/rs
 
 '4? 
 
 r
 
 LORD OLIVE.
 
 INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 ITS RISE AND GROWTH. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. J. S. BANKS, 
 
 AUTHOR OF ' MARTIN LUTHER, THE PROPHET OF GERMAKT,' ETC. 
 
 WESLEYAN CONFERENCE OFFICE, 
 
 2, CASTLE STREET, CITY BOAD; 
 [ SOLD AT 66, PATERNOSTEE BOW. 
 
 1880.
 
 BATMAN BROTHERS AHD LILLY, 
 
 PRINTERS, 
 
 HATTON HOUSE, FAREINGDON EOAD, 
 LONDON, E.G.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
 1. INTRODUCTORY 
 
 II. To THE BATTLE OP PLASSET, 1757, AND THE END OF 
 CLIVE'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION, 1760 THE STRUGGLE 
 WITH THE FRENCH ........ 8 
 
 III. To THE ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS, 1760- 
 
 1772 SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF CLIVE FIRST WAR 
 WITH MYSORE ......... 27 
 
 IV. ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS, 1772-1785 
 
 FIRST MAHRATTA WAR SECOND MYSORE WAR . . 43 
 
 V. LORD CORNWALLIS AND SlR JOHN SHORE THIRD MYSORE 
 
 WAR INTERNAL REFORMS. 1786-1798 . . 63 
 
 VI. LORD WELLESLEY FOURTH MYSORE WAR SECOND MAH- 
 
 RATTA WAR AFFAIRS OF OUDE, ETC. 1798-1805 . . 76 
 
 VII. SIR GEORGE BARLOW AND LORD MINTO. 1806-1813 . . 103 
 
 VIII. LORD HASTINGS NEPAUL WAR PINDARI WAR EXTINC- 
 
 TION OF THE MAHRATTA POWER, ETC. 1813-1823 . .114 
 
 IX. LORDS AMHERST AND WILLIAM BENTINCK FIRST BURMESE 
 WAR SIEGE OF BHURTPORE INTERNAL REFORMS, ETC. 
 1823-1835 .......... 135 
 
 X. LORD AUCKLAND AFGHAN \\'AR. 1835-1842 . . . 154 
 
 XL LORD ELLENBOROUGH AFGHAN WAR CONQUEST OF 
 
 SCINDE AFFAIRS OF GWALIOR. 1842-1844 . . . 171 
 
 XII. LORDS HARDINGE AND DALHOUSIE FIRST AND SECOND 
 
 SIKH WARS. 1844-1848 ....... 186 
 
 XIII. LORD DALHOUSIE (CONTINUED) AND LORD CANNING 
 
 ANNEXATIONS SECOND BURMESE WAR INTERNAL IM- 
 PROVEMENTS SEPOY MUTINY. 1848-1862 . . .214 
 
 XIV. HISTORY OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN INDIA . . . 257 
 
 1831812
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LOUD CLIVE Frontispiece 
 
 JEYPORE Title 
 
 TOWEE OP KOTTTUB, DELHI viii 
 
 MAUSOLEUM AT AGBA 7 
 
 TEMPLE AT ELLOEE 9 
 
 HYDEE ALI 26 
 
 WABBEN HASTINGS 42 
 
 SEEINGAPATAM . . .62 
 
 MAEQUIS WELLESLE? 77 
 
 TEMPLE AT ELEPHANTA 100 
 
 PALACE OP VELLOBE 102 
 
 HINDU TEMPLE, ^CHANDEBNAGOBE 113 
 
 RANGOON 115 
 
 TBOOP OP MAHEATTAS 134 
 
 VIEW IN CALCUTTA 153 
 
 CABUL 155 
 
 BENABES 168 
 
 KHYBEE PASS 170 
 
 SIR CHAELES NAPIER 178 
 
 BEITISH TROOPS ENTEEING MOOLTAN .187 
 
 SIE HERBEET EDWAEDES 202 
 
 LUCKNOW 213 
 
 SIE JAMES OUTEAM 215 
 
 LORD LAWBENCE 229 
 
 SIR HENEY HAVELOCK 239 
 
 LORD CLYDE 247 
 
 MOSQUE IN CAWNPOBE 254 
 
 VIEW OP CALCUTTA 256 
 
 LAHORE . . 279
 
 TOWEE Otf KOOTUB, DELHI.
 
 OUE INDIAN EMPIEE. 
 
 CHAPTE R I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 E premise a few of the more striking physical 
 characteristics of the Indian continent. In ex- 
 treme length it measures one thousand nine hun- 
 dred miles, in extreme breadth one thousand five 
 hundred. The area of British India, apart from 
 tributary and independent states, is twelve times that 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, seven times that of France. 
 Northern India, i.e., India north of the Vindhya Moun- 
 iains and Nerbudda River, is sometimes distinguished as Hin- 
 dostan, Southern India as the Deckan (from dakshana south). 
 The population of the continent is two hundred and forty mil- 
 lions, of whom five-sixths are Hindus, one-sixth Mohammedans. 
 In shape India forms a triangle, the base of which is buried 
 under the snows of the Himalayas, the apex within a few 
 degrees of the equator, and the two sides washed by the Bay of 
 Bengal and the Indian Ocean. The whole interior of the Dec- 
 kan is a lofty table-land, the home of large kingdoms, and enjoy- 
 ing of course a cooler climate than the narrow plains which 
 stretch thence to the sea. The mountain-sides of this plateau 
 are called ghauts (steps). 
 
 India is thus clearly marked off by nature from surrounding 
 countries, and admirably adapted to be the abode of a self-con- 
 tained people, such as the Hindus have always been. The 
 Brahmins, indeed, who have moulded the civilization of India, 
 cannot claim to be its original inhabitants. These are found in 
 the few, ssattered mountain-tribes, such as the Bheels, Kols, and 
 Gonds, who have nothing in common with modern Hindus. 
 
 &
 
 2 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 A later deposit, but still anterior to the coming of the Brahmins, 
 is probably represented by the five vernacular languages of 
 South India known as the Dravidian tongues. Thus, strictly 
 speaking, the Brahmin language, caste and faith are as foreign to 
 India as Mohammedan and British institutions. But the coming 
 of the Brahmins dates so far back, and they have so thoroughly 
 stamped their character on everything Indian, that they are to 
 all intents and purposes the Hindu people. They may be con- 
 sidered the Normans of the East. When and in what circum- 
 stances they came to India, it would be useless to attempt to con- 
 jecture. Indeed, the entire history of India before the arrival of 
 the Mohammedans is a blank. Of India, during the time when 
 the Hindus were masters in their own house, there are no his- 
 torical records. The Hindus have no prose history. They have 
 names which can be compared with Homer, Euripides, and Virgil, 
 but none that can be compared with Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, 
 and Tacitus. Ask a Hindu for the history of his country, and he 
 puts into your hands epic and mythological poems like the Rama- 
 yana, Maha-Bharata, and Puranas, infinitely more extravagant 
 and less credible than the jEneid and Paradise Lost. Great king- 
 doms grew up, a highly artificial language and civilization 
 reached their climax, systems of philosophy and religion ran 
 their course, wars were carried on, generation after generation 
 of living men and women joyed and sorrowed ; and of all this 
 the only record is in books in which it is impossible to dis- 
 tinguish between fact and fiction. The temples in which the 
 people worshipped, the laws they made, the poems they sang, 
 the works in which they embodied their thoughts on God and 
 man and nature, on art and science, remain to us, but all other 
 trace of their lives has passed away for ever. When India first 
 comes into the daylight of history, it is as a conquered country. 
 For example, in the sixth century B.C. Buddhism arose as a 
 protest against idolatry and caste, and, according to tradition, 
 became the established religion of India ; but subsequently it 
 declined or was exterminated from the entire continent. Of the 
 details of this wonderful revolution we know nothing. Asoka, 
 Vikramaditya, and Salivahana are probably historical names,
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 3 
 
 but they are only names. Under As5ka Buddhism was trium- 
 phant ; the era of Vikramaditya begins 57 B.C., and is current 
 in Hindostan ; the era of Salivahana begins 78 A.D., and is 
 current in the Deckan. 
 
 It is with the Mohammedan conquests that India first 
 emerges from the obscurity of myth and legend. The first 
 serious Mohammedan attacks on India were made in the eleventh 
 century by Mahmud, Sultan of Ghuzni in Afghanistan. In 
 twenty-five years he led no fewer than twelve expeditions from 
 the poor Afghan heights to the wealthy plains of India. But his 
 object was plunder, not conquest ; and in that object he succeeded 
 to a degree which would surpass belief, did we not remember 
 that his were the first plundering hands laid on the accumulated 
 treasures of generations. From single temples he carried off 
 wrought and unwrought gold and silver, pearls, diamonds, and 
 jewels by the hundred- weight. The numbers swept into slavery 
 were such that they could not find purchasers at four shillings 
 each. It was Mahmud who carried off the sandal-wood gates 
 of the temple of Somnath (A.D. 1024), which long ages after 
 Lord Ellenborough restored. Ghuzni grew into a magnificent 
 city from the spoils of India. Several interesting stories are 
 told of Mahmud. One is of a delicate reproof to his ambition 
 by one of his ministers. This minister professed to be able 
 .to interpret the language of birds. To test his professions, 
 Mahmud asked him what an owl, perched on the ruins of a 
 village, was saying. 'He is wishing long life,' was the reply, 
 ' to the Sultan Mahmud, because while he lives there will be 
 no lack of ruined villages to become the habitations of owls.' 
 As good a repi-oof was administered by a poor widow, to whose 
 demand for justice on her son's murderer Mahmud alleged the 
 impossibility of preserving order in so wide an empire : ' Then 
 why do you take countries which you cannot govern, and for the 
 protection of which you must answer in the day of judgment ? ' 
 It is worth noticing that the Mohammedans conquered India from 
 the side of Afghanistan. Long before they thought of establish. 
 ing themselves in the country, they made innumerable raids and 
 held Indian provinces in a state of dependence on Ghuzni. 
 
 B2
 
 4 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 The real conqueror of India and founder of the Mohammedan 
 empire there is Shahab-u-din, or Mohammed Ghori (1157 1206), 
 who successively subjugated the Hindu states of Ajmir, Canouj, 
 Oude, Behar, and Bengal. Under his successor Kutb-u-din 
 (like many of the Mogul emperors, originally a Turkish slave), 
 all connection with Ghuzni was severed and Mohammedan rule 
 in India started on an independent course. 
 
 The chief characteristic of that rule was incessant warfare. 
 From the coming of the Mohammedans India may be said to 
 have been a stranger to peace. An instance of undisputed suc- 
 cession to the throne was the exception. Each monarch had 
 either to obtain or keep his throne at the cost of a war, if he 
 did not take the more effectual way of putting to death all 
 possible rivals. Even Akbar, by far the greatest of the whole 
 line of sovereigns, and Aurungzib, whom Mohammedan writers 
 put first, who each reigned nearly fifty years, were engaged in 
 incessant wars of conquest or defence. In their wars of aggres- 
 sion no question of right was regarded, no scruples about means 
 were felt, the sole consideration taken into account was their 
 ability to accomplish their ends. It would be an endless and 
 unwelcome task to give in detail even specimens of the perfidy 
 and cruelty which stain the Mogul annals. Massacres in cold 
 blood, impaling, flaying alive, were common. We should have to 
 tell how the emperor Ala-u-din murdered in cold blood fifteen 
 thousand Moguls, whom he had discharged from his service, for 
 a conspiracy of some of their number ; how Humayun put out his 
 brother's eyes ; how Aurungzib gained the throne by deposing 
 his father and slaying his two elder and younger brothers ; how 
 Jehanghir impaled seven hundred rebels in a line from the gates 
 of Lahore. In point of fact, India was conquered twice over 
 by the Mohammedans. The invasion of Tamerlane (1398 A.D.), 
 coming upon weak reigns and internal dissensions, crumbled the 
 empire to dust, and the great Baber had to build it again from 
 the foundation. Thus, India over its whole extent underwent 
 the horrors of two separate conquests. The entire Deckan was 
 never thoroughly subdued or long acquiescent ; the Hindu defence 
 there was desperate, and renewed at every opportunity. There
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 5 
 
 arose the Mahratta power, which exhausted the Mogul resources 
 by incessant attacks. Aurungzib spent the last fifteen years of 
 his life in a vain attempt to reduce the Deckan, an enterprise 
 which had the same effect on the Mogul empire as the invasion 
 of Spain had on Napoleon's. During the five and a half centuries 
 of the Mohammedan rule, forty-five emperors occupied the throne, 
 an average of twelve years each. 
 
 To crown the sufferings of India, the same period witnessed 
 three invasions from without, that of Tamerlane in 1398, Nadir 
 Shah in 1739, and Ahmed Shah in 1756. On each occasion 
 Delhi was given over to pillage and slaughter, and the scenes of 
 horror and outrage enacted were indescribable. Nadir Shah 
 carried off treasure to the amount of 34,000,000, the plunder 
 including Shah Jehan's famous peacock-throne and slaves in- 
 numerable. Before the last invasion the sceptre had fallen into 
 weak hands, and the shock completed the ruin of the empire. 
 
 It is not inconsistent with this account to refer to the wealth 
 and state of the Mogul emperors ; as, for example, of Shah 
 Jehan, whose peacock-throne, all set in gems and rubies, was 
 variously estimated as worth from one to six millions, and 
 whose mausoleum, the Taj Mahal at Agra, to the memory of 
 his wife, is one of the wonders of the world. After all his 
 great works, such as the canal at Delhi called by his name, he 
 left 24,000,000 in his treasury. It may be questioned whether, 
 in an Eastern despotism, royal wealth and splendour are any 
 index of the condition of the people. Too often lavish waste in 
 the palace means oppression and misery among the masses. Sir 
 Thomas Roe, an ambassador from James I. to Jehanghir, was 
 not more astounded at the splendour of the court than at the 
 sordid and downtrodden state of the people, on whom, of course, 
 at last the cost of ceaseless war and extravagant show fell. It 
 is not impossible that, in a country as vast as India, consider- 
 able prosperity was here and there enjoyed. Probably no 
 amount of misgovernment and oppression could exhaust the 
 resources of such a country and population. The Mogul histoiy 
 is full of romantic episodes. Few stories are more wonderful than 
 those of the emperors Baber and Humayun, and of Nur Jehan
 
 6 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 ('Light of the "World'), Jehanghir's famous queen. Their 
 histories present every vicissitude of human fortune. The em- 
 perors were served from time to time by statesmen and soldiers 
 of the greatest ability and highest character, the best of whom 
 were rewarded with treachery, ingratitude and jealousy. We 
 dwell, however, with most satisfaction on the great public works 
 by which the masses were benefited, such as canals, reservoirs, 
 caravanseras, roads, bridges. Shere Shah (1540 1545) cut a 
 road two thousand miles in length from the Indus to the Bay of 
 Bengal. Unfortunately, these works are not sufficiently numer- 
 ous to determine the character of the whole period. We fear 
 that every one who studies the history in the impartial and even 
 favourable pages of Mountstuart Elphinstone, our best authority 
 for this period, must come to the conclusion that, to be in keep- 
 ing with the contents, the history of the Mohammedan rule in 
 India would need to be written in blood. We know that in fair- 
 ness the standard of comparison should be mediasval, not modern, 
 Europe. But even measured by that standard, the difference in 
 the number, character and scale of crimes under the Mogul rule 
 is startling beyond expression. 
 
 We wish to emphasize the fact that the English took India, 
 not from Hindu, but from Mohammedan hands. In few cases 
 was it a Hindu dynasty that was displaced. It was one 
 foreigner succeeding another. The rulers dispossessed were 
 Mohammedan governora who had either recently become in- 
 dependent kings or still professed nominal dependence on the 
 phantom-emperor at Delhi. The sceptre of supreme sovereignty 
 had fallen from Mogul hands, and waited for the first comer 
 strong enough to pick it up. The native Mahratta had tried 
 to do so, and failed. Mr. Marshman says : ' With the exception 
 of the Rajpoot chiefs and the puppet emperor at Delhi, not one 
 of the kingdoms which were subsequently absorbed in the British 
 empire had been in existence even a quarter of a century when 
 the English first took up arms in Hindostan.' How India had 
 fared under the Mogul we have seen. There could scarcely be 
 a more striking contrast than exists between the principles and 
 methods of Mohammedan and British government. Take only
 
 INTR OD UCTOR Y. 7 
 
 the question of religions toleration, a thing forbidden by Moham- 
 medan law. The only one of the emperors tolerant on principle 
 was Akbar, and he is always reproached by Mohammedan writers 
 with unfaithfulness to his creed. The Mohammedan religion, in 
 its very essence, is fiercely, cruelly intolerant, as the Hindus have 
 too often found. Aurungzib imposed a poll-tax -jezzia on all 
 Hindus as a badge of religious inferiority. Proselytism by force, 
 the destruction of temples and images, outbreaks of wild fanat- 
 icism were common occurrences all through the Mohammedan 
 period. With British rule a brighter prospect opens before an 
 oppressed and distracted country.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TO THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY, 1757, AND THE END OF CLIVE's FIEST 
 ADMINISTRATION, 1760 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE FRENCH. 
 
 T is an old story by this time, that the British 
 empire in India grew out of a trading company. 
 So imperceptible and undesigned was the growth, 
 that it would not be easy to say where trading 
 ended and government began. For a long time the 
 two characters were inextricably blended. Each 
 separate step seemed to follow by inevitable necessity. 
 To point out any alternative course would be difficult. 
 And yet the total result is what we see. 
 
 The first English company for trading with the East Indies 
 was formed in 1599, during the reign of Elizabeth in England 
 and Akbar in India. The circumstances which led to the com- 
 pany being formed were, the great wealth derived by the Por- 
 tuguese from their Eastern trade, and the reports brought home 
 by an Englishman called Fitch, who a few years before had 
 travelled with some companions through the whole extent of 
 India. The first charter was issued in 1600, granting a monopoly 
 of the trade for fifteen years. The first trading fleet consisted 
 of five vessels, and sailed from Torbay in 1601, the forerunner 
 of countless fleets, mercantile and warlike, since. We may note 
 that in the charter of 1661 the company were authorized to deport 
 to England all unlicensed Englishmen and to administer justice, 
 two undoubted functions of government. Throughout its history 
 the East India Company never lost its jealousy of the ' inter- 
 lopers ' who infringed its monopoly. 
 
 The first English factory was established at Surat, one hun- 
 dred and eighty miles to the north of Bombay, and was confirmed 
 by a firman of the Emperor Jehanghir in 1613. For a century 
 and a half after this the English establishments in India con-
 
 FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 1 1 
 
 tinued mainly commercial, everything being subordinated to trade 
 and profit, and only so much of the functions of government being 
 assumed as was necessary to the wellbeing of the community. 
 The factory included warehouses, offices, and the residences of 
 the company's servants. The latter dined in common, as in 
 an ancient monastery or modern regiment.* The salaries seem 
 surprisingly small. A century after this time the president at 
 Calcutta received 300 per year ; eight members of council, 
 40 each ; junior merchants, 30 ; factors, 15 ; writers, 5 : 
 but they received board and lodging in addition, and enjoyed the 
 privilege of private trade, which often meant a great fortune. 
 But Surat was soon superseded by Bombay, which was ceded to 
 the company by the Crown in 1668, the Crown having received 
 it from Portugal a few years before as part of the Queen's 
 dowry. But the Bombay Presidency, though founded early, was 
 the latest in territorial development, owing to the fact that the 
 anarchy on the dissolution of the Mogul government was not 
 so great in the west as in the east, the native Mahratta power pre- 
 serving in the west some semblance of strength and order. 
 
 For a long time no footing could be gained in Bengal, the 
 Emperor Shah Jehan having taken offence at the conduct of the 
 Portuguese, and being resolved to keep all Europeans outside. 
 The nearest point to Bengal at which the company could get 
 permission to settle was the port of Piply, near Balasore in Orissa. 
 This permission was granted by an imperial firman in 1634. 
 But two years later an English surgeon, called Boughton, who 
 had cured a daughter of Shah Jehan, requested as a reward 
 permission for the English to trade in Bengal duty free, and to 
 establish factories at Balasore itself and at Hooghly, a town 
 about twenty-sis miles above the present Calcutta. Of course 
 in the circumstances the request could not be refused. The 
 
 Not many know that it is to the convivial factors at Surat that 
 we owe the modern drink called punch. It was composed of five 
 ingredients : brandy, sugar, limes, spice, and water. The name was 
 borrowed from the Hindustani and Sanscrit numeral pancha, five. 
 What punch is made of now, the writer knows not.
 
 12 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 trade grew so rapidly that Bengal was formed into a separate 
 Presidency. The first governor was Mr. Hedges, with a modest 
 guard of one corporal and twenty European soldiers. The 
 company had no end of trouble with the local governors and 
 authorities, who were practically independent of the emperor at 
 Delhi, and in spite of imperial firmans levied duties and expected 
 presents on every sort of occasion. One year the nabob exacts 
 sixty thousand rupees, two years after thirty thousand, the next 
 twenty-two thousand ; and so on. Once three English sailors 
 got into a quarrel in the streets of Hooghly, and the difficulty 
 was only solved by the town being bombarded by the English 
 ships. The exactions interfered so seriously with the profits of 
 the company, that Job Charnock, an early governor, retired from 
 Hooghly to the present site of Calcutta, and at last from Bengal 
 altogether. In face of subsequent events there is something 
 amusing in these firmans, in this arrogance on one side, and 
 almost abject dependence on the other. Little did the Mogul 
 dream of what his reluctant firmans would lead to ; and so far 
 were the English from thinking of empire in India that they 
 actually sent out two strong fleets to form a settlement at Chit- 
 tagong in Aracan, farther to the east, both of which failed. In 
 1690 the English returned to Bengal, on the invitation of the 
 Nabob, or viceroy, of Bengal, who missed the profits of their enter- 
 prise. The permission to return was granted, so ran the procla- 
 mation, in consequence of the English having ' made a most 
 humble and submissive petition that the crimes they had com- 
 mitted should be forgiven.' On the site of three native villages, 
 called Calcutta, Chuttanutty, and Govindpore, Calcutta was 
 founded. The present given to the viceroy for the site was six- 
 teen thousand rupees (1,600). The Court of Directors charac- 
 teristically thought the price ' very high.' Such was the origin 
 of the ' City of Palaces.' 
 
 The founder of Calcutta was a shrewd trader, but by no 
 means a model in other respects. The general punishment for 
 offences among the natives was whipping. The cries of the 
 victims were evidently music to the governor's ears, for the 
 punishment was inflicted while he sat at dinner. He married
 
 EARLY ENGLISH LIFE. 13 
 
 a native wife, whom he had rescued from the funeral pile, and 
 by her was converted to Hinduism. After her death, he annually 
 sacrificed a cock on her tomb. It is said, that native murderers, 
 instead of being hanged, were whipped to death. 
 
 From Mr. Wheeler's Early Records of British India, we get 
 many details of English life in Bengal in those days. The 
 English factory, which was simply ' an emporium of trade, with 
 its warehouses, workshops, offices, and outlying houses, covered 
 about a hundred acres on the banks of the Hooghly. The native 
 town consisted of three or four large villages, more or less remote 
 from the English factory and from each other. Some houses 
 may have been built of brick and chunam ; some were made of 
 clay, and whitewashed ; the bulk were hovels of mud and straw. 
 These have grown into a metropolis of brick and stone. The 
 outlying village of Chowringhee, with the surrounding marshes 
 and rice-fields, has become the aristocratic quarter of the 
 European population. The swamp and jungle which separated 
 Chowringhee from the river has been formed into the large 
 grassy plain known as the " Maidan." ' The commercial character 
 of the English at Calcutta stamped itself on all their proceedings. 
 The governor was the agent of the Court of Directors. The 
 term survives in the ' political agents ' of modern days. The 
 English 'bought, sold, overlooked, kept accounts, wrote letters, 
 regulated establishments and expenditure. Large ships from 
 Europe brought woollen goods, cutlery, iron, copper, quicksilver. 
 The same ships carried away cotton piece-goods, fine muslins, 
 silks, indigo, spice, saltpetre, Indian rarities. Buying and sell- 
 ing at outcry or auction was one of the excitements of Calcutta 
 life.' There were subordinate factories at Dacca, famous for 
 muslin, Cossimbazar, Patna. It must be remembered that then 
 India sent cotton goods to England, not the reverse. It was only 
 at the close of the century that Manchester began to compete 
 with Bengal ; 'calico' is an Indian term. Between 1780 and 
 1790 the Court of Directors was alarmed by the rivalry of 
 Manchester. On the other hand, English calico-printers petitioned 
 Parliament ' to prevent the emigration of artists to India ; to pro- 
 hibit the exportation of plates, blocks, and materials for printing ;
 
 U OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and also to lay such additional duty upon goods printed in 
 India as would be sufficient to put the white piece-goods printed 
 in England on an equal footing with Indian goods.' 
 
 As to the private life of the English we are told that ' the 
 mornings were devoted to business. Then followed the midday 
 dinner and the afternoon siesta. In the cool of the evening they 
 took the air in palanquins, or sailed on the river in budgerows. 
 They angled for mango-fish, or shot snipe and teal. The even- 
 ing wound up with supper. There were quarrels, scandals and 
 controversies ; possibly there were some religious exercises. There 
 was always the show of religion and decorum which characterized 
 the early life of the eighteenth century ; the chaplain read 
 prayers every morning, and preached on Sundays. There were 
 intervals of excitement apart from the daily business. Ships 
 brought news from Europe, from the outer presidencies, from the 
 far-off settlements in China, Sumatra, Pegu, and other remote 
 quarters. Many of these features belong to Anglo-Indian life still.' 
 Within the English settlement the company was supreme. In 
 course of time the governor's judicial functions were transferred 
 to a mayor and nine aldermen, who sat in quarter sessions for the 
 trial of civil and criminal cases among Europeans. A capital 
 sentence had to be confirmed by a royal warrant from England. 
 Among the native population on English ground a servant of the 
 company acted as zemindar, collecting the revenue and adminis- 
 tering justice in all respects like the native zemindars. Many of 
 the taxes on trade and different articles were farmed out to 
 individuals. In 1755 the English zemindar collected from all 
 sources taxes to the amount of little more than 10,000. In 
 1876 the municipal taxation of Calcutta amounted to 260,000. 
 If taxation is one evidence of advancing civilization, there can 
 be no doubt respecting the improvement of India. 
 
 The French were established in Bengal at Chandernagore, 
 the Dutch at Chinsurah, the Danes at Serampore. 
 
 Prom 1741 to 1751 Bengal was subject to annual raids by 
 the Mahratta hordes, who carried destruction and death every- 
 where. They ruined a country as effectually as locusts, and in 
 addition tortured and slew without pity. The Mahrattas were
 
 MAHRATTA RAIDS. 15 
 
 perhaps tlie most accomplished plunderers the world has ever 
 seen. They would suddenly swoop upon a town or district, seize 
 everything valuable, and were away on their swift steeds before 
 any force could be gathered to cope with them. Their ravages 
 extended from Delhi to Tan j ore. Any government was guaran- 
 teed against plunder on condition of annually paying the chout, 
 or one-fourth of its revenues. In 1751 Bengal engaged to do 
 this. When Bengal came, a few years later, under English in- 
 fluence, the chout ceased. But in truth the Mahrattas only 
 exceeded the ordinary native rulers in the scale of their extortions 
 and cruelties. Ali-verdi Khan became Nabob of Bengal in 
 1740. He had risen from a humble position by talent and 
 bribery. There was a petty raja near Monghyr, against whom 
 Ali-verdi had a pique. One day as an English convoy was 
 going to Patna with goods and treasure, the leaders hailed 
 a passing boat to obtain some fish ; the six baskets in the boat 
 were found to be filled with the heads of the raja and his thirty 
 followers, who had been treacherously slain by the khan's order. 
 The baskets were on their way to the nabob. About this time 
 a subordinate officer of the nabob in Bengal invented the follow- 
 ing punishment. He had a pond dug and filled with all imagin. 
 able filth, to which he gave in derision the name of veikunta, 
 the Hindu name for ' paradise.' When a zemindar's payments 
 were not forthcoming, he was dragged by means of ropes under 
 the arms, through this pond ; the officer would also force his 
 victims to put on loose trousers, into which live cats were then 
 introduced. The Mahratta Ditch round Calcutta is a relic of 
 the Mahratta invasions. It was intended as a barrier against 
 
 O 
 
 the clouds of Mahratta horse, and, if completed, would have 
 described a semi-circle of seven miles ; but only three miles 
 were completed, as the panic passed away. A sobriquet of the 
 citizens still is, ' Inhabitants of the Ditch ' ; just as once the 
 English in Ireland were, ' the People of the Pale.' 
 
 The first soil actually possessed by the English in India was 
 the present site of Madras. They needed something more for 
 their valuable trade on the Coromandel Coast than a factory, but 
 the Moguls would neither grant land nor permit forts. But in
 
 16 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 1639 the English obtained what they wanted from the Hindu 
 raja of Chandragiri, whose seat was about seventy miles inland. 
 The land ceded was about six miles long by one broad. Accord- 
 ing to the grant, which was engraved on a gold plate, the rent 
 to be paid for this was 600. It does not seem to us easy to 
 understand why the English chose a site with nothing but an 
 open roadstead, in which a high surf rolls ceaselessly and ships 
 are compelled to put to sea on the appearance of a storm. The 
 recommendation was that the strip of territory included a small 
 island, four hundred yards by one hundred, formed by a river and 
 the sea. This island was the seat of the settlement, and gave 
 protection against plundering horsemen. Only Europeans were 
 allowed to live on the island, which was called White Town and 
 Fort St. George. The native town was and is still called Black 
 Town. 
 
 It was in Madras that the English were first involved in war. 
 They had to fight a long battle for existence. It was carried 
 on with the French, who deliberately formed the plan of driving 
 them out of India. This was done for the most part under the 
 cover of native alliances, the English and French espousing 
 opposite sides in the disputes of native princes for the throne. 
 There was an abundant crop of such disputes in this part of 
 India, where the pressure of the Mogul empire was least felt 
 and the anarchy on the fall of the empire greatest. In the 
 beginning of the conflict the advantage was decidedly with the 
 French. Their ardour carried everything before them. But their 
 power sank even more rapidly than it had risen. It was not for 
 want of able governors and soldiers that the French missed the 
 Indian empire on which their hearts were set, and which had 
 once been within their grasp. Labourdonnais, Dupleix, Bussy, 
 and Lally were equal to any names on the other side. Several 
 causes explain the result ; as, want of unity among the leaders, the 
 lack of persistence and tenacity in the French character, blunders 
 on the part of the home government, shameful treatment of un- 
 fortunate governors and commanders on their return home. It 
 would be beside our purpose to enter into the French plans and 
 operations except in so far as they touch on English affairs.
 
 FRENCH WARS. 17 
 
 The war between France and England which began in 1744 
 led to hostilities in the East. In September, 1746, Labourdonnais 
 captured Madras, after a bombardment of five days. The walls 
 were in a poor state of defence, and manned by only two hundred 
 European soldiers, while the French brought to the attack eleven 
 hundred, beside four hundred Malagasees and four hundred 
 sepoys, whom the French were the first to train and use. As his 
 instructions from home prevented him from holding or destroy- 
 ing the town, Labourdonnais ransomed it for forty-four lacs of 
 rupees. The French settlement, Pondicherry, one hundred miles 
 to the south of Madras, was governed by Dupleix, a man of ex- 
 traordinary ability, ambition and intrigue, and as jealous and 
 vain as he was able. He denounced the capitulation, and sent 
 Labourdonnais with larger forces to destroy the town ; but the 
 enterprise failed. Labourdonnais returned to France, was kept 
 prisoner in the Bastille three years, and died broken-hearted soon 
 after his liberation. 
 
 A slight conflict which took place at this time was attended 
 by momentous results. The Nabob of the Carnatic,* Anwar-u- 
 din, in whose territories Madras lay, expected that the French, 
 according to promise, would deliver Madras up to him. When 
 he saw that he was deceived, he sent his son with ten thousand 
 men to chastise them. But the French artillery, firing three or 
 four times a minute to the native once in fifteen minutes, put 
 the host to speedy flight. The issue taught both French and 
 English that they had nothing to fear from superior numbers in 
 a native enemy, and the lesson was not lost. Artillery has always 
 remained the strong arm of Eiiropean power. The English in 
 India have never stayed to count an enemy in battle. 
 
 After the departure of Labourdonnais Dupleix seized Madras, 
 confiscated the property, and marched off the principal inhab- 
 itants as prisoners of war. He also tried to capture Fort St. 
 David, another English settlement sixteen miles to the south of 
 
 The Carnatic is the portion of the Madras coast between the rivers 
 Kistna and Coleroon. It is about five hundred miles long by one hun- 
 dred broad.
 
 18 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Pondiclierry, and thus extinguish English power in South India, 
 but failed. An English attempt, with new troops just arrived, 
 on Pondicherry, was mismanaged and failed. In the end, 
 Madras was restored to the English by the peace of Aix-la~ 
 Chapelle, 1748. 
 
 Dupleix now aimed at higher game. The result of endless 
 intrigues and changes was that he placed one protege on the 
 throne of the Deckan. Mozuffer Jung, and made another, Chunda 
 Sahib, Nabob of the Carnatic. Besides French influence thus 
 becoming paramount in South India, Dupleix was made nominal 
 governor of the Carnatic, the nabob being placed under him. 
 The English now tried to recover the ground they had lost. 
 Their candidate for the nabobship was Mohammed Ali, son of 
 Anwar. They sent a force to the relief of Trichinopoly, which a 
 few English troops were holding for him against Chunda Sahib. 
 But a more daring plan for its relief was suggested by Clive, 
 the future founder of the British empire in India, then a young 
 captain. This was nothing less than to seize Arcot, the nabob's 
 capital. His force for accomplishing this purpose consisted of 
 two hundred Europeans, three hundred sepoys, eight officers, 
 and eight guns. Arcot was taken, 1751, the garrison being so 
 impressed by the hardihood of the assailants in marching through 
 a thunderstorm that they made no resistance. The desired effect 
 followed. Chunda Sahib at once detached ten thousand troops 
 to recover his capital. Clive found the defence harder than 
 the capture. The walls of the fort were a mile round and in 
 weak condition. His troops were reduced by one-third, his 
 officers by one-half. The besiegers were aided by one hundred 
 and fifty Europeans. Fifty days the siege lasted, and the con- 
 flict on the last day raged eighteen hours ; but every attack was 
 repulsed, and the enemy withdrew. Amid the many daring 
 deeds by which India has been won and kept, there is none more 
 daring than Clive's capture and defence of Arcot. 
 
 The war went on with varying results. The centre of action 
 was Trichinopoly, which the English held and the French tried 
 to take. Every inch of ground was contested. Backwards and 
 forwards the tide of victory rolled. Obscure as these conflicts
 
 FRENCH DEFEATS. 19 
 
 were, they gave occasion to feats of strategy and valour on both 
 sides as considerable as on larger fields. In them the fate of South 
 India was decided. The palm of strategy and success remained 
 with Major Lawrence, Olive's first commander in the field. 
 Some idea of the character of the princes whose battles we were 
 fighting, may be gained from the fact that Mohammed Ali, when 
 he got his rival, Chunda Sahib, into his power, in spite of a 
 promise of protection, had him assassinated and his head carried 
 five times round the town on a camel's neck. But, of course, 
 the native princes on both sides were mere puppets in stronger 
 hands. Peace was ai-ranged by the home authorities in 1754. 
 The advantages gained by the French were more than counter- 
 balanced by the recall of Dupleix, an unaccountable act on the 
 part of the French government. 
 
 Dupleix's general, Bussy, afterwards carried the French 
 power in the Deckan even to a higher point. The viceroy, Sal- 
 abut Jung, answering to the present Nizam of Hyderabad, was 
 his creature. Not only was Dowlatabad, the strongest fort in 
 the Deckan, in his hands, but he obtained the cession of the 
 four Northern Sircars, a district on the coast six hundred miles 
 long, and yielding fifty lacs a year. Forts threw open their 
 gates at the sound of his guns. But just as the whole Deckan 
 was trembling at his name, to the astonishment of every one he 
 was recalled by Count Lally, the new governor of Pondicherry, 
 and at a stroke French power sank, never to rise again. 
 
 Lally was of Irish extraction, and possessed by an insane 
 hatred of England. His fixed idea was to drive the English 
 out of India by dii'ect attack. Bussy entreated him to preserve 
 the immense advantages gained in the Deckan, but in vain. At 
 first his plans succeeded. He captured Fort St. David and 
 Arcot, but an exhausting attack on Madras (1759) failed. After 
 a two months' siege, just at the moment when a breach had 
 been effected, an English fleet arrived in the roads, and the 
 French had to retreat. From this time everything went against 
 Lally. He was ill seconded by his officers and the civil author- 
 ities at Pondicherry ; his troops were often starving. In 1760 
 he was beaten at Wandewash by Colonel Coote, a soldier only 
 
 C2
 
 20 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 second to Clive, who had been summoned to the north ; and 
 in 1761 Pondicherry itself was taken and partially destroyed. 
 Pondicherry was restored by the Peace of Paris in 1763, but 
 the dream of a French empire vanished for ever. The brave 
 but headstrong Lally returned home, and was foully executed as 
 a traitor, with every circumstance of ignominy. 
 
 Meantime, greater events had been transpiring in the north. 
 The Nabob of Bengal in 1756 was Suraja Dowlah, vicious, 
 greedy and cruel beyond the usual measure, and in addition a 
 hater of the English. One of the subordinate governors had 
 sent his family and treasures to Calcutta to be beyond the 
 nabob's reach. The nabob demanded their surrender, and for- 
 bade the English to add to their fortifications. The first order 
 was not complied with, and as to the second, explanations were 
 offered. This only enraged the nabob the more, and he marched 
 at once upon Calcutta with fifty thousand troops. The defences, 
 unfortunately, were in a neglected state. The repeated orders of 
 the Court of Directors to strengthen the fortifications had been 
 neglected by the local authorities, who were engrossed in trade. 
 This would have mattered little, if those at the head of the 
 community had acted worthily. But the governor and military 
 commander were panic-struck, and took refuge with the women 
 and children on board the ships, which at once moved lower 
 down the river and left the rest to their fate. After a four 
 days' siege the place surrendered, June 19th, 1756. The same 
 night was perpetrated the tragedy of the Black Hole. One 
 hundred and forty-six Englishmen were thrust into a guard- 
 room eighteen feet square, with only two barred windows to the 
 west. Even movement was next to impossible. There was just 
 air enough to prolong life and suffering. While the nabob slept 
 and could not be awaked, the poor wretches went mad with thirst 
 and fever, begged for water or death, tried to provoke the guards 
 to fire on them, raved, cursed, prayed, and gradually sank into 
 stupor and death. The list of dead included three members of 
 council, twenty-one company's officers, fifteen army and sea 
 captains, five lieutenants, five ensigns, five sergeants, and others. 
 Mr. Holwell, the acting governor, was one of the twenty-three
 
 THE SLACK HOLE. 21 
 
 survivors. When he was supported into the nabob's presence 
 next morning, the only feeling of the latter was one of surprise 
 and indignation at the small amount of treasure captui'ed. Few 
 tragedies have ever made a deeper impression on the European 
 imagination than that of the Black Hole, but neither the nabob 
 nor the people of India thought anything of it. Mohammedan 
 historians of the period do not even mention it. No doubt on 
 the scale of mere magnitude there have been far greater atrocities 
 in history ; the peculiar malignity of the Black Hole crime con- 
 sists in the utter callousness of the perpetrators as well as in the 
 special intensity of the sufferings inflicted. 
 
 It is a sign of the difference between those days and the 
 present that news of the catastrophe took seven days to reach 
 Madras. There was further delay about the preparations. But 
 at last Clive was sent with nine hundred European troops and 
 one thousand five hundred sepoys. On January 2nd, 1757, he 
 retook Calcutta almost without a shot, and a week after, by way 
 of further terrifying the nabob, captured the town of Hooghly. 
 Suraja did indeed march towards Calcutta with forty thousand 
 men. This time, however, he had different opponents to deal 
 with. But for a dense fog he would have been routed at once, 
 and the battle of Plassey anticipated by a few months. As it 
 was, he was glad by treaty to concede to the English all their 
 former rights and promise compensation. He only, however, 
 yielded to force, and remained at heart as hostile to the British 
 power as ever. With the French at Chandernagore near Calcutta, 
 and in the Northern Sircars, to the south of Bengal, all the 
 elements of a combination as dangerous as that which threatened 
 Madras were present. The nabob was in constant correspon- 
 dence with the French, and a French officer, Law, and two 
 hundred French troops were with him. Clive resolved to break 
 up the confederacy. He tried to bind the French at Chander- 
 nagore to neutrality by a treaty, but the commander could not or 
 would not enter into binding engagements. He then attacked 
 Chandernagore, and took it after a brave defence of nine days. 
 Clive had said, ' If we take Chandemagore, we cannot stop 
 there.' This was soon realized.
 
 22 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 The nabob's oppression and cruelty increased to such an 
 extent that his own officers conspired to depose him and put 
 Meer Jaffier, his finance minister, in his place. Clive entered 
 into the plot. The nabob was compelled to dismiss the French 
 in his service. The scheme was nearly ruined by the threat of 
 one of the conspirators, Omichand, a wealthy merchant and 
 banker, to divulge the whole unless he were bribed with thirty 
 lacs of rupees and commission on all moneys paid. But Clive 
 matched him in craft. By Clive's directions two treaties were 
 prepared, one sham and one real. The former contained Omi- 
 chund's stipulation, the other did not. However little sym- 
 pathy is due to Omichund, nothing can justify the deception in 
 Clive. Such treachery was habitual in native history ; but the 
 English empire would not have been what it is, if it had always 
 adopted native ways. Clive defended his conduct to the last, 
 alleging that a villain must be fought with his own weapons. 
 Admiral Watson refused to put his hand to the sham treaty, 
 and his name was forged. When everything was over, Omi- 
 chund was told of the trick. It is said that he lost his reason, 
 but this seems very unlikely in one of his wealth and character. 
 Meer Jaffier swore an oath on the Koran to desert to the English 
 on the field of battle, and a similar oath of fidelity to the nabob, 
 intending of course to keep whichever oath was most convenient. 
 
 When everything was ready, Clive presented his list of 
 grievances to the nabob, and moved towards Moorshedabad, 
 the capital, to enforce it. The two armies met in the grove of 
 Plassey : on one side fifteen thousand horse, and thirty-five thou- 
 sand foot, and fifty guns ; on the other one thousand Europeans, 
 two thousand sepoys, and eight guns. No wonder even Clive 
 hesitated. Failure meant destruction to his force and to the 
 English power in Bengal. In the previous council of war Clive 
 himself voted against fighting. He said afterwards ' that this 
 was the only council of war he ever held, and if he had abided 
 by that council, it would have been the rain of the East India 
 Company.' In the night, while musing iri the mango-grove, 
 Clive resolved to strike. The next day, June 23rd, 1757, after 
 a harmless cannonade from the enemy, Clive led his troops to
 
 EFFECTS OF PL ASSET. 23 
 
 the attack. The opposing general was killed, Suraja Dowlah 
 fled on his swiftest camel, and his great host instantly broke up. 
 The loss in the battle which virtually made the English masters 
 of India was seventy-two killed and wounded on the side of the 
 victors, and not more than five hundred on the other. The 
 nabob fled, was betrayed to his enemies by a man whose ears 
 he had cut off, and was put to death. The victory of Plassey 
 fell about a year after the capture of Calcutta. Exactly a century 
 afterwards the Sepoy Mutiny occurred. Meer Jaffier paid the 
 indemnity to the company, besides giving considerable presents 
 to the English officers. Olive only stipulated for the fee simple 
 of six hundred yards of land round Calcutta and the zemindar- 
 ship of the country to the south ; but practically the English 
 were masters of Bengal. Their power was universally regarded 
 as irresistible ; they were without a rival alike in north and 
 south India. Meer Jaffier was but a nominal ruler, and he felt 
 it. Clive was omnipotent ; he put down native rebellions ; 
 princes and people looked to him as the arbiter of their destinies. 
 The emperor at Delhi proposed to make him deivan, or finance 
 minister of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, under Meer Jaffier, an 
 offer which he declined ; but he discerned the change which had 
 come over the position of the English and the necessity of a 
 military force sufficient for the maintenance of that position 
 against all contingencies. He embodied these views in a letter 
 to William Pitt. Pitt objected to the assumption of sovereignty 
 by the English, because the conquests would belong, the judges 
 had decided, to the company, and to transfer them to the Crown 
 would constitute a danger to public liberty. Just a century 
 afterwards the transference was made. 
 
 One of Olive's first acts was to send Colonel Forde, an able 
 soldier, with a force into the Northern Sircars. Masulipatam. 
 a strong place, was taken, 1758, and the district lost to the 
 French. This, with the capture of Pondicherry by Colonel Coote, 
 completed the ruin of French influence. Masulipatam with 
 eight districts round it became English. In 1760 Clive returned 
 a second time to England. The following is an illustration of 
 Olive's decisive methods. Meer Jaffier, chafing under his in-
 
 21 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 significance, and having no French power to appeal to, invited 
 the Dutch at Batavia to join him against the English. The 
 Dutch sent a large force. As the English and Dutch were 
 at peace, Colonel Forde would not attack without a written 
 order. Clive was playing at cards when the request came. He 
 wrote at once on the back of one of the cards, ' Dear Forde, 
 fight them immediately ; I will send you the order in council 
 to-morrow.' Forde marched at once, came up with the Dutch 
 near Chinsurah, and defeated them in half an hour, thus avert- 
 ing worse mischief. Seven thousand native troops under Meerun, 
 Meer Jaffier's son, were waiting near, ready to join the Dutch if 
 they had been victorious.
 
 HYDER ALL
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF WAEREN HASTINGS, 1760 TO 1772 
 SECOND ADMINISTRATION OP CLITE FIRST WAii. \VITH MYSORE. 
 
 N January 7th, 1761, was fought the great battle 
 of Paniput, near Delhi, between the Afghan in- 
 vader, Ahmed Shah, and the Mahrattas, in which 
 the immense army of the latter was cut to pieces 
 and their designs on the throne of India shattered 
 if or ever. This was the third time that the fate of 
 India had been decided on the plain of Paniput. 
 The first time was when Baber defeated the emperor 
 in 1526 ; the second in 1556, when Akbar, or rather Akbar's 
 general Beiram,. defeated Hemu, the general of the rival Afghan 
 dynasty. It is impossible for us to enter into the general history 
 of India. The following extract from Mr. Marshman gives a 
 bird's-eye view of the country at this time : ' The great empire 
 of the Moguls was dissolved, and the emperor was wandering 
 about in Behar, accompanied by a small band of mercenaries. 
 In the districts around Delhi, the Jauts on one side, and the 
 Rohillas on the other, were consolidating the power they had 
 usurped. The Rajpoot rajas had been humbled during the 
 encroachments of the Mahrattas, and manifested little of their 
 former energy. The nabob- vizier of Oude possessed a rich 
 territory and a large, undisciplined army, but was deficient in 
 every military quality except courage. The Mahratta dream 
 of universal empire in India under a Hindu sceptre had been 
 dissipated by the recent defeat, and although the Peshwa was 
 the head of the federation, its power was henceforth partitioned 
 among the Guickwar, the Raja of Nagpore, and Holkar and 
 Scindia, who were seldom at peace with each other. The nizam 
 at Hyderabad had been crippled by the surrender of some of 
 his most valuable districts to the Mahrattas. The power of the
 
 28 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 French was completely broken. In the south of the peninsula, 
 the Nabob of the Carnatic had been seated on the throne by 
 the English, and was maintained solely by their arms, and 
 Hyder Ali was on the point of grasping the supreme control in 
 Mysore. The power destined eventually to bring these various 
 principalities " under one umbrella " * had recently subdued its 
 European rivals in the south, and established its predominance 
 in the valley of the Ganges, but was contemplating nothing so 
 little as the conquest of India.' 
 
 The administration of Mr. Vansittart (17tO G4) is not a 
 pleasant subject of review to Englishmen. It was little more 
 than one tissue of mistakes, peculation and corruption of every 
 kind. Only the anarchy and weakness of the native powers 
 saved the English rule from extinction. The governor himself 
 was a man of honour, and he was ably seconded by Warren 
 Hastings, then in unconscious training for his future career. 
 But he was far too feeble to guide the course of a revolution 
 such as was then running its course. From first to last he was 
 thwarted and overruled by a majority in the council, whose 
 original grievance was that he, a Madras civilian, had been 
 made governor over their heads. 
 
 The general confusion was aggravated by an invasion of the 
 Shahzada, son of the emperor, who presently, on his father's 
 assassination, became emperor himself under the title of Shah 
 Alum. He did not desist from his efforts, and the English 
 found themselves at war with the emperor on whom nominally 
 they depended. Shah Alum would only have been too glad 
 for the English to escort him to Delhi, then in Afghan hands, 
 and replace him on the throne, to so low a state was the 
 great Mogul reduced ; but the English did not see their way to 
 comply. Otherwise, the problem of Indian empire might have 
 received an f earlier solution. The emperor's aim was the 
 capture of Patna. Twice he was on the point of success. The 
 first time he defeated the Hindu governor, who had foolishly 
 engaged before the English force arrived; but, instead of 
 
 The ensign of regal state in India.
 
 NOMINAL NABOBS. 29 
 
 following up his success, lie lost time in plundering the 
 district. Colonel Calliaud, a soldier of the school of Olive and 
 Forde, came up and inflicted on him a severe defeat. Meerun, 
 Meer Jaffier's son, was present, but hindered more than he 
 helped the English. One day he would not fight, because the 
 astrologers forbade it. The emperor then made a desperate 
 effort, by a forced march, to seize Moorshedabad before Colonel 
 Calliaud could follow him. Foiled in this, he doubled back on 
 Patna, besieged it nine days, and was on the point of gaining 
 possession, when Major Knox arrived with reinforcements. The 
 major reconnoitred the enemy's position in the night, and next 
 day put him to flight. Then, the Nabob of Purneah, with 
 thirty thousand troops and thirty guns, took up the emperor's 
 quarrel. With two hundred Europeans, a sepoy battalion, three 
 hundred horse, and five guns, the major fell on this host under 
 the very walls of Patna, which were crowded with excited spec- 
 tators, and routed it. Just at this time, Meerun, as profligate 
 and cruel a wretch as Suraja himself, was struck dead by light- 
 ning. In one of these conflicts the French officer, Law, was 
 taken prisoner. When his men fled with the emperor, M. Law 
 sat astride on a gun, and awaited the approach of the victors. 
 Refusing to give up his sword, he was allowed to retain it. 
 Nothing more astonished the natives than this honourable treat- 
 ment of a vanquished foe. 
 
 In 1760 the English unmade the nabob they made in 1757. 
 Meer Jaffier was old and feeble, and they replaced him by his 
 son-in-law, the vigorous Meer Cossim, who ceded to his bene- 
 factors the provinces of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong, 
 which yielded a third of the entire revenue, in addition to 
 presents to the amount of twenty lacs of rupees. The council 
 apparently did not dream that the vigour of the new nabob might 
 be used against them, but so it was. Meer Cossim was no 
 sooner established in his office than he bent all his energy to 
 escape from the chains in which he was held, and render himself 
 independent of the English. When he failed in doing this, he 
 wreaked his vengeance in a massacre more cold-blooded than 
 that of the Black Hole. His first step was to remove his court
 
 30 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 from Moorshedabad to Monghir, two hundred miles farther from 
 Calcutta. Here he set to work to drill troops in European 
 fashion, manufacture muskets, and cast cannon. He also ob- 
 tained the confirmation of his nabobship from the emperor OF 
 promising an annual tribute of twenty-four lacs.* This made 
 good his title in native eyes. 
 
 The dispute between the council and their nominee began in 
 differences about the dues on merchandise. By imperial firman 
 the goods of the company were to pass duty free. But the 
 English claimed the same privilege for the private inland trade, 
 by which they swelled their nominal incomes into immense 
 fortunes. Not only the company's servants, but their servants 
 again did the same. Any attempt on the part of the nabob's 
 officers to levy duty was resisted by force. In this way, all the 
 trade of the country was passing into English hands, the native 
 merchants were being ruined, and the public revenue was robbed. 
 But the council was inflexible. They would give up none of 
 their claims ; they would only consent as a favour, instead of 
 the nine per cent, claimed on everything, to give two and a half 
 per cent, on salt alone. The nabob met this by abolishing all 
 duties whatever, thus placing his own people on the same level 
 as the English. The council then peremptorily insisted on the 
 duties being reimposed on native merchants. Anything more 
 selfish and iniquitous it would be hard to conceive. A cui-ious 
 circumstance is that this private trade was carried on in defiance 
 of express and repeated orders from the Court of Directors at 
 home. But at the same time a great deal of the blame for the 
 state of things that had arisen rested on the directors themselves, 
 who gave their servants abroad inadequate salaries, and provided 
 no substitute or compensation for the profitable trade on which 
 they laid their veto. The same cause explains the large presents, 
 each one a fortune, which the members of council and military 
 officers were accustomed to receive from native princes. Every 
 new appointment was the occasion of vast largesses. It is 
 difficult not to believe that there would have been fewer depo- 
 
 A lac of rupees= 10,000.
 
 BATTLE OF BUXAR. 31 
 
 sitions and new creations but for this motive. Mr. Mill quotes 
 from a statement of a Committee of the House of Commons in 
 1773, that the amount received in this way by individuals 
 exceeded 2,000,000, in addition to nearly 4,000,000 to the 
 company and individuals under the name of compensation. 
 Clive himself after Plassey received about a quarter of a million, 
 besides a jaghire worth three lacs a year. When this was made 
 ground of accusation, he said that he only wondered at his own 
 moderation in his position. 
 
 War at last broke out. The English, of course, were victorious, 
 although in the battle of Gheria, August 2nd, 1763, the 
 nabob's new discipline told heavily against them. Meer Cossim 
 then turned round on his pursuers like a wounded tiger, and 
 wreaked a savage revenge. Ramnarain, the wealthy and high- 
 spirited governor of Patna, whom Mr. Vansittart had weakly 
 and in violation of distinct pledges abandoned to the nabob's 
 mercy, he threw into the Ganges, along with others supposed to 
 be favourable to the English cause. More than this, he had in 
 his power the whole of the English factory at Patna, numbering 
 forty-eight officers, civil and military, and one hundred soldiers. 
 These had actually seized Patna, and might have held it safely ; 
 but, scattering in different directions to plunder, they were driven 
 out again. Cut off from Calcutta by Monghir, which lay be- 
 tween, they tried to make their way into Oude, but were obliged 
 to surrender themselves prisoners. The nabob ordered them all 
 to be put to death in cold blood. His officers refused to obey, say- 
 ing that they were soldiers, not butchers. But a European ad- 
 venturer who went by the name of Somru,* undertook the deed, 
 and the unarmed prisoners were shot down or hacked to pieces to 
 the last man. Meer Cossim takes his place for savage cruelty 
 beside Suraja Dowlah and Nana Sahib. The two murderers then 
 fled to the nabob- vizier of Oude, who invaded Bengal with a force 
 of fifty thousand men. He was attacked at Buxar by Major 
 Munro on October 23rd, 1764, and routed, his entire camp being 
 
 Some accounts make him a Frenchman, and call him Walter 
 Raymond ; others a German, and call him Walter Reinhardt.
 
 32 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 taken as it stood. The battle of Buxar is only second in import- 
 ance to that of Plassey, seven years earlier. The last bulwark of 
 native authority -was now broken down, and north India lay at 
 the feet of the English. Emperor, nabob, vizier had all been 
 crushed. The vizier was anxious for peace, but .the English 
 insisted as the first condition upon the surrender of Meer Cossim 
 and Somru. The first took refuge with the Rohillas. As to 
 the second, the vizier's conscience would not permit him to 
 surrender a guest ; but he offered to invite him to a feast and 
 slay him there before any one whom the English might depute 
 as a witness, an offer which was declined. 
 
 Before the battle of Buxar Major Munro had to contend 
 with a mutiny among his own sepoys. Their long course of 
 victory had filled them with a sense of power, and, with arms 
 in their hands, they demanded increased pay, which was refused. 
 A battalion then deserted, intending to join the enemy. They 
 were pursued and brought back. Twenty-four of the ring- 
 leaders were tried by their own officers and condemned to death. 
 After four had been blown away from guns, the European 
 officers of the sepoys reported that their men were determined 
 to allow no more executions. Major Munro loaded his guns 
 with grape, placed his European troops in the intervals of the 
 guns, and ordered the sepoys to ground arms, threatening to 
 fire if a single man disobeyed. The order was obeyed, the 
 executions went on, and all danger passed away. It would have 
 been well for India, if Major Munro's promptitude and firmness 
 had always been imitated. 
 
 On Meer Cossim's defection the English again set up Meer 
 Jaffier, 1764. He could do nothing but confirm all his prede- 
 cessor's grants, adding gifts and compensation-money to the 
 amount of fifty-three lacs, besides promising five lacs a month 
 towards the expenses of the war. But his troubles did not last 
 much longer ; he died in January, 1765, at the age of seventy- 
 five. Mr. Vansittart had retired from the scene ; Clive was on 
 his way out ; but the acting governor, Mr. Spencer, without 
 waiting for his arrival, at once appointed a new nabob, Nujum- 
 ad-Dowlah, a youth twenty years old. It is impossible not to
 
 CLIVERS SECOND PERIOD. 33 
 
 suspect that the haste had a mercenary motive. At the same 
 time a deputy nabob was appointed, which formed a new occa- 
 sion for presents, and the English took the military affairs of 
 the country under their own direction. Naturally, the nabob 
 looked upon his deputy, who wielded the substantial power, as 
 his rival, and began to plot for his removal. It was time for a 
 master to appear on the scene. 
 
 Lord Clive was appointed as the only man capable of dealing 
 with the crisis, and arrived in May, 1765. He was armed with 
 ample authority for the work expected of him. The ordinary 
 council was superseded by a special select committee of five 
 persons, in whom, along with the governor, supreme power was 
 vested. Practically, Clive was dictator. In his letters home he 
 gave a terrible picture of the disorganization and universal cor- 
 ruption prevailing. He first settled the external relations of the 
 company. To the Nabob of Oude, whose wanton aggression had 
 been rewarded by utter defeat, he restored his country with the 
 exception of two districts reserved for the emperor. No one 
 was more astonished at this generosity than the nabob himself ; 
 but Olive's course was dictated less by generosity than policy. 
 In all his letters home he insisted earnestly that the English 
 should not dream of extending their views beyond Bengal, 
 Behar, and Orissa, just as formerly he had restricted them to 
 Calcutta and its environs. As to the emperor, Clive formally 
 accepted from him the dewanship, i.e., financial administration, 
 of the three provinces named. This had been repeatedly offered 
 before, but declined. Now the time had come to consent. The 
 formal investiture took place August 12th, 1765, and the cere- 
 mony was a strange parody on former memories. Clive's tent 
 served for a palace, and a chair on two tables joined together 
 for an imperial throne. In this sorry state Shah Alum, the 
 heir of Akbar and Aurungzib, transferred to the English 
 twenty-five millions of people and 4,000,000 of revenue. He 
 could scarcely be so blind as not to see that he was virtually 
 transferring his crown to the foreigner. To the Nabob of 
 Bengal fifty-three lacs of revenue were assigned for his court 
 and the judicial administration of the country. The worthless 
 
 D
 
 34 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 youth danced for joy at the news. ' Thank God ! ' he said ; ' I 
 shall now have as many dancing-girls as I like.' 
 
 Clive next turned his attention to internal questions. The 
 company's servants were all compelled to sign covenants* re- 
 nouncing private trade ; but Clive did not enforce this without 
 providing compensation. He formed a company for carrying 
 on the trade in certain articles, in the profits of which the com- 
 pany's servants were to share according to their rank, as in prize- 
 money. This was manifestly a cumbrous arrangement which 
 could not last long ; but for the time it lessened the abuses 
 which had so deeply dishonoured the English name. 
 
 He encountered greater difficulties in enforcing military re- 
 ductions. The extra allowance made to officers on campaign in 
 India is called batta. Since the battle of Plassey the nabobs 
 had doubled the usual amount. As long as the expense fell on 
 others, the company said nothing ; but now that peace pre- 
 vailed they insisted on double butta being stopped. The officers 
 all united to resist, and resigned in a body. They thought that, 
 with the Mahrattas threatening on the border, Clive must yield, 
 and double batta be made permanent. Clive accepted the resig- 
 nations, offered commissions to others, and sent for a supply 
 of officers from Madras. The officers soon begged permission to 
 recall their resignations. The danger was the greatest that had 
 yet arisen, but Clive was equal to it. His iron will and daunt- 
 less courage were never more severely tested than on this occa- 
 sion. The young nabob died in May, 1766, and another was 
 appointed ; but the change scarcely deserves record. 
 
 In May, 1767, Clive was compelled by ill health finally to 
 return home ; he was only forty-one. With one exception the 
 British empire in India has produced no greater man than its 
 founder. Pitt called him ' a heaven-born general ' ; it is just as 
 true that he was a heaven-born ruler. On his return home he 
 was ruthlessly attacked by those whose crimes and misdeeds 
 he had exposed and punished. We are profoundly thankful to 
 
 Hence the phrase, the Covenanted Service, as applied to the Civil 
 Service.
 
 AFFAIRS IN MADRAS. 35 
 
 be able to say that the House of Commons refused to endorse 
 charges prompted by malice and revenge, and passed a resolution 
 in recognition of his great services ; but the malignity of his 
 enemies so preyed on his spirits as to drive him to suicide in 
 1774. The difference between his fate and that of Lally is 
 that the latter was the work of the government, while the 
 former was the work of private enemies. 
 
 The interim governors of Bengal between 1767 and 1772 
 were Messrs. Verelst and Cartier, efficient administrators for the 
 time. During this period the scheme of double government 
 devised bore a crop of evil effects. The administration of ju&tice 
 was in one set of hands, the collection of the revenue in another. 
 The English could not legally punish the excesses of their native 
 officials, the nabob's officers durst not. It is easy to see what 
 opportunity was given for injustice and oppression ; but prob- 
 ably the blessing of peace was a compensation for the evils 
 incident to this time of transition. Though Bengal was spared 
 the ravages of war, in 1770 it was desolated by a terrible famine, 
 in which, it is said, a third of the population perished. 
 
 Meanwhile, Madras passed through a period of mismanage- 
 ment and weakness even more pitiable than Bengal had wit- 
 nessed. The governors and members of council were well 
 adapted for the management of a commercial establishment, but 
 as little fitted to conduct affairs of State as some of the Bengal 
 authorities just referred to. Directly that they had succeeded 
 in establishing Mohammed Ali in the nabobship they found 
 themselves in this difficulty, that while the defence of the Car- 
 natic devolved on them the revenues were in the nabob's hands ; 
 they were therefore obliged to demand from the latter fifty lacs 
 of rupees towards past expenses. His plan for raising the 
 amount was intensely characteristic of the ways of native princes 
 at that time. He had a standing dispute with the Raja of 
 Tanjore, and proposed that the English should join him in an 
 attack on that country, which was wealthy and had suffered 
 little from invasion. The English could not, and would not, 
 agree to the proposal ; instead, they offered themselves as 
 arbitrators, and mulcted the Tanjore prince in twenty-two lacs
 
 36 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 for the past, four as a present, and four as tribute. This went 
 to pay the nabob's debts to Madras. Gradually the revenues 
 of the Carnatic passed into English hands ; but for many years 
 the English were in financial difficulty, and the interests of the 
 country suffered. 
 
 By the Treaty of Paris, 1763, the French received back their 
 old settlements in India, their nominee, Salabut Jung, was ac- 
 knowledged Viceroy of the Deckan, and Mohammed AH, Nabob 
 of the Carnatic. But Salabut Jung had been deposed, and his 
 place usurped two years before by his brother Nizam Ali, who, 
 directly that he heard of the treaty, took 'care that his brother 
 should gain nothing by it by having him put to death. Thus 
 the treaty, made in ignorance at home, was the unwitting cause 
 of Salabut's death. It is from this fratricide that the present 
 ruler of Hyderabad derives his title of nizam. 
 
 But this period was especially memorable as having sown 
 the seeds of enmity between the English and Hyder Ali, the 
 new sovereign of the Mysore country, which from the Ghauts 
 looks down upon the Carnatic. Hyder was the most dangerous 
 and implacable enemy the English ever had in India. His 
 career was only less extraordinary than that of Sivaji, the 
 founder of the Mahratta power in the previous century. He was 
 the son of a peon, or policeman. Entering the service of the 
 Hindu Raja of Mysore, he gradually rose, by combined craft and 
 force, to be the most powerful man in the kingdom, and then 
 took his master's place. His resources of cunning and audacity 
 were boundless. Once, when utterly defeated by the Hindu 
 prime minister, Nunjiraja, he suddenly presented himself un- 
 armed and alone before him as a suppliant for forgiveness. 
 Nunjiraja fell into the trap, and soon Hyder was as powerful as 
 ever. At another time, when hard pressed by the Hindu forces, 
 he caused letters bearing Nunjiraja's seal to fall in the opposing 
 general's way, hinting at treachery among the troops. The gen- 
 eral was so alarmed that he fled, whereupon Hyder attacked 
 the troops left without a leader and won an easy victory. After- 
 wards, he invited Nunjiraja to his capital under security of an 
 oath on the Koran to do him no harm, and then threw him into
 
 HYDER ALL 37 
 
 prison for life, justifying the treachery by declaring that the 
 book on which the oath was taken was not the Koran but a 
 bundle of old leaves. It was in 1761 that he felt himself strong 
 enough to sweep aside the Hindu dynasty. Presenting him- 
 self at the capital, he sent to the raja to say, that large sums 
 were due to Hyder by the State, and ought to be liquidated ; 
 after the payment of these arrears, if the raja should be pleased 
 to continue him in his service, well ; if not, Hyder would depart 
 and seek his fortune elsewhere. The raja understood the 
 polite intimation, and was glad to escape with his life and a 
 pension. Hyder's troops were scarcely inferior to the Mahrattas 
 in the skill with which they plundered and devastated a country. 
 Though their master could neither read nor write, his powers of 
 mental calculation were such that it was useless for his officers 
 to try to deceive him as to the amount of plunder. In his 
 wars with the Mahrattas, who frequently overwhelmed him by 
 mere weight of numbers, his affairs were often reduced to des- 
 peration, but he never failed to extricate himself and repair his 
 losses. 
 
 It was this ambitious and able monarch whom want of know- 
 ledge, tact, and foresight in the Madras authorities, rather than 
 design, converted into a bitter foe to the English name. It can- 
 not be denied that Hyder had ground of complaint which, with 
 a barbarian who only knows one way of settling a dispute, meant 
 ground of war. In the treaty with the nizam made in 1766, 
 in which the Madras government weakly promised to pay the 
 nizam tribute for the Northern Sircars, although on the memor- 
 able August 12th, 1765, the emperor had given the English on 
 Olive's demand the dewanship of those territories, as far as 
 he could give anything, they also engaged to furnish the nizam 
 with two infantry battalions and six guns, ' to settle, in everything 
 right and proper, the affairs of his highness' government.' In 
 dealing with European powers such a stipulation might matter 
 little, but with a faithless Oriental prince it worked untold evil. 
 At this very time the nizam was arranging with the Mahrattas 
 an attack on Hyder, which took place, the English furnishing 
 the promised contingent. Thus, the first attack was made by
 
 38 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 the English, not by Hyder, and it was wholly unprovoked. The 
 only excuse which can be made for the Madras government is 
 that they did not know what they were doing. 
 
 The moment Hyder had settled with his assailants he prepared 
 to take hij revenge on the English, and to make it complete he 
 gained the nizam as his ally for a considei'ation of twenty lacs 
 of rupees, and six lacs as tribute. Indeed, while the English were 
 actually in the field helping the nizam, it was discovered that 
 that worthy, while protesting fidelity, was arranging to go over 
 to Hyder ; whereupon the English officer, Colonel Smith, with- 
 drew with most of his force. In 1767 Hyder and the nizam 
 invaded the Carnatic together. Their force included forty-two 
 thousand cavalry, twenty-eight thousand infantry, and one hun- 
 dred guns. Colonel Smith commanded only one thousand and 
 thirty cavalry, fifty-eight thousand foot, and sixteen guns. 
 Against such odds in a battle at Changama, September 3rd, he 
 held his own, but was afterwards obliged to retreat through 
 want of provisions, of which Mohammed Ali had charge. At 
 Trinomalee, however, he fought a two days' battle with the 
 allies, and utterly routed them, taking sixty-four guns and in- 
 flicting a loss ^f four thousand men. The nizam at once re- 
 treated from the country, and Hyder was soon after recalled t< 
 the western coast. Two incidents illustrate Hyder's tactics 
 The native guide employed with the officer sent in pursuit after 
 the battle of Trinomalee led the troops into a swamp, and turned 
 out to be a spy of Hyder's. At the same time Hyder sent his 
 son Tippu, then a youth seventeen years old, at the head of five 
 thousand light horse, to carry terror into the residences of the 
 English near Madras. Had not the troops been so intent on 
 plunder, they could easily have captured the President and 
 Council in a body, and thus ended the war at a stroke. 
 
 It seems scarcely credible that in 1768 the English renewed the 
 former treaty with the nizam, of whose treacheiy they had just 
 had such conspicuous proof ; but such is the fact. The nizam had 
 been worsted, his capital was threatened by an English force sent 
 from Bengal, he would gladly have agreed to anything ; yet, 
 with the exception of a slight reduction in the tribute from the
 
 VICTORY OF HYDER. 39 
 
 English, the treaty stood as it did before, even to the supply of 
 an English contingent. The directors at home might well write : 
 ' We cannot take a view of yonr conduct from the commence- 
 ment of your negotiations for the Sircars, without the strongest 
 disapprobation : and when we see the opulent fortunes acquired 
 by our servants since that period, it gives but too much weight 
 to the public opinion, that this rage for negotiations, treaties 
 and alliances has private advantage for its object more than the 
 public good.' 
 
 In the same year the Madras government resolved to carry 
 the war into the Mysore country instead of waiting for the 
 Carnatic to be devastated by Hyder. This was wise policy, if 
 it had been wisely carried out. But the commissariat was again 
 entrusted to Mohammed Ali, and failed ; and still worse, two 
 members of council were attached to Colonel Smith's force to 
 control the operations, a fatuous course in face of a leader like 
 Hyder. However, in spite of difficulties, Colonel Smith made 
 such progress in capturing forts and passes, that Hyder sought 
 peace ; but the terms demanded by the President and Council 
 were such that Hyder preferred to risk everything rather than 
 accept them. 
 
 Victory now changed sides. The English were obliged, 
 chiefly through the utter neglect of Mohammed Ali and the mis- 
 takes of the 'deputies,' to raise the siege of Bangalore, Hyder 
 again carried fire and sword into the Carnatic ; Colonel Smith 
 was superseded, and almost immediately reappointed. Hyder 
 saw his opportunity, and, repeating his former tactics, brought 
 the war to an end by a bold and masterly stroke. The English 
 force lay between Hyder and the Mysore ; but this did not mean 
 starvation to Hyder, as an Eastern force lives on the country it 
 invades ; it simply meant that Hyder was nearer Madras than 
 Colonel Smith. He sent his infantry, guns and plunder by a 
 circuitous route back to Mysore, the English not daring to pur- 
 sue while Hyder remained behind. He then put himself at the 
 head of six thousand select horse, marched one hundred and 
 thirty miles in three days and a half, and on March 29th, 1769, 
 appeared at St. Thomas, close to Madras. Hence he sent two
 
 40 
 
 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 demands : first, the instant despatch of an order to Colonel 
 Smith, who was following hard in the rear, to halt, thus paralyz- 
 ing the English force ; secondly, that the governor should repair 
 to his camp to conclude peace. Madras lay at his mercy ; he 
 could have plundered and destroyed the whole town outside the 
 fort and departed before the arrival of help. The two condi- 
 tions of the peace, dictated by the invader under the walls of 
 Madras, were mutual restorations of conquests, and an offensive 
 and defensive alliance. Colonel Smith had to lie inactive while 
 the negotiations were settled. Victory and credit alike remained 
 with the enemy. Few more humiliating treaties were ever 
 signed by English officers.
 
 WARREN HASTINGS.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF WAEEEN HASTINGS, 1772-1785 F1ES1' 
 MAHEATTA WAR SECOND MTSOEE WAE. 
 
 ARREN HASTINGS had undergone a twenty 
 years' training for the office to which he was 
 called in 1772, having come to Bengal as a 
 company's clerk in 1750, and climbed step by 
 step to the governor's council. He was the only 
 ^member in Vansittart's time who kept his hands 
 clean of the presents by which the others quickly 
 amassed enormous fortunes, in this respect comparing 
 to advantage with Clive. He was the first and undoubtedly the 
 greatest Governor-general India has ever had. The first : the 
 office was created in 1770 by the act of Parliament which pro- 
 vided a new governing body for India, consisting of a Governor- 
 general at a salary of 25,000 a year, and four councillors at 
 10,000. At the same time a Crown court was established at 
 Calcutta, with a chief justice at 8,000, and three puisne judges 
 feit 6,000. The greatest : under his hands a trading company 
 was organized into an imperial government, which has ever since 
 proceeded substantially on the lines he drew. He had in a con- 
 summate degree the genius for ruling men, of which the Roman 
 empire in ancient ard the British in modern days have furnished 
 perhaps the highest examples. He abolished the double govern- 
 ment, which soon proved itself unworkable, and brought the 
 real rulers face to face with the ruled. He was appointed to 
 work out in detail the resolve of the Directors ' to stand forth as 
 dewan, and to take on themselves the entire care and manage- 
 ment of the revenues through the agency of their own servants.' 
 The treasury was removed from Moorshedabad to Calcutta. 
 The office of deputy-nabob was abolished, and the allowance to 
 the nabob himself reduced from twenty-two to sixteen lacs a
 
 44 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 year. The tribute to the emperor, who was a puppet in the 
 hands of a Mahratta force at Delhi, was discontinued. It was 
 Hastings who established the system of administration by 
 English collectors, which is now universal in India. The 
 collector is an officer with fiscal and judicial jurisdiction over a 
 limited district, from whose decisions there is an appeal to 
 superior courts. In India the government is the proprietor of 
 land, the rent of which forms the chief source of public revenue. 
 The rent is assessed to the ryot or farmer at the annual circuits 
 made by the collector or his officers. The collector is the 
 English substitute for the old zemindar,* who in Mohammedan 
 days collected and often farmed the revenues, and was thus 
 a sort of middle-man between the government and cultivators. 
 Even during Hastings' days many changes were made, as new 
 light was gained, in the mode of collecting the revenue and 
 administering justice. The land question is even a more in- 
 tricate one in India than in the west. 
 
 The mistakes in the endless controversy have mainly arisen 
 from the application of European ideas to a different order of 
 facts. Every one knows that the happiness and prosperity of 
 a nation depend most on wise internal administration. But 
 unfortunately these pages must be chiefly occupied with more 
 exciting topics. 
 
 Warren Hastings had to contend with extraordinary diffi- 
 culties in the council which was appointed to advise and help 
 him. For many years a majority thwarted and outvoted him. 
 on every question small and great, administrative and imperial. 
 The new councillors and judges arrived in 1774, and unfortu- 
 nately brought with them the most violent prejudices against 
 the Governor-general. Mr. Barwell was the only member who 
 supported Hastings. The other three Colonel Monson, General 
 Clavering, Mr. Francis bitterly opposed. The leader was 
 Francis (generally supposed to have been the author of the 
 Letters of Junius), the impersonation of implacable rancour, and 
 a master of virulent invective. The qualifications of the oppo- 
 
 6 A Persian term=landholder.
 
 QUARRELS IN COUNCIL. 45 
 
 sition as against the governor's long and intimate knowledge 
 of the country may be estimated from two facts. Before Francis 
 had been two years in the country he recorded his opinions 
 respecting the ancient customs of India and the measures neces- 
 sary for its prosperity in a voluminous minute, the two main 
 positions being : 1, That the opinion is erroneous which ascribes 
 to the sovereign the property of the land ; 2, That the property 
 in question belongs to the zemindars,* positions as false of 
 India as they are true of Europe. The other fact is, that when 
 the new judges landed at Calcutta, one of them, observing the 
 bare legs and feet of the natives who crowded to the sight, said 
 to his colleague : ' Our court, brother, certainly was not estab- 
 lished before it was needed. I trust we shall not have been six 
 mouths in the country before these victims of oppression are com- 
 fortably provided with shoes and stockings.'f Meeting by meet- 
 ing the controversy raged. Every question had to be referred to 
 the home authorities, who, instead of removing one or the other 
 party, distributed their praise and blame pretty evenly between 
 the two sides. The impression made on the native mind was 
 bad, and the weakness introduced into the action of government 
 great. The opposition acted on the very principles which they 
 blamed in Hastings. While condemning Hastings for ' letting 
 out British troops for hire ' to the Nabob of Oude, and inter- 
 fering in politics outside the British limits, they continued the 
 arrangement with the nabob, and gave to British territory 
 the only addition it received during Hastings' administration, 
 namely, the district of Benares. No one questions that all the 
 dignity was on the side of the Governor-general. Francis and 
 his friends wished to bring natives into the council to accuse 
 the governor to his face of bribery. ' I know,' he replied, ' what 
 belongs to the dignity and character of the first member of this 
 administration, and I will not sit at this board in the character 
 of a criminal,' and dissolved the meeting ; whereupon the 
 majority affected to try and condemn him in his absence. He 
 was then accused of opposing inquiry ; but he only opposed 
 
 6 Mill, vol. iv., p. 4. j- Marshman, part i., ch. xiii.
 
 46 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 inquiry in the wrong place. Pecuniary corruption was the last 
 charge which should have been brought against him ; the few 
 gifts he did receive were applied to the necessities of the State. 
 
 The execution of Nuncomar in 1775 was long regarded as a 
 dark stain on the fame of Hastings. Nuncomar, a Brahmin in- 
 triguer and peculator as unprincipled as Omichund, was one of 
 those who were instigated to come forward as the governor's 
 accusers. At the very time he was doing this he was arrested 
 on a charge of forgery, tried, and hanged. The execution was 
 certainly unjust, because forgery, though at that time a capital 
 crime by English law, was not so by Hindu law. But, notwith- 
 standing the coincidence in time, Hastings was never shown to 
 have any connection with the case. The case was tried and 
 the sentence passed by the royal judges, who on every occasion 
 took pains to show their independence of the governor and com- 
 pany. The execution made an immense sensation in the country, 
 as by Hindu law a Brahmin cannot be put to death even for mur- 
 der. The judges must by this time have lost the tender consider- 
 ation for native feelings which they professed a year before. 
 
 Nothing can be farther from our wish than to represent 
 Hastings as always in the right. On the contrary, his proceed- 
 ings were often high-handed, arbitrary, pei^baps unjust. His 
 action in the Rohilla w r ar early in his administration looks very 
 like letting out British troops for the sake of gain. By this 
 means the Nabob of Oude, who had once invaded our territories, 
 was able to crush ont his enemies. We only say that allowance 
 must be made for the difficulties in which he was placed. He 
 was without precedents to guide him ; he had great under- 
 takings on hand, and was constantly at his wit's end for means 
 to support them ; he had no imperial credit upon which to fall 
 back. A great deal of the blame belongs to the home authori- 
 ties, who left the powers of the different factors in the govern- 
 ment in such a loose, undefined state ; the limits between the 
 three Presidencies were left unsettled, which gave rise to much 
 confusion and mistake. With trifling exceptions, the home 
 authorities never went beyond verbal condemnation of any of 
 Hastings' acts, tbey never gave back any advantage which his
 
 FIRST MAHRATTA WAR. 47 
 
 measures had gained for them. In 1776 Hastings obtained a 
 majority by the death of Colonel Monson. This was disturbed 
 for a brief period by a new appointment; but General Clavering's 
 death in 1777, after an insane attempt to set himself up as a 
 rival Governor-general, again threw the balance the other way. 
 The personal hostility between Hastings and Francis issued in a 
 duel in 1780. The latter was wounded, and returned to Europe. 
 But we have anticipated the history. 
 
 It was at this time that the English first came into collision 
 with the celebrated Mahratta power, whose capital was Poona, 
 in the west. The history of the rise and growth of that power 
 is one as full of romantic vicissitude as any in the world, but it 
 lies outside our subject. We have already intimated that the 
 Mahratta state grew and flourished by levying blackmail on 
 surrounding states. The only question ever considered was its 
 own power and the weakness of others ; for it might was the 
 only right. No state was ever so ready to attack and at the 
 same time so difficult to injure in return as the Mahratta, and 
 none consequently gave the English such trouble. When attacked, 
 it yielded to the blow like the wave to the oar, and as quickly 
 rose again. Sivaji's successor, the raja, soon became a cipher, 
 little better than a state prisoner in the hill fort of Satara, 
 although everything was still done in his name ; but the real 
 power was in the hands of the peshwa, or prime minister, who 
 played over again the part of the French mayors of the palace, and 
 whose office was hereditary. At this time there was a civil war 
 respecting the office of peshwa, for which there were two claim- 
 ants : Baghoba, who was strongly suspected of having murdered 
 his nephew, the last peshwa ; and an infant, whose rights were 
 maintained by a regency. Berar and Guzerat were in the hands of 
 Mahratta families. Scindia and Holkar were Mahratta chieftains. 
 
 It must be admitted that the Mahratta war arose in the first 
 instance from our interference in Mahratta affairs for our own 
 ends. The Bombay Presidency was anxious to obtain the port 
 of Bassein and the small island of Salsette, which faces Bombay. 
 These were in the hands of the Mahrattas, and were as useless 
 to them as they were important to us ; but the Mahrattas
 
 4 8 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 attached a fanciful value to them, because they had been taken 
 from a European power, the Portuguese. One would think 
 that the right course was for us to wait till the places could be 
 gained by peaceful means. But temptation came, and the Bom- 
 bay government yielded to it. Raghoba sought their help against 
 the regency. One stipulation made at Bombay was the cession 
 of Salsette and Bassein. Even then Raghoba would not at first 
 sign away Mahratta territory ; but afterwards, having been de- 
 feated by the regency, he made the required cession by the treaty 
 of Surat, March, 1775. Meanwhile, the English had taken Salsette 
 by force to save it from falling again into the hands of the Por- 
 tuguese, who were preparing to attack it. The Surat treaty was 
 condemned and annulled by Mr. Francis and the majority in the 
 Calcutta council, who, despite the protests of Bombay, negotiated 
 a new treaty, the treaty of Poorunder, with the opposite party. 
 The court of directors supported the Bombay government. 
 The interference of Francis and his party did incalculable mis- 
 chief, the Mahrattas being crafty enough to profit by this division 
 of counsels. Hastings, while disapproving of the principle of the 
 Surat treaty, thought that it should be upheld. When the direc- 
 tors heard of the second treaty, they enjoined the Bombay authori- 
 ties to abide by it, unless the Mahrattas themselves infringed it. 
 Such acts of infringement were easily found, and in the end a new 
 treaty was made with Raghoba on the lines of the Surat one. 
 
 All that remained was for the English to perform their part 
 of the contract, by establishing Raghoba in authority at Poona. 
 In November, 1778, an expedition, consisting of four thousand 
 men, was despatched under Colonel Egerton for this purpose ; but 
 the leaders were incapable, and the force was paralyzed by divided 
 authority. Bombay followed the evil example of Madras in 
 appointing ' field commissioners.' When the force came within 
 eighteen miles of Poona, the leaders became panic-struck at the 
 unknown dangers before them, and in spite of the protests of 
 Raghoba and of their own subordinate officers, gave the order 
 to retreat. No troops were ever better at harassing a retreating 
 force than the Mahrattas, and but for the valour of a young 
 officer, Captain Hartley, under whose orders the sepoys fought
 
 CAPTURE OF GWALIOR. 49 
 
 like heroes, the force would scarcely have escaped destruction. 
 The only way of escape which the commissioners could discover 
 was by signing the treaty of Wurgaum, promising to give up 
 all the British acquisitions since 1773. Two English gentle- 
 men were even given as hostages. Hastings might well call 
 it ' an infamous convention, which it would be worth millions to 
 obliterate.' Its authors were dismissed the service. 
 
 British honour found a vindicator in Colonel Goddard, who 
 led a force of several thousand men from Bengal to Bombay, a 
 march of one thousand miles through alien territories. He re- 
 ceived the greatest hospitality from the Raja of Bhopal, whose 
 successors have ever been loyal allies of the English. The ma- 
 haranee is a member of the order of the Star of India. At 
 one point in his long march he received orders by letter from 
 the Bombay ' field commissioners ' to return to Bengal. He 
 replied that he was under the orders of Bengal, and marched 
 forward three hundred miles in nineteen days. Colonel Goddard 
 was directed to negotiate a new treaty, and on the refusal of 
 the Regency began war. He first attacked and defeated the 
 forces of the guickwar in Guzerat, capturing the splendid 
 city of Ahmedabad, February, 1780. He then inflicted two 
 defeats on Scindia. The dominions of the latter were also at- 
 tacked on the Bengal side by Major Popham, as brilliant a 
 soldier as Goddard. It was on this occasion that he took Scindia's 
 fort of Gwalior, which all India had regarded as impregnable. 
 The height to be climbed by ladders was a scarp of sixteen feet, 
 a rock of forty, and a wall of thirty. But Captain Bruce and 
 twenty sepoys were on the battlements before they were dis- 
 covered, and the garrison fled. The exploit filled all India, and 
 the Mahrattas especially, with terror. Scindia was thus recalled 
 from the west to defend his own dominions. Popham's successor 
 in command began to retreat, and would have repeated the disaster 
 at Wurgaum ; but Bruce advised a night attack on Scindia's 
 camp, which was perfectly successful, March, 1781. Just at the 
 same time, Goddard had failed in a march upon Poona, the only 
 failure in his career. Holkar, with twenty-five thousand horse, 
 harassed his retreat, but did nothing more. The Mahrattas were 
 
 S
 
 50 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 not a little elated by their victory over a soldier like Goddard. 
 Before this Colonel Hartley had cleared the Concan country, i.e., 
 the country below the upper western ghauts, of the Mahratta 
 armies, after sustaining an attack from twenty thousand of their 
 horse for two days, and Goddard had taken Bassein. Colonel 
 Hartley's services were never rewarded. 
 
 Scindia's defeats had made him anxious for peace. Peace 
 was also essential to the English, whose resources were strained 
 to the utmost by the war with Hyder Ali in the south. On 
 the seventeenth of May, 1782, the treaty of Salbye was signed, 
 although the Mahrattas did not finally ratify it until December, 
 when Hyder's death put an end to all their hopes of success in a 
 united crusade against the English. The result of the first Mah- 
 ratta war was that the English retained Salsette, a dear pui'chase, 
 and Raghoba was not instated as peshwa. 
 
 The Mahrattas and Hyder had united to expel the English 
 from India. The failure of the first was the result of their 
 hopeless internal dissensions. Hyder had no such difficulty to 
 contend with. For years he had been bringing his kingdom into 
 order, fortifying his capital and training his army under the 
 direction of French officers, forming leagues with French and 
 Mahrattas ; and then, when all was ready, he hurled himself upon 
 Madras. The blow he struck was the most terrible hitherto 
 dealt at the British power. The wonder still is that it failed. 
 Technically, Hyder had some grounds of complaint. When 
 called upon, in fulfilment of the offensive and defensive alliance, 
 to help him against the Mahratta invaders, the Madras govern- 
 ment always refused. An English force once threatened to march 
 across a corner of his territories without leave. The Madras 
 government, after capturing Pondicherry, in pursuance of a 
 sentimental wish to extinguish French influence, sent a force to 
 take Mahe, a small French settlement on the west coast, which 
 Hyder regarded as under his special protection, and which was 
 no doubt important to him as his only remaining link of connec- 
 tion with France. But these reasons were of course mere pretexts. 
 His fixed idea was that the British power and his own could not 
 coexist in India. A large French force, under the command of
 
 DESTRUCTION OF AN ENGLISH FORCE. 51 
 
 the veteran Bussy, was actually sent to Hyder's assistance, but 
 was greatly delayed on its way. Had it arrived in time, the 
 result might have been different. It only reached the Coromandel 
 Coast in April, 1783, several months after Hyder's death. 
 
 The army with which Hyder burst upon the Carnatic in July, 
 1780, was the best appointed that south India had ever seen. It 
 consisted of one hundred thousand horse and foot, many of 
 them trained and led by French officers, and an equally well- 
 trained artillery of one hundred pieces. He had, besides, a 
 corps of four hundred Europeans under the command of M. 
 Lally, who was also one of his leading advisers. 
 
 The invasion came upon Madras like a thunderclap out of a 
 clear sky. Nothing was prepared. The governor, Sir Thomas 
 llumbold, and the commander, Sir Hector Munro, the victor of 
 Buxar, knew nothing of Hyder's preparations and laughed at all 
 warnings until the enemy had actually plundered Conjeveram, 
 only fifty miles away, and sent his scouts as far as St. Thomas. 
 The Madras council had been wasting its time in quarrels still less 
 dignified and more violent than those in Calcutta. The former 
 governor, Lord Pigot, had been arrested. The present governor, 
 with two members of the council, were soon afterwards dismissed 
 the service for corruption and disobedience to orders. What 
 the country suffered during the two years that the invasion lasted, 
 it would be impossible to describe. Strange to say, Hyder's cause 
 was popular with the people of the country. The English could, 
 learn nothing of the movements of the enemy, while everything 
 that went on in the English camp was well known to Hyder, 
 our spies and guides being in his pay. No better proof could be 
 given of the oppressive character of the government of the nabob, 
 whom we supported. 
 
 At the time of the invasion one-third of the English force, two 
 thousand eight hundi-ed men, was actually away in the Northern 
 Sircars under Colonel Baillie. Munro had with him five 
 thousand two hundred men. Orders were sent to Baillie to 
 join the main body at Conjeveram. Then began a series of mis- 
 takes on the side of both Baillie and Munro, which resulted in the 
 annihilation of Bailiie's force. The former, in his march south- 
 
 E 2
 
 52 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 ward to join Munro, unfortunately encamped on the northern 
 side of a stream, which rose in the night and detained him 
 nearly a fortnight. The latter, when Baillie was hotly engaged 
 with a strong force under Tippu, Hyder's son, instead of moving 
 his whole army to support him sent a detachment of one thousand 
 one hundred men under Colonel Fletcher, which only weakened 
 his own force and swelled the subsequent disaster. Munro indeed 
 alleged that it was impossible for him to move for want of food 
 and carriage ; but afterwards, when Baillie and Fletcher had 
 advanced to within a couple of miles of Conjeveram and were 
 fighting for life with the whole of Hyder's army, Munro did 
 nothing. By falling on the enemy's rear, he might have won an 
 easy victory. Baillie's great error was in halting on the night 
 of September 9th, instead of continuing his march. The result 
 was that next day every man in his force was killed or captured 
 within sight of Conjeveram, and Hyder won his only victory in 
 the field. Our comfort is that every man of the devoted host, 
 officer and private, English and sepoy, did his duty. 
 
 ' Nothing ever exceeded the steadiness and determination 
 with which this handful of men sustained the fury of their 
 enemies. No effort could break their order, while sepoys as 
 well as Europeans repeatedly presented and recovered arms with 
 as much coolness and regularity as if they had been exhibiting 
 on parade. When the heroic bravery of this little band presented 
 so fair a prospect of baffling the host of their assailants, two of 
 their tumbrils blew up, which, not only made a large opening in 
 both lines, but at once deprived them of ammunition and over- 
 turned and disabled their guns. Their fire was now in a great 
 measure silenced, and their lines were no longer entire ; yet so 
 great was the awe which they inspired, that the enemy durst 
 not immediately close. From half after seven a.m. when the 
 tumbrils blew up, they remained exposed to the fire of the 
 cannons and rockets, losing great numbers of officers and men, 
 till nine o'clock, when Hyder with his whole army came round 
 the right flank. The cavalry charged in separate columns, while 
 bodies of infantry, interspersed between them, poured in volleys 
 of musketry with dreadful effect. After the sepoys were almost
 
 HEROIC RESISTANCE OF BAILLIE. 53 
 
 all destroyed, Colonel Baillie, though severely wounded, rallied 
 the Europeans who survived. Forming a square and gaining a 
 little eminence, without ammunition, and almost all wounded, 
 the officers fighting with their swords, the men with their 
 bayonets, they repelled thirteen attacks, many of the men when 
 desperately wounded disdaining to receive quarter, and raising 
 themselves from the ground to meet the enemy with their 
 bayonets. Though not more than four hundred men, they still 
 desired to be led on, and to cut their way through the enemy. 
 But Baillie, despairing now of being relieved by Munro, and 
 wishing no doubt to spare the lives of the brave men who sur- 
 rounded him, deemed it better to hold up a flag of truce. The 
 enemy at first treated this with contempt. After a few minutes, 
 the men were ordered to lay down their arms, with intimation 
 that quarter would be given. Yet they had no sooner surren- 
 dered, than the savages rushed upon them with unbridled fury ; 
 and had it not been for the great exertions of Lally, Pimoran, 
 and other French officers, who implored for mercy, not a man of 
 them probably would have been spared. The gallant Fletcher 
 was among those who lay on the field of battle. About two hun- 
 dred Europeans were taken prisoners, reserved to the horrors of 
 a captivity more terrible than death. The inhuman treatment 
 which they received was deplored and mitigated by the French 
 officers in the service of Hyder, with a generosity which did 
 honour to European education.'* The next day Munro set out 
 on his retreat to Madras, a body of the enemy pursuing and 
 cutting off stragglers. Had Hyder acted with his usual vigour, 
 a still greater disaster must have been the result. 
 
 Hastings saw that if Madras was to be saved, it must be 
 by other hands. He suspended Mr. Whitehall, the acting 
 governor. ' The creature,' Hastings said, ' made some show of 
 resistance.' He despatched every soldier and rupee he could 
 spare, and, above all, sent Sir Eyre Coote to the scene of his early 
 triumphs. The treasure for the support of the troops was to be 
 under the general's management. But these supplies were soon 
 
 Mill, vol. iv., p. 134.
 
 54 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 exhausted ; and Coote's forces were always too few, ill provisioned 
 and crippled for want of carriage. The nabob, whose country 
 we were defending, did less than help. While our troops were 
 on half rations, his officers sold the provisions collected for their 
 support, and remitted the proceeds to his private purse. His 
 own brother betrayed Chandrajiri Fort to the enemy for a con- 
 sideration. ' The venality and political profligacy of the nabob's 
 court, unmatched in India, was the constant theme of Coote's 
 indignant remonstrances.'* At last he was compelled to resign 
 the revenues to the company for a period of five years. 
 
 Early in 1781 Arcot was taken by the enemy, and Wande- 
 wash would have shared the same fate but for the skill and 
 heroism of Lieutenant Flint, whose only reward was ' the ap- 
 plause of Sir Eyre Coote, whose admiration of the resources 
 which had been employed knew no bounds.' Hyder's plan was 
 to avoid pitched battles, and gradually get the forts and whole 
 country into his hands, leaving the English nothing but Madras, 
 which he would then besiege. Each party manoeuvred, one to 
 bring on, the other to avoid, a battle, and the stronger force 
 generally succeeded. Aggression on Coote's part was out of the 
 question ; even the battles he fought were really defensive. His 
 position in the presence of superior forces nearly resembled that 
 of Wellington in the Peninsula, and his policy was the same. 
 The battle of Porto Novo was fought July 1st, 1781. Coote had 
 been sharply repulsed in an attack on the fortified temple of 
 Chillumbrum. Hyder was so encouraged by this that, despite 
 warnings from Tippu, he marched towards Cuddalore to seek 
 the English, and took up a strong position with a line of re- 
 doubts in front. The English, marching to the attack, had 
 these redoubts in front, the sea on the right, and some sand- 
 hills on the left. Presently an officer discerned a road through 
 these sand-hills. It turned out afterwards that Hyder had cut 
 this the night before, and intended while the English were 
 attacking the redoubts in front to send his horse by this road 
 and take them in the rear. Coote marched through this road, 
 
 Marshman.
 
 COOT&S CAMPAIGNS. 55 
 
 thus foiling Hyder's scheme. A six hours' severe conflict fol- 
 lowed, in which Hyder was routed and obliged to withdraw from 
 Wandewash and the south. 
 
 The battle of Pollilore followed, August 27th. Colonel 
 Pearce had been on his way with a force from Bengal since 
 January. Not only had his march been delayed by negotiations, 
 but his force had been reduced one-half by cholera ; yet in July 
 he had reached Pulicat, forty miles north of Madras. Hyder 
 sent Tippu to intercept him, hoping to repeat the tactics of a 
 year ago ; but this time he had to deal with Coote, who marched 
 one hundred and fifty miles from Porto Novo to effect a 
 junction with Pearce, and did so on August 2nd. The battle 
 was fought on the scene of Baillie's defeat. Hyder claimed it 
 as a victory ; but it was only undecided, because he had taken 
 up an impregnable position. 
 
 On September 27th Coote won a third victory at Solingur- 
 Coote's object was the relief of Vellore, which was closely be- 
 sieged and reduced to sore straits. Hyder's object was to pre- 
 vent this. This time the enemy was taken by surprise, and only 
 saved his artillery by the reckless sacrifice of his horse. The 
 English loss was less than one hundred, the enemy's five thou- 
 sand. Soon afterwards Coote again made three forced marches 
 to relieve Vellore, and Hyder did not venture to interfere. 
 
 After this no considerable action took place. Owing to the 
 treachery of guides Colonel Braithwaite's corps was cut off in 
 the south as Baillie's had been in the north, after a resistance 
 equally brave. The colonel had only one hundred Europeans, 
 one thousand five hundred sepoys, and three hundred horse. 
 He lay far away from Coote on the Coleroon for the purpose 
 of shielding Tanjore. He was suddenly surrounded by Tippu, 
 with ten thousand horse, ten thousand infantry, and twenty 
 guns, beside four hundred Europeans under M. Lally, before 
 he was aware of the enemy's presence. For two days, from 
 February 16th to 18th, the English and sepoys held their own 
 against such odds. ' They formed themselves into a hollow 
 square, with the artillery interspersed in the faces, and the 
 cavalry in the centre. Tippu laboured, by the fire of his cannon,
 
 56 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 to produce a breach in some of the lines, and as often as he 
 fancied that he had made an impression, urged on his cavalry, 
 by his presence, by promises, by threats, by stripes, and the 
 slaughter of fugitives with his own hand. Repeatedly they 
 advanced to the charge ; as often were they repelled by showers 
 of grape-shot and musketry ; when the English cavalry, issuing 
 from the centre, at intervals suddenly made by disciplined 
 troops, pursued their retreat with great execution. After 
 twenty-six hours of incessant conflict, when great numbers of 
 the English army had fallen, and the rest were worn out with 
 wounds and fatigue, Lally at the head of his four hundred 
 Europeans, supported by a large body of infantry, covered on his 
 flanks by cavalry, advanced with fixed bayonets to the attack. 
 At this tremendous appearance the resolution of the sepoys failed, 
 and they were thrown into confusion. The rage of barbarians 
 was with difficulty restrained by the utmost efforts of a civilized 
 commander. Lally is reported to have dyed his sword in the 
 blood of several of the murderers, before he could draw them 
 off from the carnage. It is remarkable, notwithstanding the 
 dreadful circumstances of this engagement, that out of twenty 
 officers only one was killed and eleven wounded.'* The sur- 
 vivors went to join their comrades in Hyder's dungeons in the 
 Mysore. Mr. Mill, indeed, says that Tippu treated his prisoners 
 with kindness. If so, it was a marked exception to his usual 
 practice. Tippu also captured Cuddalore. 
 
 To one knew better than Hyder that isolated successes like 
 these left him as far from the goal as ever. It is said that he 
 bitterly lamented undertaking hostilities against the English. 
 ' The defeat of many Braithwaites and many Baillies,' he said, 
 ' will not crush them. I may ruin their resources by land, but 
 I cannot dry up the sea ; and I must be exhausted by a war in 
 which I can gain nothing by fighting.' He had been obliged to 
 detach Tippu to the west coast to resist an important diversion 
 effected there by the Bombay army. On December 7th, 1782, 
 his plans were cut short and his extraordinary career closed by 
 
 Mill, vol. iv., p. 173.
 
 PEACE WITH TIPPU. 67 
 
 his death at the age of eighty. The event was carefully con- 
 cealed from the army, and the daily business carried on till 
 Tippu's arrival, the body being embalmed, and sent to Serin- 
 gapatam under an escort as treasure. Tippu at once withdrew 
 nearly the whole of his force from the Carnatic. 
 
 Coote was obliged by ill-health to return to Bengal, and the 
 command fell into the hands of Stuart, whom no efforts of the 
 governor, Lord Macartney, could induce to take advantage of 
 Hyder's death. Bussy had arrived at Cuddalore, and Stuart led 
 to the attack a splendid force of fourteen thousand five hundred 
 men, of whom three thousand were Europeans. Coote had re- 
 turned to take the command, but died two days after his arrival 
 at Madras, April 26th, 1783, idolized by the troops, whom he 
 had so often led to victory. Stuart frittered away time and 
 men, and would probably have ruined the whole expedition, if 
 peace with France had not brought it to an end. Among the 
 prisoners taken in one of the sallies from the town was Berna- 
 dotte, afterwards King of Sweden. Stuart, like Munro, had 
 fought well under Coote, but miserably failed as a leader. So 
 grave was his misconduct that he was put under arrest by the 
 governor. As Stuart had formerly arrested a governor, Lord 
 Pigot, a son of the nabob said sarcastically, ' General Stuart 
 catch one lord ; one lord catch General Stuart.' Since the 
 various naval operations did not affect the result, we have 
 passed them by. 
 
 On the west coast the English had occupied Tellicherry, 
 Mangalore, Onore, and menaced Hyder's strong fort of Palghaut, 
 commanding the chief pass between Malabar and the Mysore. 
 General Matthews had even taken Bednore in the Mysore itself; 
 but it was retaken, and the English officers and men marched 
 off in irons, in violation of the terms of capitulation, to Tippu's 
 dungeons in the Mysore. Tippu once nearly cut off Colonel 
 Humberstone's force. It had come to a deep river ; but Tippu, 
 making sure of his prey, deferred the attack till next day. But 
 in the night the English found a ford, and, though the water 
 reached to their necks, crossed in safety. Tippu then sat down 
 before Mangalore with a force of one hundred thousand men and
 
 BS OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 one hundred guns. The garrison numbered only six hundred 
 and ninety-six Europeans and two thousand eight hundred and 
 fifty sepoys, under Colonel Campbell, of the 42nd Highlanders. 
 Eight months the siege continued. Stones one hundred and 
 fifty pounds' weight were hurled into the town. The garrison 
 beat back every assault, and were reduced to eat horseflesh, 
 dogs, jackals, frogs, snakes, kites, rats, mice. They only sur- 
 rendered on condition of being allowed to march to Tellicherry 
 with arms and all the honours of war. The siege of Manga- 
 lore and the name of Campbell should not be forgotten. 
 
 Tippu's willingness for peace had been increased by the 
 success of a force from Madras under Colonel Fullarton, which 
 had captured the renowned fortress of Palghaut, occupied Coim- 
 batoor, and only waited the word of command to advance on 
 Seringapatam. Instead of this, he was ordered to fall back. 
 Lord Macartney, in ignorance of native character, on his own 
 responsibility sent three commissioners to treat for peace. This 
 was universally regarded in India as a suing for peace on the 
 part of the English, and was so represented by Tippu, who kept 
 the commissioners waiting for months, and would not admit them 
 to his presence till Mangalore had fallen. By way of additional 
 insult he even erected three gibbets in front of their tents. It 
 was these commissioners who stopped Colonel Fullarton's advance, 
 which, if persevered in, would certainly have brought Tippu to 
 terms. The result was to inflame Tippu's arrogance the more 
 and dispose him to another struggle. The peace of Mangalore 
 was signed, March llth, 1784, on the basis of mutual restoration 
 of conquests. Mr. Marshman justly says : ' The treaty was not 
 more disgraceful than those which the governors and council of 
 Madras had been in the habit of making for the last fifteen 
 years.' Tippu's own account was as follows : 'On the occasion 
 of the signature of the treaty, the English commissioners stood 
 with their heads uncovered, and the treaty in their hands for 
 two hours, using every form of flattery and supplication to induce 
 compliance. The vakeels of Poona and Hyderabad united in 
 the most abject entreaties, and his Majesty, the Shadow of Grod, 
 was at length softened into assent.' One hundred and ninety
 
 TRIAL OF HASTINGS. 69 
 
 officers and nine hundred European soldiers were released from 
 the tyrant's dungeons ; but the most distinguished prisoners had 
 been poisoned or hacked to pieces in the woods. 
 
 Much of our weakness and of the wretchedness of the country 
 was owing to our subservience to the nabob, Mohammed Ali, 
 whom a strong government like that in Bengal would have 
 summarily swept aside. All the harm he did was done with 
 the power derived from us. Nothing could be more unjust than 
 our two attacks on the Raja of Tanjore in 1771 and 1773, at the 
 instigation of the nabob, who coveted his territories. He had 
 suggested the attack once before to no purpose, but now he 
 succeeded. It was an unworthy use of British power. So flag- 
 rant indeed was the wrong, that the Court of Directors insisted 
 on restoration. It then appeared that the nabob had given a 
 creditor a bond for 160,000 on the raja's territories. The 
 nabob's wild extravagance placed him at the mercy of usurers, 
 many of whom were Englishmen, and even servants of the com- 
 pany, who made fortunes out of his folly and vice. When the 
 English had paid his debts to the amount of five millions, they 
 found that he had contracted thirty millions more. The nabob, 
 as we have seen, had been compelled to make an assignment of 
 his revenues to the company for a term of years, but he spared 
 no effort to upset the arrangement. He appealed to Bengal and 
 to the home authorities ; and Mr. Dundas, President of the new 
 Board of Control, ordered their restoration. They were res- 
 tored, to the joy of his creditors and the loss of the country, 
 although under honest management the sixth set apart for the 
 nabob's use had produced more than he had previously received 
 from the entire revenue. The incident shows how easy it is 
 for governments at a distance to fall into error. 
 
 Hastings resigned in 1785. The opposition in the council at 
 Calcutta culminated, as is well known, in the impeachment and 
 trial in Westminster Hall, when the greatest ability and eloquence 
 in England were engaged for the prosecution. The story may 
 be read in the brilliant pages of Macaulay. The trial dragged 
 on seven years, and resulted in an acquittal on all the twenty- 
 two charges. It is said that Hastings felt nothing more acutely
 
 60 
 
 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 than being required at the commencement to kneel to the august 
 assembly. Such a degradation might well have been spared one 
 who for thirteen years had represented before all India the great- 
 ness of England. Nothing astonished the people of India more 
 than his impeachment. Through the trial his dignity never failed. 
 To the opening address of the Lord Chancellor, exhorting him to 
 conduct his defence in a way worthy of his station and the court, 
 he replied, ' I am come to this high tribunal, equally impressed 
 with a confidence in my own integrity and in the justice of the 
 court before which I stand.' The trial reduced him to honourable 
 poverty. Pitt, who was prejudiced against him, refused to re- 
 commend him for a peerage ; but a title would have added as 
 little to Warren Hastings as to William Pitt. At the hands of 
 posterity the two great commoners will never cease to receive 
 equal honour.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 LORD CORNWALLIS AND SIE JOHN SHORE THIRD MYSORE WAR 
 INTERNAL EEFOEMS, 1786-1798. 
 
 HERE was an interval of a year and half before 
 the arrival of Lord Cornwallis in September, 1786. 
 His was the first instance of the appointment to 
 the highest office of one outside the company's 
 service, a precedent which with two exceptions has 
 been followed in every instance since. The argu- 
 "ments for and against such a practice are too obvious 
 to need mention. One thing is certain, that it has 
 been among the chief causes of the extension of British rule in 
 India. A Governor-general, appointed by the ministry of the 
 day, who had become practically the rulers of India, was far 
 less amenable to restraint than a dependent of the company. 
 Everything which could be done by acts of Parliament to prevent 
 the extension of British territory had been done. Mr. Pitt's 
 bill in 1784 expressly enacted ' that it should not be lawful for 
 the Governor-general, without the express authority and concord 
 of the Court of Directors, or of the secret committee, either to 
 declare or commence hostilities, or to enter into any treaty for 
 making war against any of the native princes or states in India, 
 or any treaty guaranteeing the dominions of such princes or 
 states, except when hostilities should have been commenced or 
 preparations actually made for the attack of the British nation in 
 India, or of some of the states and princes whose dominions it- 
 shall be engaged by subsisting treaties to defend.' Although 
 ihis act was only two years old, Lord Cornwallis and one Governor- 
 general after another proceeded as if it did not exist ; and it 
 would be hard to say that they could have done otherwise. The 
 British empire in India would not have arisen if the act had been 
 carried out to the letter.
 
 64 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 The first three years of the new government were spent in 
 reforming abuses among the company's servants. The directors 
 still persisted in their system of giving inadequate salaries. They 
 wrote despatches forbidding private trade, but steadily refused 
 to apply the only effectual remedy. The old abuses therefore 
 still continued. Public servants poorly paid, with the power in 
 their hands of making large fortunes, were not likely to abstain 
 from doing so in obedience to verbal orders from masters far 
 away. Residents in receipt of one thousand rupees a month 
 made four hundred thousand rupees a year. Happily, Lord 
 Cornwallis possessed sufficient influence to enforce a system of 
 more liberal payment on the directors, and the abuse gradually 
 died out. No more necessary or beneficial reform was possible. 
 We may observe that the popular mistake about the riches of 
 India has proceeded on two fallacious grounds, the fortunes 
 made by the first Englishmen in India, and the lavish display 
 of native courts, both ancient and modern. How the enormous 
 gains of the first Englishmen were made we have seen, and the 
 waste and show of native courts was the faithful reflection, not 
 of the content and prosperity, but of the oppressed condition of 
 the body of the people. 
 
 But Lord Cornwallis had to engage in another struggle with 
 the Mysore power. The Sultan Tippu was born to lose the 
 kingdom which his father had founded. Though not lacking in 
 ability, he was inferior to his father in this respect, and far 
 more arrogant, bigoted, rash and cruel. The last treaty had in- 
 flamed rather than lowered his arrogance. One of his first acts 
 afterwards was to Mohammedanize thirty thousand Malabar 
 Christians by force ; Hindus shared the same fate ; and two 
 thousand Brahmins destroyed themselves rather than submit. 
 From Coorg, one of his last conquests, seventy thousand persons 
 of all ages and both sexes were ruthlessly driven off to Sering- 
 apatam.* Mr. Mill affirms that the English were too prejudiced 
 against Tippu to do him justice. One of the proofs adduced 
 is that Major Rennell speaks of Tippii as ' cruel to an extreme 
 
 Marshman.
 
 WAR WITH T1PPU. 65 
 
 degree.' The question is, whether the allegation is true or not. 
 Take a single fact stated by Mr. Mill. The little mountain- 
 territory of Coorg had been subjugated by sheer treachery and 
 atrocity combined. Directly that the third war broke out, the 
 Coorg raja, who had made his escape from captivity, struck 
 boldly for independence, and rendered valuable service to the 
 English, cause. Yet when Coorg was included in the territory to 
 be ceded by the sultan, with his sons as hostages in the hands of 
 the English, he was so determined to give a terrible example of 
 the penalty of revolt, that he objected to the cession, and for a 
 time risked the re-opening of the war rather than consent. Lord 
 Cornwallis was equally determined not to leave Coorg at his mercy. 
 The origin of the war was this. The Raja of Travancore, 
 at the extreme south of the peninsula, was one of the parties 
 to the treaty of Mangalore, and his state was under British 
 protection. In December, 1789, Tippu attacked and sought 
 to annex his kingdom. Success would have made the Mysore 
 kingdom conterminous with Tinnevelly, the most vulnerable point 
 in the Madras territory. Tippu's first attack failed. Though 
 he led it in person, he afterwards disavowed it as unauthorized ; 
 and notwithstanding his disavowal, made another more success- 
 ful attack in the following March, getting the northern half of 
 Travancore into his power. Lord Cornwallis at once resolved to 
 visit his infraction of the treaty with severe punishment. His 
 first care was to form a league with Tippu's hereditary enemies, 
 the Mahrattas and nizam, who were only too glad to enrich them- 
 selves at the expense of the English and Tippu. Nothing 
 was effected in the first campaign of 1790. General Medows, 
 the commander, though an excellent officer, was unequal to the 
 conduct of large operations. The intention was to penetrate 
 into the Mysore by the southern passes in the wake of Colonel 
 Fullarton ; but the force was split up into three sections, and 
 the whole summer passed in a game of hide-and-seek with 
 Tippu, neither side gaining any decisive advantage. The only re- 
 deeming feature was a victory of Colonel Hartley (the Colonel 
 Hartley of the Mahratta campaign), who captured one of Tippu's 
 generals with his force in Malabar. 
 
 F
 
 66 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 In December Lord Cornwallis took the field in person, and 
 while making a feint at one pass by another placed his entire 
 force in February, 1791, on the Mysore plateau, within ninety 
 miles of Bangalore. Tippu had barely time to rescue his harem 
 and treasure from Bangalore before it was taken, March 21st. 
 He allowed the British to advance so far without striking a blow 
 to prevent them. 
 
 The army now advanced on Seringapatam, defeated the 
 enemy in the battle of Arikeera, May 13th, and at once came 
 within sight of the capital. But the English found it impossible 
 to begin the siege for want of food ; the cattle were too weak 
 to drag the guns ; the troops were starving and sickly. Tippu 
 had taken care to reduce the country to a desert. To save his 
 army, Lord Cornwallis was obliged, with the prize in view, to 
 give the order to retreat, after destroying the heavy siege-guns 
 and ammunition brought so far at such cost and with such diffi- 
 culty. General Abercrombie, who was advancing from the west 
 coast with the Bombay army, and who had dragged his guns with 
 infinite labour over mountain passes, was directed to do the same. 
 Tippu of coarse regarded this as a victory, and there was certainly 
 want of foresight on the English side. On the very first day 
 of the retreat, the Mahratta force came up with abundant stores 
 of provision. So defective were the means of intelligence 
 possessed by the English, that they had no idea of their allies 
 being in the neighbourhood. The Mahrattas sold provisions to 
 the English at an exorbitant rate. Their bazaar ' presented the 
 greatest variety of articles : English broadcloths and Birming- 
 ham penknives, the richest cashmere shawls and the most rare 
 and costly jewellery, together with oxen, sheep and poultry, and 
 all that the best bazaars of the most floui'ishing towns could 
 furnish, the result of long and unscrupulous plunder ; while the 
 cai'pets of the money-changers in the public street of the en- 
 campment, spread with the coins of every kingdom and province 
 in the east, indicated the systematic rapine of these incomparable 
 freebooters. But though the Mahratta sirdars had been en- 
 riching themselves with plunder from the day on which they 
 took the field, they set up a plea of poverty, and demanded a
 
 THE MAHRATTAS AS ALLIES. 67 
 
 loan of fourteen, lacs of rupees. Lord Cornwallis had no time 
 to examine the morality of the request ; he had only to consider 
 the consequence of refusing it the transfer of their alliance to 
 Tippu, who was ready to purchase it at any price.' We can 
 imagine no other reason for seeking their alliance at all than the 
 desire to keep them out of Tippu's hands. Down to the last they 
 were intriguing with the sultan. Help they rendered none. 
 All they did was to plunder and harry the country. Each of the 
 two allies spent six months in reducing small forts in the north 
 on their own account ; yet they received an equal share with the 
 English of the territory ceded and indemnity paid at the close 
 of the war. 
 
 The English fell back upon Bangalore, and spent the rest of 
 the year in collecting material and provision for another advance, 
 and in reducing the numerous droogs, or fortified rocks, with 
 which the Mysore country is studded, and which enabled the 
 enemy to interrupt our communications. Convoy after convoy 
 came up from the Carnatic, and Tippu made no serious attempt 
 to cut them off. Among the principal agents in this work 
 were tens of thousands of Brinjaris, a nomad class, the im- 
 memorial carriers of the east, who travelled everywhere with 
 impunity, even in time of war. The only droog not captured 
 was Kistnagiri. But the capture of Nundi droog and Savan- 
 droog filled the country with wonder. Nature and art had done 
 their utmost to render the positions impregnable. Nundidroog 
 was taken in October. General Medows commanded the attack. 
 The fort crowns the summit of a rock one thousand seven hun- 
 dred feet high, which is only accessible on one side. Up this 
 side guns and shot had to be carried, the very steepness of the 
 ascent serving as a protection against the heavy guns of the fort. 
 It took fourteen days to erect the batteries. When two breaches 
 had been made, one in the outer wall and one in the outwork of 
 the fort, the storming columns assaulted at midnight. The large 
 stones rolled down the hill did more execution than the guns. 
 The breaches were gained and forced with such rapidity that the 
 defenders had no time to secure the gate of the inner wall, 
 which after a little delay was carried. Savandroog was a far
 
 68 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 tougher task. The rock rises, from a base eight or nine miles 
 round, two thousand five hundred feet, and is surrounded by a 
 dense, feverish jungle several miles in depth, which ran up to the 
 base of the wall. The only approach was by a narrow path, and 
 the first thing necessary was to cut a road for the guns. The 
 top of the rock is cleft by a chasm into two peaks, both of which 
 were fortified and had to be attacked simultaneously. The 
 jungle was of advantage in affording cover to the besiegers. On 
 December 21st the storming party marched to attack the breach, 
 the band playing Britons, strike home. The resistance was very 
 slight, and the English had only one wounded. Several of the 
 garrison fell over precipices in attempting to escape. We have 
 mentioned these as instances of the exploits which threw a spell 
 of invincibility around the English name. 
 
 By January, 1792, all was ready; and on February 5th a 
 splendid army of twenty-two thousand men, with forty-four 
 field-pieces, forty-two siege-guns, and innumerable stores of pro- 
 visions, appeared a second time before Tippu's capital. The 
 position of the enemy was a strong one. Seringapatam stands 
 at the western end of an island formed by the river Cavery, 
 which washes its walls on two sides, while the third side is de- 
 fended by two massive walls a considerable distance apart, a 
 deep ditch, drawbridges and outworks. Beside this, Tippu had 
 formed an entrenched encampment outside the island, where he 
 lay with his army. A strong-bound hedge, six redoubts, and 
 one hundred guns added to the natural strength of the ground. 
 In the island and fort were at least thrice as many guns. Lord 
 Corawallis reconnoitred the whole on the 6th, and resolved to 
 attack that very night. The advantages of a surprise were thus 
 secured to the fxillest extent, as there was no time for the secret 
 to reach the enemy, and the darkness rendered useless the guns 
 of the fort and island. Our allies were aghast at the madness 
 rf the enterprise. To attack such a position without battery and 
 bombardment seemed to them to be rushing on destruction, and 
 the thought of the English commander fighting like a common 
 soldier seemed still more preposterous. At half-past eight the 
 army marched to the attack in three columns, that on the right
 
 PEACE WITH TIPPU. 69 
 
 commanded by General Medows, that in the centre by Lord 
 Cornwallis, that on the left by Colonel Maxwell. The surprise 
 was complete ; the enemy could do little but fall back, and the 
 English crossed to the island with the fugitives. The sultan 
 himself had barely time to escape to the fort. The details of the 
 attack were carefully arranged, and everything went well. The 
 right detachment somewhat missed its way ; but even here the 
 great Mosque Redoubt, covering the west of the enemy's posi- 
 tion, was taken. The great Sultan Redoubt on the east was 
 found abandoned. The morning saw the British firmly estab- 
 lished on the island, and during this day and the next everything 
 outside the fort, including the line of redoubts, fell into our 
 hands. Three unsuccessful attempts were made to retake the 
 Sultan Redoubt, which was bravely defended with considerable 
 loss, ammunition and water failing. A general attack on the 
 British position was easily repulsed. The entire English loss 
 was not more than five hundred and thirty. That on the other 
 side was reckoned at four thousand, and at least four times as 
 many more deserted in the night. On the 10th an attempt was 
 made on the life of Lord Cornwallis by a party of the enemy's 
 cavalry, who made their way into the English camp, being mis- 
 taken for allies, and asked for the tent of the lurra sahib, ' chie. 
 lord.' They were pointed to the tent of the artillery officer, but 
 on making towards it with drawn sabres, were recognized and 
 quickly dispersed. 
 
 On the night of the 18th, while the attention of the fort 
 was occupied by an attack on the south, the first parallel was 
 opened on the north side, and on the 21st a second. Tippu's 
 palace on the outside of the fort in the island was converted 
 into a hospital, and his pleasure-garden cut down to supply 
 material for the siege. But Tippu now despaired of success- 
 ful resistance, and sent two English officers captured at Coim- 
 batoor, and detained in spite of the capitulation, to treat of 
 peace. He saw that there was no fear of failure this time 
 through lack of supplies ; it was the continuous stream of sup- 
 plies both from the east and west coast which led Tippu to 
 remark, ' It is not what I see of the resources of the English
 
 70 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 that I dread, but what I do not see.' The terms were severe ; 
 the cession of half his territories, an indemnity of 3,300,000, 
 and two of his sons as hostages. The last condition was carried 
 out with great ceremony. The fort saluted as the princes left, the 
 walls were lined with people, and the sultan himself stood above 
 the gateway. The procession consisted of camel outriders, 
 seven standard-bearers with small green flags, one hundred 
 pikemen with spears inlaid with silver, a guard of two hundred 
 sepoys and cavalry. The princes rode on two richly caparisoned 
 elephants in silver howdahs, and were attended by royal vakeels 
 on elephants. They were received with a salute of twenty-one 
 guns, and conducted through an avenue of sepoys, intended for 
 their guard, to the Commander-in-chief, who showed them every 
 courtesy and kindness and soon dispelled their fears. The head 
 vakeel said : ' These children were this morning the sons of the 
 sultan, my master ; they must now look up to your lordship as 
 a father.' The princes were Tippu's second and third sons, one 
 about ten, the other about eight years old. 
 
 After many difficulties and delays the treaty was concluded 
 on the terms dictated, March 19th, 1792. Once the sultan was 
 reported to be erecting new works in the fort. On Lord Corn- 
 wallis remonstrating, Tippu proudly replied, ' His lordship was 
 misinformed ; but for his satisfaction, if he desired it, he would 
 throw down one of the bastions, to let him see into the fort.' 
 It was Tippu's turn to complain next. The Mahratta com- 
 mander had been plundering the country, notwithstanding the 
 suspension of hostilities. Tippu requested that he might be 
 called to give account, or, ' which would be a still greater 
 favour,' said the sultan, ' that Lord Cornwallis would be pleased 
 to permit me to go out and chastise him myself.' The territory 
 taken by the British included the Baramahal and Lower Ghauts 
 on the east, the district of Dindigul in the south, and Tippu's 
 Malabar possessions in the west, and was worth forty lacs a 
 year. Both the Governor-general and General Medows declined 
 their share of the prize-money. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis' period of rule was as celebrated for in- 
 ternal measures of reform as for its external operations. Ho
 
 MILL'S HISTORY. 71 
 
 completely reorganized the financial and judicial system. What 
 is known as the 'permanent land settlement' is his work. 
 More praise is due to the intention than to the principle and 
 method of the measure, which was based upon the false notion 
 that the zemindar is the proprietor of the soil in the English 
 sense. What the zemindar received, the government and cul- 
 tivator lost. From being a mere agent or middleman the 
 zemindar was made a landed proprietor. The Governor-general 
 applied English ideas to Indian customs, and went altogether 
 astray. He argued that it would be more convenient for gov- 
 ernment to have to do with a single proprietor, and that the 
 latter would have the strongest motive to improve his holding, 
 if his obligations were fixed at once and for ever. All interest 
 of the government in the increase was sacrificed. As to the cul- 
 tivators, it would be the interest of the owner to act justly and 
 generously to them. Thus they were left to the enlightenment 
 and sense of justice of the zemindars. It is true that the latter 
 were required to give leases to the cultivators ; but this was 
 evaded in numberless ways. The measui*e was as defective in 
 detail as in principle. The government had power of summary 
 recovery as against the zemindar, but the zemindar had to 
 proceed against the ryot by slow course of law. When the 
 zemindar was left without means to discharge his dues, gov-' 
 ernment stepped in, and sold as much of his land as was 
 necessary to pay the amount. By this means numbers were 
 soon brought to ruin. When in course of time the power of 
 summary recovery from the ryot was bestowed on the zemin- 
 dar, the power was fearfully abused. It is to be remembered 
 that the ' permanent settlement ' only affected the province of 
 Bengal. 
 
 A regular series of civil and criminal courts was established 
 with supreme courts of appeal in Calcutta. Mr. James Mill in 
 his chapter on this subject exposes with merciless severity the 
 defects and abuses of the British judicial administration. It is 
 unfortunate that a singular prejudice against everything British 
 makes his able History of British India read like one long indict- 
 ment of everything the English did and left undone in India ;
 
 72 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and in nothing is this prejudice more evident and more unreason, 
 able than in his comments on the present subject. The inevit- 
 able mistakes and defects of a period of transition are represented 
 as designed and inherent ; the improvement in comparison 
 with former days is never mentioned ; the English are con- 
 demned for not giving India at once a perfect code of law and a 
 cheap, simple, expeditious and certain administration of justice, 
 things which even England does not possess at the present time. 
 We quote a single specimen of the pervading exaggeration. 
 The system of criminal law in India is spoken of as 'a sort of 
 mixture of the Mohammedan and English systems, and so con- 
 trived as to combine the principal vices of both,'* as if any 
 nation was ever demented enough to contrive such a system. 
 Strange to say, while recommending such impracticable measures 
 as European colonization and the establishment of Jeremy Ben- 
 tham's panopticon penitentiaries, or hospitals for the mind, he 
 does not once hint at the one real defect of these arrangements ; 
 viz., the exclusion of natives from the higher offices under gov- 
 ernment, a blot which has only been removed in comparatively 
 recent days. It should also be observed that the witnesses 
 whose evidence he quotes against the English government are 
 the very servants of that government. It may surely be pre- 
 sumed that defects, so well known to the highest official author- 
 ities, would be gradually removed. Besides, we need to remem- 
 ber the material with which the government had to work. No 
 one has said stronger things than Mr. Mill on this subject : ' In 
 India there is no moral chai'acter. Sympathy and antipathy are 
 distributed by religions, not by moral judgment. If a man is of a 
 certain caste, and has committed no transgression of these cere- 
 monies by which religious defilement or degradation is incurred, 
 he experiences little change in the sentiments of his countrymen 
 on account of moral purity or pollution. In employing the 
 natives of India, the government can, therefore, never reckon 
 upon good conduct, except when it has made provision for the 
 immediate detection and punishment of the offender.'f What 
 
 Vol. v., p. 395. t MM; P- 408.
 
 SIR JOHN SHORE. 73 
 
 would have been the fate of an ideally perfect government in 
 such hands ? 
 
 Lord Cornwallis was succeeded in 1793 by Sir John Shore, 
 afterwards Lord- Teignmouth, a distinguished servant of the 
 company. Sir John Shore was of a pacific temperament. He 
 was anxious to keep within the lines of the 1784 Act. But we 
 cannot allow, as Mr. Marshman in his excellent History plainly 
 intimates, that his policy implied anything ignoble or inconsis- 
 tent with engagements. The only colour for the latter charge 
 is derived from the Governor-general's conduct to the Nizam 
 of Hyderabad. Directly that Tippu's power was broken, the 
 Mahrattas prepared to carry out their long-cherished purpose 
 of plundering the nizam. Pretexts were always forthcoming 
 in the claims for the chout levied upon the nizam's territories. 
 The nizam was naturally anxious for the English protection, 
 and would have done anything to secure it. But it is a mistake 
 to suppose that the treaty of 1790 gave him any claim to this. 
 That was simply a treaty for a specific purpose, namely, against 
 Tippu. If the latter had attacked the nizam, there might have 
 been some ground for a claim. It may be open to argue that a 
 bolder policy would have been wise in the Governor-general ; 
 but there was nothing like breach of faith in the course pursued. 
 Lord Cornwallis had always declined to give the pledge for 
 which the nizam was anxious. The case was altogether differ- 
 ent from that of the Travancore raja in 1790, as the latter was 
 distinctly under British protection. For Sir John Shore to 
 have given the pledge desired would have been to stand forth 
 ostensibly as the arbiter of India, a character which suited Sir 
 John Shore less than those who preceded and followed him. 
 No doubt it would have prevented future complications ; but 
 these it was not easy to foresee. Another result would have been 
 to extinguish the independence of Hyderabad. The British 
 resident with the nizam advocated intervention on the express 
 ground that the country would thus be brought under British 
 control. It is perhaps owing to Sir John Shore's abstinence that 
 Hyderabad is to-day the only independent state in South India. 
 
 The English, however, held aloof. The English resident
 
 74 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and English battalions in the nizam's service were ordered to 
 remain neutral. The Mahrattas, therefore, easily defeated the 
 nizam's forces and dictated their own terms, March, 1795. But 
 in the complications and intrigues which arose on the death of 
 the Mahratta peshwa in the same year, and the succession of 
 another, the nizam easily recovered the territory which he had 
 been compelled to cede. Of course the nizam was chagrined at 
 the English refusal of help, and showed his anger by transferring 
 his favour to the French, who were only too glad to improve 
 the occasion. M. Raymond, an old comrade of Lally, tried to 
 play the part of a second Bussy. He was commissioned to 
 increase his force, and received a grant of territory for its 
 support in the neighbourhood of the company's dominion. But 
 Sir John Shore peremptorily insisted on the removal of the force 
 to other quarters. 
 
 In 1795-6 there was a mutiny on the part of the English 
 military officers in the company's service similar to the one 
 which Clive quelled with such vigour. Reductions had been 
 pressed on them as on the civil officers, but without like com- 
 pensation. They therefore leagued together to demand their 
 own terms, and threatened to seize the Governor-general and 
 Commander-in-chief to hold as hostages. Such a conspiracy was 
 full of peril for British rule. Its branches were everywhere. 
 It had an active committee in London. Sir John Shore was 
 not the man to cope with the emergency, and in the end the 
 officers gained all their demands. But whatever blame may 
 attach to concession belongs to the directors and ministry at 
 home as well as to the Governor- general. 
 
 Sir John Shore displayed greater firmness in dealing with the 
 affairs of Oude. The province of Oude in the north stood in 
 much the same relation to us as the Carnatic in the south. Ever 
 since the restoration of the country to the nabob by Clive, a 
 British resident and British force had been stationed in it as 
 a protection against the Mahrattas, who were always casting 
 covetous glances over the border. A subsidy was paid for the 
 British force, which was responsible for the defence of the 
 country. This was the general course which the extension of
 
 THE AFFAIRS OF OUDE. 75 
 
 British rule took, protection led to annexation. The process 
 ran its course quickly in Bengal, more slowly in the Carnatic, 
 more slowly still in Oude. We doubt whether the method was 
 a merciful one to the people. The British power secured the 
 native rulers against the only dangers they feared, and removed 
 the sole checks upon their tyranny, namely, internal rebellion and 
 external invasion. The consequence was that they gave them- 
 selves up to oppression and indulgence with impunity. Per- 
 haps no other course was open to us, but it was hard for the 
 people. This was the case in Oude. The nabob, who died in 
 1797, cared for nothing but cock-fighting, opium, buffoons, and 
 the like. Some English adventurer suggested to him a new 
 pleasure, old women racing in sacks. The nabob declared that 
 after all the lacs he had spent on amusements nothing had 
 yielded him so much delight. His successor, Vizier Ali, Avas, if 
 possible, still more degraded, besides being averse to English 
 influence. It was alleged that he was illegitimate and without 
 right to the throne. Sir John Shore examined the matter, and, 
 finding the charge true, resolved to depose him and instal 
 Saadut Ali, the late nabob's brother. To carry the decision 
 into effect required no little nerve. Vizier Ali had a large force 
 at command. The vast population of Lucknow was ready for 
 any mischief, as recent history has sadly proved. But Sir John 
 Shore went to Lucknow, and replaced one nabob by the other. 
 With Saadut Ali a new treaty was made, fixing the amount 
 of subsidy, forbidding him to increase his own force beyond 
 a certain number, or to enter into alliance with foreign Powers 
 without British consent. Sir John Shore returned to England 
 immediately after the conclusion of this arrangement in the 
 early part of 1798. 
 
 On October 13th, 1795, died Mohammed Ali, ' our nabob of 
 the Carnatic,' at the age of seventy-eight, after a rule of fifty 
 years. He was succeeded by his son Omdut-ul-Omrah.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LORD WELLESLEY FOURTH MYSORE WAR SECOND MAHRATTA 
 WAR AFFAIRS OF OUDE, ETC. 1798-1805. 
 
 ORD WELLESLEY* arrived in Calcutta May, 
 1798. As member of the Board of Control, and 
 in other ways, he had become thoroughly in- 
 formed on Indian matters. In consequence of 
 the neutral policy of Sir John Shore, when Lord 
 jWellesley assumed the reins the English power was 
 weaker and the native states were stronger than 
 they had ever been. Tippu had a thoroughly equipped 
 army of at least sixty thousand men, trained in great part by 
 French officers. The sepoys in the nizam's service, commanded 
 by Raymond, and after his death by Piron, numbered fourteen 
 thousand. Scindia, who had risen to be the chief of the Mah- 
 ratta powers, had a similar force of forty thousand men, com- 
 manded by General Perron. It only needed a combination of 
 these to put in peril the very existence of the British power. 
 The Governor-general set himself at once to anticipate the 
 danger. 
 
 There could be no doubt as to the design of Tippu's pre- 
 parations. As soon as Lord Wellesley reached Calcutta he 
 heard of a proclamation by the French governor of Mauritius, 
 mentioning a proposal of Tippu to the French for an alliance 
 against the English, and inviting volunteers for the service. 
 The fact of the issue of the proclamation was confirmed by a 
 letter of Lord Macartney's from the Cape. It was also reported 
 that a French frigate had landed at Mangalore a number of 
 French officers, who, on reaching Seringapatam, dubbed the 
 
 We anticipate Lord Mornington's title. He was created Marquis 
 Wellesley on the fall of Seringapatam.
 
 MARQUIS TVELLESLE7.
 
 LAST WAR WITH TIPPU. 79 
 
 sultan Citizen Tippu, set up trees of liberty, and indulged in 
 other like fantastic freaks. It is certain that Tippu intrigued at 
 Poona for the same object, received letters of encouragement 
 from Bonaparte in Egypt, and even wrote to the Afghan ruler 
 Zemaun Shah, at that time threatening to invade India, urging 
 him to join in a crusade ' against the infidels, idolaters and 
 heretics.' As the negotiations were cut short by Lord Welles- 
 ley's prompt interference, it is hard to judge what they 
 amounted to and impossible to say what issue they would have 
 had. We can only assume that the grounds on which the 
 Governor-general acted were as good as he believed them to be, 
 and, on this assumption, the wisdom of not waiting for the 
 attack to be made is self-evident. The whole war in its reasons 
 and results received the unanimous and emphatic approval of 
 the home authorities. It is certain that Tippu never explained 
 the ambiguous points in his conduct. His replies to the Governor- 
 general's letters were curt and evasive. He saw no need for 
 any fresh arrangements, and only gave permission for an envoy 
 to come to ' the presence ' when it was too late. 
 
 Lord Wellesley would have struck a blow at once, but, as 
 usual at Madras in those days, nothing was ready. He urged 
 on warlike preparations with the utmost speed, and meanwhile 
 turned his attention to Hyderabad and Poona. The latter de- 
 clined, the former accepted proposals for an alliance against 
 Tippu. The condition was the dismissal of the French force 
 and the substitution of English troops. Through the influence 
 of the nizam's able minister, Mushir-ul-mulk, like Salar Jung 
 in our days a steady friend of the English, the alliance was 
 concluded. When the time came for its execution both nizam 
 and minister shrank and temporized ; but Captain Kirkpatrick, 
 the resident, and Colonel Roberts, the commandant, were firm, 
 and the proclamation, disbanding the force, was issued. The 
 suddenness of the stroke paralyzed resistance. The British guns 
 surrounded the French encampment. The officers surrendered, 
 and the men were pacified by the tact and management of Captain 
 Malcolm. Most of the troops engaged in the English service 
 and fought against Tippu. The affair was well managed, and
 
 80 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 made a great impression on other Powers. This was in 
 October, 1798. 
 
 In February, 1799, the Madras army was ready to start. It 
 was the finest ever assembled under the English flag in India, 
 numbering twenty-one thousand, of whom six thousand were 
 Europeans, with forty siege and sixty-four field guns, besides 
 the nizam's contingent of twenty thousand horse and foot. The 
 latter was commanded by Colonel Wellesley (brother of the 
 Governor-general and afterwards Duke of Wellington) and 
 Captain Malcolm. The Governor-general sent a letter to Tippu, 
 informing him that instead of an envoy he was sending General 
 Harris at the head of an army, to whom all proposals of peace 
 must be made. The Bombay force under General Stuart, six 
 thousand four hundred strong, marched from the west coast to 
 join the invading force under the walls of Sei'ingapatam. On 
 this occasion, as on every subsequent one, Lord Wellesley showed 
 his wisdom, not only in selecting able leaders, but also in entrust- 
 ing them with full military and political power. His practice 
 was to supply them with different terms of peace calculated for 
 different stages in the operations, with power to modify at 
 discretion. 
 
 Tippu's conspicuous inferiority to his father was never more 
 clearly evinced than in his last stand for independence and life. 
 There was never a feebler defence. General Harris may be said 
 to have had a clear march over the ground. During a march 
 of one hundred and fifty miles through an enemy's country, with 
 enormous impedimenta and no communications, he met with no 
 opposition worthy of the name. The sultan seemed paralyzed by 
 indecision and vacillation. Instead of bending all his strength 
 against the main army under General Harris, and hurling his 
 splendid cavalry on his train, he marched first with the flower 
 of his army against the Bombay force, which he succeeded in 
 surprising. Our trusty ally, the Raja of Coorg, was the first to 
 announce the enemy's presence. The advanced guard, under 
 General Hartley and Colonel Montresor, bore the attack of 
 Tippu's whole army for six hours. When General Stuart 
 came up and turned the scale of victory, they had scarcely a
 
 LAST WAR WITH TIPPU. 81 
 
 cartridge left. Tippu wasted other precious days in irresolu- 
 tion before marching against Harris. Then the only thing he 
 did was to take post, against all advice, at Malvelly, half-way 
 between Bangalore and Seringapatam, where, on March 27th, he 
 was easily defeated. He seemed to be utterly destitute of re- 
 source. For every emergency he had but one plan of operation, 
 and baffled in this had nothing to fall back upon. He concluded 
 that the British would take the same road that Lord Cornwallis 
 had done, and had the country laid waste. But General Harris 
 took a more southerly route through a country rich in pasturage, 
 and crossed the Cavery while Tippu was looking for him twenty 
 miles farther north. Tippu was wild with rage, and, assembling 
 his chief officers, said, ' We have now arrived at our last stage ; 
 what is your determination ? ' ' To die with you,' was the reply. 
 
 With a European foe, or any spark of foresight or enterprise 
 in Tippu, General Harris's march would have been impossible. 
 He might easily have been delayed, and delay meant ruin for 
 the present ; for it was essential that the issue should be decided 
 before the breaking of the monsoon, and this was a question of 
 a few weeks. But it is precisely by recognizing the difference 
 between European and Oriental armies that all our victories in 
 India have been won. Tippu's officers and men had some idea 
 of strategy, but Tippu himself had none. Hence his ruin. 
 
 On April 6th, the British force broke ground before Sering- 
 apatam. On the 1 7th the first parallel was formed, and on May 
 3rd the breach was reported practicable. One incident of the 
 siege has become memorable from the share which Colonel 
 Wellesley took in it. A night attack, led by Colonel Wellesley, 
 was made on a part of the hostile position. It failed, owing to 
 the severity of the enemy's fire, the darkness of the night, and 
 the roughness of the ground. Next day the attack was renewed, 
 and succeeded. More than once Tippu applied for a conference 
 to be held ; but he was told that the terms were fixed beyond 
 discussion : the cession of half his dominions, an indemnity of 
 2,000,000, four of his sons and four of his chief officers as 
 hostages. The mention of the terms threw him into a fury of 
 passion. ' Better,' he cried, ' die like a soldier, than live a rniser- 
 
 Q
 
 82 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 able dependent on the infidels, and be placed on the roll of their 
 pensioned rajas and nabobs ! ' 
 
 May 4th was fixed for the assault, the hour noon. Sir David 
 Baird, who had worn chains three years in Tippu's prisons, led 
 the storming party at his own request. It was the very height 
 of the hot season, and most of the garrison were taking their 
 usual mid-day repose. Tippu, surrounded by boys and flatterers, 
 and putting more faith in astrologers than in his officers, who 
 told him that the final moment was near, persisted in saying 
 that it would not come till night, and refused to take even such 
 precautions as cutting off the breach by new entrenchments, 
 which might easily have been done. He was at his meal when 
 word was brought that the attack had begun. At one o'clock 
 the British force, four thousand four hundred strong, sprang 
 from the trenches, rushed across the broad, rocky river-bed, and, 
 after a desperate struggle, in seven minutes planted the British 
 colours on the breach. Then, dividing right and left, the attack- 
 ing force slowly swept the walls until they met over the eastern 
 gate. A fierce resistance was made at certain points, especially 
 whei'e the sultan himself fought, but at last the enemy's troops 
 broke into general flight. 
 
 Tippu, instead of escaping, as he might easily have done, 
 through the water-gate, made for the ai'ched gateway leading 
 into the fort, intending apparently to go to the palace. This 
 gate was choked with fugitives coming both ways, and a heavy 
 fire was being poured into the struggling mass by English troops 
 from both sides of the gateway. The sultan received several 
 wounds. His horse was also wounded and fell. He was then 
 placed in a palanquin by his faithful attendants, but it was im- 
 possible to make any progress. Some English soldiers coming 
 into the gateway, one of them made a snatch at the sultan's 
 rich sword-belt. The sultan with a sabre wounded his assailant 
 in the knee, when the soldier shot him through the temple. 
 
 A portion of the British force arrived at the palace, and the 
 officers, after long hesitation and delay on the part of the 
 nmates, were admitted. The princes were assured of protection, 
 and taken to the Commander-in-chief ; but Tippu was not to be
 
 TIPPTrS DEATH. 83 
 
 found. Informed at last of the occurrences at tlie gateway, 
 General Baird, Major Allen, and others proceeded there, and by 
 the aid of a lantern, for it was now night, found the still warm 
 body of the sultan under heaps of slain. The breach where the 
 British force entered, and the gateway where the sultan fell, 
 may still be seen in the decaying walls of the almost deserted 
 capital. Tippu was only forty-six years old. He was buried 
 with military honours in his father's splendid mausoleum a few 
 miles from Seringapatam. His family was pensioned, and 
 Vellore in the Carnatic assigned as their residence. His chief 
 officers also were treated generously. Of his territories, some 
 outlying portions were annexed to the British dominion, and an 
 equal portion given to the nizam. But the bulk was formed 
 into a new kingdom, over which the heir of the old Hindu 
 dynasty, displaced by Hyder, was set. The new raja was 
 then a child five years old. He reigned over the Mysore under 
 British protection till within recent years. The present raja is 
 his adopted son, and is shortly to receive the country back in full 
 sovereignty. The disposition of the conquered territory suffic- 
 iently disproves the allegation of Mill's history that Lord Wel- 
 lesley's motive was lust of conquest. By subsequent arrange- 
 ment with the nizam the territory which he had gained from 
 the Mysore was given over to the British for the support of the 
 English contingent in his service. In contrast with the conduct 
 of Lord Cornwallis and General Medows at the former siege, 
 General Harris and the other general officers on the present 
 occasion took a double share of prize-money.* 
 
 Lord Wellesley's changes in the Carnatic and Oude were not 
 less radical. In 1801 the former was taken entirely into British 
 management. Under Orndut-ul-Oinrah, as under his father, 
 
 In 1800 a corps of five thousand volunteer sepoys was sent under 
 Sir David Baird to cooperate in the expulsion of the French from Egypt. 
 By the time they arrived, however, the need had passed away, and the 
 corps returned to India. Mr. Marshman observes that this concen- 
 tration of troops from Europe and Asia on the shores of the Medi- 
 terranean is a wonderful illustration of the resources of the British 
 empire. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 there was ceaseless controversy about finance, the English de- 
 manding, the nabob refusing, help towards war and other 
 expenses. Proposal after proposal was made by the English 
 and rejected. The nabob was really in the hands of merciless 
 creditors. Some correspondence, alleged to be of a treasonable 
 nature, between the nabob and Tippu, was found in Seringapa- 
 tarn, and made the pretext or occasion for annexing the Carnatic. 
 The death of the nabob in 1800 postponed the measure a few 
 months. When his successor refused, under advice, to accede 
 to the arrangement, he was set aside, and another appointed to 
 receive the empty title and the pension. The change was no 
 doubt inevitable and essential for the wellbeing of the country, 
 which was all but utterly ruined under the divided government. 
 But it would have been more straightforward to put the measure 
 on its true ground that of absolute necessity, and to have said 
 nothing of a correspondence, which, whatever its character, had 
 exploded harmlessly. The small Tanjore kingdom had been 
 already extinguished. Thus was formed, with the annexations 
 from the Mysore, the Madras Presidency as it now stands. 
 
 Oude was very little better than the Carnatic. The country 
 suffered all the misery of a double rule ; but in addition there 
 were great external dangers. Scindia had a well-appointed 
 army on the frontiers, which was only kept from action by the 
 presence of the British force. An Afghan invasion was threat- 
 ened. The nabob's troops were reported to be utterly useless. 
 The Governor-general therefore called upon Saadut Ali to dis- 
 band them and pay an increased subsidy for a proportionate 
 addition to the British troops. The nabob was more manage- 
 able than some of his predecessors, but his avarice and pride 
 alike rebelled against the demand. The correspondence went on 
 two years. Saadut Ali fenced, protested, offered to abdicate, 
 withdrew his offer, said he would go on pilgrimage to Mecca, 
 to which the Governor-general raised no objection. But in the 
 end the weak had to submit to the strong. In ceding half his 
 territories in perpetuity to the company in lieu of subsidy 
 (November, 1801), the nabob was careful to let it be known 
 that he yielded to superior force. Undoubtedly the measure was
 
 THE DIRECTORS AXD LORD WELLESLEY^S POLICY. 85 
 
 substantially right. In what he did, both in the Carnatic and 
 Oude, Lord Wellesley had the hearty support of the home authori- 
 ties. But his manner was imperious, not to say harsh. Oppo- 
 sition and remonstrance irritated him. His was the iron hand 
 without the velvet glove. 
 
 His quarrel with the directors, which in the end became 
 irreconcilable, arose in the first instance from more petty trans- 
 actions than those already referred to. Lord Wellesley, in 1800, 
 sent a magnificent and useless mission to Persia under Captain 
 Malcolm, established a college at Fort William, in which the 
 young civilians were to be trained for their work as governors 
 and administrators, advocated greater freedom in trade, to meet 
 the growing trade between India and England, in opposition to 
 the old policy of close monopoly. The directors, on the other 
 hand, were constantly nominating persons to important posts in 
 India with no regard either to fitness or the Governor-general's 
 wishes. These were the points round which other matters of 
 controversy gathered. More important grounds of difference 
 soon appeared. The ideas of the directors and of Wellesley 
 diverged farther and farther, until they reached the point of 
 diametrical opposition. The company were merchants still ; 
 Wellesley was an emperor. He could do nothing on a small 
 scale. The board of the students at his college was to cost 500 
 per month. The college was ruthlessly cut down by orders from 
 home to very modest as the Governor-general thought to very 
 insignificant dimensions. The directors accused their servant 
 of reckless ambition and waste. The servant was stung at last 
 into speaking of his masters as ' the cheesemongers of Leaden- 
 hall Street.' In 1802, Wellesley resigned, but at the request 
 both of ministers and directors consented to remain till January, 
 1804, at least. That period was destined to supply tenfold more 
 matter for controversy of the same kind. Lord Wellesley had 
 destroyed Tippu's power, neutralized the nizam, annexed the 
 Carnatic. There only remained the Mahrattas, whom he next 
 sought to bring under British influence, and he would have un- 
 doubtedly succeeded, if he had been allowed to finish his plans. 
 
 The peshwa at this time, the last of the line, was Baji Rao,
 
 86 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 son of ' the luckless Raghoba.' It does not belong to this history 
 to recount the intrigues by which his succession was secured. Even 
 among the Mahrattas he had no master and few equals in craft 
 and duplicity. But the office had lost all substantive power, 
 which had passed into the hands of the three Mahratta chief- 
 tains, Scindia, Holkar, and the Berar raja. The peshwa barely 
 maintained his position by playing off one chief against the other. 
 Each was anxious to get the peshwa into his power and rule in 
 his name. Sometimes one, sometimes the other got the upper 
 hand at Poona. There never were princes more utterly faith- 
 less and unscrupulous. Until united by common hatred to the 
 English, they were engaged in ceaseless plots and wars against 
 each other. The country was given up to anarchy and strife. 
 
 Dowlut Rao Scindia was the most powerful of the three. 
 His kingdom was a splendid one, including rich territories both 
 in Hindostan and the Deckan. His army, trained by French 
 officers, was the finest at this time in India. General Perron 
 governed for him in Hindostan, where he was master of Delhi 
 and the person of the emperor, Shah Alum. The poor emperor 
 had been blinded by a Rohilla chief, but his name was still a 
 power. The career of Jeswunt Rao Holkar had been a most 
 romantic one. Of illegitimate birth, by force of daring and 
 ability, and by the usual Mahratta cunning and violence, he 
 had gained all his father's territories, which he governed nomin- 
 ally for a nephew. He was a genuine Mahratta. As a dashing 
 horseman he had no equal in his day. There was no hope of 
 either of these chiefs accepting a position of dependence on the 
 British. The only chance was with the weakness of the peshwa ; 
 but even he would not part with the shadow of independence 
 until reduced to the sorest straits. He rejected overture upon 
 overture of this tenor. In October, 1802, Holkar defeated the 
 combined forces of Scindia and the peshwa under the walls of 
 Poona.* The latter had to flee, and at once accepted the 
 
 The last circumstance which roused Holkar's wrath against Baji 
 Rao was, that the latter had seized a brother of his, and had him trampled 
 to death with elephants, himself gloating over the horrid spectacle.
 
 STATE OF THE MAHRATTA POWERS. 87 
 
 proposed treaty on condition of the English restoring him to 
 power. In December, 1802, Colonel Close, a prince of diploma- 
 tists, concluded with the peshwa the celebrated treaty of Bas- 
 sein, by which he resigned his independence to the English, 
 whom he constituted arbiter in all his disputes. A British force 
 of six thousand infantry was to be stationed near Poona, and 
 territory worth twenty-six lacs a year assigned in the Deckan 
 for their maintenance. All foreigners were to be excluded from 
 his service. He was to make no war or treaty without the con- 
 sent of the English. Lord Wellesley had gained his end. But 
 the same reasons which commended the treaty to the English 
 rendered it hateful to the other Mahratta powers, who saw them- 
 selves checkmated and their occupation gone. The peshwa w?,s 
 secured against their attacks, and could no longer be used like a 
 king of chess. The treaty was an excellent instrument for giv- 
 ing peace to a distracted country, if Scindia and the rest would 
 respect it. But as they were not likely to do this, it became 
 the occasion of wars, which were only brought to an end by the 
 entire subjugation of the Mahratta power. The peshwa obtained 
 safety and enjoyed a quiet which he had never known before, 
 but it was at the price of dependence and eventual extinction. 
 The ink of the treaty was scarcely dry before he began to en- 
 courage the chiefs to disregard it. He wanted the benefits with- 
 out the condition. 
 
 Scindia, Holkar, and the Raja of Berar, Raghoji Bhonsla, 
 who saw not only the peshwa but the nizam snatched from their 
 grasp, began at once to league against the treaty. Scindia said, 
 ' The treaty takes the turban from my head.' To all inquiries 
 of the Resident respecting the meaning of the communications, he 
 merely replied that the peshwa had no right to enter into engage- 
 ments apart from the other Mahratta powers, that he was about 
 to confer with the Berar raja, after which it would be known 
 whether there was to be peace or war. From this point there 
 was a rapid drifting into war. The forces of Scindia and the 
 Berar raja, reckoned at one hundred thousand men in fine order 
 and with a powerful artillery, took up a menacing position on 
 the nizaui's frontier. To meet this the British forces, fourteen
 
 88 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 thousand infantry and thirteen thousand horse, under General 
 Arthur Wellesley and Colonel Stephenson, were moved up from 
 Hyderabad and Mysore. The Resident, Colonel Collins, left 
 Scindia's camp, August 3rd, 1802. General Wellesley called 
 upon Scindia to withdraw his forces, but no agreement could be 
 come to. The British plan of campaign was an extensive one. 
 Scindia's territories were to be attacked simultaneously at all 
 points. The troops were ready, and in three months every part 
 of the programme was carried out. 
 
 On August 12th, General Wellesley captured the wealthy city 
 and fort of Ahmednuggur, Scindia's chief arsenal in the Deckan. 
 He then went in search of the enemy, and after much march- 
 ing and countermarching came up with him at the village of 
 Assaye, east of Ellore, September 23rd. He had agreed with 
 Colonel Stephenson, who took a different route, to make a joint 
 attack on the 24th, but hearing that the enemy were likely to 
 retire he resolved not to wait. The odds were great. The 
 Mahrattas numbered fifty thousand, a fifth of them trained se- 
 poys, with one hundred guns. Their position was a strong one. 
 General Wellesley had but four thousand five hundred men. 
 The British artillery was soon silenced by the superior fire of 
 the enemy, and the force had to advance without guns through 
 such a storm of shot as no Indian troops had ever before en- 
 countered. The execution was so severe that a body of the 
 enemy's cavalry attempted a charge, but were repulsed with 
 slaughter. One-third of the British force was killed or disabled ; 
 but the victory was complete. The enemy left ninety-eight guns, 
 seven standards, and all his camp to the conquerors. Lieu- 
 tenant-colonel Maxwell fell in the action. The Mahrattas resorted 
 to a favourite device of theirs. Their gunners fell down as 
 if dead, and when the British had passed "on, began playing 
 upon them. General Wellesley was obliged to proceed with 
 a regiment of European infantry and one of native cavalry 
 to stop this, and had a horse shot under him. The battle 
 of Assaye broke Scindia's power in the Deckan. On October 
 15th, Colonel Stephenson entered the great city of Boorhanpore 
 in Indore, and on the 21st the fort of Asseerghur, the key
 
 BATTLE OF ARGAUM. 89 
 
 of the Deckan. Scindia had nothing more in the Deckan to 
 defend. 
 
 Berar was next attacked. The outlying province of Cuttack 
 was occupied by Colonel Harcourt and added irrevocably to the 
 British possessions. The acquisition was important, as it com- 
 pleted the communication by land between Bengal and Madras. 
 On approaching the famous temple of Jagannath the colonel was 
 told by the Brahmins that they had asked the god whether he 
 preferred the protection of the English or the Mahrattas, and 
 he had replied, the English. The news was sent by express to 
 Bengal. The Raja of Berar was utterly defeated in the battle 
 of Argaum, near Elichpore, November 29th. It was late in 
 the day before the battle began, the British having had a 
 long march on a hot day. There was very little resistance, the 
 enemy retiring and leaving behind all his guns and ammuni- 
 tion. The attack was still farther delayed by a panic which 
 seized upon three native regiments who had fought nobly at 
 Assaye. General Wellesley rallied them with difficulty. He 
 says : ' If I had not been there, I am convinced we should have 
 lost the day. As it was, so much time elapsed before they could 
 be formed again, that there was not daylight sufficient for effect- 
 ing all that might have been pei'formecY On December loth, 
 Colonel Stephenson took the raja's strong fort of Gawilghur. 
 The fort is situated on a lofty point of a mountain-ridge between 
 the rivers Poorna and Tapti. Guns and ammunition had to be 
 dragged by hand over mountains and ravines by roads made for 
 the purpose. A breach was soon made, the outer fort carried, 
 then the inner fort escaladed by Captain Campbell and troops 
 of the 94th regiment. General Wellesley was covei'ing the 
 siege. ' Vast numbers,' he says, ' were killed, particularly at 
 different gates.' The province of Bundelkund was occupied 
 by Colonel Powell. Scindia's port of Baroach and his Guzerat 
 possessions were occupied by Bombay troops under Colonel 
 Woodington. 
 
 The Raja of Berar was anxious for peace, which was con- 
 cluded on December 18th, 1803, by the treaty of Devagaum, the 
 negotiator on the English side being Mountstuart Elphinstone.
 
 90 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 General Wellesley was invested with full power to act. At bis 
 dictation the raja ceded Cuttack to the English, and a rich 
 cotton district west of the Wurcla to the nizam, and engaged 
 to exclude all foreigners from his dominions and submit his 
 disputes with the nizam and peshwa to the decision of the 
 English. His vakeel, or representative, at first protested against 
 the severity of the demands. General Wellesley replied that 
 ' the raja was a great politician, and ought to have calculated 
 rather better his chances of success, before he commenced the 
 war ; but that having commenced it, it was proper that he should 
 suffer before getting out of the scrape.' 
 
 The campaign against Scindia's Hindostan possessions was 
 equally rapid and decisive. His deputy, General Perron, had a 
 force of twelve thousand foot and five thousand horse with one 
 hundred and forty guns, all in the highest state of efficiency. 
 The English Commander-in-chief, General Lake, was one of the 
 most dashing leaders the English ever had in India. Brave 
 as a lion, he lacked General Wellesley 's foresight and strategic 
 skill. His victories were won by hard fighting and at unnecessary 
 cost. His failures were due to impetuosity and want of fore- 
 thought. In a forced march or a charge straight on the muzzle 
 of the guns he was ever foremost, and his name is still cherished 
 by the Bengal army. Like General Wellesley, he was invested 
 with full powers in the field. 
 
 His first feat was the capture of the great fort of Alighur, 
 August 29th, 1803, Scindia's chief arsenal in the north, with a 
 store of two hundred and eighty-one guns. It was as strong as 
 art could make it, being provided with ten bastions, a fine glacis, 
 a ditch one hundred feet wide, thirty deep, with ten feet of water, 
 and the country levelled for a mile round. All India looked on 
 it as impregnable. General Lake in his impetuous way proposed, 
 instead of the slow labour of a siege, to blow open one of the gates. 
 By half-past four the storming party, under Colonel Monson, 
 arrived within a hundred yards before they were discovered. 
 They then crossed the ditch by a narrow causeway, and Major 
 Macleod of the 76th with two grenadiers tried to mount the 
 wall by ladders, but saw that it was useless. It was twenty
 
 BATTLE OF DELHI. 91 
 
 minutes before the outer gate could be blown in, and during 
 this time the party was exposed to a destructive fire and suffered 
 severely. A long, narrow, winding passage, raked by the 
 enemy's fire, led to the inner gate, upon which it was difficult to 
 bring the gun to bear. The gate was too strong for the gun, and 
 Major Macleod with his grenadiers pushed through the wicket 
 and ascended the ramparts. The garrison broke and fled, many 
 leaping into the ditch. About two thousand perished. The 
 British loss was fifty-nine killed and two hundred and twelve 
 wounded, six of the former and eleven of the latter being officers. 
 General Wellesley regarded this as one of the most daring 
 exploits in the annals of war. 
 
 A week after this Scindia sustained a great loss in the with- 
 drawal from his service of General Perron. His position and 
 talents made him a constant object of jealousy and envy to 
 Scindia's officers, and by his retirement he merely anticipated 
 dismissal. His predecessor was another adventurer, De Boigne, 
 who founded Scindia's disciplined force. 
 
 General Lake next moved towards Delhi, near which, on 
 September llth, he came upon the Mahratta force under Perron's 
 successor, Louis Bonrquin, drawn up in an impregnable position, 
 a swamp on either hand and entrenchments in front. They 
 were nineteen thousand against the British four thousand five 
 hundred. The latter were wearied with a hot march of eight- 
 een miles. It was eleven o'clock. The British cavalry were 
 about a couple of miles in front and exposed for an hour to 
 a heavy fire. The Commander-in-chief had a horse shot under 
 him. As the infantry approached, he ordered the cavalry to 
 fall back as if retreating. The enemy fell into the snare, and 
 left his entrenchments. At the right moment the cavalry 
 opened and let the infantry pass through. They were received 
 with a tremendous cannonade ; but forming in line they ad- 
 vanced, the general at their head, delivered a single volley, and 
 then charged with the bayonet. The enemy gave way in every 
 direction, on which the infantry fell again into columns of 
 companies, and let the cavalry pass through in pursuit. Great 
 numbers of the enemy perished in the Jumna at the rear of
 
 92 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 their position. All tlieir guns, sixty-eight in number, treasure, 
 and ammunition were taken. Of the British loss, which was 
 four hundred and nine, one-third fell on the 76th Highlanders. 
 Three days afterwards Bourquin and three of his officers sur- 
 rendered to General Lake. 
 
 Not only did the battle of Delhi break in pieces Scindia's 
 force in Hindostan, but it gave the English the imperial city 
 and the person of the emperor, who was only too glad to 
 exchange Mahratta for British protection. Native chroniclers 
 said that he recovered his sight from excess of joy. What- 
 ever legitimacy the imperial name conferred in native eyes 
 henceforth belonged to the English. The Commander-in-chief 
 was conducted in state by the heir-apparent into the emperor's 
 presence. The streets were blocked with wondering crowds. 
 Sir Thomas Roe came in 1615 to Jehanghir as an ambassador ; 
 General Lake came as conqueror. In Lord Wellesley's words, 
 he ' found the unfortunate and venerable emperor oppressed by 
 the accumulated calamities of old age, degraded authority, 
 extreme poverty, and loss of sight, seated under a small, tattered 
 canopy, the remnant of his royal state, with every external ap- 
 pearance of the misery of his condition.' The emperor gave his 
 visitor the second title in the empire, Sumsum-u-dowla, ashgar- 
 ul-mulk, Khan dowran Khan, General Gerard Lake bahadur, futteli 
 jung: ' The sword of the state, hero of the land, lord of the age, 
 victorious in war.' The Governor-general wished to transfer the 
 imperial family to Monghir, but the emperor was so unwilling 
 that he desisted. The change would have prevented a great 
 tragedy in our own days. 
 
 General Lake captured the fort and town of Agra on 
 October 17th, and rewarded the exertions of his troops with the 
 treasure there taken. He had then to face a new danger. 
 Scindia had sent fifteen battalions, the flower of his troops, 
 known as the Deckan Invincibles, to assist in the defence of his 
 important possessions in Hindostan. These united with the 
 remains of Perron's force and made for Delhi. On the 27th 
 General Lake left Agra in pursuit, and on the 31st was within 
 a march of the enemy, who were encamped near the village
 
 BATTLE OF LASWAItEE. 93 
 
 of Laswaree, sixty miles north-west of 1 gra. To prevent 
 them escaping he set off at midnight with liis cavalry alone, 
 ordering the infantry to follow, and after a ride of twenty-five 
 miles came up with the enemy at sunrise, November 1st. Seeing a 
 cloud of dust, which he took as a sign that they were breaking 
 up camp in preparation for their morning's march, without wait- 
 ing to reconnoitre he ordered the cavalry, unsupported as they 
 were by infantry, to charge. The enemy were simply changing 
 position, their left resting on the village, their right on deep 
 jungle-grass and a rivulet, and their front covered by power- 
 ful artillery. None knew better than the Mahrattas the art of 
 strong positions. In order to increase the difficulty of the 
 ground, they had broken the embankment of a tank. The 
 British advanced guard and first brigade, under Colonel Vande- 
 leur, forced the enemy's left and entered the village ; but the 
 withering fire made it impossible for them to form for a second 
 charge, the leader had fallen, and there was nothing but to 
 retreat. The right flank was attacked with equal valour and 
 like results. On account of the deep grass the first sign of the 
 entrenchments was a tremendous shower of grape and double- 
 headed shot. Against this and a galling fire of musketry from 
 behind deep entrenchments, mere cavalry could effect nothing, 
 and there was sad sacrifice of life. The general himself led the 
 charge. The cavalry was withdrawn to save it from annihilation. 
 The mistake was in attacking at first on mere surmise 
 instead of ascertained fact. Had he reconnoitred, the general 
 would have done what he had to do at last, wait for the infantry, 
 which arrived at eleven o'clock, and after an hour's rest was 
 formed into two columns for the attack of the enemy's right. 
 The cavalry was thrown into three brigades : one to support the 
 infantry, one as a reserve in the centre, and one to watch the 
 enemy's left. Owing to the roughness of the ground, the 76th 
 Highlanders, with a battalion and five companies of sepoys, 
 advancing rapidly, became separated from the body of the 
 infantry, and were exposed to a fearful hail of canister-shot and 
 a cavalry charge. The British cavalry had to be brought up 
 sooner than was intended to repel the attack, which they did,
 
 91 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 though at considerable loss. The advanced troops carried the 
 first line of the enemy before the rest of their comrades came 
 up. The second line was then carried after fierce resistance. 
 The enemy next made a stand near a small mosque in the rear, 
 but were cut up by a simultaneous charge of the three cavalry 
 brigades. Another column, trying to escape, shared the same 
 fate. The remainder, to the number of two thousand, laid down 
 their arms. The whole force was thus broken up. Laswaree 
 was the hardest battle yet fought by the English in India. Of 
 the loss of eight hundred and twenty-four killed and wounded, 
 one-fourth fell on the 76th regiment, which the general himself 
 led through the day. Major Griffiths and Major-general Ware 
 were among the slain. General Lake had two horses killed 
 under him, and his son wounded by his side. Just as the latter 
 fell, the general had to lead a charge. The enemy showed to 
 the full the advantage of their French training. They had no 
 French officers with them. Left to themselves, they disputed 
 every step of ground and resisted till resistance was hopeless. 
 The temper of British troops was never more severely tried. 
 Laswaree completed the destruction of Scindia's power. 
 
 As Wellesley and Lake could now easily march on Oujuir, 
 his capital, Scindia had no choice but to submit. By the treaty 
 of Sirji Anjengaum, December 29th, 1803, he ceded half his 
 territories, viz., all his territories to the north of the Jumna and 
 of Jeypore and Jodepore, the fort and territory of Baroach and 
 Ahmednuggur, and his possessions to the south of the Adjunti 
 Hills. He renounced all claims on the nizam, peshwa, and 
 guickwar, and engaged to exclude foreigners from his service. 
 He also acknowledged the independence of minor Rajpoot states, 
 formerly his tributaries, now English allies. Asseerghur and 
 Boorhanpore were restored. Scindia's negotiator was Wittul 
 Punt, whom General Wellesley called the Talleyrand of the east. 
 
 Holkar alone remained. He had not joined his confederates, 
 pleading poverty. He spent the time in wholesale plunder, with 
 the results of which he succeeded in collecting a force of sixty 
 thousand horse and fifteen thousand foot, which was increased by 
 all the wild spirits set free by Scindia's defeat. He then deliber-
 
 THE WAR WITH HOLKAR. 95 
 
 ately provoked a conflict with the English, sending loth to General 
 Lake and General Wellesley to demand the cession of certain lands, 
 belonging, he said, to the Holkar family, and also free permission 
 to levy the Mahratta cliout as heretofore, accompanying the de- 
 mands with the threat that otherwise ' countries many hundred 
 miles in extent should be plundered and burnt, the English general 
 should not have time to breathe, and calamities should fall on 
 myriads of human beings by a continued war, in which his armies 
 would overwhelm them like waves of the sea.' He also harried 
 the territory of our ally, the Raja of Jeypore. In April, 1804, 
 therefore, Generals Wellesley and Lake were ordered to act 
 against him. 
 
 Holkar was easily driven out of Jeypore. His strong fort 
 of Rampoora in the north was also taken. Then came the 
 blunder which wrecked the whole campaign. General Lake 
 withdrew into cantonments for the rainy season, but left Colonel 
 Monson with a small force to watch the enemy. Colonel 
 Murray was advancing from Guzerat on the other side, but 
 retired, while Monson advanced much farther than General 
 Lake intended. Hearing of Colonel Murray's withdrawal, and 
 that Holkar was about to attack, he completely lost his head and 
 determined to retreat. The retreat began on July 7th. On the 
 10th he was attacked by Holkar in force at the Mokundra Pass, 
 but repelled him. Even in the retreat there was no lack of 
 bravery, but every step was a blunder. He reached Rampoora 
 on July 27th, and instead of marching on did not leave it till 
 August 22nd, the second grand mistake. Every rivulet was 
 flooded. Boats, rafts, elephants were brought into use. The 
 enemy's cavalry charged fiercely at every opening. Guns, bag- 
 gage, ammunition were abandoned, and the remains of the force 
 straggled into Agra as best they could. The influence of the dis- 
 aster was far woi-se than that of Baillie's defeat in 1780. Holkar 
 was highly elated, and the confidence of India in British power 
 was shaken. A native ballad said : ' Putting the elephant's 
 lioiudah on the horse, and the horse's saddle on the elephant, 
 Colonel Monson fled away in haste.' 
 
 In October Holkar's southern possessions were subdued by
 
 96 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 the capture of the strong forts of Chandore, one hundred and 
 thirty miles north of Poona, Dhoorb, twenty miles north-west of 
 Chandore, and Galna, thirty-five miles north-east of Chandore. 
 All were surrendered, without resistance, to Colonel Wallace. 
 
 Encouraged by the mishap to Monson, Holkar advanced with 
 his whole army to Muttra, which he took. On October 1st 
 General Lake marched against him. Holkar now planned an 
 enterprise of characteristic audacity upon Delhi. Leaving most 
 of his cavalry to employ Lake, he marched with his infantry and 
 guns to seize the capital and the emperor, arriving there on the 
 7th. There were only eight hundred men with eleven guns to 
 defend ten miles of wall in a ruinous state against twenty thousand 
 assailants and a hundred guns. But under the Resident, Colonel 
 Ochterlony, and the commandant, Colonel Burn, wonders were 
 done. Mutinous symptoms in some of the native garrison were 
 severely repressed. A sortie led by Lieutenant Rose destroyed 
 one of the enemy's batteries. A breach was cut off by an inner 
 entrenchment. A general assault on the Lahore Grate on the 
 14th was repulsed, and the same day the enemy retreated. The 
 defence of Delhi is not unworthy of being ranked with Clive's 
 defence of Arcot. 
 
 Holkar's next move led to the ruin of his force. Leaving his 
 infantry under the protection of the guns of Deeg, he set off at 
 the head of his cavalry to ravage the rich British territories of 
 the Dooab in true Mahratta style. General Lake at once fol- 
 lowed, leaving General Frazer to deal with the infantry. Holkar 
 managed to keep twenty miles ahead, burning everything he 
 could not carry off. For thirteen days Lake made a march of 
 thirty miles a day. On November 16th, by a double march 
 through the night he thoroughly surprised Holkar's camp, which 
 lay at Futtyghur dreaming that the English were forty miles 
 away. Holkar galloped off with a few troopers, leaving his 
 troops to shift for themselves. The force was utterly broken up. 
 The British must have ridden in the forced marches and pursuit 
 almost seventy miles without drawing rein. 
 
 Holkar now made for his infantry, near Deeg, but this had 
 been crushed four days before by General Frazer. The enemy
 
 SIEGE OF BHURTPORE. 97 
 
 was, as usual, strongly posted, and had no fewer than one hundred 
 and sixty guns. His position was in fact a series of batteries, which 
 the British force had to storm in succession for a distance of 
 two miles. The 76th distinguished itself as usual. Eighty-seven 
 guns were taken, among them being fourteen of those lost in 
 Monson's retreat. This was a satisfaction to Colonel Monson, who 
 had to command in the battle of Deeg after General Frazer was 
 wounded. The general died three days afterwards, greatly 
 lamented. The remnant of the enemy's force took refuge within 
 the walls of Deeg. 
 
 Holkar was now without army or territory. The Bombay 
 army under General Jones, after subduing Malwa, had joined 
 Lake. But the results of the campaign were to a great extent 
 thrown away by General Lake's unfortunate determination to 
 besiege Bhurtpore, the raja of which had joined Holkar. Deeg 
 belonged to the Bhurtpore raja, and its garrison had fired on the 
 British force during the battle. Bhurtpore was eight miles round, 
 and defended by a mud wall of immense height and thickness and 
 a deep, broad ditch. General Lake was little fitted for the slow 
 operations of a siege ; his battering-train was ludicrously in- 
 adequate, and his engineers incompetent. It is said that he 
 wished to use his favourite device of blowing open a gate, which 
 would probably have succeeded, but he was overruled. The siege 
 dragged on from January 4th to April, 1805. Two breaches 
 were made, and no fewer than four desperate assaults delivered. 
 The baffling obstacle was the deep water in the ditch in front of 
 the breach. Some of the men did even creep round the water by 
 a narrow path to the breach, but had to retire. Others in another 
 assault clambered up the face of one of the bastions and planted 
 the colours on the summit, but the few who penetrated the em- 
 brasure were instantly cut to pieces. The small climbing parties 
 were received with grape, logs of wood, and pots filled with fire. 
 The loss in these useless efforts against insuperable physical 
 obstacles was no less than three thousand two hundred in killed 
 and wounded. It is singular that the only fort which ever success- 
 fully defied British troops in India was one of earth. Though his 
 town was not taken, the raja was tired of the war, and glad to 
 
 H
 
 98 OJJR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 make peace by a payment of twenty lacs of rupees. The British 
 reputation suffered not a little from the repulse at Bhurtpore. 
 In distant places might be seen on walls rude pictures of British 
 soldiers hurled from the bastions of Bhurtpore. 
 
 Worse than this was the circumstance that the delay over a 
 minor operation in the war caused the transference of the final 
 negotiations from Lord Wellesley's hands. Disputes had arisen 
 with Scindia over the execution of the treaty. He was in active 
 intrigue with Holkar, and indeed the two chiefs moved about the 
 country together. Lord Wellesley had tenfold more reason for 
 treating him as an enemy than ever existed in the case of Tippu ; 
 but, while making dispositions in the last resort to overrun Scin- 
 dia's remaining territories, he was exceedingly anxious to avoid 
 hostilities. In July, 1805, the Marquis Cornwallis arrived in 
 Calcutta as Governor-general, and Wellesley returned home to 
 be censured by directors and proprietors, and thirty years later 
 to receive a grant of 20,000 and a statue from the same hands. 
 His policy and Lord Lake's sword added northern India to the 
 British empire. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis was sent out at the age of sixty-seven to 
 reverse the policy of Lord Wellesley. He started for the north- 
 west to settle affairs in person ; but he had only time in a letter 
 to Lord Lake to sketch his intended policy when he was carried 
 off by death at Ghazipore, October 5th. That policy was to 
 concede the points in dispute to Scindia, and to reinstate Holkar 
 in the possession of the territories which he held before the war. 
 He disagreed entirely with Lord Wellesley's system of native 
 alliances, and was resolved to bring it to an end. The British 
 were to retire to their own territories, and leave the native 
 powers to themselves. On his death, Sir George Barlow, the 
 senior member of council, succeeded to power, and resolved to 
 carry out the new system at any cost. Strangely enough, Sir 
 G. Barlow had agreed with Lord Wellesley in all his measures. 
 The concessions made to Scindia were unimportant, and about 
 them little need be said. But the course to be pursued with 
 respect to Holkar was extraordinary in the highest degree. That 
 chief had fled with all the forces he could collect to the Punjab,
 
 BRITISH WANT OF FAITH. 99 
 
 in the hope of obtaining help from Runjeet Sing, the new ruler 
 of that country. But Lord Lake pursued him from place to 
 place and gave him no rest. It was now for the first time that 
 British troops encamped on the banks of the Sutledge. The 
 sepoys, from superstitious fears, refused to cross, when Colonel 
 Malcolm rode into their ranks, and exclaiming, ' The city and 
 shrine of Umritsir, with the water of immortality, is before you, 
 and will you shrink from such a pilgrimage ? ' overcame their 
 fears. The troops advanced as far as the Beeas, the ancient 
 Hyphasis, near the spot where Alexander the Great, coming from 
 the opposite direction, had once encamped. The young chief, 
 Runjeet Sing, is said to have visited the camp in disguise. Holkar, 
 now reduced to despair, sent vakeels to sue for peace, and was as- 
 tonished to learn that his dominions were to be restored to him. 
 Sir George Barlow even went beyond the terms fixed by Colonel 
 Malcolm, and made concessions which the latter officer had 
 positively refused, the fort of Rampoora being one of them. 
 Thus, by the stroke of a penthe advantages gained by the war 
 with Holkar were thrown away. The river Jumna was fixed as 
 the boundary of British influence. Beyond this Sir George 
 Barlow would undertake no responsibility. This could not be 
 done without positive breach of faith with the Rajas of Jeypore 
 and Boondi, who had good cause for dreading Holkar's ven- 
 geance for the help they had given our troops, and to whom our 
 word was pledged. But the Governor-general was immovable. 
 The two rajas were abandoned, in spite of Lord Lake's most 
 strenuous protests. 
 
 However foolish the deliberate sacrifice of territory so dearly 
 purchased, there was nothing dishonourable in it. But this 
 cannot be said of our renunciation of express alliances. Nothing 
 we ever did in India stained the English name so deeply as our 
 conduct to these Rajpoot allies. Lord Lake threw up his political 
 authority in disgust, and limited himself to his military duties. 
 The Raja of Jeypore's vakeel justly taunted us with making 
 our faith subservient to our interests. From that prince Holkar 
 extorted eighteen lacs of rupees. As to Holkar's subsequent 
 career, we need only say that, after putting his nephew and 
 
 H2
 
 100 
 
 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 brother to death, he gave way to reckless intemperance, and died 
 raving mad in 1811. The result of the hasty, ill-considered 
 policy now carried out, in obedience to orders from the home 
 authorities, was that central India was surrendered to twelve 
 years of strife, plunder, and desolation, after which the English 
 were obliged in self-defence to interfere, and at the cost of 
 another war regain what was now given away. Professor H. H. 
 Wilson justly says : 'What was done in 1817 might have been 
 accomplished, with quite as much reason, with more ease, and 
 still less cost, in 1805.'* Mr. Metcalfe, afterwards Governor- 
 general, characterized the policy as one of ' disgrace without 
 compensation, treaties without security, and peace without 
 tranquillity.' 
 
 Mill's History, vi., 470, note. 
 
 TEMPLE AT ELEFHANTA.
 
 PALACE OF VELLOEE
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 SIR GEORGE BARLOW AND LORD MINTO. 1806-1813. 
 
 VEN" Sir George Barlow could not maintain a 
 policy of absolute neutrality. When the new 
 nizam, Secunder Jah, showed a disposition to go|i 
 "rid of the British alliance, and the peshwa tried 
 to regain some of the independence which the treaty 
 of Bassein had given up, the Governor-general held 
 them firmly to their engagements. He argued that 
 whatever ground we gave up would be used against us. 
 
 In 1806 occurred the sepoy rising at Yellore, a miniature of 
 the mutiny half a century later. It arose from similar causes 
 and was attended by similar circumstances. Both were occa- 
 sioned by fears on the part of the sepoys that the English were 
 about to interfere with their religion. From inadvertence or 
 ignorance new regulations had been issued about dress and 
 accoutrements, which seemed to aim at Europeanizing, and this 
 to native minds was equivalent to Christianizing, the sepoys. A 
 new form of turban, resembling a hat, was especially obnoxious.* 
 The orders were unquestionably a mistake, and they were en- 
 forced in a harsh, arbitrary way. Objections on the part of the 
 men, instead of being listened to, were severely punished. Regi- 
 mental discipline had become loose, else the conspiracy must 
 have been discovered. There was the same blindness to warnings 
 in 1806 as in 1857. One of the sepoys revealed the fact of the 
 conspiracy, but the denial of his assertions by the conspirators 
 themselves was accepted as sufficient. He was actually put on 
 his trial as a slanderer before these very conspirators, and, of 
 course, condemned. But the regulations were simply a spark to 
 a train already laid, and a spark designedly applied. Vellore 
 
 Topi wallah=lia.tm&n, is a common Indian term for European.
 
 104 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 was full of combustible matter. Here, within forty miles of 
 the Mysore frontier, Tippu's family were located. The place 
 swarmed with their adherents, as well as with Mohammedan 
 fanatics. One regiment was composed of Mysore Mohammedans. 
 Many of the servants and dependents of the palace were most 
 active in encouraging the disaffected. The Mysore ensign was 
 hoisted on the flagstaff. But there was no evidence to connect 
 any of the pi'inces themselves with the conspiracy. Method or 
 aim in the rising, beyond massacre, there was none. The mis- 
 chief was done and the danger over in a few hours. At three 
 o'clock on the morning of July 10th the sepoys, who numbered 
 one thousand five hundred to the three hundred Europeans, 
 having first secured the main-guard and powder-magazine, sur- 
 rounded the European barracks and poured in volley after volley 
 through the Venetians, until eighty-two of the soldiers were 
 killed and ninety-one severely wounded. A gun was planted 
 opposite the door, and musketry fire directed on any who at- 
 tempted to rush out. How any escaped seems strange. But 
 the soldiers protected themselves with beds, and the sepoys dared 
 not enter the building. Detachments were told off to the officers' 
 houses, and thirteen of the officers fell in this way. A few of 
 the officers, who had managed to defend themselves in a house, 
 made their way to the barracks, and, putting themselves at the 
 head of the men, led them through a murderous fire to the ram- 
 parts, where they found cover above the main gateway and in a 
 bastion. There, with nothing but their bayonets, they beat off 
 the assailants until help arrived. 
 
 News reached Arcot, nine miles off, at six o'clock. Colonel 
 Gillespie at once galloped off with some of the 19th Dragoons 
 and 7th Native Cavalry to the rescue. There were four gates. 
 Two were open, one was opened by the English within, but the 
 fourth was commanded by the mutineers. But when the guns 
 arrived at ten o'clock the gate was blown open, and simulta- 
 neously Colonel Gillespie, who had been drawn up the rampart, 
 put himself at the head of the survivors and charged the muti- 
 neers. Between three and four hundred were slain, and of the 
 rest many escaped over the walls. In the end, the native regi-
 
 THE VELLORE MUTINY. 105 
 
 ments were broken up. The rising was an immense shock to 
 feeling both in India and England. Hitherto no suspicion had 
 breathed on the loyalty of the sepoy troops. Two remarks are 
 suggested. First, the neutrality and reticence of our govern- 
 ment with respect to Christianity and its kindly attitude towards 
 idolatry had egregiously failed. The Hindus always suspect a 
 policy of silence and secrecy. Secondly, it is not sufficiently 
 remembered that British rule in India has most to fear from 
 Mohammedans, inasmuch as it was from them that we took the 
 empire of India. The Mahrattas were the only considerable 
 Hindu power in the country, and their internal dissensions 
 effectually prevented their reaching the supremacy which they 
 coveted. The Mohammedans can never forget that they were 
 once masters. In 1857 it was the Mohammedan standard at 
 Delhi round which mutiny rallied, as in 1806 at Yellore. 
 
 With singular injustice and inconsistency the Vellore mutiny 
 was visited on Christian missionaries. On the ground that 
 missionary work tended to unsettle and alarm the natives, Sir 
 Gr. Barlow interdicted the Serampore missionaries from preach- 
 ing, and ordered two newly-arrived missionaries out of the 
 country. As to the perversity of this course we need only say 
 that it would be impossible for the Hindus, if they understood 
 the real nature of Christianity, to suppose that it could ever be 
 imposed on them by force, and that the most effectual means 
 for making Christianity understood by the Hindus is missionary 
 labour. 
 
 The same Governor-general who forbade Christian preaching 
 took the great temple of Jagannath in Cuttack under British 
 management, not excepting even the three hundred dancing girls. 
 The tax paid by pilgrims from all parts of India went into the 
 company's exchequer. Lord Wellesley had refused the alliance 
 of a Christian government with a great centre of idolatry and 
 evil of every kind, and the Court of Directors disapproved of 
 it. But the Court of Proprietors approved, and the connection 
 continued until abolished by Lord Dalhousie. 
 
 Lord Minto's appointment in 1807 was a compromise between 
 the Cabinet and the directors, the former wishing to appoint
 
 106 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Lord Lauderdale, the second to continue Sir Or. Barlow. As 
 President of the Board of Control, Lord Minto had gained an 
 insight into Indian affairs. He was not without ability and 
 force of character, but he was hampered by instructions from 
 home. Lord Wellesley was held up before him as a beacon ; 
 Lord Cornwallis in his old age as a model. When he reached 
 Calcutta he said jocosely that the two points about which the 
 directors expressed anxiety were, the policy of intervention in 
 native states, and the great consumption of pen-knives by their 
 clerks. Nothing of special moment marked his administration, 
 but in more than one instance Lord Minto found destiny, we 
 should rather say Providence, stronger than instructions from 
 directors at home. 
 
 One of his first tasks was the pacification of Bundelkund, 
 which had been ceded by the peshwa in lieu of a subsidy for 
 the troops. It lay near the British provinces and was worth- 
 less to the peshwa. The country was very much broken by hill 
 and jungle, in which a swarm of petty chieftains had established 
 themselves, who lived at the expense of the people. Sir Gr. 
 Barlow had winked at their lawlessness, saying that 'a certain 
 extent of dominion, local power, and revenue would be cheaply 
 sacrificed for tranquillity and security within a more contracted 
 circle.' Lord Minto felt that such a state of things could not be 
 allowed to continue in British territory, and sent a force under 
 Colonel Martindell to capture the strongholds of the chiefs. 
 One chief, Gopal Sing, kept the field and baffled all the troops 
 sent against him for four years, and in the end received a full 
 pardon and a jaghire of eighteen villages. The two chief forts 
 were Ajighur and Kalinja. The first surrendered on a breach 
 being made. The chief earnestly begged that his lands might 
 be restored or that he might be blown from a gun, saying that 
 life without honour was not worth having. On being refused, 
 he secretly departed for Calcutta to press his request, but 
 without effect. When he disappeared, it was thought wise to 
 keep his family as a kind of hostage, and his father-in-law was 
 requested to take charge of them. But, instead of doing this, 
 he put them all to death, his own wife, daughter-in-law, grand-
 
 NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUNJEET SING. 107 
 
 child, and four female attendants, and then stabbed himself. 
 Native opinion in those wild districts commended the deed. The 
 capture of Kalinja was more difficult. The fort had never been 
 taken before. Seven centuries previously, Mahmud of Grhuzni 
 had tried and failed. In the last century one of the peshwa's 
 officers had besieged it two years in vain. As a sign of his 
 determination to succeed, he had a house built near the fort. 
 Not to be outdone, the commander of the fort sent him some 
 mango-seeds to sow in the garden with an intimation that when 
 the seeds had grown to a tree and the tree borne fruit, he might 
 succeed. The fort crowned the summit of a rock, which rose 
 abruptly nine hundred feet from a marshy plain, the base of the 
 rock being from ten to twelve miles round, the summit a plateau 
 four miles round, and the sides dense jungle. A breach was made 
 from a somewhat lower hill ; but when the storming-party had 
 made good their ascent, they found that to reach the foot of 
 the breach a precipitous rock had still to be scaled, which defied 
 all their efforts. After losing many in killed and wounded, the 
 force retired. The next day the fort was surrendered, the chief 
 receiving an assignment of land. 
 
 At this time there were apprehensions of an invasion of 
 India by Napoleon, as very a chimera as ever troubled English 
 brains. To bar the way splendid embassies were sent to the 
 Punjab, Afghanistan, and Persia, conducted by Charles Metcalfe, 
 Mountstuart Elphinstone, and Colonel Malcolm, three of the 
 ablest of the company's servants. The Punjab had just been 
 united under the rule of Bunjeet Sing, who, like Hyder AH in 
 the south, with equal skill and sagacity had founded a kingdom. 
 He next tried to extend his sway over the Sikh * principalities 
 to the east, between the Sutledge and Delhi. These had formed 
 part of the Mahratta province subdued by the English. When 
 Mr. Metcalfe stated the object of his mission, Bunjeet demanded 
 as an equivalent the cession of this territory, to which Mr. 
 Metcalfe had no power to consent. Bunjeet then broke off the 
 conferences and tried to carry the envoy with him in an expedition 
 
 >S;M=disciple, alluding to Nauuk, the founder of the Sikh faith.
 
 108 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 into the disputed province, but Mr. Metcalfe refused to accom- 
 pany him. Runjeet had formerly merely hinted at his claims 
 on the territory. Now that he formally put them forward, Lord 
 Minto as formally took the country under British protection, 
 and sent Colonel Ochterlony with a force to the banks of the 
 Sutledge to carry the proclamation into effect. Runjeet was 
 foiled in the projects of years. He stormed, affected compliance, 
 promised, threatened ; but in the young civilian he found his 
 match. With greater wisdom than Hyder he foresaw the con- 
 sequences of resistance, and on April 25th, 1809, a treaty of 
 perpetual amity was signed between the two powers, which for 
 thirty years, up to the time of Runjeet's death, was faithfully 
 observed on both sides. British power was now extended from 
 the Jumna to the Sutledge, Lord Minto thus -treading in the 
 steps of Wellesley rather than of Cornwallis. 
 
 Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone found the Cabul ruler, Shah 
 Soojah, at Peshawur, March. 1809. He, like Runjeet Sing, 
 did not see the necessity of an alliance, the advantages of which 
 were to be all on one side. Besides, he wished to hear the 
 French state their case before coming to a decision. Soon after- 
 wards disaster overtook an expedition sent by him into Cash- 
 mere. His brother Mahmud at once seized Cabul. Shah 
 Soojah then asked for an equivalent in the shape of ten lacs 
 of rupees to enable him to march against his brother. But the 
 dread of invasion had passed away, and Lord Minto refused the 
 gift. Mr. Elphinstone urged its being granted. In all proba- 
 bility, if his advice had been followed, our expedition thirty 
 years later to establish Shah Soojah on the throne would have 
 been unnecessary, and the greatest disaster that ever befell 
 British arms in India avoided. With the fall of Shah Soojah the 
 treaty came to nothing. 
 
 The Persian embassy gave rise to a curious conflict of juris- 
 diction, little creditable to the British name. The Cabinet nomi- 
 nated Colonel Malcolm as ambassador, but the directors objected 
 to a disciple of Wellesley, and appointed Sir Harford Jones, who 
 reached Bombay, April, 1808. Lord Minto, however, had already 
 despatched Colonel Malcolm, who took very high ground in his
 
 EMBASSY TO PERSIA. 109 
 
 communications with the Persian court, and, on being requested 
 to confer with the heir-apparent, quitted the country without 
 reaching the capital. At Calcutta he urged an expedition to 
 punish the insult. Sir Harford Jones now started on his mission, 
 in which he perfectly succeeded. Lord Minto wrote to the 
 Persian court disavowing Sir Harford Jones. Sir Harford 
 Jones represented Lord Minto as a servant of the Crown like 
 himself. Lord Minto, however, could do nothing else than 
 ratify the treaty which had heen concluded ; but he now sent 
 Malcolm again for the sole purpose of vindicating the honour 
 of the company. The Persians hoped to profit by the dissensions 
 of the two ambassadors, but the latter had too much sense to 
 give them an opportunity. The king, who had known Malcolm 
 as Wellesley's ambassador in 1800, and who looked on him as the 
 greatest of Englishmen, received him with every honour. ' What 
 induced you,' he asked, ' to hasten away from Shiraz, without 
 seeing my son ? ' ' How could I,' replied Malcolm, ' after having 
 been warmed with the sunshine of your majesty's favour, be 
 satisfied with the mere reflection of that refulgence in the 
 person of your son?' 'By Allah,' cried the king, 'Malcolm 
 Sahib is himself again ! ' The treaty was duly ratified, French 
 influence excluded, the British demand granted ; but nothing 
 came of it. The Persian embassies cost thirty-eight lacs 
 (380,000), and the only tangible result was the order of 
 the Lion and the Sun instituted in honour of Colonel Mal- 
 colm, of which he was the first member. Ever since those 
 days English diplomacy in Persia has been carried on by the 
 Crown. 
 
 In 1809 there was a dangerous mutiny on the part of the 
 English officers in the Madras army, similar in origin and charac- 
 ter to the two already mentioned in Bengal. In Bengal double 
 latta was in question; in Madras the tent contract, a monthly 
 allowance to officers, nominally to enable them to equip their regi- 
 ments, really a part of their pay. The officers were undoubtedly 
 in the wrong ; but they were sorely provoked by the arbitrary way 
 in which Sir George Barlow, now Governor of Madras, sought 
 to carry through the reductions. The danger was great, nothing
 
 110 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 less than civil war being threatened. But the Governor was 
 firm in refusing to concede anything to threats, and when the 
 officers were brought face to face with rebellion they gradually 
 gave in. Seringapatam was the only place in which a collision 
 occurred, a regiment commanded by disaffected officers being 
 fired on by the king's troops and many killed and wounded. Many 
 of the highest officers were involved. Some were cashiered, 
 some dismissed, though all were afterwards restored. Sir George 
 Barlow, always unfortunate, was recalled. 
 
 Advantage was taken of the Avar in Europe to conquer the 
 French islands in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius, and Bourbon, 
 from which fleets were always issuing to prey on our commerce. 
 During the present war alone vessels and property had been 
 taken worth 2,000,000. Lord Wellesley had been anxious to 
 put down the nuisance, but was baffled by the perversity of the 
 English admiral. Lord Minto effected the conquest in 1810. A 
 footing had already been gained in Bourbon by a small force 
 under Colonel Keating; but in November, 1810, General Aber- 
 crombie arrived with a force which the French had no means 
 to resist. General Decaen surrendered, and the Mauritius became 
 British territory. The isle of Bourbon was restored to France 
 at the peace. 
 
 Upon the conquest of Holland by Napoleon, the Dutch islands 
 in the East came into the possession of France. It was resolved 
 to undertake the conquest of these. The smaller islands of Am- 
 boyna and Banda were soon occupied, and in August, 1811, a 
 considerable force under Sir S. Auchmuty, Commander-in-chief 
 at Madras, arrived at Batavia for the conquest of Java. Lord 
 Minto accompanied the expedition, and with him was Mr. Stam- 
 ford Raffles. The island was defended by seventeen thousand 
 troops under General Jansens ; but in less than a month it was 
 completely overrun, chiefly through the enterprise of Colonel 
 Gillespie, of Vellore fame. The chief position was Fort Cornells, 
 eight miles inland, situated between two rivers, one of which 
 was impassable, and the other defended by redoubts and batteries. 
 Colonel Gillespie stormed and took the redoubt at the head of 
 a slight bridge, which communicated with the enemy's position,
 
 THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT AND HINDUISM. Ill 
 
 rushed across the bridge and took another redoubt. One by one 
 the redoubts fell. In one of them the powder-magazine blew 
 up, burying defenders and assailants in the ruins. The colonel 
 then put himself at the head of the dragoons and horse artillery, 
 and pursued the enemy for ten miles. A position, as nearly 
 impregnable as nature and art could make it, was thus captured 
 in a few hours. The British loss was nine hundred in killed 
 and wounded, of whom eighty-five were officers. Colonel Gil- 
 lespie was afterwards made commander of the troops in the 
 island, and Mr. Raffles governor. But in 1814 the home govern- 
 ment agreed to restore Java to the Dutch, and the results of the 
 expedition were thrown away. 
 
 On his arrival in India Lord Minto was under the influence 
 of the party in the government opposed to missionary operations, 
 and issued an order for the removal of the Serampore press to 
 Calcutta, where it would be under the control of officers, 
 many of whom were bitter enemies of Christian missions. But 
 the blow was averted by the firmness of the Danish governor of 
 Serampore, Colonel Krefting, and the temperate conduct of the 
 missionaries, Carey, Marshman, and Ward, who sought an in- 
 terview with the Governor-general, and gave him such an account 
 of their mode of working as led him to rescind the order. In 1812, 
 eight missionaries were ordered to quit the country as unlicensed, 
 and one was actually deported. Many Anglo-Indians in those 
 days became thoroughly Hindu in their opinions and morality, 
 and attacked missions as dangerous to the stability of British 
 power. At home, Mr. Twining, son of a wealthy tea-dealer, and 
 Major Scott Waring were the leading prophets of this school, 
 and Sydney Smith lent them the shafts of his wit. In India, 
 Colonel Stewart wrote on the same side. He had become a Hindu 
 by profession, went down daily with flowers and the usual para- 
 phernalia to perform his ablutions in the Ganges, and was gener- 
 ally known as ' Hindu Stewart.' He spoke in raptures of the 
 virtues of Hinduism and Hindus, concluding his pamphlet with 
 a solemn appeal to the company ' by the most prompt and decisive 
 interposition of their authority to obviate the menaced conse- 
 quences of that current of indignation now raised in the minds
 
 112 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE, 
 
 of our Indian subjects by the impolitic, unwise, and improper 
 conduct of these misguided missionaries.' 
 
 But these restrictions were soon to be swept away. In 1813 
 the company's charter was renewed for another term of twenty 
 years, with two important relaxations. The monopoly of trade 
 was abolished. Outsiders were admitted within certain limits. 
 The company, of course, stoutly opposed any alteration. It is a 
 striking illustration of the narrowing influence of special interests 
 and experience even upon powerful intellects, to find men like 
 Warren Hastings, Lord Teignmouth, Charles Grant, Colonels 
 Malcolm and Munro coming forward as witnesses against free- 
 dom of trade. When Warren Hastings appeared at the bar of 
 the Commons, bending under the weight of eighty years, the 
 whole house rose spontaneously to receive him. The wonderful 
 development of the trade in recent years has singularly falsified 
 the predictions of ruin which were heard on every side. 
 
 The missionary question was too delicate for the government 
 to touch. Lord Castlereagh did not at first include it in his 
 measure. It was forced upon the government and the House by 
 the public opinion which Mr. Wilberforce's efforts called forth. 
 Directly that he proposed the removal of all restrictions upon the 
 dissemination of Christianity in India, the whole country spoke 
 in a way which the government could neither misunderstand nor 
 resist. The House was deluged with petitions. Once, as they 
 were rained upon the table, Lord Castlereagh said, ' This is 
 enough, Mr. Fuller,' alluding to Andrew Fuller, of Kettering. 
 Here again the whole weight of Indian experience was on the side 
 of restriction. Sir H. Montgomery, who had been twenty years 
 in the Madras army, thought that the Hindu religion was pure 
 and unexceptionable. A Mr. Prendergast, a well-known duellist, 
 told a story from his own experience of Dr. Carey standing on 
 a tub in the streets of Calcutta, and abusing Hinduism to such 
 an extent that the mob would have killed him but for the police. 
 Andrew Fuller wrote to Mr. Prendergast, denying the statement, 
 and asking him to withdraw it. Mr. Prendergast, instead of do- 
 ing this, would have sent Mr. Fuller a challenge, if he had not 
 been dissuaded by Mr. Wilberforce. Mr. Marsh, an old Madras
 
 INDIA OPENED TO MISSIONS. 
 
 113 
 
 barrister, was the most outspoken in his denunciations of mis- 
 sionaries and their ways. It was not for shoemakers and weavers 
 and blacksmiths to encounter subtle philosophers like the Brah- 
 mins. ' Calvinism and gin ' would be poor substitutes for the 
 treasures of Hindu civilization. Mr. Prendergast repeated his tale 
 of a tub. Mr. Robinson ' in pathetic terms prayed that the House 
 would not sanction that clause of the Bill which gave fall toler- 
 ation to missionaries to convert the Hindus from a religion to 
 the doctrines of which they were so much attached.' ' Mr. 
 afterwards Sir Charles Forbes affirmed that it was the opinion 
 of ninety-nine out of every hundred of those acquainted with 
 India that Christian Missions would be attended with the worst 
 possible effects.'* The clause passed by a majority of twenty- 
 two. Mr. Wilberforce's speech of three hours on the first reading 
 was one of his best efforts. It should not be forgotten that the 
 cause of free trade and a free Gospel was carried by English 
 against Anglo-Indian opinion. 
 
 Marshman's Life of Carey, Marshmun, and Ward.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LOKI> HASTINGS NEPAL WAR PINDARI WAR EXTINCTION OF 
 THE MAHRATTA POWER, ETC. 1813-1823. 
 
 HE first part of Lord Hastings' administration 
 was spent in warfare on the greatest scale and 
 with the most momentous results. The elements 
 of disturbance had long been gathering, and 
 needed to be dealt with in the most decisive man- 
 ner. The Nepal War is one of the few wars as to 
 "which there can be no doubt on which side the right 
 lay. It was an aggressive war in pure self-defence. For a 
 quarter of a century the Nepalese government had been slowly 
 encroaching on Hindostan. They then boldly laid claim to two 
 districts of Oude belonging to the British. There were nego- 
 tiations without end. Investigation on the spot thoroughly 
 established the British right. In this state affairs stood when 
 Lord Hastings came to power. The Nepalese government and 
 chiefs deliberated on the question, and distinctly refused to con- 
 cede the disputed territory. The Commander-in-chief, Amar 
 Sing, a brave and skilful leader, counselled peace, saying, ' We 
 have hitherto been hunting deer ; but if we engage in this war 
 we must be prepared to fight tigers.' The war-party, however, 
 carried the day. The recent policy of rigid abstention had created 
 a general belief in British weakness. ' Hitherto,' they said, 'no 
 power has been able to cope with us. The small fort of Bhurt- 
 pore was the work of man, yet the English were worsted before 
 it, and desisted from the attempt ; our hills and fastnesses 
 are the work of the Deity, and are impregnable.' The Nepalese 
 declared war May, 1814, by attacking a British police-station, 
 where they killed the chief officer and eighteen of his men. The 
 officer was tied to a tree, and shot to death with arrows. 
 
 The kingdom of Nepal lies in the very heart of the Hima,-
 
 DEATH OF GENERAL GILLESPIE. 117 
 
 lavas, consisting of a valley left between the highest ranges on 
 the north and the lower on the south. Its defences are forests, 
 snow-clad mountains, the i-oughest passes and ravines. The 
 Ghoorkas* are a Rajpoot race who emigrated from Hindostan 
 several centuries back, and founded a dynasty in Nepal about 
 the time of the battle of Plassey. Without any discipline, they 
 fought with the utmost recklessness of life. Repulse after re- 
 pulse did not daunt them. In every conflict they would march 
 up to the very muzzle of the muskets, over which they tried to 
 cut down the British with their peculiar short swords. Single 
 combats between British officers and Cfhoorka leaders often took 
 place. The Ghoorkas were especially clever in making stockades, 
 rude but strong fortifications made of a double row of palisades 
 filled up with earth and stones. They were thrown up very 
 quickly, and the materials were abundant everywhere. These 
 defences gave the British troops more trouble and inflicted more 
 loss than many regular fortresses. But, of course, the chief diffi- 
 culties were caused by the nature of the country to be invaded, 
 as to which the English knew next to nothing. 
 
 The campaign was skilfully planned. Instead of waiting to 
 be attacked, the English resolved to attack in foiir columns at 
 four different points. General Ochterlony commanded in the 
 west, Generals Gillespie (of Java and Yellore fame), J. S. Wood, 
 and Marley led the other columns. The last three all miscarried. 
 General Gillespie was killed in the first onset, and his command 
 fell into incompetent hands. Gillespie's attack on Kalunga, 
 October 31st, gave the English an example of the new kind of 
 enemy they had to do with. The fort was simply an open space 
 surrounded by stone walls, with additional supports of stockades. 
 When summoned at night to surrender, the Ghoorka leader 
 replied that the hour was too late for correspondence, which 
 must be deferred till next day. General Gillespie, no doubt in- 
 fluenced by his experience farther south, unwisely determined 
 to carry the place by assault without first employing artillery. 
 When the storming-party were driven back by the fire, the
 
 J 1 8 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 general, with characteristic impetuosity, put himself at their 
 head, to lead them on again, and was shot through the heart. His 
 death was a great loss to the British army. On November 27th, 
 after the place had been breached, another assault was made. 
 But on reaching the breach, the assailants found a sheer descent 
 of fourteen feet, and at the foot a mass of spears and arrows 
 and matchlocks waiting to receive them. Nothing could induce 
 them to proceed, and after a two hours' exposure to a destructive 
 fire they withdrew. The place was then bombarded ; and, as the 
 besieged had no shelter, the commander at length withdrew, 
 leaving five-sixths of his force of six hundred dead. This was 
 equivalent to a Ghoorka triumph, and gave earnest of the sort of 
 resistance to be expected. General Martindell, who succeeded 
 the brave Gillespie, quite failed in an attack on the fort of Jytak. 
 It is true that hill and jungle warfare presented special difficul- 
 ties, but there were also mistakes in timing the two simultaneous 
 attacks. One column fled in disgraceful panic, pursued by hoot- 
 ing, yelling Ghoorkas with their sharp swords; the other had to 
 retreat with difficulty and loss. 
 
 General J. S. Wood's imbecility has seldom been surpassed. 
 In January, 1815, he attacked the stockade of Jitpur ; but just 
 as the enemy were on the point of retreating, he was smitten 
 with some undefinable dread of stockade and jungle fighting, 
 and gave orders to retreat. He never struck another blow, but 
 after marching about for four months withdrew. The enemy 
 took advantage of his cowardice to ravage our territories. 
 
 General Marley did no better. His division was intended to 
 march on the Nepalese capital, Katmandu ; but it can scarcely 
 be said to have started. Two detached posts, which he left with- 
 out support, were attacked and cut to pieces ; and this seems to 
 have satisfied the general that the British could not conquer the 
 Ghoorkas, for he soon after secretly abandoned his force. Two 
 defeats inflicted by subordinate officers on Ghoorka divisions 
 showed what the British troops would have done if they had been 
 properly led. There was never a clearer case of lions led by deer. 
 The generals were chosen not by fitness but length of service. 
 
 English honour was redeemed and the objects of the cam-
 
 DEFEAT OF GHOORKAS. 119 
 
 paign were secured by General Ochterlony's brilliant operations 
 in the west. The enemy were here led by Amar Sing himself, 
 and both leader and troops proved themselves not unworthy 
 of British steel. The English general's plans were marked by 
 as much wisdom as daring. He did not commit the mistake 
 of flinging his troops in masses on strong positions, but first 
 cleared the way by artillery. Dragging guns and ammunition 
 over mountains wano easy task. The points to be taken were 
 the forts of Nalagerh, Ramgerh, and Maloun, situated on as 
 many different ranges of hills, and each higher and stronger than 
 the other. The first was surrendered on November 6th. The 
 second stood at a height of four thousand six hundred feet 
 above the level of the sea, and was rendered unassailable in 
 front by a network of stockades. General Ochterlony resolved, 
 therefore, to turn its left flank and get in the rear. But the 
 difficulties of the ground were such that this was not effected, 
 and the way cleared for an advance on Maloun, till April 1st. 
 
 Here the final stand was made. The fort of Maloun occupied 
 one end of a long hill, the whole of which bristled with strong 
 posts. Under the walls of the fort the Ghoorka forces were 
 encamped. Two important posts, Byla and Devathal, were 
 carried by the British, the attention of the Ghoorkas being dis- 
 tracted by feigned attacks on their lines. In one of these latter 
 attacks a single combat took place between Captain Showers 
 and the Ghoorka leader. When the latter fell, his troops fired 
 a volley and killed Captain Showers, whereupon the British 
 force fled, and were rallied with difficulty. As the loss of 
 Devathal was fatal to the enemy, he made a desperate effort to 
 recover it. Amar Sing sent one of his best captains, Bhakti 
 Sing, with a select force to the attack. Bhakti Sing, before 
 setting out, told his two wives to prepare for suttee on the 
 morrow, as he was determined to conquer or die. The Ghoorkas 
 attacked fiercely. Mowed down by grape-shot, repulsed again 
 and again, they charged to the muzzle of the guns. All the 
 British soldiers were killed or wounded, save three privates and 
 as many officers. The two field-pieces were also disabled. When 
 the strength of the enemy began to flag, Colonel Thompson
 
 120 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 ordered a bayonet- charge, which was successful. Bhakti Sing's 
 corpse was delivered up, and next day his two wives burnt them- 
 selves with it in sight of the two armies. Amar Sing now retired 
 to the fort, on which heavy guns began to play. On May 8th 
 the bulk of his force, overcome as much by hunger as superior 
 force, gave themselves up, and on May llth Amar Sing came to 
 terms. The country west of the Jumna was to be ceded, and 
 the Ghoorka leaders to be allowed to depart. 
 
 The power of the Ghoorkas was now broken, and negotia- 
 tions commenced. The condition to which the Nepalese objected 
 most was the cession of the terai, a fertile plain five hundred miles 
 long and twenty broad, lying at the edge of the forest bounding 
 Nepal, and on this war broke out again. But it was of short dura- 
 tion. In February, 1816, the British force again entered Nepal 
 at different points. The Ghoorkas had stockaded the Chiria- 
 ghati Pass, but a ravine was discovered on the left, up which 
 the general led his force in single file. The ravine was a mere 
 torrent-bed between high banks with overshadowing trees. 
 The ascent took from midnight till eight a.m. The Ghoorkas at 
 once quitted the pass. A sharp action was fought on February 
 27th near Makwanpur, in which victory lay with the English. 
 The other columns also were successful. The government at 
 Katmandu now yielded, and a treaty was signed on March 2nd, 
 which has been faithfully observed ever since. The territory 
 ceded includes the hill retreats of Simla, Mussoorie, Landour and 
 Nynee-thal. The Ghoorkas, who had no more than twelve thou- 
 sand men at the beginning of the campaign, made an excellent 
 defence. They have since furnished great numbers of excellent 
 troops to the British army, troops whose loyalty has proved equal 
 to their courage. In later days Sir Henry Lawrence was Resi- 
 dent at Katmandu. At the time of this war Nepal paid annual 
 tribute to China, and appealed to the emperor for assistance. Bat 
 the assistance was limited to the writing of a letter to be de- 
 livered to the English, in which his Imperial Majesty, whose 
 heart is 'as pure as the sun and enlightened as the moon,' ex- 
 presses his unbelief in the reported conduct of the English, and 
 asks for an explanation to be sent.
 
 MAHRATTA WAR. 121 
 
 A fai- more important war was that undertaken for the ex- 
 tirpation of the Pindaris, who, after desolating central India 
 for long years, began to extend their raids into British territory. 
 Out of this war grew the Mahratta complications which ended in 
 the extinction of the peshwa's power and the annexation of his 
 territories to the British dominion. The Pindaris were armed 
 robbers, who in time of war sold their spears to any purchaser, 
 and in time of peace lived by plunder. During the disorders 
 of the last century, they had grown very much in numbers and 
 power. In mere wantonness of destruction they were many 
 degrees worse than the Mahrattas. Fire and flood were not 
 more destructive or more cruel. Their practice was to as- 
 semble in the fall of the year, at the time of the great Dessera 
 feast, arrange the forays for the coming cool season, and then 
 disperse to carry them out. The best-mounted carried a spear 
 twelve or fifteen feet long, the rest any sort of weapon. With- 
 out bag or baggage, they swept over the country like a whirl- 
 wind. In order to compel the people to discover their treasures 
 they resorted to all sorts of tortures ; such as, pouring boiling 
 oil over the naked body, tying straw round the limbs and set- 
 ting it on fire, suffocation by bags of ashes tied on the head, etc. 
 The impartiality which marked their ravages may be seen from 
 the fact that once, on the Raja of Bhopal declining to employ 
 them in plundering the Nagpore territories, they plundered 
 the Bhopal territories for the Raja of Nagpore, and did it so 
 effectually that it was twenty years before the country recovered. 
 They did not always spare their chief protectors, Holkar and 
 Scindia, but were far too serviceable to be interfered with by 
 those chiefs, who often repaid themselves by compelling the 
 Pindaris to disgorge their booty. Scindia once squeezed six 
 lacs out of Kurim Khan, one of the leaders. The other leaders 
 were Dost and Wassil Mohammed and Cheeto. Their head- 
 quarters were at Nimar, among the Vindhya fastnesses. 
 
 After having exhausted central India, the Pindaris essayed 
 fresh fields and pastures new in the unravaged British territories. 
 In 1812, in Lord Minto's days, they made a raid into Bundel- 
 kund and Rewah, alarmed the rich merchants of Mirzapore, and
 
 122 OUR IX D I AN EMPIRE. 
 
 got off with an incredible amount of plunder before any force 
 could be organized for resistance. In October, 1815, and again 
 in February, 1816, immense bodies swept through the nizam's 
 territories and fell upon the Northern Sircars, sacking the town 
 of Guntoor, and carrying off booty to the amount of twenty-five 
 lacs, i.e., 250,000. On the latter occasion three hundred and 
 thirty-nine villages were destroyed, one hundred and eighty- 
 two persons killed, five hundred wounded, and three thousand 
 six hundred put to torture. Women destroyed themselves 
 rather than fall into their hands. 
 
 Lord Hastings early saw the necessity of striking at the root 
 of the mischief ; but it was long before he obtained permission 
 to act. Two members of his council opposed all interference. 
 In September, 1816, he was expressly prohibited by orders from 
 home ' from engaging in plans of general confederacy and 
 offensive operations against the Pindaris, either with a view to 
 their utter extirpation, or in anticipation of an apprehended 
 danger.' Even Mr. Canning, when he became President of the 
 Board, endorsed these views. The directors feared a war with 
 Scindia more than the Pindaris. But the last two irruptions 
 greatly modified opinion at home, and fresh ones at the close 
 of 1816 and beginning of 1817 removed the opposition in the 
 council at Calcutta. A later despatch in September, 1816, ex. 
 pressly declared that the previous orders were not intended to 
 forbid measures against actual invasion : ' We think it due to 
 your lordship not to lose an instant in conveying to you an 
 explicit approval of any measures which you may have autho- 
 rized or undertaken, not only for repelling invasion, but for 
 pursuing and chastising the invaders.' 
 
 The Governor-general at once began to form alliances and 
 prepare for action. The offer of British alliance and protection 
 was eagerly embraced by the numerous Rajpoot states, which, 
 during the abeyance of British influence, had been remorselessly 
 victimized by Holkar, Scindia, the Pindaris and other free- 
 booters. Jeypore, Boondi, Udaypore, Jodhpore, Kotah, Bhopal 
 and many other states were thus taken under the British wing. 
 The old Raja of Nagpore had always refused a British alliance ;
 
 PINDARIS DISPERSED. 123 
 
 but on his death in 1817 the power fell into the hands of a 
 regent, Appa Sahib, who, to support himself against his rivals, 
 eagerly sought such an alliance. Even Scindia was forced to 
 promise help against the Pindaris, though his heart was with 
 them. The Pindari envoys said to him, ' If we are' destroyed, 
 what will become of you ? ' boasting that they would outdare the 
 feats of Holkar, and carry fire and sword to the gates of Calcutta. 
 But Scindia remembered Assaye and Deeg and Lasvvaree, and 
 made his wishes wait on his fears. 
 
 The military preparations were on a vast scale. Lord 
 Hastings called out the whole strength of British India. The 
 three armies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were to converge 
 on the Pindari haunts, and with the native contingents num- 
 bered one hundred and sixteen thousand horse and foot with 
 three hundred guns. Such a force was out of all proportion 
 to a raid on Pindari robbers ; but it was altogether uncertain 
 how the Mahratta powers would act, and the result showed 
 that there was good ground for apprehension. The Governor- 
 general himself was Commander-in-chief. Among the subordin- 
 ate commanders were Sir Thomas Hislop, General Donkin, Sir 
 John Malcolm, General Lionel Smith. 
 
 Just as the Governor-general took the field in November, 
 1817, his camp was decimated by cholera. In a single week 
 seven hundred and sixty-four fighting men and eight thousand 
 camp-followers perished. Lord Hastings had fears for himself, 
 and directed that in the event of his death he should be buried 
 in his tent, and his death concealed until the negotiations 
 pending with Scindia were settled. On removing the encamp- 
 ment to a new site, the epidemic disappeared. 
 
 It would have been useless to attack the Pindaris in a 
 single body. No horse or man could have come up with them. 
 They were therefore surrounded, the fords and passes all 
 guarded ; in fact, they were shut up in a trap. It would be 
 tedious to follow the chase which went on for the next few 
 months. The Pindaris found themselves hemmed in on all 
 sides. To flee from one pursuing force was to rush into the 
 arms of another. They were hunted down like herds of wolves
 
 124 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 or tigers, and thoroughly dispersed. Most of the leaders sub- 
 mitted, and were sent into Bengal, far away from their old 
 haunts. The most daring of them all, Cheeto, refused to accept 
 the terms offered him, eluded the pursuers, and, gradually for- 
 saken by his followers, at last took refuge in a tiger-jungle, 
 where his remains were found, with his horse, saddled and 
 bridled, quietly grazing near. 
 
 The Mahratta affairs were less easily settled. The peshwa, 
 Baji Rao, had come thoroughly under the influence of Trim- 
 bakji, a favourite of low origin and low character, who encour- 
 aged his master's vices and fanned his jealousy of the English. 
 This Trimbakji had instigated the assassination of a Brahmin, 
 who had come under promise of British protection as envoy 
 from Gruzei-at. The Resident, Mr. Elphinstone, therefore de- 
 manded his surrender. The peshwa refused as long as he 
 could, but at last, in September, 1815, gave him up on con- 
 dition of his life being spared. Trimbakji was imprisoned in 
 the fort of Tanna in the island of Salsette, but a year afterwards 
 effected his escape. The plan devised for his deliverance was 
 communicated to him in the words of a song sung under his 
 window by a Mahratta groom in the service of an English officer. 
 Baji Rao professed to know nothing of Trimbakji's whereabouts, 
 whereas the two were busily engaged in raising troops, ostensibly 
 to act against the Pindaris, really to act against the English. 
 On May 6th, 1817, Mr. Elphinstone presented an ultimatum, 
 demanding the surrender of Trimbakji, and of three fortresses 
 as security. Many advised the peshwa to refuse, among others 
 Gokla, his commander-in-chief ; but at the last moment Baji's 
 courage always failed. It was known that he had been endea- 
 vouring to engage the other Mahratta powers Scindia, Holkar, 
 Nagpore in an alliance against the English. Lord Hastings 
 therefore determined to deprive him, as far as this could be done 
 by treaty, of all power to do harm. By the treaty of Poona, 
 June 15th, 1817, the peshwa formally renounced his position as 
 suzerain of the Mahratta states, and ceded territory to the value 
 of twenty-four lacs of rupees in lieu of former engagements. 
 This treaty superseded the treaty of Bassein, and reduced the
 
 SCINDIA" S DOUBLE-DEALING. 125 
 
 peshwa to a state of helpless vassalage. It is hard to see what 
 the Governor-general hoped to gain from treaties extorted by 
 force. The peshwa, it was well known, was intriguing right 
 and left to shake off the bonds of the Bassein treaty, and the 
 present one was far harder. If the object had been to drive 
 him to desperation, no more effectual measures could have been 
 adopted. He undoubtedly deserved his fate, but this does not 
 excuse harshness on the other side. Directly after signing the 
 treaty, he withdrew from his capital in order to push on war- 
 like preparations away from the Resident's observation. To Sir 
 John Malcolm and the Resident he professed that he was arming 
 against the Pindaris. The former, always friendly to native 
 princes, believed him, but not so the latter. No one will blame 
 Baji Rao for desiring independence. His guilt lay in the whole- 
 sale falsehood and perfidy by which lie sought to compass it. 
 It is said that he suggested the assassination of the Resident, but 
 Grokla, a brave and honourable soldier, refused to be a party to 
 the plan. It is quite certain that he tampered with the native 
 officers and soldiers of the British force at Poona, and that in 
 commencing hostilities he relied confidently on the British sepoys 
 deserting during the battle. 
 
 His negotiations with the other Mahratta powers all took 
 effect, except in the case of Scindia. However little these 
 powers would brook the peshwa's interference in their own 
 affairs, they still looked to him as the head of the Mahratta 
 name and race. Scindia would have joined the league but for 
 the presence of two British divisions, one under Lord Hastings, 
 within two marches of his capital. In these circumstances, on 
 November 5th, he had no choice but to sign a treaty which, 
 placed his forces absolutely at the British disposal. Two of his 
 strongest fortresses, Asseerghur and Hindia, were to be surren- 
 dered. It is characteristic that while he gave the British an 
 order for the surrender of Asseerghur, he wrote to the com- 
 mandant ordering him to resist. The commandant showed the 
 letter to the British, and the forb had to be taken by siege. A 
 letter was also intercepted from Scindia to the Raja of Nepal, 
 in which the latter was urged to attack British territory on the
 
 126 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 north. The letter was delivered to Scindia in open durbar. How 
 he looked or what he said is not recorded. 
 
 On the very day on which Scindia bound himself to neutral, 
 ity by the treaty, the peshwa broke out into hostilities. At the 
 time General Smith had gone with the bulk of the troops to 
 join in the operations against the Pindaris, and not more than 
 three thousand infantry were left. The British had no cavalry. 
 The peshwa's force amounted to eighteen thousand horse and 
 eight thousand foot. At noon on November 5th Baji Rao sent 
 Mr. Elphinstone a sort of ultimatum, which was of course re- 
 jected. Directly that the latter left the residency for the camp, 
 the residency was invaded by cavalry and burnt to the ground. 
 Both Mr. Elphinstone and Colonel Burr thought that a bold 
 policy was wisest, and the small British force marched out to 
 the attack. It was soon enveloped by clouds of cavalry. A 
 strong cavalry charge, led by one of the peshwa's best officers, 
 was repelled, and the commander killed. An attack by a choice 
 body of three thousand infantry on the 7th native regiment was 
 also repulsed ; but the victors, pursuing too eagerly, were taken 
 in flank by six thousand Mahratta horse and thrown into con- 
 fusion. Colonel Burr, however, led up two companies of Euro- 
 peans and restored the day. The Mahrattas now retired on 
 every side. The peshwa, who watched the conflict from a neigh- 
 bouring height, looked in vain for desertions. The battle of 
 Kirklee, which finally extinguished the peshwa's power and the 
 Mahratta name, cost the British only eighty-six in killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 General Smith at once returned and occupied Poona on 
 November 17th, 1817. He then started in pursuit of Baji Rao. 
 For three months the chase continued. North, south, east, west, 
 hunters and hunted marched and countermarched. At last on 
 the morning of February 20th, 1818, General Smith surprised 
 the Mahrattas near the village of Ashti, just as they were 
 mounting for the march. The peshwa fled with all expedition ; 
 Gokla and the cavalry stayed to hinder pursuit. A sharp 
 cavalry action followed, in which the brave Gokla fell, covered 
 with wounds. It is said that Baji Rao blamed him for the
 
 PESHWA SURRENDERS. 127 
 
 surprise, and he was no doubt weary of constant flight. He 
 charged the British cavalry at the head of his troops, and found 
 the death he sought. In former days he had fought by General 
 Wellesley's side. In turning against the English he was ani- 
 mated by genuine patriotism, and never listened to any but 
 honourable counsels. At Ashti, Baji Rao's camp and effects, 
 and even his household gods, were taken. It is a curious illus- 
 tration of the nature of Hinduism, that while Baji Rao was 
 steeped in vice and duplicity, he was not merely devout but 
 superstitious. He was a munificent patron of Brahmins and 
 temples, lavishing on them a large portion of his diminished 
 revenues. At Ashti was also taken the Raja of Satara, nomin- 
 ally the peshwa's master, really his prisoner. The English re- 
 invested him with the title and some territory. 
 
 Even Baji Rao became at last weary of his fugitive life. 
 Every way of escape was closed by a line of bayonets. One and 
 another of his chiefs deserted at every step. In May he 
 addressed himself to Sir John Malcolm as his ' oldest and best 
 friend,' and the two met at the foot of a mountain-pass in the 
 neighbourhood of Mhow. The peshwa was anxious to preserve 
 his place and title, but he was told that his abdication was 
 inevitable, and that all he could hope for was generous treatment 
 as a pensioner. Sir John Malcolm's generosity went far beyond 
 the Governor-general's intentions. He promised the fallen 
 sovereign a pension of eight lacs (80,000), as well as the con- 
 tinuance of grants to adherents, Brahmins and others. Some, 
 like Mr. Elphinstone and Sir T. Munro, thought the terms not 
 excessive, as the peshwa might still have given great trouble. 
 Baji Rao was settled at Bithoor, near Cawnpore. Nana Sahib, 
 the evil genius of the mutiny, was his adopted son. It was the 
 T-efusal of the English to continue the large pension which 
 inspired the latter with the desire for a fiendish vengeance. 
 
 A brilliant episode which occurred during the pursuit 
 deserves mention for its own sake rather than for any results. 
 At one point in his flight the peshwa was nearer to Poona than 
 General Smith, and threatened an attempt upon his old capital. 
 This induced Colonel Burr to recall the corps at Seroor, north-
 
 128 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 east of Poona. Captain Staunton set off on the night of 
 December 31st, 1817, at the head of six hundred sepoys, three 
 hundred irregular horse, two sis-pounders, and twenty-four 
 European artillerymen. On reaching Korygaum, a village on 
 the banks of the Beema, within sixteen miles of Poona, he saw 
 his way on the other side barred by the whole army of the 
 peshwa, nearly thirty thousand strong. He made at once for 
 the village, an Arab force of the enemy made for the same 
 point, and the village was jointly occupied. A fierce contest 
 then took place, which lasted the whole day. The peshwa's 
 generals did their utmost to exterminate the force. The over- 
 whelming numbers of the enemy made it impossible for the 
 British force to drive them out; the steady heroism of the sepoys 
 and the example and energy of the officers repelled every 
 onslaught on the other side. Lieutenant Chisholm, commanding 
 the artillery, was slain, with many of his men. Lieutenants 
 Pattinson, Conellan, and Swanston, and Surgeon Wingate, were 
 wounded. Captain Staunton, Lieutenant Innes and Sturgeon 
 Wylie only were left. One of the two guns was captured, when 
 Lieutenant Pattinson, though mortally wounded, rose from the 
 ground, seized the muzzle of a musket, and at the head of a band 
 of sepoys fell upon the Arabs and retook it. He was shot a 
 second time in the attempt. The Arabs forced their way into 
 a choultry, where our wounded were lying, and massacred 
 many of them, but were driven out. Some in the British force 
 were for surrender, but Captain Staunton told them that this 
 meant their destruction. About nine at night the whole village 
 was abandoned by the enemy. The troops had suffered most 
 from thirst, but in the night water was procured. A similar 
 attack next day must have crushed the little band of heroes ; 
 but happily the peshwa heard of General Smith's approach, and 
 marched away. Captain Staunton returned to Seroor in triumph. 
 Beyond the Governor- general's thanks he received no reward 
 for an exploit which contrasted nobly with the defeats of Baillie 
 and Monson. This was too often the fate of mere company's 
 officers. The little force lost nearly a fourth of its strength in 
 killed and wounded.
 
 N AGP ORE TROUBLES. 129 
 
 Ever since Jeswunt Rao Holkar's death, his dominions had 
 been in the most distracted condition. At the head of the 
 regency was Tulasi Bai, his favourite mistress, a beautiful 
 but profligate woman. She wished to remain at peace with the 
 English, but the military leaders determined to aid the peshwa 
 with the whole strength of their army, which numbered twenty 
 thousand men. Sir Thomas Hislop came up with it on December 
 21st, 1817, at Mahidpore, near Oujein. The Mahrattas were as 
 usually admirably posted and commanded seventy guns. The 
 British troops had to cross the river Sipra by a single ford in 
 face of the enemy's batteries. This was done, and the batteries 
 carried. Both cavalry and infantry then fled. The British loss 
 was considerable, amounting to seven hundred and seventy- 
 eight men, owing to the tremendous artillery fire encountered. 
 The Holkar resistance was broken. On December 20th the army 
 leaders had beheaded Tulasi Bai and thrown her body into the 
 Sipra. By the treaty of Mandeswar, January 6th, the young 
 raja was mediatized ; i.e., a British Resident and British force 
 were stationed at his court. 
 
 Of the Mahratta confederacy only the Nagpore state re- 
 mained. Appa Sahib proved himself quite the equal of Baji 
 Rao in faithlessness. As Regent he needed British support, and 
 remained loyal. But in February, 1817, the young raja was 
 found dead in bed, as was ascertained afterwards, strangled by 
 order of Appa Sahib, who succeeded to the throne, and at once 
 became anxious to get rid of the British connection. He was 
 in close alliance with the peshwa, from whom he received the 
 dignity of Commander-in-chief in the Mahratta empire. He 
 even invited the Resident, Mr. Jenkins, to witness his assump- 
 tion of the title. This was on November 25th, 1817. On the 
 26th a determined attack was made on the British force, in the 
 hope of crushing it at a blow. To the eighteen thousand men 
 of the raja's army, four thousand of whom were Arabs of reck- 
 less ferocity, the British could only oppose thirteen hundred 
 men, consisting of two battalions of Madras sepoys, two com- 
 panies of the Resident's escort, three troops of Bengal cavalry, 
 with four six-pounders. The residency, on the west of the town 
 
 K
 
 130 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 of Nagpore, was covered by a low range of hills, the northern and 
 southern extremities of which were held by the British. All 
 through the night the attacks of the Arabs on the northern hill 
 went on with little effect. But in the morning a heavy fire was 
 directed on it from nine pieces, one of the two British guns was 
 disabled and withdrawn, a tumbril exploded, and the Arabs, 
 charging in the confusion, carried the hill. They then advanced 
 against the southern hill, fired the sepoys' huts, and began to 
 close in the position on every side, when victory was turned by 
 one of those daring strokes which have so often worked wonders 
 in India. Captain Fitzgerald had again and again requested 
 Colonel Scott to allow him to charge with the cavalry, but was 
 refused. At last Colonel Scott sent word, ' Tell him to charge 
 at his peril.' ' At my peril be it,' replied Fitzgerald ; and, lead- 
 ing the cavalry to the attack, swept all before him, taking two 
 guns. The example inspired the sepoys with new courage, and 
 the enemy were chased off on every side. The fight had lasted 
 eighteen hours. The civilians of the residency staff were forced 
 to bear part in it. The ladies took care of the wounded. But 
 for the happy genius which at the critical moment suggested the 
 cavalry charge, destruction would have fallen on all. As it is, 
 the defence of Seetabaldi ranks with the brightest achievements 
 of the English in India. The Madras sepoys who had made so 
 noble a stand occupied the place of the regiment which was struck 
 off the rolls for its part in the Vellore mutiny. The only reward 
 they asked was to be allowed to resume the old number and 
 facings. 
 
 Appa Sahib hastened to disown the conduct of his troops. 
 He was required to disband them and give himself up to the 
 English. This after some hesitation he engaged to do. But the 
 troops refused to obey, and were only overcome after a sharp 
 conflict. Even then five thousand Arabs and Hindostanees 
 threw themselves into the palace in the city, which they de- 
 fended with great obstinacy. A siege was necessary to dislodge 
 them. But Appa Sahib continued to intrigue with the peshwa, 
 and left no stone unturned to circumvent the English. He was 
 then ordered to be deposed and sent to Allahabad, and the next
 
 INDIAN EDUCATION AND PRESS. 131 
 
 heir enthroned in his place. But on the way he escaped from 
 his guard by the connivance of some sepoys in the escort, and 
 took refuge in the Mahadeva Hills, where for nearly a year he 
 hi,d in security. Many of the chiefs and people befriended him, 
 Force after force was baffled in its attempts to penetrate the 
 rocky jungles which served him as a shelter. An offer of 20,000 
 and an estate of 1,000 a year failed to induce his friends to 
 betray him. Eventually he fled to Runjeet Sing in the Punjab, 
 then to the Himalayas, and last of all returned to Jodhpore, in 
 Rajputana, where he was allowed to remain in obscurity. This 
 was the last scene in the drama of Mahratta history.* 
 
 After the storm a calm. The latter part of Lord Hastings' 
 government was as illustrious for the victories of peace as the 
 former part had been for the victories of war. It was charac- 
 teristic of his largeness of mind that he encouraged native edu- 
 cation, which great numbers in authority opposed. Ignorance, 
 it was maintained, was the mother of obedience. On the con- 
 trary Lord Hastings wrote : ' This government never will be 
 influenced by the erroneous position that to spread information 
 among men is to render them less tractable and less submissive 
 to authority. ... It would be treason against British senti- 
 ment to imagine that it ever could be the principle of this 
 government to perpetuate ignorance in order to secure paltry and 
 dishonest advantages over the blindness of the multitude.' A 
 native college was founded for the study of English. The 
 Serampore missionaries pushed on their educational schemes 
 with energy. On May 31st, 1818, the first native newspaper 
 issued from the Serampore press, under the title of Samachara 
 Durpana, 'Mirror of News.' Out of this seed has grown a 
 mighty harvest of universities, English and vernacular schools 
 and newspapers, which more than anything else are profoundly 
 affecting native life and thought. 
 
 We have already mentioned that in Bengal the zemindary 
 
 It has been impossible for us to enter into the details of the 
 innumerable petty actions and sieges by which the whole Mahratta 
 territory was subjugated. 
 
 K2
 
 132 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 system of land assessment was established. In Madras, on the 
 other hand, the ryotwary system was established. Under this 
 the government settles with each ryot, or cultivator, instead of 
 with the zemindar in the lump. The merits of the two schemes 
 are eagerly debated in India between rival schools. The great 
 champion of ryotwary was Sir Thomas Munro, through whose 
 influence it was finally sanctioned in Madras in 1820. 
 
 Like Clive, Warren Hastings and Wellesley, Lord Hastings 
 incurred the displeasure of many of his employers at home. 
 Narrow views respecting British policy in India still pre- 
 vailed in many quarters, but in the altered state of opinion it 
 was impossible to arraign Lord Hastings on the broad features 
 of his administration. It was therefore determined to do so 
 on narrower grounds. The Governor-general had given his 
 approval to a banking firm at Hyderabad, Palmer and Co., 
 with which a relative of his was connected. No allegation of 
 corrupt motives was made. But the law forbade financial trans- 
 actions between native princes and British subjects, and the 
 Governor-general's sanction contravened this law. His action 
 was imprudent, and was probably abused, but the motive was the 
 public good. However, the whole transaction was condemned 
 in despatches from home, and the despatches were formally 
 approved by the Court of Proprietors after a six days' discussion 
 by a large majority. The petty slight rankled deeply, and was 
 an unworthy return for great services. While Lord Hastings 
 is not to be ranked with his greatest predecessors, his period of 
 rule made an epoch in Indian history. He completed the work 
 of Warren Hastings and Wellesley. By the annexations from 
 the territories of the peshwa, Holkar, Scindia, and Nagpore, 
 the trunk of the British empire in India was completed and 
 rounded off. Subsequent additions were simply branches. 
 Arriving in India at the age of fifty-nine, for nine years he 
 laboured seven and eight hours a day without a break. His 
 native courtesy and kindliness of bearing conciliated all classes. 
 The inhabitants of Calcutta owe to him some of the greatest 
 improvements made in the city. Of him it may be said em- 
 phatically that he deserved well of the commonwealth.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LORDS AMHERST AND WILLIAM BENTINCK FIRST BURMESE WAK 
 SIEGE OF BHURTPOBE INTERNAL REFORMS, ETC. 1823-1835. 
 
 HE first task awaiting Lord Amherst, who had 
 served as ambassador in China, was a war with 
 the semi-Chinese state of Burmah. It is sin- 
 gular that the reigning dynasty in that country, 
 like most of the powers we found in India, dates 
 no farther back than the middle of the last century. 
 "Alompra, its founder, originally a hunter, flourished 
 about the time of the battle of Plassey. Aracan, which ad- 
 joined British territory, was conquered by the Burmese as late 
 as 1787, Assam and Munipore in 1822. It cannot be denied 
 that the Burmese had some slight ground of complaint. Their 
 oppressive rule drove thousands of the Aracanese across the 
 border into Chittagong, and the refugees often made raids into 
 the country they had left behind. The British did their best 
 to repress these raids, but gave a firm refusal to the demand 
 of the Burmese for the surrender of the fugitives. They also 
 sent three several embassies to Ava to explain how matters stood. 
 But these embassies were regarded as proofs of weakness. 
 The fact is, the Burmese, having conquered up to the borders 
 of Bengal, longed for Bengal itself, and were thoroughly con- 
 vinced of their ability to drive out the English. The English, 
 they said, had only defeated the timid Hindus. In the Bur- 
 mese they would find their masters. The king actually sent 
 a letter to the Governor-general claiming the districts of 
 Chittagong, Dacca, and Moorshedabad. The Burmese struck 
 the first blow by driving off a guard from the small island of 
 Shahpuri, at the mouth of the river Naaf, which separates 
 Aracan and Chittagong. To the Governor-general's letter the 
 answer was the despatch of a large army into Aracan under
 
 136 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 their best general, Maha Bandoola, with orders to expel the 
 English from Bengal and golden chains in which to send the 
 Governor- general prisoner to Ava. Lord Amherst therefore 
 had no choice but to declare war, February 24th, 1824. 
 
 The British plan was to penetrate the country by the river 
 Irrawaddy, taking Rangoon at its mouth, and thence advancing 
 upon the capital. For this purpose an army of eleven thousand 
 European and native troops was assembled under the command 
 of Sir Archibald Campbell. The native troops were all from 
 Madras, as the Bengal sepoys objected to go by sea. Lieutenant 
 Havelock and Major Sale were among the officers. There can 
 be little doubt that the plan was a wise one, the Irrawaddy 
 supplying the easiest mode of access. The mistake was in the 
 season of the year selected, just before the breaking of the 
 rains which converted the country into a reeking swamp. To 
 this all the delay and losses of the campaign are to be traced. 
 The moment the army was able to advance into the country, 
 the war was decided. The forces arrived at Rangoon May llth. 
 The city was at once deserted by troops and people alike, and 
 the Bi-itish took possession. Within a week the rains com- 
 menced, and the invaders could only stand fast where they were. 
 Two miles north of Rangoon stood a great Buddhist pagoda, 
 with a tower three hundred feet high, elevated on an immense 
 terrace thirty feet high. Here the 69th regiment was posted, 
 and here Havelock often held services with his men. The pagoda 
 formed one of the strongest points in the line of English works. 
 The two roads connecting the pagoda with the town were 
 occupied by other portions of the force. It was not till the follow- 
 ing February, 1825, that the British were able to start for the 
 capital. During this long halt two- thirds of the troops weru 
 disabled, and great numbers perished from fever and dysentery. 
 Their sufferings were greatly aggravated by the utter failure of 
 the commissariat, which supplied mouldy biscuits and putrid 
 meat. But for the exertions of Sir Thomas Munro, Governor of 
 Madras, the force must either have perished or been withdrawn. 
 One effect of the capture of Rangoon was to withdraw 
 Maha Bandoola and his army from Aracan, where he had
 
 BURMESE WAR. 137 
 
 succeeded in destroying a British detachment and filling Bengal 
 with alarm. Most unwisely Captain Noton with a small force 
 had been pushed forward to Ramoo, on the extreme border of 
 our territories, a hundred miles from the nearest support. Here 
 he was attacked by overwhelming numbers ; the irregular troops 
 fled, and the regular troops were all killed, captured or dispersed 
 in the retreat. The commander, with four other officers and 
 the surgeon, was slain. But the theatre of decisive conflict lay 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The incessant rains which reduced the British to inaction 
 were no hindrance to the Burmese, who displayed the utmost 
 activity in their attempts to hem the invaders in and prevent 
 them getting supplies from the country. This they succeeded 
 in doing to a great extent. But they failed altogether in re- 
 laxing the British grasp on the country. One general after 
 another was sent down from Ava to drive away the English, 
 but was either killed or returned to report his failure. The 
 Burmese were most expert in the art of stockading and en- 
 trenching. A hoe or spade was as essential to a Burmese 
 soldier's equipment as a knapsack to that of an English 
 soldier. In a few moments he threw up a mound which yielded 
 excellent protection. The Burmese also sent fire-rafts down 
 the river in the hope of damaging the British vessels. The 
 country was a most difficult one for military movements. The 
 British troops in their expeditions often found it impossible 
 to get any guns across the swamps and through the dense 
 jungle. At one or two of the stockades they met with tem- 
 porary checks ; but this was generally owing to unwise dispo- 
 sitions. Thus, in October, the Madras sepoys begged to be 
 allowed to attack a strong stockade at Kykloo, and the general 
 humoured them. Of the three columns of attack one was 
 unable to penetrate the dense thickets, another withdrew with- 
 out either gain or loss, and the third was repulsed and pursued 
 in headlong flight, after losing several officers. When a com- 
 bined European and native force marched to repair the mistake, 
 they found the corpses of their fallen comrades mutilated and 
 hung on trees, but no enemy. The entrenchment was aban-
 
 138 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 doned. Even when the Burmese had successfully resisted an 
 assault, they seldom awaited a second. 
 
 In August an expedition was sent to reduce the province of 
 Tenasseiim. In Martaban, the capital, a large arsenal was 
 captured, and, more welcome still, the province supplied bullocks 
 and vegetables for the troops. 
 
 After many petty attempts, the Burmese made a grand 
 effort in December to get rid of the invader. A large army 
 under Bandoola himself invested Rangoon. The enemy were 
 allowed to take up their position without interruption. They 
 came so near the great pagoda that our soldiers watched them 
 busily at work entrenching. Three hundred men of the 38th with 
 twenty guns occupied the pagoda, and easily repulsed every 
 attack. On December 6th and 7th the British force sallied 
 out and thoroughly beat up first their left, then their right 
 flank, taking possession of all the entrenchments on which 
 so much labour had been spent. The Burmese contrived by 
 means of incendiaries to set fire to the town, half of which was 
 reduced to ashes. They next retired to strong positions at 
 Kokien, four miles away. Two stockades on either flank bound 
 together six lines of circular entrenchments three miles in ex- 
 tent. On December 15th the British stormed in front and 
 rear at the point of the bayonet, and inflicted great slaughter. 
 Thus faded away the last hope of taking Rangoon. The Bur- 
 mese fell back on Donabew, a strong position which they had 
 prepared forty miles up the river. 
 
 In the beginning of 1825 Assam, the tea-province, was oc- 
 cupied with little difficulty by Colonel Richards. Two divisions 
 were also organized for the purpose of penetrating into 
 Burmah from the north, but the only result was to prove that 
 the route was impracticable. It was argued that as the 
 Burmese had always invaded from this direction, they could be 
 reached in the same way. But the great difference between a 
 native army and one encumbered with all the appliances of 
 western warfare was overlooked. One force, seven thousand 
 strong, under Colonel Shouldham, was to march through Cachar 
 and Munipore ; but after struggling about forty miles over hills
 
 SLOW PRO GRESS. 139 
 
 covered with forest and valleys reduced to bog by rain, it was 
 compelled to return. Cattle, camels, elephants sank in the 
 mud, and could not be got out. Cachar and Munipore were 
 afterwards occupied. The expedition to Aracan, ten thousand 
 strong, under General Morrison, took the coast route, and met 
 with even greater difficulties. They found the country cut up 
 by countless streams and rivers, all swollen into floods by the 
 rains. In three months they only accomplished two hundred 
 and fifty miles. After infinite difficulty, the town of Aracan 
 was taken at the end of March, 1825, but it was a costly 
 purchase. The site of Aracan is unhealthy at any time, but 
 in the rains it is a den of fever. One-fourth of the whole force 
 perished, and of the rest two-thirds were in hospital. ' Aracan 
 fever 'was long a name of terror in the army. The seat of 
 government has since been fixed in a more healthy spot. 
 Thus forces were wasted on useless enterprises which would 
 have made victory at Rangoon sure, rapid and decisive. 
 
 In February, 1825, General Campbell was ready for a for- 
 ward move on Ava, five hundred miles distant. Again he fell 
 into the error which worked so much mischief in this campaign, 
 that of dividing his force. The three divisions were to con- 
 verge by different routes upon Prome : one, under General 
 Cotton, proceeding by the river ; one, under Colonel Sale, round 
 by Bassein ; and one, under the commander, marching all the 
 way by land. But the scheme came to nothing. Colonel Sale 
 took Bassein, but for want of carriage could advance no farther, 
 and speedily rejoined General Campbell at Rangoon. General 
 Cotton found the entrenchments barring the passage of the 
 river at Donabew too strong for his column. They consisted 
 of one large stockade and two smaller ones, constructed of 
 solid teak beams, fifteen feet long, and protected by ditches and 
 every contrivance for annoying an enemy. The garrison num- 
 bered twelve thousand, and was commanded by Bandoola. For 
 the attack General Cotton had no more than six hundred men. 
 Even with these he cariied the outer works, but the column of 
 two hundred men sent against the larger one was repulsed with 
 loss. General Campbell, who was considerably in advance, had
 
 140 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 to return, and valuable time was lost. The passage of the 
 river alone, on extemporised rafts, took five days. On Mai'ch 
 27th the garrison made a strong sortie, which was driven back. 
 In the bombardment the great Bandoola himself, the pride and 
 hope of the Burmese, was killed by a shell, whereupon Donabew 
 was at once evacuated by the enemy, Prome was occupied on 
 April 25th. 
 
 The next few months were consumed in negotiations. The 
 British were tired of the conflict, and would have been glad to 
 make peace ; but the Burmese Avere not prepared to accept the 
 terms insisted on the cession of Assam, Cachar, Munipore and 
 an indemnity of two millions. They quoted for the imitation of 
 the English the conduct of the Chinese, who, after invading the 
 country, went away as they came. In November the enemy took 
 up a strong position at Watigaum, twenty miles in advance. 
 The British attack failed from the old cause division of forces. 
 Three columns were to march through a country of which they 
 knew nothing, and meet at a certain point at a certain time. 
 Of course they never met. One reached the enemy's position, 
 found itself unsupported, bore the whole brunt of the conflict, 
 and at last found itself retreating and pursued with heavy loss. 
 The success encouraged the Burmese to close in on Prome, but 
 they were again attacked and in a series of conflicts driven back 
 on the town of Mellown, whither they were pursued by the British. 
 They now professed to be eager for peace, and a conference was 
 held in a boat moored in mid-stream. The same terms were 
 insisted on as before, save that the indemnity was reduced to 
 one-half. On January 3rd, 1826, the treaty was signed, and an 
 armistice agreed on till January 18th. But the ratification 
 never arrived, and on the 19th Mellown was attacked and taken. 
 The Burmese made another effort to retrieve their fortunes. A 
 general boasted to the king of his ability to drive off the 
 English, and was allowed to try. At Pagham, on February 9th, 
 the last battle of the campaign was fought. The Burmese could 
 only bring sixteen thousand troops into the field. To meet 
 these General Campbell had thirteen hundred men, but of 
 these nine hundred were European. He advanced fearlessly to
 
 CLOSE OF THE WAR. Ul 
 
 the attack and routed the enemy. In the beginning of the con- 
 flict, an incident occurred which showed the temper of the troops. 
 The advance division had become separated from the main body 
 by a considerable interval. The enemy threw a strong force 
 into the gap. But the advanced troops retired with such order 
 and precision that the enemy saw they could gain nothing, and 
 soon gave up the battle. The next march was to Yandaboo, 
 within sixty miles of Ava, and here, on February 24th, the 
 treaty was signed by which the Burmese gave up Assam, 
 Cachar, Munipore, Aracan and Tenasserim, engaged to pay an 
 indemnity of a million and to receive a British Resident in the 
 capital. The last was the most humiliating stipulation of all. 
 
 If it cannot be said that the Burmese had fought well, they 
 had taken full advantage of the natural difficulties of the country 
 and the ignorance of the English, and succeeded in prolonging 
 the conflict. The chief cause of the delay, however, was the 
 lack of ability in the direction of the British expedition. The 
 cost of the war was great, amounting to thirteen millions. The 
 provinces taken were in a miserable condition, but they have 
 since become valuable. Assam is one great tea-garden. ' The 
 desolate and pestilential swamp of Aracan has become the 
 granary of the Bay of Bengal, and hundreds of vessels are 
 annually employed in conveying its produce from the port of 
 Akyab to India, China, and Europe. Moulmein, the capital of 
 the Tenasserim provinces, which contained only half a dozen 
 fishermen's huts when it was first occupied, has become a 
 flourishing port, with a population of seventy thousand souls 
 and a trade of more than fifty lacs of rupees a year.' * 
 
 As we have seen, Bhurtpore was the only Indian fortress 
 that had successfully defied the British arms, and the natives 
 of India had not forgotten the fact. Its turn now came. The 
 new raja was a minor, and in 1825 was set aside by an 
 ambitious cousin called Darjun Sal. Sir David Ochterlony, 
 Political Agent in the north-west, who had installed the raja, 
 promptly collected an army to chastise the usurper. But the 
 
 * Marsh man.
 
 142 OUR INDIA N EMPIRE. 
 
 Governor-general, with the Burmese war lingering in his hands, 
 was in no mood to undertake a new conflict. He sharply inter- 
 dicted all interference and disavowed any obligation to support 
 the raja. Sir David Ochterlony at once resigned his post and 
 retired to Meerut, where he died two months after, the end being 
 no doubt hastened by the rebuff he had received. He was sixty- 
 eight years old, had been fifty years in India, and was equally 
 eminent in diplomacy and in the field. He was the first com- 
 pany's officer to receive the distinction of the Bath. Sir Charles 
 Metcalfe succeeded him, and speedily induced Lord Amherst to 
 sanction the policy which had just been condemned. It was 
 soon evident that force must be emplo} ? ed. Bhurtpore became 
 the resort of all the disaffected spirits in India, who hoped to 
 see a repetition of the former triumph. 
 
 On December 10th, 1825, the Commander-in-chief, Lord 
 Combermere, appeared before the city at the head of a well- 
 appointed force of twenty thousand men with a powerful bat- 
 tering-train. The strength of the defences had been increased, 
 one new bastion being vauntingly called ' The Bastion of 
 Victory.' The natives said it was built of the skulls and bones 
 of those who had fallen in the former attack. The tank, from 
 which in the previous siege the ditch had been flooded, was seized 
 by the English in time to prevent its being used for the same pur- 
 pose again, and thus the chief cause of the former defeat was 
 obviated. Nothing can more clearly show the utter inadequacy 
 of the means formerly employed than the fact that the present 
 powerful armament made little impression on the massive, earthy 
 ramparts. Thirty-six mortars and forty-eight heavy guns played 
 on them for days to little purpose. Mining had to be resorted 
 to. Several small mines were exploded, and on January 18th, 
 1826, an immense one, with a charge of ten thousand pounds of 
 powder, was sprung with deadly effect. Not only many of the 
 defenders, but some of the assailants, who in their eagerness to 
 be first in the storming pressed too near, were buried in the 
 explosion. Two strong columns, under Generals Beynell and 
 Nicolls, assaulted the main breach. One column clambered 
 over a shattered rampart, while another forced one of the gates.
 
 FALL OF BUURTPOJtE. 143 
 
 There was much severe fighting before the town was really won. 
 The loss of the defenders amounted to thousands, that of the 
 victors to about six hundred. When the town fell, the citadel 
 surrendered. Parties attempting to fly were intercepted. 
 Darjun Sal was taken, and sent prisoner to Allahabad. The 
 state treasure found in the city, to the amount of forty-eight 
 lacs of rupees, was seized by the military authorities and dis- 
 tributed as prize money. Lord Combermere's share amounted 
 to six 'lacs. Sir Charles Metcalfe, who was present, indignantly . 
 condemned the spoliation, writing : ' Our plundering here has 
 been very disgraceful, and has tarnished our well-earned honours. 
 Unless I can get rid of the prize agents, I cannot establish the 
 sovereignty of the young raja, whom we came professedly to 
 protect, but have been plundering to the last lotah (waterpot) 
 since he fell into our hands.' The fort was dismantled, and a 
 British Resident established at the court. The effect of the 
 victory on British prestige received a curious illustration. The 
 Calcutta government had been forced to issue a loan, but it hung 
 fire. Little native money was offered. But one morning in 
 January, to the astonishment of the officials, thirty lacs of rupees 
 poured in. This was the first intimation the government re- 
 ceived of the fall of Bhurtpore, of which the natives had heard 
 by secret and more expeditious channels. In the last mutiny 
 it was often the case that the bazaar received important news 
 before government. 
 
 On July 6th, 1827, Sir Thomas Munro died of cholera. He 
 had resigned the governorship of Madras and was anticipating 
 rest and ease in his native land. He was one of a band of 
 eminent administrators who adorned those days men who dis- 
 posed of crowns, ruled kingdoms, led armies. Munro, Ochter- 
 lony, Mountstuart Elphinstone, Malcolm, Metcalfe were examples 
 of an order of men whose talents for organization and govern- 
 ment have never been surpassed. 
 
 In March of the same year passed away, at the age of forty- 
 seven, a prince who had been brought into intimate relations 
 with the English, and whose rule of thirty-three years had been 
 marked by great vicissitudes Dowlat Rao Scindia. He had
 
 144 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 lived through the great days of Wellesley and Hastings, and 
 seen the British empire expand, largely at his own expense. 
 His once splendid kingdom had shrunk to a mere principality, 
 which he held by the favour of the English. His easy tempera- 
 ment adapted itself to the change, and in his later years he 
 became a close friend of the conquerors. 
 
 After the fall of Bhurtpore Lord Amherst made a progress 
 to the north-west, calling at Cawnpore, Lucknow, Agra, Bhurt- 
 ;pore and Delhi, and holding interviews with the native princes 
 or their envoys. His durbar at Delhi was an imposing one. He 
 then made a considerable stay at Simla, which from this time 
 became the official retreat during the height of the hot season. 
 He returned to England in February, 1828, and was succeeded 
 by Lord Bentinck, formerly governor of Madras. 
 
 Lord Bentinck's administration was honourably distinguished, 
 not for any great war or sweeping annexation, but for unex- 
 ampled activity in internal legislation and improvement. On 
 this ground it ranks with the best Indian administrations. We 
 notice in the first place the reforms which bear chiefly on the 
 interests of the government. 
 
 One of his first tasks was the ungrateful one of retrenching 
 expenditure and reducing salaries. There was ample scope for 
 this in the civil service. Mention is made of an opium agent, 
 whose routine duties were remunerated at the rate of 7,500 a 
 year ; one-third was cut off. Some offices were abolished, 
 some combined. Lord Bentinck incurred still greater obloquy 
 by a measure for the reduction of the military officers to half- 
 batta. But his action was purely ministerial. The question 
 had been referred home twice already, and he had no choice but 
 to obey an order thrice repeated. The discontent was deep 
 and loud, and there seemed every prospect of a repetition of 
 former scenes of violence. But the local authorities, civil and 
 military, while sympathizing with the aggrieved officers in the 
 substance of their complaint, steadily discountenanced all 
 insubordination. The reduction only applied to regiments 
 stationed within the old territories of the company, and the dis- 
 tinctions thus created aggravated the bad feeling. The home
 
 POPULAR REFORMS. 145 
 
 authorities were only too ready to issue orders, the execution 
 and odium of which devolved on others. The saving effected 
 did not amount to more than two lacs a year. 
 
 Another question dealt with was that of Enam lands ; i.e., 
 lands granted rent-free by former native rulers to individuals 
 and temples. These represented an enormous loss of revenue. No 
 question of the kind existed under native rule, as native princes 
 never respected the acts of their predecessors more than was 
 convenient, or scrupled to resume grants at any time. But the 
 British had promised to leave undisturbed grants made prior to 
 their assumption of power. This was taken advantage of on a 
 large scale, and the manufacture of title-deeds became a lucra- 
 tive business. Various remedies were tried with little effect. 
 But just before Lord Bentinck's arrival a special Board of Com- 
 missioners was established to investigate and settle such matters, 
 and Lord Bentinck confirmed the measure. Lands were resumed 
 and rents imposed. There was considerable outcry, but no doubt 
 justice was done. Thirty lacs a year were added to the revenue. 
 
 But the reforms by which Lord Bentinck's name will be 
 longest remembered are those bearing on the welfare of the 
 people. He greatly simplified the proceedings of courts of jus- 
 tice, established a new Appeal-court and new Board of Revenue 
 at Allahabad for the north-west provinces, and substituted the 
 vernacular languages for Persian in all judicial proceedings. 
 The latter change alone was an invaluable boon. Persian was 
 the official language in Mohammedan days, and hitherto the 
 English had continued it. The conservative instincts of the old 
 civilians resisted the change, but the people rejoiced. 
 
 Another great measure was the permanent settlement of the 
 land-assessment for the north-west provinces. The labour in- 
 volved was enormous. An area of seventy-two thousand square 
 miles had to be surveyed, village by village and field by field. 
 The interests of twenty-three millions of people were involved. 
 But the work was carried through, agreements made with ryot, 
 landholder or village, and the settlement fixed for thirty years. 
 The credit is mainly due to the energy and skill of Mr. Robert 
 Bird, one of the ablest of the civilians. 
 
 L
 
 146 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 In throwing open the public service to natives Lord Ben- 
 tinck repaired the cardinal error of Lord Cornwallis's policy. 
 As to the wisdom and justice of the new policy there cannot 
 be two opinions. Even Mohammedans had never excluded 
 Hindus from all share in the government of their own country, 
 and had found among them some of the ablest of their ser- 
 vants. The Brahmin Purnia governed Hyder's and Tippu's 
 territories with signal ability. The Hindus are excellent finan- 
 ciers ; and there can be no doubt that the presence of natives in 
 all departments has given no little stability to English rule. 
 
 One of Lord Bentinck's very earliest acts was the bold one 
 of abolishing the ancient pi'actice of suttee.* The home 
 uuthorities had long counselled the measure, and the doubts of 
 local officials only concerned its expediency or safety. Directly 
 on his arrival Lord Bentinck addressed inquiries on the subject 
 to the chief civil and military officers, and the great majority 
 being favourable to his views, on December 14th, 1829, he issued 
 an order declaring the practice ' culpable homicide.' The decree 
 was at once enforced by the police without difficulty or disturb- 
 ance of any kind. According to official returns, in the Cal- 
 cutta division alone five thousand one hundred cases of suttee 
 occurred between 1815 and 1828. The British interference 
 before bimply aimed at preventing compulsion, but this of course 
 wore the appearance of sanctioning the practice in all other 
 cases. Happily, Lord Bentinck was bold enough to prefer 
 humanity to cruel custom. 
 
 By Hindu law an apostate from Hinduism was disinherited, 
 and as the Hindu and Mohammedan codes were acknowledged 
 in British courts, a convert from Hinduism to Christianity lost 
 all claims of inheritance. In remodelling the laws, Lord Ben- 
 inck quietly introduced a clause to the effect that ' the Hindu 
 
 ' The term suttee, or sati, is strictly applicable to the person, not 
 the rite, meaning " a pure and. virtuous woman," and designates the wife 
 who completes a life of uninterrupted conjugal devotedness by the act 
 of saha-yamana ; i.e., accompanying her husband's corpse. It has come 
 in. common usage to denote the act.' H. II. WILSON.
 
 ABOLITION OF THUGGISM. 147 
 
 and Mohammedan law of inheritance should apply only to those 
 who were bona-fide professors of those religions at the time of its 
 application.' This effectually remedied the injustice. From fear 
 of offending native prejudices, native Christians had been ex- 
 pressly debarred from government service. This disqualification 
 was removed, caste, creed and nation being pronounced no 
 barrier to office. 
 
 Another great reform was the suppression of Thuggism. 
 The Thugs* were a caste of murderers and robbers in one. Pro- 
 fessing to live by agriculture, they really lived by waylaying, 
 murdering and robbing travellers. They joined a party of 
 travellers, got into their confidence, and watching their oppor- 
 tunity strangled them with a cloth or turban. They then plun- 
 dered and buried the bodies. All this was done as a trade and 
 under religious sanctions. Durga, or Kali, a form of Parvati, 
 the wife of Shiva, was their favourite goddess. To her they 
 made offerings after every murder. A Thug leader, when asked 
 whether he never felt any compunction for his crimes, answered, 
 ' Does any man feel compunction in following his trade ? and are 
 not all our trades assigned us by fate ? ' The children were 
 regularly trained to the art. ' The boy was at first employed as 
 a scout, and not permitted to witness the proceedings of his 
 seniors ; as he grew older, he was allowed to see and handle the 
 corpss of the victim, and assist in the interment ; and when he 
 attained manhood, and displayed adequate strength and resolu- 
 tion, he was entrusted with what had then become to him an 
 object of ambition, the application of the noose. Previous to 
 the murder, he went through a form of mysterious initiation by 
 one of the elders, whom he chose for his guru, or spiritual guide.' 
 Thousands perished every year in this way. Many of the 
 criminals had already been caught, but detection was difficult. 
 The Governor-general's plan was to form a special department 
 for the purpose of extirpating the evil. Major Sleeman, a most 
 capable officer, was placed at its head, and in a few years he 
 succeeded in accomplishing his task. Between 1830 and 1835 
 
 Thug means ' a cheat.' 
 
 L2
 
 148 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE, 
 
 two thousand Thugs were taken, of whom fifteen hundred 
 were punished in various ways. An industrial school was 
 established at Jubbulpore for training the children in useful 
 trades. 
 
 Another momentous change was the substitution of English 
 for Sanscrit in the higher education of the people. Opinion 
 was sharply divided, and controversy ran high. Orientalized 
 Englishmen fought for the old ways, but Mr. Trevelyan, Mac- 
 aulay and Dr. Duff advocated the adoption of English. Mr. 
 Macaulay, who was legal member of the supreme Council and 
 President of the Board of Education, said : ' We are at present 
 a board for printing books which are of less value than the 
 paper on which they are printed was when it was blank, and 
 for giving artificial encouragement to absurd history, absurd 
 metaphysics, absurd physics, and absurd theology.' On March 
 7th, 1835, the Governor-general in council decided that ' the 
 great object of the British Government ought to be the promo- 
 tion of European literature and science among the natives of 
 India, and that the funds appropriated to education would be 
 best employed on English education alone.' It is impossible to 
 estimate the issues of this decision. The higher Hindu mind 
 has proved most receptive of Western thought on every subject 
 and of every kind. Anglo- Hindus know English history as well 
 as educated Englishmen know Indian history, and know Eng- 
 lish literature better than educated Englishmen know Indian 
 literature. 
 
 Lord Bentinck was the first to advocate steam communica- 
 tion between England and India by the Red Sea. The Hugh 
 Lindsay, a steamer of four hundred tons, was the first of its 
 class to reach Suez from India, the pioneer of innumerable fleets. 
 The Court of Directors objected to the cost, and the enterprise 
 was left to be taken up afterwards by a private company. 
 
 Such a list of wise, beneficent measures does equal honour 
 to the mind and heart of the author, revealing as it does the 
 best qualities of a ruler. It would not be easy to name any 
 other country in which so much progress has been made in a 
 like period. Nothing but the most resolute determination could
 
 NATIVE POLICY. 149 
 
 have sufficed for carrying out so many and such great reforms 
 in the teeth of prejudice, interest and difficulties of all kinds. 
 It is easy to see why the name of Bentinck has always been an 
 honoured one among Hindus. 
 
 Lord Bentinck's policy with respect to the native states was 
 not marked by the same consistency and firmness. He did his 
 best to carry out the instructions from home enjoining non- 
 interference. Probably they accorded with his pacific disposition, 
 but he was not always able to preserve absolute neutrality. In 
 the states of central India and Rajputana Bhopal, Jodhpore, 
 Jeypore, the Scindia territories court dissensions rose to a high 
 pitch. A word from the Governor-general would have restored 
 peace, but he refused to say it. It is curious that in three of 
 these cases the disturbances arose from female ambition. In 
 Bhopal the widow of the last nabob was regent, and adopted 
 a nephew as heir to the throne, but steadily refused him any 
 share in the power after he reached his majority. Lord Ben- 
 tinck was appealed to, but declined to interfere. Civil war 
 broke out, which was only settled by Lord Bentinck's successor. 
 In Scindia's territories the situation was the same. Scindia's 
 widow, after adopting a son, studiously neglected everything 
 which would tend to fit him for his duties, saying that ' no one 
 ever wished to qualify another for the exercise of that power 
 -which he himself wished to retain.' Lord Bentinck visited 
 Gwalior, but refused to decide between the two parties. When 
 civil war threatened, the British interfered, and the ambitious 
 woman withdrew with her treasure into private life. In Jeypore 
 the queen-mother quarrelled with the nobles respecting the 
 appointment of a prime minister, and disorderly scenes were 
 enacted. The life of the British Resident was attempted by one 
 of the parties, and bis assistant was slain in a riot. Here, too, 
 the British had refused to interpose. Maun Sing, the Raja of 
 Jodhpore, presuming on the pacific inclinations of the British 
 went to great lengths refused to attend the Governor-general's 
 durbar, pay his tribute, or give up criminals who took refuge in 
 his territories. A force was assembled to compel him, but there 
 was no need for it to march. The raja submitted at once, when
 
 150 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 he saw that the English were in earnest. ' Why assemble an 
 army,' asked his envoy, ' when a single constable bringing the 
 Governor-general's orders would have been enough ? 
 
 In the two instances of Mysore and Coorg Lord Bentinck 
 found himself compelled to depart from a neutral policy. The 
 case of Mysore was peculiar. The country had been in Moham- 
 medan hands forty years. On Tippu's death, the English 
 might have annexed the country, and this course was strongly 
 advocated by Sir Thomas Munro. Instead of this, the heir of 
 the old Hindu dynasty, a mere child, was sought out and 
 placed on the throne. But Lord Wellesley clearly intended the 
 sovereignty to be nominal. The customary allusion to heirs and 
 successors was omitted from the treaty. It is true that the 
 phrase occurs, ' as long as the sun and moon shall endure ' ; but 
 this is a diplomatic formula inserted in every Oriental treaty. 
 Power was also reserved to resume the management of the king- 
 dom, if the support of the British force or the welfare of the 
 people should require it. This contingency arose about 1830. 
 On attaining his majority in 1811 the raja dismissed Purnia, his 
 able and faithful minister, and ran the usual course of Indian 
 princes favouritism, corruption, waste. The country went to 
 ruin. The people rose against oppression, and the rebellion could 
 not be put down. The raja was warned of the consequences in 
 1825 by Sir Thomas Munro, but the improvement was only 
 temporary. In 1831 the country was taken from the raja and 
 placed under a British commissioner with four superintendents 
 of divisions, the raja receiving a pension of a lac of pagodas and 
 a fifth of the net revenue. The country then flourished as it had 
 never done before. Under General Cubbon's administration of 
 twenty-five years, while taxes were reduced eleven lacs of rupees, 
 the revenue increased from forty-four to eighty-two lacs. The 
 raja, of course, never ceased to agitate both in India and England 
 for the restoration of the country, but his request was refused by 
 Lord Hardinge, Lord Dalhousie, Lord Canning, Lord Elgin and 
 Sir John Lawrence. The raja, who had no natural heir, then 
 requested permission to adopt a son with right of succession. 
 This was refused. But the present Lord Salisbury, in 1867,
 
 COORG AND MYSORE. 151 
 
 when Secretary of State for India, granted the request, and the 
 country is restored to native rule now that the young raja 
 has come of age. The decisions of one Governor-general after 
 another are thus reversed, and the fruits of British administra- 
 tion for fifty years imperilled. The Mysore is one of the cliief 
 fields of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. 
 
 A still stronger measure was the annexation in 1834 of the 
 little mountain territory of Coorg, adjoining the Mysore. A 
 former raja had rendered valuable service to the English in the 
 war with Tippu. But the raja who succeeded in 1820 acted 
 like a maniac. He prohibited all intercourse with the English, 
 sheltered rebels against English authority, tried to form a hos- 
 tile league with the Raja of Mysore, and encouraged disaffection 
 among the sepoys at Bangalore. To his own subjects he mani- 
 fested the ferocity of a tiger. No one was safe from his fits of 
 passion. Twelve possible rivals among his kinsmen he had taken 
 into the jungle and beheaded. He would kill people with his own 
 hand. One of his chief grievances was that the English would 
 not surrender his sister and her husband, who had fled from his 
 fury. He imprisoned a native envoy Avhom the English sent 
 with remonstrances, and wrote insulting letters to the Governor 
 of Madras and the Governor-general. Whatever the technical 
 rights of the question, there can be no doubt that interference 
 in some way was necessary, and that the course eventually fol- 
 lowed was the best for the people. Four columns of British 
 troops entered the country. One from the east, under Colonel 
 Lindsay, took the capital on April 6th ; and another from the 
 west, under Colonel Foulis, reached the same point on the 7th. 
 Two other columns, one from the north under Colonel Waugh, 
 and another from the Wynaad under Captain Minchin, received 
 a severe check, and had to retire. This showed the resistance 
 which might have been made by a brave people in a country 
 all rock and jungle. But the raja, who was as cowardly as he 
 was cruel, surrendered himself a prisoner on April 10th. The 
 political agent, Colonel Fraser, called the heads of the people 
 together, and, at their request, assumed the government of the 
 country. Coorg has since become famous for coffee-planta-
 
 152 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 tions. The German missionaries have long been settled in the 
 country. 
 
 In October, 1831, a meeting took place between Lord Ben- 
 tinck and Runjeet Sing, the powerful ruler of the Punjab. The 
 Punjab kingdom was now in the height of its glory. The army 
 consisted of eighty thousand men, with three hundred and 
 seventy guns, trained, and in great part officered, by French 
 leaders like Generals Court and Avitabile. The annual revenue 
 amounted to two and a half millions, and Runjeet's savings to 
 ten millions more. The British were anxious to keep on good 
 terms with the Punjab ruler because of the movements of Russia 
 in the direction of Persia, which were supposed to constitute a 
 danger for India. Now begins the panic about Russian designs 
 which has wrought so much disaster in Indian history. To 
 gratify Runjeet's passion for horses the English government in 
 the previous year had sent a team of English dray-horses, which 
 had been brought up the Indus by Lieutenant Alexander Burnes. 
 Lieutenant Burnes had not failed to make observations of the 
 river and neighbouring countries, especially Scinde, during his 
 progress. At the same time Sir John Malcolm had sent an old 
 state-carriage. The dray-horses, gorgeously caparisoned, formed 
 part of the pageantry at the interview in October, 1831, which 
 took place at Roopur. The visits, presents, military reviews, 
 conferences took up a week. No such magnificence had been 
 seen in India since the palmy days of the Mohammedan empire. 
 Both powers learned to know and respect each other more. 
 Lord Bentinck gained all he sought, but not so Runjeet. His 
 principal object was to gain the tacit consent of the British to 
 his designs of conquest in Scinde, the wealth of which, he said, 
 had been accumulating for a century and lay open to the fii*st 
 invader. The riches of the great commercial city of Shikarpore 
 especially excited his cupidity. But the British officials gave 
 no answer to his representations. The fact was that at this very 
 moment Lord Bentinck had sent Colonel Pottinger to conclude 
 a commercial treaty with the Ameer of Hyderabad in Scinde. 
 This treaty, after some difficulty, was concluded, and Runjeet 
 Sing shrewdly remarked that these commercial treaties of the
 
 NATIVE GRATITUDE. 
 
 153 
 
 English checkmated all his schemes of conquest. One clause 
 of the treaty was to the effect that the contracting parties should 
 never look ' with the eye of covetousness on the possessions of 
 each other.' Within eleven years Scinde was a British province. 
 
 Lord Bentinck returned to England in March, 1835. He 
 was the first Governor- general who won the affection of natives 
 as well as Europeans. Natives joined in erecting in Calcutta 
 the statue, for which Macaulay wrote the inscription : 
 
 ' This statue is erected to William Cavendish Bentinck, who 
 during seven years ruled India with eminent prudence, integrity 
 and benevolence ; who, placed at the head of a great empire, 
 never laid aside the simplicity and moderation of a private citi- 
 zen ; who infused into Oriental despotism the spirit of British 
 freedom ; who never forgot that the end of government is the 
 welfare of the governed ; who abolished cruel rites ; who effaced 
 humiliating distinctions ; who allowed liberty to the expression 
 of public opinion ; whose constant study it was to elevate the 
 moral and intellectual character of the government committed 
 to his charge ; this monument was erected by men who, differ- 
 ing from each other in race, in manners, in language, and in 
 religion, cherish, with equal veneration and gratitude, the memory 
 of his wise, upright, and paternal administration.' 
 
 Nobler or truer words were never spoken of a public man.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LORD AUCKLAND AFGHAN WAR. 1835-1342. 
 
 HE charter of 1833 abolished the last remnant oF 
 the trading character of the East India Company 
 and vested in it the government of the country 
 for a further term of twenty years. The assets of 
 the Company realized not much less than twelve 
 millions, their estimated value. Other principal 
 changes were the conferring of legislative power on 
 the Governor-general in council for the whole of India, the 
 admission of natives to office, and permission to Europeans to 
 hold land. The last provision swept away the old jealousy of 
 interlopers. 
 
 During the interval which elapsed before the arrival of Lord 
 Auckland in March, 1836, the Governor-generalship was held by 
 Sir Charles Metcalfe, who thus achieved the ambition of thirty- 
 four years of Indian service. His great official act was the abo- 
 lition of all restrictions on the press. During Lord Bentinck's 
 term those restrictions had been a dead letter, but they still stood 
 on the statute-book. Sir Charles Metcalfe's liberal instincts 
 erased them. With the exception of the temporary restrictions 
 imposed in 1857 and those of 1878, which we trust will prove as 
 temporary, the Indian press has retained its freedom, and, on the 
 whole, has justified the anticipations of its early friends. But 
 this measure cost its author the favour of his English masters and 
 his position in the service. The Court of Directors had often 
 smarted under the criticisms of the Calcutta press, and they could 
 not forgive Sir C. Metcalfe for having struck off its shackles. At 
 the earnest request of Lord Auckland and the home authorities 
 he accepted the Lieutenant-governorship of Agra on retiring from 
 Calcutta ; but when the Madras chair became vacant he expected 
 the appointment, but in vain. Lord Bentinck urged his claims

 
 AFGHAN WAR. 157 
 
 without success. His one offence outweighed his long services. 
 Such ungenerous treatment compelled him to resign, and his 
 great abilities and long experience were lost for ever to India. 
 He entered the colonial service of the Crown. If he had been 
 confirmed as Governor-general, we should, most probably have 
 been spared the painful story we have now to relate. 
 
 The history of Lord Auckland's administration of six years 
 is the history of the Afghan War. One other circumstance must 
 be mentioned the abolition in 1840 of all connection between 
 the British government and Hindu idolatry. Salutes were no 
 longer fired in honour of Hindu gods and festivals. Temples, 
 like that of Jagannath, were no longer managed by British officers. 
 The tax on pilgrims ceased. While the people were assured of 
 perfect liberty of worship, they were left to conduct their own 
 affairs in matters of religion. This was a tardy concession to 
 the long-continued protests of the conscience of a Christian 
 country against a public scandal. 
 
 The Afghan War can never be a pleasant subject of reflection 
 to Englishmen. But it is as impossible to pass it over as to 
 erase it from the page of history. A war more unnecessary, 
 more unjust, more disastrous it would be hard to find in the history 
 of the world. Retribution in this instance followed swiftly on 
 the heels of wrong. A fatality of misfortune seemed to attend the 
 war from first to last. Every new step was a new blunder. But 
 it must be remembered that the war was condemned from the first, 
 on military, on political and on moral grounds, by much of the 
 highest opinion both in India and England. But a nation, com- 
 mitted to an evil policy, finds it difficult to recede. The war in 
 its beginning had not the sanction even of the Calcutta Council, 
 but was decided on and carried out by Lord Auckland along with 
 a few advisers at Simla. Nay, in reality, it was not even Lord 
 Auckland's war, but that of one or two rash, strong-willed coun- 
 sellors, who completely domineered the weaker mind of their 
 master. These were Mr. Macnaghten and Mr. John Colvin, 
 chiefly the first. The official responsibility of the enterprise rests 
 of course with the Governor-general, but the real responsibility 
 rests with those who used him as a tool. Mr. Macnaghten was
 
 158 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 high-minded and honourable, but reckless and daring in his views. 
 The policy of the Afghan War was his more than any one else's. 
 Sir John Hobhouse, President of the Board of Control, assumed 
 a share of the responsibility, denying that Lord Auckland was 
 alone to blame. When questioned by a Commons' Committee, 
 he said, ' Alone I did it ' ; implying that the directors were as 
 little consulted by the supreme authorities at home as the Cal- 
 cutta Council was by the Governor-general. 
 
 The motive of the war was fear of Russia, which was seeking 
 to acquire influence in Afghanistan by way of Persia. The 
 prevention of Russian supremacy in Afghanistan is a perfectly 
 legitimate object of British policy, always providing that the 
 means are wise and just. In the present case they were neither 
 the one nor the other. 
 
 Russia had beaten Persia in the field, and wrested from her two 
 of her best provinces, chiefly owing to the refusal of the English 
 to fulfil those provisions of the treaty of 1810 which bound them 
 to help the Persians against foreign enemies. The English said 
 that the fault of the war rested on Persia. The Persians then 
 sought to repay themselves by conquering western Afghanistan, 
 the key to which was Herat. Pretexts for war were always 
 ready in the raids made on Persia by Shah Kamran, the ruler of 
 Herat. In November, 1837, the Shah of Persia appeared before 
 the city with an army of fifty thousand men. The walls were 
 extensive and dilapidated. The Pei'sian artillery had been drilled 
 by British officers, and was now directed by Russian engineers. 
 The place must have inevitably fallen, but for the presence there 
 by chance of a young British officer. Lieutenant Eldred 
 Pottinger, a Bombay engineer, had been sent by his uncle, 
 Colonel Pottinger, Resident in Cutch, to travel and observe in 
 Central Asia. Just as the Persians arrived he reached Herat in 
 native dress. He saw the peril at once, offered his services to 
 the government, and from that moment became the ruling spirit 
 of the siege. His energy and example repaired the walls, put 
 heart into the garrison, and for ten months kept Persians and 
 Russians at bay. On June 24th, 1838, the grand assault took 
 place at five points. Beaten at four points, the besiegers made
 
 CAS UL NEG OTIA TIONS. 1 59 
 
 good a footing at the fifth. Yar Mohammed, the Afghan com- 
 mander, sat down in despair. Ppttinger went, and by main force 
 dragged him to the breach, where he fell like a madman on his 
 own troops, who roused themselves for a last effort, and drove 
 back the assailants. The siege was turned into a blockade, and 
 the town suffered the extremities of famine. In November the 
 appearance of a small British force in the Persian Gulf, and the 
 representations of Colonel Stoddart, our envoy, had such an 
 effect on the Shah that he broke up the siege and retired to 
 Persia. The designs of the Russians, who hoped to rule Afghan- 
 istan through Persia, were thus completely baffled. The heroic 
 defence of Herat by Lieutenant Pottinger is too little known in 
 this country. Let it be observed that with the departure of the 
 Persians from Herat all present danger of Russian designs in 
 Afghanistan vanished. The rest was matter of negotiation at 
 Cabul. How were the negotiations managed ? 
 
 Captain Alexander Burnes arrived at Cabul as British 
 envoy to Dost Mohammed in September, 1837. The presents 
 which he brought a pistol and telescope for the Dost, and a 
 few pins and needles for his ladies were in sorry contrast with, 
 what the Afghans remembered of Mountstuart Elphinstone's 
 mission in 1809, and gave too faithful an indication of the 
 nature of the terms proposed by the English. These terms, in 
 bi'ief, were that Dost Mohammed must break off all connection 
 with Persians, Russians, and Central Asia, and in return receive 
 nothing. Dost Mohammed wished the good offices of the 
 English to enable him to recover Peshawur and its dependent 
 province from Runjeet Sing, who had conquered it so lately as 
 1835. The mere exertion of our influence would have satis- 
 fied him, and it is not unlikely that this would have sufficed, 
 for the Sikh troops detested residence at Peshawur, and it was 
 a common saying that the mere mention of the Khyber Pass 
 gave them colic. Captain Burnes urged consent to the request; 
 but Lord Auckland would promise nothing, and would hear of 
 nothing but absolute submission to his demands. His reason 
 for refusing to intercede with Runjeet Sing was that ' it is not 
 the practice of the British government to interfere with the
 
 160 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 affairs of oilier independent states,' a curious preface to the 
 Afghan War. Dost Mohammed then came to terms with the 
 Russian officer who was in his capital, and Captain Burnes 
 finally left in April, 1838. When the latter arrived at Simla, 
 he asked with wonder why we could not form an alliance with 
 Dost Mohammed. ' He is,' he said, ' a man of undoubted ability, 
 and has at heart a high opinion of the British nation ; and if 
 half you would do for others were done for him, he would 
 abandon Persia and Russia to-morrow.' But Lord Auckland 
 and his advisers were possessed with an incurable distrust of 
 Dost Mohammed. The plan they resolved upon was to send 
 an army into Afghanistan, depose Dost Mohammed, an able 
 and popular ruler, and set up Shah Soojah, who was so weak 
 that he had been already driven out, and who was now a 
 refugee in our territories. As to the question of right, there 
 was no difference between Dost Mohammed the Barukzye and 
 Shah Soojah the Dooranee. The former was the acknowledged 
 ruler of the country, in peaceful possession of the throne. The 
 British made a treaty with Runjeet Sing and Shah Soojah in 
 accordance with their designs, but the whole burden fell on the 
 British. Runjeet would not even allow our force to cross his 
 kingdom, and Shah Soojah had everything to gain and nothing 
 to lose. It is worth while to quote some contemporary opinions. 
 Mr. Elphinstone said that ' if twenty-seven thousand men were 
 sent up the Bolan Pass to Candahar, and we could feed them, 
 there was no doubt that we might take Cabul, and set up Shah 
 Soojah ; but it was hopeless to maintain him in a poor, cold, 
 strong and. remote country, among a turbulent people like the 
 Afghans.' Lord Bentinck characterized the whole scheme as 
 one of incredible folly. Lord Wellesley called it infatuation. 
 The Duke of Wellington said that our difficulties would begin 
 as soon as we had succeeded. India had often been invaded from 
 Afghanistan with good reason, for it was worth invading. This 
 was the first time that Afghanistan, a land of rocks and snow, 
 where every man is a born fighter, had been invaded from India. 
 
 Beyond the difficulties of the route, the invading force had 
 DO others to encounter. Cabul was occupied with as little
 
 31 ARCH TO CABUL. 161 
 
 resistance on the part of the enemy as has been met with in the 
 recent expedition. The British force numbered twenty-one 
 thousand men, with thirty thousand camels and thirty-eight 
 thousand camp-followers. Sir Jchn Keane was commander, 
 Mr. Macnaghten minister at the court of Shah Soojah. As the 
 Punjab was closed, this vast body had to go one thousand 
 miles down the Indus into Scinde, and march through the Bolan 
 Pass. It set out from Ferozepore in December, 1838. We need 
 not linger by the way : at the Bolan Pass, Quettah, the still 
 more terrible Kojuk Pass where guns had to be lowered down 
 precipices by ropes. The soldiers were worn out with hunger 
 and fatigue ; twenty thousand camels perished. Candahar was 
 reached in April, 1839. Here Shah Soojah was proclaimed 
 Ameer with great state. Two hundred and thirty miles north- 
 east of Candahar, ninety s~uth of Cabul, lay the strong fort of 
 Ghuzni, once the splendid capital of the conqueror Mahmud. 
 Sir John Keane was told that the place was one of no strength, 
 and left behind his battering- train which had been brought 
 at such pains over mountains and passes. The wall rose to a 
 height of sixty feet, and the ditch was filled with water. But 
 from a nephew of Dost Mohammed, who sold the information for 
 money, the British learnt that all the five gates were built up 
 save one. This it was resolved to blow open. The daring 
 suggestion was made by Captain Thomson, the engineer, who 
 carried it out. On a dark, stormy night nine hundred pounds 
 of powder were laid and fired, and over the ruins Colonel Dennie 
 rushed with the 13th Light Infantry. The defenders fought 
 bravely, but at last were overpowered, and the British flag floated 
 on the great fort of Ghuzni. An incident which occurred at 
 Ghuzni showed the Afghan in Shah Soojah. A number of 
 Mohammedan fanatics attempted his life, but they were beaten 
 off by Captain Outram, and fifty taken prisoners. When the 
 latter were brought before the Shah they gloried in their deed, 
 and one of them stabbed an attendant of the Shah, upon which, 
 by the Shah's orders, they were taken outside the tent and all 
 butchered in cold blood. 
 
 Dost Mohammed fled from Cabul to the Hindu Koosh moun-
 
 1 G2 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 tains. He was pursued six days and nights by Captain Outram 
 and a few officers at the head of a small force, and would have 
 been overtaken but for the treachery of the officer of Shah 
 Soojah who accompanied the force, and who always took care 
 to keep a march or two behind. On August 2nd, 1839, Cabul 
 was occupied, and on the 7th Shah Soojah was formally installed 
 amid, not the blessings, but the outspoken curses of a people 
 who, in their fierce love of independence, refused to acknowledge 
 a ruler forced upon them by foreign bayonets. So far the expe- 
 dition was an easy success. Honours were showered upon all 
 engaged in it, with the exception of Captain Thomson, the real 
 captor of Ghuzni, who retired from the service. 
 
 At this point our troops should have been withdrawn, and 
 Shah Soojah left face to face with his own people. But the 
 conviction forced itself upon the Governor-general that to do 
 this would be to throw away all the cost of the expedition, and 
 the force remained. Then came the first fatal blunder. It was 
 essential that the British should take up the strongest position 
 possible among a people plainly hostile to our presence. The 
 citadel of Cabul, the Bala Hissar, furnished such a position. 
 It would hold five thousand troops, and commanded the whole 
 city. Captain Havelock and Lieutenant Durand both urged its 
 occupation. The former said : ' All depends, in a military point 
 of view, on a firm hold of the Bala Hissar. It is the key of 
 Cabul.' But our creature, the Shah, wanted the fort for his 
 seraglio, consisting of one hundred and sixty females, and 
 objected to the presence of British troops in it. To his whim 
 the whole army was sacrificed. The cantonments were planted 
 on an open plain, in a position which so far from having any 
 natural protection was actually commanded by surrounding 
 heights. Such an act of course shows that the British leaders 
 never dreamt of any opposition. And yet the whole country 
 was full of smouldering disaffection, which manifested itself in 
 frequent outbreaks. Nor must it be concealed that the unpopu- 
 larity of the occupation was aggravated by the licentious 
 conduct of some of the British officers, who disgraced their 
 name and country. Such was the security felt by the British
 
 MISTAKES IN POLICY. 163 
 
 ill at the envoy sent for Lady Macnaghten from India, and other 
 officers followed his example. 
 
 Dost Mohammed, who had taken refuge with the Ameer of 
 Bokhara grew tired of exile, and resolved to strike another blow 
 for his throne. At the close of 1840 he descended from the 
 Hindu Koosh at the head of a few thousands of Oosbeg 
 Tartars, expecting that the people would rally round him. His 
 force was easily dispersed by Brigadier Dennie with a handful of 
 troops, and after this he was pursued incessantly by Sir Robert 
 Sale, and wandered about with a few ragged Afghan followers. 
 A slight advantage which he gained over some native cavalry, 
 when the latter abandoned their officers and fled, enabled him as 
 he thought to surrender with honour. The next day, as Sir 
 W. Macnaghten was riding in the vicinity of Cabul, a horseman 
 galloped up, saying, ' The Ameer is at hand ! ' ' What ameer ? ' 
 asked the envoy. ' Dost Mohammed Khan,' was the answer ; 
 and immediately Dost Mohammed appeared, dismounted, and 
 presented his sword to the envoy. Sir William returned the 
 sword, and the two rode together to the cantonments, the ameer 
 telling of his wanderings and sufferings during the last fifteen 
 months, and inquiring after his family, who were already in 
 British hands. He was treated honourably and sent to Calcutta, 
 where he received a pension of two lacs a year and played chess 
 with the Governor-general's family, 
 
 The capture of Dost Mohammed afforded another oppor- 
 tunity for withdrawing from the country. Again the Grovernor- 
 general decided against the course, but adopted the fatal policy 
 of withdrawing a part of the force, and, at the same time, 
 reducing the payments to the chiefs, by means of which alone 
 the British retained any hold upon the country. The Ghilzye 
 chiefs who commanded the eastern districts, through which lay 
 our road to India, were told that their subsidies were to be 
 reduced, and Sir Robert Sale was despatched with a portion of 
 the troops towards Jellalabad. The Ghilzyes seemed to assent, 
 but at once began to plunder and slay British detachments. The 
 movement grew rapidly into a national rising. 
 
 Nothing awakens more indignation in an English heart in
 
 164 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 the review of these events than the fact that the British force 
 at Cabul contained a whole host of heroic spirits, any one of 
 whom, placed in command, would have averted the impending 
 disaster. To say nothing of Sale, Havelock, Broadfoot and 
 Dennie, who had left for Jellalabad, there were Pottinger, Colin 
 Mackenzie, Durand, Eyre, Griffiths, George Lawrence. But the 
 commander at this time was General Elphinstone, a good and 
 amiable man, but old and incapable, both physically and men- 
 tally, of coping with an emergency. He was feeble and vacillat- 
 ing to the last degree. Brigadier Shelton, the second in com- 
 mand, was brave as a lion, but as self-willed and cross-grained 
 as he was brave. With them the whole military responsibility of 
 the failure rests. Sir William Macnaghten, who had been a 
 cavalry officer, had the instincts of a soldier, and never ceased to 
 urge the commanders to the path of honour ; but in vain. Eng- 
 lish commanders, with a host of strong hearts and keen swords 
 at their disposal, preferred to trust their own lives and their 
 country's honour to Afghan treachery. At Candahar the British 
 force was surrounded by no less difficulties ; but General Nott 
 and the political officer, Major now in an honoured old age Sir 
 Henry Rawlinson, held their ground without flinching. 
 
 The British leaders had been warned of the seething disaffec- 
 tion ; but so confident were they, that at the beginning of 
 November, 1841, Sir William Macnaghten was about to leave for 
 the governorship of Bombay, to which he had been appointed. 
 On November 2nd the house of Sir A. Burnes in the city 
 was attacked by a mob, he and his brother were treacherously 
 butchered, and the British treasury was plundered. The com- 
 manders had ample notice of the rising, and could have prevented 
 the murders and plunder with the greatest ease, but their con- 
 duct was imbecile in the extreme. One reverse came after 
 another. The provisions, on which the very existence of the force 
 depended, were stored in a small, ill-manned fort four hundred 
 yards away from the cantonments. When the fort was attacked 
 General Elphinstone refused to send relief, and the soldiers sat 
 down, helplessly watching the Afghans as they carried off the 
 stores. Sometimes the hesitation of one commander, sometimes
 
 BRITISH DEFEAT. 1G5 
 
 the obstinacy of the other, ruined every movement. They would 
 neither retreat into the Bala Hissar, as Shah Soojah begged, nor 
 take the field against the insurgents, as the envoy urged and 
 entreated. On November 23rd Brigadier Shelton, under much 
 pressure, led a force against the hills from which the enemy 
 were cannonading the cantonments ; but the arrangements were 
 so unwise, and the troops so demoralized by hunger, cold and 
 defeat, that the spectacle was seen of English soldiers pursued 
 by Afghans. General Elphinstone refused to send out any sup- 
 ports. This was the last effort made by the commanders. 
 
 The envoy was forced to request an interview with the 
 Afghan chiefs, who insolently boasted of their victory and 
 demanded unconditional surrender. Soon afterwards Akbar 
 Khan, a younger son of Dost Mohammed, arrived in Cabul, and 
 took the direction of the T'ising. He was able, but cunning as a 
 serpent, relentless as a tiger, faithless as an Afghan. He saw 
 that starvation would do his work more effectually and cheaply 
 than fighting, and he forbade the people on pain of death to 
 supply provisions to the British. On December llth only one 
 day's supply remained, and as the commanders would not fight, 
 the envoy was forced to accept Akbar's terms : the evacuation of 
 the country, Shah Soojah to receive a pension or to leave with 
 the British, four officers to be given as hostages, the army to be 
 supplied with carriage and provisions. It was a shameful treaty, 
 but the envoy had no choice. ' Environed and hemmed in by 
 difficulties and dangers, overwhelmed with responsibility which 
 there was none to share the lives of fifteen thousand men resting 
 on his decision the honour of his country at stake with a per- 
 fidious enemy before him, a decrepit general at his side, and a 
 paralyzed army at his back, he was driven to negotiate by the 
 imbecility of his companions.' 
 
 The Afghans had no sooner signed the treaty than they 
 began to break it. Assured of the fulfilment of the British 
 conditions, they never intended to perform the conditions on 
 their own side. Instead of supplying provisions they shame- 
 lessly stole what remained, and the British allowed them to do 
 so. Akbar Khan swore an oath that of the British only one
 
 166 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 should reach Jellalabad, to tell the tale of destruction. The 
 British still lingered in expectation of the promised supplies, 
 instead of marching in the best fashion they could. On Decem- 
 ber 18th snow began to fall, and interposed another difficulty. 
 And now came the envoy's great error. He had made it known 
 that if other Afghan tribes would help the British, he would 
 break with the Barukzyes. In return, the crafty Akbar pro- 
 posed that he, the Ghilzyes and the British should fall on Am- 
 eenoolla, the chief insurgent, and that Shah Soojah should 
 remain king, with Akbar Khan as vizier, as though Afghan 
 would help the English against Afghan. The envoy was earn- 
 estly dissuaded, but he fell into the transparent snai'e, and pro- 
 ceeded on December 23rd with Captains Trevor, Mackenzie and 
 Lawrence, and a small guard, to an interview with Akbar on an 
 open hillside. When the officers saw Ameenoolla's brother and 
 the large number of armed men with Akbar, they suspected 
 treachery. After a haughty greeting, Akbar gave a signal, and 
 each officer was seized from behind, placed on a horse with an 
 Afghan, and carried off to the city. Captain Trevor fell off the 
 horse, and was instantly cut to pieces. Akbar Khan himself 
 seized the envoy, who resisted, whereupon Akbar drew a pistol, 
 the gift of the envoy the day before, and shot him dead. His 
 body was mutilated by the knives of fanatics and paraded in the 
 streets of Cabul. Akbar afterwards asserted that he had not 
 intended to take the envoy's life, but only to hold him as a 
 hostage for his own father. The deed was probably committed 
 under the impulse of sudden passion. It was thoroughly charac- 
 teristic of the Afghan nature. 
 
 Neither the murder of the envoy nor the entreaties of Major 
 Pottinger, who now stepped into Sir William's place, could rouse 
 the army to effort. The only cry was, ' Negotiate, negotiate.' 
 with foes whose treachery was so patent ! On December 26th 
 news arrived of promised help from India, and General Elphin- 
 stone was almost ready to make a bold stand, but Brigadier 
 Shelton vehemently opposed. By a new treaty on January 4th, 
 guns, wagons, small arms, and ammunition and four officers were 
 given up, besides a bond for fourteen lacs of rupees. The latter
 
 BRITISH FORCE ANNIHILATED. lt>7 
 
 fortunately was made contingent on the safe arrival of the troops 
 at Peshawur. 
 
 On January 6th, 1842, the army, still four thousand five 
 hundred strong, with eleven thousand camp-followei-s, marched 
 out of the cantonments, less prepared for the journey than they 
 were a month before, and with the snow ankle-deep on the road. 
 The cantonments were instantly fired by the Afghans. Next 
 day the army was a mere rabble, and lost baggage and men at 
 every step under the attacks of the wild Ghilzyes. Instead of 
 pressing with the utmost speed, the commanders halted again 
 and again. The suffering reached its height in the Khoord 
 Cabul Pass. The pass was five miles long, deep, narrow, dark, 
 the road crossed and re-crossed twenty-eight times by a rushing 
 torrent, and snow was on the ground. From every height the 
 Ghilzyes poured in a deadly fire on the struggling mass of men, 
 women and children. Human misery never rose to a higher point 
 than in those horrible defiles. At every halt Akbar Khan ap- 
 peared, demanded new hostages, who were surrendered, made new 
 promises of provision and safety, and then pi-otested his inability 
 to restrain the bloodthirsty savages who were really obeying his 
 orders. On January 8th, Captain Lawrence, Captain Mackenzie 
 and Major Pottinger were surrendered; on January 9th, Ladies 
 Macnaghten and Sale, nine other ladies, fifteen children and 
 eight officers ; on January 10th, General Elphinstone, Brigadier 
 Shelton and Captain Johnson. Akbar, who had gained all he 
 wanted, withdrew to Cabul, and left the rest to the Ghilzyes. 
 The poor sepoys and camp-followers were slaughtered in masses. 
 Four hundred and fifty famished Europeans still struggled on, 
 but they fell one by one. At the Jugdulluk Pass twelve brave 
 officers met their fate. Twenty officers and forty-five European 
 privates reached Gundamuk, but these also gradually sank 
 under the Ghilzyes' matchlocks and knives. On January 13th, 
 a solitary horseman was seen from the walls of Jellalabad ap- 
 proaching slowly, wounded and faint. It was Dr. Brydon save 
 the one hundred and twenty prisoners, the only one left alive 
 of fifteen thousand men. The eighty miles between Cabul and 
 Jellalabad were strewn thick with the relics of a great army, not
 
 168 
 
 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 killed in fair fight, but butchered like sheep, with dastardly- 
 treachery. Akbar Khan had kept his vow. 
 
 The news of the catastrophe, the worst that ever befell 
 British arms, reached Calcutta on January 30th, 1842. The 
 Governor-general, after recording a brave minute, did nothing 
 worthy of the occasion. The wreck of his one great enterprise 
 seems to have plunged him into despair. His only thought was, 
 not of retrieving British honour and recovering British prison- 
 ers, but of withdrawing the forces at Jellalabad and Candahar 
 in safety. He left India in February, and the work of retribu- 
 tion fell into other hands.
 
 KHYBKB PASS.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 LORD ELLENBOBOUGH AFGHAN WAR CONQUEST OF SCINDE 
 AFFAIRS OF GWALIOR. 18421844. 
 
 HE first relieving force was entrusted to an inca- 
 pable officer, and got no farther than the mouth 
 of the Khyber Pass, where it allowed itself to be 
 driven back by the mountain tribes. The next 
 commander was General Pollock, an old campaigner 
 of Lord Lake's days, who had also seen service in 
 Nepaul and Burmah. Arriving at Peshawar in Febru- 
 ary, 1842, instead of risking another failure, although importuned 
 to advance by General Sale at Jellalabad, he wisely devoted two 
 months to improving the order and tone of his troops. In April 
 everything was ready. As the Afreedis demanded an exorbi- 
 tant sum for a free passage, it was necessary to force the pass. 
 Before daylight on April 5th the troops marched in silence upon 
 the heights on either side, and when the sun rose the Afreedis 
 saw their flanks turned and the barricades attacked in front and 
 rear. By evening Ali Musjid, five miles within the pass, was 
 reached, and on April 15th Jellalabad. 
 
 Here General Sale had held his ground since November 13th. 
 When he arrived, the walls were in such a state of dilapidation 
 that roads ran over them. Buildings of all sorts came close up 
 to them on the outside, affording excellent shelter for assailants. 
 These were cleared away, and the place soon made secure against 
 native foes by the energy of Captain Broadfoot and the army, 
 who all worked with a will. The people of the town and neigh- 
 bourhood showed themselves as hostile as the Ghilzyes. Five 
 thousand armed ruffians at once assembled, shouting curses and 
 threats at the infidels ; but the day after the occupation Colonel 
 Monteith sallied forth with eleven hundred men of all arms, 
 and taught them a lesson which did not need to be repeated.
 
 172 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Demands came from Cabnl for the evacuation of the town in 
 pursuance of the treaty with Akbar Khan. There were long and 
 stormy councils. General Sale and the majority inclined to com- 
 pliance upon certain conditions. Captains Havelock and Broad- 
 foot always opposed this, and in the end their views carried the 
 day. On February 18th an earthquake destroyed the labour of 
 months ; but the enemy were prevented by the same cause from 
 taking advantage of the occasion, and the damage was repaired 
 so quickly that the natives declared that there had been no 
 earthquake at Jellalabad. Fortunately, Akbar Khan and his 
 army were kept at Cabul by internal dissensions, and when they 
 arrived everything was ready for their reception. At first they 
 kept a respectful distance, and when they advanced to attack 
 the town Avere put to ignominious flight. They next attempted 
 the tactics of Cabul blockade and starvation, but here also found 
 that they had different leaders to deal with. On April 1st a 
 sortie was made, and a flock of five hundred sheep and goats 
 brought in. But as the besiegers were drawing their lines closer, 
 more effectual relief became necessary. Captain Havelock pro- 
 posed an attack in force. The general opposed for a time, but 
 at last yielded, and allowed the captain to draw up the plan for 
 the following day, April 7th. The force was to be formed into 
 three successive columns, disregard the flanking forts, and strike 
 boldly at the enemy's camp. General Sale, who commanded the 
 second column, was so annoyed by the fire of a small fort that he 
 detached Colonel Dennie to take it. During the delay the first 
 column of three hundred and sixty men, under Captain Havelock, 
 was left to contend with the whole strength of the enemy, who 
 launched against it fifteen hundred fine cavalry. However, they 
 repelled two charges, and when, in answer to urgent messages, the 
 other columns came up, the victory was complete, the enemy's 
 baggage and guns being taken and his camp burnt. The need- 
 less attack on the fort cost the valuable life of Colonel Dennie. 
 Mr. Marshman may well say, ' One such day at Cabul would 
 have saved the army.' The Jellalabad garrison was a mere 
 brigade, the Cabul one was an army. On April 15th the garrison, 
 rightly denominated ' illustrious ' by Lord Ellenborough, marched
 
 LORD ELLENS OROUGII'S VACILLATION. 173 
 
 out with drums beating and colours flying to meet General 
 Pollock's delivering force. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough was a man of immense vigour and ability, 
 but singularly capricious. Nothing could be more magnanimous 
 than his minute of March 15th, in which he said : ' Whatever 
 course we may hereafter take must rest solely on military con- 
 siderations and regard to the safety of the detached bodies of our 
 troops, to the security of those now in the field from all unneces- 
 sary risk, and finally to the establishment of our military reputa- 
 tion by the infliction of some signal and decisive blow upon the 
 Afghans, which may make it appear to them, and to our own sub- 
 jects, and to our allies, that we have the power of inflicting punish- 
 ment upon those who commit atrocities and violate their faith, and 
 that we withdraw ultimately from Afghanistan, not from any 
 deficiency of means to maintain our position, but because we are 
 satisfied that the king we have set up has not, as we were erro- 
 neously led to imagine, the support of the nation over whom he 
 has been placed.' But in April came a change. The Governor- 
 general forgot all about the necessity of inflicting a ' signal and 
 decisive blow,' forgot even the English captives in Afghan forts, 
 and determined to withdraw the forces from Jellalabad and Can- 
 dahar. The cause of this sudden change seems to have been, 
 partly a check sustained by an incapable commander who was 
 conducting relief to General Nott, partly the influence of a vivid 
 imagination in magnifying distant, unseen dangers. Both Gene- 
 ral Nott and General Pollock were aghast at the thought of 
 retiring without marching upon Cabul. They prepared to obey, 
 but prolonged the preparations to such an extent as to give time 
 for another change to take place. Happily, the ignoble course 
 proposed was rendered impossible by the thrill of indignation 
 (one advantage of a free press) which ran through India when 
 the orders leaked out. In July Lord Ellenborough sent the 
 generals fresh instructions, most curiously worded. General 
 Pollock was still to retire, but if he could do so, with absolute 
 safety, he might retire by way of Cabul ; which was like saying 
 that an army might retire from Manchester to Edinburgh by 
 way of Birmingham. General Nott received similar instructions,
 
 174 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 which was like permitting a general to withdraw from Manchester 
 to Edinburgh by way of Hull, supposing Hull to be three times 
 the distance to the east that it is. In other words, Lord Ellen- 
 borough, instead of assuming the responsibility, threw it upon 
 the two generals, who accepted it with delight. 
 
 General Pollock could not leave Jellalabad till assured of 
 General Nott's cooperation, and then it became a struggle which 
 should reach Cabul first. The latter left Candahar on August 
 7th, and had the longest march. The former left Jellalabad on 
 August 20th, and had battles to fight by the way. Akbar Khan 
 had offered to restore the captives if the force would withdraw 
 without marching on Cabul, but the offer was rejected with scorn. 
 Pollock's force numbered eight thousand men in splendid con- 
 dition. They were wrought up to the highest tension, not only 
 by tlje mission that lay before them, but by the sight of the re- 
 mains of their murdered comrades of eight months before. At 
 Jugdulluk Pass the Ghilzyes mustered all their strength to bar 
 the way, but were chased and scattered in every direction. In the 
 valley of Tezeen, one of the chief scenes of massacre, Akbar made 
 his last stand. The fight was spread, not only over the plain, 
 but over the surrounding heights. First, the cavalry routed the 
 Afghan horse, then the artillery inflicted great slaughter, and 
 finally the infantry cleared the hills. Akbar fled to the northern 
 highlands of Afghanistan. On September 15th the British flag 
 again waved over the Bala Hissar. 
 
 The Candahar force arrived the following day. As the 
 Candahar occupation exerted no decisive influence on the result 
 we have not thought it necessary to follow its history in detail. 
 But it must not be forgotten how General Nott's determination 
 and Major Bawlinson's political tact held the place for months 
 and even years amid treachery, insurrection and attacks on all 
 sides. They so effectually checked disorder and license among 
 their own troops as to secure the respect of the populace. The 
 very Dooranees, Shah Soojah's own tribe, joined the hordes of 
 the insurgents. Safder Jung, Shah Soojah's son, and Mirza 
 Ahmed, a chief in Major Rawlinson's confidence, did the same. 
 Once, when General Nott had marched out to beat up the enemy's
 
 CAPTIVES RECOVERED. 175 
 
 quarters, Mirza Ahmed with, bands of fanatics doubled back upon 
 Caiidahar, and reached the Hsrat gate at sunset. Brushwood, 
 soaked in oil, was piled up against the gate and fired. For six 
 hours the enemy, reckless of their own lives, tried to force an 
 entrance, but Major Lane and Major Rawlinson repelled every 
 attack. On the force leaving for Jellalabad the renowned forti- 
 fications of Ghuzni were blown up. 
 
 One of the first things which General Pollock did after reach- 
 ing Cabul was to despatch two columns under Sir Richmond 
 Shakespeare and Sir Robert Sale to recover the prisoners, who on 
 the English advance had been sent by forced marches day and night 
 by Akbar over the heights of the Hindu Koosh to Bameean. 
 They had not been treated with any exceptional harshness during 
 the interval. Their first keeper was the blind old chief, Zemaun 
 Shah, the same whose reported intention to invade India had 
 spread consternation so far back as Tippu's days. Singularly 
 enough, he remained faithful to the British cause, ' faithful 
 among the faithless.' The English called him ' the good nabob.' 
 Afterwards they came into Akbar's possession, and were taken 
 from place to place. At Tezeen, one of their places of detention, 
 General Elphinstone died, worn out with age and trouble. His 
 body was taken by a servant to Jellalabad for burial. At 
 Bameean Saleh Mohammed, the officer of Akbar who had charge 
 of the party, showed the officers two letters, one from Akbar 
 commanding him to take the prisoners farther on and give them, 
 up to the Oosbegs, which meant perpetual captivity or death, 
 and another from Mohun Lall, a former moonshee of Sir W. 
 Macnaghten at Cabul, offering him in General Pollock's name 
 a present of twenty thousand rupees and an annuity of twelve 
 thousand to set them at liberty. ' I know nothing,' he said, ' of 
 General Pollock ; but if you three gentlemen will swear by your 
 Saviour to make good to me this offer, I will deliver you over to 
 your own people.' The agreement was made, and Major Pottinger 
 assumed command. On September 15th a horseman brought 
 news of the victory at Tezeen. On the 16th the party set out 
 for Cabul, and at night a note came from Sir Richmond Shakes- 
 peare to say that he was approaching. On the afternoon of the
 
 176 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 17th the two parties met, and all danger was over. On the 20th 
 General Sale came up at the head of the second brigade, and met 
 his wife and daughter after months of suspense. On the 20th 
 the whole party reached Cabul, where the British troops were 
 wild with delight at the recovery of the captives, for whose fate 
 all India and England were anxious. 
 
 Ameenoolla, the inveterate foe of the British, endeavoured to 
 revive the struggle, and collected large forces at Istaliff, a 
 mountain fastness in the north. But an expedition was sent 
 against him, and by Captain Havelock's admirable dispositions 
 the place was taken and the enemy's force broken up. 
 
 On October 12th the British set their faces towards India. 
 Before doing so, as a mark of retribution, they destroyed the 
 Great Bazaar, in which the envoy's body had been exposed to 
 public insult. The building was so large and so solidly constructed 
 that its destruction took two days. There is something more 
 painful to record. Surrounded by memorials of British dis- 
 honour and suffering and Afghan perfidy and cruelt}% the army 
 broke through all the restraints of discipline, and, in spite of every 
 exertion of commanders and officers, for three days plundered and 
 ravaged the city at will. Cabul suffered the fate of a captured 
 city. This is the only blot on the doings of ' the avenging army.' 
 
 At Ferozepore, on the banks of the Sutledge, whence four 
 years before the ill-starred expedition had set out with such high 
 hopes, Lord Ellenborough met the returning army, and indulged 
 to the full the love of display and vaunting which was his greatest 
 weakness. Two hundred elephants were made to kneel to the 
 victorious legions. Remembering those who were left behind in 
 Afghan graves, such scenes might have been spared. In the 
 same strain was the Governor-general's order to bring back from 
 Ghuzni the sandal-wood gates which Mahmud had carried 
 away from the temple of Somnath eight centuries before. The 
 original gates had no doubt perished in the coarse of time, and 
 those brought back were copies. The temple of Somnath had also 
 perished, and the gates lay, and perhaps still lie, as useless lumber 
 at Agra. For the fifteen millions spent and the army lost in 
 Afghanistan a pair of fictitious gates was all we had to show.
 
 SIR CHARLES NAPIER.
 
 SCINDE WAX. 179 
 
 We may mention the fate of our puppet, Shah Soojah. He 
 was compelled by the insurgents to place himself at the head of 
 the force marching to the attack of Jellalabad, but was murdered 
 on the road, his body being stripped of its jewels and thrown into 
 a ditch. The result of much strife was that Akbar Khan re- 
 mained master of the situation until his father's return from India. 
 Dost Mohammed took leave of Lord Ellenborough privately. 
 On being asked his opinion of all he had seen he replied : ' I have 
 been struck with the magnitude of your power and your resources, 
 with your ships, your arsenals and your armies ; but what I can- 
 not understand is, why the rulers of so vast and nourishing an 
 empire should have gone across the Indus to deprive me of my 
 poor and barren country.' The reason of course was, not ambi- 
 tion to possess Afghanistan, but fear of Russia. 
 
 The conquest of Scinde was, if possible, even more shamefully 
 unjust than the attack upon Afghanistan, but unlike the latter 
 was successful. It has always been regarded, and justly, as the 
 darkest stain on British fame in India; but it would be unjust to 
 quote it as an illustration of the way in which India has been 
 acquired. The country was governed by a crowd of poor chiefs, 
 called ameers, who were grouped round three centres : Khyrpore 
 in the north, Meerpore in the middle, and Hyderabad in the south. 
 Of the first group Meer Boostum, a venerable man of eighty- 
 five years, was the principal ; of the second, Shere Mohammed. 
 These chiefs again were in the hands of swarms of tributaries. 
 During the Afghan troubles, a few of the ameers had shown a 
 hostile spirit, and for their alleged fault the whole country was 
 held responsible. In September, 1842, Sir Charles Napier was 
 sent, with full power to investigate and act. Sir Charles was 
 a most brilliant and daring soldier, but arbitrary, impulsive and 
 from the first prejudiced against the ameers. On his first 
 coming he wrote : ' We only want a pretext to coerce the ameers ; 
 they have given a pretext, they have broken treaties. The more 
 powerful government will at no distant period swallow up the 
 weaker, and it would be better to come to the result at once, if 
 it can be done with honesty.' And again : ' We have no right to 
 seize Scinde, yet we shall do so ; and a very advantageous, useful 
 
 N 2
 
 180 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and humane piece of rascality it will be.' Major Outram, the 
 Resident, was the soul of honour, the Bayard of India ; but he 
 was placed under Sir Charles, and could not go beyond his 
 instructions. 
 
 The gist of the dispute turned upon certain treasonable 
 letters ascribed to some of the ameers. Their genuineness was 
 strenuously denied ; and, considering that the forging of seals 
 was a regular business in Scinde, the denial may be accepted. 
 But without hearing the ameers in defence, Sir Charles de- 
 cided on his sole authority that the letters were genuine, and 
 that the old treaty between the British and the ameers was 
 abrogated. A new treaty was to be imposed, in which, beside 
 other concessions, the ameers were to cede land to the value of 
 eight lacs in lieu of the subsidy for the support of the British 
 contingent. This was double the amount which Major Outram 
 had suggested as sufficient for the purpose. He pointed out the 
 mistake, which was not acknowledged until the issue had been 
 decided by force. 
 
 On the other side, it must be stated that Sir Charles Napier 
 was the victim, if that is an excuse, of the wiles of a crafty 
 intriguer, Ali Morad, brother of Meer Roostum. By national 
 usage Ali Morad was heir to the office of rais, or suzerain, 
 held by Roostum. The latter was anxious to secure the office 
 for his own son. So far Ali Morad had right on his side, but 
 not so in the means he used. These means consisted in em- 
 broiling Meer Roostum with the British, and then obtaining 
 the coveted dignity at the hands of the latter. He poisoned Sir 
 Charles's mind against the old ameer, induced the former to 
 send haughty messages and refuse a request for a personal 
 interview, got his brother into his power, and forced him to 
 sign an abdication. When Sir Charles Napier proposed in a 
 personal interview to ascertain whether the abdication was 
 genuine or not, Ali Morad persuaded his brother that the in- 
 tention was to seize him, and induced him to flee. The flight 
 was construed as proof of guilt, and on Meer Roostum sending 
 a full statement of the facts, the answer was a charge of deceit 
 and double-dealing.
 
 BATTLE OF MEANEE. 181 
 
 Another act of Sir Charles's well illustrates his high-handed 
 policy. In an inaccessible corner of Sciride stood the fort of 
 Emamgur, which enjoyed the fame of never having been 
 captured. The chief to whom it belonged had done nothing to 
 offend the British. But Sir Charles thought that the capture of 
 the place would impress the people with a sense of British prowess. 
 He mounted three hundred and fifty European soldiers on camels, 
 and with these and fifty horse and two twenty-four pounders 
 crossed a desert in a march of four days, found the fort aban- 
 doned, and blew ib up with the powder in its stores. The Duke 
 of Wellington called this ' one of the most curious military 
 feats he had ever known.' The moralis!:, as well as the soldier, 
 is compelled to regard it as ' curious.' 
 
 A great conference was held at Hyderabad in February, 
 1843. The ameers protested their innocence, but on February 
 12th, conscious of their weakness, signed the treaty, hard as it 
 was. Their only request was that Meer Roostum might be 
 restored to the office of which he had been unjustly deprived. 
 This concession, they said, might appease their followers, who 
 threatened an outbreak. Major Outram said that he had no 
 power to grant the request. On leaving the conference, Major 
 Outram and his officers would undoubtedly have been murdered 
 by a turbulent mob of citizens and soldiers but for the protection 
 of a special guard commanded by the principal chiefs. ]Vext 
 day a deputation waited upon him with the same request, and 
 at the same time urged him to remove from the residency to a 
 place of greater safety. He could not grant the request, and 
 he would not run away from danger. On February 15th the 
 residency was attacked by masses of cavalry and infantry. Major 
 Outram fortunately had with him a company of the 22nd Foot, 
 and after a brave defence for three hours and a loss of seven- 
 teen men withdrew to an armed steamer in the river five hun- 
 dred yards distant. After this of course nothing remained but 
 war. 
 
 On February 17th was fought the hardly contested battle of 
 Meanee, about six miles from Hyderabad. Sir Charles Napier 
 Lad barely three thousand troops ; the Beloochees amounted to
 
 182 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 twenty thousand, and were strongly posted. For three hours the 
 latter stood their ground without flinching. After firing their 
 matchlocks, they would rush sword in hand upon the British 
 bayonets. The issue was decided by a cavalry charge on their 
 right, while another body fell on their camp in the rear. They 
 then retired, fighting at every step. Their camp and stores 
 were all taken. No quarter was asked or given. The Beloo- 
 chee loss was five thousand against the British two hundred and 
 fifty-seven. The day after the battle ten thousand fresh Beloo- 
 chee troops arrived, and Shere Mohammed had as many more 
 in the neighbourhood. 
 
 On March 22nd a second battle was fought at Dubba, near 
 Hyderabad, of a similar character and with similar results. Sir 
 Charles had received reinforcements, and led six thousand troops 
 to the attack on twenty thousand Beloochees, who were posted 
 behind a river-bed. Across this the 22nd Foot charged in the 
 teeth of a withering fire, while cavalry made an attack on the 
 enemy's left flank. The Beloochees fought with their usual 
 valour, bub discipline and skilful generalship prevailed. 
 
 It is not too much to say that but for the Afghan and 
 Scinde episodes the British history in India would present a 
 comparatively fair record. Sir John Hobhouse believed that if 
 Lord Ellenborough had known all the facts, Scinde would not 
 have been annexed, but facts and. documents were kept back 
 from him. It is a poor province, and has never paid its way. 
 Great quantities of prize-money fell to the conquerors, the 
 Commander-in-chief's share being seven lacs. Major Outram's 
 share was three lacs (30,000) ; but he refused to accept the 
 spoils of an unjust war, and devoted the amount to charitable 
 institutions in India. Sir Charles Napier made a pun of his 
 conquest. In reply to the charges of injustice he said, ' Peccavi, 
 I have sinned (Scinde).' To the rebellious ameers fell the hard 
 lot of exile. 
 
 In the same year (1843) Lord Ellenborongh was , compelled 
 to interfere by force of arms in the Gwalior state, which was 
 in great confusion. The adopted son of Dowlut Rao Scindia's 
 widow died February 7th, 1843, without heir or recognized
 
 DISORDER IN GWALIOR. 183 
 
 successor. His second wife, Tara Bai, whom he maiTied in 1838, 
 and who at his death was not thirteen years old, immediately 
 adopted a boy eight years of age. A dispute then arose be- 
 tween tha palace and the British as to who should be regent. 
 The ranee wanted Dada Khasji, the hereditary chamberlain 
 and steward ; Lord Ellenborough preferred Mama Sahib, uncle 
 of the late raja. The latter was installed February 23rd. But 
 the ranee and her party thwarted him in every way, and at 
 last expelled him from the country. The English Resident was 
 then instructed to withdraw to Dholpore, a frontier town, and 
 demand the surrender of the dada, who was set against the 
 English, and ready to risk a conflict with them. The demand 
 was refused. The chief reason why the Governor-general was 
 anxious to have a regent favourable to the English was for the 
 purpose of carrying out a reduction in the Gwalior army, which 
 had outgrown the necessities of the country. It numbered 
 thirty thousand infantry and ten thousand horse, with two 
 hundred guns, and absorbed two-thirds of the revenue. It had 
 also received a European training. As the country was under 
 British protection, such a force was utterly unnecessary, and 
 was a standing menace to the British power. But the army- 
 knew its strength, refused to allow any reduction to be made, and 
 domineered over the whole country. At this time there was 
 every prospect of speedy trouble with the splendid Sikh army 
 across the Sutledge, and a simultaneous attack by such an army 
 as that of Gwalior in the south would have placed the British 
 power in the greatest peril. On November 1st the Governor- 
 general issued an able and temperate paper stating these cir- 
 cumstances, and sthowing the justice and necessity of the British 
 demands. In this paper he formally claimed for the British the 
 position of the sovereign power throughout India, assuming the 
 control and responsibility belonging to this position, and con- 
 cluded, ' If the Governor-general, who is now on his way to Agra, 
 should not find the dada there on his arrival, God alone knows 
 what orders may be issued.' 
 
 He reached Agra December llth, and the next day wrote 
 to the ranee to say that as his demands had not been complied
 
 184 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 with the armies would advance forthwith. Both the ranee and 
 the dada were now thoroughly alarmed. The dada arrived at 
 Dholpore with a letter requesting that the march of the troops 
 might be arrested. On December 18th the Governor-general 
 replied, and presented his demand for the reduction of the army 
 within reasonable limits. But, with a touch of weakness, he 
 based it, not on present exigencies, but on the old treaty of 1804 
 which Lord Wellesley had forced on Scindia, and which had 
 really been superseded by Lord Hastings's treaty in 1817. The 
 ranee then sent three of the chief nobles to urge the request in 
 more earnest terms and, if possible, prevent a collision. But the 
 Governor-general was immovable. The Gwalior army cut the 
 knot by advancing to meet the English, boasting of their ability 
 to give a good account of the invaders. On the night of 
 December 28th they took up a strong position at the village of 
 Maharajpore, where next day the British general was surprised 
 at finding them. The first intimation of their presence was 
 the balls whistling among the elephants which carried the 
 Governor-general and the ladies of the chief English officers. 
 It is surprising that the English had formed a low estimate of 
 the troops they had to deal with. An English general who fell 
 in the battle talked of his only needing a horsewhip. As we 
 have seen, Scindia' s troops had fought with the utmost stubborn- 
 ness at battles like Assaye and Laswaree. 
 
 The battle of Maharajpore was eminently a soldiers' battle 
 on both sides. The British general, Sir Hugh Gough, had 
 pushed on without his guns, having expected to meet the enemy 
 farther on. To overcome powerful batteries he could only trust 
 to living valour. Of his twelve thousand troops one thousand 
 were killed or wounded. Generalship was as conspicuously absent 
 here as it was present in the Scinde campaign. The Gwalior 
 troops had no general at all : each regiment took up its position 
 by instinct and fought for its own hand. The gunners were 
 cut down to a man before the guns were taken. Even then the 
 infantry fought on till they could fight no longer. On the same 
 day another portion of their force was defeated at Punniar by 
 General Grey, who advanced on Gwalior from the south.
 
 GWALIOR SUBDUED. 185 
 
 On December 31st the ranee and raja, together with their 
 chief officers, proceeded to the British camp to learn their fate. 
 The girl-ranee sat in a closed litter, and the Governor-general 
 sat beside it. The conversation was held through Colonel Slee- 
 man, the Resident, and two Mahratta ministers. The ranee 
 pleaded her youth and inexperience and blamed the army. 
 Lord Ellenborough simply replied that an orderly government 
 must be established, holding out hopes that she might be 
 recognized in it. But in the arrangement made she simply 
 received a pension of three lacs, and the regency was entrusted 
 to a council of six nobles, who were required to be submissive 
 to the Resident. Instead of being annexed, like Scinde, the 
 country was thoroughly mediatized. The army was cut down 
 to ten thousand men, with thirty-two guns ; and so broken was 
 it in spirit by the recent defeats that it submitted quietly to the 
 reduction. Many of the troops joined the British contingent, 
 which became renowned for its efficiency, and signalized itself 
 in the mutiny of 1857 by butchering its officers and marching 
 off to work vast mischief in Bengal. So ended Scindia's dream 
 of Indian empire. 
 
 Of Lord Ellenborough's three wars, two certainly were not 
 of his seeking, but the directors thought, and his proceedings 
 indicated, that he had become intoxicated by military success. 
 A passion for military fame had taken hold of him a dangerous 
 passion for a ruler to whom war comes without seeking. The 
 directors lost all confidence in him. They felt uncertain what he 
 might do next. The dictatorial tone of his letters also offended 
 them, and in June, 1844, he was recalled. Sir Henry Lawrence 
 said that after his recall the natives of India ceased, on waking 
 in the morning, to feel their necks to make sure that their heads 
 were still on their shoulders. The internal reforms of his admin- 
 istration, such as the abolition of state-lotteries and the reorgan- 
 ization of the police, do not call for special notice.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LORDS HABDINGE AND DALHOUSIE FIRST AND SECOND SIKH WARS. 
 
 1844-1848. 
 
 IB Henry Hardinge arrived in Calcutta in July, 
 1844. He had highly distinguished himself under 
 the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula and at 
 Waterloo, and was now in his sixtieth year. 
 
 The contest with the Sikhs, which had been 
 long foreseen, and for which some preparations 
 were made, now broke out. The battles which fol- 
 lowed were battles of giants on both sides, and tried the qualities 
 of the British troops to the utmost. In them the British 
 encountered a foe such as they had never met in India before. 
 The fiery valour of the Sikh nature had been trained to the 
 utmost perfection by European officers like Avitabile, Court, 
 Allard, Ventura. The artillery especially could not be sur- 
 passed. In discipline the Sikhs were fully equal to the British 
 sepoys, and in physical strength and endurance far their supe- 
 riors. The sepoys alone would have stood no chance against 
 them. It was the combination of English with sepoy troops 
 that decided the day. It is said that some of the English officers 
 disparaged the Sikhs. If so, they were soon undeceived. 
 
 Runjeet Sing, 'the Lion of the Punjab,' died June 27th, 
 1839, at the age of fifty-seven, prematurely worn out by the 
 excesses usual with Oriental princes. A characteristic story is 
 told of his later days. He had sent a son of one of his nobles to 
 Loodiana to learn English. The youth brought back a map of 
 India, which Runjeet examined with great interest. He wished 
 to be shown the Sikh dominions. After inspecting these, he 
 asked, ' What mean these red lines everywhere ? ' ' Those,' it
 
 BRITISH TKOOPS ENTERING MOOLTAK.
 
 SIKTI INTEIG UES. 1 89 
 
 was replied, ' are the British territories.' He kicked the map 
 aside with the exclamation, ' All will become red.' His death 
 was followed by six years of anarchy, intrigue and bloodshed. It 
 may be worth while to epitomize the events. Runjeet's imbecile 
 son, Khurruk Sing, died in November, 1840, of excess. The 
 real power had belonged to Khurruk's able son, Nao Nihal, who 
 was not unlike his grandfather, and to his minister, Dhyan Sing, 
 brother of Golab Sing, the Rajpoot chief of Jummoo. But Nao 
 Nihal was killed by the fall of a gateway at Khurruk's funeral. 
 Khurruk's widow now became regent for the expected offspring 
 of Nao Nihal's widow, with Dhyan Sing and Shere Sing, a re- 
 puted son of Runjeet, as ministers. But Shere Sing aspired to 
 the sovereignty, and by bribing and flattering the army gained 
 his ends. Dhyan Sing, who saw himself set aside, then induced 
 Shere Sing to recall to court from banishment a powerful chief 
 called Ajeet Sing, and, persuading the latter that his death was 
 intended, induced him to shoot Shere Sing at a parade. Shere 
 Sing's youthful son, Pertab Sing, was killed at the same time. 
 Ajeet Sing next assassinated his employer Dhyan Sing, but was 
 then himself assassinated by order of Heera Sing, son of Dhyan 
 Sing. Heera Sing now became minister, and proclaimed Dhuleep 
 Sing, son of Runjeet Sing and a favourite wife called Jhindun, 
 a child now five years old, Maharaja. Heera Sing was an able 
 man, and saw that it was necessary to curb the overgrown power 
 of the army. He wished to disperse the army over the country, 
 but it refused to leave the capital. He had also offended the 
 ranee, Jhindun, and her profligate brother Juwahir Sing, and 
 perished with his tutor, the pundit Julia. At his funeral 
 twenty-five of his wives and female slaves burnt themselves on 
 the pile. The ranee now ruled through her brother and a fav- 
 ourite called Lai Sing, a Brahmin of the lowest character, who 
 had nothing to recommend him but a handsome person. The 
 ranee's profligacy was such that the Governor-general called her 
 the Messalina of the north. Next, Juwahir Sing fell under the 
 resentment of the army for the murder of Peshora Sing, a pop- 
 ular son of Runjeet, and was beheaded on the plain of Mean 
 Meer, now the British parade-ground at Lahore. Thus, in
 
 190 OUR INDIAN EXPIRE. 
 
 November, 1845, the ranee was regent, with Lai Sing as prime 
 minister and Tej Sing as commander-in-chief. 
 
 Amid these scenes of confusion, the army had become the 
 paramount power in the country. It made and unmade govern- 
 ments. Instead of being the servant, it had become the master of 
 the state. It obeyed, not the orders of the state, but those of the 
 punches, or army-committees, which met and settled all questions 
 affecting the army. From the chiefs of Jummoo and Mooltan it 
 exacted eighty-four lacs of rupees. The Sikh army was one in 
 race and faith. Its enthusiasm was fed by national and relig- 
 ious traditions. Its one thought was for the glory of the Sikh 
 Khalsa, or commonwealth. In religion the Sikhs are neither 
 Mohammedan nor Hindu, but a combination of both. Their faith 
 is an eclectic one, culled from both alike. All historians of the 
 Sikh war assert that the Lahore rulers the ranee, Lai Sing and 
 Tej Sing deliberately encouraged the army to attack the 
 English ; and the assertion is no doubt true. The army had 
 broken loose from all control. It burned to try conclusions with 
 the conquerors of India, and its desire was gratified with a view 
 to bring about its destruction. It is also asserted that the army 
 was betrayed and sold by its leaders. Whether this was the case 
 or not, no troops could fight better than the Sikhs did. The 
 British never won victories with greater difficulty or at greater 
 cost. Often they were on the brink of defeat and destruction. 
 It is true that some of the loss must be assigned to the tactics of 
 the Commander-in-chief, Sir Hugh Grough, who hurled masses 
 of troops on strong entrenchments, well constructed and fiercely 
 defended, instead of clearing the way by artillery. But it is 
 hard to believe that the troops were betrayed without their know- 
 ing it, or that knowing it such a people as the Sikhs allowed the 
 traitors to escape. These points have never been satisfactorily 
 cleared up. 
 
 There is comfort in the reflection that the great Sikh war 
 was not brought on by the British. Nothing on their part could 
 have prevented it. The Sikhs invaded British territory in full 
 strength and with the avowed purpose of conquest. Captain 
 Cunningham in his History of the Sikhs gives it as hiy opinion
 
 INVASION BY THE SIKHS. 191 
 
 that the substantial responsibility lies with the English, but 
 the grounds which he alleges are trifling in the extreme. The 
 opinion is contradicted by the fact, admitted by Captain Cun- 
 ningham, that the army was hurled at the British territories by 
 the Sikh rulers as a measure of self-defence, and also by the fact 
 that when the Punjab lay absolutely at the Governor-general's 
 disposal, instead of annexing it, he did his best to re-establish 
 the authority of the government. There were no such interfer- 
 ences of the British previously as might be adduced with respect 
 to almost every other state. The Sikh pride and jealousy pre- 
 vented any thing of this kind. The only measure that wore even 
 the semblance of provocation was the amassing of troops on the 
 frontier in readiness to repel any invasion, and it would have 
 been criminal in the British government to neglect prepara- 
 tion. Lord Ellenborough had increased the force to seventeen 
 thousand six hundred men, with sixty-six guns. Sir Henry 
 Hardinge increased it still farther to forty thousand, with ninety- 
 four guns. He also wisely brought up from Scinde fifty-six 
 large boats for the purpose of forming a pontoon. 
 
 The opening of the campaign reminds us of the prelude to 
 Waterloo. Preparations were being made on December llth, 
 1845, at Umballa for a state ball, when news came that the Sikhs' 
 were across the Sutledge in force. The Governor-general and 
 Commander at once hurried to the front with the Umballa and Loo- 
 diana divisions, eleven thousand strong. In six days they marched 
 one hundred and fifty miles across a sandy country. But haste was 
 essential, as Sir John Littler was exposed at the frontier town of 
 Ferozepore, with ten thousand men and thirty- two guns, to the 
 whole Sikh army of sixty thousand regular troops, forty thou- 
 sand armed followers, and one hundred and fifty heavy guns. 
 Four days had sufficed for the passage of this host. ' Every Sikh 
 considered the cause as his own, and he would work as a labourer 
 as well as carry a musket ; he would drag guns, drive bullocks, 
 lead camels, and load and unload boats with cheerful alacrity.' 
 Wonder has been expressed that the passage was not opposed, 
 but General Littler probably felt that to attempt opposition would 
 be to expose his small force to destruction and give the enemy
 
 192 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 the first triumph. It is less intelligible why the Sikhs did not 
 at once fall ou General Littler. One reason alleged is the treason 
 of the Sikh leaders, who had no wish either to anger the English 
 or elate their own troops by the destruction of isolated detach- 
 ments. 
 
 Lai Sing, with twenty thousand men and twenty-two guns, 
 intercepted the advancing army before its junction with General 
 Littler, and the battle of Moodkee was fought December 18th. 
 The British troops had just ended a march of twenty-one miles, 
 and had not tasted food since the previous night. It was four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and not much daylight remained, when 
 the enemy opened a heavy, rapid fire and tried to outflank our 
 force with cavalry. More than one sepoy regiment turned and 
 fled, and was brought back with the greatest difficulty. Even 
 European battalions shook under the fire. Lai Sing and his 
 cavalry were the first to leave the field, arid the infantry followed. 
 Darkness effectually stopped pursuit. The loss of the British 
 was heavier and the victory far less decisive than they had been 
 accustomed to in India. The killed and wounded numbered 
 eight hundred and seventy-two. After this experience of 
 the enemy, the Governor-general set an example of devotion by 
 serving as second in command under the Commander-in- 
 chief. 
 
 At noon on December 21st General Littler, leaving a force 
 sufficient to guard Ferozepore and eluding Tej Sing, who was 
 watching him, joined the army with five thousand five hundred 
 men and twenty-two guns. With the united force it was deter- 
 mined at once to attack the enemy's chief position at Perozeshoor, 
 to the west of Loodiana. The Sikh entrenchment was in the form 
 of a parallelogram a mile long and half a mile broad, the longer 
 sides facing Ferozepore and the east, the shorter the Sutledge 
 and Moodkee. It was defended by thirty-five thousand men 
 under Lai Sing, with one hundred heavy guns and two hundred 
 camel-guns. The attacking force did not number more than 
 sixteen thousand. The day was the shortest in the year, yet the 
 attack was not begun till four in the afternoon. The Sikh 
 artillery battered the light British guns to pieces, and the assail-
 
 TERRIBLE CONFLICT AT FEROZESHOOR. 193 
 
 ants had to trust to the bayonet. Sir Hugh Gough led the right 
 division, Sir Henry Hardinge the centre, and General Littler the 
 left. Between the guns the Sikhs placed musketeers, and in 
 the teeth of this double fire the columns advanced, but presently 
 recoiled. On the western side, where General Littler was, the 
 heaviest guns were massed. Here the 62nd regiment left seventy- 
 six of its rank and file and seven officers within fifty paces of 
 the entrenchments. Sir Harry Smith, who was with the centre 
 division, penetrated the camp, and held the village of Ferozeshoor 
 till two o'clock in the morning, when he was compelled to retire 
 by the fire concentrated upon him. ' Guns were dismounted, 
 and their ammunition was blown into the air ; squadrons were 
 checked in mid career ; battalion after battalion was hurled back 
 with shattered ranks, and it was not until after sunset that 
 portions of the enemy's position were finally carried. Darkness 
 and the obstinacy of the contest threw the English into confusion ; 
 men of all regiments and arms were mixed together ; generals 
 were doubtful of the fact or of the extent of their own success, 
 and colonels knew not what had become of the regiments they 
 commanded, or of the army of which they formed a part.' * 
 A wild, useless feat was performed by the 3rd Dragoons. 
 ' Without orders from the Commander-in-chief they charged 
 across the ditch while the battery in front mowed them down, 
 till the yawning trench was choked up with their numbers, and 
 those who followed crossed on a bridge of their own dead and 
 dying comrades. This gallant band, after having silenced the 
 battery in its front, faced the Khalsa army within the entrench- 
 ments, swept through the camp, with loud huzzas, over tents, 
 ropes, pegs, guns, fires and magazines, and never paused till it 
 emerged on the opposite side and rejoined their companions.' f 
 
 The army lay on the edge of the enemy's position, waiting 
 for the morning. No permanent impression had been made. 
 Living, dj'ing and dead were all huddled together. The heavy 
 guns still dealt out their thunder. One great gun was specially 
 annoying, and just after midnight the Governor-general ' called 
 
 c Cunningham, History of the Sikhs, p. 308. f Marshman. 
 
 o
 
 194 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 up the 80th Foot and the 1st Europeans lying around him on 
 the frozen ground, and placing himself at their head, charged 
 the gun and spiked it.' The night was called ' the night of 
 horrors.' Some spoke of retreat to Perozepore, but this would 
 have been fatal, and neither Governor-general nor Commander- 
 in-chief would entertain the thought. The next day, as light 
 dawned, the scattered troops of General Gilbert's division, re- 
 pulsed the night before, renewed the attack and met with little 
 resistance. There had been quarrels and bitter recriminations 
 among the Sikhs, Lai Sing's treasure-chest had been plundered, 
 and either from treachery or cowardice he retreated. The British 
 line halted on the northern side, and as the two commanders 
 rode up they were received with a ringing cheer. Just at that 
 moment Tej Sing came in sight with twenty-five thousand fresh 
 troops and seventy guns. The British in their exhausted state 
 must have been overwhelmed, if he had attacked vigorously ; 
 but he chose to join his companion in flight. The British loss in 
 killed and wounded was two thousand four hundred and fifteen, 
 fully one-seventh of the entire force, and among the killed were 
 Major Broadfoot, a most able officer, and Major d'Arcy Todd, 
 formerly minister at Herat. Seventy pieces of artillery were 
 taken. Sir Henry Hardinge said that another such battle would 
 shake the empire Jo its foundation. He had five aides-de-camp 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 The Sikhs retired across the Sutledge, and the British were 
 obliged to wait for heavy ordnance and supplies from Delhi. 
 The wily Golab Sing was brought down from Jummoo to Lahore 
 to try his skill in negotiation. He was told that the English 
 would acknowledge a Sikh government, but must insist on the 
 reduction of the army. This Golab Sing could not promise. The 
 army would submit to nothing but force. It is said that the 
 Sikh leaders again promised to desert it. Such consummate 
 treachery is hard of belief, but certainly the whole conduct of 
 the leaders is not inconsistent with the supposition. 
 
 The Sikhs took advantage of the British weakness to recross 
 the Sutledge, under a leader called Runjoor Sing, to the number 
 of ten thousand. Their object was to attack Loodiana and the
 
 ALIWAL AND SOSRAON. 195 
 
 approaching' convoy. Sir Harry Smith was sent with four 
 infantry and three cavalry regiments to foil them. At Buddowal, 
 where the enemy stood across his path in such a way that he 
 could not pass without engaging them, he suffered some loss, 
 chiefly in baggage. The Sikhs were able to exhibit some Euro- 
 pean prisoners and artillery wagons at Lahore. But the object 
 of the English was secured. Runjoor Sing now retired to Aliwal, 
 on the banks of the Sutledge, and Sir Harry Smith, having 
 received reinforcements which brought up his force to eleven 
 thousand men, attacked him on January 28th, 1846. The key 
 of the position was the village of Aliwal, which was held by 
 some hill- battalions, who did not wait for the charge, but broke 
 at once and fled with Runjoor Sing himself. This laid open the 
 whole of the enemy's left to a cavalry charge, which was perfectly 
 successful. The enemy's right was composed of regular troops, 
 who stood firm and even gained ground. Against them a regi- 
 ment of European lancers and one of native cavalry were 
 launched. The Sikhs knelt to receive them, but at the critical 
 moment their nerve failed them. Instead of retaining their 
 kneeling position, they rose to deliver their fire at close quarters. 
 Even then they were ridden through and through three times 
 before they gave way. The Sikhs were driven across the Sutledge 
 and fifty guns were taken. Aliwal recompensed General Smith 
 for the discomfiture at Buddowal. 
 
 A more terrible conflict was impending. At the Kurreekee 
 ford the Sikhs had gradually recrossed the Sutledge, fortified a 
 bridge-head, and, under the eyes of the British, who were too 
 weak to prevent, constructed a vast entrenchment with the 
 river for a base, two and a half miles of outer crescent-shaped 
 works, and a deep ditch. The British convoy of guns and 
 ammunition arrived on February 8th, and it was resolved to 
 attack on the 10th. From a neighbouring village the battle has 
 acquired the name of Sobraon. The enemy had thirty-five 
 thousand men and sixty-seven heavy guns. The English had 
 fifteen thousand men. Tej Sing commanded in the entrench- 
 ments, and Lai Sing commanded the cavalry outside, who were 
 held in check by Brigadier Cureton's horse. The fire from the 
 
 02
 
 196 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Sikh entrenchment on the other side of the river also assisted 
 in the defence. On the English side ' the evening and the early 
 hours of darkness of the 9th of February were occupied with 
 busy preparations : the hitherto silent camp poured all its 
 numbers abroad ; soldiers stood in groups, talking of the task 
 to be achieved by their valour ; officers rode hastily along to 
 receive or deliver orders ; and on that night what Englishman 
 passed battalion after battalion to seek a short repose or a 
 moment's solitary communion, and listened as he went to the 
 hammering of shells and the piling of iron shot, or beheld the 
 sentinel pacing silently along by the gleam of renewed fires, 
 without recalling to his mind his heroic king and the eve of 
 Agincourt, rendered doubly immortal by the genius of Shakes- 
 peare ? ' * At daylight the batteries opened and continued on 
 both sides for three hours. The Sikhs had the advantage in 
 weight and number of guns, and the British ammunition began 
 to fail. The bayonet had to decide. The English knew, it is 
 said through Lai Sing's treachery, that the western end of the 
 entrenchments was the weakest, as the sandy soil prevented 
 the works being executed on the same scale. Here the chief 
 attack was to be made under Sir Robert Dick. The centre 
 under General Gilbert and the right under Sir Harry Smith 
 were to serve as diversions. The main body of the left attack 
 was driven back, but the extreme wing effected an entrance into 
 the outworks, and this so encouraged the repulsed battalions 
 on the right that they made another rush, charged with a shout 
 across the ditch and up the ramparts, and made good their foot- 
 ing in the first trench. General Dick fell mortally wounded. 
 
 The Sikhs saw that here was the real attack, and brought every 
 man and gun to bear against the assailants. The British centre 
 and then the right division were therefore compelled to attack far 
 more formidable defences. In each case the first columns were 
 hurled back on the second with terrible slaughter, and it was only 
 when the first and second columns joined and made a joint rush 
 that they succeeded in mastering the batteries immediately 
 
 * Cunningham.
 
 FINAL VICTORY. 197 
 
 opposed to them. Tej Sing fled at the first assault, and by ac- 
 cident or design broke the bridge of boats across the river. But 
 there were nobler spirits among the vanquished. The common 
 soldiers disdained to ask for quarter, but either rushed on death 
 in the British ranks or moved sullenly away to find it in the river. 
 The old chief, Sham Sing, clothed himself in white, rallied his 
 shattered lines, again and again charged on the British, and 
 at last found the death he coveted. ' Others might be seen 
 standing on the ramparts amid showers of balls, waving defiance 
 with their swords, or telling the gunners where the fair-haired 
 English pressed thickest together. Along the stronger half of the 
 battlements, and for the period of half an hour, the conflict raged 
 sublime in all its terrors. The parapets were sprinkled with 
 blood from end to end ; the trenches were filled with the dead 
 and dying. Amid the deafening roar of cannon, and the mul- 
 titudinous fire of musketry, the shouts of triumph or of scorn 
 were yet heard, and the flashing of innumerable swords was 
 yet visible ; or, from time to time, exploding magazines of 
 powder threw bursting shells and beams of wood and banks of 
 earth high above the agitated sea of smoke and flame which 
 enveloped the host of combatants, and for a moment arrested 
 the attention amid all the din and tumult of the tremendous 
 conflict.' * By eleven o'clock the issue was decided. The horse 
 artillery played on the Sikhs as they attempted to cross the 
 river and completed their destruction. They are supposed to 
 have lost eight thousand men, the British loss being not less 
 than two thousand three hundred and eighty. Such was the 
 great victory of Sobraon. The Governor-general, though severely 
 injured by a fall from his horse, rode off at once twenty-six 
 miles to Ferozepore, and the same night despatched six regi- 
 ments across the bridge of boats which had been formed there. 
 
 On February 17th, Dhuleep Sing and Golab Sing appeared 
 in the camp. On the 20th the whole British army encamped 
 
 Cunningham. It is to be regretted that this able history was 
 not continued to the second Sikh war. The author lost his appoint- 
 ment under government ou account of his inconvenient revelations.
 
 198 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 on the plain of Meean Meer at Lahore. The fort was occupied, 
 but the British soldiers were forbidden to set foot within the 
 city. The terms imposed, by the treaty of March 9th, were the 
 cession of the cis-Sutledge districts and of the Jullunder Dooab 
 between the Sutledge and Beeas, which gave us a better road to 
 Lahore, an indemnity of a million and a half, the reduction of 
 the army to twenty thousand infantry and twelve thousand 
 cavalry, and the surrender of the thirty-two guns still remaining 
 which had been used in action against the English. As the 
 Sikhs could not pay the money, Cashmere was taken instead, 
 and at once handed over to Golab Sing, no doubt in accordance 
 with a previous understanding. Golab Sing paid a million. 
 A.S no cordiality existed between the Rajpoot Golab and the Sikhs, 
 Sir Henry Hardinge thought that the former would serve as a 
 bridle on the latter. From the bearing of the Sikh troops, it 
 was evident that their pride was far from being humbled. The 
 Lahore government was afraid of being left alone with them, 
 and at its earnest request a British force remained till the end 
 of the year, with Major Henry Lawrence as Resident. The Sikh 
 authorities in Cashmere refused to surrender the country to 
 Golab Sing. Major Lawrence had to march at the head of 
 Sikh troops to enforce submission, and as it was found that 
 Lai Sing had instigated the resistance, he was deposed on a 
 pension of two thousand rupees a month, to the great grief of the 
 ranee. At the close of the year the Sikh government earnestly 
 desired the continuance of the British protection, and by a new 
 treaty, dated December 16th, 1846, the British Resident was 
 made supreme, a council of eight nobles was appointed to advise 
 with him, and twenty-two lacs of rupees a year were assigned 
 for the support of the British force. This was to last for eight 
 years, till Dhuleep Sing came of age. Thus, to all intents and 
 purposes, the Punjab came under Bi-itish rule. 
 
 In order that the victories over the Sikhs might make their 
 due impression on the Indian mind, the captured guns, to the 
 number of two hundred and fifty, were taken in grand pro- 
 cession from Lahore to Calcutta, a distance of one thousand 
 two hundred miles. At every station they were received with
 
 LORD DALHOUSIE. 19 
 
 imposing ceremonies, which culminated in a state celebration at 
 Calcutta. 
 
 Lord Hardinge is remembered with honour for more peaceful 
 achievements. His predecessors had devoted considerable atten- 
 tion to the restoration of the splendid irrigation canals formed 
 by the Mogul emperors in the north-west. The half million 
 spent on these works had been repaid in increased revenue. In 
 1836, Colonel Colvin had also formed a plan for the construc- 
 tion of a new canal, to bring the waters of the Ganges to the 
 Dooab, lying between that river and the Jumna. The scheme 
 had so far lain in abej'ance, but it was now pushed forward. The 
 result is the magnificent Ganges canal. 
 
 Lord Hardinge also abolished Sunday labour in all the 
 government establishments, exerted his influence against suttee- 
 ism, female infanticide and slavery in the independent native 
 states, and by the promise of government employment to suc- 
 cessful students in government and other colleges gave an 
 immense stimulus to the cause of education. He left India in 
 March, 1848, with the conviction that no war need be feared for 
 at least seven years. How mistaken this expectation was, his 
 successor soon discovered. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie, a second Wellesley, may be considered as 
 closing the list of Governoi's-general which began with Clive, 
 inasmuch as his successor passed into the service of the Crown. 
 And as he was the last, so he ranks with the greatest of the 
 company's rulers. His administration of eight years saw the 
 British dominion extended to the Suleimans and Khyber Pass, 
 at which point it remained till quite recently. His genius for 
 government, force of character and strength of will were truly 
 imperial, and these high powers were supported by the most 
 indefatigable industry. He was the youngest Governor-general 
 India has seen, being only in his thirty-sixth year. 
 
 The second Sikh war grew out of very small beginnings. In 
 1844, Moolraj had succeeded his father as Governor of Mooltan 
 in the south of the Punjab, where he was practically indepen- 
 dent. There had been much dispute between him and the 
 Lahore durbar about a succession-fine, in consequence of which,
 
 200 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and of the new measures to be introduced under British influence, 
 lie offered to resign. It can scarcely be supposed that he really 
 meant to part with power, hut the offer was accepted, and a new 
 governor appointed. With the latter went Mr. Agnew and 
 Lieutenant Anderson to superintend the transfer. They had a 
 guard of three hundred and fifty Sikhs and a few guns. The 
 party arrived at Mooltan, April 18th, 1848. The next day Mr. 
 Agnew conferred with Moolraj, and insisted on his submitting 
 the accounts of the last six years. Moolraj wished to submit 
 only one year's accounts. To do anything more, he said, would 
 dishonour him before the people. Mr. Agnew, however, in- 
 sisted, and he yielded reluctantly. Undoubtedly it was unwise 
 in the circumstances to deal harshly. On the 20th the two 
 officers went with Moolraj to inspect the different establish- 
 ments. At the gate of the fort they foolishly consented, at 
 Moolraj's request, to dismiss part of their guard, Moolraj, on 
 some pretext, retaining his. As they were leaving the fort and 
 crossing the drawbridge, Mr. Agnew received a spear-thrust 
 from behind, was thrown from his horse and received three 
 sabre cuts. Lieutenant Anderson was also felled to the ground. 
 Moolraj at once galloped off. The officers were borne to the 
 fortified mosque where they were staying, and Mr. Agnew 
 wrote to Moolraj, appealing to his compassion. He replied that 
 he was in the hands of the soldiers, who would not allow him to 
 help. It was proved that he was in the plot. The English 
 officers could have held their ground till the arrival of help, if 
 the Sikh escort had remained faithful ; but these went over 
 bodily to the enemy, leaving the Englishmen at the mercy of 
 the mob. A furious savage, called Goojur Sing, fell on Mr. 
 Agnew, and, after violent abuse, struck off his head at the 
 third stroke. Lieutenant Anderson wa.s hacked to pieces. Their 
 bodies were dragged out amid brutal yells, the heads sent to 
 Moolraj and then tossed to the mob, who blew them to pieces 
 with gunpowder. Moolraj now threw off the mask, and issued 
 a proclamation, calling on the country to rise against the 
 English. 
 
 Had Sir Henry Lawrence been still at Lahore, the rising
 
 SIR HERBERT EDWARDES.
 
 RISING AT MOOLTAX. 203 
 
 would have been dealt with firmly. However great Henry Law- 
 rence's sympathy for the natives, it was not greater than his 
 decision of conduct in emergencies like this. But he had gone 
 to England in ill-health, and his place was filled by Sir F. Currie, 
 a civilian pure and simple. At the first news of the attack the 
 latter ordered out a military force for immediate action ; but 
 on hearing of the assassination he recalled the order, and threw 
 the responsibility of action on the Commander-in-chief and the 
 new Governor-general, who both agreed that nothing should be 
 done till the cool season at the end of the year. The insurgents 
 were thus allowed time to prepare, and a local rising grew into 
 a national rebellion. 
 
 A revenue officer showed what might have been done by 
 energy and determination. Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes was 
 stationed at Bunnoo across the Indus. Acting on his own 
 responsibility, he crossed the river with one thousand two hun- 
 dred foot, three hundred and fifty horse, and two guns, and took 
 up a position at Leia. Moolraj marched at once to engage him. 
 Edwardes discovered that his Sikh soldiers had agreed to sell 
 his head for twelve thousand rupees, and had to recross the 
 Indus. Colonel Cortland, one of the durbar 's officers, had some 
 Mohammedan troops who could be trusted to fight the Sikhs, 
 and the two officers strained every nerve to increase their num- 
 ber. Their troops were wild fellows, who cared as little for 
 other people's lives as their own. He also obtained troops from 
 our faithful ally the Nabob of Bhawulpore, to the south-east. 
 When Moolraj attacked Colonel Cortland, Edwardes marched 
 to his help, fifty miles in twenty- four hours. On June 18th, 
 Colonel Cortland was able to repay the service. Edwardes 
 fought a sharp action with Moolraj at Kineyree, and the colonel 
 came up in time to turn the scale against the enemy. On 
 July 1st, Lieutenant Edwardes inflicted another severe defeat 
 on Moolraj at Sudoosain, compelling him to fly from the field 
 and take refuge in his capital. In this engagement the decisive 
 cavalry charge was led by an office clerk called Quin. 
 
 These events roused the Resident on his own responsibility 
 to send General Whish with seven thousand men and thirty-four
 
 204 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 guns to Mooltan ; but he accompanied the measure by another 
 which completely neutralized its advantage. He sent Shere 
 Sing, a leading Sikh noble, with a body of Sikhs at the same 
 tirne. Neither leader nor men could be trusted, and General 
 Whish had enough to do to guard against the treachery of his 
 ally. The battering-train did not arrive till early in September. 
 The place was summoned, not in the name of Dhuleep Sing, but 
 of the Queen of England, the suspicions of the Sikhs being thus 
 confirmed. The fort was exceedingly strong, having walls of 
 solid brick forty feet high, thirty towers, and a ditch twenty 
 feet wide. Moolraj had in the fort two thousand men, in the 
 town ten thousand, and fifty-two guns. The outworks of the 
 town were taken at considerable loss, and the batteries estab- 
 lished, when the siege was brought to an end on September 14th 
 by the defection of Shere Sing and his troops. General Whish 
 retired to a secure position near the town, where for three 
 months he waited for the arrival of reinforcements from Bombay. 
 Shere Sing joined Moolraj, and issued a proclamation requiring 
 all true Sikhs to join in the extirpation of the Feringees. 
 
 The raja and durbar at Lahore stood aloof from the insur- 
 rection, but they were in the power of the English. The whole 
 country beside sympathized with it. Guns buried after Sobraou 
 were dug up and brought into action. The old Khalsa soldiers 
 sharpened their swords for a second struggle. The chiefs all 
 went with the people. Whatever treachery there may have 
 been in the first war, there was none in the second. But the 
 Sikhs of course fought with diminished resources. Their best 
 soldiers had perished. They had been unable to repair their 
 former losses. The present outburst was sudden. It was found 
 that the ranee, Jhindun, whom it bad been necessary to remove 
 from Lahore, was engaged in far-reaching intrigues against the 
 English. She had tried to corrupt the troops at Lahore, and 
 written to Cabul, Cashmere, Rajpootana. She was now sent to 
 Benares and placed under surveillance. A paper was received 
 by the English, which alleged as the grounds for the rising, the 
 honour conferred on Golab Sing, a Rajpoot, the banishment of 
 the ranee, the promotion of Mohammedans, and above all the
 
 SPREAD OF THE INSURRECTION. 205 
 
 slaughter of the cow which, with Sikhs as with Hindus, is a 
 sacred animal. 
 
 The British officers scattered over the Punjab, in the midst 
 of hostile troops and peasantry, had a difficult part to play, and 
 needed all their resources and courage. Such were George 
 Lawrence at Peshawnr, Captain Nicholson at Attock, Captain 
 Abbott at Nara, Lieutenants Lumsden, Lake, Taylor, Herbert 
 Edwardes, whose deeds added fresh lustre to the English name. 
 Chutter Sing, father of Shere Sing, commanded in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Peshawur, and did his utmost to seduce from their 
 allegiance the eight thousand Sikh troops under Major Law- 
 rence. Nothing but the popularity and personal influence of 
 the latter kept them true. What Chutter Sing could not do 
 was done for him by Sultan Mohammed, brother of Dost 
 Mohammed of Cabul, ' the impersonation of Afghan perfidy.'* 
 Mohammed was under special obligation to Henry Lawrence, 
 who had procured him the restoration of his estate at Peshawur, 
 and he repaid the obligation by betraying Henry's brother. 
 Under his instigation the troops attacked the residency on 
 October 24th with shot, shrapnel and shell, and the officers 
 left under an Afghan escort. As soon as Mohammed had them 
 in his power, he sold them to Chutter Sing, who kept them 
 prisoners, but otherwise treated them respectfully. Dost 
 Mohammed also joined the Sikhs in their insurrection, and sent 
 Afghan cavalry to their assistance. 
 
 On October 9th Shere Sing marched away from Mooltan to 
 assume the general direction of the movement. His numbers 
 increased at every step. He marched towards the Ravee, to the 
 north-west of Lahore, where he was near the latter place and at 
 the same time joined hands with his father, Chutter Sing. He 
 talked of attacking Lahore, and if he had done so before the 
 brigade arrived from Ferozepore under Colonel Cureton he 
 might have succeeded ; but he allowed the opportunity to slip. 
 He then took up a strong position at Bamnuggur on the right 
 bank of the Chenab. 
 
 MarshmaiJ.
 
 206 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Lord Gough took the field in November at the Lead of a 
 most effective army, consisting of four English and eleven native- 
 regiments of foot, three English and five native regiments of 
 cavalry, with eight howitzers and ten eighteen-pounders. The 
 irregular horse was commanded by Hearsey, who fought at 
 Seetabaldi thirty-one years before. Lord (rough's wisest course 
 would have been to keep Shere Sing employed till Mooltan 
 was taken, and then fall upon him with all his force. But 
 this did not suit the commander's temperament. His plans 
 failed, and eventually he had to adopt the waiting policy. Then 
 followed two slight actions, and the great battle of Chillian- 
 walla, which, if they were not defeats, were not victories for the 
 British. 
 
 Shere Sing lay with fifteen thousand men and twenty-eight 
 guns on the right bank, but had pushed a few troops across the 
 river. Lord (rough's heavy guns had not come up. On Novem- 
 ber 22nd he easily drove off the forces of the enemy on the left 
 bank, but his light artillery then came under the heavy fire from 
 the other side. In retiring, one gun and two wagons became 
 imbedded in the sand. Instead of destroying them, the English 
 troops wasted time in bringing them off, and gave time to the 
 enemy to push a strong force and guns across the river. The 
 troops were extricated, but with loss. The British infantry 
 made a demonstration to the front and came within range of the 
 cannonade. This was bad enough, but worse followed. Colonel 
 William Havelock, of the 14th Dragoons, requested permission 
 to charge, and it was given. He was supported by Colonel 
 Cureton, at the head of the 5th native cavalry. Men and horses 
 sank in the sand amid a plunging cannonade from the opposite 
 bank. Both commanders were killed, and nothing was gained. 
 
 The next move was far more judicious. On December 2nd 
 Sir Joseph Thackwell was sent with a strong brigade to cross 
 the river at Wuzeerabad, twenty-four miles up the river, and 
 march down on the flank of the Sikhs, while Lord (rough at- 
 tacked in front. Lord Gough, however, was unable to cross for 
 want of boats, and intended sending another division across, 
 under General Godby, by a ford. But this intention was
 
 CUILL1ANWALLA. 207 
 
 anticipated by the Sikhs. Shere Sing, on hearing of tlie passage 
 of the river, marched out of his camp to attack General Thack- 
 well's force. At two in the afternoon of the 3rd, the English 
 troops were snatching a hasty meal after forty-eight hours of 
 marching and fasting, when they were startled by a cannonade, 
 to which they quickly replied. After two hours of firing the 
 Sikhs gave up the contest. General Thackwell had full per- 
 mission to attack, but the hour was late, he remembered Moodkee 
 and Ferozeshoor, and wisely refrained. It would have been 
 well if his commander had always been as prudent. At mid- 
 night the Sikhs withdrew from the Chenab altogether, ' leaving 
 not a goat behind,' and fell back to the Jhelum. 
 
 On January 13th, 1849, Lord Gough advanced to Chillian- 
 walla, and wisely postponed all action till he knew more of the 
 enemy's position. The next day the army advanced again, and 
 found that the enemy had abandoned their strong camp on the 
 heights of Russool and taken up a position on the plain. Here 
 was the very opportunity the British wanted. But the Sikh 
 position was a strong one, and moreover was covered in front by 
 a dense jungle, which like a curtain effectually concealed their 
 movements. There was every need for caution and thorough 
 reconnoitring. It is said that some stray Sikh shots fell near 
 Lord Gough, and so irritated him that, in spite of all remon- 
 strances, he ordered an immediate attack. But this report can 
 scarcely be correct. Lord Gough's mistake was in advancing, 
 without scouts, to a position in which he was compelled to fight 
 at a disadvantage. 
 
 By the time the army was ready it was three o'clock. One 
 would have thought it impossible for the commander at Moodkee 
 and Ferozeshoor to commit the same blunder again. The infantry 
 attacked in two divisions under General Campbell, afterwards 
 Lord Clyde, on the left, and General Gilbert on the right. Gen- 
 eral Campbell's two brigade-leaders were Hoggan and Penny- 
 cuick. The former carried the positions in his front, but the 
 latter was unfortunate. The 24th Foot in its eagerness out- 
 stripped the native regiments, arrived at the batteries spent and 
 breathless, and was there torn to pieces by grape in front and
 
 208 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 musketry from the jungle on the flank. The native regiments, 
 when they came up, were involved in the confusion. The Sikhs 
 fell, sword in hand, upon the discomfited battalions and drove 
 them back. Brigadier Pennycuick's brigade was sent in support, 
 but missed its way in the forest. General Campbell saw the dis- 
 aster, and, taking Brigadier Hoggan's troops, stopped the Sikh 
 pursuit and captured the guns. Twenty-three officers and four 
 hundred and fifty-nine others were killed or wounded, and among 
 the former were Brigadier Pennycuick and Colonel Brookes of 
 the 24th. The regiment also lost its colours. The left attack 
 was thus eventually successful. General Gilbert's division also 
 succeeded in its object after terrible conflicts. Generals Moun- 
 tain and Godby led on this side. The 56th native infantry lost 
 its colours, its commander, Major Bamfield, and his son being 
 slain. The 2nd Europeans under Godby had driven the Sikhs 
 before them, and were collecting the wounded, when they were 
 taken in flank by a party of Sikhs, who had crept round unper- 
 ceived in the jungle. Major Dawes came to their relief with his 
 battery, and saved them from disaster. ' The struggle was 
 terrific ; and, to use the language of an eye-witness, it seemed 
 as if the very air teemed with balls and bullets. The Sikhs 
 fought like demons, but the Europeans succeeded in sweeping 
 them from the ground and remained masters of the field.' 
 
 The cavalry had been placed in the front line on both wings, 
 to prevent the longer line of the Sikhs outflanking the British. 
 The cavalry division on the right was miserably handled and 
 suffered grievous disaster. The commander, Brigadier Pope, 
 was old and incapable. He advanced without scout or skir- 
 misher into the jungle in front, where his line was broken up by 
 clumps of trees and brushwood. In this state he was attacked 
 by a body of Sikh horse, infuriated with drugs. The comman- 
 der was wounded, the native regiments gave signs of wavering. 
 Suddenly some one in the ranks of the dragoons called out, ' Threes 
 about,' whereupon the whole body retired. The retreat became 
 a rout. The Sikhs pursued and carried off four of the guns of 
 the horse artillery in the rear. The cavalry on the left were 
 under General Thackwell, and were managed better. A party (
 
 FALL OF MOOLTAN. 209 
 
 of Sikh liorse having crept round the flank, he sent against it 
 three squadrons of the 5th native cavalry and a squadron of 
 Greys under Captain TJnett. The native squadrons broke under 
 a heavy matchlock fire and fled, but the Greys rode through the 
 enemy and then rode back, losing forty-eight in killed and 
 wounded. Night put an end to the conflict. 
 
 Want of water and a night of rain compelled Lord Gough to 
 withdraw at once to Chillianwalla, the field being thus aban- 
 doned to the enemy, who barbarously plundered the dead and 
 murdered the wounded. They also recovered their guns with 
 the exception of the twelve carried off by the British, besides 
 retaining the four captured. The British loss in killed and 
 wounded was two thousand three hundred and fifty-seven 
 privates and eighty-nine officers. Both sides claimed the 
 victory, and perhaps with equal reason. Certainly the Sikhs 
 had cause for elation. The result of all the three actions was 
 indecisive. There was a great outcry in India and England. 
 The ministry and directors recalled Lord Gough, and sent Sir 
 Charles Napier to replace him. Before he could arrive, Guzerat 
 had restored to the general and his army their lost prestige. 
 
 Lord Gough had now to wait for the fall of Mooltan. The 
 Bombay force did not reach Mooltan till Christmas, 1848. Gen- 
 eral Whish had now seventeen thousand men and sixty-four 
 heavy guns. The siege reopened on December 27th, and was 
 pushed on vigorously. The suburbs were again taken at con- 
 siderable loss, and the batteries began to play with tremendous 
 effect. For five days and nights an unbroken shower of fire 
 streamed on the town. Two thousand Sikhs made a sally and 
 were driven back by Lieutenant Edwardes and his levies, aided 
 by Sir Henry Lawrence, who was on his way from England to 
 Lahore. On the third day of the bombardment an appalling 
 explosion took place in the town. Four hundred thousand 
 pounds of powder, stored in a mosque, were ignited by a shell, 
 and exploded with a roar like a volcano. Besiegers and besieged 
 stood silent for a few moments and then resumed the contest. On 
 January 2nd the town was stormed and carried. There was not 
 a whole building of importance in it. The streets were littered 
 
 P
 
 210 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 with dead and dying. In spite of every effort the victorious army 
 was guilty of excesses and plunder. Moolraj now withdrew to 
 the fort, which he held with three thousand men. On the 5th 
 he wished to negotiate, but was told that he must surrender 
 unconditionally. He resolved to fight to the last. The fire, both 
 direct and vertical, which then rained on the citadel for a fort- 
 night, was such as had never before been seen in India. At 
 length, the only whole roof left was one over a bomb-proof gate- 
 way. The garrison then insisted that he should lead them in 
 an attempt to cut a path through the besiegers' lines, or sur- 
 render. On January 22nd he rode out and gave himself up, 
 ' his soldiers and chiefs prostrating themselves before him in 
 passionate devotion as he passed along.' Lieutenant Edwardes 
 assumed the command at Mooltan, and the army marched to 
 join Lord Gough. 
 
 The British and Sikh forces lay watching each other at 
 Chillianwalla and Russool. But on February 6th, Lord Gough 
 heard that the Sikhs had left their strong camp and marched 
 past his right in the direction of Lahore. If Shere Sing had 
 acted with energy, he might have fallen on General Whish's 
 advancing columns and done considerable harm. But, as pre- 
 viously, he failed in decision, and gave the British time to secure 
 all the fords of the Chenab and thus prevent his escape in that 
 direction. He fixed his camp under the walls of Guzerat. The 
 Mooltan force joined on February 20th, and Lord Gough at 
 once moved towards the enemy. He had twenty thousand men 
 and one hundred guns. Shere Sing had fifty thousand men and 
 only sixty guns. The Sikh position was a strong one. On one 
 side was the deep, dry bed of the Dwara ; on the other a narrow, 
 deep rivulet. Behind was the town ; in front two villages, 
 which were loopholed and strongly occupied. 
 
 In the battle of Guzerat, February 22nd, all the old mistakes 
 were avoided. The attack began early in the morning, so that 
 daylight was available for pursuit. The superiority of the 
 English in artillery was thoroughly made use of. The position 
 of the enemy was carefully reconnoitred under the direction of 
 Brigadier Cheape, the artillery commander at Mooltan. It is
 
 GUZERAT. 211 
 
 curious that a suggestion about the use of artillery had come 
 from the enerny. George Lawrence was a prisoner in the 
 enemy's camp. To him the Sikh leaders often expressed their 
 wonder at the British not employing their artillery and sending 
 their infantry to the muzzle of the guns. Major Lawrence was 
 released on parole, and mentioned the remark to his brother 
 Henry at Lahore ; Henry Lawrence repeated it to Lord Dalhousie, 
 and Lord Dalhousie to Lord Gough. Guzerat has been called 
 ' the battle of the guns.' The infantry were held in reserve, 
 while the artillery beat down the fire of the Sikhs. After a 
 cannonade of two and a half hours, the infantry advanced to the 
 attack, supported by field-batteries. At the larger village, where 
 General Penny led the attack, a terrible hand-to-hand struggle 
 took place. The Sikhs seized the bayonet with the left hand, 
 while using their sabres with the right. At length they were 
 overpowered. The smaller village was also carried by Colonel 
 Franks and the 10th. The Sikhs then gave way. At a later 
 hour a fine body of Sikh horse and one thousand five hundred 
 Afghan horse under Akram Khan, son of Dost Mohammed, bore 
 down upon the cavalry under General Thackwell. The latter 
 sent against them the 9th Lancers and a regiment of Scjnde 
 horse, raised by Sir Charles Napier and commanded by Captain 
 Malcolm. They not only drove back the Afghan and Sikh 
 horse, but converted the flight of the infantry, whom the latter 
 were seeking to cover, into a hopeless rout. Their pursuit 
 continued for fifteen miles. A more complete victory never re- 
 warded British skill and valour. Camp, colours, fifty-three guns 
 fell to the victors. The rest was hopeless flight and pursuit. 
 
 The day after the battle General Gilbert was despatched 
 with twelve thousand men of all arms, and gave neither his own 
 men nor the enemy any rest. On March 12th, Shere Sing and 
 Chutter Sing gave their swords into his hands. Thirty-five 
 minor chiefs laid their swords at his feet, and sixteen thousand 
 Sikh soldiers with tears piled their arms. Forty-one guns 
 were also surrendered. No Sikh army was left in the field. 
 The veteran Gilbert, the first rider in India, now flew on the 
 trail of the Afghans, whom he chased into their hills. The 
 
 p 2
 
 212 
 
 sepoys said, ' Those who rode down the hills like lions ran back 
 into them like dogs.' When George Lawrence returned into 
 the Sikh camp after the victory, the Sikhs received him with 
 shouts of admiration at his good faith. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie had no orders respecting the disposal of the 
 country, and he decided that a second war so soon after the first 
 left him no choice but to annex. ' On the 29th March, 1849, 
 the young maharaja (Dhuleep Sing) took his seat for the last 
 time on the throne of Runjeet Sing, and in the presence of Sir 
 Henry Lawrence, the Resident, and Mr. Elliott, the foreign sec- 
 retary, and the nobles of his court, heard Lord Dalhousie's 
 proclamation read in English, Persian and Hindostanee, and 
 then affixed the initials of his name in English characters to the 
 document which transferred the kingdom of the five rivers to 
 the company, and secured to him an annuity of five lacs of 
 rupees a year. The British colours were then hoisted upon the 
 ramparts, and a royal salute announced the fulfilment of Run- 
 jeet Sing's prediction that the Punjab also would " become red." 
 The Koh-i-noor, which he had destined to the great idol of 
 Orissa, was set apart for the crown of England.' * The rebel 
 leaders were punished with confiscation. Moolraj was tried for 
 the murder of the two officers, and sentenced to death. The 
 sentence was, however, commuted to imprisonment for life, ' in 
 consideration of extenuating circumstances discovered in the 
 course of the inquiry.' He died in a short time. The maha- 
 raja became a sincere Christian, and has long lived in England. 
 The usual honours were bestowed on the Governor- general, 
 Commander-in-chief and others, although some, as usual, were 
 overlooked. 
 
 Under the administration of the Lawrences and their coadju- 
 tors men like Montgomery, Nicholson, Edwardes the Punjab 
 became the model province of India, the border tribes were 
 pacified, Sikh warriors settled down into peaceful cultivators, 
 infanticide, slavery, dacoity and thuggism were suppressed, 
 two thousand two hundred miles of road constructed, and mag- 
 
 Marshman.
 
 BRITISH RULE IN THE PUNJAB. 
 
 213 
 
 nificent works of irrigation accomplished. The road from 
 Lahore to Peshawur runs two hundred and seventy-five miles, and 
 includes one hundred large bridges and four hundred and fifty 
 smaller ones. Colonel Napier now Lord Napier of Magdala 
 superintended these great works. While taxes were lowered and 
 transit duties abolished, the revenue increased. Many of the old 
 soldiers entered the police or took service under the British 
 colours. Sikh soldiers fought as bravely for us in Burmah and 
 China and during the mutiny as they fought against us from 
 Moodkee to Guzerat.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LOED DALHOUSIE (CONTINUED) AND LORD CANNING ANNEXATIONS 
 SECOND BURMESE WAE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS SEPOY 
 MUTINY. 1848-1862. 
 
 OBD Dalhousie's annexation policy has been 
 severely condemned. It is asserted by some that 
 one of the causes of the mutiny was the distrust 
 and alarm inspired by his annexations. At present 
 the tide of feeling runs against further additions 
 to British territory. But we hope it will never be 
 laid down , as a principle, that under no circumstances 
 will England add 'to its imperial responsibilities. The gain to the 
 districts in India brought under British rule is immense. The 
 question has excited great controversy among Indian politicians. 
 A great party, comprising eminent names like Henry Lawrence, 
 Outi-am, Sleeman, Low, Clerk, Malcolm and many others as great, 
 has always advocated the cause of the native princes and the 
 wisdom of conserving their position by all legitimate means. 
 Another great party, looking chiefly at the interest of the millions, 
 has advocated the extension of direct British rule, when this can 
 be done without injustice. It is evident that no single principle 
 can be laid down governing all cases. Each case must be judged 
 by itself. It makes considerable difference whether the dynasty 
 in question owes its origin to British power or not. Much also 
 depends on the terms of existing treaties. A chief element in the 
 question is that of the right of adoption. Hindu law recognizes 
 the right of princes, in default of natural heirs, to adopt a succes- 
 sor. But it is also certain that in the case of dependent states the 
 consent of the suzerain was necessary to render the adoption 
 valid. Much turns on this point in the cases in dispute in India. 
 Lord Dalhousie was called on to decide the Sattara case 
 soon after his arrival, the raja dying in April, 1848. It will be
 
 SIB JAMES OUTRAM.
 
 ANNEXATIONS, 217 
 
 remembered that, on the peshwa's overthrow in 1817, the British, 
 instead of annexing all the territory, as they might have done, 
 set up the representative of the name of Sivaji. The last raja, 
 who had no heir, had often asked permission to adopt, but was 
 refused, for what reasons we know not. A few hours before his 
 death he adopted a boy, whom he had not known before. The 
 question was, whether in these circumstances the boy should be 
 acknowledged as sovereign. As to the act of adoption carrying 
 with it the right to personal property, there was no question. 
 The matter was long and earnestly debated. The Governor, 
 general collected opinions and information from all quarters, and 
 at last decided against the recognition. His action was approved 
 by the directors, who said : ' By the general law and custom 
 of India, a dependent principality like that of Sattara cannot 
 pass to an adopted heir without the consent of the paramount 
 power ; we are under no pledge, direct or constructive, to give 
 such consent ; and the general interests committed to our charge 
 are best consulted by withholding it.' The Sattara State long 
 ago sank into insignificance. 
 
 The case of Nagpore was still clearer. Appa Sahib forfeited 
 the throne twice over, in 1817 and 1818. Native rule was then 
 continued by the favour of the British. The raja, who died in 
 December, 1853, a low debauchee, left no heir. Though often 
 importuned to adopt, he always refused. His widow also declined 
 to adopt. On every ground of right and expediency, therefore, 
 Lord Dalhousie decided to annex. Colonel Low, one of his 
 council, advocated an opposite course. Mr. Halliday, another 
 member of council, said that on the question of right there could 
 be no doubt, and added : ' Here is a territory actually without a 
 claimant, a territory full of available resources of a kind import- 
 ant to the government of India, and still more so to the people 
 of England ; a territory whose teeming population is avowedly 
 hoping, praying, expecting to be taken under our government ; 
 and at such a juncture, we are to be deaf to their call, and leave 
 the widows and relatives and principal men to settle this affair ; 
 or still more, to invite and solicit them to take some spoilt boy 
 from a nursery, or some obscure and uneducated youth from a
 
 218 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 village, and place again in such hands the rod of iron with which 
 the late raja so scourged the nationality out of his unfortunate 
 subjects, that they are now impatient for the rule of the stranger 
 rather than suffer such another tyranny.' 
 
 Jhansi was on the same footing as Sattara in all respects. 
 Even Colonel Low concurred in this annexation, saying : ' The 
 native rulers of Jhansi were never sovereigns ; they were only 
 subjects of a sovereign, first of the peshwa, and latterly of the 
 company. ... I consider that the government of India has now a 
 full right, if it chooses to exercise that right, to annex the lands 
 of Jhansi to the British dominions.' In all these transactions 
 Lord Dalhousie kept chiefly in view the welfare of the people, 
 and he had the full concurrence of the directors. 
 
 The Governor-general had a difficult question to arrange 
 with the Nizam of Hyderabad. The arrears of the military 
 contingent, which the nizam was bound, not indeed by treaty but 
 morally, to support, had reached a large sum. After years of re- 
 monstrance, Lord Dalhousie's patience was worn out, and in 1853 
 he proposed that the nizam should cede territory sufficient for the 
 expenses of the force, but at the same time intimated that, as the 
 chief use of the contingent was to watch the hordes of troops the 
 nizam kept in pay, the right method of lessening the expense was 
 to dismiss some of the latter. The proposal was of course equi- 
 valent to a command. The nizam was exceedingly unwilling to 
 consent, saying that he never parted with territory or soldiers ; 
 but at last under private influence yielded. The lands ceded were 
 those which the British had once given to the nizam, and, as the 
 debt was reduced and the revenue from the ceded districts im- 
 proved, they were restored with the exception of the rich cotton- 
 lauds of Berar. 
 
 The ex-peshwa, Baji Rao, died at Bithoor, near Cawnpore, 
 in January, 1853, at the age of seventy-seven. Under the treaty 
 conceded by Sir John Malcolm he had drawn as pension no less 
 a sum than 2,500,000. Great efforts were made both in India 
 and England to obtain the continuance of the pension, or a part 
 of it, to his adopted son, Nana Sahib, but the claim was instantly 
 rejected. It was distinctly stated and understood at the time of
 
 SECOND BURMESE WAR. 219 
 
 the treaty" that the pension was for life only. On no other con- 
 dition would Lord Hastings have consented to so large a grant. 
 The refusal was the cause of Nana Sahib's enmity. 
 
 Some writers have implied that Lord Dalhousie delighted in 
 war and annexation, but there can be no doubt that he did his 
 utmost to avoid the Burmese war of 1852. There is nothing in 
 the war worthy of detailed notice. It arose out of petty annoy- 
 ances to British Residents at Ava, and oppression and outrage 
 practised on British, merchants at Rangoon. Commodore 
 Lambert was despatched to Rangoon in the Fox to investigate 
 and, if necessary, to require compensation. When the governor 
 refused to hold communication with him, he despatched the letter 
 entrusted to him for the purpose to the king at Ava. A new 
 governor was sent down, who trod in the steps of the first. A 
 mission which the commodore sent was kept waiting, exposed 
 to the heat of the sun and the jeers of a mob, under the pretext 
 that the governor was asleep, whereas the dignitary in question 
 was seated at a window enjoying the sport. Commodore Lam- 
 bert now demanded an apology in addition to compensation. 
 When this was refused, lie seized a ship belonging to the king, 
 and returned to Calcutta. The governor sent after him his own 
 version of the proceedings. The only answer was a repetition of 
 the commodore's demands. 
 
 In January, 1852, the Governor-general hastened down from, 
 the north-west to take charge of the business. He wrote to the 
 king, and gave him till April 1st to make reparation, meanwhile 
 pushing forward preparations with the utmost energy. In two 
 months all was ready. The experience of the war of 1826 was 
 not forgotten. Wooden huts were prepared to house the troops 
 at Rangoon. The immense development of steam-marine greatly 
 facilitated operations, the Irrawaddy rendering even the capital 
 open to our vessels. When a Bengal regiment objected, as 
 before, to go by sea, Lord Dalhousie replaced it by a regiment of 
 Sikhs. The united Bengal and Madras force, five thousand eight 
 hundred strong, under General Godwin, who had served in the 
 former war, appeared before Rangoon on April llth. On the 
 14th the great pagoda was stormed, and carried after an obstinate
 
 220 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 defence. During the following months there was the usual 
 scattered stockade-fighting, but nothing occurred of a serious 
 nature. Our war-steamers commanded the river. The popu- 
 lation of Rangoon did not desert the place as formerly, but lived 
 on the most friendly terms with the British. The whole pro- 
 vince of Pegu, of which Rangoon was the capital, was most 
 anxious for incorporation with the British territories. Since its 
 conquest by the Burmese three-quarters of a century before, it 
 had suffered endless oppression. In 1826 the people of Pegu 
 had wished for annexation, and, after the English left, had been 
 frightfully punished for their wish. 
 
 When Lord Dalhousie arrived at Rangoon in September, he 
 discouraged an advance upon Ava, as this would open up large? 
 questions ; but he insisted on the cession of Pegu. As the royal 
 envoys would not agree, the province was annexed by proclam- 
 ation without treaty. Pegu has flourished wonderfully under 
 British rule. The population of Rangoon has grown from a few 
 thousands in 1852 to sixty-six thousand. The town is now as 
 healthy as formerly it was unhealthy. The people are among 
 the most contented and industrious under the British sceptre. 
 In 1857 the province was left without European troops, who 
 were all sent to assist in quelling the mutiny. The exports of 
 rice from British Burmah reach an enormous amount. 
 
 The most considerable of Lord Dalhousie's annexations, 
 and the one which has made most noise, was that of Oude in 
 1855. The misgovernment of the king was a perennial subject 
 of dispute between Calcutta and Lucknow. Every Governor- 
 general in turn had remonstrated and threatened. In 1847 Lord 
 Hardinge visited Lucknow, and gave the king two years of grace 
 to carry out reforms. In 1851 Colonel Sleeman, the Resident, a 
 constant friend of native princes, presented an exhaustive report 
 on the condition of the country, which was as bad as it could be. 
 The king was sunk in sloth, folly and indulgence. His chief 
 singer was practically king. Rapacious revenue-farmers were 
 desolating whole districts. An army of seventy thousand men 
 did whatever it pleased. The country swarmed with petty 
 chiefs, who from their forts tyrannized at will over the people.
 
 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 221 
 
 Colonel Sleeman, after referring to his well-known sympathy 
 with native princes, said, ' he did not think that with a due 
 regard to its own character, as the paramount power in India, 
 and to the particular obligations by which it was bound by 
 solemn treaties to the suffering people of the distracted country, 
 the government could any longer forbear to take over the ad- 
 ministration.' General Outram, who was appointed Resident in 
 1854, and who belonged to the same school as Colonel Sleeman, 
 endorsed everything that the latter said. Lord Dalhousie re- 
 viewed the whole question, and recommended that, retaining the 
 king as nominal sovereign, the British should assume the entire 
 management of the country. The four members of council, one 
 of whom was General Low, all concurred ; two of them going 
 farther than the Governor-general, and proposing the abolition 
 of the sovereignty and the annexation of the country. The 
 latter was the course adopted by the home authorities. General 
 Outram carried out the measure. No difficulty was experienced. 
 The king, refusing to sign a treaty of cession, was set aside with a 
 pension of fifteen lacs, and the country annexed by proclamation. 
 Lord Dalhousie's administrative reforms were designed on 
 the largest scale and carried out with the greatest boldness. 
 The Public Works Department was his creation. The average 
 amount spent annually in the previous seventeen years on public 
 works was seventeen lacs. During Lord Dalhousie's last year 
 of office it reached three hundred lacs. India is now blessed 
 with a system of roads unsurpassed in the world. The case of 
 the Punjab, already mentioned, may be taken as a specimen of 
 all the districts under direct British control. One of the most 
 difficult works of this class was the road connecting Bengal 
 with Pegu. We have already seen how in the first Burmese war 
 British troops attempted in vain to penetrate by this route. A 
 road was now cut from Dacca to Aracan at great cost of life and 
 money. The further difficulties of the extension to Pegu were 
 even greater^lofty mountains, dense jungles, scarcity of water, 
 fever. Lieutenant Furlong, however, organized a band of Bur- 
 mese labourers and carried out the work in two years. A 
 similar work is the road to Simla and beyond to the Vale of Chini,
 
 222 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 in the very heart of the mighty Himalayas, and opposite the 
 sacred peak of Kailasa, which towers twenty-one thousand feefc 
 above the level of the sea. The Granges canal was completed 
 during Lord Dalhousie's reign, under Colonel Cautley's superin- 
 tendence. ' In its class and character, it stands among the 
 noblest efforts of civilized nations. It nearly equals the aggre- 
 gate length of all the lines of the four greatest canals in France, 
 and its length is five times greater than that of all the main lines 
 in Lombardy.' 
 
 In these and other tasks the Governor-general found a 
 zealous helper in Mr. Thomason, Lieutenant-governor of Agra, 
 one of the most able and philanthropic of the many good rulers 
 India has had. 
 
 The question of Indian railways had been long in debate. 
 Happily, debate now ended and action began. The principle 
 adopted was that of a state-guarantee and state-control. Indian 
 railways are now advancing towards independence and self- 
 support. The advantages to the country in providing means of 
 communication and to the government in the transport of troops 
 are obvious. Great praise is due to Sir Macdonald Stephenson 
 and Sir James Hogg in connection with the railways. In Sir 
 William O'Shaughnessy the Governor-general found a zealous 
 and able agent in extending telegraphic communication through- 
 out India. Lord Dalhousie also gave India a uniform postage 
 of half-an-anna=three farthings, besides reducing the postage 
 to Europe. He said, ' The Scotch recruit at Peshawur might 
 write to his mother at John o' Groat's house for sixpence.' 
 He was equally zealous in the service of education, English, 
 vernacular, female. During his administration Sir Charles 
 Wood's despatch of 1854, which has been called ' the intellectual 
 charter of India,' sketched the lines on which the future educa- 
 tional policy of the country was to proceed. ' It embraced 
 vernacular schools throughout the districts ; government colleges 
 of a higher character, a University at each Presidency, to which 
 all educational establishments, supported by the state, by societies, 
 or by individuals, might be affiliated ; and above all, the great 
 measure of grants-in-aid to all schools, without reference to caste
 
 LORD CANNING. 223 
 
 or creed.' An Education Department was organized to work 
 out this scheme. 
 
 No administration has left a deeper mark on India than Lord 
 Dalhousie's. His industry was untiring. He traversed and 
 re-traversed the several provinces, seeing everything for himself. 
 At Penang he found a structure like a gibbet within the jail, 
 and was told that this was the gallows. ' He ordered it immedi- 
 ately to be placed without, with the facetious remark that if its 
 position came to be known in England, he should be liable to 
 an impeachment for having permitted an infringement of the 
 most ancient and indefeasible right of an Englishman to be 
 hung in public.' 
 
 Lord Dalhousie quitted Calcutta for England in March, 1856. 
 The demonstration of the natives on his departure resembled 
 that on Lord Wellesley's departure in 1805. Eight years of 
 toil like his in a tropical climate had fatally undermined his con- 
 stitution, and he died in less than five years after his retirement. 
 He was still comparatively young. 
 
 Lord Canning was a son of the great Canning, once President 
 of the Board of Control. One of his first acts was to direct the 
 formation of a Penal Code applicable to Europeans and natives 
 alike. It was completed in 1861. He was obliged in 1856 to 
 declare war against Persia on account of the disrespect shown to 
 the British representative at the capital and the seizure of Herat. 
 The expedition was commanded by General Outram, and soon 
 brought the Persians to terms. In 1857, a treaty of alliance was 
 concluded through Sir John Lawrence with Dost Mohammed at 
 Cabul, an old quarrel, in which we had first done and then 
 suffered wrong, being thus healed. 
 
 But the great event which overshadowed all others, and which 
 with its issues occupied the rest of Lord Canning's administra- 
 tion was the sepoy mutiny of 1857, the centenary of Plassey. 
 It might seem incredible that the main division of the army, by 
 whose aid the British empire in India had been built up, and 
 whose heroism we have again and again recorded, should sud- 
 denly turn round, massacre its own officers and deliberately 
 attempt to exterminate the English from the soil ; but such was
 
 224 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 the fact. There has been endless speculation as to the causes 
 and character of the revolt, but everything points to the conclu- 
 sion that in its origin it was purely military, and remained such 
 for the most part to the end. The people took no part in the 
 struggle between the sepoys and their late masters. There was 
 no disturbance where sepoys did not lead the way. No doubt 
 the rising was fomented and employed by others, by the Mo- 
 hammedan princes at Delhi, by Nana Sahib of Bithoor, by 
 princes like those of Oude whom we had dispossessed, by chiefs 
 with whose exactions we had interfered. The sepoys became 
 tools in their hands. But in the beginning the mutiny was 
 simply a military rising, which weakness and mismanagement 
 allowed to assume the proportions it did. Let it be remembered 
 that the mutiny was confined to the Bengal army. It might, 
 and if the fall of Delhi had been postponed much longer pro- 
 bably would, have extended to the Bombay and Madras armies, 
 but it did not. The other two armies remained staunch, while 
 the Bengal army failed us almost without exception. The Bengal 
 army had always been far more difficult to manage than the 
 other two. There had been partial risings in the Burmese war, 
 the Scinde war, and on other occasions. The Bengal sepoys 
 objected to cross the ' black water ' to Rangoon, maintaining that 
 they were only enlisted for service in Hindostan. Lord Canning 
 had issued an order to the effect that all future enlistments 
 must be for service anywhere. A report got abroad that the 
 grease for the new Enfield rifles was made up of pig and cow 
 fat, and was intended as a means of breaking down the religion 
 of the Mohammedan and Hindu sepoys. No explanations could 
 persuade the sepoys to the contrary. The rumour was no doubt 
 secretly encouraged by agents of outsiders for their own pur- 
 poses. One rumour led to others. ' The wells had been defiled.' 
 Pure water is essential to the preservation of caste. Caste 
 people cannot use the same wells or vessels as casteless people. 
 ' Bone dust had been mixed in the flour. Animal fat had been 
 mixed with the ghee, or butter.' Chuppatties, thin cakes, were 
 circulated all over India. To this day their meaning has never 
 been discovered. That they were a sort of signal, like the fiery
 
 CA USES OF THE MUTINY. 225 
 
 cross, is certain ; but there our knowledge ends. From city to 
 city, from regiment to regiment, they flew, no one knew whence 
 or how. From Peshawur to Calcutta barracks were burnt, 
 while the hands that kindled the fires were never discovered. 
 Nightly meetings of sepoys took plae. The siruultaneousness of 
 these symptoms indicated a common purpose. Among Hindus 
 example and custom are all-powerful. Regiments mutinied 
 wholesale for no more definite reason than that others did. It 
 was fortunate for us that no leader of genius appeared to give 
 unity and aim to the efforts of a great army drilled to the high- 
 est point of perfection and well supplied with arms and arsenals. 
 On the other hand, no crisis of English history ever produced 
 a larger number of great men capable of dealing with the emer- 
 gency. Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence, John Nicholson, 
 Neville Chamberlain, Henry Havelock, James Outram, Neill, 
 Colin Campbell, Hope Grant, Inglis, Franks, Hugh Rose, all 
 surrounded by trusty subalterns, would have quelled half-a- 
 dozen mutinies. We wonder at first how an army without 
 leader or unity could do the mischief and make the resistance 
 the sepoy army did. But we must remember that it was scat- 
 tered over the breadth of half a continent, that each regiment 
 mutinied where it stood, and that a body of disciplined soldiers 
 holds a civil community at its mercy. Moreover, while the 
 sepoys fought like lions behind entrenchments, they fled at once 
 in the open. 
 
 Of all the absurd reasons alleged for the mutiny the most 
 absurd is the supposed alarm caused by missionary operations. 
 Every one who knows anything of the sepoys, of the Indian 
 government and of missionaries, knows that the army was 
 peculiarly secluded from missionary influence, that the Indian 
 government had been studiously neutral on matters of religion 
 and respectful to Hindu rites and that, as matter of fact, the 
 amount of influence exerted by missionary operations on the 
 army was infinitesimal. The vengeance of the sepoys was utterly 
 indiscriminate. It was not particularly directed to Christian 
 teachers and buildings. Its chief victims were the officers and 
 their families. The blow was struck at the government. Far 
 
 Q
 
 226 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 more real and potent circumstances, aggravating the mischief, 
 can be indicated. The European army, in spite of Dalhousie's 
 strong protest, had been reduced, under the stress of the Crimean 
 war, below the point of safety. The proportion of European to 
 sepoy, instead of being one to three, was one to six. Between Cal- 
 cutta and Agra, a distance of eight hundred miles and among a 
 population of fifty millions, there were only three white regiments. 
 With only a hundred miles of railway open from Calcutta, it was 
 months before reinforcements could arrive in strength sufficient to 
 make any impression ; and during those months the sepoys were 
 masters of the field, and free to do whatever the most infamous 
 treachery and cruelty could suggest. Again, the Bengal army 
 was permeated by caste, which made it feel and act as a single 
 unit. Two-thirds of its number, i.e., forty thousand, came from 
 the single province of Oude, the most recently annexed territory, 
 and teeming, from long misrule, with dangerous elements. Again, 
 there was most culpable indecision and weakness at critical points 
 like Meerut and Dinapore, where old and incapable commanders, 
 with ample European force at command, allowed mutinous regi- 
 ments to march off and set the country in a blaze. It is also 
 said that general discipline had become lax, and that, while the 
 best officers were drafted off to staff appointments and civil 
 employ, the officers with the colours were mostly young men, 
 unacquainted with the native officers and men, and therefore 
 having little influence over them. 
 
 The first great outbreak was at Meerut, one of the chief 
 military centres of the north-west, on Sunday, May 10th. On 
 the previous day some troopers of the 3rd Cavalry had been 
 sentenced to imprisonment for refusing the new cartridges. 
 While the English were at church at evening service the two 
 sepoy foot regiments and the cavalry regiment rose in mutiny. 
 Colonel Finnis and other officers, going to ascertain the meaning 
 of the tumult, were shot down. Here, as everywhere, the first 
 rush of the mutineers was to the prison, to release the prisoners 
 and let loose the devilry of a district on the few Europeans. 
 The horrors of that sultry May night are not to be described, 
 bungalows sacked and burnt, their inmates consumed in the
 
 RISINGS AT MEERUT AND DELHI. 227 
 
 flames, shot or stabbed, the exulting yells of triumphant ruffian- 
 ism. All this time General Hewitt, with a splendid force on 
 the spot of two thousand Europeans who were mad with rage, 
 did nothing and would allow no one else to do anything. The 
 mutineers, after plundering, destroying and slaying without let 
 or hindrance, got off safely to Delhi forty miles away, to 
 instigate and help in worse tragedies there. The General would 
 not move a step till prevention and remedy were alike past. 
 
 The next morning some of the 3rd Cavalry brought the news 
 of the night's triumph to Delhi. Here the only force was sepoy. 
 The three native regiments at first made a show of loyalty, but 
 soon revolted almost to a man. Before night not an Englishman 
 was left in the city. The commissioner, Simon Fraser, the com- 
 mandant of the palace, Captain Douglas, were slain in the palace, 
 the chaplain and his daughter in the presence of the Mogul 
 emperor. Every European within the walls was hunted to death. 
 A small party of officers and others, who had gathered at the 
 Flagstaff Tower in the cantonment, were at last obliged to hurry 
 away in a flight, the sufferings and perils of which were worse than 
 death, -men, women, and children begirt by enemies, hungry, 
 stripped by robbers. A few soon reached shelter at Meerut or else- 
 where, others perished by the way, many lurked or wandered in 
 hut or jungle, amid raging heats, days and weeks before reaching 
 a place of safety. The incident of the Delhi arsenal should not 
 be omitted. The first effort of the rebels was to secure this great 
 magazine. Three English lieutenants and six ordnance conductors 
 alone held it for a time. As the assailants swarmed up the walls, 
 they were swept away by volleys of grape. But two of the little 
 garrison were wounded, and the ammunition which they had 
 hurriedly prepared was running low. Lieutenant Willoughby 
 gave the word to fire a train previously laid, and a part, but only 
 too small apart, of the magazine blew up. The defenders with 
 one exception got safely away, though in one or two cases it was 
 only to die of their injuries. 
 
 Would that a Gillespie, instead of a Hewitt, had commanded 
 at Meerut ! The imperial city of the north- west, with all its fortifi- 
 cations and military stores, fell into rebel hands, without a finger 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 being lifted to prevent. From deference to the feelings of the 
 Mogul sovereign a British force had not been stationed at Delhi, 
 with the express understanding that a strong force should be 
 kept at Meerut within striking distance. The force was there, but 
 no hand to wield it. Delhi became at once the rendezvous for 
 mutinous regiments from all quarters. After murdering every 
 European within reach, they turned their faces towards the old 
 Mogul capital. 
 
 There is good reason to think that the rising at Meerut was 
 premature, and that it frustrated the main part of the con- 
 spirators' design, which was to effect a simultaneous and universal 
 rising, perhaps on the centenary day of Plassey, June 23rd. 
 If this plan could have been carried out, it is hard to see what 
 could have prevented the extermination of the English through- 
 out Hindostan. 
 
 Whatever failure there was elsewhere, the stern, strong man 
 who ruled the Punjab, John Lawrence, rose to the full height of 
 the occasion. When news of Meerut and Delhi reached Lahore 
 on the 12th, he was at Rawul Pindi, but his trusty lieutenants, 
 Montgomery and Macleod, acted promptly. A ball fixed for 
 that night was held as if nothing were the matter, but a full 
 parade was ordered for next morning on the plain of Meean 
 Meer. Brigadier Corbett so manoeuvred the troops as to bring 
 the four sepoy regiments face to face with four hundred European 
 foot and two hundred artillerymen with loaded guns. They 
 were then ordered to pile arms. Slowly, unwillingly, like men 
 balked of their prey, they obeyed. The rising fixed for the 15th 
 was thus anticipated and Lahore saved. There was like disarm- 
 ing at Peshawur, where Cotton, Chamberlain, Nicholson and 
 Edwardes commanded. Many officers of the disarmed troops 
 protested against the measure which saved their lives. All 
 through the mutiny nothing is more wonderful than the blind 
 confidence of officers in men. With mutiny on every hand, they 
 never doubted the loyalty of their own men, and often paid the 
 penalty with their lives. Of the Punjab sepoy regiments which 
 broke out into open revolt not many succeeded in reaching Delhi. 
 The 55th was pursued by Nicholson, many cut up, others brought
 
 LOED L&WKENCE.
 
 SIEGE OF DELHI. 231 
 
 back as prisoners, and the rest perished, or were sold as slaves 
 by the wild hillmen. The Sikhs were loyal almost without excep- 
 tion, and supplied regiments which rendered splendid service. All 
 through those critical months Lawrence's one cry was, ' On to 
 Delhi ! ' He kept not a single man who could be spared. Sup- 
 plies were forwarded without stint. When the last reinforce- 
 ment had been sent, he felt that he could do no more without 
 incurring worse risk at home. It has been truly said : ' To John 
 Lawrence, by the concurrent voice of Wilson's officers, of Wilson 
 himself, of the Governor-general, of the Court of Directors, of 
 every Englishman almost in Upper India, was assigned the place 
 of honour as " Saviour of India," as the main author of Wilson's 
 triumph, as the man to whom " more than to any other, more 
 than to thousands of others, was owing the conquest of Delhi 
 and the safety of the whole north-west." ' * 
 
 No time was lost in assembling a force at Umballa for the 
 siege of Delhi, and toward the close of the month the army set out. 
 On the death, from cholera, of the Commander-in-chief, General 
 Anson, at Karnaul, on May 27th, Sir Henry Barnard assumed the 
 command. On June 8th, after a sharply contested action with 
 the rebels at Badlie Serai, British troops again occupied the can- 
 tonments on the Ridge from which less than a month before a few 
 Europeans had fled for their lives. But four thousand British 
 troops with no battering-train could effect nothing against a city 
 seven miles round, defended by ramparts of our own construction, 
 swarming with thousands of our own trained sepoys, and free to 
 di'aw supplies from every side. For three months the little 
 handful of British troops was more besieged than besieging. 
 How during that time, under incessant attacks by day and night 
 and the blinding heat and then floods of rain, it held its grip on 
 that fateful Ridge is far more wonderful even than the heroic 
 daring of the final capture. The Flagstaff Tower, Hindu Rao's 
 house, Metcalfe's house, Ludlow Castle, the Subzie Mundie 
 scenes of many a fierce fight, where many brave Englishmen 
 met their death are henceforth sacred spots in British history. 
 
 Capt. Trotter, History of British India, ii., p. 229.
 
 232 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 The arrival of new sepoy regiments in the city, fresh from scenes 
 of massacre, was announced by bands playing well known 
 English tunes, and signalized by fresh assaults on the British 
 position. Each new body came to the attack vaunting that it 
 would succeed where its predecessors had failed, and returned 
 to encounter the jeers of its comrades. The enemy could better 
 afford to lose a score of soldiers than the British one, and yet 
 every one of the numberless attacks told on the strength of the 
 small force. Often, reinforcements went into action the moment 
 they arrived in camp. Chamberlain, Hodson, Olpherts, Daly, 
 Showers, Coke, Hope Grant, Tombs were to the front whenever 
 fighting was going on. Many eager spirits in the camp were 
 ardent for an attempt at surprise ; but responsible leaders, who 
 knew that repulse meant destruction, hesitated, and it never 
 took place. On July 14th, the brave and gentle Barnard died. 
 First Reid, then Chamberlain, finally Brigadier Wilson took his 
 place. Nicholson arrived in camp on August 7th, with the last 
 reinforcements from the Punjab, bringing up the force to eight 
 thousand men, of whom about half were British. 
 
 At the beginning of September the siege-train was approach- 
 ing from Ferozepore, and the enemy sent out seven thousand men 
 with eighteen guns to intercept it. At the head of two thousand 
 three hundred men with sixteen guns Nicholson started in pur- 
 suit. After a fatiguing march over swamps and cross-roads he 
 overtook the rebels at Nujjafghur, and, charging across a swamp, 
 where the water rose waist-high, routed them at every point, 
 capturing guns and stores. In an attack in the dark on a village 
 where a body of rebels stood at bay, without means of escape, 
 Lieutenant Lumsden, a noble officer, was slain. After forty 
 hours of marching and fighting, with little food or rest, Nichol- 
 son's force returned to camp. 
 
 On September 6th, the siege-train arrived, and next day the 
 real siege began, under Colonel Baird Smith as chief engineer. 
 Four batteries, containing fifty heavy guns and mortars, played 
 day and night on the walls. On the 13th, two breaches were 
 reported practicable, and the assault was fixed for next day. 
 General Wilson could only reckon on six thousand men for the
 
 FALL OF DELHI. 233 
 
 attack. Three thousand lay sick and wounded. To guard his 
 camp from surprise he had but a few hundred horse, some scores 
 of convalescents, and a troop or two of horse artillery. But 
 nothing was to be gained by further delay. All India and 
 England were listening for the fall of Delhi. The first column, 
 one thousand strong, under General Nicholson, was to storm the 
 main breach and the Cashmere Bastion ; the second, eight hundred 
 and fifty strong, under Brigadier Jones, the Water Bastion ; the 
 third, nine hundred and fifty strong, under Colonel Campbell, to 
 enter by the Cashmere Gate, which had to be blown open ; a fourth, 
 under Major Reid, to penetrate by the Lahore Gate ; a reserve of 
 one thousand, under Brigadier Longfield, to lend support where 
 necessary ; while Hope Grant with his cavalry and horse-artillery 
 checked any sorties and flank attacks by the enemy. At day- 
 light Nicholson gave the word, and the two first columns sprang 
 forward through a storm of fire, down the ditch, up the scaling- 
 ladders, to breach and bastion. The blowing in of the Cashmere 
 Gate was a brave deed. The little band of sappers rushed across 
 a half-broken drawbridge amid a stream of fire. Sergeant 
 Carmichael and a native corporal fell dead as they laid the bags 
 of powder. Lieutenant Home was struck, though not disabled. 
 Lieutenant Salkeld was struck twice while applying the match, 
 and Corporal Burgess finished his work at the cost of his life. 
 Seeing him fall, Sergeant Smith leaped forward, but at the 
 moment there was a flash, a report, and he had just time to 
 jump into the ditch when the gate fell in with a crash. Home's 
 bugler sounded the advance, and Colonel Campbell's column 
 rushed in over the ruins. The fourth attack failed from a 
 variety of mishaps, and had to be withdrawn. On that day of 
 trial Hope Grant's task was not the lightest. His force had to 
 remain for hours quiescent under a heavy fire, guarding the flank 
 and rear of the assailants. When the ramparts were gained, the 
 real fighting began. On the first day only a fringe of the city 
 was taken, and it took six days' conflict, street by street and 
 building by building, before Delhi was in British possession. 
 The loss on the first day in killed alone was eight officers and 
 two hundred and eighty privates, and above all, the great Nichol-
 
 234 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 son was mortally wounded. He was only thirty-four, the idol 
 of English and native troops alike. He lived nine days, long 
 enough to know that Delhi was taken. 
 
 The losses of the British were great. Some of the regi- 
 ments the 60th Rifles, Grhoorkas, Punjab Guides lost half their 
 strength. The engineers and artillery suffered heavily. The 
 total of killed and wounded through the siege was three thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty-seven. The victorious troops had all 
 been gathered in the north-west. Not a soldier had arrived 
 from Bengal. The greatness of the victory is to be measured, 
 not simply by the material losses inflicted on the enemy, but by 
 the moral impression made. The English in India breathed freely 
 again. Native confidence was restored. The neck of the mutiny 
 was broken. The victory came not a moment too soon. Had it 
 been delayed much longer, the Bombay and Madras armies 
 could hardly have been kept faithful, all India would have been 
 dragged into the vortex, and this brief history would probably 
 never have been written, as the writer was then resident in 
 South India. Over the imprisonment and transportation to Ran- 
 goon of the king, an old man of eighty-four, and the shooting 
 of two of his sons by Hodson, we need not linger. 
 
 We may here give a few specimens of the scenes which were 
 enacted in those sad months of May and June over the broad 
 spaces of Northern India. On Sunday, May 31st, at Bareilly, 
 after the sepoys had killed several of the unsuspecting officers, 
 Bahadoor Khan, a pensioner of the British, hung several of the 
 English gentlemen who fell into his hands. On the same day 
 at Shahjehanpore the 28th regiment surrounded the church in 
 which the English were worshipping, and slaughtered all with 
 the exception of a few, who perished in their flight at the hands 
 of another regiment. At Jhansi in Central India, the ranee, 
 widow of the late king, led the mutiny in revenge for the 
 annexation of the territory. On June 5th the sepoys swore to 
 protect their officers and then shot down several.' The rest of 
 the officers took refuge in the fort, where seventy-three Europeans 
 were assembled. After a siege of several days they .were com- 
 pelled by hunger, wounds, and despair of relief to surrender
 
 SCENES IN THE MUTINY. 235 
 
 under a promise of safe conduct from ranee and sepoys. No 
 sooner had they come forth* than they were tied together, the 
 men in one row, women and children in another, and ruthlessby 
 done to death by bullet, sword, and bayonet. At Allahabad, on 
 June 6th, the 6th regiment was drawn up to hear read a letter 
 of thanks from Lord Canning for their zeal in offering to march 
 against Delhi. English and native officers shook hands. That 
 same night as the officers were seated at mess a bugle was heard. 
 Sallying out to learn, the cause, they were nearly all shot or cut 
 down by the same sepoys who, a few hours before, had cheered 
 the Governor-general's letter. On June 4th a party of about 
 one hundred and thirty men, women and children started from 
 Futtehghur down the Granges. Nearing Bithoor, they never 
 dreamt of danger from the Nana, the mild Mahratta who had 
 always been on such friendly terms with the English. The 
 wretch had them taken out of the boats and butchered to the 
 last one. Here and there friendly chiefs and villagers were 
 found who gave shelter to hunted fugitives, but many of the 
 latter died of exposure and sunstroke or were cut off in their 
 weary flight. We ought not to forget such fidelity as that of 
 the three hundred native troops who remained with the English 
 through the siege of Lucknow ; the loyalty of the Maharaja 
 Scindia, who stood firm when his troops joined the mutiny ; 
 of the Rajas of Pattiala and Jheend, and the help of Jung 
 Bahadoor of Nepaul. These are bright rifts in the black ex- 
 panse of perfidy. 
 
 There were noble examples of individual gallantry. On 
 June 22nd at Mynpoorie, between Agra and Futtehghur, young 
 Lieutenant de Kantzow, at the head of a few ill-armed police, 
 prevented three hundred mutinous sepoys from plundering the 
 treasury, and persuaded them to retire to Delhi without staining 
 their hands with murder. 
 
 At Arrah, in Behar, a railway engineer, called Boyle, had 
 fortified a dwelling-house in his grounds, and here for seven 
 days, eighteen Europeans and fifty Sikhs held their ground 
 against the attacks of four thousand rebels. A relieving force 
 had been beaten back ; but the gallant band, living on grain,
 
 236 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and digging for water in the floor, stood fast till Colonel Vincent 
 Eyre arrived with effectual relief. 
 
 But the most touching and tragical story of all is that of 
 Cawnpore. Here in May were three infantry sepoy regiments 
 and one cavalry. The only European force which their com- 
 mander, Sir Hugh Wheeler, had at first, consisted of sixty 
 artillerymen with six guns. Sir Henry Lawrence sent eighty 
 men of the 32nd Foot, who could be ill spared from Lucknow, 
 and from Calcutta came fifty men of the 84th Foot, and fifteen 
 of the Madras Fusiliers, who all came, not to victory, but death. 
 The European community at such a central station as Cawnpore 
 was a large one, including a large number of women and children. 
 General Wheeler began to form and provision a hasty entrench- 
 ment. It was a poor affair, standing on a broad plain, its only 
 rampart a low breastwork, the only shelter two large hospitals 
 and a few smaller buildings. One of the hospitals was straw- 
 thatched. The whole was commanded by adjacent buildings. 
 Probably this was the best preparation the time and place 
 allowed. Here a thousand Europeans had to flee for shelter, 
 when the sepoys rose on June 5th. After plundering the treasury 
 and releasing the prisoners, the regiments set off for Delhi. 
 Hitherto General Wheeler and the English had no suspicion 
 of the Nana at Bithoor, fifteen miles away. They believed im- 
 plicitly his assurances of protection. Now he was to reveal his 
 true character. He persuaded the sepoys to return to Cawnpore, 
 and finish the Feringees before marching to Delhi ; and on June 
 6th the whole host sat down before the weak entrenchments. 
 Who can conceive the sufferings of the next three weeks, from 
 the fire of the enemy, from a June sun on that bare plain, from 
 hunger and thirst and exposure ? Fourteen heavy guns kept 
 up the bombardment. The English had but eight field-pieces, 
 which stood in the open without a parapet for the gunners. 
 Only by a miracle of coolness, skill, and endurance could such 
 a position be held such a time against such odds. The fire told 
 fearfully on the defendei's. On June 13th the straw thatch of 
 the hospital was fired, and, an attack being made at the same 
 time, more than forty sick and wounded perished before help
 
 CAWXPORE MASSACRE. 237 
 
 could be given. Captain Moore, of the 32nd, was the guiding 
 spirit of the defence. With his arm in a sling he went about 
 cheering the defenders. He and his brave marksmen would 
 occupy an unfinished barrack outside the breastwork and deal 
 out death to the assailants, on two occasions spiking the guns. 
 Yet the cowardly sepoys never dared to approach the wall, which 
 might have been cleared at a running leap. Once, on June 21st, 
 they swore a great oath on the waters of the neighbouring Ganges, 
 to destroy the English at a stroke, and came on from every side. 
 Some rolled huge cotton bales before them as a shelter ; but, 
 when it came to the last rush, the cool, steady fire of the British 
 put them to flight. Women took turns at night-watch with the 
 men. The barracks were riddled and ready to fall ; most of the 
 guns rendered useless ; rations reduced, medicines destroyed. 
 Half of those who had entered the entrenchment three weeks 
 before were dead. Then it was that the Nana and his like-minded 
 agent, Azimoollah Khan, swore by all that was sacred to furnish 
 the garrison with boats and food for a passage to Allahabad. 
 However excusable in the circumstances, the trust of the English, 
 after their recent experience, was strange. The surrender on a 
 Mahratta's * oath was General Wheeler's greatest mistake. On 
 the 27th, four hundred and fifty men, women and children 
 marched out to the boats ; but they had no sooner embarked than 
 a musketry fire was opened on them, the boats took fire, numbers 
 were shot or drowned, the remaining men were dragged ashore 
 and slain, and the women and children taken and shut tip in 
 a small building for another day. 
 
 One boat ran the gauntlet of the fire from both banks for two 
 days, but then grounded on a sandbank near Futtehpore. A 
 galling fire was rained upon it by sepoys on the bank. Lieutenant 
 Delafosse and thirteen others plunged into the water and charged 
 the pursuers, but in the eagerness of the chase were cut off from 
 the boat by swarms of enemies. Thirteen of the number got 
 safe into a small temple. Even there the enemy dared not assail 
 
 The crafty Azimoollah Khan, as his name indicates, was a Moham- 
 medan.
 
 238 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 them, but was obliged to smoke them out. With a desperate rush, 
 seven succeeded in reaching the water. Two of these were shot, 
 a third came too near the shore and was slain ; the other four 
 Lieutenants Delafosse and Mowbray Thompson, Private Murphy, 
 and Gunner Sullivan swam weary miles till a friendly Oude 
 chief took them in, fed, clothed and ministered to them, and at 
 last delivered them into the hands of Havelock's advancing force. 
 They were the only survivors of the whole Cawnpore force. 
 
 The stranded boat was seized and taken back to Cawnpore, 
 where it arrived four days after the fatal start. The men in it, 
 including the aged Wheeler, who was mortally wounded, were 
 allowed a moment's respite for prayer, and then shot in the mis- 
 creant N ana's presence. One poor lady, who could not be torn 
 from her husband's embrace, was shot with him. The other women 
 and children were added to those already in captivity. Their 
 doom was approaching swiftly. About forty-seven betrayed cap- 
 tives from Futtehghur had been added to the number. On July 
 15th Havelock had forced the bridge across the Pandu stream, 
 in the neighbourhood of Cawnpore. That night the Nana, deter- 
 mined that none of his victims should escape his vengeance, 
 ordered all the prisoners to be butchered, and butchered they 
 were. The men were first slain. The assassins then fired through 
 the windows upon the heaps of women and children, and finally 
 rushing in finished their hellish work with swords, bayonets, 
 butt-ends, knives. The next morning the bodies were stripped, 
 hacked and thrown into a well, over which a cross now stands. 
 When Havelock's soldiers entered Cawnpore on the morning of 
 the 17th the sight which met their eyes was the well with its 
 awful contents and the slaughter-house littered with locks of hair, 
 leaves of Bibles, children's frocks and shoes, combs, work-boxes, 
 bonnets all swimming in blood. The victims numbered about a 
 hundred and fifty. The world has no more touching story of suffer- 
 ing and heroism than that of Cawnpore. Heroism, we say, for the 
 British were not conquered, but betrayed by the foulest treachery. 
 The surrender led to a worse fate than resistance could have done. 
 The whole history of the mutiny confirmed the wisdom of Henry 
 Lawrence's dying charge to Colonel Inglis, ' Never surrender ! '
 
 SIR HEUBY HAVEL OCX.
 
 LUCKNOW. 241 
 
 We must now turn to another great focus of insurrection 
 Lucknow. In March, 1857, Sir Henry Lawrence was sent as 
 commissioner to Oude. If any one could have staved off the 
 rising, the greatest Englishman in India would have done it ; but 
 he came too late. The dangerous classes in Oude were all to a 
 man against us the chiefs whose plundering we had stopped, 
 the hangers-on of a corrupt court whom we had turned adrift* 
 the relatives of the Oude sepoys who formed so large a propor- 
 tion of the Bengal army. The annexation, instead of being made 
 to press as lightly as possible, had been carried out with unneces- 
 sary harshness by the former commissioner, Mr. Coverley Jackson. 
 All that Sir Henry could do was to secure the safety of the 
 English garrison and community, and this he did. But for 
 his timely forethought there is the strongest probability that 
 Lucknow, at a still greater distance from relief and beset by a 
 more numerous and hostile population, would have been another 
 Cawnpore. Every European station in Oude was a scene 
 of treachery and massacre. Seetapore, Sultanpore, Fyzabad, 
 Azimghur, Shahjehaupore have all their pitiful tales to tell. 
 Captains Fletcher Hayes, Samuel Fisher, Longueville Clarke, 
 Major Gall choice officers were cut down by traitors among 
 their own men, who had just sworn fidelity. We have no space 
 for details of the sufferings of more helpless ones. 
 
 On July 1st, after details of the Cawnpore catastrophe had come 
 to hand, the English were finally shut up in the residency, which 
 had been made fairly defensible and provisioned for several months. 
 On the 2nd Sir Henry was struck by a shell, and two days after- 
 wards that chivalrous soul passed away. The defence fell on 
 the shoulders of men like Colonel Inglis, Major Banks and the 
 engineer Captain Fulton, who proved themselves worthy of the 
 occasion. If the capture of Delhi was a marvel of daring, the 
 defence of Lucknow was equally a marvel of endurance. Civil- 
 ians vied with soldiers, women with men, in displaying the best 
 qualities of English character. The few square yards of land 
 held by the few hundred English and their few hundred native 
 allies were all that the English owned in Oude. The rest was 
 given over to hate and murder. Every foot of the position was
 
 242 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 searched by the fire at close quarters of twenty-five heavy guns 
 and of skilled marksmen planted on neighbouring buildings, which 
 Sir Henry's consideration for the natives had unfortunately left 
 standing. Yet for three months the garrison, in the heart of 
 a vast hostile city, defied every attempt of the swarms who 
 thirsted for their blood. The chief reliance of the besiegers was 
 on mines. On July 20th, August 10th, and August 18th mines 
 were sprung and desperate attacks made. The second one 
 levelled twenty feet of the wall and left the way open to the 
 heart of the position, but the resolution of the stormers failed. 
 The garrison not only baffled every attempt to overwhelm them 
 by sheer weight of numbers, but made successful sallies and ran 
 counter-mines. On September 5th, when the time of deliver- 
 ance drew near, the enemy sprang three mines and attacked at 
 every point simultaneously. A party even forced their way into 
 the position, but were so decimated by musketry-fire that they 
 withdrew. Several messengers had been sent out to ascertain 
 the hopes of relief, but none returned till the spy Ungud on 
 August 29th brought a promise of help in three weeks. The 
 garrison was reduced to three hundred white soldiers and as 
 many natives. It had one hundred and twenty sick and 
 wounded and three hundred and fifty women and children to 
 defend. The fidelity of the natives, so sorely tried, could not be 
 depended on much longer. The sepoys consisted of the remnants 
 of the 13th, 48th, and 71st regiments, the Europeans of the 32nd 
 Foot. 
 
 Let us trace the march of the delivering force. Lord 
 Canning summoned all available help from Rangoon, Madras 
 and Bombay, and sent a message to Point de Galle in time to 
 divert the Chinese expedition to Calcutta. The first regiment 
 to land was the 1st Madras Fusiliers, commanded by Colonel 
 James Neill. It seems incredible that with all the resources of 
 an imperial government only twenty soldiers a day could be 
 despatched at first, but such was the case. By the end of May 
 only some eighty men of the 84th Foot reached Cawnpore, with 
 what result we have seen. The first to start for the relief of 
 Cawnpore and Lucknow was Neill. It showed the temper of the
 
 MARCH TO LUCKNOW. 243 
 
 man that, when a station-master was for despatching a train 
 without some of the troops, who were late, Neill had the ofncial 
 seized and kept prisoner till the men arrived. Beaching Benares 
 on June 3rd with sixty Fusiliers, he speedily restored order where 
 mutiny and weakness threatened disaster. On the 9th he left 
 for Allahabad with forty of his men, and did the same there. On 
 the last day of June General Havelock arrived to take the com- 
 mand. Reflections have been made on the supersession. But 
 the issue proved the necessity of caution as well as valour, and 
 while Neill overflowed with the latter quality he might have 
 failed in the former. He had sent forward Major Benaud with 
 a small force, but Havelock ordered that officer to halt until his 
 own arrival. On July 7th he left Allahabad. His own force 
 and Benaud's made a total of about one thousand three hundred 
 Europeans, five hundred Sikhs and a few guns. The chief 
 weakness was in cavalry. The only loss inflicted on the enemy 
 was in actual fight, pursuit being impossible. The enemy 
 therefore soon reappeared as strong as ever. The hot season 
 was at its highest. Marching killed as many as hostile bullets. 
 At Futtehpore on the 12th, at the Pandu bridge on the 15th, 
 at Cawnpore on the 16th, Havelock fought and won four 
 several battles. At the Pandu the brave Benaud fell mortally 
 wounded. On the 17th the force reached Cawnpore, to wonder 
 at the frail entrenchment held so long, and to sorrow over the 
 remains of the recent massacre. 
 
 After a rest of two days the force marched out to Bithoor. 
 The Nana had fled, and all that could be done was to burn the 
 palace and destroy the fort. Now followed a weary waiting of 
 two months. Three times Havelock led his force across the 
 Ganges with its face towards Lucknow, and as often was com- 
 pelled, after routing the enemy in battle, to retrace his steps. 
 He felt that to risk his small force, diminished by battle, by sun- 
 stroke and sickness, by the garrison left under Neill in Cawnpore, 
 in a running fight of thirty-six miles, and then hurl it on a strong- 
 city, defended by thousands of desperate mutineers, would be to 
 insure its destruction, and the destruction of the garrison he came 
 to save. There was constant fighting around Cawnpore. On
 
 244 OUR INDIAN EMPIEE. 
 
 August 16th, Havelock won a complete victory over the rebels, 
 strongly entrenched at Bithoor. The position was carried at 
 the bayonet-point. 
 
 By September 16th, Sir James Outram and his reinforcements 
 were at Cawnpore. Outram, true to himself, declined to assume 
 the command till Lucknow was taken, and served as a dashing 
 cavalry leader. Neill commanded the first brigade of infantry. 
 Sweeping aside opposition by the way, on the 23rd of September 
 the force encamped at the Alumbagh Park near Lucknow. The 
 24th was a day of rest in preparation for the struggle of the morrow. 
 On the 25th, a date to be ever remembered in British history, 
 the British troops fought their way all day step by step, street by 
 street, up to the gates of the residency. It was night before the 
 goal was reached. Havelock and Outram ever led the advance. 
 ' At length the last lane was threaded, and the leading column, 
 with a long, loud hurrah heard above the thunder of the guns 
 and the hurtling of bullets, rushed into a strange whirl of out- 
 stretched hands and joy-flashing eyes, and voices feebly emulating 
 the shouts sent up to heaven by each fresh band of victors in its 
 turn.' The loss in killed and wounded that day was four hundred 
 and sixty-four. Sad to say, in the very moment of triumph, 
 within a few yards of the residency gate, General Neill was 
 shot dead by a concealed marksman. One of the bravest of the 
 brave leaders whom those times brought to the front, he was only 
 forty-seven years old when struck down. 
 
 Sir James Outram at once assumed the command, and on 
 the morrow of the capture by some skilfully conceived attacks 
 enlarged the area of the position. Even now the British force was 
 too weak to convoy its charge down to Cawnpore, and had to 
 submit to another siege till the arrival of Sir Colin Campbell in 
 November. Another portion of the force, left to guard the stores 
 in the Alumbagh, was besieged there. On November 12th, 
 , Campbell and Hope Grant were at the Alumbagh at the head of 
 four thousand men with thirty guns. Instead of working his 
 way through the streets of the city, Campbell advanced through 
 a quarter studded with palaces and public buildings which had 
 all been converted into so many formidable fortresses. These
 
 SECOND CAPTURE OF LUCKNOW. 245 
 
 wore the Dil-khooshah Park, or Heart's Delight, Sikunder Bagh, 
 a mosque called the Shah Najif, the old Mess-house, and the 
 superb Motie Mahal, or Pearl Palace. At the Sikunder Bagh 
 fearful scenes took place. It was an enclosure, one hundred and 
 twenty yards square, with massive, loopholed walls, held by 
 two thousand picked troops and flanked by a fortified village and 
 barracks. The outworks being captured, two eighteen-pounders 
 began to play on the walls. At the end of an hour and a half a 
 breach was made, through which the stormers poured. There 
 was no outlet, and of the two thousand sepoys not one escaped 
 alive. The advance through this chain of fortified posts took 
 several days of hard fighting. On the 16th the generals met. 
 General Campbell at once decided to withdraw from the resi- 
 dency, which for nearly five months had been the scene of such 
 suffering and triumph. On the evening of the 18th the sick and 
 wounded were removed to the new position at the Dil-khooshah, 
 and the next two days the women and children were removed. 
 The path was long and intricate, and crossed at several points 
 by the enemy's fire, but no life was lost. Stores, treasure, 
 supplies, prisoners were all safely carried off, some of the heaviest 
 guns being burst. 'At length, on the night of the 22nd, silently 
 and in perfect order, the last body of Outram's soldiers stepped 
 forth from the lights and fires of the battered entrenchment into 
 the darkness of the long, winding lane that still lay between them 
 and comparative safety. Not a flaw seems to have marred the 
 issue of a movement demanding the highest discipline on the 
 part of the troops, the readiest cooperation among their leaders. 
 Not a man was lost in that momentous night-march through the 
 midst of forty or fifty thousand armed foes.' * Campbell was 
 the last to leave. No, not the last. A luckless officer was for- 
 gotten, and left fast asleep. He awoke in time, and found him- 
 self to his horror alone in the entrenchment. Fortunately he 
 took the right way, and came up breathless and bewildered, with 
 the rearguard. So well was the secret kept, that the enemy 
 fired for hours at the abandoned position. On November 25th 
 
 Capt. Trotter.
 
 246 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Havelock, as good a Christian as lie was a soldier, breathed his 
 last, killed by fatigue, exposure and toil. General Campbell now 
 retired with the bulk of the force to Cawnpore, leaving Outram 
 in the Alumbagh to represent British, authority and await 
 happier days. 
 
 Campbell had not returned to Cawnpore too soon. The rebels 
 were in great strength in the vicinity. The Gwalior Contingent 
 had joined them in full force, and added greatly to their numbers 
 and efficiency. On November 26th General Windham, instead 
 of being content to hold Cawnpore, had moved out with his small 
 force and routed a body of the enemy in advance ; but on coming 
 in presence of the whole army, after sustaining an attack of five 
 hours from overwhelming numbers, decided to withdraw. The 
 usual consequences followed. The next day he was attacked in 
 force. The enemy threatened to surround him and cut him off 
 from Cawnpore. The retreat became a flight, and baggage and 
 stores were lost. The rebels of course were elated at the partial 
 triumph, and hoped for still greater things. The town fell into 
 their hands, and the British entrenchment was bombarded. The 
 cannonade alarmed General Campbell as he was quietly march- 
 ing along, and he hurried forward to Ca\vnpore, where he arrived 
 on the evening of the 28th. After despatching the Lucknow 
 women, children and invalids down the Ganges towards Calcutta, 
 Campbell prepared to attack the enemy, who held the whole town 
 from the river to the Great Trunk Road to Delhi with twenty- 
 five thousand men and forty guns. By December 6th he was 
 perfectly ready. He had to cross a canal in order to reach the 
 enemy, and had only three bridges for the purpose. His plan 
 was to strike heaviest at the enemy's right wing, while detaining 
 the rest by slighter attacks. The result was a complete victory, 
 with a loss of only thirteen killed and eighty-six wounded. The 
 camp, seventeen guns, twenty-five ordnance wagons (all, of course, 
 our property) were captured, and the pursuit was continued four- 
 teen miles. On the 8th, Hope Grant led out a brigade in further 
 pursuit, and the next morning beat up the enemy's encampment 
 twenty-five miles away, at a ford of the Ganges, capturing fifteen 
 guns and fifteen wagons with a loss of one horse killed !
 
 IXJRD CLYDE.
 
 THIRD CAPTURE OF LUCKNOW. 249 
 
 General Campbell made a long 1 pause before the final advance. 
 When he appeared next at Lucknow in March, 1858, it was 
 at the head of the finest British army both in numbers and 
 efficiency that India had ever seen. It numbered twenty-five 
 thousand men, most of them tried and seasoned in a hundred 
 scattered fights during the past six months. The chiefs were 
 such as Outram, Wilson of Delhi, Hope Grant, Hodson, Lugard, 
 Franks, Norman, Mansfield, Robert Napier, each one competent 
 to lead an army. Leaders and men alike might be trusted to dare 
 and do all that is possible to man. The British had about ninety 
 guns against one hundred. Jung Bahadoor himself supported 
 the attack. The enemy too had improved their opportunity, 
 learnt from past experience, and made every position as strong 
 as possible. All their efforts, however, were rendered abortive 
 by a clever device of Campbell, which his strong force enabled 
 him to carry out. This was to attack all the rebel positions 
 from two sides at the same time. In the course of two or three 
 days Napier's engineers bridged the Groomty River with beer- 
 casks, ropes and planks, and Outram passed over with a strong 
 force to take the enemy in the rear and flank. Not till Outram 
 had made a distinct impression, did Campbell address himself to 
 the task of cutting his way through one line of entrenchment after 
 another. The work occupied six days. Outram took the Chakkar 
 Kotie, or Yellow House, the key of the position on that side, and 
 advanced through the Padshah Bagh, or King's Garden, to the 
 rear of the Martiniere College. One of his officers climbed a 
 height and waved on Campbell's stormers on the other side. 
 At the Begum's Palace on the llth the heaviest fighting took 
 place. The pile of buildings had been converted into a perfect 
 fortress, bastioned, loopholed, surrounded with a ditch, and 
 filled with desperate men. After a bombardment of eight or 
 nine hours, Adrian Hope (another Havelock, afterwards slain 
 at the storming of a petty jungle fort) led on the storming 
 party, consisting of the 93rd Highlanders, 4th Punjab Rifles and 
 one thousand Ghoorkas. The palace was soon cleared, five 
 hundred of the enemy being slain. Here the greatest British 
 loss occurred. Major Hodson had accompanied the stormers as
 
 250 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 a volunteer. After the resistance had ceased he was looking 
 over the rambling pile, when a sepoy started from a dark corner 
 and shot him in the groin. He died the same night, bitterly 
 mourned by his native followers, who almost looked on him as 
 a demi-god. Outram from one side, Campbell from the other 
 slowly closed in on the Kaiser Bagh, the royal palace, which at 
 the last moment was feebly defended. The old positions the 
 Mess-house, Tara Kotie, Motie Mahal were thus all taken one 
 by one, and Lucknow again acknowledged British rule. The 
 superb palaces, crowded with Oriental treasures, were very 
 thoroughly plundered by the victorious army and their innumer- 
 able camp followers. On the present occasion two English 
 ladies, Miss Jackson and Mrs. Orr, were rescued from the 
 enemy's hands. The other prisoners, brought in from the coun- 
 try districts, had been murdered in November on Campbell's 
 victorious retirement. The two ladies owed their safety to the 
 fidelity of a native gentleman, who resisted all demands for their 
 surrender. Sir James Outram became commissioner of Oude. 
 
 It is impossible for us to follow out the history of the num- 
 erous expeditions and engagements by means of which the last 
 fires of rebellion were stamped out in Oude. The last rebel 
 force was not dispersed or driven over the frontier into Nepaul 
 before the early months of 1859. 
 
 We have omitted much in this account, but it is impossible 
 to omit all reference to the splendid campaign by which Sir 
 Hugh Rose (Lord Strathnairn) cleared Central India of rebellion 
 in the summer of 1858. Starting from Bombay early in the 
 year, capturing strong places like Rutghur, Garrakotah and 
 Chandari by the way, at the end of March he encamped before 
 Jhansi, where the brave, bloodstained ranee stood at bay with 
 ten thousand mutineers. The fort was exceedingly strong, both 
 by nature and art. On one side a perpendicular precipice made 
 it inaccessible, on the other sides massive granite walls and out- 
 works frowned upon the town, which again was defended by 
 wall, mound and ditch. It was on the fortified mound that the 
 British brought two batteries to bear with such effect that the 
 tire of the town was subdued and a practicable breach made.
 
 CAMPAIGN IN CENTRAL INDIA. 251 
 
 Bat before the delivery of the attack, Sir Hugh was obliged to 
 turn aside to encounter Tantie Topee, who had marched down, 
 with twenty thousand men, from Calpee to the relief of Jhansi. 
 On April 1st he encountered the enemy at the river Betwah. 
 After a long and desperate fight the enemy fled, many perishing 
 in the river, and others taking refuge in a jungle. In their 
 despair they fired the jungle in the hope of checking pursuit. 
 But dragoons and artillery charged through smoke and flame, 
 and inflicted dreadful punishment, on the beaten foe. Eighteen 
 guns were taken, and one thousand five hundred of the enemy 
 slain. 
 
 On the 3rd and 4th the town was stormed and cleared of the 
 enemy, Brigadier Stuart leading the way. At least half the 
 ranee's force, i.e., five thousand, was destroyed. The English 
 general had placed his cavalry all round the city, so as to inter- 
 cept the fugitives. The siege of the citadel would have been a 
 far more difficult task ; but the English were spared this by the 
 flight of the ranee, who in the night managed to creep through 
 the encircling lines with a few hundred followers, and got clear 
 away in spite of pursuers. The hot season was exceptionally 
 severe, and the British.troops lost more from this cause than from 
 the enemy. Scudamore's cavalry did not undress for seventeen 
 days. General Rose himself had five sun-strokes in a few days. 
 One weak wing of a regiment lost twelve men in this way. 
 
 After a month's sorely needed rest Sir Hugh advanced to 
 the attack of Calpee. With a view to cover this town Tantie 
 Topee took up a strong position among gardens and woods near 
 the town of Kooneh. The Jhansi ranee was with him, at the 
 head of her horsemen. General Rose reached the point on May 
 7th, and, although one of his brigades had marched fourteen 
 miles, prepared to attack at once. Pouring a heavy fire on the 
 strong works on the enemy's left, he sent against the other wing 
 dragoons and horse-artillery supported by infantry. The right 
 wing was carried, and the strong works on the left, being turned, 
 had to be abandoned. Tantie Topee was among the first to seek 
 safety in flight. His troops at first showed their British train- 
 ing by observing order even in retreat ; but, pressed unceasingly
 
 252 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 by alternate artillery volleys and cavalry charges, they soon 
 broke into disorderly flight. The pursuit lasted eight miles, 
 till the pursuers were dead beaten by the heat of a fierce Indian 
 afternoon, and could keep up no longer. The thermometer 
 registered 130 in the shade. The remnant of one mutinous 
 regiment, the 52nd, was almost annihilated. 
 
 On May 16th the British reached Golowly on the Jumna, 
 fi ve miles from Calpee. Tan tie Topee had received some rein- 
 forcements and took heart for a fresh stand. Calpee was in 
 every respect as strong as Jhansi. But British forces were 
 advancing from the north, and the enemy determined to attack 
 General Rose before they could arrive. On the 20th an attempt 
 was made on the British flank, and failed. On the 22nd a more 
 desperate struggle took place. The sepoys had maddened them- 
 selves with bang, and fought with the utmost fury. But the 
 Rifle Brigade and the 88th Foot bore them back, and Lightfoot's 
 guns and Major Gall's dragoons completed the rout. At day- 
 break the next morning, without giving the enemy time to 
 recover from the defeat, Sir Hugh attacked the town, and by 
 two o'clock Calpee was ours, with all its vast munitions of war, 
 arsenal, and cannon foundries. 
 
 Here the campaign should have ended, but an unexpected 
 task emerged. Tantie Topee's troops, instead of making for 
 Oude, marched on Gwalior, and raised Scindia's remaining 
 forces in mutiny. The raja fled to Agra, a new ruler was set 
 up, and the city with all its treasures fell into the hands of 
 seventeen or eighteen thousand armed rebels. After nine 
 days' marching Sir Hugh Rose reached the Morar cantonments 
 near the city, and by a swift attack drove the rebels posted there 
 in headlong flight upon the city. The far-famed town of 
 Gwalior, with its forts and defences, was much stronger than 
 either Jhansi or Calpee. In a conflict on June 18th the ranee 
 of Jhansi, fighting in a man's garb, was slain as she fled from 
 pursuit by British hussars. On the 19th an attack in force was 
 made on the Lashkar Fort, covering the city on the south. Soon 
 the fort and city were in British hands, all save the renowned 
 citadel on its rocky perch of three hundred feet. Next day,
 
 END OF THE COMPANY. 253 
 
 this fortress, in which only a score of soldiers remained, surren- 
 dered to a handful of sepoys. Robert Napier, who was sent with 
 a small pursuing force to scatter the last remnant of the retreat- 
 ing foe, perfectly succeeded in his task, driving the enemy 
 into pell-mell flight and taking twenty-five out of thirty guns. 
 This was the last serious battle, both in the Gwalior campaign 
 and in the mutiny. General Rose's career had been one un- 
 broken series of rapid, brilliant victories. In five months he 
 tad marched more than a thousand miles through a difficult 
 country, taken strong fortresses and defeated armies far out- 
 numbering his own. The blows were as swift as they were 
 heavy. If Delhi was a marvel of daring, and Lucknow of en- 
 durance, General Rose's campaign was equally a marvel of 
 resistless energy. 
 
 We may note the fate of the chief rebel leadei's. Tantie 
 Topee, the ablest of the native chiefs, was tried by court-martial 
 for his share in the Cawnpore massacre, and hanged on April 18th, 
 1859, at Seeprie. Bahadoor Khan, of Bareilly, was shot on the 
 scene of his crimes. On May 3rd, 1860, Jowala Parsad, another 
 of the N ana's officers, was hanged on the spot where he had 
 directed the firing upon the boats at Cawnpore. The two worst 
 criminals, the Nana and his tool or instigator, Azimoollah Khan, 
 died in 1859 in Nepaul, where also another bitter enemy of the 
 British, the Begum of Oude, spent the rest of her days. 
 
 The greatest among the results of the mutiny was the com- 
 plete transference of the government of India from the famous 
 company to the Crown. One advantage at least of this measure 
 is that Indian affairs are discussed in Parliament in presence of 
 the whole nation. There can be no doubt that since the mutiny 
 the English' people have taken a far livelier interest in their 
 great dependency. India is better known, and the two peoples 
 have been drawn together in closer bonds of mutual respect and 
 sympathy. Lord Canning punished Oude for its rebellion by 
 confiscating all the soil, a measure which was modified, at Sir 
 James Outram's intercession, in favour of those who helped in 
 the restoration of order. The company's European troops mur- 
 mured against being transferred to the Crown without their con-
 
 254 
 
 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 sent being asked or acknowledged. The government undoubt- 
 edly showed a want of consideration for brave men, who had 
 deserved well of their country. Most of the troops concerned 
 elected to take their discharge, whereas they might have been 
 kept by a little timely generosity. 
 
 In March, 1862, Lord Canning left India, and died in London 
 in June of the next year, a victim to unprecedented anxieties 
 and toils. Very different opinions have been expressed as to 
 his character. There was probably a want of grasp and decision 
 at the outbreak of the rebellion, and occasional indecision 
 throughout. A man of the Dalhousie type would have crushed 
 the danger sooner. But it would be unjust to complain that 
 Lord Canning was not a Dalhousie or Lawrence. On one 
 ground he deserves all honour, and that the ground of his chief 
 condemnation ; namely, the immoveable firmness with which he 
 resisted the cry for an indiscriminate vengeance unworthy of a 
 Christian nation. At one time he was the most unpopular man 
 in India. His name became a by-word for effeminacy. But 
 results have justified the course which he took. Punishment 
 severe enough was meted out to the guilty. We should be glad 
 to be able to believe that the innocent were never involved 
 in it. 
 
 MOSQUE IN CAWNPOKE.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HISTORY OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN INDIA. 
 
 S the methods and results of missionary labour 
 largely depend upon the general character arid 
 circumstances of the people, a few remarks on 
 this subject may not here be out of place.* 
 With respect to the vernacular languages of India, 
 it is to be observed that most of them are altogether 
 independent of Sanscrit in their origin and structure. Sanscrit 
 is strictly the language of the Brahmins, was introduced and 
 has been exclusively cultivated by them. Whether it was ever 
 spoken in India is unknown. The Brahmins are fond of re- 
 presenting Sanscrit as the parent, not only of all Indian lan- 
 guages, but of all the languages of the world, and support their 
 position by words resembling each other in sound, but connected 
 in no other way. In point of fact, the Indian vernaculars are 
 purely indigenous. As might be expected, those spoken in the 
 north, where the Brahmins, entering by the north-west, first 
 settled, have the largest infusion of Sanscrit ; but even in these the 
 substance and structure differ fundamentally from Sanscrit, and 
 in the south the Sanscrit element is much less. Here the influence 
 of Sanscrit is far less than that of Latin on English. There are 
 even translations of the great Sanscrit epics in the purest ver- 
 nacular. In the villages a Sanscritized vernacular would be 
 unintelligible. Dr. Caldwell in his Comparative Dravidian Gram- 
 mar shows that the vernaculars belong, not to the Aryan, but to 
 
 One of the best compends on the subject of Hindu life in general 
 is The Land of the Veda, by the Rev. P. Percival (London, G. Bell, 
 1854), now unfortunately out of print, but sometimes to be met with. 
 On Hindu philosophy and literature, Williams's Indian Wisdom is full 
 and trustworthy. 
 
 8
 
 258 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 the Turanian family. Some of the distinctive features of this 
 family, present in the Indian vernaculars, are the following : all 
 nouns denoting inanimate objects and irrational beings are 
 neuter ; postpositions are used instead of prepositions ; the 
 governing word in the sentence invariably follows the governed ; 
 continuative participles are preferred to conjunctions ; the verb 
 has a negative as well as an affirmative form ; there are no re- 
 lative pronouns, their place being supplied by relative participles. 
 It is remarkable that there should be a closer affinity between 
 Sanscrit and English than between the former and the tongues 
 now spoken by the Brahmins themselves in daily life. A 
 few examples may be interesting. The English father, mother, 
 daughter come directly from the Sanscrit pitru, mdtru, duhitru ; 
 whereas the Canarese (one of the five Dravidian tongues) is 
 tande, taye, magalu. The connection between numerals like two, 
 three, seven, and the Sanscrit dwiti, triti, sapta is obvious to the 
 eye, whereas the Canarese has yeradu, muru, yelu. 
 
 Sanscrit literature is remarkable for its extent, richness and 
 antiquity. It covers the entire field of mental activity. The 
 most ancient portion consists of the four sacred Vedas, which 
 are generally placed somewhere between 2,000 and 1,000 B.C. 
 These books are objects of extraordinary veneration to the 
 Hindus. But it would be a mistake to suppose that they exert 
 any practical influence, save in the most remote way, on Hindu 
 life. Beyond their names little is known of them in India. It 
 must be remembered that an intelligent acquaintance even with 
 what may be called modern classical Sanscrit is by no means a 
 common acquirement among Brahmins ; and the Sanscrit of 
 the Vedas differs far more from classical Sanscrit than the Eng- 
 lish of Chaucer does from that of Addison and Pope. Again, 
 the teaching of the Vedas represents a phase of opinion and 
 faith which India left behind many long ages ago. The Vedic 
 religion is nature- worship. It knows nothing whatever of the 
 multifarious deities and incarnations of modern Hinduism. The 
 Vedantists, who profess a desire to return to the simplicity of 
 the Vedic faith, represent the latter as a system of philosophical 
 theism ; but to do this is simply to read their own ideas into
 
 INDIAN LITERATURE. 259 
 
 tlie Vedic writings. Philosophical theism, or rather pantheism, 
 is the doctrine of the Vedantist philosophy, which is a much 
 later development of Vedic teaching. In India at present ' the 
 Veda ' is little more than a name to conjure by. 
 
 In reality, the authoritative religious books which sway the 
 religious life of the masses are neither the Vedas nor the Pura- 
 nas mythological works far more recent, but the great epic 
 poems, the Maha Bharata and Ramayana, as these are read in 
 whole or part, known through translations, or rendered into 
 popular song, story and drama. These wonderful creations of 
 poetical genius perfect forests of legend and myth, in which 
 Eastern imagination has run riot have for ages shaped popular 
 religious faith in India. The Bamayana especially, the story of 
 Vishnu's incarnation in the form of the hero Bama, has taken 
 a deep hold on the popular imagination, has been reproduced in 
 numberless forms, and may be regarded as the gospel of the 
 Hindus. The higher religious thought of the nation finds 
 perfect expression in the Bhagavad-geeta, an extract from the 
 Maha Bharata, which teaches the purest pantheism in the smooth- 
 est verse. Of the mere literary works, this is not the place to 
 speak. It may be mentioned, however, that the drama of Sha- 
 kuntala is beautiful, even in a foreign dress, and in its original 
 form is perfect in grace and delicacy. 
 
 The philosophical systems of India remind us of the specu- 
 lations of ancient Greece, only that they are elaborated and com- 
 mented on with far greater fulness and precision. They are 
 three in number, known as the Nyaya by Grotama, the Sankhya 
 by Kapila, and the Meemamsa by Jaimini. Each of these has 
 been further developed into a supplement, the Vaisheshika of 
 Kanada, the Yoga of Patanjali and the Vedanta of Vyasa. In 
 the case of the first and third, the supplement is the most per- 
 fect expression of the system. The Nyaya is analytic, the 
 Sankhya synthetic, the Vedanta pantheistic. The seven Cate- 
 gories of the Vaisheshika, under which all existences are in- 
 cluded, remind us of the Aristotelian Categories. The same 
 system teaches the atomic theory familiar to us in connection 
 with the names of Democritus and Lucretius. Certain ideas, 
 
 s2
 
 260 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 such as the eternity of soul and matter, the inherent evil of 
 separate individual existence, and the necessity of absolute eman- 
 cipation by absorption into the great All, are common to all the 
 systems. A full exposition would require too much space. 
 
 The most prominent feature of Hindu society is caste, 
 which, according to Brahminical ideas, is the distinctive mark of 
 Hindu blood. No one outside the sacred lines is acknowledged 
 as a Hindu proper. The second and third castes, those of 
 the Kshati'iyas and Vaishyas, being now virtually extinct, Brah- 
 mins and Shudras divide between them all Hindu society. The 
 ideal of the Brahmin order is that of an aristocracy of culture 
 and holiness, independent of the accidents of wealth and social 
 position. How little the facts correspond with the ideal, ex- 
 perience shows. It is useless to deny that the Brahmins are 
 superior in many respects to the other classes. This is simply 
 the result of the exclusive possession for ages of all social and 
 intellectual privileges. A Brahmin regards himself as the per- 
 fect flower of human life. ' All the universe is subject to the 
 gods, the gods are influenced by incantations, incantations are 
 in the keeping of the Brahmins, the Brahmins therefore are 
 our gods,' is the common Hindu's creed. Roman Catholic mis- 
 sionaries and others represent caste as an innocent social dis- 
 tinction. Such is not the Hindu view. The proof is found in 
 the fact that all transition from one caste to another is impos- 
 sible, the orders being separated by impassable barriers. There 
 is no rising from a lower caste to a higher, no falling from a 
 higher to a lower. By eating and drinking with persons outside 
 his own caste a Hindu simply loses caste altogether. The 
 general effects of a system which restricts social intercourse, 
 marriage and business occupations within the narrow limits of 
 hereditary lines need not here be described. The way in which 
 caste has acted as the most formidable obstacle to the spread 
 of Christianity is by the intense unity and cohesion given to the 
 Hindu nation and the terrible social penalties inflicted on all 
 who withdraw from its authority. The converts hitherto made 
 from the ranks of caste are comparatively few. The majority 
 of the native Christians are drawn from classes whom the Brah-
 
 BEGINNING OF MODERN MISSIONS. 261 
 
 rnin regards with ineffable contempt and scorn. Bat under the 
 pressure of British and Christian influences of all kinds, the 
 power of caste is fast passing away, its bonds are in course of 
 dissolution, and society is being placed on new foundations and 
 taking new shapes. The greatest hindrance to the success of 
 Christianity in India is thus being removed. 
 
 To Denmark belongs the honour of having founded modern 
 Protestant Missions in India.* The first missionaries were 
 Ziegenbalg and Plutschau, who landed at Tranquebar in 1705, 
 and who worthily head the roll of Indian missionaries. They 
 were gifted, bold, full of sustained enthusiasm. The king and 
 royal family of Denmark manifested the deepest interest in the 
 prosperity of the mission, but their sympathy was not shared by 
 the local authorities, who did all in their power to annoy and 
 thwart the newly-arrived missionaries. By 1711, Ziegenbalg 
 had translated the whole of the New Testament into Tamil, and 
 at the time of his death, in 1719, the Old Testament as far 
 as Ruth. In the course of a visit to Europe he succeeded 
 in interesting George I. of England and many of the chief 
 persons in Church and State in his mission. The Propagation 
 Society and Christian Knowledge Society gave him substantial 
 help. Ziegenbalg's work was continued by men of like spirit 
 and gifts, such as Grundler and Schultze, the latter of whom, 
 completed the translation of the Scriptures in 1725. The same 
 missionaries broke ground in Madras in 1726, and ten years 
 afterwards the converts there numbered four hundred and fifteen. 
 Branch societies were also formed in Negapatam, Sadras, Fort 
 St. David, Cuddalore and Pulicat. 
 
 In 1750, the greatest of all the Danish missionaries, and 
 perhaps of all Indian missionaries, arrived in India Schwartz, 
 who from this time laboured forty-eight years without a break, 
 acquiring an influence and witnessing results which have rarely 
 bsen equalled and never exceeded in the history of Christian 
 Missions. English and natives, even implacable enemies of the 
 
 For the material of the following account, the writer is indehted 
 to Sherrin^'s History of Protestant Missions in India, Triibner, 1875.
 
 262 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 English like Hyder AH, reposed in him the most absolute con- 
 fidence. Without mixing himself up in political affairs, he was 
 able to render the greatest services to government and people 
 alike. The Raja of Tanjore looked on him as a father. No 
 more perfect example of unselfish devotion to the good of others 
 can be named. Xavier is often quoted as a peerless example 
 of Christian zeal. But Schwartz equalled Xavier in his best 
 qualities, and had other gifts which the great Roman mission- 
 ary lacked. To the zeal and enthusiasm of an apostle he united 
 a wisdom and sagacity which any statesman might have envied. 
 He deserved, if any man does, the title of ' Apostle of India.' 
 
 The Danish Mission was successful in a numerical point of 
 view far beyond the average of Indian missions. As the result 
 of fifty years' labour, no fewer than fifty thousand converts 
 were made. Yet, strange to say, this prosperity has not been 
 enduring. Scarcely anything remains of these early missions. 
 The decline seems owing chiefly to two causes, the neglect to 
 train and organize a native ministry, and the toleration of caste 
 within the Church. The last cause alone is enough to explain 
 the decline. The early missionaries, few in number, without 
 advice from others, perhaps shrank from declaring open war 
 against a system so ancient and universal as caste ; but in the end 
 nothing was gained by treating it as a friend. The only result 
 was to bequeath a legacy of evil to their successors, who had 
 to do battle with the evil in an aggravated form and at greater 
 disadvantage. Eventually the remnants of the Danish Mission 
 passed into the hands of the Propagation Society. In modern 
 days the Leipsig Lutheran Mission, which in 1841 established 
 itself in the same district, is the only one that has adopted the 
 same fatal policy with respect to caste. By this means, and by 
 its open proselytizing, it has isolated itself from the sympathy 
 of all other missionary bodies. 
 
 Missions in North India also were commenced by a Dane, 
 Kiernander, who, on being driven from Cuddalore in 1758 by 
 the French capture of the place, went to Calcutta, and laboured 
 there many years with much devotion and success. But mis- 
 sionaries in North India, and indeed in India generally, will
 
 DANISH MISSIONS. 263 
 
 always look back to Carey as their leader, as having begun work 
 on a large scale and with permanent results. He reached Cal- 
 cutta in 1793, and played there much the same part as Schwartz 
 in the south. His career was nearly as long, his character as 
 high and spotless, his personal influence one of the most es- 
 sential factors in Indian missionary work as commanding, 
 while the breadth of his plans, his learning, and the enduring 
 results of his work were far greater. If not by Danish hands, 
 it was on Danish soil, that the first permanent mission-work was 
 done. Forbidden a home on English territory, Carey and his 
 two noble helpers, Marshman and Ward, settled at Serampore 
 under the Danish flag. But for this timely hospitality, the period 
 of India's redemption must have been postponed still longer. 
 The great honour of the Baptist missionaries is that they 
 entered India before the door was legally opened, which was 
 not till 1814. Over against the hostility of the government 
 must be set the sympathy and effective help of private officials 
 like Mr. Udny and Charles Grant, and chaplains like David 
 Brown, Claudius Buchanan, Henry Martyn, Thomason and 
 Corrie. The missionary zeal of Henry Martyn has sometimes 
 been disparaged because of his official position and salary ; but 
 surely all the greater merit is due to him for labours which 
 were outside the line of strict duty. The most essential quali- 
 fication of an Indian missionary is self -forgetting, burning zeal, 
 like Martyn's. 
 
 The London Mission Society and the Church Missionary 
 Society commenced work in Calcutta in 1816. Both societies, 
 here as elsewhere, are distinguished for the pi'ominence they 
 wisely give to educational work. The Baptists everywhere pay 
 less attention to education, and give themselves almost wholly 
 to the work of direct evangelization. No absolute rule can be 
 laid down as to the methods to be pursued. Much depends on 
 local peculiarities, and still more on the skill, patience and 
 energy of the labourers. Every kind of agency is in operation 
 in the Indian mission-field, and every kind is successful some- 
 where. The capital city has naturally taken the lead in educa- 
 tional operations and in auxiliary philanthropic institutions of
 
 264 OUR INDIAN UMPIRE. 
 
 all kinds. ' The School-book Society ' and ' Calcutta School 
 Society ' ha.ve done excellent service. Here also began the 
 system of female education, which has since grown to such 
 large dimensions, and is working the greatest changes in native 
 society. English ladies, with the wives of Governors-general at 
 their head, have always manifested the deepest interest in this 
 movement. But the greatest change of all was that which made 
 the English language the vehicle of higher education in India. 
 The change was brought about mainly through the advocacy of 
 Dr. Duff, who arrived in Calcutta in 1830, and who ranks in the 
 length of his course and in missionary zeal and ability second only 
 to Schwartz and Carey. The effects of the substitution through- 
 out India of English for Sanscrit in collegiate and university 
 education, and of the introduction in this way of the millions of 
 Hindu youth to the broad fields of English literature, are simply 
 incalculable. In this peculiar department of labour the Scotch 
 Churches have led the way in all the three Presidency cities, 
 where their institutions are the first in size and efficiency. Dr. 
 Duff's institution in Calcutta began in 1830 with five pupils, 
 and in nine years they numbered eight hundred. The eagerness 
 of the Hindu youth belonging to the higher classes for a know- 
 ledge of English is extreme, and in this circumstance the Church 
 sees a rare opportunity for communicating a knowledge of Chris- 
 tianity to classes who are reached with difficulty in any other 
 way. Nothing destroys Hindu superstition more effectually 
 than instruction in western literature and science. With all the 
 educational activity of which Calcutta is the centre, the public 
 preaching of the Gospel has not been overlooked. One of the 
 best vernacular preachers India has ever seen was the Rev. A. 
 Lacroix, of the London Society, who laboured in Calcutta through 
 a long term of years. His eloquence and effective delivery always 
 secured a good audience in the streets ; but it would be a mis- 
 take to suppose that public preaching in India has been more 
 fruitful in direct conversions among caste Hindus than school- 
 teaching. 
 
 The rest of Bengal is covered by the missionary agencies of 
 various Churches. In Chittagong, Barisal and Dacca, to the
 
 BENGAL MISSIONS. 265 
 
 east of Calcutta, the Baptists have had important missions since 
 the beginning of the century. The Church Mission has found 
 a peculiarly fruitful field in Burdwan to the west and Krish- 
 nagar to the north. Forty years ago, the latter mission ex- 
 perienced one of those spring-tides of religious influence to 
 which Eastern peoples, usually so apathetic, seem liable. Hun- 
 dreds came forward at once to receive baptism. A subsidence 
 of feeling followed which lasted a long time, but of late there 
 seems to have been a revival. The Krishnagar mission com- 
 prises four thousand eight hundred and seventy converts. In 
 the district of Rajshye the English Presbyterians have a small 
 but prosperous station under the Rev. Behari Lai Singh. 
 Different societies are at work among the hill-tribes in the far 
 north. 
 
 In Orissa, to the south of Bengal, the chief missions are 
 Baptist, English and American. All the chief towns are central 
 mission stations Poree, near the great temple of Jagannath, 
 Cuttack, Balasore, Midnapore, and Santipore. Among the 
 Santals in the north of the province an industrial school and 
 farm are in operation. Of the missionary in charge, the magis- 
 trate says : ' Mr. Phillips is quite a little chief in those parts. 
 The people come to him on all occasions for advice and assist- 
 ance ; and his farming operations, assisted by the anicut he 
 has constructed, and the canal leading from it, are gradually 
 converting the wild forest country into a fertile agricultural 
 tract.' The great province of Behar, to the west of Calcutta, is 
 occupied by the Baptist, Church, Propagation and Gossner Mis- 
 sions. The following are some of the statistics for Bengal in 
 1871: 
 
 Protestant Native Christians 46,968 
 
 Increase in Ten Years ...... 26,450 
 
 Native Communicants ...... 13,502 
 
 Increase in Ten Years 8,783 
 
 Ordained Native Ministers 35 
 
 Unordained 398 
 
 Pupils in 693 Colleges and Schools .... 27,950 
 
 Native Christian Teachers . . . 548
 
 266 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 Between Behar and Orissa live the Kols and Santals, ab- 
 original hill tribes, on the same intellectual and moral level as 
 the South Sea islanders. Among them Christianity has had to 
 encounter the common vices of savage tribes, but not the artificial 
 obstacles raised by Brahminical superstition and caste. The 
 Gospel was first taken to the Kols in 1846 by six missionaries of 
 the Gossner Society of Berlin, four of whom soon fell victims to 
 zeal untempered by prudence. In 1850, eleven converts were 
 received, and year by year the number increased. Despite per- 
 secution by unbelievers and the severe sifting of the mutiny, 
 the baptized Christians in 1863 numbered three thousand four 
 hundred, and the communicants seven hundred and ninety. 
 The religious services among these simple children of the hills 
 are models of reverence and devotion. Bishop Cotton, after 
 being present at one of them, was asked what he thought of it. 
 After pausing a moment, he replied with quivering lip, ' Sub- 
 lime ! the only word to describe it.' Owing to disputes with 
 the Berlin Committee, half of the missionaries joined the Propa- 
 gation Society. Both missions are now prosperous, and the 
 missionaries of both societies have joined in translating the 
 Scriptures. The number of native Christians in 1871 was twenty 
 thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven ; communicants, six 
 thousand two hundred and thirty-three ; native ministers, one 
 hundred and five; scholars, one thousand two hundred and 
 ninety-seven. 
 
 Among the Santals four missions are at work. One of them, 
 known as the Indian Home Mission, under the guidance of the 
 E/ev. Messrs. Skrefsrud and Boerresen, is conducted on a novel 
 plan. Mr. Skrefsrud says : ' We have no native preachers, and 
 do not believe in them. We have a preaching Church. All the 
 Christians are preachers. They preach without pay, and with- 
 out being told to preach. One single man has thus brought 
 five villages to Christ. Last year eight Christian villages were 
 formed by the native Christians, not by us. The most suitable 
 convert in a village is made pastor. They support their own 
 pastor. Their pastor is a ploughing pastor. Morning, noon and 
 evening he prays with his people, and ploughs his land in the
 
 CHAINS OF MISSIONS. 267 
 
 intervals. They pray for certain villages ; then go to them and 
 speak to the inhabitants ; and then pray again. The Gospel 
 is preached to a small circle, accompanied with much prayer 
 on its behalf. The result is, that nearly all the persons within 
 the circle become Christians. They have no endowments, but 
 the pastor gets the piece of land which formerly heathen priests 
 received.' 
 
 In the north-west provinces between Bengal and the Punjab 
 stretch three chains of missions, those of the Church Society, 
 American Presbyterian and American Methodist, in addition to 
 some smaller missions. The Church Society alone has in these 
 districts a staff of forty-five native preachers, seventy-one educa- 
 tional institutions, four thousand four hundred and seventy- 
 seven pupils, and three thousand four hundred and eighty con- 
 verts. St. John's College at Agra is a most complete and 
 efficient establishment. The Presbyterian stations run in a 
 continuous line from Allahabad to Rawul Pindi in the Punjao. 
 Besides a theological college, the mission has five ladies who 
 devote their time to zenana visitation in Allahabad. In the 
 charming valley of Dehra Doon it has established a boarding- 
 school, in which the best education possible is given to Christian 
 girls. The missions of the American Episcopal Methodists in 
 Oude and Rohilkhund were established by Dr. Butler just before 
 the mutiny. Like all the American missions in India, these are 
 marked by great completeness, and pushed forward with the 
 utmost energy. The Sunday-school has been established with 
 signal success. 
 
 Benares, the holy city of India, is an important and difficult 
 field of labour. The Baptist missionary, William Smith, worked 
 here forty years, acquiring universal confidence and respect. 
 As in Ephesus of old, the population of Benares is easily 
 excited ; but Mr. Smith passed in safety where no magistrate 
 would venture. Singularly enough, another William Smith, of 
 the Church Mission, laboured in the same place contemporan- 
 eously a like term of years, and occupied a similar position in 
 popular esteem. The Rev. C. B. Leupolt of the same mission is 
 another fine example of the life-long consecration which Indian
 
 268 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 missions need. The Church Mission possesses here the Jay 
 Narain College which educates six hundred and fifty students 
 as well as girls' schools, orphanage, normal institution, Christian 
 village and lace manufactory. The Revs. Messrs. Buyers and 
 Shurman have given their lives to the service of the London 
 Mission in the same city. At Mirzapore, Dr. R. C. Mather 
 founded a London Mission station in 1838, and has lived to see 
 schools, orphanage, press and Churches grow to maturity around 
 him. In 1871 the numbers in these districts stood thus : 
 
 Native Christians 8,039 
 
 Increase in Ten Years 4,097 
 
 Communicants ....... 3,031 
 
 Ordained Native Ministers ..... 19 
 
 Unordained Native Ministers . . . . 185 
 
 Pupils in 344 Schools, etc. ... . 17,265 
 
 Christian Teachers 328 
 
 In 1865, the London Missionary Society began a mission 
 among the hill-tribes of Singrowlee, one hundred miles south of 
 Mirzapore. The missionary, the Rev. W. Jones, lived an apostolic 
 life, and thoroughly won the confidence of the people. ' Full of 
 earnestness and love, he sacrificed health and comfort in his pri- 
 vations and toils, and died in the midst of his usefulness, and in 
 the maturity of his powers, singing in his delirium the old Welsh 
 hymns which his mother had taught him in his childhood.' 
 
 Imperial Delhi belongs politically, though not geographically, 
 to the Punjab. Missionaries and missions, Baptist and Propa- 
 gation, were alike blotted out by the mutiny, but they have been 
 re-established in new vigour. The Propagation Society devotes 
 seven ladies to zenana visitation. These have eight hundred 
 and forty pupils. One of the seven is a medical missionary 
 among women. The Medical Mission has charge of nine thousand 
 cases annually. Medical missions might be multiplied indefinitely, 
 and would prove a most efficient agency. The Delhi Female 
 Medical Mission was the first of the kind, and is excellent in idea. 
 
 In the Punjab proper eight societies have their home. As 
 has been mentioned before, Dhuleep Sing, who but for British 
 occupation would now be ruler of the Punjab, is a Christian.
 
 PUNJAB AND CENTRAL INDIA. 269 
 
 In 1874, a prince of the state of Kupurfchala received baptism 
 at the hands of a native Presbyterian minister. The Church 
 Divinity School at Lahore, tinder the direction of Rev. T. V. 
 (now Bishop) French, deserves special notice. Mr. French 
 trains his students on a principle new to us, but familiar enough 
 in the East, that of close personal association between master and 
 disciple. In taking this course he has the warrant of the high- 
 est example. At Peshawur, at the mouth of the Khyber, a 
 strong mission is actively at work among the Afghans. The 
 key to the Afghan heart is hospitality. ' A missionary to the 
 Afghans should be careful to observe the apostolic rule, and be 
 " given to hospitality." ' In order to this, it has been the custom 
 of the Peshawur missionaries to keep up guest-houses for the 
 reception and entertainment of Afghan visitors.' The number 
 of native Christians in the Punjab is one thousand eight hundred 
 and seventy ; native ministers, fourteen ; scholars, ten thousand 
 five hundred and forty-seven. 
 
 A vast field invites missionary enterprise in Central India, 
 which until recently has been greatly neglected. In this terri- 
 tory, as extensive as Great Britain, France and Spain together, 
 the missions are few and recent. The only mission in the 
 ancient Hindu states of Rajpootana is that of the United Pres- 
 byterians, which began in 1860, and counts four hundred and 
 ninety-four converts in towns bearing such famous names as 
 Ajmir, Jeypore, Nasirabad. They also report sixty-seven 
 schools, two thousand three hundred and twenty pupils, twenty- 
 two native preachers and teachers. Medical work has been a 
 strong point in the mission, one-half of the staff being medical 
 missionaries. In Scindia's and Holkar's territories the only 
 station is one belonging to the Church of England. The Scotch 
 Free Church Mission at Nagpore, begun in 1844, is the oldest in 
 the central provinces. Its founder, the Rev. T. Hislop, bade fair 
 to equal his countrymen, Duff and Wilson, in extent of personal 
 influence, interesting himself in all matters bearing on the eleva- 
 tion of the people, when he was drowned. Mr. Hislop came into 
 conflict with the raja over the baptism of a young casteman. 
 The youth sought protection at the hands of the missionary.
 
 270 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 His surrender was demanded by the raja, and enforced by the 
 Resident. He was imprisoned, and the Governor-general refused 
 to interfere. But public indignation was roused to such an 
 extent throughout India that he was released after three months' 
 captivity. The Church Mission at Jubbulpore is of a very com- 
 plete order. ' It has its native preachers ministering to the 
 people in the streets of the city and surrounding villages. It 
 has its orphanages for boys and girls. It has charge of as 
 many as ten schools, in which about eight hundred children of 
 both sexes are instructed.' The Free Church Mission at Jalna 
 was begun in 1855, and then abandoned. Work was resumed 
 under the oversight of the Rev. Narayan Sheshadri, and the 
 progress since has been rapid. In 1871 there were three hun- 
 dred arid ninety-three Christians, one hundred and ninety-four 
 of whom were communicants. The Christians are rendered 
 independent by the possession of land granted for their use by 
 Sir Salar Jung. Six hundred and fifty acres were granted rent- 
 free for twenty-five years. Of this amount two hundred and 
 fifty have been already brought under cultivation, and the 
 village of Bethel is fully equipped with wells, church, manse, 
 schools, roads, the houses being built on a uniform plan, with 
 gardens before and behind. The number of Christians in 
 Central India is two thousand five hundred and nine ; native 
 ministers, six ; scholars, six thousand one hundred and thirty. 
 It is truly said that the vast territories of Berar, the Gonds, 
 Holkar and Scindia and the Nizam, are ' scarcely touched by 
 Christianity.' In many respects the centre would be far more 
 interesting soil than the coast, where missions are most thickly 
 strewn. Hinduism and the people in the former case have been 
 less modified in character by foreign contact, and it is not at 
 all improbable that success would be more rapid. 
 
 The first mission established in Bombay was that of the 
 American Board in 1813. The circumstances were singular. 
 Two missionaries, Messrs. Nott and Hall, ordered by govern- 
 ment to leave Calcutta, fled to Bombay. A similar order fol- 
 lowed them there ; but the governor, Sir Evan Nepean, a 
 thoroughly Christian man, interceded for them, and obtained
 
 OMB AY. 271 
 
 leave for them to remain. They were honoured to be the first 
 to preach and translate the Gospel of peace in the tongue of the 
 warlike Mahrattas. The same society has also a mission at 
 Ahrnednagar. The Church Society began work in Bombay in 
 1820. Here, at the old Mahratta capital of Poona and at Nasik, 
 its missions are very complete. At the latter place the Chris- 
 tians, who number five hundred, manage an industrial establish- 
 ment and have a separate village. 
 
 The mission of the Scotch Church in Bombay began in 1828. 
 In the following year, Dr. John Wilson arrived, and by a long 
 life, devoted to the highest objects and inspired by the purest 
 love, made himself a name equal to that of Duff. Wilson was 
 less absorbed than the latter in English work. His thorough 
 mastery of native learning and thought, his high character and 
 long course of labour, gave him an influence such as none else 
 ever wielded in the western Presidency. Dr. Murray Mitchell, 
 as an educationist, and Robert Nesbit as a popular missionary, 
 rank high among their brethren. Wo missionaries have ex- 
 celled, and few have equalled, those of the Scotch Free Church 
 in commanding influence among the people. When Mr. Nesbit 
 was cut off by cholera in 1855, natives of all classes wept like 
 children at his funeral. At Bombay, as at the other capitals, 
 the Christian press and the Bible Society are powerful mission- 
 ary auxiliaries. The Parsees are numerous and influential in 
 the west. The baptism of the first Parsee youths in 1839, by 
 Dr. Wilson, gave rise to immense excitement. The Parsee com- 
 munity was wild with rage, tried the law and every means short 
 of actual violence to recover the converts, but in vain. To the 
 north-west of Bombay the Irish Presbyterians have five stations 
 in Guzerat, and the Church Society two in Scinde. In the south 
 of the Bombay Presidency six societies are at work on twelve 
 stations. The following are the figures for the Bombay Presi- 
 dency in 1871 : 
 
 Native Christians 4,177 
 
 Increase in Ten Years 1,646 
 
 Native Ministers ...... 20 
 
 Pupils in 132 Schools, etc. . . 7,184
 
 272 OTJR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 The central portion of the western coast, including Canara 
 and Malabar, is given up to the German missions of the Basle 
 Society, which has also five stations in the south Mahratta 
 country, and two in the hill country of Coorg. The languages 
 used are the Canarese, Tulu, and Malayalim. The two chief 
 stations on the Malabar coast are Mangalore and Calicut. The 
 German missionaries are especially apt in the promotion of 
 industrial training, in which they display the union of specula- 
 tiveness with practical skill which characterizes their nation. 
 At Mangalore a boarding school, the manufacture of sugar from 
 cocoa-nut juice, coffee-planting, watch and clock-making, a 
 smith's shop, have all been tried and abandoned. The manufac- 
 ture of clocks and watches among a people who know nothing 
 of artificial time-keepers was a singular enterprise. Printing 
 and bookbinding, weaving, farming, silk-growing, are more 
 suitable and successful. It was found essential to place the lay 
 missionaries, who superintend these operations, on an equality 
 with the ordained. The patience of the German missionaries 
 in the face of many disappointments is altogether admirable. 
 In the south Mabratta country the missionaries were imposed 
 on by a sect called the Kalagnanis, who professed to see in 
 them teachers for whom they had long been waiting, and pro- 
 mised to become Christians in a body if land could be found 
 for them. The land was found and buildings erected, when the 
 Kalagnanis, unable to compass their selfish ends, disappeared. 
 The Basle Mission reports four thousand six hundred converts, 
 of whom two thousand two hundred and seventy are communi- 
 cants. 
 
 The Mysore country is occupied by the London and Wesleyan 
 Missions, chiefly by the latter. The London Mission at Bellary 
 dates from 1810. One of its missionaries, the Rev. J. Hands, 
 began, and another, the Rev. W. Reeves, completed, a Canarese 
 dictionary, which has been re-edited by a Wesleyan missionary, 
 the Rev. D. Sanderson. The Wesleyan Mission has been in 
 existence fifty years, and has worked to good effect through the 
 press, schools and direct evangelization ; but its continuity of 
 influence has been greatly interrupted by sickness and death
 
 273 
 
 among its agents. It is now making an effort to cover with 
 mission stations a country which, according to the principle of 
 division of labour generally observed among Indian Missions, 
 has been committed to it to evangelize. May it rise to its duty ! 
 The chief numerical success of Indian Missions has been in 
 the south. The Church Missions of north Travancore and 
 Tinnevelly and the London Missions in south Travancore to- 
 gether contain one hundred and five thousand converts, fifteen 
 thousand communicants, seventy native ministers, six hundred 
 unordained preachers. The increase in converts in ten years has 
 been twenty-five thousand. The great majority of the converts 
 are from a particular class without caste, whom Hindus proper 
 refuse to acknowledge ; but under the combined influence of 
 education and religion they will rise rapidly in the social scale. 
 These large South Indian churches have a complete organization, 
 and are advancing every day in intelligence and independent 
 power. They have been wisely and ably led in the past. The 
 London Mission has had agents like Messrs. Mault, Abbs, 
 Russell, Whitehouse, Lewis, Baylis, Mateer, who have given 
 their lives to its service. In the Church Mission, Caldwell, 
 Fenn, Jcenicke, Sargent, Rhenius, Ragland, are names whose 
 ' praise is in all the Churches.' The name of Rhenius is a pro- 
 verb in South India for apostolic simplicity and devotion. No 
 little romance is connected with the history of Mr. Ringletaube, 
 of the London Travancore Mission. He came to South India in 
 1806, lived an ascetic life, travelled and preached everywhere, 
 baptized great numbers, and suddenly in 1815, without saying 
 a word to any one, left for Madras, where he disappeai'ed, and 
 was never heard of again. There was evidently a touch of 
 eccentricity and genius in his nature. ' Scarcely an article of 
 his dress was of European manufacture. He seldom had a coat 
 to his back, except when furnished with one by a friend in his 
 occasional visits to Palamcottah. Expending his stipend upon his 
 poor people, his personal wants seem never to have entered into 
 his thoughts. While at Madras, he had no coat, though about 
 to undertake a voyage. The only covering for his head was 
 something like a straw hat of native manufacture.'
 
 274 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 In north Travancore is the singular phenomenon of an indig- 
 enous Christian Church, which has apparently come down from 
 the earliest Christian antiquity, a Syro- Greek Church, with 
 prayers and worship in the Syriac language. The Churches on 
 the coast were forcibly reduced to conformity with Rome by the 
 Portuguese Inquisition at Goa, but the inland Churches have 
 preserved their independence. The Rev. Claudius Buchanan 
 visited and described them in 1806, since which time they have 
 been objects of great interest to English Christians. At first 
 the Church Society sought to reform the faith and worship of 
 this ancient Church by friendly cooperation; but differences 
 arose, and the Church Mission has since pursued an independent 
 course and exercised a powerful influence for good upon the 
 Syrian Churches. ' The demand for copies of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures has increased wonderfully ; meetings for prayer are held 
 where such things were previously unknown ; the catharas, or 
 priests, are bestirring themselves for the instruction and reviving 
 of their own people, and doing something, it is said, in some 
 cases for the enlightenment of the heathen around them.' 
 
 The beautiful province of Madura, to the north of Tinne- 
 velly, is occupied by the American Board and the Propagation 
 Society. The latter missions are confined to Ramnad and its 
 neighbourhood ; the former occupy the heart of the province in 
 full strength. The American Missions comprise eleven princi- 
 pal stations, and one hundred and thirty-eight separate congre- 
 gations. The nine missionaries are assisted by eight ordained 
 native ministers and above a hundred unordained preachers. In 
 Madura there are seven thousand three hundred native Chris- 
 tians, of whom one thousand six hundred are communicants. 
 
 The intei'val between Madura and Madras is filled up by the 
 Propagation, London, Wesleyan, and American Dutch Reformed 
 Missions. The latter might fitly be called the Scudder Mission, 
 having been founded and hitherto carried on by missionaries of 
 the Scudder family. In 1861, seven of this name were at work, 
 in 1871, five. The plan adopted has been vernacular preach- 
 ing by means of ' concentrated itinerancy.' The number of 
 Christians in this wide district is seventeen thousand, an increase
 
 MADRAS. 275 
 
 in ten years of six thousand six hundred. The Scudder Mis- 
 sion has followed Schwartz's excellent method of instructing 
 catechumens in the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the 
 Apostles' Creed, as well as in a simple Catechism. 
 
 As we have seen, mission work was begun in the city of 
 Madras in 1726. The different Churches are employing the 
 same methods as in the other capital cities. The name of John 
 Anderson, who founded the Free Church Institution in 1837, 
 is an honoured one in Madras. Like all other missionaries in 
 similar circumstances, he had a hard battle to fight with caste. 
 On his admitting two Pariah scholars the rest all withdrew and 
 endeavoured to compel him to exclude the obnoxious students, 
 but firmness for the right won the day. Again, on the baptism 
 of three youths in 1841, the institution was left for a time nearly 
 empty. Missionaries have had to take their trial in courts of 
 justice on charges of kidnapping. Jealousy on the subject of 
 caste has led to the establishment of purely native institutions 
 for instruction in English. 
 
 Female education has advanced rapidly, and been a powerful 
 auxiliary to missions in Madras. The Church School alone in 
 1871 contained four hundred and twenty-seven young women 
 and girls, the Church of Scotland's four hundred and fifteen, 
 the Scotch Free Church Schools eight hundred and eighteen. 
 Of the latter sixteen, all native Christians, passed the govern- 
 ment examination for female teachers' certificates. 
 
 Madras is also the head-quarters of the Christian Vernacular 
 Education Society, which occupies itself in training teachers, 
 publishing school-books, and supporting day-schools, and extends 
 its operations all over India. It has issued in all four million 
 tracts and books in fifteen languages, has three training insti- 
 tutions and twenty-seven depots, and employs sixty colporteurs. 
 
 It should not be overlooked that the bishops of Madras have 
 distinguished themselves for sympathy with evangelical mis- 
 sions. The Madras district contains five thousand native 
 Christians, an increase in ten years of one thousand five 
 hundred. There are two thousand two hundred communicants, 
 eleven native ministers, forty-eight unordained native preachers, 
 
 T 2
 
 276 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 and eight thousand two hundred and fifty scholars, of whom 
 two thousand eight hundred are females. 
 
 The Telugu country, to the north of Madras, has lately been 
 the scene of a remarkable religious awakening. For many years 
 the Missions of the Propagation and London Societies remained 
 feeble, when suddenly, about the year 1850, there were baptisms 
 on the same scale as in Travancore and Tinnevelly, and among 
 similar classes of people. The London Mission at Cuddapah 
 and Nundial sprang at a bound from one hundred to five thou- 
 sand Christians, the Propagation Mission to three thousand, the 
 Baptist Mission at Nellore to six thousand. Out of these 
 Churches theological colleges and a native ministry are slowly 
 growing. The Scotch Free Church has a large educational 
 institution at Nellore. The total number of native Christians 
 in the province in 1871 was thirteen thousand eight hundred, 
 an increase in ten years of ten thousand four hundred and sixty ; 
 the number of communicants, two thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty-eight ; ordained native ministers, three ; unordained, 
 ninety-two ; theological and training schools, nine. 
 
 The wide district of the Kistna and Godavery rivers, stretch- 
 ing to the borders of Orissa, is occupied by various English and 
 American societies. At the American Lutheran station of 
 Palnad a movement similar to the one in the Telugu country has 
 been witnessed, the number of Christians having increased 
 between 1861 and 1871 from three hundred and thirty-eight to 
 two thousand one hundred and fifty, scattered throughout fifty- 
 two villages, and forming thirty- two congregations. In the same 
 time the converts of the Church missions, directed by fine mis- 
 sionaries like Noble, Fox and Sharkey, advanced from two hun- 
 dred and fifty-nine to one thousand eight hundred and eighty- 
 two. Among their sixty-one educational institutions are two 
 colleges. The Godavery Delta Mission has grown in the same 
 proportion. The London Mission at Vizagapatam alone has not 
 felt the movement. 
 
 We have thus completed the circle of Indian missions. The 
 total statistics for India, Burmah, and Ceylon, as given in the 
 government return of 1873, are as follows : Twenty-five mission
 
 CONCLUSION. 277 
 
 presses ; eighty-five training colleges for preachers and teachers, 
 with one thousand six hundred and eighteen students ; twenty- 
 eight training institutions for girls, with five hundred and sixty- 
 seven students ; one thousand three hundred zenana classes, with 
 one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven scholars ; one hun- 
 dred and forty-two thousand nine hundred and fifty-two scholars ; 
 Christians, three hundred and eighteen thousand three hundred 
 and sixty-three ; communicants, seventy-eight thousand four 
 hundred and ninety-four. Between 1862 and 1872 the students 
 who matriculated from missionary institutions were one thousand 
 six hundred and twenty-one ; passed first examination in arts, 
 five hundred and thirteen ; B.A., one hundred and fifty-four; 
 M.A., eighteen ; B.L., six. The number of missionaries is six 
 hundred, of stations five hundred and twenty. The Bible has 
 been translated and published, in whole or part, in about thirty 
 languages. 
 
 If there are many things in the history of British India to 
 fill an Englishman with just pride, there are some things to 
 suggest humility and moderation, especially in judging other 
 nations. But no believer in a Divine government of the world 
 can doubt that both the good and the evil will be overruled for 
 the benefit of the millions thus strangely brought under British 
 rule. It may be the case that the tendency of our rule is to 
 abolish those divisions of caste, race, religion, and even of lan- 
 guage, which alone have made our conquest possible, and to this 
 extent to lessen the security of our power. But on the other 
 hand our rule also tends to discourage warlike and promote 
 peaceful habits, and what is gained on this side probably fully 
 counterbalances what is lost on the other. The Mahratta, Pin- 
 dari, we might almost add Sikh, wars could not take place again. 
 The hereditary troublers of the public peace are completely 
 changed in character. Commerce, with its apparatus of roads, 
 rail, telegraph, post, newspapers, is a powerful peacemaker and 
 civilizer, and it is matter of sincere joy that commerce fills the 
 place in India once filled by war. If we seek evidence of the 
 blessings which British rule has brought to India, we only need
 
 278 OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 to compare the condition of the country with that of other 
 Asiatic states, China, Burmah, Persia, Turkey. In one case, 
 progress, liberty, inducement to exertion, advancing knowledge 
 and civilization ; in the other, stagnation, barbarism and all the 
 baleful effects of capricious despotism. The enjoyment by every 
 one of the millions of a vast continent of a clear field for the 
 exercise of his talents and of perfect security for his just gains, 
 and this for the first time for centuries, is almost the greatest 
 benefit which one nation can confer upon another. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the British government and 
 Christian Missions in India have helped each other. Mission- 
 aries and all English Christians in India represent the best side 
 of English character. The former come into contact with 
 classes who have no personal knowledge of government officials. 
 They study, as no other Englishmen do, the languages and liter- 
 ature of the people. In their schools, preaching, conversation, 
 and discussion, they live on familiar terms with those who con- 
 stitute the bulk of the population, and it is from them that the 
 natives derive much of their knowledge of English thought and 
 ways. That these relations tend to give favourable impressions 
 of the spirit and purposes of our government is self-evident. 
 On the other hand, the powerful action of the government in its 
 own sphere tells indirectly in favour of Christianity, especially 
 in undermining the artificial restrictions of caste. The direct 
 influence both of government and Christianity has immensely 
 increased since the mutiny. Education, means of internal com- 
 munication, trade, missionary agencies have developed at a 
 marvellous rate. Through a thousand channels a full tide of 
 progressive influences has been pouring into the country without 
 cessation. Under rulers like Lord Elgin, Lord Mayo, Sir John 
 Lawrence and Lord Northbrook, the country has taken great 
 strides forward, and nothing is wanting but the continuance of a 
 peaceful policy for still greater improvement. In measuring the 
 progress of Christianity in India, the difficulties already referred 
 to must be taken into account. Some Anglo- Indians talk of 
 the failure of Indian Missions ; but these are persons who either 
 have seen little or nothing of the inner working of missions, or
 
 HOPE. 
 
 279 
 
 are unable to appreciate the subtler changes talcing place over 
 a wide area in native thought and feeling. Large bodies move 
 slowly. The heavy ironclad scarcely stirs where the tiny boat 
 dances on the water. The Oriental mind is far less susceptible 
 to change than the western. Not without reason do we speak 
 of 'the changeless East.' But under the immense energy of 
 British influence even India with its massive systems of philos- 
 ophy and worship shows signs of change and movement. If not 
 driving before the breeze, it is drifting with the current. Young 
 India is breaking away from its ancient moorings and feeling its 
 way to new anchorage ground. There the East and West, the 
 youngest and old nations, have met together. Long may the 
 union last to the advantage of both !
 
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