had been conveyed to him through the doubtful channel of an interpreter. " The subject of the invasion of Rohilkhand was also discus- sed at this important, but familiar, interview. That pro- vince formed an irregular tract to the north-west of Oudh, 10 THE GOVEBNORS-GENEEAL OP INDIA. being bounded on the east and north by the Himalayas, and on the west by the Ganges. Being in early times a Hindu kingdom named Kather, it had, for the last century or so, been held by a race of Pathan adventurers from Afghanistan. It had recently been invaded by the ubiqui- tous Mahrattas, and the chief ruler, Hafiz Kahmat Khan, had agreed to pay the Nawab Vizier forty lakhs, if he helped him to eject these troublesome invaders. Assis- tance had been rendered, but payment had been withheld. The Nawab Vizier was, therefore, very anxious to punish Hafiz, and to annex the province, and proposed to Mr. Hastings that the English should help him in this project. At first Warren Hastings was much opposed to this scheme. The Nawab Vizier consequently put it on one side at the time ; but no sooner had Warren Hastings re- turned to Calcutta than it was revived. Hafiz Rahmat Khan was treating with the Mahrattas, so the Nawab Vizier determined to invade Rohilkhand and openly demanded English assistance. The Council at Calcutta agreed to give it, "considering the strict alliance and engagements which sub- sisted between the Company and Sujah Dowla." The English forces advanced with those of the Nawab, and on April 23, 1774, gained a signal victory, when Rahmat Khan fell slain and, in a brief period, the country was conquered for him. The NawaVs troops were accused of perpetrating much cruelty during the course of their occupation, but this was considerably exaggerated for party purposes. Col. Cham- pion, the English Commander did his best to stay such atro- cities, and the Government praised him for this. "We are ex- ceedingly happy to learn," were the words they used, " that you from the beginning opposed and at last obtained a stop to be put to the devastation of the Rohilla country by the army of the Vizier, a mistaken policy altogether incompati- ble with the design of the war and repugnant to humanity, and we have a sensible pleasure in testifying our entire approbation of your conduct in this respect." Warren Hastings wrote to Mr. Middleton, Resident at the Court of Oudh, to the same effect. "I desire," he said, "that you will take an immediate occasion to remonstrate with the I. WARREN HASTINGS. 11 Nawab against every act of cruelty or wanton violence. The country is his and the people his subjects. They claim by that relation his tenderest regard and unremitted pro- tection. The family of Hafiz have never injured him, but have a claim to his protection in default of that of which he has deprived them. Tell him that the English manners are abhorrent of every species of inhumanity and oppres- sion, and enjoin the gentlest treatment of a vanquished enemy ." It appears from these contemporary documents that excesses had been committed, and that the Government of Bengal and the President energetically protested against them at once. The country was not generally devastated; but the ruling Afghans were expelled, and the 750,000 Hindu cultivators of the soil were left to till their lands in peace under a new ruler. The justification of the policy of granting assistance to the Nawab should also be given in his own words. " Our ally," he wrote, " would obtain by the acquisition of this country a com- pact state shut in effectually by the Ganges all the way from the frontiers of Behar to the mountains of Thibet. It would give him wealth, of which we should partake, and give him security without any dangerous increase of power. I must further declare that I regard as none of the most inconsiderable benefits of the Company, besides the forty lakhs, the easing them immediately of the burthen of one-third of their whole army." There may now be doubts of the policy of this war, but there can be none of the humanity of the Government and Hastings. Indian affairs at this time occupied much of the time of the Parliament and Government of England. Their attention resulted in a measure which is known as the Eegulating Act of 1 773, the principal provisions of which created a Governor-General of Bengal with a Council of four, under whom were placed the Governments of Madras and Bombay, and a Supreme Court of Judicature consisting of a Chief Justice and three Judges, who were to have juris- diction over British subjects, and over others in the Presidency town of Calcutta. Warren Hastings was appointed the first Governor-General. The new Councillors 12 THE GOVERNOES-GENEEAL OF INDIA. were Mr. Barwell a civilian, who had been in the old Council, General Clavering, the Honorable Colonel Monson, and Mr. Philip Francis. The Chief Justice was Sir Elijah Impey. The Councillors from England landed at Calcutta on October 19, 1774. They were not in the best of tem- pers. The severe heat tried them. They were received with a salute of 17 guns whereas they expected one of 21. They considered that Mr. Hastings had not met them with sufficient courtesy and respect. At the first formal meeting of the Council their irritable temper burst forth ; and, as the life of Warren Hastings for the next few years consisted of one continuous, long-drawn contention with these men, we must pause for a little space to picture their first business interview. It must be borne in mind that, under the new Act, the Governor-General and each Coun- cillor had a vote, so that the majority carried the day on every question. Let us imagine ourselves in the Council Chamber in Fort William on October 25, 1774. Seated in the President's chair is the Governor-General, a man of a short, spare figure, just forty-two years of age, dressed in the long flapped waistcoat, embroidered coat, and frilled collar and cuffs of the period. He has a clear-cut and rather aquiline nose, bright, grave eyes, and firm, compressed lips. Of a naturally quick and sensitive temper, which a long residence in India has not tended to improve, he has it under thorough control. Intimate with the character of Hindu and Muhammadan, and fully acquainted with the policy of the Company, with the revenue system of Bengal, and with the foreign affairs of India, he is thoroughly conversant with every question that can be brought before the Council. Near him is Mr. Richard Barwell, a man of good ability, who, after many years spent in India, is also well acquaint- ed with Indian questions, but not of such wide experience as Mr. Hastings, or of such acute penetration into matters. He had formerly been opposed to the Governor-General on certain questions, but is now his good friend and firm -supporter. The other Councillors know positively nothing of India* I. WARREN HASTINGS. 3 General Clavering has fair abilities, but is a hot-headed, blunt officer, full of strong prejudices, and without a particle of self-control. The next is Colonel Monson, who possesses, perhaps, the slightest intellect of the three, and is easily persuaded and led by the other. All the intellect and most of the spite is centred in Mr. Philip Francis. Generally identified with an anonymous writer on English politics called Junius, whose productions ceased just as- Mr. Francis left England, his character seems exactly to correspond with that of this celebrated author. He has a malignant, harsh, vindictive disposition. He writes in a hard, clear, forcible style, which never fails to put forward the strong side of each subject he deals with, and to keep in the back-ground all that is unfavourable to his purpose. He is a man who hates with an undying hatred, and never forgives a foe. From his writings we can easily imagine the cold, composed, sarcastic nature of his speech. At the Council meeting on the previous day, the Gover- nor-General had placed before the members a Minute clearly describing the revenue system of Bengal and the history of the Eohilla war. The latter is the subject which excites the attention of the new Councillors. General Claver- ing rises and demands in their name that the whole of the correspondence both public and private which had passed between Warren Hastings and Mr. Middleton should be produced. Col. Monson and Mr. Francis support this demand. The Governor-General offers to produce the whole of the public correspondence, but politely and firmly declines to let them see his private letters on the ground that such conduct would be an unjustifiable breach of confidence, though he offers to make such extracts from them as would tend to elucidate all the facts. From this moment a breach occurs between the Councillors recently arrived from England and the Governor-General and Mr. Barwell, which never closed. Henceforward the Council Chamber became a battle- field of faction, clearly showing that, however, excellent the theory of Government as laid down in the Regulating Act might have been, it led in practice to perpetual strife. 14 THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. The majority became the dominant power. The whole policy of the Rohilla war was reversed. Mr. Middleton was removed from his position as Resident at the Vizier's Court ; a friend of the majority was appointed in his stead ; the Company's troops were withdrawn ; demand was made for the immediate payment of the subsidy of forty lakhs. It would be tedious to go into further details so far as they do not relate to the life of Warren Hastings. Minute after minute was written ; long letters were addressed to the Court of Directors and to the ministry in England; and we must picture Mr. Hastings, supported by Mr. Barwell, standing like a noble stag at bay, in deadly conflict with unscrupulous opponents, who never omitted to take ad- vantage of any opportunity of worrying and thwarting him. The next great event was a charge of bribery brought against the Governor-General by Raja Nuncomar. We have already mentioned this man, whom Warren Hastings had for several years regarded with suspicion, but whose son he had promoted in deference to the command of the Court of Directors, who had desired that he should be treated with consideration. Observing that the authority of Government had been usurped by the majority in the Council and every act of the Governor-General had been contemned, Nuncomar thought this a fitting moment to cringe to them, and to show his malignity and spite towards Hastings. At the meeting of the Council on llth March, 1775, Mr. Francis produced a letter from Nuncomar, the contents of which he professed not to know. On its being opened it proved to contain a charge against the Governor-General of having received more than three lakhs of Rupees from the Manni Begum and himself, when the former was appointed guardian of the young Nawab of Bengal. On the 13th Colonel Monson proposed that Nuncomar should be admitted to the Council to make his accusation in person. The Governor- General indignantly and justly refused to permit such an insult, and after an exciting scene, he left the room, dissolving the meeting, Mr. Barwell following him, though I. WARREN HASTINGS. 15 he did not refuse to permit an inquiry into the charge by a properly constituted Committee in his absence. The three friends, with exquisite want of taste and judgment, actually admitted Nuncomar into the Council Chamber, after Mr. Hastings had quitted it ; and, after a hurried inquiry characterised by an utter absence of judicial acumen, pronounced him guilty of bribery, and demanded that the money should be paid to the Company. Warren Hastings knew Nuncomar' s character thoroughly. He had, thirteen years before, been appointed to try him for forgery, and his decision against him is still on record. He utterly refused to submit to the illegal judgment of the majority. During the next few weeks the time of these Councillors of state was spent in visiting Nuncomar and others, and in virtually helping and inciting them to prepare fresh charges against their President. Hindu society in Calcutta was convulsed with these unwonted proceedings ; English society was split into factions. Suddenly, as it seemed, a charge of obtaining a sum of money by a forged bond was brought against Nuncomar by one Mohan Prasad. This man had been endeavouring for years to get this charge taken up by the old Court at Calcutta. It was now brought before the new Court. Nuncomar was put in jail on May 6. During the time he was in confinement under trial, the three Councillors visited him in jail, and still continued their underhand intrigues. On June 8, he was tried before a bench consisting of Sir Elijah Impey and the other three judges, arrayed in all the fDrgeous but heavy robes used by judges in England, he trial lasted eight days. Nuncomar was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to death. He was publicly ex- ecuted on August 5. He was most justly condemned; but it appears to us that the sentence was equally unjust. The English law on this subject as it then stood was cruel, and it seems monstrous to have applied it to Hindus, whose law contained no such unmerciful provision. But the judges thought they were right, and there is not a shadow of proof that Warren Hastings was either the real mover in the affair or influenced the judges in their decision. 16 THE GQVBRNOES-GENEEAL OF, INDIA. Nuncomar, in the natural course of events, was now re- moved from crossing his path. The three Councillors had flattered and abetted Nuncomar while free and while under trial ; but after sentence had been past, did not even hold out a little finger to help him. For a brief season after this celebrated trial, there was comparative tranquillity in the Council; but it was not long before the old wearying squabbling was resumed. What Hastings proposed was invariably disapproved by the opposite party, and their measures were rarely approved by Hastings. It seemed as if there was a determined effort made to compel him to resign, and both Clavering and Francis were longing to succeed him in his post. At one time he wrote to his friends in England to present his re- signation to the Court of Directors, but directly Nuncomar was removed he retracted these instructions. At length, on June 19,1777, despatches were received from the Court of Directors stating that his resignation had been accepted, and that General Clavering who had received the honour of knighthood, had been appointed to succeed him. Hastings was about to acquiesce, but Sir John Clavering's over-eager- ness to assume his new honours, caused him to hold firm. Sir John had himself sworn in as Govern or- General, and com- manded the troops to obey his orders. Hastings gave counter- orders and was obeyed. An appeal was made to the Supreme Court, and all four judges gave judgment in Hastings' favour. " It was quite evident/' they said, " that the Gov- ernor-General was not removed and had not resigned,'' and that, as yet, there was no vacancy. In two months Sir John Clavering was removed by death. Hastings had now a majority in the Council by using his casting vote. Col. Mon- son had died in the preceding year. Though there was much excitement and many quarrels in the Council Cham- ber, we purpose not to mention them further, with the ex- ception of one incident which led to a final breach with Mr. Francis. Just before Mr. Barwell's departure from India, a compact was entered into between the Governor-General and Mr. Francis, in which the latter agreed no longer to oppose him, but to give his measures a general support. I. WAEEEN HASTINGS. 17 This is proved by the records, but Mr. Francis denied and broke this agreement ; and Mr. Hastings, on one occasion, deliberately permitted his temper to overcome his judgment, and wrote the following words in an official minute : " I do not trust to his promise of candour, convinced that he is not capable of it, and that his sole purpose and wish are to embarrass and defeat every measure which I may undertake. I judge of his public conduct by my experience of his private, which I have found to be void of truth and honour." Mr. Hastings had given his opponent a copy of the min- ute in which these words occurred the day before the meeting of Council, and the latter was so exasperated that, after the meeting, he presented the Governor- General with a challenge to fight. On the next day, but one, August 17,1780, a duel was fought between them ; that is, they went together into a retired field near the city with only two or three witnesses ; and, standing a certain distance apart, fired at each other with pistols. Mr. Francis was wounded by Mr. Hastings' shot, but not fatally. He recov- ered after a time, but never forgave his antagonist. He left the country in the following December, completely foiled in his malicious endeavour to oust the Governor-Gen- eral, and to succeed to his place ; but he renewed the conflict in England, and was the prime mover in the long persecution, which is hereafter to be related. A few words should be said regarding this duel. Public opinion among Englishmen is now so completely opposed to such a mode of settling disputes that we can scarcely understand the toleration of it in those days. It was a barbarous custom, and one of which men calling themselves Christian ought to have been thoroughly ashamed. Refusing a challenge, even at that time, would have showed greater moral courage than accepting one ; but the whole affair, from beginning to end, was directly contrary to the law of God and to the spirit of the Gospel of Christ. Henceforward Warren Hastings was left undisturbed and unopposed to carry out his own measures. Never was there more need of a man of calm and cool judgment at the B 18 GOVERNOES-GENEEAL OP INDIA. head of affairs in India. The British possessions were menaced from two separate quarters. The Mahrattas were pressing on them in the West and Central India, and Hyder AH in the South ; but Hastings' masterly policy, seconded strenuously by most courageous and competent officers, was entirely successful. We have not space to go into detail here. Suffice it to mention a little more fully two matters of foreign policy, because they were brought against the Governor-General as serious items in the charges made regarding his conduct in the government. Raja Cheyt Singh, then Zemindar of Benares, had been a dependent of the Nawab Vizier of Oudh, who, in 1775, transferred all his rights over him to the Company. He was not an independent sovereign, but held his Zemindari by a sunnud granted by the English Government, and had executed an agreement binding himself to do every- thing that was needful for the safety and defence of his territory. For some time he had been behind in paying his kists. At this period of imminent peril to the Company's dominions, Sir Eyre Coote, the Commander-in-Chief, pro- posed that, in addition to an increased tribute, he should be required to furnish a body of cavalry for the defence of the Empire. He evaded, and eventually refused this demand. The Governor-General, who certainly bore no good will towards Cheyt Singh for advances he had un- doubtedly made to his adversaries in the Council, but who as certainly cannot be justly accused of allowing private animosity to influence his public conduct, determined to inflict on him a fine for his contumacy. As Mr. Hastings was about to visit Lucknow for the purpose of conference with the Nawab Vizier regarding the affairs of Oudh, he resolved to stay at Benares on his way. Arriving there on August 15, 1781, he sent on the next day a formal demand through the Resident for the payment of fifty lakhs of rupees to the Company. On this being refused, he placed him under arrest in his palace under a guard of two companies of sepoys. The populace rose ; the guard, who were unaccountably without ammunition, were overcome and slain ; the Raja, whose palace was on the I. WARREN HASTINGS. 19 steep bank of the river, let himself down by a rope of turbans, and fled in a boat to one of his fortresses. This sudden insurrection set the whole country in a tumult. The Governor-General was in imminent peril; but, in the very centre of the storm, he retained a marvellous calmness and presence of mind. Not only messages for assistance and despatches to his colleagues, but papers of the utmost moment regarding the Mahratta campaign, were sent in secret writings contained in the ear-rings of the messen- gers. On the fourth evening, hearing that the house he was in was to be attacked, he retreated, with the five and thirty English gentlemen and officers and about four hundred sepoys who constituted his escort, to Chunar. Help was coming from every quarter. He was beloved by officers and sepoys alike, and ere long all resistance had ceased. The storm lulled as swiftly as it arose. By November the town and Zemindari of Benares were brought under good and regular government. The territory was placed in the possession of a cousin of Cheyt Singh, and admirable police and municipal arrangements were made for the town by Warren Hastings. The second matter to which reference should here be made is the case of the Begums of Oudh. Shuja-ud-Dow- lah, the late Nawab of that country had left a large amount of treasure which, contrary to Muhammadan law, had been taken possession of by his mother and widow, who also possessed certain jaghirs and a large force of armed retainers. Some years before the recent events occurred, they had lent a large sum of money to the present Nawab, and their jaghirs had been guaranteed to them by the English Government. All the proceedings at that time were conducted by the majority against the judgment of Mr. Hastings. At this juncture, the Nawab Vizier was considerably in arrears in his payments to the Company, and the Government of Bengal, sorely prest to carry on the wars in other parts of India, demanded payment from the Nawab, who, on a visit to Hastings when at Chunar, earnestly requested that he might be permitted to resume the Begums' jaghirs. Permission was granted not only 20 GOVEBNOES-GENEEAL OF INDIA. for the resumption of these estates, but for the appropria- tion of his father's treasure. The whole country of Oudh had been excited to the core by the revolt at Benares, and it was proved by incontrovertible evidence that the Begums had been actively assisting Cheyt Singh. Hastings, deeply convinced of their guilt, permitted the Resident to help the Nawab in obtaining the treasure by the employment of British troops against the ill-disci- plined levies of the Begums in their palace at Faizabad. They were kept in confinement, and their two chief minis- ters were compelled to surrender the treasure by more rigorous treatment than the Resident ought to have per- mitted. How far Hastings is answerable for this treat- ment is a matter for serious consideration. It was just to visit the contumacy and disaffection of the Begums with retribution; but nothing approaching ill-treatment ought ever to have been even tacitly sanctioned. Warren Hastings' career in India was now fast drawing to a close. He intended to retire at the beginning of 1784; but affairs at Lucknow were so unsatisfactory that he determined to proceed thither before he left the country. Mrs. Hastings, therefore, sailed alone from Calcutta in January and in the following month he proceeded to Luck- now, deeply grieved at having to part with his beloved companion. After arranging matters in Oudh, he returned to Calcutta in November, and on the 1st of February, he delivered over charge of the Government to the senior member of Council, and sailed for England on the 8th of that month. By that date peace and tranquillity had been restored. Hyder Ali in the south had been defeated and was now dead ; the Mahrattas had been subdued and were, for a season, quiet ; the French had been vanquished ; and Oudh and the countries bordering on Bengal were tran- quil. The broad foundations for the English supremacy had been laid, mainly by the genius of this one man. Warren Hastings landed on the shores of his native land on June 13, 1785, The reception he experienced at first deluded him into the belief that the essential services he had rendered the Empire would be appreciated, and that I. WARREN HASTINGS. 21 he would be suffered to remain at peace. In this he was thoroughly mistaken. Hardly a week had elapsed before notice of opposition to him was given by Mr. Burke, in the House of Commons. The bitter conflict against him which had been carried on in the Council Chamber at Calcutta was renewed on a greater and more august stage. The noblest orators of the age took a prominent part in it. English statesmen like Pitt and Fox, eloquent orators like Burke, Sheridan, and Grrey, eminent judges like Thurlow and Ellen borough, took their respective sides, and the whole of London society was divided by the political turmoil. But behind them all, Francis, now in the House of Commons, with his deep-seated malignity and rancour, was prompting and instigating the attack. After several animated debates in the House, in which Pitt, then Prime Minister, changed sides, and, on compara- tively trivial grounds, sanctioned the prosecution, it was decided that Hastings should be impeached before the House of Lords on various charges of mal-administration. There then occurred a scene of unparalleled interest and gorgeous solemnity. The trial took place in a splendid hall of historical celebrity. This beautiful room, still in existence, is situated opposite Westminster Abbey, and adjoins the present House of Commons and is connected by corridors with the House of Lords. Westminster Hall had in by-gone days been the scene of the trial of Charles the First. The impeachment of a commoner was, however, an event of rare occurrence. It consequently attracted all the most celebrated men and women in the metropolis. The trial began on February 13, 1788. Lord Thurlow, the Lord High Chancellor of England, presided. The vast hall was thronged, and before that illustrious assem- bly, Warren Hastings appeared and respectfully bowed as he listened to the charges made against him. His appear- ance is thus described by one of the spectators : " A man very infirm and much indisposed, dressed in a plain, poppy- coloured suit of clothes. His small, spare figure was, how- ever, still upright, and his bearing showed a due mixture of deference and dignity. A high forehead, with arched eye- 22 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. brows overhanging soft, sad eyes, which presently flashed defiance on his accusers, a long, sensitive nose that contrasted with the firmer lines of his mouth and chin, and the calm pallor of an oval face framed in brown waving hair." The charges and Hastings' reply occupied the first two days. The principal charges were concerned with the invasion of Rohilkhand, treatment of the Eaja of Benares, the spoliation of the Begums of Oudh, and the treatment of the people of Bengal. On the third day Burke rose and his speech, which was intended as an introduction to all the charges, lasted four days. It was a master-piece of ingenious eloquence, and its effect on the audience was marvellous. Ladies sobbed and screamed and fainted. The concluding words electrified all who were present: " I impeach Warren Hastings in the name of the Commons' House of Parliament, whose trust he has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of the English nation, whose ancient honour he has sullied. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose country he has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name of both sexes, in the name of every age, in the name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and oppressor of all !" The only other speech of thrilling interest was that of Sheridan, who undertook the defence of the Begums of Oudh, and who concluded his peroration by gracefully falling into the arms of his friend Burke with the affectation of being completely overcome. The first part of the trial lasted thirty-five days, and the High Court of Parliament then adjourned. The trial afterwards degenerated into a mere farce. It dragged its slow length wearily alongr, and did not come to an end for seven years. Then Warren Hastings, on April 23, 1795, was acquitted on all the charges on which he had been arraigned. The chief actors in the prose- cution had considerably changed ; public opinion on it had entirely altered ; and the popular interest in it had com- pletely died out. With regard to this celebrated trial, it ought to be borne in mind that much unworthy political feeling lay 'behind it, and it is impossible to estimate I. WABREN HASTINGS. 23 it properly because we are unacquainted with all that was transpiring behind the outward show. The broad fact, however, remains that, after a solemn trial before the High Court of Parliament, as represented by the most illustrious peers of the realm, Warren Hastings was judicially acquit- ted of cruelty, rapacity and injustice ; and we are called upon by every principle of good feeling to believe the concludiDg words of his defence, which we consider it fair to quote as a set-off against Burke's passionate invective. The opinion of the present day, confirmed by the recent publication of the records of that period which had been preserved in Calcutta, is more inclined to believe his state- ments than the rhetoric of Macaulay, Sheridan, and Burke. " In the presence/' he said, " of that Being from whom no secrets are hid, I do, upon a full review and scrutiny of my past life, unequivocally and conscientiously declare that in the administration of that trust of Government which was so many years confided to me, I did in no in- stance intentionally sacrifice the interests of my country to any private views of personal advantage ; that, according to my best skill and judgment, I invariably promoted the essential interests of my employers, the happiness and pros- perity of the people committed to my charge, and the welfare and honour of my country. " The cost of this trial was ruinous. Warren Hastings, who had never been a careful manager of his own private resources, and who has been entirely acquitted by all im- partial writers of having acquired wealth dishonestly, was unable to meet the amount. He naturally applied to the Prime Minister, expecting as he had been acquitted, that the costs of the trial should be paid by the nation, but this was declined. Eventually the Court of Directors voted him a pension of 4,000 a year for twenty-eight years, and lent him 50,000 without interest. He had been prom- ised a peerage by some persons in office, but this was impossible so long as Pitt and Fox were in power. Later on he received the honour of being made one of the King's Privy Councillors. At the renewal of the East Indi^. Company's Charter in 1813, he was examined 24 GOVBRNORS-GENEBAL OP INDIA. as a witness by the House of Commons, and, as lie retired after giving his evidence, the members rose and uncovered as he withdrew a compliment which he much appreciat- ed. The House of Lords did the same. There is no doubt that, in his declining years, he was always received with respect, on the rare occasions when he appeared in public. The greater part of his time, however, he spent in the ordinary occupations of a country gentleman. Before the great trial, he had fulfilled one of the darling objects of his life by purchasing Daylesford, the ancestral estate of his family. He occupied himself in rebuilding and deco- rating the old manor house, in riding, and in attempting to raise Indian vegetables and fruits on English soil. He also found pleasure and relaxation in literary pursuits. He was fond of writing verses, and amused himself by reading what he had just written to Mrs. Hastings and their guests as they were seated at breakfast. The fol- lowing is a specimen of these effusions, which, we believe, has never yet appeared in print. It is taken from a poem on a beautiful statue called the Dying G-ladiator. It was written May 9, 1810. THE DYING GLADIATOR. " High in the foremost rank of sculptured stone The Dying Gladiator long has shone. Be mine the hope, with emulative fire, To track the chisel, nor disgrace the lyre. Low, but not prostrate, languid, yet with strength, Too proud to expire in ease and at his length ; Mark yon stern champion, in the act to die, Oppose at once and yield to destiny. * * ' * * * While the large chest, with an ill-stifled sigh, Scarce heard, bespeak the last convulsion nigh, When from his throat the accumulated gore Shall burst a deluge and he breathes no more, We trace, we feel his sufferings, hear him groan, Nor e'en suspicion whispers ' This is stone.' " In innocent recreation such as this, varied by occasional visits to old friends or to London, Warren Hastings spent his long old age. I. WAEREN HASTINGS. 25 He enjoyed excellent health, but in 1818 it began to give way. A few months or weeks of very severe suffering and illness ensued, and on August 22, he quietly died. He was buried just behind the little church of Daylesford, which he had recently helped to repair. A bust was raised to his memory in Westminster Abbey, where many great Englishmen have been commemorated or laid. Thus ended a life of singular variety and interest. As a statesman Warren Hastings was peculiarly clear-headed, calm, and resolute. There can be no question that the structure of the English Empire in India owed to him the broad and deep foundation on which it is built. What- ever his fellow-countrymen may have said of him, the inhabitants of Bengal were thoroughly attached to him. The army of that day was devoted to him. Both Lord Cornwallis and Sir John Shore, his immediate successors, are witnesses to the love entertained for him by the people of Bengal. As to his private character, we are unable to attribute to him such unqualified praise. He was essen- tially a great, but we can scarcely call him a good, man. The principles on which he acted were evidently those of a thorough man of the world, and appear to have been grounded on mere expediency without a thought beyond. He showed himself hard and unyielding in his private enmities and dislikes; and, while, as men, we cannot but admire the undaunted and courageous manner in which he met the long and persistent attacks made upon him, he does not seem to us to have understood the gentler principles and the higher motives on which the lives of Christian men are fashioned. LORD CORNWALLIS. II. LORD CORNWALLIS. 27 IT. LOKD CORNWALLIS. A. D. 17861793 AND 1805. BORN 1738; DIED, 1805. " The secret consciousness Of duty well performed ; the public voice Of praise that honours virtue and rewards it ; All these are yours." Francis. LORD Cornwallis had the high honour of twice holding the office of G-over nor- General of Bengal. He was born on the last day of the year 1738. Born of a noble family, he was sent for the early part of his education to Eton, a school of ancient foundation, near the royal borough of Windsor, on the river Thames, where it was customary for many of the nobility of England to send their sons. While there, his father was promoted to an earldom, and he assumed the second title of the family, and was known as Lord Brome, One day during this period of his life, a school fellow accidentally hit him in the eye with a stick, and the blow was so serious that it occasioned a slight, but permanent, obliquity of vision that lasted through life- At the age of eighteen, he chose the army as his profession, and, leaving school, he entered the First Regiment of the King of England's Guards. Obtaining leave for the purpose, he took a tour on the continent of -Europe, and, for a short time, studied at the Royal Military Academy at Turin in Italy. About this period the famous Seven Years' War commenced, and Lord Brome hastened to join the English army which had been despatched to take part in it on the Prussian side. He was engaged, first as the English General's aide-de-camp, and afterwards in command of a regiment, in several of the battles that occurred. Family circumstances soon demanded the young noble- man's presence in England. His father died June 23, 1762, and he succeeded him as Earl Cornwallis, taking his seat in the English House of Peers. At first he served with his 28 GOVEENOES-GENEEAL OP INDIA. regiment in various parts of England and Ireland; but, after a time, he received an appointment at the Court of the King, and subsequently was given the more important posts of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland and Constable of the Tower of London. He seems to have been diligent in attendance to his duties in the House of Lords, and to have brought upon himself by his conduct there the honour of an unmerited rebuke from that very unscrupulous writer Junius. On July 14,1768, Lord Cornwallis married Miss Jones, daughter of Colonel Jones, who commanded one of the Eegiments of Guards. He and his wife lived together most happily during the short period of their union. She died eleven years after their marriage, her death being accelerated, or, perhaps, wholly occasioned by her grief at his absence during the American War of Independence. She said herself that she died of a broken heart, and she requested that a thorn-tree might be planted over her grave above the part where her heart would lie, as an emblem of the sad lot of her whom the ' pricking briars and grieving thorns ' had so terribly lacerated. This touching whim was tenderly complied with. We have thus slightly anticipated the next most event- ful period of Lord Cornwallis 7 life. From 1776 to 1781 he was engaged in the disastrous and humiliating war be- tween England and her revolted colonies in America. During this time he went to England twice, on the second occasion being just in time to see his beloved wife once more. His heart had yearned to enjoy the tranquil plea- sure and the solid satisfaction of domestic life, and he felt this so strongly that he resigned the high position he held as second in command of the army in the field; but the sad blow of Lady Cornwallis' death induced him to offer his services again to his sovereign, and he became thence- forward devotedly attached to the profession of arms, and duty alone was the guiding star of his existence. The fol- lowing incident will serve to illustrate the state of his mind at this trying time. A few months after his return to America, it was determined to attempt the capture of Charlestown by assault, and, notwithstanding his responsi- II. LORD CORNWALLIS. 29 ble position, lie offered to join the storming party, and to risk his life as one of the subordinate officers in the perilous attempt. The assault, however, did not take place. This anecdote is given rather to show the chivalrous devotion of Lord Cornwallis as a part of his personal character then as a piece of the history of the War of Independence in America. It is not in- tended to enter into the narrative of that war, as it is not connected with India. Suffice it to say that it was carried on in the most irregular fashion. Successes were never followed up ; there were dissensions between the two chiefs, Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Cornwallis ; and, above all, there was the prevalent feeling among all ranks that they were supporting a falling and unpopular cause. Notwith- standing any opinion that may be formed as to the sound- ness of his judgment on all matters, there can be no hesi- tation in asserting that the most brilliant achievements of the war were performed by Lord Cornwallis, and that, if they could have been properly followed up, the final result might have been very different. He was in command of the troops at York Town, when, on the failure of relief by sea, they were compelled to surrender to General Wash- ington, the American Commander-in-Chief, which was practically the final catastrophe in that ill-fated and ill- managed war. He held out as long as he possibly could, and, with soldierly instinct, conceived the plan of aban- doning his position to the south of the river on which York Town was situated, of withdrawing his forces to the north bank, and of then cutting his way through the enemy's troops in that quarter, and joining the remainder of the British Army further north. This desperate plan was frustrated by a violent storm arising and preventing the passage of the greater part of his men. Foiled in this endeavour, he was compelled to surrender on hard, but sufficiently honorable, terms on October 19, 1781. He was himself detained on a prisoner on parole, and eventu- ally returned to England, where he arrived early in Janu- ary, 1782. For some time he was on parole, that is, he was prevented, on his word of honour, from serving 30 GOVEENOBS-GENBEAL OP INDIA. against the American colonists, for several months until an exchange was effected between him and an American officer of rank. The French had latterly been acting as the allies of the American army, and had been employed with them in the siege of York Town ; and, as bearing on the chivalrous character of Lord Corn- wallis, the following kindly notice of the French officers in their treatment of their captive enemies is quoted : " The treatment/' he wrote, " that we have received from the enemy since our surrender has been perfectly good and proper; but the kindness and attention that has been shewn us by the French officers in particular their deli- cate sensibility of our situation their generous and press- ing offer of money has really gone beyond what I can possibly describe, and will, I hope, make an impression on the breast of every British officer, whenever the fortune of war should put any of them in our power." This delicacy of conduct and feeling reflected the greatest honour on either side. So soon as Lord Cornwallis had become a free agent, he wished to be employed once more on military service. At one period the English ministry then in authority were desirous to appoint him Commander-in-chief in India, and at another to give him the position of Governor- General. He was at first most reluctant to accept either post. Deeply impressed with the manifest disadvantage of the state of affairs which had led to the scandalous dissensions between Warren Hastings and his councillors at Calcutta, he was very clear in expressing his reluctance to place himself in a similar position, and very firm in adhering to his resolution not to go out to India unless both offices were conferred upon him, and he was invested with the power of acting in emergencies on his own individual responsibility. There was also prominently rising in his mind the anxiety not to be separated from his children, who were then attaining an age when they needed most a father's tender care. There was also still lurking in his heart the consuming ambition for military glory. These sentiments are evident in the noble II. LORD CORNWALLIS. 31 expression of his views in a letter to a friend, when the Prime Minister, Mr. Pitt, made him an offer of the combin- ed civil and military power in India. This idea was in an unsettled and inchoate condition, when he wrote : " I told Lord Sydney," who spoke to him on the premier's behalf, "that I could not think of it with pleasure, that it did not agree with my favourite passion" (by which he meant military renown), but that as soon as their plan was ?ut into an intelligible form, I would consider whether could undertake it with any appearance of utility to the public ; and that if that should be the case, I might be induced to sacrifice every prospect of comfort and happiness in this world to the service of my country and the advan- tage of my family. In short my mind is much agitated. Yet inclination cries out every moment, Do not think of it; why should you volunteer plague and misery ? Duty then whispers, You are not sent here merely to please yourself ; the wisdom of Providence has thought fit to put an insuper- able bar to any great degree of happiness. Try to be of some use ; serve your country and your friends ; your con- fined circumstances do not allow you to contribute to the happiness of others by generosity and extensive charity ; take the means which God is willing to place in your hands." In these high-minded words are to be found the keynote to Lord Cornwallis' noble character. He felt that he had not been sent into the world to please himself, and that he was bound to sacrifice his own ease and his own inclinations in order to be of service to his country and to mankind. The negotiations regarding his appointment were protract- ed ; and meanwhile he visited Berlin having been permit- ted by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, to be present at the reviews of the Prussian army, and was em- powered to enter into certain confidential negotiations with that celebrated monarch. On his return to England he received the double appointment of Governor- General and Commander-in-Chief in India, with the full individual responsibility that he desired. In announcing this to his friend Colonel Boss, it seems that his acceptance of the offer was still very much against the grain. "The pro- 32 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF. INDIA. posal of going to India, " he said, " has been pressed upon me so strongly that, much against my will and with grief of heart, I have been obliged to say yes, and to exchange a life of ease and content, to encounter all the miseries of command and public station." Seldom has such a splendid position been so reluctantly accepted. Lord Cornwallis set sail from England May 6, 1756, on board the Swallow, and reached Calcutta on September 11. One of his companions on the voyage was that distinguish- ed Civilian, Mr. Shore, afterwards Lord Teignmouth, his immediate successor, who had been appointed to a seat in the Council at Calcutta, and who was also going out sorely against his will and entirely from a sense of duty and for the benefit of the State. A close intimacy between these two eminent men sprang up and ripened into permanent friendship; and many an earnest conversation regarding the country to which they were hastening, its peoples, its revenue systems, and its political condition, must have lightened the tedium of the voyage. The day after the arrival of the vessel Lord Cornwallis landed in the early morning, and assumed charge of the offices of Governor- General and Commander-in-Chief . His accession to power marks an epoch in the history of the Company's territories in India. The sound policy of appointing to the highest position in the state a nobleman of unblemished character and exalted rank was inaugurated. With only two excep- tions this policy has since been steadily pursued. It is now clearly seen how manifest is the advantage of having at the head of affairs a statesman of independent views, who, coming straight from office in England, can exercise a calm and impartial judgment in all important matters, entirely free from local prejudice and from party intrigue, and can give the ruling authorities in England wise and sound advice on both political and domestic questions, while having the power, in cases of emergency, to act on his own individual responsibility. There is, of course, the disadvantage, on the one hand, of his being, to a great extent, ignorant of the languages, the habits, and the his- tory of the people of India, and the possibility of his being II. LORD COENWALLIS. 33 influenced by the representations of some prejudiced clique by whom he may be surrounded. But, on the other hand, the clear views and the extensive knowledge of human character which a high-minded and independent statesman was likely to possess, and the overwhelming probability that, in all his ministrations, he will prove himself pure in his policy and unbiassed in his judgment, far outweigh the possible disadvantages on the other side. The first task to which Lord Cornwallis applied himself was the reformation of the Civil Service. Several attempts in this direction had been made by Lord Olive, when Gov- ernor of Bengal, and by Warren Hastings ; but they had proved only the cleansing of the outside, while corruption was rampant within. The whole system required to be thoroughly remodelled. The Court of Directors were, we believe, really anxious for the purity and the welfare of their servants ; but they were very loathe to sanction any change in the system which gave their officials very low and inadequate salaries, while they were permitted to sup- plement their incomes by commission and by trade. Lord Cornwallis was the means of effecting a complete revolution in this respect. Collectors, Magistrates, and Judges received sufficient official remuneration, and they were forbidden to accept presents or to interfere with trade. It had hitherto been the custom for persons in high authority in England to send out to India needy relatives or dependents, expecting that they should be provided with suitable and lucrative appointments. Lord Corn- wallis set his face resolutely against this evil practice. The Queen's Chamberlain, himself an English nobleman, sent out a certain gentleman recommended by the Queen her- self. " This has greatly distressed me ;" Lord Cornwallis wrote to a friend, " but I have too much at stake. I can- not desert the only system that can save this country even for her sacred Majesty. 7 ' A short time afterwards he wrote regarding this gentleman : " I told you how Lord Ailesbury had distressed me by sending him out. He is now writing in the Secretary's office for Es. 200 or Es. 250 a month, and I do not see the probability of my being able C 34 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. to give him anything better without deserving to be im- peached. I am still persecuted every day by people com- ing out with letters to me, who either get into jail or starve in the foreign settlements." Thus setting his face as a flint against every thing unworthy, it can easily be imag- ined that at first Lord Cornwallis became very unpo- pular ; but this soon past away, and, as the tone of English society grew healthier, he became universally respected, and, a much more difficult thing, really liked. It will be well to give here the words of Mr. Shore, with whom he was most intimately associated, and who had every means of judging : " I live upon the happiest terms with Lord Cornwallis," he wrote soon after their arrival ; " I love and esteem his character. The honesty of his principles is inflexible; he is manly, affable, and good-natured; and of an excellent judgment. His health is sound, for he has not had an hour's indisposition since first I saw him. If the state of affairs will allow him to be popular, no Governor would ever enjoy a greater share of popularity. Natives and Europeans universally exclaim that Lord Cornwallis 5 arrival has saved the country." A few months later, writing to Warren Hastings, he says, " The respect, esteem, and regard which I have for him might subject my opinion of his government to a suspicion of partiality. Yet I can- not avoid mentioning that it has acquired the character of vigour, consistency, and dignity. The system of patron- age which you so justly reprobated, and which you always found so grievous a tax, has been entirely subverted... His situation was uncomfortable on our arrival ; he now receives the respect due to his zeal, integrity, and indefatiga- ble application/ 1 No one knew better the state and feel- ing of Calcutta society than Mr. Shore, who had resided there for a long period, including the whole of Warren Hastings' administration. With the regular and upright life of Lord Cornwallis as an example always before it, the tone of English society in the capital decidedly improved. The sad sins of drun- kenness, irregular living, and gambling sensibly decreased : certainly they did so in their outward manifestation. II. LOED COENWALLIS. 35 While most hospitable and regal in his public entertainments, he was most quiet and unostentatious in his private habits, and regular in his official duties. He arrived during the worst season of the year, and evidently felt the heat and sultry oppressiveness of the air very much. He wrote to his dear son, Lord Brome, in one of the letters in which he relieved the affectionate feelings of his heart, that he was contented to broil at Calcutta, if only he heard that he was well and happy. The tradition is that he used, when he drove for pleasure, to go out in a buggy, or, as in some verses by a late Bengal Civilian, " In a one-horse-chay, My Lord Cornwallis drove about; alack and well-a-day." But he generally rode on horseback, accompanied by his trusted friend and military secretary, Colonel Ross, and usually went out twice a day. Writing to his son he gives the following brief sketch of his daily life, which, he said, was perfect clock-work, meaning that each day was just like its predecessor, and that the same employments occurred with dull regularity : " I get on horseback just as the dawn of day begins to appear, ride on the s#me road and the same distance, pass the whole forenoon after my return from riding in doing business, and almost the same exactly before sunset, then write and read over letters or papers of business for two hours, sit down at nine, with two or three officers of my family, to some fruit and a biscuit, and go to bed soon after the clock strikes ten." He then adds the remark that no hard-working boy at his son's school could lead a duller life than this. In August 1787, nearly a year after his arrival, Lord Cornwallis thought it his duty to visit the Company's stations and other places in the interior. Travelling in those days was very different to what, owing to railways, it is in these. Travellers had to go slowly and quietly up the river Ganges in boats to reach the places accessible from that stream, and to march, or to journey by palanquin to localities more remote. The Governor- General was about a month reaching Benares, and then proceeded to 36 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. Fatehgarh, Cawnpore, and Allahabad. Being Com- mander-in-chief as well as Governor- General, he kept his eyes open to the state and efficiency of the army, and the estimate he formed of the qualities of the sepoy army was very high ; but he was by no means satisfied with the tone or the soldierly qualities of the Company's European regi- ments, and he recommended that a better class of men should be recruited in England. Lord Cornwallis extended his tour to Oudh, being very dissatisfied with the affairs of that province,with the embarrassment occasioned to the Na- wab Vizier by European adventurers, and with the relations between that sovereign and the East India Company. When at Lucknow, he wrote how much he was concerned to be a witness to the disordered state of the finances and Government of that country and of its desolate appearance. " The evils were too alarming to admit of palliation, and I thought it my duty to exhort the Nawab in the most friendly manner to endeavour to apply effectual remedies to them. " The affairs of Oudh were, in fact, culminating towards that pitiable point that required the direct inter- ference which his successor was obliged to enforce. He returned to Calcutta in December. He was so fortunate in wind and weather, he said, that he completed his expe- dition, during which, by land and water, he had travelled more than two thousand two hundred miles in less than four months, without omitting any material object of his tour. The next two years were spent in hard and unremitting work in the trying climate of Calcutta. The labour which chiefly pressed on his mind was the preparation of the measure known as the Zemindari Settlement, by which his administration has principally been rendered famous. Since the East India Company had " stood forth as Dewan, ;; the necessity for a thorough and business-like system for the collection of the revenue had been apparent. It had incessantly occupied the attention of the ablest civil officials of the Government, and it had forced itself into promi- nence in the counsels of the Court of Directors. Vigorous attempts in this direction had been made by Warren II. LORD COENWALLIS. 37 Hastings and his compeers, which were frustrated by the dissensions at the Council Board. The Court of Directors were now determined that the matter should have the care- ful investigation it deserved, and that nothing should be permitted to hinder its completion. It has been stated by Mr. Mill, a peculiarly prejudiced historian, that, " full of the aristocratical ideas of Modern Europe, the aristo- cratical person now at the head of the Govern- ment," namely, Lord Cornwallis, the subject of the pre- sent memoir, "Avowed his attention of establishing an aristocracy upon the European model. " It has been clear- ly proved that nothing could have been further removed from the fact than this rash and uncharitable assertion. When he left the shores of England, Lord Cornwallis knew as much about the Zemindari tenure of land as about the cultivation of paddy. He left with the fixed determination to do what was right on this and on every other subject : but with no other fixed determination, for he was a man of singularly calm and deliberate judg- ment. The scheme was, in fact, not his alone ; but was the conclusion come to by the most experienced revenue officers of Bengal, it received the mature consideration of the Court of Directors, and was not sanctioned by them and by the Board of Control until some time after it had obtained Lord Cornwallis's approval. In April, 1786, the month he quitted England, the Court issued instructions to the G-overnor-General-in-Council to consider this great subject. They were dissatisfied with former attempts at settlement, and at the former annual arrangements. " A moderate assessment," they wrote, " regularly and punctually collected, unites the considerations of our in- terests with the happiness of the people, and security of the landholders, more rationally than any imperfect collec- tion of an exaggerated assessment to be enforced with severity and vexation." They particularly stated their de- sire that each contract should be made with the Zemindar himself, so that " the humane intention of the legislature towards the native landholder should be strictly fulfilled." These were Lord Cornwallis's instructions before he left 38 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. England. One of the best revenue officers, Mr. Shore, was appointed to co-operate with him, and was his compan- ion on board ship. On reaching Calcutta every available information was solicited, and, meanwhile, the old annual leases were continued. Report after report, letter on letter, were sent by the most experienced Collectors, notably one by Mr. Law, Collector of Behar, to the Council of Revenue, of which Mr. Shore, as senior member of Council, was President. The evidence in favour of making a set- tlement with the Zemindars direct was so overwhelming that his final report, dated June 18, 1789, strongly recom- mended that it should be adopted. The only point on which the Governor-General and he differed was as to whether the settlement thus made should be for a limited period of ten years in the first instance, or whether it should be permanent. Mr. Shore preferred the former plan in order that the new system might be carefully tested ; but Lord Cornwallis overruled him on this point, and recommended that the settlement should be permanent from the very commencement of the scheme. The final sanction of the Court of Directors was not given for three years ; but, on March 22, 1793, the final proclamation was issued establishing the Zemindari settlement, which has. ever since, been the settlement of Lower Bengal, and has been irrevocably associated with the great name of Lord Cornwallis. Such is a brief history of the passing of this important and famous measure. It does not fall within the scope of this brief sketch to compare the Zemindari system of Bengal with the other revenue systems of India ; but it will be well to give the testimony of an independent, and, at one time, a rather prejudiced witness, as to its beneficent and satisfactory results, "We have," wrote Captain, afterwards Sir John Malcolm, the distinguished administrator and writer on Indian affairs, " we have just passed through one of the finest and most highly cultivated tracts of country in the world. What adds to my pleasure in contemplating these scenes, is to hear every man 1 ask tell me how jungles have been cleared, and waste lands brought under cultivation. I confess, before I travelled II. LOED COKNWALLIS. 39 through these provinces, I was not perfectly reconciled to this system. I have now observed its effects, and must ever think it one of the most wise and benevolent plans that ever was conceived by a Government to render its subjects rich and comfortable." The introduction of the Zemindari system was the principal domestic measure that distinguished Lord Corn- wallis's administration ; the invasion of Mysore was the chief military one. He had left England with the strictest injunctions to use his utmost endeavours to maintain peace. His constant aim was to carry this policy of peace into effect; but Tippu Sultan, the hereditary enemy of England, was bent on renewing hostilities. He want only attacked the Maharajah of Travancore, who was an ally of the English Government, and that Government was in honour bound to defend and assist him. The Government of Madras was then in weak and incompetent hands. No adequate preparations for war had been made, and Lord Cornwallis was about to proceed thither, and take the chief command himself, when General Medows was appoint- ed Governor and Commander-in-chief of that Presidency, and for a time, he abandoned this design. General Medows, however, though a brave and chivalrous officer, proved himself to be an incompetent commander, and the early part of the campaign was desultory and inconclusive. The Governor-General was then compelled to carry into effect his original plan. He reached Madras on December 12,1790, and at once took the command with his own vigorous hands, and carried the war straight into the heart of the enemy's country. The first point aimed at was Bangalore. On March 5, he invested that town. In two days the pettah surrounding it was carried. On the 20th the fort was carried by assault, and Tippu withdrew to Seringapatam, his capital. The advance thither was delayed by a junction with the forces of the Nizam, and it was not till May 20 that the army came in sight of the minarets and forts of that famous citadel. But just as victory seemed within grasp, the English army, owing to insufficient supplies and siege appliances, was obliged to 40 GOVERNORS- GENERAL OF INDIA. retire, after having beaten the enemy in the open field. By the middle of June, the army was again at Bangalore. While there, it was considerably reinforced. Siege trains and every preparation for attack was made, and several of the fine hill-forts in the neighbourhood, such as Nandidroog and Savandroog were taken, and Lord Cornwallis, whose spirits had drooped during the retreat, gained heart again. By the 5th of February, 1792, the English army was once more in sight of Seringapatam, and burning to avenge the cruelties and indignities to which Tippu had subjected his prisoners. A night assault was made on Tippu's camp, which lay between the advancing army and the fort, Lord Cornwallis himself commanding the centre division, and he was slightly wounded on the occasion. Defeated under the very walls of his capital, Tippu retired into the fort ; but he lost heart, and was induced by his officers to enter into negotiations for peace. After considerable delay owing to the extreme reluctance of Sultan to accede to the Governor-General's terms, a treaty was signed. The terms were the cession of half his territories, and the payment of a large indemnity, two of his sons being surrendered as hostages. The ceded territory was shared with the half- hearted allies, the Mahrattas and the Nizam, and Coorg was restored to its rightful Hindu raja. The two young princes, aged eight and ten, were received by the kind- hearted Governor-General not only with regal magnificence, but with truly paternal affection. The scene of their reception was made the subject of an admirable painting, which was afterwards engraved. Lord Cornwallis scrupu- lously fulfilled his promise to treat them with care and atten- tion, and, as Colonel Wilks remarked, the transfer of these youths to the fatherly protection of the Governor-General, as implored by the Sultan's Yakeel in Eastern hyperbole, " ceased to be merely an oriental image, if determined by the test of paternal attentions." Some have expressed the doubt whether Lord Cornwallis was wise in according to Tippu such comparatively light terms, and, on looking back to that time with the knowledge of all the subsequent marvellous events of Indian history, it is easy to make such II. LORD COENWALLIS. 41 an assertion ; but the Governor-General's policy must be studied in the light of the situation then occupied, and, thus regarded, it can scarcely be condemned. The feeling of the Court of Directors and of the English ministry of that day was strongly in favour of peace. There was no well-founded and carefully considered plan for English dominion in India, and the external safety and internal administration were the first objects of Lord Cornwallis's Indian policy. It was thoroughly approved by the English Government. The king created him a Marquis, being a step higher in the peerage than he possessed, and Mr. Pitt, then Prime Minister, offered him a seat in the Cabinet on his return to England, which he declined on the plea of his deficiency in oratorical power, which he considered essential to the occu- pancy of such an influential post. On the conclusion of peace Lord Cornwallis returned to Calcutta, and resumed the quieter duties of home admini- stration. He was not only deeply interested in the intro- duction of the new Permanent Settlement of the revenue ; but, with the assistance of such able advisers as Mr. after- wards Sir George, Barlow, he was busily engaged in preparing a set of Judicial and Civil Regulations, which were promul- gated in the year 1793. These Regulations were the laws by which British India was governed until the production of the more elaborate codes of modern times. These Regu- lations bear the marks of careful thought, and were most admirably adopted to the condition of Hindu society and of English rule. " The change thus effected, ;; Sir George Barlow considered, " did not consist in alterations in the ancient customs and usages of the country affecting the rights of person and property. It related chiefly to the giving security to those rights by affording to our native subjects the means of obtaining redress against any infringement of them, either by the Gov- ernment itself , its officers, or individuals of any de- scription." Sir William Jones awarded to these Regula- tions the highest praise, and another eminent lawyer said that they would do credit to any legislation of ancient or modern times. They were in full force for more than 42 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. seventy years, and they should be compared with the attempts at legislation that preceded them rather than with the present Codes, which are the product of some of the acutest minds of the nineteenth century. Lord Cornwallis gave over charge of the Government to his successor, Sir John Shore, who, a few months previous- ly, had come again from England for this purpose, on August 17, 1793, but he did not leave India till October 10, when he embarked at Madras on board the same vessel which had brought him out seven years before. He reach- ed England on the 3rd of February following. The suc- cess of his administration in India had so impressed the English ministry that they were most anxious to employ in the public service one who had shown himself so upright, moderate, and judicious. He had looked forward to a season of retirement and repose ; but was ready, at the call of duty, to place his services at the disposal of his king and country whenever and wherever they were needed. He had scarcely been three months in his native land, when he was sent to Flanders to carry on a delicate negotiation with the Emperor of Austria at Brussels, where the armies of England, Austria, and Prussia were acting in alliance against France. At the beginning of 1795 he was appoint- ed Master General of the Ordnance and a Cabinet Minister. It was a busy office in a time of war and excitement ; but he found sufficient leisure to think and write about Indian affairs. In a short time, a threatened mutiny among the officers of the Bengal army occasioned great anxiety in England ; and it was thought advisable to send out at once an officer of experience to allay the excitement in Bengal, and to use his authority and influence to put matters on a more satisfactory footing. The authorities in England very naturally turned to one in whom they had so much confidence and who had gained such recent experience as Lord Cornwallis, and he was appointed to proceed to India once more as Governor-General on this important mission. The necessity for this course happily passed away. Lord Cornwallis thankfully withdrew, and Lord Mornington, after wards LordWeliesley, was appointed II. LOED CORNWALLIS. 4$ Governor-General, a young and powerful statesman in whose capacity lie had every reason to believe. The three years from 1798 to 1801 were spent in a more trying and arduous position than even that of Governor- General of India. Ireland was in a state of rebellion, and it was necessary to place at the head of affairs there some well-tried, firm, but conciliatory administrator. The English ministry decided to request Lord Cornwallis to go to Dublin. With extreme reluctance he responded to the call, because he considered the call of duty, and he was appointed Viceroy of Ireland. This was an office in which it was impossible to anticipate any increase to his well established reputation, though it might reasonably be expected that his honour would suffer no eclipse. He was immediately exposed to a cross-fire of criticism from two opposite quarters. There was the wild Irish party on the one side, and the strong and highly irritated section of the British party on the other; but it is not too much to affirm that the Marquis Cornwallis bore himself in his exalted but irksome position with even-handed impartiality. A desultory French invasion of Ireland was defeated ; the Irish rebellion was suppressed ; and the Act of Union was effected during the eventful months that he held the viceregal reins. His influence prevented the rebellion being treated as a religious war between the Roman Catholics and Protestants, and his urbanity and firmness smoothed the way for the legislative union. The Parlia- ment in Dublin was abolished, and the full legislative authority was placed in the hands of the Imperial Parliament at Westminster, where it has since been retained. All this was done, not without difficulty and friction, but with a little as the circumstances permitted under the wise and conciliatory guidance of the Viceroy. To himself personally it was a time of great anxiety and tension. "The life of a Lord Lieutenant of Ireland," he wrote to a friend, " comes up to my idea of perfect misery. Of all the situations which I ever held, the present is by far the most intolerable to me, and I have often wished myself back in Bengal." This was no figure 44 GOVERNOBS-GENEEAL OP INDIA. of speech. He kept up his interest in India, and his correspondence with friends in Calcutta. The sense of doing good service for his country sustained him during this trying period, and he thus expressed his joy at lay- ing down this irksome employment : " The joy that I feel at being released will be greatly alloyed by my apprehension that I am leaving a people who love me and whose happiness I had so nearly secured." On May 25, 1801, he laid aside this appointment of anxiety, worry and toil. It was a time of intense peril and apprehension when he returned to England. A French invasion was expected. The whole country was in a fever of preparation and defence. It was no time for re- tirement and relaxation such as he had been looking for- ward to. Every man was required to do his duty. Lord Cornwallis did not shrink from his. He was appointed to command the Eastern Division of the army. But there was no invasion. Napoleon Buonaparte, the First Consul of France, was then inclined for peace with England, and the Marquis Cornwallis was chosen by the English Govern- ment as the fittest man to conduct the negotiations on behalf of England. A more acute and subtle diplomatist might have been selected ; but not a more honest and determined one. The negotiations required the exer- cise of all his firmness. He had two interviews with Napoleon himself, but was ultimately referred to the great man's brother Joseph, who was then at Amiens. Here, after the negotiations had been protracted for four months, the treaty of Amiens was signed on March 27, 1802. Lord Cornwallis described it as ensuring " a peace that will not dishonour the country and that will afford as reasonable a prospect of future safety as the present very extraordinary circumstances of Europe will permit." It may be added that the peace consequent on this treaty lasted scarcely fourteen months. This was not attributable to the weakness of the English plenipotentiary or to the inefficiency of his diplomacy, but to the restless ambition of Napoleon. The next year or so was spent by Lord Cornwallis in comparative retirement and in the enjoyment of the usual II. LORD COENWALLIS. 45 pursuits of an English gentleman living in the country, and occasionally visiting the great metropolis ; but he was soon to turn his steps once more to the scene of his former toils and triumphs. The Court of Directors were most uneasy by reason of the aggressive and vigorous policy of Lord Wellesley, the Governor- General, and of the financial difficulties into which that policy had brought the Govern- ment of India. The King's ministers agreed with them that a statesman of known ability and of moderation should be sent out for the purpose of negotiating peace and of placing the finances of the country on a more satisfactory basis. They again turned to Lord Cornwallis. Like an old war-horse, he immediately responded to the clarion call of duty. He was gratified at being summoned to per- form one more piece of service for his country. So far as health was concerned, it was a very hazardous venture for a man to return to India at his age. He was then sixty-six, and his health was not particularly good even in his native land ; but it seemed to him right to go, and so he went. He assumed charge of the Government at Calcutta on July 30, 1805. He found that there was still war against Holkar, and, as he said, it could hardly be asserted that there was peace between the Government and Sindhia. So he resolved, soon after his arrival, to proceed up-country with the object of securing peace by negotiation and of effecting this without loss of national honour. He was, however, himself unable to carry out this policy. This was left to his immediate successor. His enfeebled frame was too weak to bear this fresh experience of the enervating cli- mate of India. He proceeded with his suite up the Ganges, but, when he reached Ghazipore, he was carried from his boat to a house at that station, and there, on October 5, he died. The brave spirit and clear mind held sway over him almost to the very end, for he dictated despatches up to a few hours of his death with his old power of definiteness and decision. Even though Lord Wellesley 's officers and lieutenants were chafing under the reversal of his policy, they could not refrain from admiring the veteran statesman, who was dying in the discharge of the duty laid upon him. 46 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. " You have been witness, " wrote Captain Malcolm, one of the most eminent of them, to Mr. George Edmonstone, who was the Secretary in attendance, " to a most extra- ordinary and impressive scene, the close of the life of a great and good man, who has continued to the last to devote himself to his country. Few have lived with such honour; no one ever died with more glory. " Thus died at his post, in the faithful discharge of his duty, one who had for many years been an active servant of his king and country. His private character was most estimable. He was one of the most affectionate of men, and, if it had not pleased God to take from him in early life the companion whom he tenderly loved, he would have delighted in all the pleasures and endearments of domes- tic happiness ; and, as it was, his letters to his children, which appear in the published collection of his despatches, enliven the dulness of his official correspondence. He was a faithful and consistent friend. Some may think that he was too cautious in his official policy in India ; but it must always be borne in mind that the authorities in England did not desire the extension of their Indian territory, and continually urged on him and others in power in India the stringent necessity of a policy of economy and peace, which required the genius of a Warren Hastings or a Wellesley to infringe. Lord Cornwallis was a trans- parently honest character. His abilities were of a very high order. He had not, however, the brilliant capacity of some other Indian statesmen whom it would be easy to name, but with whom it is scarcely fair to compare him. He acquired, besides his Indian, a European, reputation; but, in our opinion, his chief merit consisted in his having been the means of raising the tone of English society in Calcutta, in having sincerely laboured for the welfare of the agricultural community of Bengal, and in having made the first forward step in consolidating the civil and criminal law. SIR JOHN SHORE : AFTERWARDS, LORD TEIGNMOUTH. III. SIR JOHN SHORE. 49 III. SIR JOHN SHORE, AFTERWARDS LORD TEIGNMOUTH. A.D. 17511834 A.D. " There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats ; For I am arm'd so strong in honesty, That they pass by me as the idle Wind, Which I respect not." Shakespeare, JOHN SHORE, afterwards Lord Teign mouth, who suc- ceeded Lord Cornwallis as Governor-General, was born on October 8, 1751. His father died while he was jet a child, and he was left solely to the charge of his mother, to whom he owed his early influences for good, and to whom he was most tenderly attached. During his first years in India he corresponded with her regularly, writing- to her long journal-letters ; and it was very much to her loving exhortations that he kept himself unsullied and pure amidst the evil example that surrounded him. Hav- ing received a writership in the East India Company's service, he landed at Calcutta in May, 1769. This was only twelve years after the battle of Plassey, by which the sovereignty of Bengal had past into the hands of Eng- land. Just four years previously the Great Mogul had made to the English a grant of the revenues of the three great provinces of Bengal, Orissa, and Behar; but the collection of the revenue and the administration of justice had been left in the hands of the Nawab's former officials There were certainly English officers answering somewhat to the present Collectors, who were called Supervisors but the Company, perfectly unconscious of future domin- ion and power, regarded their servants more as commer- cial than as political agents, permitted them to engage in trade, and gave those who were employed in revenue duties the most inadequate salaries. D 50 GOVERNOBS-GENERAL OF INDIA. The Calcutta in which Mr. Shore found himself on his arrival was as different from the Calcutta of the latter half of the present century as a mud hovel is from a stately marble palace. The houses in which the European officials resided were small and ill prepared against the fiery heat of Lower Bengal. Few had Venetian blinds, and rattan tatties were used to exclude the wind or rain. The town was likewise most unhealthy and offensive from its insanitary condition. The state of society was as bad as the condition of the town. The restraints of religion and even of common morality were openly abandoned, and peculation and corruption in pecuniary matters reigned supreme. Mr. Shore was appointed to the Secret Political Department on his arrival. His pay, it may be remarked, was only 82 sicca rupees a month, while he had to pay nearly double that amount for house-rent. He at once began to exercise rigid economy and self-denial ; and, rather than subject his mother to expense on his account, he denied himself every luxury, and even necessities, such as keeping a horse. He remained in the physically and morally polluting atmosphere of the Calcutta of those days for some sixteen months. The Supervisors of revenue whom we mentioned above were placed under the control of two Councils one at Moorshedabad for Bengal and the other at Patna for Behar. Mr, Shore was appointed Assistant Supervisor at the former place in September, 1770. He plunged at once into abundance of work. Practically most of the judicial and revenue business fell to his share, owing to the indolence of the chief of his department and to the absence of the second. He threw himself heartily into this work. As the court was some distance from his place of residence, he, now and then, in times of emergency, remained as much as two whole days trying cases. The greater part of the time he was at Moor- shedabad he lived in a country house belonging to the Nawab, about four miles from the city. It was beautifully situated in the midst of a garden, where he enjoyed, as he wrote to his mother, " cooing doves, whistling black birds, and a purling stream " ; but he felt much the comparative III. SIR JOHN SHORE. 51 solitude when there, and employed his leisure time in dili- gently studying Hindustani, Arabic, and Persian, not for- getting Bengali, the language of his district, studies which were afterwards turned to good account in the promotion of Oriental learning. It may be mentioned here that he contracted a sincere friendship for the Munshi who taught him these languages, who subsequently offered to assist him by a loan when he was in difficulties, and whose children he helped, after their father's death, by using his services as an arbitrator in a family dispute. Mr. Shore reached Moorshedabad before the end of the great famine of 1770, the memory of which never forsook him. This was caused by the failure of the monsoon, and Dot, as was ignorantly imagined at that time, by the mono- polies of the English authorities, and Mr. Shore thought it worth his while to vindicate the latter from these calumnies. He was at this period brought into close intercourse with the people, and acquired an intimate acquaintance with their habits and feelings, as well as with the revenue system of the country, which did him good service hereafter and tended to his rapid promotion. He had also the advantage of a practical knowledge of Bengali farming, a farm being placed under his personal superintendence, a practice which was then permitted to the Company's servants, but very properly was afterwards prohibited. He was a very young man at this time, and it was most creditable to him to be enabled to record, as he did soon afterwards, that he was so well acquainted with the religious and judicial customs of the people that he never willingly infringed them in his decisions. In 1772 a change was made by Mr. Warren Hastings in the revenue arrangements. A five years' lease was entered into with the Zemindars ; and, ab the same time, a change was made in the administration. The Supervisors were called Collectors, the Council of Moorshedabad was abolish- ed, and its duties were transferred to a Council of Revenue at Calcutta. Mr. Shore was appointed First Assistant to the Resident of Rajshahi ; but was speedily transferred to Calcutta to a seat on the Revenue Council there. He was 52 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. thus transplanted from the quiet, but busy, life upcountry to the stormy and turbulent soil of English society in the capital. The storms and commotions were incessant. There were dissensions in the Council Board in Government House, War- ren Hastings, the Governor- General of Bengal, being opposed by the majority of his Council. Though Mr. Shore owed his appointment at Calcutta to the opponents of the Governor- Genera], he endeavoured to keep himself aloof from these unworthy party squabbles, and was toler- ably successful. Ill health drove him for a season to Madras and Pgndicherry ; but he soon returned in invigorated health to the depressing climate and the unseemly contentions of Calcutta. His absence on the coast prevented him from losing his appointment, all the other members of the Board having been dismissed owing to the peculations and mismanagement of their Dewan. During the next few years Mr. Shore still kept himself free from party strife ; and very few could say, as he was able to say, that, while political feeling ran high, he had kept himself upon good terms with one party without making himself offensive to the other. He expressed himself at that time as generally unfavourable to Mr. Hastings' views and actions ; but he subsequently became his firm and consistent friend. When, in 1786, Mr. Hastings, with the object of setting the collection of revenue on a more satisfactory basis, abolished the Provincial Coun- cils and the Revenue Council at Calcutta, and created a new Board of Revenue, he appointed Mr. Shore the second member of it. Mr. Anderson, the gentleman whom he had selected for the first place, had recommended Mr. Shore, and when Warren Hastings expressed his astonish- ment, as he had hitherto regarded Mr. Shore as his per- sonal enemy, Mr. Anderson quietly said : " Appoint Mr. Shore ; and in six weeks you and he will have formed a friendship." This prediction was entirely fulfilled. For the next five years Mr. Shore was busily occupied in his new post. Owing to the frequent absence of the first member, he generally presided, and he worked in complete harmony with the Governor-General. In fact. III. SIB JOHN SHORE. 53 Mr. Francis, the great antagonist of Warren Hastings, having left Calcutta, comparative tranquillity, prevailed in English society there. On one occasion Mr. Shore was commissioned to settle the revenue in the extensive pro- vinces of Dacca and Patna, and, when he waited on Warren Hastings to receive his final instructions, they were given in the following most characteristic sentence : " You know your business, Shore ; and good luck to you." Those were days when corruption, even among English officials, was rife, and Mr. Shore himself afterwards allud- ed to the opportunities he might then have employed to acquire ill-gotten wealth, in these words : " I have long held a situation where, if I had been half the knave every- one is supposed by the patriots of England to be, I might have secured 40,000 or 50,000 per annum for the last four years. Believe me, I have never repented I have not done it ; and am more happy in the savings of my salary, which is avowed, than I should be in ten times the amount acquired by means I dare not avow." At first, as already mentioned, his salary had been very small ; but he had now the pleasure to be in such a position as to offer assist- ance to the mother whom he so dearly loved. Soon after- wards he experienced the poignant sorrow of hearing of her death. His health had been at this time seriously shat- tered by the loss of his friend and cousin, Mr. Augustus Cleveland, whose memory as the benefactor of the Sonthal people is still green; and this additional calamity completely broke it down. He embarked for England early in 1785, being a fellow-passenger of Warren Hastings, whose com- panionship he much valued. Mr. Shore reached his native land in June 1785, feeling very naturally in low spirits, for he had looked forward with pleasurable anticipation to see his mother once more, and she was no longer alive to greet him, and he had parted from his only brother, when merely a child, so he scarcely knew him. On a visit to this brother, however, who was now a clergyman in the country of Devon, he met a young lady, named Cornish, to whom he became much attached. They were united in the following February, and, for nearly 54 GOVERNOBS-GENEBAL OF INDIA. half a century, lived together in the happy married state. He had hoped to give up the Indian service and to remain in England ; but, within a fortnight after his marriage, he was summoned by the call of duty to return to the country where he had been of so much use, and where he had set so clear an example of good. Eighteen months previously Mr. Pitt, the Prime Minister of England, had brought in a Bill for the better management of the East India Com- pany's territories, which had passed through Parliament and become law. The principal provisions were the creation of a Board, called the Board of Control, by which Indian affairs came under the cognizance of the Crown, and the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras were placed under the Government of Bengal, especially in matters con- nected with treaties with the Native States. Earl Corn- wallis, a judicious and experienced statesman, was ap- pointed Governor-General, and the Court of Directors, anxious that he should be associated with an able man well acquainted with the country and with the system, or rather the want of system, in revenue affairs, selected Mr. Shore for a seat in Council. Mr. Shore, much against his will, consented from a strong sense of duty ; but, dreading the climate of Bengal for his wife, he left her behind. Lord Cornwallis and he went in the same ship, and contracted a strong friendship for each other. The subject of our sketch thus quitted England a few months only after his arrival, and, if possible, in a worse state of depression. Early separated from his wife, he kept up, during the whole of his absence from her, a kind of journal-correspondence, in which he recorded for her some of his deepest and tenderest thoughts. The ship Swallow, on board which Lord Cornwallis and Mr. Shore were passengers, reached Calcutta in October, 1786. All classes of the community were pleased to welcome back Mr. Shore. His former servants returned to him, and he was soon once more in the full swing of official work. This did him good. He keenly felt the separation from his wife, and employment diverted his attention from his loneliness. For the first few weeks he was III. SIR JOHN SHOEE. 55 sent to Moor shed abad with the object of putting in order the affairs of the Nawab of Bengal. In the following January he took his seat inCouncil. Lord Cornwallis and he worked together most harmoniously. Each had a great respect for the other. Lord Cornwallis's calm views and sound judgment had very much impressed Mr. Shore, who wrote, " I esteem, respect, and love him," while Mr. Shore's long experience and intimate knowledge of Indian men and matters were of great service to the Governor-General, especially with regard to revenue affairs. They found matters in Bengal in anythingbut a satisfactory state. There was much corruption even among officials, and it was the mission of Lord Cornwallis to set this straight. Patronage was abolished ; the large official establishments were reduced ; the salaries of high officials were fixed on a scale sufficient to remove them from temptation ; and the duties of the various departments of the State were more clearly defined. But the principal subject which occupied the attention of the Government was the revenue. Ever since the East India Company had taken over the administration of the country, or, in the language of the day had stood forth as Dewan, this had been in a most unsatisfactory state. The chief burden of reform fell on Mr. Shore. As the Senior Member of Council and President of the Revenue Board, all the reports from the district officers came to him, and the duty of pre- paring a scheme for a settlement of revenue for ten years devolved upon him. He laboured at it, as he himself expressed it, " like a galley slave," and, as he remark- ed to a correspondent in England with a little touch of pardonable pride, "if pains, zeal, and assiduity could accomplish the object proposed in it, no part could be in- complete." The majority of the most experienced revenue officers in Bengal advocated the plan of the Government dealing directly with the Zemindars themselves instead of with the cultivators of the soil, and they were desirous of seeing such a settlement made permanent. It was no hasty or slightly considered scheme of Lord Cornwallis himself. It had been brought to his notice and commended to his at- 56 GOVERNOES-GENERAL OP INDIA. tention by the Court of Directors before he sailed for India; it was most carefully discussed in the Council Cham- ber at Calcutta; the opinion of all the revenue officials was obtained ; it received the approval of such a distinguished administrator as Mr. Shore ; and was not carried into effect until it had fully received the sanction of the Court of Direc- tors. In fact, whatever opinion may be entertained regard- ing the Zemindari system of the collection of revenue, no one can truthfully assert that it was adopted with undue haste. Mr. Shore's views on the subject were contained in a long and careful minute, which Lord Cornwallis valued highly ; but, of course, even a brief abstract of it cannot here be given. As we have given, however, the estimate of Lord Corn wallis's character, which Mr. Shore had formed, it is only right that we should here quote a single sentence from the Governor-General's own recorded minute, showing how highly he valued Mr. Shore : " The great ability displayed in Mr. Shore's minute which introduced the propositions for the Settlement the uncommon knowledge which he has manifested of every part of the Revenue system of this country the liberality and fairness of his arguments, and clearness of his style give me an opportunity, (which my personal esteem and regard for him, and the obligation I owe him as a public man for his powerful assistance in every branch of the business of this Government, must ever render peculiarly gratifying to me) of recording my highest respect for his talents, my warmest sense of his public-spirited principles, which, in an impaired state of health, could alone have supported him in executing a work of such extraordinary labour." Mr. Shore's scheme was for a settlement to last for ten years only, and he con- sidered that the proposition to make it permanent was premature ; but the Governor-General, though ready to listen courteously to his arguments, recommended that the settlement should be a perpetual one, and the Court of Directors, with the concurrence of the ministers of the king, after mature consideration, decided that such should be the case. In 1793 a proclamation was issued making the Permanent Zemindari Settlement law. All that we feel III. SIR JOHN SHORE. 57 called upon to say here on this important question is that the object aimed at in this settlement by Lord Cornwallis, by Mr. Shore, and by the Court of Directors was the good of the people and the ensuring to them a light and easy assessment. Mr. Shore during this period led a very quiet and regu- lar life. He was never able to sleep more than two or three hours at a time, and therefore he rose early and took a long ride. He breakfasted at eight, and occupied him- self with official business till his dinner hour at three. In the evening he walked out, and spent the remainder of the time till ten in the company of his friends. He was in a very bad state of health, and had frequently to spur him- self to exertion so as to get through his ordinary business. He had, however, no prejudice against the climate of Bengal, although it disagreed with his constitution. He described the town of Calcutta as far better cared for and the houses better built, than when he first arrived there, and the European society as considerably improved. His leisure time was employed in writing poetry and in Oriental studies. His poem on the death of his relative and friend Cleveland has formed almost the only memorial to that devoted man, and his friendship for Sir William Jones, the great Oriental scholar, testifies to his appre- ciation of Oriental literature, in which he was himself no mean proficient. Mr. Shore quitted Calcutta for England directly his labours on the Revenue Settlement were completed. He left in December 1789, and had the pleasure of joining Mrs. Shore and his little daughter, who was born soon after he went out, on April 25, 1790. His health im- proved on his return to his native land, and, as he ex- pressed it, he gained a new stock of spirits by reunion with those he loved. He took a house for a year at the village of Egham in Surrey above 12 miles from London, and lived in perfect retirement, finding more happiness in his own home than out of doors. He gave evidence at the historical trial of Warren Hastings ; but this at first seems to be his only public act. He positively revelled in 58 GOVERN OES-GENERAL OF INDIA. the rest he was enjoying. a I am indeed a most perfectly idle man/' he wrote to a friend ; " and as happy as any one in England, with nothing to do. The day is never too long; on the contrary, I often find it too short," When the year was over, he went to Bath, in the West of Eng- land, and enjoyed a picturesque tour through Devonshire and Cornwall. The call of duty roused him once more from his retire- ment. In September, 1 792, while still happy in literary and domestic employments, he received the offer of the succession to the Governor-Generalship on the retirement of Lord Cornwallis. He at first declined the flattering offer, principally because he did not wish to part again from Mrs. Shore, who, he thought, ought not to accom- pany him ; but he was persuaded to reconsider his deci- sion, and, soon after he had accepted this exalted position, he was created a baronet. An objection was made to his appointment by Mr. Burke, the celebrated orator and opponent of Warren Hastings, on account of the evidence he had given in favour of that much maligned statesman. This objection, however, gave the Chairman of the Court of Directors the opportunity of recording his conviction that Sir John Shore had proved himself one of the ablest and most upright servants of the East India Company. Deeply and keenly feeling the separation from his family, the new Governor-General embarked at Falmouth in October 1792, and reached Calcutta on March 10, 1793, after rather a tedious voyage owing to continued calms. Sir John Shore was heartily welcomed on his return to Calcutta by all his old friends, and by none more than Sir William Jones, with whom he was most intimate. His position at first was rather trying, because Lord Cornwallis continued Governor-General seven months after his arrival, and not having been appointed to a seat in Council, he was obliged to live in retirement without any official standing or work. With his usual sweetness and humility he ex- pressed himself quite contented to occupy this subordi- nate position as giving him the opportunity of acquiring the most accurate information on the affairs of every III. SIR JOHN SHORE. 59 department in the state, without giving such incessant application to this work as would have been indispensable if he had succeeded to power at once ; and he has recorded the fact that he continued to work with Lord Cornwallis with all his former harmony and cordiality. Just before he entered on the arduous duties of his new office, he received the sad tidings of the death of two little daughters, which affected him intensely, but which he bore with the calm resignation of an assured Christian. Sir John Shore assumed the Government of Bengal on October 28, 1 793. He entered on this responsible office in a spirit of thoughtfulness and devoutness. There is recorded, though evidently not written for the public eye, a petition on that date, in which he especially asks for grace and strength that he might perform these important duties in a right spirit, te promoting the happiness of Thy creatures/' he adds, "not only by my public actions, but by my ex- ample. And grant that, under my government, religion and morality may be advanced." Before giving a brief account of his Government it will be convenient to mention here that Lady Shore and their surviving daughter joined him in December, J 794, and it was a source of great pleasure for them thus to be re-united. The administration of Sir John Shore was that of a candid, sincere, and thoroughly conscientious man ; but we cannot help feeling, while reading his own correspondence, that he felt himself unequal to the task which had been entrusted to him. Scrupulously desirous of adhering to treaties, his hand failed in firmness, and he lacked the strong grasp of his predecessor and of his successor. Calm and courageous as he proved himself in the moment of imminent peril, his policy so evidently bore the marks of timidity and vacillation that it emboldened the enemies of England, like Tippoo Sultan, and discouraged those who would have been her allies, like the Nizam. It is right, however, to bear in mind that the policy of peace was always enforced and insisted on by the authorities in Leadenhall Street. Soon after Sir John Shore had taken up the reins of authority, complications occurred between 60 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. the three great powers in Southern India. After the conquest of Mysore in 1790, Lord Cornwallis had entered into a tripartite treaty with the Mahrattas and the Nizam, stipulating that, in the event of Tippoo attacking any one of the contracting parties, the others should combine in defence, if satisfied of the justice of the case. At this time the Mahrattas attacked the Nizam, and the latter appealed to the British Government for assistance. It was denied. The Governor-General was of opinion that his Government was not bound to assist one of the contracting powers against another, and not against Tippoo. The result was that the Mahrattas conquered the Nizam, and imposed upon him humiliating terms. The Nizam naturally resented this treatment, and turned to the French for assistance, preparing much complication and danger in the future. Sir John's policy in this matter was generally condemned, as tending to instil into the minds of the reigning sovereigns a doubt as to the good faith of the British Government. It is, however, only just to his memory to give his own ideas as to this subject. " In the moderation, justice, and good faith of our conduct/ 5 he wrote, " and in transactions with our allies and those who are dependent upon the Company for protection, the true principles of general precaution and counteraction must be found ; and we adopt them no less from conviction than authority, as the wisest and safest, and indeed only true policy. '' He was fully persuaded that the course he adopt- ed was just and right, and conducive to the preservation of peace. Another question which caused the Governor- General intense anxiety was the condition of the army in Bengal. The European officers were in a condition bordering on mutiny. They were discontented with their position, their pay, and their relation to the officers of the King's army, Certain regulations on the matter were sent from England ; but they were so inconsistent and so distasteful to the officers that the Government of Bengal did not issue them until some judicious modifications had been made in them. The proof of the wisdom of this course is in the fact that III. SIR JOHN SHORE. 61 no serious discontent has since been manifested among the officers of the Bengal army. Sir John Shore's own reflections on this trying event were thus expressed in a letter to his predecessor : " I am not ashamed to confess to you that I am little qualified, by habit or experience, to contend with a discontented army." The most memorable event of this time was connected with the kingdom of Oudh. The state of that unhappy country was lamentable in the extreme, and Sir John Shore proceeded thither in the hope of inducing the Nawab to introduce reforms for the benefit of the people. Some little good was effected by the Governor-General's visit by an upright minister, named Tufuzzil Hussein Khan, being appointed to conduct the affairs of the kingdom. In 1797 the Nawab, completely worn out by self-indulgence, died; and, with the sanction of the British Government, was succeeded by his reputed son, Yizier Ali, a man of violent temper and uncontrolled passions. Sir John Shore subse- quently received such convincing proofs that Vizier Ali was not even the illegitimate son of the late Nawab, that he considered it his duty to go again to Lucknow, and make inquiries on the spot. He was attended by a sufficient military force. Convinced that the rightful suc- cessor to the throne was Sadut Ali, brother of the deceased sovereign, he made preparations for his instalment. It was a season of peculiar peril. Vizier Ali was surrounded by violent partisans, and the intricate city of Lucknow wa& filled with an excited populace and soldiery. The fire of a single shot would have commenced a disastrous conflict. The Governor-General was urged to have Vizier Ali arrested, but he firmly resisted this course. He was warned against threatened assassination. Still unmoved, he went on his way with quiet determination. He even attended a banquet given in his honour by Vizier Ali, who was surrounded by his armed followers. In the end Vizier Ali was peacefully deposed and banished to Benares. Sadut Ali was enthroned, and the transaction passed "oS without bloodshed or tumult. During the whole of this exciting time the Governor-General exhibited the highest 62 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. qualities of man, calmness, courage, and determination. The secret of this behaviour is to be found in the fol- lowing passage from his journal: " Under these circum- stances I have frequently retired to a private room, pray- ing to God to direct my judgment in forming a decision on the alternative which was before me without bias or partiality. The recollection of this afforded a consolation to me, which made me indifferent to censure or accusation." Thus withdrawing for a moment the curtain from his private life, we have revealed to us one of the most touch- ing and beautiful pictures in the whole history of British India. The Governor-General alone on his knees in the quiet of his own room : the same man calm, resolute, un- moved in the midst of plots, treachery, and intrigue, doing just the right thing, when surrounded by danger. The verdict o India was-^ ff The right had come to the right- ful." The judgment of the Court of Directors was " We are of opinion that the Governor-General, in a most arduous situation, conducted himself with great temper, ability, and firmness, so that he finished a long career of faithful service by planning and carrying into execution an arrangement which not only redounds highly to his honour, but which will also operate to the reciprocal ad- vantage of the Company and the Nawab Vizier." While at Lucknow, Sir John Shore received the news that the King of England had been pleased to create him a peer as Lord Teignrnouth, and that the Earl of Mornington had been appointed his successor. Soon after his return to Calcutta he embarked for England on March 7, 1798. His Indian career over, an entirely new and different service was before him in his native land. At first he did not take a house and settle down, wishing for time to look about him a little and consider what locality would afford him a desirable place of abode. Eventually he selected Clapham, a suburb of London, then a quiet village, where he enjoyed the congenial society "of his friends Mr. Charles Grant, William Wilberforce, and the Thorntons. He had abundance of occupation. He was a Justice of the Peace, a member of the Board of Control, an office which he held III. SIR JOHN SHORB. 63 for about thirty years, and for five years Vice-Lieutenant of the County of Surrey. He was closely connected with several religious and philanthropic Societies, and was be- loved by the poor of the neighbourhood, to whom he and Lady Teignmouth showed the tenderest kindness. From 1808 until the time of his death he resided at Portman Square in London, occasionally visiting various places in the country. The work, however, which was nearest his heart, and which occupied his chief thoughts and energies was the distribution and translation of the Holy Christian Scriptures. In 1804 a Society, called the British and Foreign Bible Society, was established, the object of which was the circu- lation of the Bible without note or comment, and Lord Teignmouth was its first President. He loved the Society and he delighted in its work. He called it " a new constel- lation sent by God to illuminate the darkness of the moral world." For thirty years he was the mainspring of its management and Committee ; and, at his own request, the simple, but eloquent, memorial was placed on his tomb that he was First President of the Bible Society. The evening of his life was beautifully clear and peaceful. It was broken only by various family events, such as some of his sons going to India, and the marriage or death of his children. The light of his Christian faith and love grew ever brighter as the end approached, and he fell asleep on the anniversary of his wedding day, February 14, 1834, at a ripe old age, his beloved wife following him six months afterwards. Some of his last words were : " I loathe and detest every species and degree of sin as an offence committed against the majesty and holiness of God. I trusb that I do indeed repent of all my transgressions. But I do not trust in my repentance. No ! I look only to the blood of Jesus for pardon and for peace." On the Sunday before his death he said to his wife and children : " I feel that I am resting on the right foundation ; and I can now leave you all rejoicing." The three chief points in the character of this good man are his straightforward honesty, his humility, and his 64 GOVERNORS-GENERAL Or INDIA. moral courage. " It has ever been a fixed maxim with me/' he once wrote, " that honesty, in all transactions, is the best policy ; or, in other words, that nothing morally wrong can be politically right." From the time when, as a youth he lived on his pay, until when Governor-General, he could have acquired an enormous fortune by a slight deviation from the path of right and duty, he always kept this maxim in mind, and has left a reputation as unsullied and pure as an Englishman that ever went to India. His humility and modesty were conspi- cuous. He candidly confessed how much he felt the strain of the government while in power, and was quite ready to serve under his former revered chief, Lord Cornwallis, should the latter return. Yet, when a crisis came, he was perfectly ready to meet it with the cool courage it demanded. He wasalways calm and self-possessed whether in the centre of conspiracy at Lucknow, during a debate in the Committee of the Bible Society, or when giving evidence before the assembled House of Commons in England. In fact, few servants of the East India Com- pany have left a sweeter memory and purer fame than John, first Lord Teignmouth, Governor- General of India, and first President of the Bible Society. MARQUIS WELLESLEY. IV . THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. 67 IV. THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. A.D. 1760 TO 1842. " He that would govern others, first should be The master of himself, richly endued With depth of understanding, height of knowledge.' 1 Hassinger. RICHARD COWLEY WELLESLEY, to whose clear, statesman- like genius, British India practically owes its being, was the eldest son of the Earl of Morrdngtou, an Irish nobleman. One ot: his younger brothers was the illustrious Duke of Wellington. He was born on June 20, 1760, and was edu- cated at Ebon, the same famous school on the banks of the Thames, where Lord Cornwallis, his predecessor and successor in the high office of Governor-General, was also educated. Leaving that school when eighteen years of age, he went, with a reputation for brilliant scholarship, to Christ Church, a College in the celebrated University of Oxford. He did not remain there long enough to take his degree, because he was summoned, by the death of his father, in May, 1781, to take charge of his paternal estates in Ireland. Directly he became of age, he volun- tarily undertook to pay all his father's debts, and showed his love to his mother by the graceful act of sur- rendering to her the actual management of his estates. He also took the greatest pains in the intellectual training of his brothers. At that time Ireland had a separate Parliament, con- sisting of a House of Peers and a House of Commons. The young Earl of Mornington took his seat in the form- er; but it was not long before he sought a wider sphere for the ability which he was conscious of possessing, and he obtained a seat in the Imperial House of Commons at Westminster in May, 1784, as member for a small borough in the County of Devonshire. It is curious that his first speech there was on an Indian subject, and in favour of the recall of Warren Hastings. His utterances 68 GOVERNORS- GENERAL OP INDIA.. in Parliament brought him into notice, and, in 1786, he received the appointment of junior Lord of the Treasury. The speech which brought him most prominently into fame was on the prosecution of the war with Revolutionary France, which was, at the time, much admired, more for its finished oratory than for its power of reasoning. His pro- motion was rapid. On June 21, 1793, he received the honour of being made a Privy Councillor and a mem- ber of the Board of Control. In this office he had abun- dant opportunities of making himself acquainted with Indian affairs. He seems fully to have availed himself of these opportunities, and to have gained a thorough grasp of the whole subject of the English position in India as well as of Indian history and politics in general. This admirable training fitted him for the position which, at the end of four years, he was called upon to occupy. Sir John Shore's period of service as Governor-General was drawing to a close, and Mr. Pitt offered the appointment, which it was just at that juncture most necessary to place in firm and capable hands, to Lord Mornington. It is here necessary to go back a little in Lord Morning- ton's life. On November 29, 1794, he married a beautiful and accomplished French lady, with whom, contrary to the command of God, he had previously lived for nine years ; but their union was not happy. He thought it advisable not to take her to India, and they did not remain together long after his return. The English community in Calcutta was consequently deprived of the inestimable advantage of a lady to take the position of the head of society, and the Governor- General himself lost the sweet encouragement and solace which such a companionship generally affords. Lord Mornington was appointed Governor- General on October 4, 1797, and sailed from England on November 7. He landed at Madras on April 26, 1798, and reached Calcutta on May 17. On his outward voyage he had dili- gently studied the present phase of Indian politics, and, at the Cape of Good Hope, where his ship touched, he had the advantage of conversing with Major Kirkpatrick, who had recently been Resident at Hyderabad, and who could give IV. THE MARQUIS WELLESLBY. 69 him late information as well as counsel. From the Cape he addressed a despatch to the ministry in England, which indicated very plainly what was likely to be his future course of action. Events were rapidly advancing to a crisis, and were developing into such a state as to require prompt and decisive treatment just as the new ruler set foot on the beach at Madras. He seemed the very person to meet the crisis. In the prime of manhood thirty-eight years old, strong in purpose, clear of intellect, imperious, prompt, vigorous, decided, he applied himself at once to the solution of the problems of Indian statesmanship awaiting him. A brief account of the historical events leading up to the present position of affairs will suffice. At the conclu- sion of the peace with Tippoo Sahib six years before, a triple alliance had been entered into with the Mahrattas and the Nizam,the principal object being to protect the three powers from any attack from Mysore. Under the strong pressure for the maintenance of peace almost at any price, Sir John Shore had kept to the very letter of the agreement, and had not given any assistance to the Nizam, when his terri- tories were invaded by the Mahrattas. The triple alliance had, in fact, been annihilated by this neutral policy. The Nizam regarded the friendship of the English Govern- ment with coldness and aversion, and had been converted from being a firm friend into a very doubtful ally. The feeling of the five princes who were the leading minds among the Mahrattas, and especially Dowlat Eow Scindia, was more decidedly hostile. They merely feared Tippoo more than they feared the English Government. Tippoo was actually hostile. Ever since the recent war, he had been preparing for renewed resistance, and he had lately entered into friendly relations with the French, who were then engaged in their long struggle with England. The Governor of the Isle of France, now called Mauritius, had promised him assistance, and had issued a proclamation in that island inviting the services of volunteers for Tippoo' s army. About a hundred of these volunteers landed at Mangalore on the very day Lord Mornington landed at 70 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. Madras. The policy of the French was, moreover, to gain ascendency in India; and they not only were openly assisting Tippoo, but their officers were busy at the Court of the Peshwa at Poona, and the Nizam possessed a corps of sepoys, some fourteen thousand strong, entirely under French command. Their able leader, M. Raymond, how- ever, had died a few weeks previously. Even before his arrival, Lord Morning ton, from his accurate study of the political situation, had come to the determination that this state of affairs must be brought to an end ; that the vague talk then common regarding the " balance of power" was delusive ; and that England must at once take her rightful place as the paramount power in India. The Governor-General had not been many days at Cal- cutta when he read in a newspaper a copy of the pro- clamation of the Governor of the Isle of France. He at first could scarcely believe it to be true ; but irrefragable proof of its genuineness was soon afforded, and he at once wrote to General Harris, Commander-in-Chief and acting Governor of Madras, to make quiet preparations for war r and to let him know how many men could, on an emer- gency, be placed in the field. He then set himself vigorously to work to secure the neutrality or the active assistance of the Nizam and the Mahrattas in the case of hostilities with Tippoo. The Resident of Hyderabad was directed to enter into negotiation with the Nizam, to persuade him to enter into more intimate relations with the Government, and to dismiss his French contingent. More troops were sent to Hyderabad, and the negotiations were conducted with such persuasiveness and tact that the French sepoys were disarmed and disbanded without the loss of a single man. The Nizam was fully conciliated, and became an active ally, rather than, as it was at first appre- hended, a covert enemy on the flank of an army invading Mysore. The neutrality of the Peshwa and of the other Mahratta princes was also secured. As it was notorious that Tippoo had been intriguing with the French, and that they had sent an army under their most celebrated military commander, Napoleon Buonaparte, IV THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. 71 to occupy Egypt, it was considered essential to enter into negotiation with the Sultan of Mysore, and to prevent his being able to co-operate with them in the event of their passing through Egypt on their way to India. Tippoo deliberately refused to receive an ambassador from the Governor- General, and, preparations being now ready, war was declared against him. Lord Mornington came to Madras so as to be near the scene of hostilities. An ad- vance WMS made in the beginning of March both from the east and west from Madras and Bombay, and so carefully had all the plans been made that by the middle of April the army was in the neighbourhood of Seringapatam. On May 4, that formidable fortress was taken by assault, and Tippoo Sultan lost his life as well as his crown, a straight- forward action and policy being thus easily successful. A contingent from Hyderabad belonging to the Nizam took part in the campaign, being under the command of the Governor-General's brother, Colonel Arthur Wellesley. At the conclusion of the war, the territories of the late sovereign were divided into three portions. The central portion was reserved for a youthful descendant of the ancient Hindu house from whom Mysore had been taken by Hyder Ali, the Governor-General rightly deciding that the family of the usurping dynasty, which had always shown itself bitterly inimical to English interests, ought not to be placed again in power. The country was to be govern- ed by an able minister under British superintendence until the Maharajah should attain his majority. The remainder of the territory was apportioned to the East India Com- pany and the Nizam. It was the intention of the Governor- General that a share should be given to the Peshwa under certain conditions, though the Mahrattas had taken no part in the campaign ; but his offer was declined* The whole of the seaboard of Mysore was retained by the English, together with those districts contiguous to the Company's possessions in Malabar and the Carnatic. The Governor-General received the hearty thanks of the Court of Directors und the British Parliament for the rapidity and vigour with which the campaign had been conducted, 72 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. and his sovereign bestowed upon him the honour of creat- ing him a Marquis. From henceforward he will be known as the Marquis Wellesley. This peerage was an Irish one, and on that account he did not regard it with satisfaction. It was, in fact, most distasteful to him, and, what was a sign of the infirmity that often accompanies great genius, he foolishly allowed it to vex and annoy him. The war against Tippoo having thus been triumphantly concluded, the attention of the Governor-General was directed to other matters of policy connected with the de- fence and the consolidation of the British empire in India. The state of the Carnatic had, for some years past, been eminently unsatisfactory. The reigning Nawab had sadly mismanaged affairs, and he had moreover, set aside the legal heir, who was an adopted son of his brother, the late Nawab. After the siege of Seringapatam, papers showing that there had been for many years a secret correspondence carried on between Tippoo and himself which was most inimical to British interests. The Nawab was on his death- bed at the time this correspondence was discovered. After his decease the whole of his territories were placed under the direct government of English officers, and a handsome allowance was given to the young Nawab to enable him to keep up the dignity and state to which he was entitled. The smaller principalities of Tanjore and Surat, one in the south of India and the other in the Presidency of Bombay, had for some years been in an unsettled condition. They were both annexed to the British dominions, and ample provision made for the dignity of the young princes, who had, in each instance but recently acceded to the throne. The affairs of two much more important kingdoms also pressed for settlement. The arrangements made with the Nizam after the Mysore war had proved satisfactory ; but the payment of the expenses of the English contingent at Hyderabad had been continually in arrears, and, to pre- vent the constant friction thus occasioned, it was decided that the territory allotted to him at the conclusion of the two last wars should be ceded to the English in satisfaction of this demand. A fresh treaty was entered. IV. TBE MARQUIS WELLKSLEY. 73 into with the Nizam on October 12, 1800, by which the Provinces, that still bear the name of the Ceded Districts, were made over to the Company, certain mod- ifications of boundary were agreed to, and the bonds that bound him and the East India Company were drawn more closely together. There was also the trouble- some kingdom of Oudh to be dealt with. The political com- plications and the constant misgovernment of this kingdom had always been a source of disquiet and discomfort to the English Government of Bengal. Lord Clive, Warren Hastings, Lord Cornwallis, and Sir John Shore had, each in his turn, been harassed by the affairs of this frontier kingdom. An invasion of India by Zemaun Shah, the Amir of Afghanistan, seemed imminent, and it would be most disastrous if it should occur, while the kingdom of Oudh was unsettled and unfriendly. Lord Wellesley' s policy was that a subsidiary force should be stationed at Lucknow, which would not only be a guarantee for the defence of the frontier, but also be more likely to secure the good government of the kingdom, and the tranquillity of the NawaVs own subjects. The Nawab Vizier, after much hesitation, consented to this arrangement, and signed a treaty to this effect on November 10, 1801. The negotia- tions were conducted by the Governor-G-enerars brother, Mr. Henry Wellesley. Certain districts in the vicinity were ceded for the maintenance of the subsidiary force. Lord Wellesley's mind was also occupied with regard to the best arrangements for counteracting the designs of the French on India. Captain Malcolm, an officer in whose judgment he placed implicit confidence, was despatched to Persia for the purpose both of securing the Shah from French and Russian influence, and of diverting the attention of Zemaun Shah from India. In accordance with instruc- tions from England, whence a force had been sent to Egypt for the expulsion of the French from that country, Lord Wellesley despatched a small army under Sir David Baird from India to the Red Sea for the purpose of co-operating with that sent from England, thus affording an example of Indian troops influencing European politics, which was, in 74 GOVEENORS-GENEEAL OF INDIA. later years, followed by Lord Beacon sfield. A short and illusory peace with France continued for a few months after the treaty of Amiens, by which, the French possessions in India were to have been restored to them ; but the Marquis Wellesley, perceiving that peace was not likely to last long, declined to carry these provisions of the treaty into effect, and, when the directions to recapture those possessions were received from England, his prescience was rewarded by there being none to retake. The Governor- General had thus during the four years of his rule, secured the internal tranquillity of India, and its complete defence from external foes. While the Marquis Wellesley had been assiduously devoting his attention to urgent political affairs, he had by no means neglected the internal matters of Government. Care with regard to finance was essentially necessary, and these were eventually put on a satisfactory basis by Mr. Henry St. George Tucker, subsequently Chairman of the Court of Directors, whom he appointed Accountant-General^ after he had served him for a time as Private Secretary during his stay at Madras. The training of young civil- ians was a subject which lay very near the heart of the Governor-General. He was profoundly impressed by the fact that these young men, to whom some of the most re- sponsible duties that could be required of man were entrust- ed, had received no preliminary training in England ; and he was most anxious that steps should be taken to ensure their being prepared for the performance of those duties by adequate training on their arrival in this country. He wrote a most admirable State paper on the subject, and following up his ideas and carrying them into practice, he established in July 1800 the College of Fort William at Calcutta, in which the civil servants of the Company were to be trained in those branches of learning that would ensure their usefulness and ability in the public service. The first student was Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, who afterwards rose to great distinction. The Court of Directors, while they approved of the system indicated by Lord Wellesley, were not favourable to the College being IV> THE MARQUIS WELLKSLEY. 75 founded at Calcutta, and it did not last very long. The con- sideration of the subject, however, led to the establishment of a similar College at Haileybury, in the county of Hert- ford, not many miles from London, where, for some half century, the Company's civilians were educated before leaving for India. This disapproval and reversal of his plans deeply mortified the sensitive mind of the Governor- General. There were also other causes of dissatisfaction. The Court of Directors expressed their disapproval of certain appointments which he had made, thereby touching a sore point that keenly offended him. Twice in the year 1802, he tendered his resignation, which was renewed in the following year. By that time a new source of danger to the Empire had arisen, and he determined to remain at his post from a strong sense of duty. This was the hostility of the Mahratta confederacy, which, ere long, caused the sword again to be unsheathed. The Mahratta chiefs had long been at enmity among themselves. The years 1801 and 1802 had seen frequent conflicts between them. The Rajah of the Mahratta people was a mere puppet in the hands of others at Satara. His nominal minister, but the real sovereign, Baji Row, the Peshwa, had been up to this time at Poona ; but was in this year driven by Jeswant Row Holkar into British territory. Dowlat Row Scindia, of Gwalior, was at war with Holkar. Discomfited by his great and powerful feudatory, the Peshwa was induced to enter into negotia- tions with the English Government, which issued in the treaty of Bassein on December 31, 1802, whereby he agreed to receive a subsidiary force at Poona, and to enter into full alliance with the English, who, on their part, engaged to restore him to his throne at Poona. It will be im- possible to give here more than the briefest sketch of the second Mahratta War. Our object is to regard it from the view of Government House, Calcutta, and as it affected the subject of this biographical sketch. Lord Wellesley possessed one of the greatest qualities of a ruler of men, He knew how to select intelligent and capable lieutenants, and, after he had chosen them, to trust them fully and 76 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. unreservedly. He had at his side Mr. Edmonstone,Secretary to Government in the Political Department, whose know- ledge of Indian political affairs was then unrivalled. He had at his beck the services of Colonel, afterwards Sir John, Malcolm; and there were at the various courts some of the ablest diplomatists, such as Colonel Collins at the court of Scindia, and Colonel Barry Close at the Peshwa's court. Behind this front row of notable men, the Governor- General kept near himself a reserve of younger men, who afterwards, in every instance, attained eminence. He instituted what he called " the Governor-General's office/' which consisted of promising young civilians and others, who were, for a time, trained under his own eye, and wrote despatches from his own dictation. Among these were Adam, Butterworth, Bayley, Jenkins, and Metcalfe, who all were enthusiastically attached to " the glorious little man/' as they called him, and responded readily to his political tuition. The year 1803 was a most eventful one in the history of the making of British India. As already stated, the treaty of Bassein, by which the Peshwa entered into alliance with the British Government as a protected prince, had just been signed. Lord Wellesley had been looking forward to this as the best mode of carrying out the only policy which he considered efficacious for rendering the power of England paramount in Northern, as it was in Southern India, and for eventually securing the peace of the country by the subjugation of the Mahratta confedera- tion. It had now been forced upon the Peshwa by the attacks of his own coadjutor sovereigns. Lord Wellesley determined that the advantage gained by this treaty should not be merely nominal. Two efficient armies, one in the south commanded by General Arthur Wellesley, and the other in the north under the Commander-in-Chief General Lake, were ready, to take the field at a moment's notice. Directions were given to the former General to advance at once to Poona, and to restore the Peshwa to his capital city. With admirable rapidity General Wellesley responded, and Poona was taken on April 20, 1803, without a shot being IV. THE MARQUIS WELLE8LEY. 77 fired, Holkar, who held it, retreating forthwith, and, on May 13, the Peshwa himself returned under British protec- tioD. This thoroughly disconcerted and irritated Scindia, who had by his own supineness lost his hold on the Peshwa. He at once entered into communication with the Rajah of Berar and Holkar ; but, while the former, cordially received his advances, the latter treated them coldly. These intrigues were watched by the British Resident, Colonel Collins, with keen interest, or rather impatience, and, at length, observing that Scindia and the Rajah of Berar had come to an understanding, and were now merely delaying to gain time for preparation, he quitted Scindia's camp on August 3. This was the signal for war. For months past the Gov- ernor-General had been making preparation for what he considered an inevitable campaign. As events ripened and the time drew near, the excitement in the Governor- Gen eraFs office grew to fever heat. We return to Gov- ernment House, Calcutta, where the central spring of the whole machinery was being worked. Pay alter day the Governor-General paced up and down the room of his office, dictating despatches to his youthful assistants. The end was approaching. For hours the pens of the young, enthusiastic men wrote these eventful letters. Like a practised chess-player, who, with clear brain, can engage in several games at once without confusing them one with another, so the great statesman paced to and fro, dictating now a despatch to his brother or to General Lake or a letter to Colonel Malcolm, Colonel Collins, or Major Kirkpatrick, or an ultimatum to Scindia, or the Rajah of Berar, interspersing these statesmanlike missives with words of cheer and encouragement to his loving scribes. Ere long, he told them, the work would be over, and he had prepared a banquet for them in Govern- ment House to refresh them after their severe toil. It was a sultry day in August, but their zeal and energy flogged not. Daylight faded into eve, and still, by the dim light of lamps, they pursued their task until, at last, well after mid- night, they ceased, and they adjourned to the banquet to 78 GOVERNORS-GENEBAL OF INDIA. talk over events and to cheer themselves with praises of their leader. Thus war was declared, and young states- men were made. Directly these despatches were received, action was taken. Rarely have campaigns been more rapidly executed. General Wellesley was at once in the field. Ahmednagar was taken on August 12. On September 23, the battle of Assaye was fought in which the enemy were totally defeat- ed. Several fortresses were taken, and on November 29, the campaign was concluded by the decisive victory of Arganm. General Lake was equally successful. Advan- cing from Ca \vnpore, he took Aligarh, defeated the Mahratta forces near Delhi, and released from Mahratta bondage the blind old Emperor, Shall Alam. He then captured Agra, and totally defeated Scindia at Laswari on the 1st of November. In four mouths both Scindia and the Rajah of Berar were reduced to subjection. The immediate re- sults of the war were the surrender of the province of Cuttack, and of all Scindia' s territory between the Jumna and the Ganges, and Scindia renounced all his claims on the Peshwa, the titular Emperor of Delhi, and the Bab Holkar had yet to be dealfc with. For some un- known reason he had not joined Sciudia and the Rajah of Berar; but, as soon as they had been defeated, his manner and his actions became very menacing. He threatened Scindia and attempted to capture some of his strongholds ; but Scindia was now under British protection. General Lake was, therefore, prepared to oppose him. Holkar's troops were much more of the typical Mahratta nature than Scindia's. They consisted chiefly of cavalry, and lie boasted that his kingdom was on his saddle. The campaign against him began disastrously for the British arms. Colonel Monson had been sent against him with a sepoy force to Jeypore. Thence he retired towards Kota, when Colonel Mouson injudiciously retreated, and his retreat was most disastrous. But it was speedily retrieved by General Lake, and the decisive battles of Deeg and Furruckabad compelled Holkar ultimately to flee into the Panjab, where IV. THE MARQUIS WELLKSLEY. 79 he surrendered on December 24, 1805. Thus ended the second MaViratta war. Meanwhile Lord Wellesley's tenure of office had ended. There had for some time been serious differences of opinion between him and the Court of Directors, who had regarded the Mahratta war with feelings of disapproval and distaste, and who were decidedly opposed to the whole of his foreign policy. The success of the earlier part of the campaign had, however, reconciled them to the war ; but they had never ceased to feel the heavy financial difficulties to which it had subjected the country, and when the news of Colonel Monson's retreat reached England, they determined on measures calculated to reverse the Governor-General's warlike policy. His Majesty's minis- ters being of the same opinion, the Marquis Cornwallis was again made Governor-General, and Lord Well^sley handed over to him the seals of office on July 30, 1805. Holkar was then still in the field, and Scindia had been of late showing signs of a restless desire to recommence hostili- ties. It was necessary to carry out Lord Cornwallis's in- structions, and very easy terms were concluded with both those sovereigns by Sir George Barlow, who succeeded to power on the decease of Lord Coruwallis soon after his return to India. It is impossible to avoid some contrast between the policy of Lord Wellesley and that of the Court of Directors which it was the mission of his successor to carry out. It is very plain that the sincere desire both of the Court and of the King's Government throughout all the earlier stages of English dominion in India, was for peace, and sometimes even almost dishonourable measures were taken to secure it. It is also evident that had the reigning princes of India in those days refrained from intriguing against or attacking the British Government, there would have been no necessity for repelling them or attacking them. In the great majority of instances war was com- pulsory. Had Tippoo, Scindia, or Holkar kept free from intrigue either with the French or with British enemies in India, there would have been no Mysore or Maliratta 80 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. wars; but undoubtedly, as the case was, the choice lay between the expulsion of the English power or its consoli- dation, and the policy of the Marquis Wellesley was right. The peace and prosperity of the country depended 011 the English power becoming supreme. We who are living at the close of this century, on looking back to its commence- ment, can see how vastly better is the present condition of the people of India than it was under the devastating warfare and tyranny of the Mogul Emperors or during the marauding raids of the Mahrattas. The Pax Britannica, the peace which English rule ensures, is not one of the least blessings bestowed by England on India. Lord Wellesley was most anxious to promote the highest welfare of the people. The training of young civilians was not the only object he had in view in establishing the College of Fort William. He intended to patronise orien- tal learning and the impartation of Western knowledge to wise men of the East. During the few months of its existence about a hundred learned pundits, not only from different parts of India, but also from Persia and Arabia, were attached to it. Dr. William Carey, who may appro- priately be called the first English Protestant missionary to India, was appointed professor of Bengali and Sanskrit, and translations of the Holy Scriptures into seven Oriental languages were begun under Lord Wellesley's patronage ; so that, as Dr. Claudius Buchanan wrote, directed by the flood of light raised by this College, " learned men from every quarter come to the source of knowledge ; they mark our principles, ponder the volume of inspiration, ' and hear every man in his own tongue the wonderful works of God.' J Though the College did not last, it remained long enough to show the magnificent ideas on the diffusion of both Oriental and Western knowledge which animated the Governor-General's mind. He was not permitted to carry into effect all his ideas as a judicial and social reformer. His heart shrank from the two cruel practices of human sacrifice and suttee, which, by long and almost immemorial custom, had been permitted to disfigure and defile the Hindu religion. As is the case IV. THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. 81 with regard to other practices which, in the course of ages, have been engrafted on Hinduism, they received no sanc- tion from Manu or the Vedas. Having ascertained from learned pundits that the custom of sacrificing children and sometimes adults by exposure on the banks of the Ganges at Saugor and other places, "was not sanctioned by the Hindu Law, nor countenanced by the religious orders or by the people at large," the Governor-General in Council past a regulation declaring the practice to be criminal and punishable as murder; Lord Wellesley also in- stituted an inquiry into the custom of suttee, in which it was necessary to proceed with the greatest caution and circumspection. His return to England, however, prevent- ed him from doing more than this, and it was left to Lord William Bentinck, a future Governor-General to carry out the beneficent reform of practically abolishing suttee. The Marquis Wellesley was truly oriental in his concep- tions as to the magnificence that one in the high position of Governor-General and Cap tain- General of India ought to assume. He expected the most rigorous etiquette and ceremony to be observed towards himself personally. Finding that the Government House at Calcutta was too small, he caused a spacious and semi-regal palace to be built on the esplanade between Fort William and the town. It was opened on January 26, 1803, with a splendid en- tertainment given in honour of the general peace. Lord Wellesley had previously taken possession of the house at Barrackpore, which had hitherto been occupied by the Commander-in- Chief, and which he improved with great taste. This country residence, situated on the left bank of the Ganges, in the midst of a beautiful park, has since been a favourite spot with succeeding Governors-General. The Marquis Wellesley reached England in January 1806, a very different man to what he was when he left it seven years before. He had rendered his country incom- parable service by his singularly able administration in India ; but every one did not rush forward to acknowledge this, and his seven years almost autocratic rule had made 82 GOVEfiNORS-GENERAL OF INDJA. him vain-glorious and imperious. The consciousness of this infirmity made him overbearing and irritable. This showed itself even at the dinner-table on the evening after he had lauded. Lady Wellesley, with their children, had come to greet him on his return ; but, at dinner, forgetting that he was not exactly the same man to whom she had plighted her troth several years ago, unhappily, but inno- cently, remarked, "Ah! you must not think you are in India still, where everybody ran to obey you. They mind nobody here." This led to an estrangement between them. As it was in private life, so also it was in political and official life, and it embittered both. Apparently he must be first and supreme in everything. He arrived just in time to see his old friend and master in political science, Mr. Pitt, once more. The great statesman was dying. Hearing of Lord Wellesley's arrival, he sent for him, and they had a final interview just twelve days before Mr. Pitt's death. The Marquis Wellesley was not in a position to resume political employ for some little time after his return to England. One of those annoyances to which eminent men are peculiarly liable was in store for him. Some of the greatest Anglo-Indian statesmen had been subjected to persecution and impeachment on account of their policy in India. An attempt at the same course was made against the Marquis Wellesley ; but it signally failed. A Mr. Paull who had made a fortune in India, and had subsequently obtained a seat in the House of Commons, moved for the production of papers on which to found his indictment against the ex-Grovernor-General on account of his policy in Oudh ; but, before he could proceed further, a dissolution of Parliament took place, and he lost his seat, so that the charge was made by another member of Parliament, Lord Folkestone, who was defeated by a large majority of votes. A resolution of the House of Commons approving Lord Wellesley's conduct was then triumphantly carried. There was no doubt that the people of England thoroughly ap- proved of his brilliant statesmanship in India, though not in the enthusiastic manner which he anticipated. IV, THE MARQUIS WELLE8LEY. 83 Lord Wellesley diligently attended to his duties in the House of Lords. He was, however, very careful about his utterances. He did not feel inclined to speak at all, unless he felt that he could make the best speech in a debate, and this sometimes led him not to speak when he ought to have spoken. He made his first speech in the Upper House on February 8,1808, rather more than two years after his return. It was on a most important political subject the seizure of the Danish fleet ; and was regarded as an admir- able specimen of parliamentary oratory. He was, how- ever, very nervous iu the effort, though appearing out- wardly calm and collected. In the following year he fairly entered into European diplomatic life, and eventually into English ministerial responsibility. He was at first closely associated with his brother, Sir Arthur Wellesley. England had undertaken to assist Spain and Portugal in their defence against the attacks of the great Napoleon. Sir Arthur was sent to command the English army in the latter country, and the Marquis was commissioned to proceed to Spain as Ambassador Extraordinary to conduct the negotiations with the Spanish Government. He was employed in this manner from June to November, 1809. In the latter month he left Spain, having accepted office under Mr. Percival, then Prime Minister, as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The period during which the Marquis Wellesley was Foreign Minister was one of the most critical possible not only for England, but for the whole of Europe. It is scarcely too much to say that all Europe was then in subjugation to Napoleon, England only excepted. Her army kept the conqueror at bay in Portugal and Spain. No more resolute and far-seeing minister could have been entrusted with the seals of office than Lord Wellesley. No adverse criticism daunted him from straining every nerve to continue the war against France with vigour and success, while, nobly seconded and supported by him in England, his brother completely vanquished Napoleon's ablest lieu- tenants iu Spain. He remained Foreign Minister of Eng- land during this very critical period, that is, from Novem- 84 GO VERNOES- GENERAL OF INDIA. ber 1809 to February 19, 1812, when he resigned on account of an entirely different subject, namely, the Roman Catholic Emancipation question, which was then being brought forward. He was in favour of the policy of removing all disabilities on the score of religion : his col- leagues were not. They were, however, not unwilling to allow him to quit the Cabinet, because his imperious dispo- sition prevented him from working harmoniously with them. Another point of difference was his opinion that they were not vigorous enough in their prosecution of the war in Spain, or, as he himself expressed it, " their efforts were just too short." His brother, now Lord Wellington, had nevertheless won some of his most brilliant victories, and he was daily gaining sufficient strength to make a decisive forward movement into Spain. Lord Wellesley's strenuous efforts had afforded him the means of success. In the month of May, 1812, Lord Wellesley was entrust- ed by the Prince Regent with the arduous duty of en- deavoring to form a new Cabinet, after the assassination of Mr. Percival. He was not successful however, and, for the next nine years, he remained out of office ; but his ser- vices were too valuable to be altogether dispensed with, and in December 1821, he occupied the very important and onerous position of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, a posi- tion which had also been held by Lord Cornwallis. His term of office lasted for just six years. It was a period of much excitement and turmoil. On the whole he was toler- ably popular; and, as he was known by the Roman Catho- lics to be favourable to Emancipation and was himself an illustrious Protestant Irishman, he was in a position to hold an even balance between the two contending parties. When he assumed office, Ireland was in a condition border- ing on rebellion. This was energetically suppressed ; the destitution among the peasants occasioned by the unsettled state of the country was relieved by public subscriptions supplemented by a Government grant, most of which was raised in England; and much was done towards discoun- tenancing and suppressing secret societies, which were the bane of the land. During the time of his Viceroy alty, the IV. THE MARQUIS WELLESLBY. 85 Marquis Wellesley married a second time, his first wife having died in 1816. On October 29, 1825, he was united to Mrs. Patterson, the daughter of an American gentleman, and a lady of considerable personal attractions and mental accomplishments. In December, 1827, Lord Wellesley, as the end of his term of office was drawing near, returned to England. He came back to do all that lay in his power to advocate the cause of Catholic Emancipation. His younger brother, the great Duke, became Prime Minister of England in the following year, and was at first opposed, and then, under stress of circumstances which he considered rendered it in- evitable, he became favourable to passing this act of relief. The Act was passed in the year 1829. The measure became law, which he had consistently advocated for many years, and on which as he himself said, e 'he had formed his opinion from long and intimate acquaintance with the constitution of his country." A little later, from the middle of 1833 to April 1835, Lord Wellesley was again Lord Lieutenant of Ire- land. For a brief period he held office as Lord Chamber- lain, and he then retired from all participation in public affairs. The evening of his life was tranquil. Like his great predecessor, Warren Hastings, he employed the lei- sure of his old age in social enjoyment and in literary recreation. He amused himself principally with writing verse. At this time the Court of Directors, then living in a generation that appreciated his services more highly than their ancestors did, showed their estimation of what he had done for India by two graceful acts. Hearing that his means were straitened, they voted him the sum of 20,000, and, a few years later, they placed a marble statue of him in the India House. The kindest expressions were used with regard to his illustrious services by many of the Directors when these honours were awarded to him. The last few years of his life were spent in a house at Bromp- ton, a suburb of London, where he died on September 26, 1842, in the eighty-third year of his age. The Marquis Wellesley's was essentially a public life. With the exception of his later years it was past in the 86 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. excitement of high position or in the turmoil of political strife. There are few passages in his correspondence of a quiet and domestic nature, which, as in the case of most eminent men, reveal the inner workings of the heart. It has been seen from the preceding narrative how clear was the foresight and how statesmanlike was the policy of his rule in India ; but he was sensitive in a pre-eminent degree, and fancied non-appreciation of his services affected him even to the detriment of his health. On the other hand, no one in his exalted position possessed in a more perfect form the faculty of recognizing merit and of making choice of fit agents, and of then trusting them to the full. The secret of his successful government lay in this consummate art. We would not be far wrong if we called his a most useful, but not a happy, life. Lord Wellesley had an ad- mirable style in writing, but, as his despatches prove, it was a thoroughly official style. He was always fond of literature, and some of his verses, both in Latin and in English, show considerable culture and taste. It cannot be said that the Marquis Wellesley was a decidedly Christian man. He saw, however, how incumbent it was on the ruling and paramount power to show plainly that they had a faith, and were not ashamed to make an open profession of it. Englishman in India had, with some brilliant exceptions, been untrue to their country and unfaithful to their God in this respect. Lord Wellesley, while exercising a severe censorship over the English press, rightly directed that the newspapers should not be publish- ed on Sunday, and readily carried out the wishes of the Court of Directors that official work should not be perform- ed on the Christian Sabbath day of rest. On his return to Calcutta after the successful termination of the war in Mysore, he set apart a day for public thanksgiving to Almighty God. He and the principal officers of State walked to church at the early morning service, and openly joined in this tribute of praise the Rev. David Brown reading the prayers, and the Rev. Claudius Buchanan preaching the sermon on this memorable occasion. We have thus endeavoured briefly to record the chief events in IV< THE MARQUIS WELLESLBY. 87 the life of one of the greatest Governors India has ever known. British India of the present day really owes its first moulding and form to his capable hands, and the people would have more directly benefited under his grand designs of amelioration and reform, if his attention had not been so fully occupied with the wars which were forced upon him by no desire of his own. THE EARL OF MINTO, V. THE EARL OP MINTO. 89 . THE EARL OF MINTO. A.D. 1751 TO 1814. " Let Reason's torch on zeal attend, Her calm undazzling light to lend : With patriot ardour wisdom blend. Be these your guides. Your country's good the noble end, And nought besides." Lord Minto. THESE lines are from a little poem written by Lord Minto himself when in India and dedicated to his family. We prefix them to this brief memoir, not because his name is enrolled on the goodly scroll of English poets ; but because they accurately describe the course of life which he him- self followed, and which he desired the members of his family to pursue. Like so many other English statesmen, his sincere desire was, first of all, the welfare of his country ; and he endeavoured to promote it by a calm, wise, and con- sistent performance of duty, even when it went counter to his own inclinations. Mr. Gilbert Elliot, as he was at first, came of a good old Scottish family, in which there had been several dis- tinguished members. His father was a member of Par- liament, and as his duties took him often to Edinburgh or London, and the mode of travelling in those days was slow and tedious, he did not stay often at his family estate, but usually resided in one of those cities. Sir Gilbert and Lady Elliot had four sons and two daughters. One of the latter married Mr. Eden, afterwards Lord Auckland, and was the mother of one of the Governors- General. The two elder sons, Gilbert and Hugh, both attained considerable eminence as politicians and di- plomatists. These two brothers were brought up to- gether until they were nearly twenty years of age and 90 GOVERNOKS-GENERAL OF INDIA. then parted to meet but seldom afterwards. They were sincerely attached to each other. Hugh for many years represented his sovereign as ambassador at Berlin and other European Courts, and eventually became Governor of Madras in the year after his brother had resigned his position as Governor-General. The third brother, Alex- ander, entered the Bengal Civil Service, was a man of much promise, and was thought of very highly by Warren Hastings ; but he died in India at a comparatively early The future Governor- General was born April 23, 1751. He was placed, when eleven years old, with his brother Hugh, in the charge of a young tutor, who, after two years, accompanied them to Paris. There they entered a military school, and Mr. David Hume, the well-known historian, took the general superintendence of their education. They became intimate with the sons of some of the most noble families in France, among whom was the celebrated Mira- beau, and Gilbert Elliot kept up his acquaintance with him for many years. They thoroughly acquired the French language and French modes of thought, which became of freat service to them in their future diplomatic career, n 1768 they both went to Christ Church, Oxford; but, two years later they returned, for a time to Paris, and then Gilbert went once more to Oxford, where he remained to take his degree, and Hugh began his military training in other parts of the continent of Europe. At the conclusion of his University course, Mr. Gilbert Elliot went to London to study law. He withdrew for some time from society for the purpose of giving him- self up to this pursuit, and he seems to have made a very fair start at the bar, to have spoken well in the causes he was engaged in, and to have been specially employed in one celebrated election case. He did not prosecute the pro- fession of law, however, but turned into the more inviting, but less profitable, occupation of politics. He was request- ed to stand as member of parliament for Morpeth, a town in the county of Northumberland bordering on Scotland, and was returned for it in the summer of 1776. On Janu- V. THE EARL OP MINTO. 91 ary 3, 1777, he was married to Miss Anna Maria Amyand, daughter of Sir George Amyand, M. P., a lady to whom he had been attached for many years, and with whom he lived most happily. She was evidently a lady of great sense and much thoughtfulness. His father did not live to hear of his marriage, but thoroughly approved of the step he was taking. He said, " By Miss Amyand's letters she is a sen- sible good woman, and I believe will be good wife and com- fortable relation/' adding with great energy, " what a wise man Gilbert has been to leave the skirts of the fine people, and associate with men of sense and character who have led him into a conduct of virtue and wisdom." In the early part of their married life they were often separated, he being obliged to remain in London the greater part of the year in order to attend to his parliamentary duties, while she generally went to their beautiful estate at Minto, as she enjoyed better health in the clearer air of the country ; but they carried on a continuous correspondence during the periods of their separation, and it is evident from these letters how fully they loved one another and delighted in each other's society. One passage from them will be sufficient to prove this. " Very full letters," he once wrote, " are the best substitute for your absence ; a poor resource when compared with your presence, but in- estimable if your absence is necessary." Minto, from which Sir Gilbert Elliot afterwards took his title on his elevation to the peerage, is a pleasant estate in Roxburghshire. It is now more tastefully planted and the garden more artificially beautiful than it was a hundred years ago ; but it must then have been wilder and more naturally lovely. The sheet of water near the house, which now reflects laburnums and rhododendrons, was then a nar- row and rapid stream running between banks covered with jungle thorn-bushes. The house too was then less conveni- ent; but Gilbert Elliot's wife loved the place, as she said, passionately, and delighted in its rugged beauties. January 1777 was an eventful month in Gilbert Elliot's life. Soon after his marriage, his father, who had been compelled to go to the south of France for the sake of his 92 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. health, died on the eleventh day of the month, and he succeeded him as baronet, so that he was henceforward Sir Gilbert Elliot, and became the head of the family. Soon after his father's death, he was returned to Parlia- ment as the member for his native country, Roxburghshire, a position which had been held by his father, his grand- father, and his great-grandfather before him. His parlia- mentary life was rather uneventful so far as he was con- cerned, for, although he came in contact with many of the great men of the day, and was the eye-witness of many stirring scenes in the House of Commons, he was never a very keen politician. At first he gave his support to the ministry of the time, especially in their prosecution of the American war ; but in 1 780, he was very much impressed by a speech of Edmund Burke's on Reform, and he made the acquaintance of that eminent, but prejudiced, man, which ere long ripened into warm friendship. He became under Burke's inspiration an ardent supporter of the popu- lar side of politics, and joined the Whigs, which was the name given to that particular political party. In 1782 Sir Gilbert/ s health gave way for a time. He caught a severe cold, and there were threatenings of consumption, so he was obliged to go to the milder climate of the south coast of France for the benefit of his health. Lady Elliot accom- panied him, and, while stopping at Lyons on the way, their eldest child, who succeeded him in the title of Earl of Minto, was born. Happily his health was completely re- instated by this little change. In the year 1786, Burke induced Sir Gilbert to give his support to the charges brought against Warren Hastings and Sir Elijah Impey. At the general election two years before, Sir Gilbert had lost his seat in Parliament, at which he seems to have been rather pleased, as affording him leisure for reading and self -improvement. Among other occupations he entered heartily into getting up the subject of the celebrated prosecution of Warren Hastings, or whose guilt he appears thoroughly to have persuaded himself. Being in London at the time, he re- joiced at the success of the faction in procuring that great V. THE EARL OF MINTO. 93 statesman's prosecution. "Our victory on the Benares charge," he wrote, " has given me the greatest satisfaction and comfort. It is a most comfortable testimony to the general justice of the prosecution, and a shield to the characters and reputation of the prosecutors." Sir Gilbert Elliot was returned to Parliament again in September 1786 ; this time for the border town of Berwick. On learning this news Burke wrote him an affectionate con- gratulation, urging him to push himself more forward in political matters, and to shake off some of his retiring nature. " You -must be less modest ;" he wrote, " you must be all you can be, and you can be everything ; we cannot spare an atom of you." Sir Gilbert was not a frequent speaker in the House of Commons. He seems never to have thoroughly overcome his nervousness. On the evening of December 12, 1787, he delivered the most eloquent speech he made in that distinguished assembly, on the prosecution of Sir Elijah Impey, and the restoration of Francis to the Committee of Managers of the approaching trial. Burke wrote to Lady Elliot regarding this speech in terms of the highest praise. " There was not a topic," he said, " upon which he touched that had not its peculiar beauty and the finishing hand of a master." Such praise from a past master in the art of rhetoric was praise indeed. Sip Gilbert had, however, failed to understand Francis's real character. Sir Gilbert was one of the managers for the prosecution in the celebrated trial. We have already given a brief ac- count of it in Warren Hastings' Life ; and, therefore, it is sufficient just to refer to it so far as the future Governor- General is concerned, as his words cast a slight side-light upon it. All the managers appeared in full dress. " My dress coat is just come home," he writes to his wife the day before the trial. " My coat is drab with steel buttons : waistcoat of the same." Returning from the opening of the trial next day, he writes : "It is difficult to conceive anything more grand or imposing than this scene. Every- thing that England possesses of greatness or ability is there assembled, in the utmost splendour and solemnity, for one 94 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. of the most solemn purposes imaginable. There is a large place for the managers fronting the throne, with a table and accommodation for our counsel, agent, and attend- ants." Amidst all the grandeur and magnificence of the scene, however, his heart misgives him, for the sup- posed criminal who was then standing near him, had been very kind to his brother Alexander, and a touch of com- punction for his harsh feeling comes over him. " I never saw Hastings till to-day, " he added, s ' and had not formed anything like a just idea of him. I never saw a more miserable looking creature, but indeed he has so much the appearance of bad health that I do not suppose he resem- bles even himself" no wonder considering the position he was in. " He looks as if he could not live a week." He survived Sir Gilbert four years. " I always feel un- comfortable in the reflection of his connections with Alick, and I cannot say I was insensible to that idea on seeing him to-day. But the clearness of his guilt and the atro- ciousness of his crimes can leave no hesitation in any body's mind, who thinks as I do about, it what one's duty is." The only other point in connection with this topic that need be alluded to here is his speech, or rather speeches, for it was spread over two days, on the prosecution of Sir Elijah Impey. It lasted for several hours on April 28 and May 9, 1788. The motion was lost. His speech was, how- ever, printed with corrections by Burke. The estimation in which Sir Gilbert was held by his friends was so high that they nominated him for the honourable office of Speaker, that is, the chairman, of the Honse of Commons. He was proposed on January 5, 1789, but Mr. Grenville was elected by a large majority, and on Mr. Grenville vacating the post in the following June on being made a Cabinet Minister, he was proposed in opposi- tion to Mr. Addington, but again defeated. The very fact of being proposed by his party was complimentary to him and creditable to his character for impartiality and justice. Dining the remainder of his parliamentary career, little iihat was remarkable occurred. Finding the great diffi- culty and inconvenience of being absent more than half the V. THE EAEL OP MINTO. 95 year from his family lie formed the design of resigning his seat at the general election of 1790, in order that he might be more with his wife and growing children ; but he was persuaded by his friends to relinquish this intention, and he was returned for a small borough in Cornwall on the understanding that he was to attend Parliament only when it was absolutely necessary for him to do so. Three years later his Parlimenfcary life was exchang- ed for a diplomatic one, and he had almost entirely to quit his favourite place in Scotland. In 1793 the war occasioned by the terrible French Revolution was rag- ing in Europe. Toulon, the chief port of the French navy in the Mediterranean, was, in August of that year, handed over by the loyalists of the town to the British, for the sake of their protection, and Lord Hood, the British naval commander in the Mediterranean, took possession of the town. Sir Gilbert Elliot was selected by the ministry to go there as the civil officer in charge of the town. Leav- ing England on October 18, he proceeded thither as rapid- ly as the means of transit in those days permitted; and did his best to supply the beleaguered garrison with food. The siege was at first carried on in a most unskilful way by the Republican army ; but there was in it a young captain of artillery, named Napoleon Buonaparte, who made his first mark in military history by his suggestion as to the con- duct of the siege. His clear eye noticed how certain forts on a neck of land dominated the town and harbour, and persuaded the general commanding to concentrate all his attention on them. The principal fort was taken, and, on December 19, the English and their allies withdrew after burning those war vessels in the harbour which could not be removed. Daring this weird conflagration hundreds of the frightened inhabitants, dreading the terrible retribution that awaited those who remained, fled on board the English ships of war, and Sir Gilbert used his utmost exertions to comfort and relieve them. " It is some sort of gratification to me," he wrote to Lady Elliot in the fulness of Ids heart, " to be considered the saviour and friend of all these forlorn families. I had the pleasure of saving several lives, and 96 GO VEENORS -GENERAL OF INDIA. of being the sole instrument of any succour or comfort which any of them have obtained. One little boy whose father is missing has taken as kindly to me as if he were my own." The treatment of the French royalists after the recapture of Toulon is one of the most ghastly episodes in the appalling French Revolution, and it is pleasing to contrast the humane exertions of the kindly English states- man with the frantic cruelty of the French victors. Early in January 1794, Sir Gilbert Elliot went to the island of Corsica to negotiate regarding its cession to England. It had recently been in the possession of France but General Paoli, who was generally trusted by his countrymen, revolted and, made an offer of the island to the King of England, and this offer being ratified by the Cor- sican Parliament, it was accepted by the English ministry. Sir Gilbert Elliot was appointed Viceroy, and on June 19, 1794, he formally took charge of the Government in the name of King George the Third. From that date till October 1796, or rather more than two years, he ruled the volatile and excitable Corsican people with an amount of good humour and tact which won him their respect and even their love. His sole desire was to show them the beauty and the bene- fits of constitutional government, and his policy was to make the island the centre of English naval dominion in the Mediterranean Sea. Captain Horatio Nelson, after- wards Lord Nelson, the great English naval hero, was in the Mediterranean fleet, and contracted a firm friendship with Sir Gilbert, and, when the latter left the island, wrote in strong praise of his conduct as Viceroy. " It is impossi- ble/' he said, "I can do justice to the good arrangement of the Government or the good management of the Viceroy with the Corsicans ; even those who had opposed his administra- tion could not but love and respect so amiable a character/' In the autumn of 1794, Lady Elliot and their children join- ed him, and they all delighted in the beauty of the scenery and in the pleasantness of the climate, crossing over, how- ever, in the hot weather to the mainland and the hills of Italy. At the close of his administration they returned to England in a ship of war ; and he followed them after hav- V. THE EARL OP MINTO. 97 ing gone for a time to Naples on diplomatic duty. On his way home in a frigate, he happened to be present at the great naval action off Cape St. Vincent, reaching England on March 5, 1797, with the news of that victory. Thus ended an eventful and busy period of his life, and in the following year, the King, in consideration of the essential services he had rendered to his country, created him a peer of the realm by the title of Baron Minto. In 1799 Lord Minto was again actively employed in the service of his country. In June of that year he was ap- pointed Minister Plenipotentiary, that is, an ambassador with full power of acting, to the Court of Vienna, and the immediate object of his mission was to induce the Emperor of Austria to throw himself heartily into alliance with Eng- land in the war she was then prosecuting against France. After much negotiation he was successful, and a treaty of alliance between Great Britain and Austria was signed on June 20, 1800. It was, however, of little use. The war, which had hitherto been carried on with little spirit, just at that time underwent a complete change. The guiding hand of a master in the art of war was just beginning to be felt on the side of France. Napoleon Buonaparte, who had lately been in Egypt, had returned suddenly to Europe, and had put fresh life into the affairs of France. Only five days before the signing of the above mentioned treaty, the battle of Marengo was fought ; and, ere long, Austria was at the mercy of the conqueror, and a fresh treaty was entered into between France and Austria. Though the main object of his embassy had thus been frustrated, Lord Minto had the pleasure of receiving his Sovereign's ap- proval of the firmness and vigour he had shown during a pecu- liarly trying and critical time. Lady Minto was with him the greater part of his stay in the beautiful capital of Austria'. Lord Minto returned to London in October, 1801, after an absence of rather more than two years. The next five years were spent in a very similar way to that when he was in the House of Commons, in parliamentary duties and in the society of his friends and fellow statesmen. He resided in London during the time the House of Lords was a 98 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. sitting, and on other occasions lived in Edinburgh or at Minto. In January, 1806, after the death of the distin- guished statesman, Mr. Pitt, to whom England owed so much, a new ministry came into power, which, being com- posed of many brilliant and intellectual men, was jocularly called " The Ministry of all the Talents." Lord Minto took office as President of the Board of Control, but without a seat in the Cabinet, that is, he was not actually one of the responsible Ministers of the Crown. This appointment brought him into close contact with Indian affairs, and caused him a great deal of hard work. He held this important position for only a few weeks. The news of Lord Cornwallis's death soon after his having gone out a second time as Governor-General was received just as Lord Minto took office ; and a conflict arose between the King's ministers and the Court of Directors regarding the choice of his successor. When this dissension was at its height, the Prime Minister proposed Lord Minto as the right person to fill that responsible post, a suggestion which proved agreeable to all parties, as he was known to be a wise, judicious, and conciliatory statesman, who seemed likely to take a sound and sober view of affairs in India, and to exercise a salutary influence there. He at first declined the offer, but afterwards reluctantly accepted it on the ground of public duty. His reluctance was chiefly on account of domestic reasons, because he felt that Lady Minto, whom he so tenderly loved, ought not to accompany him to India for the sake of her health. She was in Scotland at the time, and he wrote to her on the subject in these words : " Now comes the domestic deliberation, and that is exactly the greatest conflict to which my mind could ever be put. My own personal comforts, enjoyments, and happiness can be preserved only at home with yourself and the children." It ought here to be added that he regarded the appointment as one in 'which he had the opportunity of doing good to the people of India. When, many years before, he had, under a mistaken sense of duty, become one of the managers in the trial of Warren Hastings, he said that " his earnest V. THE EABL OF MINTO. 99 desire to befriend the people of India had decided him to undertake a business in many respects uncongenial to his nature." So on this occasion, he wrote to Lady Minto, " There is the hope of becoming the instrument of great and extensive good." " Most of all," he added, " I hope you are firmly convinced that that no personal passion, such as ambition, could weigh a single grain in the balance against the love I bear you, my affection for the children, and the delight with which I have been looking forward to a greater share of your and their company than I have had for many years." During the time of preparation for his departure, Lord Minto was gratified to hear of the engage- ment of his eldest son to be married, and he was present at his wedding. He felt most keenly the parting from his family and friends ; but was pleased to observe the happi- ness of one who was henceforward to take his position as head of the family in Britain. He sailed from England in the ' Modesto 9 frigate, commanded by his second son, George Elliot, on February 5, 1807. After a voyage which lasted four months, Lord Minto reached Madras on June 20, 1807. He there met his third son, John Edmund Elliot, who was in the Civil Service, and who became his private secretary, accompanying him to Calcutta. He assumed charge of the Government on July 31. During the interval between Lord Cornwallis's death, nearly two years previously, and Lord Minto's arrival, Sir George Barlow, the senior member of Coun- cil, had acted as Governor-General, and had been the instrument of carrying out the policy of the Court of Directors supported by the King's ministers in England, which may appropriately be described as the policy of peace in India at any price. Sir George Barlow was at this time transferred to the Governorship of Madras. On his proceeding to Madras, Mr. Lumsden, Mr. Colebrooke, the distinguished Oriental scholar, and General Hewitt, the Commander-in-Chief, were the mem- bers of Council, with whom Lord Minto had the pleasure of working harmoniously during the whole period of his Government. 100 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. Lord Miiito felt most keenly the separation from his wife. Contrary to the case of Lord Wellesley, we have abundant material for estimating his private character and the feel- ings of his mind, for he employed himself in writing long letters, more like journals than the ordinary correspon- dence of every day life, so that we know thoroughly his ideas and thoughts about matters not connected with the official government of the Indian Empire. He was, when he reached Calcutta, fifty-six years of age, so that the change from life in London to the very different scenes in Calcutta struck him very forcibly, and he felt a good deal the closeness and heat of the climate. Writing to his eldest son a few weeks after his arrival, he gives an amusing account of the manner of conducting business in Council, part of which it will be interesting to quote as the experiences of a new comer. " The routine/' he wrote, "is this. The Secretaries in the different departments send in circulation to me and the members of Council the despatches they have received since the last Council, and the documents relating to all business which arises in the interval. The number and variety of affairs is immense; for everything, small as well as great, must have the sanction of Government. The Secretaries attend at Council, each department in its turn with its mountain of bundles. The Secretary reads the substance of each paper, and the order is given on the spot. Now our Secre- taries are all modest men, who scarcely read above their breath. It is a constant strain of the ear to hear them ; the business is often the heaviest and dullest kind, the voices monotonous, and as one small concern follows another, the punkah vibrates gently over my eyes ; and in this warm atmosphere the whole operation has been found somewhat composing. It is often a vehement struggle to avoid a delectable oblivious wink." The new Governor-General was delighted to leave the formality and stateliness of Calcutta for the pleasant re- tirement of Barrackpore. There he had leisure to read and write and think. The beauty of the scenery and the quietness of the place attracted him. "The real V. THE EARL OP MINTC. -1XJ1 beauty," he wrote, "consists in the rich verdure, the magnificent timber, and the fine river which forms one side ot: the place. The breadth of the Ganges here is sufficient for grandeur, and not too much for beauty. It is all alive with a brisk navigation of boats and vessels of different build and dimensions, and all of the most pic- turesque forms and fashions." He had a great affection for this country residence, calling it ' ( a kind of little Minto," for in reminded him of his Scottish home. When Lord Minto assumed charge oE the Government, India was settling down after the swift, victorious compaigns of the Marquis Wellesley. The frontier of British India, then infinitely smaller and more compressed than at present, was well defined. There were formidable enemies beyond it. The Mahrattas especially were preparing for further conflict, evidently at no distant date. The enemy most dreaded, however, was France. During the whole of Lord Minto's administration, England and France were at war, and it was necessary not only to keep a jealous eye on the colonial possessions of France, but to keep vigilant watch lest her sons should endeavour to invade India, or to intrigue at the independent Hindu or Muhammadan Courts, During this waiting time the financial position of the country was considerably improved. Lord Minto's policy was not, however, one entirely of peace, and certainly not of timidity and submission. He was quite ready, on suit- able occasions, to use the language of firmness and decision, and, to employ his own words " to discharge the duty which a sovereign owes to his subjects, I mean that of pre- serving the public peace, and protecting the weaker and more pacific part of the community against the oppression and violence of the stronger." He had not been many weeks in power when there arose the necessity for inter- fering by force in Bundelkhand, which had, four years pre- viously, been ceded by the Mahrattas. It was studded with numerous fortified droogs, which were held by petty chiefs who kept the country people in the plains in abject terror. A force was sent against the chiefs who refused to submit; two strongholds, Kalinjir and Azighar, were taken GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. by assault ; and the province restored to quietness and peace. In the year following Lord Minto's arrival, a sudden disturbance arose in the kingdom of Travancore. The Rajah had permitted all the real power-of the realm to pass into the hands of his dewan, who thoroughly abused it, and suffered the kingdom to fall into disorder. An attack was made on the British Resident, who narrowly escaped with his life, and some soldiers and a doctor of an English Regiment were treacherously captured and murdered. A small invading force, under Colonel St. Leger, invaded Travancore, chiefly through the pass leading from Tinne- velly, and order was eventually restored. The province was kept for a few years under English management, but it was, in 1813, handed over again to the Rajah, and it has since been one of the most tranquil and enlightened of all the protected states. The most serious disturbance of the time, however, arose from the English officers themselves. Sir George Barlow, the Governor of Madras, was most unpopular, and, during the time of his government, a sad collision occurred between the civil and the military authorities. It began with a question regarding the Tent Contract, being an allowance which the commanding officers of regiments received for providing tents for their men. The Com- mander-in-Chief had quite recently been deprived by the Court of Directors of his seat in Council. In many instances the sepoys were induced to follow their officers in acts of insubordination. At Masulipatam there was open mutiny, and at Secunderabad and in other places there was a very near approach to civil war. Lord Minto, who was deter- mined to uphold the hands of the civil power, though he was particularly anxious to maintain a most conciliatory attitude, thought it right to go straight to Madras, and sift the whole matter thoroughly. He embarked for Madras on August 5, 1809, and remained there fourteen months. After some time the irritation and excitement of this painful mutiny passed away ; and, perhaps, the best thing left behind it by it is the admirable V. THE EAEL OP MINTO. 103 state-paper written by the Governor-General on the subject. While he was at Madras Lord Minto's son and secre- tary, the Honorable John Elliot, married the daughter of Mr. Casamaijor, M. C. S., and, soon after his return to Calcutta, his second son, the Honorable Captain George Elliot, of the Royal Navy, also married. Both his daugh- ters-in-law had rooms assigned to them in Government House. He was pleased to have them with him, and declared that his residence was much improved in cheer- fulness and comfort. "I have occasion for all the comforts I can snatch, for my work is hard and fatiguing to both body and spirit, not by bodily exercise, but by the effect of mental labour on a body entirely at rest. I am as entirely done up by ten o'clock as if I had been all day on the Moors, " referring to the mountain sides in the highlands of Scotland, where gentlemen delight, at certain seasons, to walk and shoot. " However/ 7 he adds, " I have a quiet sort of contentedness, and spectator-like enjoyment of all the happiness about me, which serves my turn. " He was, however, though cheerfully doing his duty, what is usually called, very home sick. He was actually counting the days to the anticipated time of his return. The foreign policy of Lord Minto was entirely influenced by the prevailing dread of French pretensions and fear of invasion. In the early part of his administration, he 'decid- ed on sending two embassies to kingdoms on the frontier of India, each with the object of counteracting the in- trigues of the French. These embassies were sent to Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Panjab, to Shah Shuja, the Ameer of Kabul, and to the Shah of Persia. Lord Minto took the greatest pains in selecting the best and ablest officers for these important and delicate duties. For the embassy to the Panjab he selected Mr. Metcalfe, who had been trained by the Marquis Wellesley, and who afterwards filled many high offices in the State. Mr. Metcalfe was only twenty-three years of age, but he dis- played singular patience, skill, and tact in the conduct of the difficult task entrusted to him. On April 25, 1809, a 104 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. treaty was entered into, in which Ranjit Singh agreed not to interfere with the chiefs on the south of the river Sutlej, and perpetual amity was established between the British Government and himself, no invading army being permit- ted to pass through his territory. The great ruler, the Lion of the Pan jab, most scrupulously kept this treaty. Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone, another distinguished civilian who rose to eminence, was entrusted with the em- bassy to Kabul. He was not so successful as Mr. Metcalfe had been in the Panjab. He did not go further than Peshawar, where he had interviews with the Amir, and obtained his object; but, before the treaty could be rati- fied, the Amir had been defeated by his brother, who had usurped the throne, and he had fled for refuge across the Indus. The chief result of this mission was the admirable history of Afghanistan, which Mr. Elphinstone wrote from the materials he was able to obtain at Peshawar. The third embassy, that to the Court of Persia, was much more difficult and complicated. Lord Minto chose Colonel Malcolm to conduct it; but another ambassador was sent from England without his knowledge, and the Governor- General was most anxious to prevent any collision, or, as he called it, jostling between the two ambassadors, yet there was much friction between these two officers as well as between the two Governments which they represented. This is not the place to enter into this bygone controversy, so it will suffice to state that, so far as Lord Minto was concerned, his only object was to maintain the dignity of the high office he occupied, A treaty was eventually conclud- ed, in which the name of Russia was substituted for that of France, all fear of the latter country having disappeared by the time it was ratified. The chief feature of Lord Minto's rule, however, was his vigorous and decided action with regard to the French colonial possessions in the India and China seas. The two islands, Mauritius and Bourbon, but particularly the former, were of great service to France in harbouring ships of war which were employed in attacking the English fleets on their way to and from India. Both these islands were taken by a V. THE EAEL OF MINTO. 105 force sent from this country, Lord Minto acting entirely on his own responsibility, which, as he himself expressed it, "a strong sense of duty to the public had induced him to undertake." A month after the expedition had sailed, in- structions were received from England recommending him to follow the course that he had already adopted. The conquest of Holland by Napoleon had placed the Dutch colonies in his possession, and, therefore, it was necessary to make an endeavour at once to capture them. The principal of these was Java. The Governor-General determined himself to accompany the very efficient ai-my which was embarked for the purpose of attacking that island. He went on board the frigate "Modeste," commanded by his second son, being the same vessel in which he had sailed from England, and he much enjoyed the change which the voyage afforded from his usual official routine. The ship touched at Penang and Malacca. An amusing account of the arrival of the fleet at the latter place was written by a Malay, and translated into English by Mr. J. T. Thomson under the title of HaJcayit Abdulla, from which we extract the following simple description of the great man from an outside point of view. "Thousands," he wrote, "had collected at the sea-shore to have a sight of him and his dress, his name being great. At the time of his leaving his ship the cannon roared like thunder the sea became dark with smoke. When I had seen the appearance and circum- stance of Lord Minto, I was much moved ; for I guessed in my mind as to his position and height that these must be great and his dress gorgeous. But his appearance was of one that was middle-aged, thin in body, of soft manners and sweet countenance, and I felt that he could not carry thirty pounds, so slow was his motion. His coat was black cloth, his trousers the same, nor was there anything peculiar. Now he had not the remotest appearance of pomposity or lofty headedness ; but there was real modesty and kindly expression." The island of Java was commanded by General Janssens, who had been appointed by Napoleon, and who had 106 QOVEENOBS-GENEEAL OP INDIA. endeavoured to put it into the best possible state of defence. Strong fortifications had been erected at Port Cornells, eight miles inland from the capital, Batavia. The in- vading force landed near the capital, which at once surrendered, and on August 26, 1811, the above fort was, after a gallant defence, captured by the troops under Sir Samuel Auchmuty, Colonel Gillespie, who had rescued the survivors from the mutiny of Veil ore, having particularly distinguished himself by his bravery. The French general was sent to England as prisoner, and Lord Minto was careful generously to describe him as a virtuous, just, and brave man and a wise and even enlightened statesman. The island was annexed to the East India Company's territories, Mr. Raffles, afterwards Sir Stamford Raffles, being appointed Lieutenant-G-overnor, subordinate to the Government of Bengal, and Colonel Gillespie, commandant of the troops. The English Government were at first disinclined for annexation ; but it remained under English management till the end of the war in 1814, when it was restored to the Dutch. Before leaving Batavia the Governor- General remarked to a resident that he did not think it was likely that the island would remain long in possession of the English, but, he added, "while we are here, let us do as much good as we can." Most admirable arrangements were made for its good government, and, as Sir Stamford Raffles said, he showed " a tender and parental care for the island ; the European community was saved by his humanity; for the native administration principles were laid down on which the whole of the present structure has been raised; and, in every instance, a wish was evinced of improving the successes of war, as much in favour of the conquered as of the conqueror." Lord Minto returned to Calcutta, after an absence of several months, at the end of 1811. While absent he had heard the tidings of the death of his youngest son, which deeply affected him. His yearnings for home seemed to grow stronger, and a shade of melancholy tinged his pri- vate correspondence. During the last two years of his government, no very important public events occurred. V. THE EARL OP MINTO. 107 The Mahratta princes were gradually growing more rest- less, and the Pindaris, chiefly under Karim Khan and Cheetoo, were beginning to be troublesome. The Governor- General clearly saw the evils which were likely to ensure from too rigorously adhering to the principle of never interfering in the affairs of the neighbouring states, and plainly wrote to the Court of Directors on the subject in terms of grave warning. The depredations of dacoits in British territory, however, he put down with firm and unsparing hand. In June, 1812, Lord Minto was gratified by receiving from the Prime Minister of England " a full and handsome acknowledgment" of all his services, and he was rewarded by the thanks of parliament and a step in the peerage, being created as a mark of his sovereign's approbation, Vis- connb Melgund and Earl of Minto. He had, as we have seen, been eagerly looking forward to the time of his return, and the date he had always fixed was mentioned in his letters frequently, namely, January 1, 1814. He had, in fact, sent in his resignation for about that period. He was, however, rather mortified to find that, before it had been received, his successor, in the person of the Earl of Moira, had already been appointed at the earnest request of the Prince Regent, who considered himself in- debted to that nobleman. Yet the longing for home did not lose its force. " I am at my old work," he writes to his wife, u of counting days and weeks with painful earnestness. I have opened a new account for November instead of January, "meaning that he hoped to leave in the former, instead of the latter month." " I dare hardly let my thoughts loose upon the end of our wanderings and separation, because it makes me downright giddy ; and yet I seldom miss a night dreaming of home." At length the expected time drew near. Lord Moira reached India, and assumed charge of the Government on October 4, 1813. The subject of our memoir returned to England in the te Hussar," another frigate commanded by his son, and arrived in London on May 18, 1814. Next day he writes, "Yesterday ws indeed one of the very 108 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. happiest days of my life ; but there is one happier still in store," meaning reunion with his dearly loved wife, who remained in Scotland to greet him there. She, on her part, wrote in reply, " I can hardly breathe or speak or think, or believe that all my cares, all my wishes, and all my anxieties are whisked away in a moment by the most delightful certainty that here you are in our own little island safe and sound. " All these anticipations of pleasure on both sides were quietly ended by One who knew better than either what was right. Lord Minto remained in Lon- don visiting and greeting his old friends, and waiting on those in authority. June 3 was the date fixed for his de- parture from London ; but, on May, 28, his brother-in-law, Lord Auckland, died suddenly, and, in order to comfort his sister in her grief, and to attend the funeral, he at once postponed his departure. He caught a severe cold at the funeral, which took place at Beckenham, several miles from London, and in a few days he himself was very ill. Not- withstanding his severe illness, he was so anxious to leave London and to fulfil his one desire " to see the person on whom his thoughts were ever fixed/' that he was permitted to leave ; but, on reaching Stevenage, a village in Hert- fordshire, on the great northern road, he was utterly pros- trated. There, on June 21, he lay down to die. There is something touchingly pathetic in this death. The reunion to which he had looked forward ardently through so many years of exile was never to be enjoyed in this life. Thus closed in touching sorrow the life of one who had served his country well. Lord Minto was a good, but not a great, man. He stood high in the second rank of English statesmen. .No very startling event arose during his ad- ministration to elicit the highest qualities of a ruler. The way in which he dealt with discontent in Corsica and with the mutiny in Madras shows that he possessed great powers of conciliation, composure of mind, and command of temper. As a young man, he was very retiring, silent, and even reserved, and, at one time, he accused himself of indolence, but many men do that without sufficient reason, and cer- tainly he did not show any want of diligence and applica- V. THE EARL OF MINTO. 109 tion in the duties of the State. He possessed a temper of unfailing sweetness, and was most affectionate and tender in all the domestic relations of life. He was also a man of considerable culture. During the monotonous hours past on board ship during the expedition against Java, he employed himself in very extensive reading. He mentions having at that time read through the whole of the works of the famous Latin author Cicero in twenty volumes, and having thoroughly enjoyed them. Perhaps, his fame as Governor-General of India might have stood higher if it had not come almost immediately between the strong rule of two such men as the Marquis Wellesley and the Marquis of Hastings. MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. Ill VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. A. D. 1754 TO 1826. " It is a proud phrase to use, but it is a true one, that we have bestowed blessings upon millions. Multitudes have, even in this short interval, come from the hills and fastnesses in which they had sought refuge for years, and have re-occupied their ancient deserted villages. The ploughshare is again in every quarter turning up a soil which had for many seasons never been stirred, except by the hoofs of predatory cavalry." Lord, Bastings. THESE words occur in a reply by the Marquis of Hastings to an address presented to him by the inhabitants of Cal- cutta at the end of the great Mahratta war. We place them at the head of this sketch of the life of Lord Hastings, because they admirably sum tip in three sentences the very great benefits conferred on India by the careful and far- seeing statesmanship of one of her most distinguished Governors-General, and by the war which he was reluc- tantly compelled to wage. They clearly express also the inestimable blessings which have been conferred on India generally by British rule. We admit that there may be a reverse to this estimate of India's gain from the point of view of some of India's best and greatest sons ; but it should never be forgotten that the blessing of peace is one of the greatest benefits that can be bestowed on a nation, be- cause it makes other blessings possible. The family name of the Marquis of Hastings was Raw- don. He was the son of Sir John Rawdon, who was raised to the peerage as Baron Rawdon, and afterwards as Earl of Moira in the county of Down in Ireland. His mother was Lady Elizabeth Hastings, daughter of the Earl of Huntingdon. Through her he inherited some of the titles and estates of this celebrated English family. The future Governor-General was born December 7, 1754, and after having been at the University of Oxford at a much earlier 112 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. age than young men now go there, he entered the English army as an ensign in the 15th regiment in the seventeenth year of his age. Two years afterwards, he obtained a lieutenancy in another regiment, and embarked for Amer- ica, where the War of Independence was then raging. He was engaged in many of the battles that took place in that war, during the next nine years of his life, and much distinguished himself in his military profession. The first battle in which he was engaged was the well-known one at Bunker's Hill, and General Burgoyne, the British com- mander, was so gratified at his courage and conduct that he particularly mentioned him in his despatches to England, using this memorable expression, " Lord Eawdon has this day stamped his name for life." It may be noticed here that another Governor-General, Lord Cornwallis, distin- guished himself in the same action. It will be observed that the subject of this memoir was then called Lord Rawdon, because his father had been created Earl of Moira when he was eight years old, and he then, as eldest son, assumed his father's second title. For a time Lord Rawdon served as Aid-de-camp to Sir Henry Clinton, the Commander-in-Chief of the British army in America; and, later on, he acted as Adjutant- General to the forces in that country. He was engaged in most of the battles fought during that sad civil war ; but the measure by which he was best known at the time, was his having raised a special corps of soldiers at Philadel- phia, called the Volunteers of Ireland, which was emi- nently distinguished by its services in the field. At first there were a good many desertions ; but, on one occasion, a man was caught in the act of going over to the enemy, and Lord Rawdon left the decision of his case entirely to the men of the regiment themselves. All the officers were withdrawn, and the private soldiers, thus left to them- selves, decided that a deserter should not be permitted to live, and he was accordingly executed then and there. Later on, Lord Rawdon commanded one of the wings of the army in the memorable battle of Cowden on August 16, 1780; and, as Lord Cornwallis was then the Commander- VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. 113 in-Chief, there again occurred the curious coincidence of two future Governors- General in high command in the same battle. On April 25, 1781, Lord Rawdon, being left in command of a much inferior force to that of the enemy, handled his troops so skilfully that he gained the victory ; but this was of little avail in its influence on the whole war, as the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis rendered all the successes of his lieutenants nugatory. In 1782 Lord Rawdon was obliged to return to England by a dangerous attack of illness. On his voyage across the Atlantic, the vessel was taken by a French ship, and carried into the harbour of Brest. He was there detained as a prisoner, but he was soon released. On reaching England he received many marks of distinction from the King, who appointed him one of his Aid-de-camps, and, on March 5, 1783, made him an English peer, thus enabling him to sit in the English House of Lords. He attended the business and the debates there with great regularity, and often joined in the discussions with ability, showing himself to be a clear and forcible debater. During this time he laid the foundation of "an excellent reputation for sound and reliable statesmanship. The principal monu- ment of his labours at this period of his life was a Bill for the relief of persons who were imprisoned for small debts. This was a philanthropic and benevolent act, for the- condition of poor debtors was in those days most deplor- able. Lord Rawdon became very intimate with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, the two elder sons of the King. He was very active in favour of the former during the debates on the question of the Regency, when the mind of George the Third for a time gave way. His intimacy and friendship with the Prince continued without interrup- tion. He appears to have been equally intimate with the Prince's younger brother, the Duke of York. It was a very sad custom in those days, and one which we consider most unbecoming in any one who is even called a Christian, to fight duels. When any one thought himself insulted by anything said by another, who refused to offer an apology, H 114 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. the two persons fought, either with swords or pistols, and two other gentlemen stood near them during the encounter in order to see that every thing was conducted fairly. The two latter were called ' seconds.' In May, 1789, a quarrel took place between the Duke of York and a Col. Lennox, the former having made a statement which the latter thought insulting. Lord Rawdon attended the Duke as his 'second/ when a duel was fought. Colonel Lennox fired his pistol and missed his Royal Highness ; but the latter refused to fire in return, because he had merely con- sented to fight so as to give his opponent satisfaction, though he felt no enmity or ill-will against him. After this foolish, but dangerous, proceeding had taken place, the parties did not meet again, but declared themselves satisfied ! Lord Rawdon and the other ' second ' issued a paper for the benefit of the public to state that both com- batants had behaved with the most perfect coolness and intrepidity; but the officers of Colonel Lennox's regiment were nearer the truth when they said he had acted with courage, but not with judgment. On June 20, 1793, Lord Rawdon succeeded his father as Earl of Moira. In the autumn of that year he was appoint- ed Commander-in- Chief of an army which was intended to assist the loyalists in Brittany, where they were waging an unequal contest with the Republican party in France. Many of the ancient nobility of that country were to serve under him. The expedition was, however, entirely aban- doned, as the Royalists had been subdued before effectual measures had been taken to succour them. On February 14, 1794, ha gave in the House of Lords an account of this project, and, with his usual chivalry of character, took on himself the whole responsibility of the measures adopted, and earnestly requested that the names of the French noblemen who were to have helped him might not, for obvious reasons, be made public. That summer he was sent in command of a force of 10,000 men to reinforce the army of the Duke of York and of his allies in Flanders. He was much commended at the time for the rapidity with which this force was takeu from Southampton to Ostend, and Vi. THE MAEQUIS OF HASTINGS. with which a junction with the Duke was effected. He soon afterwards returned to England. Daring the next few years Lord Moira was most regular in the discharge of his parliamentary duties, and became very popular in presiding at social meetings. In 1797 a speech delivered by him on the state of Ireland was printed ; but in the following year a pamphlet from his peri was published, in which matters of still greater public interest were discussed. It appears that certain states- men 'had met for the purpose of forming a new administra- tion under the king, so many being dissatisfied with the conduct of Mr. Pitt on one side and of Mr. Fox on the other, and that they were anxious for Lord Moira to be prime minister. He consented ; but desired, if this scheme were successful, not to belong to any party in the state, and to be ready at any moment to retire in favour of any- fitter person who might be found by the Parliament or the king. The chief object aimed at was the endeavour to procure immediate peace in the war then being carried on between England and France. These negotiations show the generous and disinterested side of Lord Moira' s charac- ter, though we agree with Lord Cornwallis in thinking that there was a great measure of temerity even in entertaining the idea that he was equal to such a position. A similar proposal was made to him after the assassination of Mr. Percival in 1812 ; but it was again found to be impracti- cable. In 1803 the Earl of Moira was appointed Commander- in-Chief of the forces in Scotland. On July 12, 1804, he was married to the Countess of Loudon, the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Greorge the Fourth, performing that part of the ceremony which is known among the English as giving the bride away. This lady was a peeress in her own right ; and, therefore, so long as her husband remained the Earl of Moira, she retained her own title, instead of taking his. His married life was most happy, and we shall have occasion later on to show from his Private Journal how deeply attached he was to his wife, and how much her presence added to the enjoyment of his sojourn in India, 116 GOVERNORS- GENERAL OF INDIA.. and how much lie felt her loss when she was compelled to leave him. In 1806 the party with which he usually acted having come into power, he received the office of Master- General of the Ordnance, which he retained until the ministry with which he was thus connected went out of office. There is but little to record regarding Lord Moira's life during the few years that intervened between this ap- pointment and the still higher one of Governor-General of Bengal, which he received in the year 1813, on the resig- nation of Lord Minto. No diary, if any was kept by him during these years, has been published ; but during the greater part of his stay in India he kept a very full and interesting journal, which gives us a clear insight into his character, and a good account of his travels in the country. In fact, we get from it just the view of the history of India at that period which we require, namely, that from the Government House at Calcutta and from the Gover- nor-General's tent during his progresses. At his own request he held the appointment of Commander-in-Chief as well as that of Governor-General. He left England, accompanied by his wife and their three eldest children, on board a ship of war, called <( The Stirling Castle," on April 14, 1813. They reached Madras on September 11, remaining there a week, and took over charge of the Government from Lord Minto on October 4. He was soon in the thick of work, and found how laborious and arduous it was. In case any one should imagine that this high office is one merely of dignity and show, it will be well to quote the new Governor- General's impressions on this point. " The situation of a Governor-General/' he writes, "if he really fulfil his duties, is one of the most laborious that can be con- ceived. The short periods for the exercise indispensable to health and for meals, can barely be afforded." His first impressions in other respects need not be quoted, He came out at the mature age of fifty-nine and continu- ously remained at his post, which grew, as the time went on, more and more laborious ; but at that age, though the judgment in business and in political matters may be VI. THE MARQUIS OP HASTINGS. 117 mature, yet the ideas regarding men and their manners have become fixed, and Lord Moira conceived very errone- ous notions about the inhabitants of India, which probably were much toned down before he left his high office. He showed himself, however, most kind and considerate in his treatment of all classes, especially of the princes and chieftains with whom he came in contact. There will be an opportunity hereafter of giving some instances of this. He was, however, most courtly and stately in his manner, and fully maintained the dignity of his position as the repre- sentative of his country and his king. It is necessary to* give a brief sketch of the political condition of India on Lord Moira's arrival. It will be remembered that the chief events of his predecessor's administration were the protection of India from the real or the imaginary designs of France against it, and the capture of the possessions of France and those countries that were under her influence. The policy urged upon him by the Court of Directors was strict neutrality with regard to the great Hindu and Muhammadan states. Lord Minto had generally carried out this policy, though he was not very satisfied with its soundness ; but his hands were too fully occupied elsewhere, and the pecuniary resources of the Government of India were too low, to admit of his doing more than remonstrating with the authorities in England. On the Earl of Moira's arrival, he found the finances of British India in a very poor condition, and at the same time there was an uneasy feeling of insecurity throughout all the neighbouring states. Just at the moment of his taking charge of the government, there were seven distinct disputes which might at any moment have led to the necessity for war. But there was more than this. One very formidable power had arisen during- the last few years. It was not a settled state with an orderly form of Government, nor one of the great nations which might at any moment stand forth as claiming the sovereignty ot: India. It consisted of bands of marauding robbers, called the Pindaris, who, under a few desperate and determined leaders, rapidly roved through Central India, oppressing 118 . GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. and plundering the people, and sometimes penetrating even into British territories and into countries protected by the British Government. Some of the Mahratta rulers encour- aged and even assisted them. The Hindu and Muhammadan states at that time were of four kinds. Those that were connected with the British Government by what were called subsidiary treaties ; those that were protected by the Government without such treaties ; those that were in alliance with the Government, but without any direct intercourse with it, except sometimes by a Resident living at the Rajah's court; and independent states. The principal of the first kind of state were those of the Nizam and the Peshwa, and the best known of the third kind were those of Scindia, Holkar, and the Rajah of Nagpore. Three of these states were, it will be seen, Mahratta. Active intrigues were going on among them against the English power. This feeling was increas- ing day by day. The policy of neutrality fomented it ; and, at the same time, there was a strong desire apparent to retrieve the reverses which they had sustained during the last Mahratta war, and to set up once more a Mahratta empire. Lord Moira's experienced and soldierly eye at once perceived that there were around him the elements of a war more general than any which the English had yet encountered in India ; and, from the very first, he calmly and quietly set himself the task of preparing for it. The preparations took a long time ; but they were made surely and effectually. He soon saw that the only right policy was to make the British Government paramount, and to sweep away the old fiction of the suzerainty of the Emperor of Delhi. As early as the February after his arrival, he wrote in his private journal the scheme he had in view from the beginning, because, as he added, " it is always well to ascertain to oneself what one would precisely desire, had one the means of commanding the issue." That scheme was that " we should hold all other states as vassals, in substance though not in name ; but possessed of perfect internal sovereignty, and only bound to repay the guarantee and protection of their possessions by the VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. 119 British Government with the pledge of two great feudal duties. First, they should support it with all their forces on any call. Second, they should submit their mutual differences to the head of the confederacy (our Govern- ment), without attacking each other's territories." Such was the object at which from the very first the new Governor-General steadily aimed. On June 24, 1814, Lord Moira started on a prolonged tour to the North-West in order that he mi<?ht observe the state of affairs for himself, and visit the principal military stations. Just before he left Calcutta,, a very strong representation was made to the Court of Directors as to the actual condition of India. The Governor-General thoroughly enjoyed this tour. Lady Loudon and their children accompanied him. They went in two large budgerows, attended by a flotilla of more than two hundred boats. The voyage was in those days very long, because they had to depend on the wind ; but it was most delightful, as the tediousness of the voyage was diversified by rides and walks on the banks of the Ganges, and by shooting parties and excursions to some little distance from the river. At the large stations and cantonments there were great ceremonies and reviews, and wherever there was a Rajah or a Nawab to visit, there were nautches and other entertainments. The party took nearly four months going from Calcutta to Cawnpore, arriving at the latter place on October 8. On the way Lord Moira visited the battle-field of Plassey, and the monument to Mr. Cleveland at Bhagalpore, where the memory of that very promising young statesman was still green. The new Governor- General's kindly demeanour and courtly manners charmed all the Hindu and Muhammadan princes. He laid him- self out to be most conciliatory, as he frequently states in his journal how anxious he was, not only to have stately ceremonies when needful, but to go out of his way even to express his satisfaction at the usual attentions and courte- sies of his visitors. This is just what should always be. The whole of Lord Moira's private journal is studded with instances of this kindness and consideration for the feelings 120 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. of others. He was also very careful not to accept expen- sive nazars from the various Princes, Rajahs, and Nawabs who came to visit him. On October 25, the Earl of Moira, entered Luckuow in state on a visit to the Nawab Vizier, and remained there until November 12. His visit was a great political event. The Nawab had died while the Governor-General was on his upward journey, and the latter had advised his son, on his succession, not to seek the confirmation of his title by the Emperor of Delhi, which was, in itself, an act significant of the new order of things in India. During his sojourn at Lucknow Lord Moira stayed in the beautiful palace of Constantia, which had been built by General Martin, a French officer who had been high in the service and the favour of former Nawabs of Oudh. The account Lord Moira gave in his journal of the magnificence of his recep- tion at Lucknow is most interesting, especially, when com- pared with the history of the memorable siege of the Residency just forty- three years afterwards. While at Lucknow, the Governor-General received the news of the death of General Gillespie during the assault of Kalunga in Nepaul. Before leaving Calcutta he had been compelled, in order to maintain the honour of Eng- land, to declare war against the Regent and Government of that country. The Goorkhas had been successful in the campaigns against their near neighbours, and, flushed with these victories, had ventured to take possession of two districts near Goruckpore, which had been ceded to the British Government by the Nawab of Oudh. This was the occasion of the war. Four compact British armies entered the mountainous country of Nepal in four different direc- tions. Three of them were unsuccessful, being under the direction of incompetent commanders, who were unaccus- tomed to the difficulties and novelty of mountain warfare. The Governor-General had clearly impressed upon them, and particularly on General Gillespie, the importance of not assaulting by storm strong hill fortresses which required to be reduced by the use of artillery. General Gillespie had disobeyed this order, and the Governor-General keenly felt VI. THE MARQUIS OP HASTINGS. 121 not only the loss of such a very courageous and distinguish- ed officer, but also the discredit which such disasters brought on the British arras. The fourth division under the careful leading of General Ochterlony was successful in the west of Nepal. The disasters in other places were retrieved, and by the middle of 1815, the Nepalese were prepared to enter into negotiations. It required a second campaign, however, effectually to reduce them. Their envoys declined, at the eleventh hour, to sign a treaty. The second campaign was most skilfully conducted by General, now Sir David Ochterlony ; the Government of Nepal was brought to listen to reason ; and the Goorkhas have since enlisted largely in the British army, and have proved themselves hardy and courageous soldiers in many campaigns. The reverses in this war were a heavy weight on Lord Moira's mind. They caused much disaffection and intrigue, particularly among the Mahratta princes. The Governor- GeneraPs attention was at the time fully occupied in other quarters, so that no wonder he wrote in his journal words of depression such as these : " The cloud which overhangs us is imposing. The exigencies of the war with the Goor- khas, whose successes have intimidated our troops and our Generals, have forced me to send into the hills everything that was dispensable, because ifc would be the first step to a speedy subversion of our power, were we to be foiled in that struggle. With a deeply anxious heart I am keeping up an air of indifference and confidence, and I am con- vinced that I thence am supposed to possess ample resourc- es." The lack of money in the treasury had been remedied by a loan of a crore of rupees from the Nawab of Oudh, which his father had offered to give, in order, as Lord Moira wrote, " to mark his gratitude for my having treated him as a gentleman. " The loan was afterwards doubled. During these wars and continual rumours of wars, the Governor-General continued his peaceful pro- gress. From Lucknow he marched by easy stages to some of the principal towns in the North- West of India. The furthest limit of his journey was the city of pilgrims, 122 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. Hurdwar, where the viceregal party spent Christmas, 1814, and then he returned to Futtehghar, where he embarked for Calcutta, which he reached on October 9, 1815, and landed in state. At Karnal he received at this durbar several of the Sikh chieftains, notably the then Maha- rajah of Patiala. Each presented him with a bow, observing that there was added no arrow, to signify that they themselves were the arrows to be directed against any foe. Lord Moira seemed particularly struck with their manly bearing. Lady Loudon visited Delhi as the party past that celebrated city ; but the Governor- General determined that it was advisable for him not to visit the titular Emperor, who declined to receive him as an equal, and he was quite convinced of the foolishness of keeping up the impolitic farce of acknowledging the Emperor as the lord paramount of the British Government. The stately progress of the very large vice- regal camp and the heavy strain of political business were lightened by shooting excursions. On one occasion the Governor- General shot two lionesses. The return journey was not marked by any very important events. The year 1816 opened in a very sad manner for Lord Moira. His wife and children were obliged to return to England, his only son having been very ill on the passage down the river, and his affectionate heart deeply felt the parting. On January 1, he wrote in the following sad strain : " Never before did a year open to me with such chilling prospects. In a few days my wife and children, the only comforts by which I am attached to this world, are to embark for England." He adds, however, with an effort, when remembering his duty, " Nothing will remain to cheer me under unremitting and thankless labour ; yet I feel a bond that will never allow me to relax in effort as long as my health will suffice. I at times endeavour to arouse myself with the hope that I may succeed in establishing such institutions, and still more such disposi- tions, as will promote the happiness of the vast population of this country ; but, when the thought has glowed for a moment, it is dissipated by the austere verdict of reason VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. 123 against the efficacy of exertion from an atom like myself." On the 15th he accompanied his family down the river towards the ship which was to take them to sea, and two days afterwards returned to Calcutta. "Prepared as I was," he again writes in his diary, " I have been quite stupified at this fulfilment of our own determination, and I only feel the confused soreness of a blow, the real mischief of which I have not recollection to appreciate. How little an exercise of thought shows one the certainty that all apparently rigid destinations of the Almighty are kind- ness/' And so, he returns to the City of Palaces,, to brace himself, as so many Englishmen in humbler positions in India have so frequently to do, by renewed application to his duty and his work. This the Governor-General did with hearty good will. With the exception of a shooting excursion for a few weeks, the following eighteen months were spent, in Calcutta and its neighbourhood, and he was fully occupied in the press- ing duties of his high position. Events were occurring which were rapidly leading up to the severest struggle that had yet taken place in the history of British India, and the Governor-General knew that the time, which he had clearly foreseen since his arrival, was drawing near ; when the English power must be paramount throughout the whole country. We have already mentioned the dep- redations of the Pindaris, the intrigues of the Mahrattas, and the distrust which the neutral policy of the Court of Directors had universally caused. A perfect network of intrigue was woven all over Central India. A wide-spread conspiracy against the English Government was becoming stronger every day, and it would have been all the more formidable if there had not been mutual jealousies between the Mahratta States themselves. Every phase of this con- spiracy was known to the Governor-General, who was fortunate in having most eminent statesmen at the various Mahratta Courts. Clear statements of the position of affairs were made to the Court of Directors, and their sanc- tion to hostilities was reluctantly obtained. Meanwhile, the Governor- General, who had been raised a step in the 124 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. peerage under the title of the Marquis of Hastings, had taken the matter into his own hands. For several months, or, rather, years he had, as we have seen, been quietly making preparations for war. The ostensible reason for action was the open and impudent attacks of the Pindaris even on the Company's territories. They made a bold and rapid dash into the Northern Circars, plundering Guntoor, and leaving behind them more than three hundred deso- lated villages. Within a few months, Lord Hastings had made his arrangements, and troops amounting to several thousands were ordered to converge towards Central India from Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. Their avowed object was to break np the numerous hordes of Pindaris, but they were also intended to watch and overawe the armies of the disaffected Mahratta princes. We have not space to de- scribe in detail the great Mahratta war which ensued, so we propose to view it from the tent oi: the Governor-Gener- al, who, being also Oommander-iu-Chief, himself directed the operations in the field, and, for this purpose, accompan- ied in person the great army which was assembled in the North-West. Lord Hastings left Calcutta on July 8th, 1817. The simple entry in his journal is given, because it shows the spirit in which he started : " Embarked from Calcutta for the Upper Provinces, with the fervent hope that I may be the humble instrument for extinguishing an evil which has been a bitter scourge to humanity." He proceeded slowly up the Granges to Cawnpore by boat, and marched thence with the troops on October 16. Crossing the Jumna by a bridge of boats, he went straight towards Gwalior. The object of this rapid march was to overawe Scindia, who had been detected in intriguing with the Rajah of Nepaul, and had given direct aid and encourage- ment to the Pindaris. Completely disconcerted by the rapidity of this .advance, Doulat Rao Scindia thought it advisable to come to terms at once, and, when the Governor- General's force had arrived within two marches of his capital, Gwalior, he signed a treaty which had the effect of putting him completely within the power VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. 125 of the English Government. He gave free permission for the English troops to pass through his dominions in pursuit of the Pindaris, he agreed to remain neutral during the war, and to give up temporary possession of two strong fortresses, Hindia and Aseerghur, which commanded the fair valley between the Nerbudda and the Tapti. On receiving this treaty Lord Hastings remarked, " I should have thought myself oppressive had Scindia not been so thoroughly false. " A little further on in his journal he adds these words, which are quoted to show the spirit he felt, when he considered the vast campaign in which the English forces were then engaged : " We are in a fair way of achieving arrangements," he wrote, " which will afford quiet and safety to millions who have long been writhing under the scourge of the predatory powers (the Mahrattas and Ameer Khan), as well as under the feroci- ous cruelty of the Pindaris. I trust that my soul is ade- quately grateful to the Almighty for allowing me to be the humble instrument of a change beneficial to so many of my fellow-creatures/' The end thus desired was not far off, but a few months of sharp struggle intervened before it was fully accom- plished. We now turn our attention further south to Poona, the capital of the Peshwa, Baji Rao. This sover- eign was the very centre of Mahratta intrigue. He was in close correspondence with Scindia and the Rajah of Nagpore. For the past four years, in fact, even since Lord Hastings' arrival in India, he had been scheming for a revival of Mahratta power. His chief favourite and ad vicer was a worthless courtier, named Trimbakji Dainglia r who had been banished at the command of the able Resident, the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone. This favourite had effected his escape, and the intrigues at the Court of the Peshwa had burst out with redoubled virulence. In June, 1817, the Peshwa had signed a treaty, binding him- self to have no dealings with Trimbakji, formally to relin- quish all claim to the headship of the Mahratta confederacy, and to cede certain territory to the Company. This treaty was signed under compulsion, for Baji Rao had no inten- 126 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. tion of fulfilling it, if he could by any means wriggle out of it. He was watching his opportunity. This soon came. The force at Poona was weakened by a portion of it starting under General Smith to take part in the general Pindari campaign. Foreseeing the outbreak, Mr. Elphinstone removed the British Cantonment to Kirki, two miles west of Poona, and situated on a bend of the river, and sum- moned a European regiment from Bombay. The Resi- dency was attacked on November 5, 1817, and Mr. Elphin- stone had only just time to quit it, and to retire to the small English force. After a short, sharp action, the vast Mahratta army was defeated. In a few days General Smith returned with his division, the city of Poona was taken, and the Peshwa left it precipitately as a fugitive. He was dethroned, and the greater part of his dominions annexed, while a descendant of the great Mahratta con- queror Sivaji was created Rajah of Satara. A few months afterwards Baji Rao surrendered, and was granted a hand- some pension. There is no doubt that the'whole of his misfortunes were due to his duplicity and deceit. Lord Hastings was still in camp not far from Gwalior, when he received the tidings of the battle of Kirki and the fall of Poona. A few days afterwards he heard of equally stirring events at Nagpore. The late Raja of Nagpore had died in March 1816, and had been succeeded by an imbecile son. A cousin of the latter, named Appa Sahib, had been appoint- ed Regent, and it was with him that a subsidiary alliance was made, through which he hoped to secure the help of the British Government in his design on the throne. This treaty was regarded by Lord Hastings with much satis- faction. " Thus I have been enabled," he wrote, " to effect what has been fruitlessly laboured at for twelve years. Scindia's designs on Nagpore, as well as the Peshwa' s, are defeated, and the interception of the Piudaris is rendered certain." These words proved to be quite true, but not in the way the Governor- General anticipated. In February, 1817, the poor imbecile Raja was found dead, and his death had been occasioned by his treacherous VI. THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. 127 cousin's command. Appa Sahib's manner towards the British Government changed from that moment. He cordially entered into the plans of the Peshwa, and joined the conspiracy against the English power. Though the Peshwa was in arms against it, he pompously accepted honours from him, and treacherously attacked the Residency. Mr. Jenkins was the Resident, and he was as able and courageous as his brother-civilian at Poona. The Resi- dency, which was a little distance from the town and separated from it by a ridge called the Seetabuldee Hills, was attacked on November 16. The overwhelming number of the enemy nearly carried every thing before it ; but a bold charge of the Bengal cavalry under Cap- tain Fitzgerald completely retrieved the day. Reinforce- ments rapidly came up, and in a few days Mr. Jenkins was in a position to dictate terms to the Raja. He was restored for a time, but continued his intrigues. He was then dethroned and sent in captivity to Allahabad ; but he effected his escape on the way, and finally fled to the Panjab. The repulse of the Nagpore army at Seeta- buldee was, as Lord Hastings called it in his journal, a glorious effort of bravery on the part of our troops. The tidings of further victories cheered the heart of the 'Governor-General, while still in camp, watching Scindia, and keeping him effectually in check. Holkar was another of the great Mahratta chiefs. Jeswunt Rao Holkar, the former antagonist of Wellesley and Lake, died in 1811. One of his wives, named Tulsai Bhai, assumed the govern- ment of his dominions in the name of her step- son, the young Raja. She entered heartily into the conspiracy fostered by the Peshwa. The commanders of the several detach- ments of Holkar's army united their forces on December 16, 1817, and marched towards the Nerbudda in great spirits and in hopes of plunder. On the way they met the army of the Deccan under Sir Thomas Hislop and Sir John Malcolm. They were totally defeated at Mahidpore, a little to the north of Oojein. The feeling of all the Mahratta commanders had been in favour of war, and imiginmg that Tulsai Bhai had been intriguing with the 128 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. English authorities, they had put her to death a few days before the battle. A treaty was afterwards concluded with the young Maharaja Mulhar Rao Holkar. Another of the great Mahratta powers was thus completely broken. The remarks with which Lord Hastings received the news of this victory were : " The patience and moderation with which we strove to wean that Government from its project of succouring the Peshwa was misconstrued into a doubt of our ability to coerce it, and a tone of the utmost insolence was assumed by Holkar's sirdars. " While the mam divisions of the Grand Army were thus successful against the more formidable Mahratta powers, separate detachments paralysed and destroyed the mischiev- ous hordes of the Pindaris. They were completely dis- persed, and their chiefs caught like rats in a trap. The most prominent were Cheetoo, KareemKhan, and Wasil Mahom- ed. Kareem Khan was caught, and received a small jaghir on the Ganges. Wasil Mahomed was put under restraint at Ghazipore ; but being detected in an attempt at escape, he poisoned himself. Cheetoo fled into the jungles, where he was killed by a tiger. Thus every vestige of these enemies of the human race and of their innumerable followers was removed, and a similar gather- ing of plunderers has never since afflicted India. While Lord Hastings was in camp near Gwalior, his army was attacked by that sad and mysterious disease, cholera, which has since been so painfully common through- out the land. It was then virtually a new disease. It had before that rarely been heard of. It is now only too well-known. It was not understood at all when it made its appearance in the Governor-General's camp ; but frequent changes in the site of the camp and constant care caused its departure. The Governor-General himself was most kind and sympathetic, and indefatigable in his attention to the sick. There were innumerable instances of personal generosity and kindness during this terrible infliction. We cannot forbear mentioning one which was recorded in Lord Hastings' private journal. A .soldier in a King's Kegiment was being carried sick in a dooly to hospital, when VI. THB MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. 129 he observed a sepoy of the escort fall with a sudden seizure. He immediately left his dooly, placed the sepoy in it, and walked by his side. On the 13th of February, 1818, the Marquis of Hastings began his return march to Calcutta. The war had lasted barely four months ; but, owing to the consummate mili- tary skill displayed by the Governor- General, admirably seconded by the various commanders and by the courage of the troops, it was completely successful in that short space of time. When he reached the Jumna on his up- ward march, the Mahrattas, the Pindaris, and other hostile chiefs had armies of more than 150,000 men with 500 pieces of cannon ready for resistance, and now all had vanished like a morning cloud. The object he had in view had been accomplished, and the power of the British Government was everywhere paramount. We record this achievement in the Governor- General's own words written at the time : " Four months only will have elapsed to-morrow/* he wrote on February 19, " since the assembling of this division at Secundra. The actual campaign lasted but three months, and in that short space of time the alteration wrought in Central India is so extraordinary that one feels oneself still too near it to comprehend it thoroughly. In security, in tranquillity, and in revenue, our gain is very great ; in honour, the return is not, I trust, less ample ; for justice and liberality have been as conspicuous as valour in the conduct of all our officers/' He reached Calcutta on July 23, and felt deeply touched by the way in which he was received there on his return. " I cannot omit saying/' he wrote, " how deeply I felt the behaviour of the immense crowd assembled along the road by which I walked from the ghaut to Government House. All was silence ; but there was something in the kind and respectfully welcom- ing looks of the poor people infinitely more touching than the loudest shouts of joy could have been/' A vote of thanks to the Governor-General and his officers was cordially past in the British Houses of Parliament; but neither the Court of Directors nor Mr. Canning, the President of the Board of Control could conceal their 130 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OP INDIA. disapprobation of his policy or of the extension of territory which had necessarily followed this successful campaign. Nothing was further from Lord Hastings's desire than this increase of the British dominions ; but it was forced upon him by the force of circumstances, and by the fact that no other course could have prevented the well-known treachery of the Mahratta sovereigns. The Marquis of Hastings, who, in J819, was rejoined by the Marchioness, remained in India more than four years after the restoration of peace. The colonial possessions of France, Denmark, and Holland were restored to those countries after the treaty of Paris in 1815. Java, which had been taken from the Dutch by Lord Minto, was the most valuable of all these possessions ; but the island of Singa- pore was, in 1819, ceded to the English by the Raja of Johore, and has ever since been of the greatest importance, owing to its central position in the Eastern seas. The most noteworthy, but, at the same time, the most trouble- some event that happened during the latter part of Lord Hastiness administration was connected with the domin- ions of the Nizam of Hyderabad. For many years they had been virtually under the control of Chundoo Lall, a Hindu in high authority under the nominal Prime Minister. The state groaned under debt and mismanagement, and latterly a large loan on extravagantly exorbitant interest was made to it by Messrs. Palmer and Co., a banking firm at Hyderabad, in which Sir William Palmer was one of the partners. This gentleman had married a ward of Lord Hastings, and this fact let people to believe that the Gov- ernment were concerned in these usurious loans. Sir Charles Metcalfe, the Resident of Hyderabad, had even incurred the Governor-General's displeasure by the way in which he exposed these loans and put them down. A complete reconciliation between Lord Hastings and his able and trustworthy subordinate was effected before the former quitted India; and he wrote him a warm and even affectionate letter on the subject ; but the question itself helped to embitter the last days of his long administration. The Court of Directors took the matter up, and the Gov- VI. THE MABQUIS OP HASTINGS. 131 ernor-General feeling that be did not possess their full confidence, sent in his resignation. In accepting it, the Court expressed their thanks to him " for the unremitting zeal and eminent ability with which he had administered the GoverDment of British India with such high credit to himself and advantage to the interests of the East India Company." The Proprietors of the Company also placed on record " the expression of their admiration, grati- tude, and applause. " The Marquis of Hastings laid down the high office which he had held for the very long peiiod of nine years, on the first day of 1828. He did not remain long unemployed. He was appoint- ed, soon after his return, on March 22, 1824, Gov- ernor of the island of Malta, one of the chief British possessions in the Mediterranean Sea. While holding this important appointment, he returned to England for a few months, and, in 1825, he took his seat in the House of Lords for the first time as Marquis of Hastings. He was, at this period, much worried by the charges made against him at the India House. There was considerable ill-will entertain- ed against him on account of the transactions connected with the firm of Messrs. Palmer & Co., at Hyderabad, and the decision of the Court of Proprietors, notwithstanding the brilliant results of his excellent administration, was merely of a negative character, namely that there was no ground for imputing corrupt motives to the late Governor-General a poor return for his magnificent services. On resuming charge of his Government at Malta, his usual good health failed, and he suffered from an injury caused by a fall from his horse. He died on board His Majesty's ship of war " Revenge" in Baia Bay, off Naples, on his way to England for his health, on November 28, 1826. In a letter found among his papers, he directed that his right hand should be cut off, and buried with Lady Hastings when she also should die. We hope that the character of Lord Hastings has been clearly brought out in the foregoing sketch. He was a sig- nal instance of what is exceedingly rare, the success of a statesman coming out to India at a rather late period of life. 132 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. The conduct of the Mahratta war testified to his great ability as a commander, and his wisdom as an administrator proved him to be no mean successor of Warren Hastings and Wel- lesley. The empire of which they laid the foundation was enlarged and strengthened by his foresight and untiring energy. There can be doubt that he hit upon the true secret of successful rule in India. England could not be a second- ary power there : it must be paramount and supreme. 'This idea was the key-move of all his policy. He was success- ful in carrying it out, and the British Government was in a far firmer position when he laid down the reins of power than when he assumed them. He never forgot that he was the representative of his king, and always insisted on the respect ftnd deference which were due to his high office. He was, however, of a most kind and lovable disposition. There are numerous examples in his journal, to which we have so frequently referred, of kind and considerate acts done with the sole object of preventing annoyance and inconvenience to the people. For instance, soon after his arrival, he was much distressed, during a little tour up- country, at observing that two miles of the road to a town bad been decorated with plantain trees to make it look like an avenue. No great damage was really done; but he felt that, as each plantain tree cut down meant so much loss for the year, it was a sacrifice made by the people which put them to much inconvenience. He was most anxious that his tours should cause no loss to any one, and he gave strict orders that his camps should be so managed as to hinder any damage to the crops. If any loss were unavoid- ably sustained, he directed that full compensation should be given. He was particularly scrupulous in observing all matters of etiquette with regard to the reception of Rajas and Nawabs, and in trying to find out exactly what would gratify each on presentation to him. He instituted the custom of holding durbars specially for the native officers of regiments as well a,s for the European officers. He was just as careful in his attention to the junior officers as to those holding higher military rank ; and an admirable facil- ity for remembering faces enabled him to say a kindly VI. THE MARQUIS OP HASTINGS. 133 word or to do a thoughtful action, and thus made him very popular among all classes of society. Lord Hastings was wonderfully diligent in business. Coming, as we have said, to India at a comparatively late period of life, and holding the combined offices of Gov- ernor-General and Commander-in-chief for over nine years, there was a peculiar strain on his time and health. His constitution must have been very strong to bear it. He rose early, and was generally at work at his despatches by four or five o'clock in the morning. Whenever he went out or was at official business, he dressed in the full dress uniform of a General officer, which, in those days, was very heavy and uncomfortable. It must have been particularly irksome for any one to sit, especially in the hot weather, in a thick red cloth coat with epaulettes on the shoulders and a high stock round the throat ; but, although the contrary has been stated, he some- times relaxed this extreme vigour, and, as described by an officer who wrote at the time, he wore in private, a plain silk undress coat for the purpose of writing more at ease, as ordinary mortals do. We quote two or three sen- tences from the book we are referring to, as they show the great Governor-General at his work : " On the table before him were several boxes containing papers or despatches with some large thick quarto letter paper for his personal use. Some of the boxes were open ; and at his right hand was one closed, but with a narrow opening in its lid, like a post-office pannel, for the admission of closed and sealed letters. Various consultation boxes containing recent re- ports, minutes, or despatches iu circulation for the perusal of the members of Government, were on a side table, awaiting their early turn for consideration. The punkah was moving by some simple mechanism, so as to obviate the intrusion of a servant, and the whole scene betrayed the study and retirement of an indefatigable, ardent states- man, but one necessarily systematic and methodical in the otherwise overwhelming magnitude of his public business." The Marquis of Hastings showed the greatest interest in the education of the people, and it was only the distracted 134 GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA. state of Central India, which caused him reluctantly to draw the sword, that prevented him from doing more to promote it. Lady Hastings, during her early stay at Bar- rackpore, founded a school there for some eighty boys. The instruction was in Bengali, and only those who showed particular diligence were rewarded by being taught Eng- lish. She herself compiled a little book containing moral precepts and stories, which was translated into Bengali and Hindustani. Vernacular schools started in the neigh- bourhood of Calcutta by Dr. William Carey and others were liberally supported by Lord Hastings^ Govern- ment, and the first vernacular newspaper, the Samachar Durpan, was published in his time and encouraged by him. It was his sincere desire to extend education to Central India, thus turning the tranquillity which there ensued, as he termed it, "to noble purposes. 3 ' We think it only right and fair to his memory to quote his own words on this subject so as to show his thoughts regarding it, and to prove that only adverse circumstances prevented him from carrying them into effect. They also reach forward to the far future, when, England's work in India being done, she may, perhaps, be able to leave this country to be governed by its own sons. "God be praised/' he wrote, "that we have been successful in extinguishing a system of rapine which was not only the unremitting scourge of an immense population, but deprav- ed its habits, while it stood an obstacle to every kind of improvement. It is befitting the British name and character that advantage should be taken of the opening which we have effected, and that establishments should be introduced which may rear a rising generation in some knowledge of social duties. A time will arrive when England will, on sound principles of policy, wish to relinquish the domination which she has assumed over this country, and from which she cannot at present recede. In that hour it would be the proudest boast and most delightful recollection that she had used her sovereignty towards enlightening her temporary subjects, so as to enable the native communities to walk alone in the paths of justice." VI. THE MARQUIS OP HASTINGS. 135 With the quotation of these sentiments we conclude our retrospect of Lord Hastings's life. He was one of those noble rulers to whose memory India should look back with unfeigned gratitude. He was a first-rate military genius, and she owed to him the inestimable blessing of deliver- ance from a harassing and pestilential scourge, and consequently of peace and good government ; but he was more than this. He was a good and amiable man, an admirable representative of his king, and a sincere friend of the Indian people, to whom he was most desirous to exhibit the best and highest example of a high-minded English gentleman. ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS FOR INDIAN READERS. Descriptions of Countries. PICTORIAL TOUE ROUND INDIA. Royal Quarto. 66 pp. 6 As. Post free, 7J As. An imaginary tour round India, with visits to Nepal and Cashmere, describing the principal cities and other objects of interest. With 97 woodcuts illustrative of the Himalayas, Calcutta, Benares, Agra, Delhi, Bombay, Madras, <&c. THE PRINCIPAL NATIONS OP INDIA. 8vo. 160 pp. 4 As. Post-free, 5 As. Full cloth, with gilt title, 10 As. An account of 42 Nations and Tribes of India, with specimens of some of their languages, and 55 Illustrations. THE NATIVE STATES OF INDIA AND THEIR PRINCES ; WITH NOTICES OF SOME IMPORTANT ZEMINDARIS. 4tO. 100 pp. 5 As. Post-free, 6 As. 157 States are described, and 32 portraits are given. The little book will help to enable Indians to understand the vast extent of their country, and what is being done for its improvement. BURMA AND THE BURMESE. 4to. 54 pp. 2| As. Post- free, 3 As, A description of the manners and customs of the Burmese ; an account of their government, religion, and history, with illustrative woodcuts, and portraits of King Theebaw and his Queen. LANKA AND ITS PEOPLE ; or, A DESCRIPTION OF CEYLON. 4to. 72 pp. 3 As. Post-free, 3 As. The account of Lanka given in the Ramayana is first mentioned. Its history, and present condition are then described, with numerous illustra- tive woodcuts. PICTORIAL TOUR ROUND ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. Imperial 8vo. 114 pp 6 As. Post-free, 7 As. Description of the chief places of interest ; Public Schools and Universities; English and Commerce Manufactures; the British Govern- ment; Home Life; England an example and warning to India. With 104 woodcuts, and coloured engraving of the Queen-Empress. PICTURES OF CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE. 4to. 56 pp. 2 As. Post-free, 3 As. Extent, History, Manners and Customs of the People; Schools, Examinations ; Industries ; Travelling ; Language and Literature ; Government; Religions; India and China compared ; with 64 Illustrations. JAPAN : THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN. 4to. 68 pp. 2J As. Post-free, 3 As. With 49 illustrations. An interesting description of this beautiful country, and an account of the remarkable changes which have taken place in it. ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS. 137 ABASIA AND ITS PROPHET. 4to. 64 pp. 2 As. Post- free, 3 As. An account of the Arabs, with descriptions of Jeddah, Mecca, Medina ; the History of Muhammad and the early Khalifs; the Koran, Muslim Doctrines, Sects, Prayers, Pilgrimages, &c., with numerous illustrations. KASI, or BENARES, THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. Im- perial 8vo. 43 pp. 3 As. Post-free, 4 As. A description of ( the city, its Ghats, Temples, Pilgrimages, etc., with 23 illustrations. Papers on Indian Reform. This is a Series of Papers treating of the great questions connected with Indian progress material and moral. SOCIAL REFORM. ON DECISION OF CHARACTER AND MORAL CODBAGE. 8vo. 56 pp. 1J As. Post-free, 2 As. A reprint of Foster's celebrated Essay, with some remarks on its application to India. SANITARY REFORM IN INDIA. 55 pp. 2 As. Post-free, 2| As. How lakhs of Lives may be saved every year, and crores of cases of Sickness prevented ; Precautions against Fever, Cholera, Diabetes, &c. Is INDIA BECOMING POORER OR RICHER? WITH REMEDIES FOR THE EXISTING POVERTY. 8vo. 82 pp. 2 4 As. Post-free, 3 As. The prevailing idea with regard to the increasing poverty of India shown to be incorrect, and the true means of promoting its wealth explained. DEBT AND THE RIGHT USE OF MONEY. 8vo. 32 pp. 1 An. Prevalence of Debt in India : its Causes ; Evils ; how to get out of it ; with Franklin's Way to Wealth, &c. PURITY REFORM. 8vo. 32 pp. 1 Anna. The great need of this reform shown, and the means for its promotion. CASTE. 8vo. 66 pp. 2 As. Post-free, 2 i^As. Supposed and real origin of Caste ; Laws of Caste according to Manu ; its Effects; duty with regard to it. THE WOMEN OF INDIA AND WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THEM. 8vo. 4 As. Post-free, 5J As. Women in Hindu literature ; Female Education ; Marriage Customs ; Widow Marriage ; means to be adopted to raise the position of Women. THE ABOVE COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, 1 Rupee Net. Post- age, 2J As. 138 ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS. RELIGIOUS REFORM. POPULAR HINDUISM. 96 pp. 2J As. Post-free, 3 As. Review of the Hinduism of the Epic Poems and Puranas, &c. ; Rites nnd Observances; Effects of Hinduism, and Suggested Reforms. PHILOSOPHIC HINDUISM. 72 pp. 2^ Annas. Post-free, 3 Annas. The Upanishads ; the Six Schools of Hindu Philosophy ; the Minor Schools ; Doctrines of Philosophic Hinduism ; the Bhagavad Gita ; Causes of the Failure of Hindu Philosophy ; &c. AN ACCOUNT OP THE VEDAS, WITH ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS. 8vo. 166 pp. 4| Annas. Post-free, 6 Annas. The principal divisions of Vedas are described ; with life in Vedic times, the gods of the Vedas, the offerings and sacrifices. Some of the most important hymns from the ten Mandalas are quoted in full. Extracts are also given from the Atharva Veda and the JBrahmanas. THE BRAHMA SAMAJ, AND OTHER MODERN ECLECTIC RELI- GIOUS SYSTEMS. 108 pp. 3 Annas. Post-free, 4 Annas. Modern Hindu Theism; Rammohun Roy; Debendranath Tagore; Keshub Chunder Sen; the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj ; Madras Brahrooism ; Prarthana Samajes ; Brahmist Doctrines and Prospects. With Portraits of Rammohun Roy, Debendranath Tagore, and Keshub Chunder Sen. INDIA HINDU, AND INDIA CHEISTIAN ; OR, WHAT HINDUISM HAS DONE FOR INDIA, AND WHAT CHRISTIANITY WOULD DO FOR IT. 8vo. 72 pp. 2| Annas. Post-free, 3 Annas. Address to thoughtful Hindus, showing how much their country would benefit from the religion which many of them now oppose. THE ABOVE COMPLETE IN ONK VOLUME, 1 Rupee Net. Post- age, 24 Annas. CHRISTIANITY EXPLAINED TO A HINDU ; OR, THE DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY AND HINDUISM COMPARED. 60 pp. 2 Annas. Doctrines about God, Creation, the Soul, Karma, Transmigration, Sin, Incarnations, Salvation, Prospects at Death, and Comparative Effects. TESTIMONIES OF GREAT MEN TO THE BIBLE AND CHRISTIAN- ITY. 8vo. 45 pp. 1J Annas. Post-free, 2 Annas. Opinions expressed by great writers, philosophers, scientists, lawyers and statesmen, showing that the Bible and Christianity are firmly believ- ed by the most eminent men of the time. How THE PEOPLE OF ANCIENT EUROPE BECAME CHRISTIANS, AND THE FUTURE RELIGION OF INDIA. 8vo, 48 pp. 1J As. Post-free, 2 As. CIVILIZATION, ANCIENT AND MODERN, COMPARED ; WITH BE- MARKS ON THE STUDY OF SANSKRIT. 8vO. 48 pp. 1 As. Post- free, 2 As. ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS. 139 The Anna Library. 1 Anna, each. Mostly with Numerous Illustrations. INDIAN FABLES. 48 pp. PICTURE FABLES. 48 pp. CHOICE PICTURES AND STORIES. 48 pp. PICTURES AND STORIES FOR THE YOUNG. 48 pp. INDIA IN VEDIC TIMES. 48 pp. PICTURE STORIES OP THE ANCIENT G-REEKS. 48 pp. PICTURE STORIES OP THE OLD ROMANS. 48 pp. PICTURE STORIES PROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 48 pp. PICTURES AND STORIES OF WILD BEASTS. 48 pp. PICTURES AND STORIES OP BIRDS. 48 pp. SNAKES, CROCODILES, AND OTHER REPTILES. 48 pp. CURIOUS LITTLE PEOPLE ; A DESCRIPTION OP INSECTS. 48 pp. THE WONDERFUL HOUSE I LIVE IN. 48 pp. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY. 48 pp. BURNING MOUNTAINS, EARTHQUAKES, AND OTHER WONDERS. BUDDHA AND HIS RELIGION. 64 pp. IDOLS OP THE EARTH. 48 pp. HISTORY OP THE TRUE INCARNATION. 52 pp. PROVERBS PROM EAST AND WEST. 48 pp. SAINT AUGUSTINB, THE GREATEST EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITER. 48pp. STORY OP DR. LIVINGSTONE, THE GREAT MISSIONARY TRA- VELLER. 48 pp. PALISSY THE POTTER. 48 pp. WILLIAM CAREY. 48 pp. The translator of the Bible into Sanskrit, and the founder of English Missions to India. STORY OP DR. DUFF, BY A. L. 0. E. 56 pp. GENERAL GARPIELD. 48 pp. The farmer boy who became President of the United States. NEESIMA : THE TRUE PATRIOT OP JAPAN. 48 pp. SHORT PAPERS FOR SEEKERS AFTER TRUTH. 12mo. 112 pp. A Guide to Religious Inquirers, treating of the Existence of God, Sin, the Need of a Revelation, the leading Doctrines of Christianity, and the Object of Life. SHORT PAPERS FOR YOUNG MEN. 12mo. 104 pp. A Sequel to the foregoing. Hints on General Conduct, the Choice of a Profession, and Success in Life. 140 ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS. Miscellaneous. PHULMANI AND KARUNA. 8vo. 100 pp. 2 As. Post-free 24 As. PICTURES OF ENGLISH HOME LIFE. 8vo. 80 pp. 2 As. EMBLEMS AND STORIES FOR WOMEN. 8vo. 90 pp. 2 As. PICTURES OF WOMEN IN MANY LANDS. Imperial 8vo. 112 pp. 6 As. Post-free, 7 As. Publications for Students. SELECT CONVOCATION ADDRESSES, delivered to Graduates of the Madras University. 8vo. 231 pp. Stiff covers, 8 As. ; Half bound in cloth, 12 As. Full bound in cloth with gilt title, 1 Be. Post-free. The volume contains 15 addresses, commencing in 1859, and including many of the most recent. Some of the most distinguished men in South India during the last 30 years took part in the Series. Many very useful hints to young men entering upon the battle of life in any part of India will be found in the collection. THE INDIAN STUDENT'S MANUAL. 12mo. 352 pp. 8 As. Post-free, 9 As. Hints on Studies, Examinations, Moral Conduct, Religious Duties, and Success in Life. THE KESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS. 8vo. 32 pp. \ Anna. A Lecture by N. G. Chandavarker, Esq., B.A., B.L. How TO PASS EXAMINATIONS. 8vo. 29 pp. | Anna. PRAYERS FOR STUDENTS AND OTHERS. 18mo. 36 pp. 4 Anna. THE SCHOOL-BOY. 16mo. 48 pp. f Anna. Advice to school-boys about their lessons, general conduct, and duty to God. Progress. This is a monthly Illustrated Periodical for the educated classes in India and Ceylon. The subscription is only 8 As. a year; with postage 14 As. Three copies may be sent for i anna postage. The Periodical is specially recommended to TEACHERS. It would give new ideas to their pupils, while the page for students would be very useful to those preparing for exami- nations. Orders to be addressed to Mr. A. T. SCOTT, Tract Depot, MADRAS. FEINTED AT THE S. P. C. K. PRESS, VBPERY, MADRAS 1894. 14 DAY TJSE YC190953 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS FOE, INDIAN EEADERS. Biographies. ANG-LO-!NDIAN WORTHIES. By Henry Morris, Mad- ras C. S., Retired. 8vo. 160 pp. 4 As. Full cloth/ gilt title, 10 As. Lives of Sir Thomas Munro, Sir John Malcolm, Lord Metcalfe, Mountstuart Elphinstone, James Thomason, Sir Henry Lawrence/; Sir James Outram, Sir Donald Macleod, and Sir Barile Frere, with [ portraits. MARTIN LUTHER, THE GREAT EUROPEAN REFORMED. 8vo. 109 pp. 24 As. Post-free, 3 As. Tho state of i^ligion in Europe in the time of Lur her is described ;[ a full fit oo ant is given of big undaunted efforts to bring about a reforxnation ; the greater ru:ed of a similar change in Iir^a is shown,;. and Luth^.- is held up as an example. 15 Illustrations. B^r\ PADMANJT. An Autobiograplsy. 8vc. 108; . 2J \nnns. Post-fre\ 3 As. Au interesting account by himself of this p pular Marathi author,; describing his conversion from Hinduism to Christianity. PICTURE STORIES OF NOBLE WOMEN. 4to. 50 pp. 2^ As. Post-free, 3 As. Accounts of Cornelia, Agrippina, Padmani of Chittore, Lady Jane ; Grey, Ahaliya Bai, Mrs. Fry, Princess Alice, Miss Carpenter, Maha- rani Surnomayi, Pandita Raraabai, Miss Nightingale, and Ladyi Dufferin. THE QUEEN-EMPRESS OF INDIA AND HER FAMILY. 43 pp.; 8 Annas. Post-free, 3 As. Her early life ; marriage ; widowhood ; children ; progress inf India during her reign : traits of character and lessons from her! life. With 27 Illustrations and a coloured portrait of the Empress] EMINENT FRIEND OF MAN; or, LIVES OF Di& GUJ^HED PHILANTHROPISTS. 8vo. 158 pp. 4 As. Post- true, 5 As. F; t\ cloth, gilt title, 10 As. Sketches of Howard, Oberlin, Granville Sharp, Clarkson, Wilber- force, Buxton, Pounds, Davies of Devauden, George Moore, Monte-H fiore Livesey, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and others ; with remarks ; on what might be done in India. SOME NOTED INDIANS OF MODERN TIME&. 8vo. 164pp. 4 As. Post-free, 5 As. Sketches of Indian Religious and Social Reformers, Phil an' pists, Scholars, Statesmen, Judges, Journalists, and others; wiiii; several portraits. (See also Anna Library.)